Sep 10, 2023

Living in Unconditional Love (131)

 

“Love flows from God to humans without effort:

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings-

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul,

Yet separate in form.”

–Mechtild of Magdeburg

 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years after we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill (not COVID), and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down almost two years.

09/10/2023                             Another busy week. Too much rain has made the building of the new patio difficult, and we are not happy with the first pouring that was done last Wednesday. It did not set properly and ran in weird ways, so it needs to be repaired. They will try topping it off and see if they can correct it, otherwise they will have to tear it out. We shall see.

This is LUMA weekend in Binghamton, and both Barbara and Janet are home, and my nephew Paul and Caroline Rogers came up to see it. LUMA is a fantastic light show where the beautiful buildings in downtown Binghamton are ‘mapped’ and then short (5-8 minutes long) movies are shown on the buildings. Many projectors are used, and one that I knew had 20 of the large projectors on a single building. Columns and windows become part of the show, sometimes even disappearing by the clever use of blending techniques, things like snakes’ wind around columns and move in and out of windows, and many wonderous acts performed. Companies from around the world compete for the most acclaim. I believe it is the only such show in the States, but there are several similar shows around Europe. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that many of the buildings in Binghamton are unique in the architecture stemming from over 100 years ago and make unique backdrops for the shows. It is only this one weekend, and the weather was not good last night and both Barbara and Janet came home early soaked, but Paul and Caroline arrived later in the evening after driving up from Long Island, and it had stopped raining, so they managed to see the later shows. It lasts until after midnight. Barbara and Janet usually stay until the end, both nights, as the later shows are less crowded. It is free (except for one indoor show), and many thousand jam the streets to watch, many coming from afar to see.

I will be going to Barbara’s place next weekend to attend a play. She is the assistant director and stage manager of this group of players, and they are doing “Arsenic and Old Lace”, a very funny play that I have enjoyed when I have seen it. They have performed this one before, many years ago, and I believe it was the first or second play I saw them do. I am looking forward to the play.

I am amazed that my life is so busy. While I can not get out as much as I used to (I do not feel capable of standing many hours outside even if the weather is good, but LUMA was wonderful when Eileen and I used to attend), but much is going on around me and I am part of it. It is always good to see family and the visits are good and vibrant and vitalize my life greatly.

Meditation

Gentle One, You have blessed and filled my life with joy (and a bit of recent frustration, but mostly joy) this week. Seeing loving family and being able to move around the beautiful grounds as we remembered the many years of enjoyment all had tasted while here. My life has been filled with wonderous joyful moments that keep me filled with love.