Survival Of The Fittest

There was, Ramble felt, something special in the way the universe sometimes opened up and granted you an unexpected gift.

Oh, not the way most people thought -- a lottery win, or an unexpected passing grade on a paper typed at four in the morning -- but times like these, when his spare for the afternoon just happened to coincide with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds for the first time that day. What had up until then been rather a gray, dreary morning with the chill of winter still nipping in the breeze abruptly became a shining beacon of early spring, the sun's rays warming the grass and concrete and filtering through the sides of the gazebos.

It wasn't entirely perfect. The cars driving by provided an irritating counterpoint to the soft noises of birds and the grass was slightly damp beneath his knees, but altogether Ramble felt blessed enough by the sun change in the weather that he allowed the distractions to pass him by. After all, nothing was ever perfect. Peace lay in understanding this, and accepting those parts of life which were not pleasant as necessary and often conductive to learning. The sound of the cars wasn't harming him, so he put it to one side. The dampness wasn't either and anyhow, his pants would dry soon enough. After all, times like this were rare -- he should enjoy it.

So he had spread himself out on the grass and done some simple stretches for a few minutes, centering himself and allowing tension to flow from his body. Now he was half sitting up against the side of one of the gazebos and just taking in the various sights -- students passing by, people on the sidewalk, a smoker furtively lighting up in the bus shelter -- with half closed eyes, still taking deep and measured breaths which used every inch of his lungs, enjoying the day.

To meditate or not to meditate, that was the question. Ramble rolled a small rose quartz sphere between his fingers as he tried to decide.

((Kaliska Day continued from I'm not falling apart; I'm just incomplete))

Kaliska headed across the lawns on her way to one of the gazebos. She was supposed to be in class, but lately Miss Gunderson had taken a really lax attitude on Kaliska's TA position. If she had nothing for her to do, then she'd hand Kaliska a pass and tell her to check her box, grab her lunch from the staff lounge, and be back before the bell.

Today, Kaliska had decided that she was going to finish up her book out at one of the gazebos before she returned to class. She caught sight of Ramble as she neared the gazebo.

"Hey, Ramble," she said. "Beautiful day today isn't it? Miss Gunderson's getting ready to go out for maternity leave, so she's been really easy lately."

Ramble glanced up and smiled as his eyes caught sight of the Native American girl walking towards him. Kaliska was a real sweetheart of a girl -- he never minded having a chat with her, especially when the day was too nice to just shut his eyes and slide into meditation until his next class.

"Kaliska." His voice was warm and inviting as he patted the grass next to her, an unspoken offer for her to take the seat next to him. "That's lucky -- you get to enjoy the day instead of being cooped up." He leaned his head back and tilted his face to the sun, eyes fluttering closed for just a moment against the bright light. "I always like to think of it like a rechargeable battery...store up the sunlight for when it rains again, you know?"

He liked to imagine the warm rays sinking into his skin and filling him up, flowing along his limbs and stimulating his chakras with heat and color, stored there for the next time the clouds came and the air grew damp. It was hard to get enough sunlight in Seattle. You had to learn how to make it last.

She smiled down at Ramble and took his offer to sit next to him. She liked the boy and knew they had a lot in common.

Once seated however, she couldn't think of any. Instead she closed her eyes and turned her face towards the sun. Basking in the warmth she said, "I have to say I agree. My mom jokes that I'm part plant, because I love sitting out in the sun, or even by an open window. I can't say that I'm upset about basically having a free period. Though I don't know what'll happen when the sub comes in. So, what brings you out today? You have a free period?"

"Yeah. And I just couldn't pass up energy like this, you know?" Ramble smiled, eyes closing again as he tilted his face to get the optimal amount of rays. It was possible he'd be splotched pink tomorrow morning, skin peeling from his nose and cheeks, but it was absolutely worth it.

"Part plant, hey? Well, we all come from the earth." He spread his fingers in the grass at his side as he spoke, feeling warm soil crumble under his nails, careful not to break the delicate new shoots. "It's good for you, though. Very healing, very purifying. And it stimulates your solar plexus chakra." The grin turned crooked at the edges. "Helps with balancing intellect, with self control, with self-identification...you could have worse hobbies."

Kaliska frowned. "I don't know, I never quite feel the energies. My aunt tells me all about how we're in tune with the Earth. My antennae must be broken or something because I don't feel it. Well, I feel the world around me. I hear the wind or the animals or whatever, but I've never felt the Earth. Mostly, I think I'm just bad a meditation. My mind never seems to get totally cleared. Half the time it goes off on some random tangent and I loose the focus of the meditation."

