Dec 01, 2024

Living in Unconditional Love (195)

 

“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. Covid has proved to be a persistent problem, and many of the long-term effects are quite serious, and it has proven much more serious than flu.

12/01/2024                                                    Shees! December and soon the year will be over. I hope all had a good Thanksgiving, and the two celebrations I had with Barbara were wonderful. First, we went on Thursday to my son Tim’s family amidst snow and all. Much laughter and joy. Then we went to Mark and Jean (Rogers) Davidson’s vacation home on Saturday in Pa. where we celebrated with many members of the Rogers clan. There were 16 of us there, a smallish crowd for them but extended families change plans rapidly. It is interesting to watch as additions are made to the clan due primarily to marriage and the closeness of the family dynamics are forced to change. That is all part of a series of evolutionary steps that all families face.

We had more snow this week, but it did not require plowing, but close. It is truly cold (high in the 20s) so the snow is not melting as fast, I can see 3-4 inches on the deck and being cloudy compounds the issue. I noticed this morning that snow is covering the pond, so ice is there to a moderate degree. I have yet to put out the birdfeeder, but soon. My problem is with aging I can non longer look up very far and the hanger for the feeder is about eight feet up or just under. This means I must push the feeder up from the bottom without seeing it and hope it hooks on the proper hook. I may have someone put a cement block or more so I can stand higher and not have to strain or I will try one of my small stepladders.

We have started to put the Christmas decorations up in the house. The large crèche is up, and the entry hall is decorated, and I will slowly bring up the other things over the next two weeks and buy a wreath, such as the village for the coffee table. The tree will come in the weekend before Christmas, and we will decorate the tree Christmas eve. Right now, the tree is wrapped up in the garage, as it only needs to be unwrapped and plugged in, and it is ready for the decorations.

Meditations

Gentle One, the amazing gift of You will be celebrated once more. We once again see the unity of Godhood and materiality that is the real gift of Christmas. You have always been part of the cosmos, better, the cosmos has always been part of You, and the coming into humanity is the ultimate reality of truth. I am thankful for all You have done for all of us and rejoice with family and friends in the Love that is laid out so we can partake of Your Being with deeper understanding.