Sunshine on My Shoulder

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread. 
Places to play in and pray in.
    ----John Muir

PBS recently aired a wonderful 12 hour special on the national parks produced and directed by Ken Burns.  I watched all 12 episodes and reveled in the majesty and beauty of our magnificent national parks.  Burns started the series with the discovery of the first park, Yosemite, back in the mid-1800's.  He quoted John Muir, one of the early pioneers and ended the whole documentary with these precious words.  I agree. 

Life is like a river.  It starts out slowly, meandering hither and yon.  Past canyons and ravines, mountains & streams. Until mid-life.  Then it picks up.  Sometimes flowing over rocks and crevices.  Gathering momentum under bridges and around rocks.  Until we meet old age.  Then it becomes a raging rapids.  Glowing, flowing fast, splashing, running over waterfalls and spilling over into memories of quieter passageways.

But it keeps on going.  In our national parks and across our lives.  The rivers wait for no one.  Enjoy what you can each and every day you have the good fortune to be a part of the flow of life. 
The river carries us forward never back.  Keeps moving with the force of life, in storms and sunshine, rapids and rainbows.  All is precious.
How will the river of life carry you?

Onward Through the Fog

A friend of mine always signs his letters with this last thought.  Onward through the fog.  What does it mean?  That life is so muddy, fuzzy, distorted, that we all have to trapse on, trudging through the sludge?  Not a very pretty picture, is it?

After Suzy died, though, I kind of feel like this.  Inch-by-inch, swimming against the current, feeling my way blindfolded.  And, it's hard.  Can't just pull myself up by my boot straps when I have no boots! Can you?  Should you?  Should I?

How DO we cope when the chips are down?  When we can't see the forest through the trees of our tears?  When there is no sunshine to light the way?  How do others cope with sadness, grief and adversity?  I'd like to know.  If you have any tips, send them my way.

Some pick-me-up-ers for me include:  my kits, nature, animals of any kind, beauty, trees, flowers, kind-hearted people, honesty, authenticity, closeness with friends or pets, sunsets, winding roads,Vermont, Switzerland and anyplace pretty, inviting and life-affirming.  For a start.

Sun Day

Today is Sunday and a sunny day.  Autumn at her finest.  A gentle breeze.  Smells of fireplaces burning in the distance.  And cider.  Mmm. .    sweet, flavorful cider in the country. 

So many sights and smells, sounds and feelings accompany autumn days in Michigan.  The changing of the seasons give reasons for rejoicing that we are alive.  To be of service to others.  To care for our children and elderly parents.  To protect and be companions to our beloved pets.  To be who we truly are.  Each and every day.  In every way.  There are reasons for seasons, and authenticity, gratitude and kindness are among the chief ones.

Suzy, my love, I miss you dearly.  Sincerely.  Today we'd be going for a long walk.  Along the river, over a bridge and down by the old mill stream.  You'd frolic over hill and dale with me chuggin' on to keep up. You led the way to fun and freedom.  Your boundless spirit igniting my hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow.  You were the wick in my candle, the flame in my darkness, the light of my life.

You were my autumn, winter, spring and summer.  For, in all seasons you were all the reasons I needed to be me, happy and free.  And, I thank thee!

Unconditional Love

In a book I'm currently reading, entitled, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, by Parker Palmer, he says, "The people who help us grow toward true self offer unconditional love, neither judging us to be deficient nor trying to force us to change but accepting us exactly as we are.  And yet this unconditional love does not lead us to rest on our laurels.  Instead, it surrounds us with a charged force field that makes us want to grow from the inside out--a force field that is safe enough to take the risks and endure the failures that growth requires."  P. 60.

So it was with Suzy.  No matter if I was up and happy or down and sad, Suzy always made me feel glad we were together, and nothing much mattered after that.  By providing such acceptance and love, she always made me feel glad to be alive.  She exuded such joy that my heart sang any time I was around her.  Some people have that effect on others, too.  Have you ever noticed?  It takes a special person (and a special pet) to radiate that kind of warmth and kindness.  Truly, from the heart and a rarity at that.

The poet, Rainer Maria RIlke wrote of "the love that consists in this, that two solitudes protect and border and salute each other."  P. 62  In other words, each person respects and trusts the other in conversation and in solitude.  Without trying to judge, fix or criticize the other.  Let them be.  As they are.  Who they are.  Suzy did this for me and I for her.  We respected each other totally and completely and were free to be who we truly were.  For this I thank her most appreciatively.

She taught me more about life than any book, teacher, speaker or guru.  She taught me about the most precious quality of all:  how to love and be loved. 

Truth

Deep in our hearts we all know the truth.  Our own truths. It matters not what others say or think.  For the beating to the rhythm of our own hearts will always tell us the true story.  They cannot be ignored.

Suzy and I shared a truth unlike any other.  We both knew and felt the abundant love that was ours and ours alone. Like lovers, we felt a connection unlike any other.  It was bold and strong.  Lasting and long. For 14 years, every moment of every day.  We shared a love that fulfilled us in every way.  In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, we had it all because we had love-wealth.

YOU
ARE
MY
SUNSHINE.
MY ONLY
SUNSHINE.
YOU
MAKE
ME
HAPPY
WHEN
SKIES
ARE
BLUE.
YOU'LL NEVER
KNOW DEAR
HOW MUCH
I LOVE YOU.
PLEASE DON'T
TAKE MY
SUNSHINE
AWAY. . . .

Suchness

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.

Rumi - Poet




We come into this world
For only a flash.
Encounter family, first
At the beginning of our path.

Then, friends we make
Along the way,
Some grow closer
With each passing day.

The pets who come into our lives
Stay such a short time
Yet ever by our sides.

Do what you love
Each and every day,
For autumn is upon us
As we make our way.

Be Yourself

Have you ever wondered who you really are?  Do you have different faces or voices with other people or situations?  Do you think that's normal?  Is it, for you?




Have you ever been with someone who brings out the best in you?  Someone with whom you feel totally yourself and at ease?  What does that feel like?  When is it?  With whom? 

Do you feel better amongst animals than people?  Why might that be?  Is it about being criticized and judged?  Or accepted for who you truly are, warts and all, anytime, all the time?  No matter what?  Have you ever thought about these things?  What do you tell yourself?  When is life happy?  When is it sad?  When do you feel upset or mad?  Does your dog care?  Does your cat even look up? 

If life is short (and it is!) then do you want to wear masks or be yourself?  All the time?  Does it feel more comfortable to let your hair down and not be judged?  Is love and acceptance a two-way street?  Do you have to give love to get love?  Does it matter?  What does?

Are our pets our closest companions and truest loves?