She stopped herself and smiled. "I'm sorry you were trying to find balance. I'll just sit her and enjoy the sunshine with you and quietly read my book.

Ramble flicked a hand dismissively in the air, shaking his head. "Oh no, you're not a distraction at all. I mean -- if you want to read your book, you can go ahead! But I don't mind. I wasn't really doing anything serious anyway."

He hesitated for a moment, fingers digging lightly in the dirt and grass beneath him without ever tearing the thin shoots of green. He didn't want to be irritating, or bother her if she did just want to read her book, but at the same time the familiar enthusiasm for sharing knowledge was bubbling up inside of him. It wasn't like he was interrupting her after all, right? She'd approached him. She'd even brought up her problems with meditating! He wasn't interfering, just...offering advice.

Yeah.

"It's not that easy to feel the energies at first, you know." His tone was completely serious, but warm and inviting without any sense that he was patronizing her or acting arrogant. "It just takes practice. Meditation's great...if you're having a hard time focusing, maybe you could try with a solid focus? Something physical you can hold in your hand and concentrate on can help a lot, especially if you're newer to meditation. I use crystals most of the time but anything you feel really in tune with can work."

"Thanks," she said offering him a smile. She sensed that Ramble was eager to share what he knew about meditation. Kaliska was always willing to at least try something new. This time it might actually work. Her grandparents were always going on about the benefits of meditation.

"I'm game, if you don't mind teaching me. I've already warned you that I'm extremely distractible, so don't be disappointed if I'm a poor student. Do you have any…crystals that I could use to focus," she said sounding unsure of herself. "If they work for you, they may work for me."

"Don't worry." Ramble smiled, face lighting up with eagerness. "Maybe you just need some more practice. Anyhow, it can be easier to focus with a crystal." This was where he was in his element, sharing the world he'd grown up in with others. While he'd learned long ago not to force it on them, he never could deny how happy teaching made him when it was asked for. The day was turning out to be better than he'd ever expected.

He passed over the small chunk of rose crystal quartz he'd been holding in his palm, still warm from the heat of his hand. The crystal had been polished to a soft sheen without any edges, but the shape was slightly irregular. Gareth had given it to him during a rough patch earlier in the year and it had rapidly become one of his favorites to meditate with, his energies meshing far better than they ever had with rough-cut crystal or anything artificially shaped.

"First, you've got to sit right." He demonstrated by drawing himself up into a cross-legged sitting position, spine perfectly straight. "The trick is being able to relax without slouching. And make you sure you breathe from here," patting the bottom of his ribcage, "from the diaphragm. Deep breath. If your shoulders are moving up and down, you're not doing it right. You'd be amazed how many people don't breathe properly anymore."

He gestured at the stone. "I like to hold the crystal, but a lot of people find it better to put it on the ground or a little farther away from them, and just watch it. Rose quartz is good for starting out, it's a very welcoming crystal -- encourages compassion, opens up pathways for love, peace, and calm, and stimulates energy flow in your heart chakra. Don't worry too much about that yet though. Just look at it, and try to clear your mind. Let the crystal become the center of your sight and your world. Don't focus on controlling your breathing, but be aware of it."

Kaliska took the quartz skeptically, but followed the directions Ramble gave her. She set her book to one side and then crossed her legs in front of her. Kaliska settled into the pose that Ramble had described. The breathing part was easy; breathing from her diaphragm was second nature after her years in choir.

"That part I'm pretty sure I have mastered," she said. "Mrs. Hubbard would have my head if I suddenly decided to not control my breathing."

Ignoring the being aware of the breathing directions she placed the quartz in front of her.
She hoped that she wasn't going to get too distracted by the people around her.

"Breathing and focusing check. What's next," she asked.

A smile quirked Ramble's lips upwards, but otherwise he didn't move from his position. While he wasn't truly meditating himself, concentrating instead on what Kaliska was doing, he could already feel his mind wanting to slip into the familiar patterns and dive down deep into itself. He took a long breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. Let his eyes drift closed for just a moment before opening them again, and glancing over in the girl's direction.

"Take some time to just be calm within yourself. Feel your breathing. Be completely aware of it. Feel the oxygen enter your lungs...your bloodstream...move to every corner of your body...return...exhale the carbon dioxide. Focus entirely on that. Try not to think of anything else. If you're having a difficult time or if you've already got that down, focus on your crystal. Try to make it the dominant thought in your head. Empty your mind of everything except for breathing and the crystal."

