Living in Unconditional Love (251)
Jan 18, 2026
Living in Unconditional Love (251)
“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.
01/18/2026 I have completed making reservations for my annual trip to Peru to see Dan, Alesandra, and the three girls. It will be great to see them again even though I just saw them in early December. I am staying almost two months, mainly because the prices were almost triple what I expected to pay if I stayed just beyond Madison’s birthday on March 24th. The only break was a single day in April – the evening of my birthday, April 9th. I will return on the 10th. It is amazing to see one day, and one day only, have the lower price like what I have paid in the past. Dan priced out each day to see how it went, and it was consistently high except for that one day, immediately jumping back to the inflated price.
I will leave on Feb. 15th, arriving on the 16th, and staying until April 9, arriving home on the 10th. I will miss the early spring flowers, but the daffodils should still be good for almost all of April. I will help celebrate Maria’s 6th birthday on Feb. 21, strong remembrances of Eileen on the 22, (6 years!) and much noisy and fun time with the very active young ones. Plus, the always beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean from the living room.
Tim, Julie, and the family left Wednesday after they determined the house was breathable. I am now getting used to being alone again, but that is only until I leave for Peru in less than a month. The Christmas tree is still up as is the stable, but they are coming down this next week so everything will be back to normal when I leave. I do enjoy the lights and decorations of the tree and the beautiful figures and stable that brighten the living room.
The weather is cold and snowy. That leaves a truly beautiful scene of fresh fallen snow and crisp scenes. The bird feeder is quite busy, and I am glad to be able to keep them alive and warm.
Our poor world is in turmoil, as now T is demanding land that is not ours and threatening anyone who questions his imperious ways with tariffs. Hopefully we can pull him in with the elections this year, but I am fearful that so many in this country want to be king over all, like T is acting. His black shirt goons are masked and hidden from view while they ride roughshod over US citizens, even killing one and threatening to kill others – “Haven’t you learned?” is their motto.
Meditation
Gentle One, I pray for the pain of all who are undergoing starvation and other similar pain. Many are in agony and thousands are dying because one evil man now runs our poor nation. I pray for all who are suffering and ask for Your aid at this time.
