Full moon at the bus stop on my way to the coffee shop
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Rumi
It’s been cold, windy and gusty today. The sun has peaked in and out of a cloudy blue/gray sky. And, when the sun does break through everything lights up, glowing brilliantly. I found it to be a perfect day for reading. I’ve gained enough wisdom to know I’m unable to change the world or the people in it but I’m only able to change how I interact with the world and the people in it, which is far more important. It also follows that when I change, the world is changed in some small way.
Those who are dealing with the power of Nicole please be safe.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
Lao Tzu
Friday I turned on the new furnace. It worked nicely and quietly. The leaves are letting go as they embark on their final stage of this season in life. The Canada Geese are back in town. Had to scrape frost off the windshield on Saturday morning. The days are shorter and nights longer. Cold temperatures are replacing the cooler fall temperatures. Snow will arrive shortly. Changes.
I’m finding it more difficult to pull back warm blankets in the morning. It’s a fact I don’t handle the cold as I did in my younger days. I no longer stay up late but go to bed earlier and rise earlier. Conversations with high school classmates now includes medications we’re on. I now keep medication in a weekly pill dispenser. Both granddaughters are now married. Reality.
Yes, life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. The seasons of life along with the reality of life.
“What will it take for us to change so that other species like the greater sage grouse, the grizzly, the wolf, and the wolverine can live and thrive in peace? What will it take for us to honor what they need, instead of what we want?”
If any order is to be brought into the chaos of the modern world, if anything is to be salvaged from the wreckage and made the foundation of a better world in the future, this can only be done by those who have attained what Eckhart attained – loss of self and surrender to God in the Soul’s Ground. It is that, and that alone, which can produce real change, because in the last analysis the world can only be changed by changing the people who live in it.
Cyprian Smith, The Way of Paradox
Well, Emma said I was 37 minutes late for coffee this morning. I’ll not do that again!!! All kidding aside, I did sleep in late and arrived later than usual. And, her mocha tasted just just fine. I meet some friends at noon today and then been invited to a spring equinox celebration of Storytelling/Song/Poetry. I’ve never been to anything like this. I know three of the poets today so I will go see what it’s like.
We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos – the right moment – for a ‘metamorphosis of the gods’, of the fundamental principles and symbols. This peculiarity of our time, which is certainly not of our conscious choosing, is the expression of the unconscious man within us who is changing.
It’s Tuesday, close to noon. Awoke to overcast skies and a light mist. The weather along with the worldwide changes going on added a gloomy feel to the day. After quiet time I headed to Cups coffee to use the internet and enjoy a mocha but that didn’t happen. They fall under the statewide ban on the closing of restaurants and bars that went into affect yesterday. Because they are being impacted financially with our situation I bought a mocha and headed home. I will read a new book I received yesterday, journal a little, have more prayer and mediation time, listen to the silence and write this post. It’s a strange time.
The world looks strange to me this morning, almost unrecognizable and it is. However, I’m aware there is something different within me. I am seeing and feeling the world differently. I have been a solitary individual for many years now, choosing to spend a lot of time alone. However, knowing I can’t just go to a coffee shop and sit to read/journal/converse with the baristas, friends and a stranger is now not my choice. My feathers are ruffled. I don’t always deal well with the unexpected bump in the road or a pothole that wasn’t there yesterday. Daily changes in life require acceptance of the present moment and a shift in thinking and living. My task in life is to let go of what I think I think I need life to look like and live more solidly in the present moment. It’s a strange time.
