An interesting question. Just last night I dreampt of a girl I have not seen or thought of for years. Linda Strickland, a friend from long ago came to mind and we went on a date. Interesting since we were never in that sort of relationship, althought I wouldn't have minded it. I woke up this morning wondering why I had drempt of her.

How nice it is to see the sun. It is in he fifties today and the sun it shining. I just returned from a trip to see my two daughters who live in Michigan. It was a whirl wind trip and those are always rough. Ten hours in the car each way with one day to visit.

This trip was so my daughters could throw a wedding shower for my son and his intended. Although we all love each other and wish we could spend more time together, there were a few frayed nerves as well. It’s hard to have four families under one roof and not get in each others way a bit. The trick is to give each other space to be who we are as human beings.

It reminds me of a wonderful book I am reading currently called Boomeritis, by Ken Wilber. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. It is about, as far as I can see, how we need to progress beyond the people we are, living in a level of development that is non-integrating of other peoples. In other words, we’ll kill each other if we don’t learn to get along. We need to come to a point where we understand that it is all right to be different, that each level of development, each point of view has something to contribute. No it won’t be one hundred percent correct, and neither is our own.

In this global world we live in, where we are so involved in each other’s lives, there must be a level of understanding and integrating of each other or we will regress and come to a point where all we want to do is annihilate each other. We must come to see that our religions and our philosophies can be used to bring us closer together instead of further apart.

In a family, do we not have to give a little in order to get along? The same is true in the world. We must become integral is we are to live. We must rise above our narrowness in order to have a real sense of God.

 

I think it interesting how many people stand on the margins of life, wanting to join in, but always feeling more the spectator than the participant. Unfortunately, I include myself in this, much of the time.

Why are we afraid to join in? I see hits on my blog, but no one says anything. No agreement, no argument. What I see must be either fear to say anything or apathy. Either one is sad.

I often do the same thing. I will read something or hear someone say something and instead of joining in the conversation, wither written or spoke, I keep my opinions to myself and choose not to add to life, but subtract from it.

Let's all try a little harder to be more active in this thing we call life. Let's try to join the party.

Tomorrow brings eternity. So does the next moment.

God is a cup of tea. God and I are enjoying the morning. I sip God and I feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit.

 

What is God? Have you ever sat and thought about what exactly you think God is? Is God a white haired old man sitting on a throne in some far away heaven? Is God some sort of spirit thing that resides in everything, rocks air and creatures?

Our upbringing probably has a lot to do with how we imagine God. If we were born into a family who worships God as an anthropomorphic being, then we view him/her in one way. If we were born into a family that believes God to be more along the Pagan lines, then we see God as something quite different.

The question is, have you ever really searched for God leaving behind all your preconceived ideas about what might be at the other end of the search? It can be very unsettling, but also very interesting.

 

It has been a rugged couple of days. My wife and I have been going through some rough stuff. Our lives have not been easy and sometimes it gets us down. This has been the way it has been through the Easter week-end. It came to a head for me last night in the middle of the night.

Yesterday, Sunday, I was getting ready to start church and because of discussions, my wife and I had had the night before, I was not really feeling up to doing the whole thing. It is my habit to go into the back of the church somewhere and spend time in prayer and meditation asking for the right words to say and that sort of thing. Yesterday I needed that guidance more than ever. I stood there holding a cup of tea and praying and nothing was coming. I might clarify, that I don't usually get voices from the heavens telling me what to do, but I do get the sense of the Infinite within me and a sense of where I'm going and what I should say. Yesterday I got nothing. I stood silently waiting and the only thing that came was, "Drink tea, Breathe." I felt that this would probably work well for Thich Nhat Hanh, but not for me. I asked again and got the same thing, "Drink Tea, Breathe." Well, I did and I made it through the service. That wasn't the end of it, however.

After the service we, my wife and I, sat in the empty church and talked. It is our favorite time. It is quiet and nothing is expected of us. Anyway, we talked about what we should do. Should we stay, even though the church is struggling and we are struggling financially and emotionally? We love the community we are in and all, but we are not getting any younger and we barely make ends meet. We decided that we wanted to stay, but that we certainly needed to change our way of doing things. The question was, how?

At around twelve last night, or should I say this morning, I was awakened and could not go back to sleep. I kept hearing, "Drink tea, Breathe." I knew instinctively that it meant more than just be calm. It was a direction.

I got up and went into my office and began to write. What I came up with is a challenge for myself, a vow to take. For the time from one Easter to the next I will make certain changes in my personal and professional behavior. I will follow certain precepts and do certain things each and every day. I will journal my progress and see where it leads me in this time from one Easter to another. Perhaps I have been given this by my own subconscious in an effort to make the changes in myself that I feel I need to make. Perhaps it is given to me by the Infinite, from God. Whatever the reason, whomever I received it, I will see where it leads.