where the wind blows

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” This exchange reminds me of the one Jesus has with Martha and Mary. He reminds Martha that it is good to be about the business of hearkening to his call. Martha was caught by the demands of the domestic scene, and was disturbed that Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to him rather than helping her in the kitchen. (Wow, that word 'kitchen' is a weird word now that I look at it. I use that word all the time too!) Spiritual wisdom in this scripture, to me? How am I hearkening to the Spirit? Am I letting dead things in my life loom larger than life? Look for the spark waiting to be fed and feed it...

feast of the angels

Today is Sept 29 and on our church calendar, it is the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. One is the defender, one is the announcer and one is the healer. (That's my own summary)"These angels are manifestataions of God's gracious love, care and concern for each one of us." "God's strength" -Gabriel, one who brings great messages. Raphael, "God's remedy/God's healing". These angels remind us that God never leaves aus alone. God always accompanies us on our journey.
Michael- "one who is like unto God". Raphael is the angel who protects travelers and the patron saint of the sick. A friend told me recently that her best friend is her daughter's guardian angel. Another friend told me she blesses the outside of the airplane as she boards the plane and invites her guardian angels to step out onto the wings and travel with her until she safely lands. What angels are a part of your life? I can think of many friends who've been my angels, and who still are.

last days of September

Pete is napping. He spent some time in John Muir Hospital on Sat. night following a dramatic episode with dehydration. He's in recovery now. This weekend was very hot and he spent time working on a flagstone path outside in it. Neither John nor I were home to advise him to come indoors. Dehydration is NOT pretty. Our bodies are not impervious to abuse, and after days and days of heat and maybe too much coffee, too little water/electrolytes... who knows? Thank heaven for emergency rooms, paramedics, drs., nurses, IV fluids, anti nausea medicine.. Pete is on the mend. Before the sun reached its zenith on Saturday I went out into the yard and collected flowers,vegies and strawberries before they all succumbed to the heat. I wish I'd taken as good care of Pete!!

"the prayer"

Pete and I visited the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford on Sunday. We didn't get to go to church, but we did see a collection of Rodin scultpures. The only other Rodin collection I've seen is at the Legion of the Palace of Honor in San Francisco. Sunday, though, sitting under a tree on artist Bruce Beasley's bench looking out upon a dozen Rodin sculptures the word "profundity" came to mind. Why is it that his art is so moving to me? He's a GENIUS. This particular piece shown in the picture is called "The Prayer" ... it provoked an imagining of a small French woman kneeling in prayer ... that gesture that is familiar to some of us, that has kind of gone by the wayside... I experienced a little communion with her! Her kneeling, for me, acknowledges that there is great dignity in acknowledging that God is God and we are not. The fact that this kneeler is not quite upright, and seems to be in mid-kneel adds energy/movement to the work. She appears to be young, still strong, and still she is prayerful. What might she be praying for? Somehow, this structure conveys more about the life of the Spirit for me than do images of saints on holy cards. Right after I took this picture, a young family appeared with two little ones. The 4 yr old girl wanted to climb on the statue, and grandpa seized the opportunity to take a picture. Dad ended up picking the little girl up and placing her so that her head filled the void on the statue. She was all smiles and chatter in her pink and green party dress. Her little brother picked up gravel from the ground and threw it at the prayer. After the encounter with the statue was finished and the toddlers scampered off, I glimpsed the mother gently brushing the gravel off of the pedestal beneath the prayer. Reminded me of the times I have knelt in church with little boys climbing under and over, coloring in coloring books on the pew behind me. No matter what, keep on praying... (I think St. Paul said something like that... pray without ceasing?) Auguste Rodin, merci!

autumn solstice

another sept. 21st has come and gone and it's now as light as dark .. the light is diminishing. The beauty of the light diminishing is that we can rest our eyes. We can rest our eyes. And while our eyes are resting, we can look with different eyes perhaps and see more subtley. Perhaps we can see those things that lie hidden or lie in the recesses, in the shadows... I had a thought tonight at the dinner table. For some reason in the middle of the night I was caught by this image of the Aleuts scrubbing the gravestones of their deceased on the island to which they had been exiled during WWII. Members of their family had died while in exile and had been buried on a strange island and the family had returned years later to pay their respects to their dead. To do that, they had brought water and buckets of soapy water and scrub brushes and they carefully and tenderly scrubbed the headstones at the gravesites. The gesture speaks volumes about honoring the memory of our beloved dead. This struck me as very very lovely!! In our culture, the gesture i am aware of is the placing of plastic flowers at gravesites. Maybe because I value clean, I prefer the scrubbing gesture more. Anyway, i thought that maybe a way of honoring those things that have died in my life... dreams, friendships, people, false notions.. could benefit from my imagiining that gesture .. my scrubbing with water and soap and scrub brush those things that have died in my life. in the process I acknowledge that something has died and that while it was a part of my life, I honor it. This gesture, in effect, blesses that thing that has died and allows it to rest, freeing me to be alive to what is next.

back together again

I got to see Robbie and his team for the first time since mid August. It was clear that they had been working hard and that they are a real TEAM. I remember being a member of our crew team in college... becoming a team. We saw eachother at our worst and at our best. That's how I fell in love with them. There will always be a special place in my heart for Christina, Christine, Rosanne, Candy, Daria, Sarah, Terri, Bonnie, and Ellen. I've stayed in touch with two in particular and hear about three or four more of them. I'm glad Robbie is having the experience of being a part of a bigger enterprise. Go Sagehens! and Go Gaels! I'm thanking God for the parents of the Sagehens too.. for providing the boys with whom Robbie shares team.

more thoughts on aging

While previous studies inferred that elderly people’s bleak language was a natural response to painful experiences, Prof. Matsumoto’s research offers an opposing perspective. She conjectures that though humor seems out of place when talking about difficult experiences, laughing with friends helps to diffuse the pain. “With your friends, you can have fun together and talk about normal things. You laugh, and it makes you happier – you can return to a more normal feeling quickly. Not every moment has to be terrible. If you can’t laugh, you’re limiting yourself.”

hear, hear!!! I'm still looking for info on how to age with grace, wisdom and HUMOR/GOOD ATTITIDE. I cam e across this on the Stanford University website.