Nov 16, 2025

Living in Unconditional Love (243)

 

“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.

11/16/2025                             The trip to Lima was uneventful and all is well. It was with great joy and excitement that we greeted all late on Wednesday. Only Maria was awake, and she was very excited to see us. Maria is still in school until December 22. The other two are now home as more time for childhood has been decided. We landed at the new airport located across town from the old one. Everything looked bright and was easy to get around.

The weather is a little cool, with the highest reaching about 70 or slightly more with a stiff breeze all the time. I wear a jacket when out.

The kids are full of energy and Barbara is kept busy with them. I am the observer. They have changed the layout of the living room since I was here last time. They exchanged the positions of the fireplace and mirror to put the dining room table in a preferred spot. The new dining room table with a marble top is being made and should be here before I leave.

Lima is a huge city, with highways up to four lanes each way and expressways crossing the city to ease traffic flow. Magnificent store fronts are everywhere, and the electronic billboards fill much of the view. They keep large parks open and very clean. I saw a someone from the city picking up trash on one of the sidewalks at 9 PM. I forget the size of everything, but it holds over 11 million people. You can drive for an hour, and it is still densely populated with large buildings shopping malls.

One of the large department stores was fully pumping Christmas with music, trees, and all. Others have not started that yet. But without Thanksgiving in the way that leaves time for an early Christmas. Yes, people were shopping, especially toys. The selection was impressive.

I find that I am not quite as able to get around, and spaces are large. The shopping malls are huge, and very bright, but it is tiring to walk that much.

I am going to ignore the sad events at home but contain them in my prayers.

Meditation

Gentle One, I place all joys and all sorrows into Your hands to hold with love. I am amazed at the beauty of Your creation and relish the sights that I see. I ask for blessings on all that cross my life, especially the thousands I see in their everyday life. It is only in these locations can I realize the extent of human activity and work and joy. It is awesome to see so much joy and laughter in the world.