END OF AN ERA

OK..., here it is... the final blog on blog spot.

The first one was February 12th, 2011, and almost every weekday since then... 

It's been a long time.

And I'm going to let Walt Whitman close it down for me.

I discovered him in college and have always found his writing to be

Lyrical, and also inspiring, and pointing to TRUTH...  so...

Here's Walt:

"You are asking me questions and I hear you,

I answer that I cannot answer, you must find out for yourself.

Sit a while dear son,

Here are biscuits to eat and here is milk to drink,

But as soon as you sleep and renew yourself in sweet clothes, 

I kiss you with a goodbye kiss and open the gate for your egress hence.

Long enough have you dream'd contemptible dreams,

Now I wash the gum from your eyes,

You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life.

Long have you timidly waded holding a plank by the shore,

Now I will you to be a bold swimmer,

To jump off in the midst of the sea, rise again, nod to me, shout, and

Laughingly dash with your hair."

That's all, folks!

PEACE OUT.

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GARDEN PHILOSOPHY

"My garden is my favorite teacher."

~ Betsy Canas Garmon ~

I have never lived in a place long enough to see how the gardens I plant

Work out over time...

And now I am leaving a new batch of profuse plantings at our farm in Virginia-

Another leaving-

But so many of them are massive already!

There are Hollyhocks 9 feet tall!

And other plants that were thriving last year are rather smothered out this year

By the aggressive growing of neighbor plants that are on a roll.

Some things thrive in a garden, some get eaten mercilessly by bugs, or deer,

And others die.

But it's a never ending evolution of gracious harmony in the growing and the thriving and the dying

All mixed with God's grace.

Plants experience the journey of life just like we do!

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WHAT KIND OF GOODBYE?

"So long, fare thee well,

Pip, pip, cheerio..."

~ Oliver ~

Goodbyes come in all shapes and sizes.
There's goodbye with relief,
Goodbye with despair.
Goodbye for now, goodbye forever,
And goodbye until we meet again whenever that may be...
There are phone goodbyes,
In person goodbyes,
Quick ones, long ones, 
Ones with smiles,

Ones with tears...
And we are reaching a goodbye here.
After ten and a half years, only 2 more days of these blogs in this way.
Will it be goodbye forever when it's done?
Or see you tomorrow in a new way?
You have a choice.
To see you tomorrow, meaning after Wednesday, sign up HERE. 
And if it's goodbye forever, then happy trails to you, and glad

We got to stop a while together

On this path called 

Life. 

I decide how I say goodbye. 

OPENING WIDE

"Intuition... points the way."

~ Florence Scovel Shinn ~

Following flowing energy can satisfy the spirit more

Than checking items off a strategized, prioritized to-do list.

Getting things done is one thing,

And opening wide to life's curiosities and invitations 

Quite another. 

I look to see and feel to know.

THE BEAR

"We only part to meet again."

~ John Gay ~

A bear crossed the road in front of me as I came around a corner and

Down a hill, 

And, it being a quiet country road with no one behind me,

I stopped, and rolled down the car window to

Check him out: a big bear with lustrous black fur...

And he stopped too,

And turned his head to check me out.

We sat there together 

Looking at each other

In this extended 

PAUSE... 

And then I eased forward in the car, he turned and started moving off into the woods.

And the moment was over.

Driving away, I felt shifted by it, 

Gifted by it,

And one with 

Life. 

Our days are a series of magical encounters. 

MAKING SENSE

"Logic: The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding."

~ Ambrose Bierce ~

When things don't make sense to us, it's natural to want 

To find an explanation or a "reason"

That will make them

Make sense....

At least to our brains, if not our hearts. 

It's because of this, and that.

"Oh, ok."

It always feels better when things make sense.

And yet, so many things-

And people-

Just

Don't.

I'd rather admit to not understanding than forcing logic onto something that is intrinsically non-sensical.  

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SHOWING UP

"Silentness is not silence."

~ Jose Garcia Villa ~ 

We can be carried along pretty merrily by life,

And be feeling pretty good:

Solid, confident,

And then something comes along to derail us.

It never fails.

And the only thing to do then is to

Feel the feelings.

Identify the misperceptions,

Remember who we really are, and

Keep showing up.

I watch myself being disturbed, and trust the learning that will come.