The Benedictine monastic community I lived with for 18 months after my divorce when I had to figure out how to live the remainder of my life. Now I attend Eucharist with them and on Fridays I give massage to those who request it. They are an aged community and I bear witness to the commitment they spent their long lives to. I am grateful for their kindness to me at a time my life shattered.

I am reminded of a quote by Marcel Proust: The real voyage of discovery consisted not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Nothing on this physical realm stays the same. As it ages it loses elasticity, dries up……????????and then we die and get a new one!!????????

Some things should not be said and I ask for the wisdom to discern what is better left unsaid. I try to speak in a timely fashion so there aren’t lapses where I feel the need to go back to speak.
I suppose what I would say again is “I am sorry.” Sorry I let you down. Sorry you see me as you do……..

I am hoping to see kind people today as I stand outside Walgreen to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. It will be very cold (7*F).

As I sit in my chair, this moment is offering me an unclouded sky with the sun shining upon me, the wind blowing and I am grateful.

Life is not simple. Nothing in or about life is simple. As much as I would like to reduce everything, or nearly everything to a state of simplicity, I doubt it can be done.
What I can do is not make my life more complicated. I can accept life as it presents me with another moment and live it with as much integrity as I have in that moment. It is a full time job and sounds simple. Is it?

This website.

I don’t think it is fear that keeps me from doing anything. After watching much I had worked and live for disintegrat and seeing it did not destroy me completely, fear does not enter in my life in obvious ways that are easily recognizable. I am more apt not to do something because of lack of interest, or energy.

The reading of books and stories I only read between the day after Thanksgiving and December 31st.

Right now, I have time and money and I am able to give them to the Salvation Army as a bell ringer. I encourage everyone to put a little money in the bucket each time you see one. I always smile and greet each person who comes by, making eye contact whenever possible, and silently bless them much as the Ghost of Christmas Past did in Dickens’ Christmas Carol. I appreciate when people acknowledge my presence, even if they don’t give.

Interesting, Ed! Thanks for posting.

I kinda like “Happy Holidays!” as every day is a holi(holy) day!
I just put together coffee and a French cocoa package AND French marshmallows for my morning beverage! My body is exclaiming, “Alright, this time! Just don’t make it a habit!”
Cheers, Christina!

Ah, Grateful Sea, you are a breath of fresh air! A pleasure for us to be in YOUR company!

I think I have every book Buechner has written plus a couple of letters he wrote!

Blessings of bravery and peace be yours as you navigate your way thru this turbulence, Antoinette! Prayers and angels accompany you!

????

Oh, Malag, I know how it feels to miss a beloved pet!

Hi Christina. They are books I have read nearly every year, some dating back to when I was a teenager. Some were added when I was child rearing and read them aloud to my children, now I read them to myself. Too many to list!