How High The Moon

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photo credit: Charles Chappell

The older I get, the more I love small towns. I got a letter in the mail today from a woman whom I've known for 20 years, but never once sat down to a meal with her, or had tea, or had an in-depth conversation. Yet, we know each other well through mutual friends, from gallery strolls, and by way of a small, independent school we both support. After reading her incredibly beautiful letter, I began to think how many other people fit into the category of good friends, even though we don't "visit" with each other. I quote Lucilla's opening lines: "This is coming from afar. I never met Kevin Wright, although I knew through Dina that he was part of your life. Therefore, with a certain audacity as well as humility, I boldly write." We who live in this small town neighborhood can write things like this! I wish I could share the entire letter, but I will leave you with this joyful message: "I'm glad that he waltzed into your life. I'm thrilled that he stirred routine and took Eureka on. I'm joyous that your heart expanded to include him." Me too, dear Friend, me too. 

"The sun, giving light and heat to the earth, is a figure of divine Life and Love, enlightening and sustaining the universe." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 538:11

Joyous Reunions

 

Kevin and Old Friend

​Today has been wonderful! I chatted with several of Kevin's old friends, including his first wife, and also his high school sweetheart (who was a foreign exchange student from Mexico). It's wonderful to hear how much he is loved, and I treasure the stories they bring to me. His best friend from forever wants to hold a Zoom memorial, including long-time friends all over the country to celebrate his life. I can't think of anything better! Would this be happening if it were not for the pandemic? Probably no one would think about this possibility. We would go about our ritual memorials, meeting in a small room with people who are able to be in the area. But because of our expanded thought about what is possible in this new world we are creating, we will meet together while apart, happily joined in our love for Kevin. The possibilities are limitless in this age of technology and the realization of higher thought and what reaching for that zenith means to us all! I can hardly wait to see what unexpected joys tomorrow will bring! 

"Tender words and unselfish care in what promotes the welfare and happiness of your wife will prove more salutary in prolonging her health and smiles than stolid indifference or jealousy. Husbands, hear this and remember how slight a word or deed may renew the old trysting-times." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health, Page 59:16

Embracing Grief

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PC: Aaron Springston

Tonight I'm sharing words from my son, about a letter from a fine woman who wrote to me shortly after Kevin's passing. I've read her letter numerous times, each reading bringing comfort and peace. I shared it with my son, Aaron, and he wrote this eloquent praise for her expression: "This is very impressively written! She’s got wonderful perspective that only could be absorbed with great personal awareness. Her expression is the epitome of confident and wise vulnerability! You have such great friends. Thanks for sharing." All you great friends will be fodder for "dailies" for weeks to come! As Ramona once joked: "Be careful of what you say; you may end up in the dailies!" I'll be writing about you guys for weeks! Comfort and joy, indeed! Here are a few sentences from my friend, Lin Wellford's note:  "It feels to me like each small thing that pops up must be felt and honored and then cauterized the way a wound needs tending. It's wearying work because it comes and goes and what may set off a 'grief storm' is hard to anticipate." This brought things into focus for me, as it's easy to skip over the "honoring" part as the wave of grief has a strong undertow. Encouragement, such as this, from friends heals me and sends me into tomorrow without fear of the work involved in walking through pain.

"The Divine Being must be reflected by man, -- else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One 'altogether lovely,' but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:12

The Joy of Learning

 

In reading a review of the book, Beginners, I was delighted by the whole concept, particularly the sub-title "The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning". The author, Tom Vanderbilt, relates to us the things he has learned which have brought him joy. He took singing lessons and sang with a choir; he learned to surf, taking his whole family to Costa Rica for this endeavor; he learned to juggle, draw, and create jewelry. Tom isn't looking for something to crow about on social media, but rather he wants skills he can relax into and slowly develop over his lifetime. He says, "It's about small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical." He's also interested in finding out more about the process of learning. He believes the key to learning new things is shifting the focus off yourself. For instance, juggling: you don't look at the balls, but rather the apex of where things are thrown. He has learned that time slows down when you stop thinking. He has found that doing these things brings him "an immense and almost forgotten kind of pleasure." I love the idea of learning new things, simply for the pleasure of learning them, don't you? 

“It takes the whole of life to learn how to live..." ― Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Another Hafiz Poem

 Apologies! Last night I was so tired I forgot to give credit to Hafiz for the poem I sent out! It is translated by Daniel Ladinsky. It seems all I want to do is sleep, so I send out another Hafiz poem, with the same translation. 

A Great Need

Out

Of a great need

We are all holding hands

And climbing.

Not loving is a letting go.

Listen,

The terrain around here

Is

Far too

Dangerous

For

That.

You and Me and God in a Tiny Room

                                             I Want Both Of Us

                                    A poem from Hafiz

I want both of us

To start talking about this great love

As if you, I, and the Sun were all married

And living in a tiny room,

Helping each other to cook,

Do the wash,

Weave and sew,

Care for our beautiful

Animals.

We all leave each morning

To labor on the earth's field.

No one does not lift a great pack.

I want both of us to start singing like two

Travelling minstrels

About this extraordinary existence

We share,

As if

You, I, and God were all married

And living in

A tiny

Room.

Skewed Perception

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photo credit: Aaron Springston - Crystal Bridge Museum

A main point in A Course in Miracles is to release the beliefs which color our perception. As long as I think that guy's purple and he eats worms and he isn't very nice, it will be quite difficult to see who he truly is. In my years as a court reporter, I vividly saw how witnesses at the scene of an accident would interpret the event in vastly different ways. If we think a public figure is going to act in a brazenly pompous way, we will probably interpret everything he does in that light. If someone we've known all our lives has been maligned and whispered about for years, we might say something foolish like "a leopard doesn't change its spots", as we callously regard that person through our expectations of unacceptable behavior. There are many maxims which apply to this: judge not, that ye be not judged -- and others. Once again, I go back to Jesus' two commandments: Love everybody and love God more. I renew my vows today to live by these dictums, especially if I'm being tempted to believe someone else is not. Namaste...

"A dream of judgment came into the mind that God created perfect as Himself. And in that dream was Heaven changed to hell, and God made enemy unto His Son. How can God's Son awaken from the dream? It is a dream of judgment. So must he judge not, and he will waken. For the dream will seem to last while he is part of it. Judge not, for he who judges will have need of idols, which will hold the judgment off from resting on himself. Nor can he know the Self he has condemned. Judge not, because you make yourself a part of evil dreams, where idols are your ‘true identity’, and your salvation from the judgment laid in terror and in guilt upon yourself.” A Course in Miracles T-29.IX.2