Tuesday, November 13
An e-mail from Diana, who is now firmly reensconced in Dallas. She wrote:
"Last night was the dreaded hearing for my neighborhood association. We had applied to join the ____________, which is the city's consortium of neighborhood organizations, and a couple of other neighborhood orgs objected to our joining, so a hearing was called. The hostility was so thick in the room, it was truly chilling. My strategy was to pretend that these hateful people were throwing a nice party for us, and I made it a point to graciously say Hello to everyone, even the ones who were trying to avoid saying Hello, and to introduce myself nicely to all those present whom I did not know or recognize.
The evening began like a walk to an execution. But we did so well that the whole atmosphere changed, became more relaxed and even friendly, as the event ended. We didn't win over any enemies, I would guess. But we DID seem to shift the dark mood, quite noticeably. The decision about our joining hasn't yet been announced. I'll be surprised if we are accepted, because after all, we ARE up against the status quo. But even so, I think that the Light prevailed last night.
Diana"
Thursday, November 22
Thanksgiving Message
Thomas Merton once wrote that a simple "thank you" to God is one of the best prayers we could ever say.
We all have so much to be grateful for. Many of us have forgotten the immensity of the Gift of Life itself. We take so much for granted, when seen and unseen miracles are all around us, every second of every day.
May we all come closer to God and the soul this coming year, experience and Live that Divine Wonder and Gratitude.
Monday, November 26
I see I never posted the Thanksgiving message. So much to do and so little time ...
Diana is still busy catching up on other projects back in Dallas; I have barely even looked at the next volume, Visits With Angels. Raked leaves; caught up on e-mails. Had Thanksgiving with Sarah & her family, the Reids, who direct the Ithaca Ballet. Sarah’s mother, Alice Reid, began the Ithaca Civic Ballet with Vergiu Cornea in 1959. Sarah & her three sisters Nan, Lavinia & Cindy all danced with the Ithaca Ballet; Lavinia became a choreographer & teacher; Cindy is now the artistic director of the Ithaca Ballet & teaches the dancers in the company. When we were all younger, holidays at the Reids usually ended with the dancers trying out new or old choreography in the living room after dinner. Often we would watch videotapes of the company’s last performance with Sarah and her sisters dancing along, discussing the performance and the choreography ...
This year, Nan & her husband J. were in town; Cindy was there & Lavinia came up from Pennsylvania - & Sarah & Chris.
Before dinner J. and I began talking, and I asked him if he wanted to learn to meditate; J. is a scientist, a physicist, and teaches at a large university. Later I learned that Sarah had been trying to get him to meditate for many years. I taught him how to meditate in Alice’s bedroom, the only downstairs room not filled with people. Alice had her bedroom radio tuned to classical music, we could hear everyone speaking in the other rooms - & at one point M. was looking for me and calling my name. Nonetheless, J. fell into a deep meditation; when we had finished meditating, he was surprised that twenty minutes had passed. To him it had seemed like a much shorter time ... Those first meditations are generally very deep, because one is stepping into a new world, and it takes our entire attention.
Later, at dinner, I saw his Light spread across the table ... It lit everyone there. Even if dear J. never meditates again, his entire life will change. And so will the lives around him.
My favorite story about someone’s first meditation was my friend D. I taught her to meditate one afternoon, many years ago. Afterwards she looked crestfallen, and she said that nothing had happened in her meditation, nothing at all. Then she asked: "What were those beautiful, resonant bells that were ringing towards the end of the meditation? I’ve never heard anything like them." And she began gazing around the room, looking for them. I laughed - there were no physical bells ringing ... Those bells came from within her own being.
No matter how many hours a day I work, I just can’t seem to get caught up ... Meanwhile, I try to enjoy every second.
Sunday, December 2
Our first snow. Several inches. The small statue of Saint Francis and the deer wearing a hat and mantle ....
