The Friend Who Can Be Silent

John Currin - Pistachio, 2016.

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

Henri Nouwen

“Learn to be quiet in the midst of turmoil, for quietness is the end of strife and this is the journey to peace. ⁶Look straight at every image that rises to delay you, for the goal is inevitable because it is eternal. ⁷The goal of love is but your right, and it belongs to you despite your dreams.” A Course in Miracles T-12.II.5:5-7

Still Here …

Photocredit:BlakeLasater

Having heard the news that a good friend passed on this evening, I’ve been thinking about that. Phyllis is certainly as alive to me today as she was yesterday. I can still hear her laughter, see the light in her eyes, feel her excitement about living. As with my dear Kevin, my parents, anyone I have loved who is no longer walking around in their body, they are alive in my sleeping dreams. After having had an adventure with them while asleep, waking up is wonderful because I can still feel their presence. So have they really gone anywhere? I don’t think so. I’m not sure there’s anywhere for them to go. Mary Baker Eddy says the big surprise will be when they wake up and find out they’re not dead. What an adventure awaits us all! Tomorrow is an act of heroism, simply to wake up and love the world. If I don’t wake up in my physical body tomorrow, that, too, will be a great adventure. We are all Spirit. One. We are all the expression, the manifestation of Love. The tears may fall for a while, and that’s just the love overflowing from our bodies. Let’s hold each other close and know there is no end …

“A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the death of a friend, occasions the same grief that the friend’s real death would bring. You think that your anguish is occasioned by your loss. Another despatch, correcting the mistake, heals your grief, and you learn that your suffering was merely the result of your belief. You will learn at length that there is no cause for grief, and divine wisdom will then be understood.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 386

Friendship

Today I’m contemplating friendship. I know a man who thinks he is no longer friends with someone if they don’t “keep up” with each other on a regular basis. I find this to be sad, because I have hundreds, maybe thousands of friends, and naturally do not stay in regular contact with most of them. But our connections are unique and beautiful; I cherish them deeply. What fond memories I hold with childhood friends, and social media has enabled us renew our friendships in a way which would not have been possible 20 years ago. And I am grateful. There are a multitude of folks who became friends because our children had connections. The bonds we have made through the friendships of our children are some of my favorites. We have many warm fuzzy memories and love our time together. The people who shared metaphysical meetings are an eclectic group which has continued to grow through the years. Joel Goldsmith said that people who share a spiritual love are bound together throughout eternity. What love is not spiritual? Today I took a woman, who has been a friend for many years, to meet a person who is a good acquaintance through my association with her as an accompanist where she is in the church choir. These two are helping each other in a nurturing and heart-warming way. I’m still glowing from witnessing the interaction between them! Old friends, new friends, close friends, good acquaintances — the list is never ending! The joy it brings is exponential in scope and rich with blessings. And we are grateful …  

“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.” Kahlil Gibran

Nothing Left But a Blessing

 I like to shop in thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt is a fun hobby and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy using mismatched plates and bowls: I always have a reason to look for another pattern which brings me joy! Now I'm happy when I chip a plate or break a bowl, as I now need a replacement and have a reason to wander around and look at things in my favorite resale shop. Libraries and secondhand stores hold a fascination I can’t quite describe. Not only is there a certain delight associated with finding treasures, but there’s the energy of all the hands these items have passed through. I can imagine who touched the pages before me and wonder if he/she was as excited to be learning about another way of life as I am. In this throw-away society, there’s a certain happiness I feel in not buying things. Exchanging belongings with friends and neighbors adds to the tapestry of life. It’s the little things, don’t you think?

"All your past except its beauty is gone, and nothing is left but a blessing. I have saved all your kindnesses and every loving thought you ever had. I have purified them of the errors that hid their light, and kept them for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond destruction and beyond guilt. They came from the Holy Spirit within you, and we know what God creates is eternal. You can indeed depart in peace because I have loved you as I loved myself. You go with my blessing and for my blessing. Hold it and share it, that it may always be ours. I place the peace of God in your heart and in your hands, to hold and share. The heart is pure to hold it, and the hands are strong to give it. We cannot lose. My judgment is as strong as the wisdom of God, in Whose Heart and Hands we have our being. His quiet children are His blessed Sons. The Thoughts of God are with you.” A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.8:2-15

Anchor of Hope

Photo Credit: Richard Quick

Humans are extremely resilient, and our environment is awesome in its regenerative powers. I am currently reading/listening to The Book of Hope, the latest offering from Jane Goodall. I highly recommend it to everyone! She admits that it is difficult for us to maintain a hopeful attitude in the face of the destruction we are witnessing. She gives an example of hope with a tree which was destroyed during 9/11. While the clean-up was happening, about a month into the process, a remnant of a pear tree was discovered between two large pieces of concrete. It nearly went to the dump, but a woman asked that she be allowed to try to save it. It went to a nursery in the Bronx and survived. It is now planted at the memorial site and is a great inspiration to everyone, particularly those who feel hopeless. She gives another example of camphor trees is Nagasaki. We can all tell about demonstrations of the will to live, and, also, the ability to let go of this material existence gracefully. My friends inspire me with their adaptability and realization that Love is indeed the answer. The meaning of life is love — learning how to feel it, express it, and let it flow into its many forms. I am grateful…

“The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us, and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions. Like our Master, we must depart from material sense into the spiritual sense of being.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health P 40:32

Igor Gruppman Plays Tribute to Ukraine

https://youtu.be/i-jyP2vs30s

As the world watches the destruction of Kyiv, we feel great sadness. A native of this city, Igor Gruppman, is a violinist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic  Orchestra. Recently he performed this tribute to his country. It has been in my head all day and nothing has moved me quite so much as this video, which I share with you here. 

For some reason, this HG Wells quote also has stayed with me today: “We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams.” The Time Machine, 1895

What is Happening?

Do you believe in magic? It’s a good song, that’s for sure. We all want to believe that things can happen just because we think about them, but is that magic? Perhaps it’s simply the way things are. Thought is powerful. Tonight I watched a documentary called “You Can’t Kill Meme”. Frightening stuff, but I’m finally beginning to understand what has happened to us in the past few years. The mind control being exercised by large groups of people is scary, but what of the few people who utilize the internet to exponentially heighten their thought manifestation? To quote one man, “Introduce an element of chaos to break down social hierarchies.” Without citing specific instances, what I’ve ultimately taken away from this informative video is that we must be pure in our reflection of Love and its energy. There was one woman who came closest to my way of looking at the task before us as “lightworkers”, but unfortunately she wandered off into the ozone, talking about Obama being a time traveler and going to Mars. Let’s stay on point! I have friends who are working for Truth and Love by the food they ingest and the information they spread about a pure way of living. There are many paths and we all have a purpose. Let’s not be afraid to spread love and joy!

“One of the ways in which you can correct the magic-miracle confusion is to remember that you did not create yourself.²You are apt to forget this when you become egocentric, and this puts you in a position where a belief in magic is virtually inevitable. ³Your will to create was given you by your Creator, Who was expressing the same Will in His creation. ⁴Since creative ability rests in the mind, everything you create is necessarily a matter of will. ⁵It also follows that whatever you alone make is real in your own sight, though not in the Mind of God. ⁶This basic distinction leads directly into the real meaning of the Last Judgment.”

A Course in Miracles - T-2.VIII