Month: March 2013

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Meditation

I have talked about the benefits of meditation.  If it has you interested but unsure where to start, meditation teacher Susan Piver is hosting a free, limited participant webinar.

The date and time :

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Click here to register

I have found Susan’s instructions to be very accessible.  Here’s your chance to talk to a meditation instructor and get your questions answered.

I have admitted to be an on again off again meditator, more off since my accident.  But, I recently found a trick that has kept me going for 2 weeks straight.  Maybe this trick will work for you too.

I used to set the coffee pot up at night and the timer would brew the coffee 2 minutes before my alarm went off.  But, now, my alarm goes off, I get up, make the coffee and then meditate until the coffee maker buzzes.  This takes 9 minutes.  Once the coffee maker buzzes I add on a round or a few of loving kindness meditation and call it done.  I have found this to be (so far) an easy way to avoid all the excuses.  Yes, its only 10 minutes or so; but, that is 70 minutes a week that I wasn’t doing before.

Meditation is training your mind in attention.  The benefits of that are numerous: stress reduction, self awareness, impulse control, cultivates compassion, patience, lowers blood pressure, supports immune function, calming, and on and on.  There is no downside.

I encourage you all to take advantage, if you can, of this awesome opportunity.

 

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Librarian as Superhero

I recently had to go to urgent care for a stomach virus that had gone on too long. I like my regular doctor. She never seems to be in a rush and we’ve talked enough times that I’m completely comfortable with her. But, she wasn’t in the office; so, I headed off to the urgent care center near my workplace. It’s outfitted with zen doo dads, fresh water in a glass jug with lemon slices, a bowl of fresh fruit and a friendly staff.

The doctor who examined me was young. If I had to guess, I would say early thirties. When she asked me my occupation and I replied, “librarian,” she looked surprised. We talked some more about my stomach and then she said, offhandedly, “I guess your work has changed a lot, kind of disappearing.” I tried to explain modern librarianship in 60 seconds.  And took another 30 seconds to plug public libraries for all that they do beyond checking out books and one sentence about how librarians don’t just work in libraries.  But, I left feeling weird about it.

Mostly, I was so disappointed. Here is this young (and I might add, hip) physician who is so far removed from current methods of research and library service that she thought libraries would be disappearing with “everything online.”  And as if libraries were just  places where people went to get books.

It got me thinking. What are we doing wrong? Why doesn’t this highly educated, young woman understand the value of libraries and librarianship? Is it arrogance? Does she think that if she needs to research something for her job, even using a medical database, that she wouldn’t need a librarian’s help to execute a great search? If she seeks out a journal article, who curates those journal titles for the library?  Does she not understand that her public library is not only used by people  looking for a book to read; but, also by people who can’t afford to buy books.  Her library is serving people who don’t have internet access at home.  Her library is serving people who are looking for jobs, looking for group activities, looking for story time for their kids, looking to read magazines for free, looking for some new music to listen to or a movie to bring home, looking for a class that teaches them how to download books to their new e-reader, or just looking for a free lecture on an interesting topic?

I think maybe we just need to be better at sharing articles about all that libraries are doing for their communities.  We need to have a sweet or funny 3 minute spiel on the awesomeness of libraries, ready for just these moments.  Someone (was it Jessamyn West?),  said we need to have our “elevator speech” ready and I agree.  I tend to end by urging them to go visit their library and see what is happening there.  At the very least, they can sign up for a library card and borrow e-books!

Stuff like this either drives you crazy or invigorates you to go out and spread the word.  I hope you choose to take a deep breath, shake off the disappointment and go spread the word!!