Oct 22, 2023

Living in Unconditional Love (137)

 

“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.

10/22/2023                             It has become cooler, but still no frost. The long-range projection talks about it being in frost range the week after this, down to the low 30s. I have been able to enjoy the flowers much longer than usual, and it is nice to be able to walk around and enjoy a couple of late daylilies, plus the fall blooming bulbs that are always enjoyable. The leaf color is a bit muted this year, and that seems to be everywhere in the northeast as it was noted in the paper. Still nice, a couple of weeks late, and not as bright as other years. I finally turned on the furnace as I use the heat pump for upstairs, but it was becoming a bit too cool (60) downstairs. It now feels comfortable in the bedrooms and family room downstairs.

Still no work on the patio, and I am becoming a bit concerned, but it will happen sometime. It has been raining over weekend, and last night it was coming down hard but no leak in the skylight, so I believe it has been sealed.

I have failed to take my blood pressure for several weeks (I should take my blood pressure a couple of times a week), and when I visited my dermatologist this week it was way over my upper limit. I have taken it for a few days since then and it is still reading high, so I will call my primary on Monday, and see what they want to do. I have an appointment to see her around mid-November, but it is at a level that concerns me.

I mowed the front lawn perhaps for the final time this year. It is not growing quite as fast, and I will watch it to see if one more cut is needed. The final cleanup still must be done, the garden lilies need digging and replanted, and a few other things are left to do, besides the patio. It is supposed to be nice but cool this week, so maybe some of it will be accomplished.

I am saddened by the state of much of the world that is in so much pain, and it seems to be becoming worse. Humanity seems to go through cycles every century or so that becomes very disquieting. Periods of relative peace, then a period of greed and war, where the poor everywhere are in turmoil. Compounding the human toil that sees to go with humanity is the conservation failure that is setting up our wonderful planet for a period of catastrophic seasons of weather. We appear to be in a down cycle that occurs every century and the world is suffering greatly. We are being called to give more freely, if possible, to help our neighbor during this time of natural and human-made calamities.

Meditation

 

Gentle One we call on You to ease our pain during this cycle. Help us to see (and move away from) our blind hatred that fills our ears and causes so much physical and mental pain. Fill our lives with grace to give our light and love to others so that we may share the goodness You have shared with us. We have so much and yet we waste so much of the goodness provided. Forgive us our greed and selfishness and fill our being with love and your peace that passes all understanding.