Let The Sun Shine

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Inauguration Day is here! I think it’s more momentous and indicative of change than New Year’s Day, and it feels like a clean, new beginning to many of us. As perceptions would have it, many also see it as a dark day. Recent events have solidified my resolve to see things as they are, not as I think they should be, or how they were, or how they could have been, or how they might be tomorrow. I look forward to watching life transpire and I, personally, try to see with clean eyes and leave judgment out of my sight. This is not easy, but studying A Course in Miracles has helped in this endeavor. By not watching this unfolding with preconceived ideas of what it means, I hope to see more clearly what is really happening. These times we are living through are a fascinating study, but I’m tired of analysis. Songs keep running through my mind: All You Need is Love! Let the sunshine in, keep the faith, and somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue! Keep the faith, folks :)

“There will ensue a fermentation over this as over many other reforms, until we get at last the clear straining of truth, and impurity and error are left among the lees.” Mary Baker Eddy - Page 65:20

Transitions

 

Kevin Wright

​I remember when my dear friend, Sandy Starbird, said that she felt closer to her husband after he passed on than ever before. Although I could intellectually understand that, I didn't really "get" it. I do now. Kevin is in everything I see, in all I feel and touch, in every breath. And now I know he always was; I/we didn't see that because our physical senses got in the way. Another revelation is the magnitude of love being expressed every day by people I know. Genuine, caring concern is coming from all directions! Relatives and friends of Kevin's, whom I've never met, are opening up and showing kindness in the form of happy stories and offers of photographs. People I haven't heard from in ages are calling and commenting on my Facebook posts about Kevin. There is an outpouring of love which is astounding even to me! I usually expect everybody to be nice, but this is something else! I feel Kevin's loving embrace as I care for his dogs, letting them know there is nothing to fear, that they are safe and Kevin's love is still with us. His presence is with me while I wash dishes in my newly painted Peewee-Herman-hacienda-style kitchen. His love lives, and I am grateful to know it. The adventure we began a scant few years ago is still going on, but in another form. I'm at peace with this transition, and thankful for good friends and helping hands. Namaste...

“In the illusion of death, mortals wake to the knowledge of two facts: (1) that they are not dead; (2) that they have but passed the portals of a new belief.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 251:8

Then Shall You Truly Dance

 Dear Friends,

Kevin passed on last night. Having just finished a brutal phone interview with the organ donor folks, I'm too tired to articulate my feelings. But this poem by Gibran comes close. 

"Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death.

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance."

Kahlil Gibran

Sending Love

 ​

There has been a situation in my life which helps me to be empathetic toward those who have loved ones who are ill. I had to call an ambulance for my Kevin tonight and he is at the hospital. It doesn’t appear to be Covid, but there are some alarming symptoms. The photo I include is of the wall in his computer porch. He painted it yesterday and loves it so much. I am visualizing him sitting there in the sunshine, looking at the wall he enjoyed composing. It is a beautiful expression of him. Not being able to be with him, not knowing what is happening, brings the situation facing millions into focus for me. It’s not easy living and loving in this time of covid, huh? I send healing love to everyone hurting tonight, for whatever reason, no matter who you are or where you are. May the families of those in hospitals find comfort in knowing that love has no boundaries. I know Kevin feels my love as solidly as that of his dogs, and vice versa. Time to tuck the dogs into bed with some comforting words. Love to all...

"Spirit blesses man, but man cannot 'tell whence it cometh.' By it the sick are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed. These are the effects of one universal God, the invisible good dwelling in eternal Science." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 78:28

Love Sweet Love

 

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love." "Come on people now, Smile on your brother, Everybody get together, Try to love one another right now." "I see skies of blue, And clouds of white, The bright blessed day, The dark sacred night, And I think to myself, What a wonderful world." "All you need is love, All you need is love, All you need is love, love, Love is all you need." "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will be as one."

“Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no kingdom. Love is enthroned.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 454:9-10

Dead End Path?

 ​                                                photo credit: Aaron Springston

When we think of extremist religious groups, perhaps the Islamic group al Qaeda comes to mind. Because Jesus was a man who spurned violence as much as he turned away from riches and power, we think of Christianity as a medium for peace and love. Unfortunately, this is not always true. The teachings of Jesus were simple: love your neighbor as yourself and God above all else. We are currently discovering many appalling things about our country's people, and the fact that many are waging violence because they think God is telling them to do so is frightening. It is beyond my ability to grasp this idea. Obviously pastors and others in charge are leading their flocks down dead-end paths. And for what reason? Our incoming president is a devout Catholic. The Reverend Raphael Warnock, newly elected senator from Georgia, is a Baptist minister, for goodness sakes! Why would Christians -- or anyone -- be opposed to good people simply because they are Democrats? I can only think of one reason: they have been demonized by religious leaders. I hope we can all remember that Jesus did not mean to start a religion; he came to teach us the way to peace, how to love without judgment, and to be empathetic to the plight of others. I pray for the day we can free ourselves of political parties and religious sects, allowing the purity of living from the heart without the ritual and rule of power-hungry leaders. Namaste...

"The Science Jesus taught and lived must triumph over all material beliefs about life, substance, and intelligence, and the multitudinous errors growing from such beliefs. Love must triumph over hate." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 43:27

I'll Meet You In The Field...

 

photo credit: Nick Franchi

Well, it's been cold for quite some time! A dear friend stopped by for a visit today and it was like a breath of fresh air. Now that it's a bit warmer, I encourage everyone to get outside and breathe, even if you can't visit with friends for whatever the reasons. Carol and I felt comfortable sitting in the living room, as far away from each other as possible, but tomorrow should be warm enough to have a friends' circle out in the street, if we so choose. For everyone who is able to walk, take advantage of it! Oh, how nice it would be to go to Crystal Bridges and walk in the gardens, or sit in the sunshine and hear music and laughter. Writing these words bring to mind a favorite poem, so I shall leave you with it:

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other'

doesn’t make any sense.
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.” Rumi