Finding the Present

Lately, I've been fortunate enough to really live in the present while exploring the past and looking to the future. That sounds convoluted to me, too.

I have had the pleasure of travelling a bit this summer. I've not done anything as impressive as a coast-to-coast trip or travelling abroad. I have taken numerous day trips and explored the state in which I live.

I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm preparing to direct one of my "bucket list" shows, Defying Gravity. All the travelling I've done has been influenced in some way or another by this upcoming production. I've written a review of one museum I recently visited, and I fulfilled  a childhood dream in visiting another, Space Center Houston. While I have spent a lot of time delving into the past and future of space travel and exploration, I've also spent time outdoors at nature preserves and wildlife refuges. In some way, I suppose I've been exploring where we come from and where we are.

That's been an amazing aspect of this bit of travelling around I've done. By exploring the past and imagining the future, I've really been enjoying and living in the present. There's something magical about standing on a marsh and watching herons take flight. While looking into a bayou at an alligator with an ancient lineage, it's easy to become hyper aware of one's surroundings and perhaps even mortality in that moment. How fortunate I felt to "touch the moon" at Space Center Houston. My childhood and my present collided  touching an artifact that had traveled 238,900 mi. to be there in that moment with me. I've come to truly appreciate the beauty that exists all around me, only a drive away.

I've been finding myself in the present, appreciating moments.

Bldg 9 (Vehicle Mock-Up Facility), Johnson Space Center 

The best of the places I've been this summer include Space Center Houston,










The Armand Bayou Nature Center,

Small Alligator in the murky water of the ABNC

and The Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.

Heron at HNWR

I tend to get caught up in what's coming up- work, meetings, etc- or what's in the past, that I often find it difficult to really live in the present. I have a feeling most of us do that, as it's a topic often discussed and written about (just do a basic internet search to see). The places I've visited recently have forced me to be aware of the here and now.

I plan to take enjoying moments into every day (in my classroom, in the rehearsal hall, when I am spending time with family and friends).  And, when I need visit a place to help pull me back into the present, I am glad to know that so many are relatively near by, and I hope to explore and find more. I highly recommend exploring what's around you. It just might change your perspective.

Until next time...
Ro Huizinga

So, You're Broke but Love the Arts?

Photo in Public Domain: http://tinyurl.com/9kb

Well, it's a new semester for me, and that means more time in class, less time to work, and no money to spend. Yup, that's right. So, how can someone who blogs about the arts have anything to say when she's broke? Well, I refuse to believe that just because one has no disposable income, that s/he can't take in the arts.

Here is a list of ways to take in the arts on a budget (or no budget, in my case). Opportunities like these are plentiful in my community and are likely to exist locally for you, as well. So, don't be detached from arts and culture, do as the artists do, and get creative!