Monday, May 29, 2017

Impermanence

The only thing we know for sure is that every living thing has a finite existence...in other words a date with death. Contemplating thus on my garden terrace bursting with verdant life, I wonder: What will this spot look like in 100 years? And then to really up the ante, What would it look like in a billion years?

Given that I am officially a "senior" citizen, for certain there is no way of knowing what my garden and house will look like in that modest 100 year span, let alone a billion years. Every little plant I have nurtured, every artistic touch on my house, will certainly crumble and be no more - or to the contrary, be transformed into something even more glorious. I would wager, however, that in a billion years my environs will either be underwater or a moonscape or dust floating through distant galaxies.

As these musings can only be chalked up to sheer speculation, one thing remains...appreciate appreciate appreciate...and waste no time in being present to the fleeting presence of one's life on earth.





Sunday, May 28, 2017

When a Tree Falls in the Forest

Remember the old days when a mom or dad or teacher posed the question, "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

We could amend the question to fit an almost endless stream of circumstances: "If the news media or social media don't report on the slaughter of man or beast on a distance land, did it happen?" Or how about all the events of life and death on this planet over the eons, of which we have no knowledge but lead us directly to this point in time?

Decades later, these koan-like questions don't confound me the way they did as a teenager, when the question screeched to a halt at the "dead end" sign in my brain. Obviously, if no information comes to us via one of our five senses (or sixth sense for some) it has no relation to our data bank on a conscious level. In that sense, ignorance is bliss and we are a sum total of our direct perception. Whatever befalls life on planet earth and beyond that is outside of our purview is in fact nonexistent to us.

Quantum physics tells us a different tale of interconnectedness. Every movement of atoms and molecules will eventually create movement in our own molecules and atoms, effecting us in ways so subtle that we have no conscious knowledge. And yet, our very being is formed and dissolved back into the great mystery along with all those events of which we never knew but which impacted us profoundly.

So the answer to "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is YES AND NO. The ability to hold opposites to be true portends the ability to be at One with the All-That-Is. And that is good.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Looking Good

The only good thing about King Rump's tenure in the White House (hopefully short-lived with the grace of the All-That-Is) is the chance to oggle at the outfits of the First Lady. Of course the title of "First Lady" has a touch of irony. In reality, she is probably the Last-to-be-Summoned-Lady in King Rump's little black book.

Nonetheless, for us plebians who are under 6 feet tall and wear an extra 40 pounds, we can always marvel at that long slender body with endless dineros to command the best of the best designers to drape her elegant form.

I loved the creamy white top with a slender ass-hugging orange pencil skirt as she sashayed up the stairs of Air Force One wearing high heels that would topple most females with the first step forward. I wasn't as fond of the white pant suit that clearly outlined the body part between her legs in a country where women wear black burkas. Not that I approve of latter attire either, but the obvious f-u to the sensibilities of another culture showed a self-absorption that detracted from the beatific shell.

But hey! Let's be grateful for small favors in this upside-down backwards world.


Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Ain't He Sweet

Dear dear Vladamir has showed that the bromance between King Rump and himself is alive and well. Today he offered the American government the transcripts of his meeting with King Rump in the Oval office to shore up his buddy's claim that no classified information was shared between the West and East.

A photo of the blue-eyed Rusky looking like a sheepish pussycat flashed across the TV screen next to the bloated alligator-esque visage of His Hindness.

I wonder, how do we know a transcript supplied by an adversary of the USA hasn't been subjected to artful editing? On another note, perhaps this is a wicked little trick of Putin. Afterall, if the White House is being bailed out by Putin, this does suggest a rather comfy relationship.

Sweet or sly like a fox? You decide.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

I Grew Two People

As I sip morning coffee on my divinely beautiful back terrace, surrounded by purple and yellow wildflowers, a 28 year old goddess stumbles out of the house, golden-blonde hair tangled in perfect disarray and blue eyes shining. She encircles my shoulders in her arms and presses her creamy smooth skin against my cheek with a sweet, "You're the best mommy in the whole world."

An hour later, the commanding presence of my 39 years son appears at the patio door with his trusty dog-friend Dunkin, who gets first dibs on a sloppy kiss to his grandmother (me). Then his master bends his massive frame to give me a very human and tender kiss on the cheek.

Luckily, my female child is slender and delicate, and my male child a vision of manly protection, capable of taking down a bear in the woods. I muse - in our world of value judgements, it's a good thing the physiques weren't reversed.

In addition to a sense of gratitude for my two amazing children, a sense of complete dumbfoundedness overtakes me. I GREW these two in my stomach and then pushed them out in to the world, where they slowly but surely became separate humans with all their very own characteristics.

Looking at this process as an alien from another world, it seems bizarre, if not miraculous. And so it goes. The world of creation in which we live has an inexplicable quality that no one can explain, not even those who devoutly believe in the Bible.

Today is a day of wonderment. May it be so every day.


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The Bizzaro World of King Rump

Letter From King Rump to FBI Director James Comey:

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau.” 

IF YOU READ THIS CORRECTLY, IT MEANS THAT IF KING RUMP IS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION HE SHOULD BE. THUS, HE IS FIRING COMEY FOR NOT DOING HIS JOB PROPERLY TO INVESTIGATE HIM!!

Historical note: when Hitler rolled into the Sudetenland pre-WWII, he expected to be pushed back by the Western powers. When he was not, he was astonished, and thus concluded that he could carry on with his world-domination dream.

The parallel here is that King Rump continues to push the boundaries of democratic government with its checks and balances. If the Republican dominated Congress cannot push back to this dictator-in-progress and truss him up good, then we shall have a catastrophic result. We the people must take charge and throw the bums in jail by electing truth seekers.

Resisting Revenge

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