These kinds of “saying yes” questions to this and that baffle me at times. I’m thinking to myself, how can I be saying anything but an unconditional yes to my life? Because if I did so, that would be living less and dishonoring all that life is and has to offer. I will have a very long time to be dead. So I plan to bring on, unconditionally, a full-throttled yes to life as it comes right now.

I am certain though that others in this community will have varying ways of approaching this question and I will look forward to their take on it.
– Kevin

There are so many things all around us that rise to the level of being considered with “tenderness.” For me, the first order of tenderness to be mindful of is people. Here the needs are enormous. And attending to people with tenderness has been my life work thus far, in nearly every setting I find myself in. For me, it’s not a “how” but a “do.” And I start by paying attention. Sometimes it’s a matter of just being present to observe or be with another person. In my own mind I may ask, where is the hurt, what is the unmet need, or simply where is help needed most? These questions almost always place me where I need to be present to that which is tender in others.
– Kevin

I don’t know if “what touches me most” applies when encountering strangers. What “strikes” me most when meeting people I don’t know for the first time is that I am experiencing a fresh, and brand new feeling each and every time. Meeting this particular person, right here, right now, whether it’s for a moment or forever, is, I think a wonderful and unique human experience.

What touches me most upon meeting loved ones is entirely different. All of my senses land upon what is known, trusted, remembered and well, the person who is loved. It’s a home coming of sorts for the heart and entire being.

Whenever I am holding my camera, my eyes begin seeing anew and my heart begins feeling what I hope to capture as an image. Walking about at dawn, or sitting somewhere, anywhere, just looking around, with or without my camera, is the time when my senses are the most alive for sure.

Just yesterday, at exactly five weeks post-op from lower back surgery, I slowly and carefully dipped into the ocean for the first time this summer. It was a symphony of the senses all firing at once — for touch and skin, the sea-sounds, sight lines and briny ocean aromas. Feeling the need to be cautious I lasted one minute and it was grand.

When it comes to the proverbial question, “what is life,” the words of George Bernard Shaw have always spoke volumes to me:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw

I could easily feel guilty about the richness and bounty that is present in my own life. But that emotion serves nobody very well. Today’s Word for the Day by Eckhart Tolle, of acknowledging the good and abundance that I have in my life, serves as a better catalyst for focusing and acting in areas where social change is needed. I can afford to send a modest sum of money to support a badly needed project that benefits disadvantaged people. I have the time to show up on a Tuesday at nine with a protest sign somewhere. And because I live where I do, I can participate in my faith community, for worship and in our Quaker commitment to engage in social justice issues around town or around the world without fear of governmental repression or violence.

The greatest detriment and trap really, of abundance and gratefulness, is not to be lulled into a contentment of inaction and blindness. I am on guard for this and I know there is always room for improvement.
– Kevin

Hello Debbie, you are very kind….our dog Gracie is doing very well these days. On August 2, it will mark her first year of being totally blind. She tools around the house and outside in the yard without a leash, which is enjoys greatly. (We have an invisible fence system installed that we put in when she was a puppy, so she knows where she can venture outside and where not. She loves to go for car rides with me and on walks (on leash on conservation trails and nearby beaches too. All in all she’s quite remarkable. Thanks again for asking. I hope too that things are well with you my friend.