Love Out Loud

 

Kevin and granddaughter

Kevin has a son, two stepsons, a stepdaughter -- and a daughter whom he has never met in person. I had spoken with his stepdaughter in California/Oregon before his passing, and we became friends. They thought of each other as father/daughter. In the past two weeks, all these children have been in contact with me. What a diverse group of young people they are! I have enjoyed talking to his first serious high school girlfriend, who was a foreign exchange student from Mexico. His first wife, the mother of his son, has been kind and I’ve enjoyed our chats. There is a common thread running through all these communications: we all loved Kevin very much. There will be a Zoom memorial with old and new friends, family, anyone who wants to honor the fine man he is. If anyone would like to join, let me know and I’ll give you a link. I look forward to hearing more stories and connecting the dots between places he lived and jobs he had. Life is such an adventure! Don’t forget to express your heartfelt feelings to your loved ones, especially if you haven’t done that in a few years. Don’t be afraid to love out loud!

“Human affection is not poured forth vainly, even though it meet no return. Love enriches the nature, enlarging, purifying, and elevating it. The wintry blasts of earth may uproot the flowers of affection, and scatter them to the winds; but this severance of fleshly ties serves to unite thought more closely to God, for Love supports the struggling heart until it ceases to sign over the world and begins to unfold its wings for heaven.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:22

Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In

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Today a friend mentioned she was watching a movie and thinking, “those people should have their masks on!” — before remembering it was a movie from years ago. Thinking about this, I realize how quickly we become conditioned to any kind of behavior, such as mask wearing. Perhaps because of my thought in this vein, I choose a movie to watch during the Super Bowl called “Bombshell”, which is the true story of three beautiful women who were newscasters on Fox News and sued Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, starting the #MeToo movement. Roger Ailes was the head of this production, which (among other things) instructed their employees to look for stories which would “scare your grandmother and piss-off your grandfather”. And we fell for it. We allowed ourselves to be conditioned into thinking it’s normal to demonize those who do not agree with us. We are all guilty of this to some extent, don’t you think? Acknowledging problems is the first step in finding solutions to them, and we’re on our way to doing this. Let’s work to keep an open mind and heart, listening rather than reacting, and seeing truth rather than belief.

"In order to apprehend more, we must put into practice what we already know. We must recollect that Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 323

Friendship

 Kahlil Gibran on Friendship

​"​Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.​"

Comfort and Joy

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Every Christmas season, I put cards from friends on the inside of my front door. This year, I had not taken them down until yesterday, when I replaced them with cards of support from friends following Kevin’s death. I love looking at them as much as I did the holiday cards -- probably more, as opening one now and again brings a smile and a certain connection with the person whose handwriting presents itself. I had started contacting people by snail mail earlier in the year, and I vow to continue into the future! It’s truly a unifying activity, don’t you think? 

"PSALM XXIII [Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want. [Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [love] leadeth me beside the still waters. [Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.

[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 577:4-18

Intuitions

 

art by Judith Griffith

Listening to intuition is a learned behavior. When I’m drawn to something, I tend to yield, knowing there must be a reason. When looking for a movie to watch, an old Nick Nolte film called “Affliction” asked for my attention, so I gave it. The bottom line was an examination of a man who had been severely terrorized by his dad when he was a child. These past four years have caused me to closely look at what is known as the pain body. The pain we experience in our lives, the pain which is not faced and honored and released, stays with us. It may erupt at the slightest provocation and is the cause for many uncomfortable holiday gatherings. After watching this movie and pondering its implications, up popped the old tv series, Friday Night Lights. Another painful phenomenon is addressed here: high school football. I have heard stories of shame, abuse, ignored concussions, heat strokes, and foolish adoration heaped on star players. These videos have helped me understand a few things. There is much to consider here.

"Angels: God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 481:4

A Thought That Came to Pass

photo credit: Aaron Springston

 A few days ago, I mentioned my friend, Pat, had given me a beautifully wrapped gift. I finally opened it! It is “Awakening Osiris - The Egyptian Book of the Dead. It is a beautiful book and I could quote many things here, but these are the words which jumped out at me: “I am a thought that came to pass. Long believed, I live forever. I am words repeated often. I am a happy man. I am a blessed man. I am a perfecting man. I am love and shall endure forever. I am a thankful man, a man of peace, poetry, dream. I am a well-fed man. I am a dancing man beloved of gods. I am an old man who has lived long. I am heading home.” Thank you everyone, for the blessings you have brought to the world. I am grateful.

"Immortal and divine Mind presents the idea of God: first, in light; second, in reflection; third, in spiritual and immortal forms of beauty and goodness. But this Mind creates no element nor symbol of discord and decay. God creates neither erring thought, mortal life, mutable truth, nor variable love.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 503:20-25

Gentle Beam of Living Love

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

The steps of grief are slippery, are they not? Today I got Kevin's ashes back from the crematorium. The emotions I felt were surprising. When the delivery man came to the door, I had a very possessive reaction, grabbing the box and holding it close; almost saying "get your hands off of him". After sitting quietly with these feelings for a bit, I started to wonder how I could be sure it was him. Heck, this could be a cow's bones for all I know! After thinking weird things like this for a while, I settled back into my sensibilities, reminding myself it doesn't really make any difference if it's actually his remains or someone else's. There is nothing there but some inert matter, and where he lives is in Love, which is evidenced everywhere I look. While it's tempting to keep the things he loved, I have given away his telescope to dear friends who will look at the night sky as gleefully as he did. Just as Kevin enjoyed Ken Starbird's tools which Sandy gave him, someone will think of him when they use his weed eater or look at the moon through his favorite lens. He's smiling with me at that thought...

"Thou gentle beam of living Love,

     And deathless Life!

Truth infinite -- so far above

     All mortal strife..."

from the poem Christmas Morn by Mary Baker Eddy