ABIDING BY THE LIGHT

Remember always that you are just a visitor here, a traveler passing through. Your stay is but short and the moment of your departure unknown. None can live without toil and a craft that provides your needs is a blessing indeed. But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you and you will be denied the joy that comes from labour´s end. Speak quietly and kindly and be nor forward with either opinions or advice If you talk much this will make you deaf to what others say and you should know that there are few so wise that they can not learn from others Be near when help is needed but far when praise and thanks are being offered. Take small account of might , wealth and fame, for they soon pass and are forgotten. Instead nurture love within you and strive to be a friend to all. Truly compassion is a balm for many wounds. Treasure silence when you find it and while being mindful of your duties set time aside to be alone with yourself. Cast off pretence and self-deception and see yourself as you really are. Despite all appearance no one is really evil. They are led astray by ignorance. If you ponder this truth always you will offer more light rather than blame and condemnation. You, no less than all beings, have Buddha Nature within. your essential mind is pure. Therefore when defilement causes you to stumble and fall, let not remorse nor dark fore-Bonding cast you down. Be of good cheer and with this understanding, summon strength and walk on. Faith is like a lamp and wisdom it is that makes the flame burn bright. Carry this lamp always and in good time the darkness will yield and you will abide in light.

Dhammavadaka

"NO BOGIE HERE"

IT’S BEEN SEVERAL DAYS SINCE MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS MAN WHO WAS SCHEDULED FOR THE CHALLENGE OF HIS LIFE. HE HAD ARRIVED AT A CROSSROAD THAT UNBEKNOWNST TO HIM WAS GOING TO EXPOSE A TAPESTRY OF HIS LIFE. THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM BEGAN A PROCESS OF EXAMINATION AND INTROSPECTION OF THAT TAPESTRY REFLECTING ON THOSE 84 YEARS, CONSIDERING WHAT WOULD LIFE AND CERTAINLY THEIR LIVES LOOK LIKE WITHOUT HIM IN IT. OPEN HEART SURGERY IS NOT WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT ELEMENTS OF RISK. ANYTIME A SURGEON CRACKS THE RIB CAGE, TAKES AN ARTERY FROM ANOTHER PART OF THE BODY, STOPS THE FLOW OF BLOOD SO THAT LIFE LINES WILL CONTINUE; ONE MUST BE CONCERNED. AND DURING THAT TIME WE RELIED ON THE WONDERS OF MODERN MEDICINE AS ANOTHER MACHINE PINCH HIT FOR HIM. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT HE EVER NEEDED A “PINCH HITTER”. THE SKILL OF THE SURGEON JUMP STARTED HIS LIFE. IT WASN’T THAT BLOOD WAS RESTORED TO FLOW IN THIS MAN’S VEINS, BECAUSE IT’S NOT BLOOD THAT FLOWS IN GUYS LIKE HIM, IT’S THE LOVE OF HIS FAMILY, HIS CHILDREN, GRAND CHILDREN, GREAT GRAND CHILDREN AND MOSTLY HIS COMPADRE’, HIS PASSION, HIS BRIDE, HIS DELORES. IF ONE ADHERES TO THE TEACHINGS OF PLATO, A “SOUL MATE” IS TWO HALVES OF A WHOLE PERSON-EACH HALF NEEDING TO FIND THE OTHER TO BE WHOLE OR COMPLETE, THEN THEY HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER.

THIS WEEKEND IS THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE. IT WON’T BE COMPLETE AND COULDN’T BE A SUCCESS WITHOUT HIS PRESENCE IN HIS “EMMETT KELLY’ CLOWN PERSONA. TIME WILL PASS, HIS REHAB CONTINUES UNTIL THE DAFFODILS HAVE BLOOMED, THE FORSYTHIAS BUDDED OUT, AND THE LAST VESTIGE OF WINTER HAS FADED. SPRING WILL HAVE ARRIVED AND ALL THE FAMILIAR SOUNDS THAT COME WITH IT WILL COMMENCE. THE FAMILIAR PARRYING OF THE MEADOWLARK, THE REPETITIVE CHIRP OF THE CARDINAL, AND THE UNNERVING WAIL OF RICH ON THE 14TH…….....”FORE”. IT’S TIME TO TEE UP!!!

"You Gotta Have Heart"

As his strength is stretched for the most significant test of his life and the demands that have challenged him, I think of the words to this song….”you gotta have heart, all you really need is heart”. Or maybe I should be saying, “you gotta have Rich”. For without that effervescent smile-you know the one that lights up a room that is predictable as a 5 yr. old on Christmas Day, we’d all have a lot less delight in our lives. We’d struggle with mediocrity and the undeniable fact that his life has brought a sense of fulfillment to those that know him. He’s led by his example of unequivocal love and devotion to his one true love and not just his children, but grand children, and now great grand children. There’s a manifestation about his life that one could look at as patently bland. But I’m not using bland in a monotonous, or uninspiring trait, but actually one of simplification and strength. He is not one of fanfare or tooting his own horn, unless of course he’s birdied the 15th, or sunk that 18 footer. He adores his life, his family and his God. And with that creed, all good things have come to him. You couldn’t write it much simpler than that.

I think of the words to another song that inspires me about this man;
“turn on your heartlight, let it shine wherever you go, let it make a happy glow, For all the world to see”.
And as he wheeled into the operating room tomorrow morning, I’ll not be saying just a prayer for him, but I’ll also be saying a prayer for the surgeon, that he knows what a gift he has been given today to bring not just blood flowing through this man's veins, but life as well and that God guides his hands into the very soul of this man and “turns on his heartlight, so that it will continue to shine for all the world to see”. For you see... “You Gotta Have Rich”.