It wasn't quite as easy as he was making it out to be. Sometimes he forgot that not everyone grew up the way he had, with group meditation sessions after dinner and gifts of focus crystals for birthdays and other special occasions. It was one of the things he was so very thankful for. He'd been so privileged in his life.

((Janie Sinneave, start))

Overall, Janie was having a pretty good day. It was incredibly nice outside, for one thing. Like, once in a while, drop everything and dash outside to stare at clouds nice. Which was exactly what she was doing. This was not a day to spend indoors; this was a day to be outside, breathing fresh air and enjoying the sun on your face.

She made her way across campus, looking for a good place to sit down. She wasn't really looking for people- though that would be an added bonus, she thought. She spotted Kaliska and Ramble sitting together, and smiled. They seemed to be pretty relaxed, and calm, and Janie didn't really want to deal with any hyperactive teeangers right now. She made her way over to them.

As she approached, she heard some of what Ramble was saying. Particularly stuff about breathing calm, and being relaxed. "Hey, wait, are you guys meditating?" Usually she didn't associate talking with meditating, but it seemed like Kaliska was learning, or something. Did you need to learn how to meditate? Janie always thought you just closed your eyes and hummed, or something. "Cause that's pretty awesome, and I really don't feel like being super active right now."

She sat down cross legged next to the others, smiling as she did so, never really thinking that she might not have been welcome.

Kaliska nodded and did her best to follow Ramble's directions. She listened to his directions and then focused on the crystal. The crystal, she decided was kind of a boring thing to look at. She tried her best to focus on only the crystal, however as usually happened, that was when he brain decided to become very active. It started trying to figure out what was going to happen at the end of her book. How was Miles going to get out of his current predicament? After the third scenario ran through her head, she remembered she was supposed to be focusing on the crystal.

She refocused her efforts and was just beginning to clear her mind when a new voice pulled her attention away from the crystal again. She opened one eye to see that Janie had joined them. Kaliska offered her a smile.

"I'm trying," she said honestly. "I've tried this a couple of times before and I keep getting distracted. Ramble was kind enough to walk me through it."

Ramble gave the newcomer a welcoming smile as she sat down with them, settling easily into a cross-legged position. She seemed interested in their impromptu meditation session and he couldn't help but stifle a slightly larger smile as Kaliska explained what they were doing. He hadn't always had successes when trying to teach or even just educate other students. There were those who thought meditation was stupid or useless, those who gave up after it didn't bring instant enlightenment, those who didnt understand the deeper meanings and long-term benefits and thought he was some kind of snake-oil salesman. He'd gotten used to it easily enough, accepted it. One of the things his dads in particular had stressed was that everyone had a right to their own beliefs. But that didn't mean it didn't feel good when people were actually interested in what he was doing.

"You're welcome to join us, if you like." Ramble kept his position, back perfectly straight, but cocked his head to be able to meet Janie's eyes. "We were just trying with a focus crystal to see if it would help at all. Do you meditate often?"

Part of him rather selfishly hoped that she didn't. He'd love another pupil...teaching felt good to him, felt right in a way his mothers had told him about, that deep-down knowledge of doing something your body and energies meshed perfectly with. Whether or not he was being at all useful or getting his point across, he still felt like he was was doing something.

And that, as he'd always learned, was the most important part.

Janie stared at the crystal in their hands. It was actually wicked, if she thought about it. All that meditation stuff and self-control could really help her. It was all about inner discovery, right? Something like that? Janie could always use a bit of inner-discovery. There were about three weeks in middle school when she was obsessed with psychics. She had a magic eight ball that she pretended was a crystal ball, and she would wear headscarves around her house, and she even tried to actually go to a psychic, but her parents nixed the idea. Apparently it was a waste of money, as psychics weren't real. What a shame.

Then again, meditating probably didn't have much to do with being a psychic. Or maybe it did and Ramble was secretly predicting the stock market. (Here, Janie's father would make a joke about how anyone could predict the stock market in one word-shit- and then no one would laugh because no one else would get it.)

"Meditate? Nope, never done it before. Seems cool though. Relaxing and stuff. God knows we could all use some relaxing," she said cheerfully, grinning. She briefly wondered if there was a universal gesture for 'school, am I right?', but decided that even if there was it would just look stupid and awkward.

"So, what does the crystal do?"