Apr 21, 2024

Living in Unconditional Love (163)

 

“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.

04/21/2024                             The past week did not start off well. Sunday evening as I was returning home from dinner as is my usual Sunday routine, a cat darted out on my left in my road at the most dangerous point, a sharp left-hand turn on a steep portion. I jerked the wheel, and the front went over the edge of the road, where there is a very deep ditch, and the edge gave way and I found myself in the ditch, sitting at about a thirty-degree angle (I did say it was deep, as the spring run-off can be very bad). I was not hurt, except my pride. I called AAA and got pulled out, but the passenger side is a mess. I am now driving a rental until the car is fixed.

Sigh!

Many cars have gone over the edge at that point over the years, and I see one or two every year, but usually in the winter when it can get icy.

But on the positive side, spring is here, and we have had many April showers. The daffodils are blooming wildly and provide a beautiful view. If it dries out, I may even mow this week, as the grass is leaping. Certainly, sometime in the next two weeks I will mow the main and upper lawns. I suspect I won’t be able to mow the lower area for several more weeks, as I believe it is really wet and soft and I would get bogged down. Tim, my handyman, reported last week that he could not even walk there as it was too muddy. The temperatures are typical for this time of the year, reaching into the low 60s or upper 50s during the day and dropping into the 30s at night, sometimes even lower.

The bonsai have been outside since my birthday last week, and they are just starting to bud out. They are still against the house, not just to keep them out of the direct sun but to help a bit if the temperature drops below freezing (they are all plants that can take cold weather). They all look good after the winter, but I won’t know for sure until (hopefully) they leaf out. I will start fertilizing them in a week or so.

I still find the wonders of spring to be a miracle in the broadest sense. The seeds germinate and grow, the dead grass turns green and livens up, the trees turn purple and then green as the leaves appear, and life becomes joyful and filled with bird song over a couple of months. The spring flowers appear, and life just sparkles. While still cool, it is no longer cold. It has been raining much of the time, but we could use the moisture to shore up the water tables. I really enjoy the coming of spring and would not want to miss this time of year. Of course, much of the enjoyment is because of winter. I missed the end of winter when I went to Peru, but seeing the family was worth it, and the dreary end of winter is not a pleasant time.

I find my daily visit with God in my quiet time in the morning gives me time to ponder the view from my window and to rejoice in the beauty of nature. I often ponder at the alignment of all the elements of the universe over the 14 billion years that have permitted this little piece of the universe, sitting in an arm of billions of stars to have the ideal qualities over four billion years that resulted in humanity rising with the ability to understand at least a part of the process that brings life. Many scientists are of the opinion that the odds of things being just so that reasoning beings arise is so slim that we may be the only reasoning beings in our galaxy, and perhaps even in the entire universe.

But here we are.

Meditation

Gentle One, I give my life to You in gratitude and love for the wonders of life You have bestowed on us. Your guidance in my life has been the cornerstone of my being and brought me back from the edge time and time again. Each day is a gift of love where I find wonders beyond counting, especially at this time of year. For all these things I bow in gratitude.