zen and fountains and swifts oh my

This is a great quote from a new book about Zen and surfing I am reading, Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis.

Here he is learning how to surf. This quote is so much about finding our way into flow-

"And that's when it all kind of clicked. There was a way, a method that worked. The walls were not impenetrable. I realized in that moment that all the initial poundings had scarred me, in a way. I had known intellectually that if I did this duckdiving thing right, it was possible to get through even very big waves. But I'd started believing I couldn't do it. And so I couldn't.

And now I had experienced it.

And I knew."

The kids and I went over to check out the swifts the other night after spending a few hours at Jameson Square Fountain with friends. I am imagining that will probably have been our last trip to the fountain this year (with the water on) and I am glad to have gotten Eva over there one last time. It is hard to believe that out of the whole summer we only made it there twice (three times if you count the time we were caught in a downpour there last spring. While that was a fun time, it was not necessarily a fountain time.) The swifts are possibly one of my favorite things to do around Portland and I am hoping to take my dad while he is visiting some time this week as well.



Eva and Orion making a beach. There were penguins and squirrels who will soon be using the slides and swimming in the water...



And there are the penguins, enjoying the beach fun.