In Why's Defense

* Why did we meet that Kroger shopper?

* Why did we hear that NPR interview?

* Why did we win Bob Dylan concert tickets?

Why, why, why?

Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Theirs not to reason why…” (The Charge of the Light Brigade) might suggest there are times it is irresponsible to question why. Example: in defense of country.

But a closer look at events that inspired Tennyson’s poem—half a league’s attack during the Crimean War—begs the question: Why should we not believe the men silently reasoned why?

Or, maybe the more important point to explore is this: Is there a "right" why and a "wrong" why? Or a right time and a wrong time?

Once you’re actually riding into the valley of Death, you may already want to have the “whys” pretty much sorted out and resolved. Just sayin’.

Before that charge, though, that’s the time to reason why. So that when the big day comes, we know who we are, how we got there, and what really matters.

Problem is, today we seem to have it all turned around. First, we ask what matters; then we ask how we go about getting what. But the thing is, forget how we get what, we never asked “why” what matters. (Is there a “who’s on first routine” emerging?!)

Again, just sayin’, might we ask ourselves why meeting that shopper seems special; why that interview sparks our interest; why tickets to a Dylan concert makes our heart sing.

Why?

That’s the leftfielder’s name.

- Diana Black

Why Not Jump?

I love yoga. Love LOVE LOVE it! (did I mention I'm kinda crazy about it?)

Partially because every time I go to the mat, I discover something new... about the practice and myself. This week, it was forearm stand.

No, the picture isn't me...for lots of reasons! One being if it were, there would be a yoga friend, Sheri, holding my right leg so that I would not fall. (Thank you, Sheri, for giving me the courage!)

So here I am, nearing a birthday that I'm sure the numbers got reversed somehow (yeah, that's about right...36...that's how old I feel...most days!) and tackling something like nearly standing on my head. (actually that's one of ultimate yoga goals.)

Now, I'm finally getting to the point of all this. Lately I've been letting myself jump from one creative project to another. Allowing myself to jump from this activity to that activity. From one book to another (before reading "The End.")

WHY? It makes me feel alive. It keeps me MOVING! (Used to be I was afraid that if I did not stay on one thing until it was completed, I would never finish it. And that would show lack of committment and ownership.) But what I've learned instead is this: If there is something my heart aches to do (okay, let's assume it's within the "cause no harm" category!) in any given moment, and I deny it...that moment is dead.

May every moment we are priviledged to live, be alive.

Jump to it!

--Diana

Why, You Shouldn't Have!

Flowers are a given for some people. Fresh-cut blossoms are as much a fixture in their home as the kitchen sink.

For others of us, they are a luxury, an indulgence.

I fall in the that latter category. (Though I keep saying I'm going to start buying fresh flowers every week.)

But if I did, would a gift bouquet like this one from my daughter and her family still seem as special?

Oh, I can't imagine anything detracting from the beauty and the love that went into sending this elegant arrangement.

And of course, my second thought (after the initial "Oh, how lovely!") was, "Why, you shouldn't have..."

My third thought? Oh, but I'm so glad you did...

At the end of the day, when someone does something special for a woman like me, WHY is it a given she'll respond with..."Why, you shouldn't have?"

Why We're the Way We Are...

(Drum roll please.) Uh-hum...Attention, please! Attention everyone...

Finally, the age-old question has been answered. Why each of us is the way we are. And the answer is... (Enough with the drum already!)

I'm only going to write this once, so pay close attention.

Ready?

How about now?

Now?

I don't know. (Hey, I didn't say it would be a good or correct answer!)

The point to having you read this? Taking your valuable time? It's hard for me to say those three words "I don't know." I think I have to have the answer you need and/or want to hear.

And even more difficult to say? That one-word complete sentence, "No."

Okay, so I don't know why I'm the way I am. Why we are the way we are. But I do know this, I'm working on those parts of who I am that I'm not so crazy about and learning to embrace the aspects of me that, well, make me quirky enough to write a post like this.

At the end of the day, does it matter why, or how we're the way we are?

The WHY Chromosome

Past research shows that males have the Y chromosome. Female mammals have two X chromosomes.

New findings indicate (in other words, I woke up thinking about it) that female DNA may also possess a WHY chromosome.

The banding pattern is similar to the Y chromosome with noted variations. Please refer to the diagram.

So, what do you think? At the end of the day, do women ask too many questions?

Why do people jump from perfectly good airplanes?

Skydivers might be viewed as ultimate risk takers.

Personally, I prefer to define myself by taking more inward journeys ... Okay, I admit it... I'm a big chicken (cluck cluck), and I will never knowingly step from a plane thousands of feet in the air. (If ever I do, I pray it's a situation like the one pictured here, with someone ELSE to pull the ripcord at the right moment.)

Film characters played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in the The Bucket List took the plunge. Won’t give away the storyline, but I thought it particularly interesting that neither of them wore helmets. What was that all about? Yikes. (Wait. Just noted the two pictured here are sans head protection, too.)

And former President George H. W. Bush, 84, though he used a cane during the most recent inauguration, still plans to dive on his next birthday. God speed.

Risks, I suppose, are definded by the takers. What is a risk to me may not seem all that risky to you.

But what if you cannot imagine your final breath without having attempted that thing that scares you to death?

At the end of the day, what risks are you willing to take?