What Are We Made For?

 “We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all. We all belong to this family, this human family, God’s family.” ~ Desmond Tutu

This is a lesson we have been given to contemplate this last tumultuous year. ALL deserve a seat at the table. Equity and justice are portions that must be poured equally into everyone's cups.  

At the moment we live in a scene from a Christmas card, i.e. we are nigh buried in snow. We enjoy feeding the birds and squirrels. Ian took out the snowblower again today and plowed a second path through the yard so the deer who visit every day aren't forced to choose between plunging through belly-deep snow or walking on the road. 

As the clock ticks toward Christmas, I watch the fire as it crackles in the fireplace and hope the world has a brighter 2021.  

Something's Got to Stop Us Now

Anyone else fearful that those of us who want this madness to stop are going to be trampled by those who value profit above all life on Earth?  

  

Pray for yourself and for God's sake say one for me. 

Someone's got to stop us now. No one's going to stop us now. 

Save us from us, Gaia. 

Same Old Same Old

We could talk it to death, but it always comes down to the same thing. Why do we complicate it, run from it, fear it, make more (or less) of it? Beats me. In this culture we're often sent mixed messages about loving others. While we hear people who love others praised, it is looked on as suspect by many - "What does he/she want from me?" So frequently we are not allowed to love in the Greek sense of "friendship or brotherly love" or φιλία. Love is only spoken of and understood in the "eros" or sexual sense. But whatever the question, love is still the answer. 

A New Twist On the Oldest Chant

If you've ever sat in a meditation hall or temple with 150 other practitioners chanting a sutra you'll understand what a powerful experience it is. Maybe you've not had that chance, and it's not easily duplicated online. 

The Heart Sutra is foundational in Buddhism. It's chanted by Buddhists the world over, ending with the Sanskrit words:

Gaté, gaté, paragaté, parasamgaté. Bodhi! Svaha!

Which mean...

Gone, gone, gone over, gone fully over. Awakened! So be it! 

And refer to the experience of attaining enlightenment. These words are often chanted alone, as they are here, in an entirely new take by a young Japanese monk, Yogetsu Akasana. Listen and be blown away, even if you're not Buddhist, have never heard of the Heart Sutra, and could care less about any of it.

Simple

Who Knew? 

Love as a philosophy is simple, in practice not so much. All we can do is pick ourselves up and start over. Again and again. 

Who Knew Ole Willie Was a Zen Master?

Lots of fear in the air right now, lots of anxious people out there. Though I picked up the dratted C-19 at either the doctor's office or pharmacy during brief visits on the 10th of the month, I have survived. A little worse for wear to be sure, as I'm still having breathing difficulties which make it hard to lie down and sleep. I'm sure it will pass, as does everything eventually. 

Unable to do much of anything but sit and concentrate on my breathing, which after a while makes breathing more difficult, I turned to YouTube for some musical entertainment. 

Whatever you listen to, YouTube is eager to expand your musical horizons, which is why you find Willie Nelson popping up in the middle of your Bach Cantatas. 

Now I have nothing against Willie. I emphatically do not like C&W music, but having roots in Texas which stretch back to the 1700s I rather like Ole Willie. He could be one of my folks, minus the braids and the weed, which my puritanical ancestry precludes. You do know the definition of Puritanism?  Puritanism is that haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be enjoying themselves. But I digress. 

I was saying that I realized listening to Willie and his boy Lukas sing this song that Willie is a Zen Master. See if you don't agree. It's good to have a Master to turn to right now. Is there a Master in your life?

How Are You Coping With Social Distancing?

How’s this “Social Distancing” working out for you? I’m hearing different reactions from friends and family; for those who find social interaction difficult and fraught with anxiety the order to stay inside and away from others comes as a relief, for the extroverts who thrive on frequent contact with others it’s agonizing and anxiety-producing. 

The barrage of conflicting information on the COVID-19-all-the-time news channels doesn’t help. If you’re symptom-free can you go out if you stay away from everyone, or must you stay in? This changes by the hour. My own sense is that it is safer to stay in and protect yourself. 

Smokey's reaction to no cat fud!

We'd had very cold temperatures (-24 C, -11 F daytime highs) and heavy snow in the days leading up to the appearance of the first cases here. I had a doctor’s appointment and went to the pharmacy afterward. I am always careful to use hand sanitizer after visiting these places. But two days later I woke up with a very sore throat and a fever. I’d not yet done my grocery shopping for the week, which requires driving 26 miles and traipsing around a very large store. The pantry was empty, and we were down to a few cans of cat food and a few cups of dry food. 

That was 11 days ago and I’ve been ‘sick-like-dog’ in the meantime. Not C-19 thankfully, or so I’m assuming. I don’t have symptoms close enough to even call the hotline. Yes, I’ve coughed a bit, had some fever, it hurts to breathe. I didn’t sleep at all a couple of nights, just sat in my rocker with the heating pad, wrapped in a blanket and listened to a lot of music on YouTube. Drinking hot broth and taking handfuls of supplements, including those which help the immune system. 

I may have a mild case but if so I am protecting the rest of the population by staying in and away from everyone else. Leave the tests for people who have definite symptoms and really need medical care. Tony shows no signs of catching it so far, a good thing. We are both in the highest risk category, I’m over 70, he’ll be 80 on his next birthday and we both have serious medical conditions.  

I ordered my groceries online and bless him, Older Son drove a round trip of 150 km to deliver them to us. He brought them in and sat them on the kitchen floor wearing a mask and gloves, shoveled the walks and went on his sweet way. He’s a good boy.  

Thankfully as we’re happy with our own company as can be. We’re like a couple of old scholars sharing the same hut, each to his own side. When passing, we give each other a respectful bow, murmur Namaste and scurry past. (Where’s that laughing-until-you-cry emoji when you need it? We may be old but we’re not dead - yet.) However, I am too sick for that kind of fun right now dang it all. 

So, how are you coping with the social-distancing? You using the time to spring-clean, playing games with the kids, working on your juggling skills, going stir-crazy? Let me know. Being sick is so booorrring.