Deer Karma

Who is to say that any occurrence in one's life is about karma? Is one prone
to quantify an experience as bad or good karma? And if so, how does one know? A negative experience can be good if you learn from it and a good experience can easily go south - so would that be good? We live in the gray tones and it is our inner responses that bring definition and growth to our being.


Coming back home from a parental visit a little after six o'clock, I was travelling down a major highway with mild traffic. I know that mild is almost impossible to say as traffic can be sparse, but Massachusetts is infamous regarding drivers' skills and common courtesy. 


Quite off guard, I saw to my right on my passenger side, the image of a deer
frozen in time and space. I had no time to react - just a thump on the right side of the car and the departure of my side mirror. Actually, what was left of
it was bouncing off the side of the passenger door attached only by the electrical cord. It didn't seem to be a big bump. And it was too dark to stop and see anything. I thought I might have temporarily stunned this deer.


So the damage inspection waited for the following morning. Indeed, the
remnants of the mirror were hanging off the side of the mirror attachment.
But there was a dent on the support for the windshield. So the just a thump
was a bit more than it sounded. I was safe. I believe the deer was safe, well
it might have needed a nose job or some dental attention. There was no blood anywhere. I wondered what my neighbors thought as they rise much earlier than I. So off to the repair shop when the new mirror arrives and some unexpected expense.


So what about the karma? If I truly believe that I live in the gray tones of life, I have no need to channel this as good or bad karma, just life unfolding as it does. No one is blessed with good or bad karma; we are blessed with the
experience of living. Too much effort is expended deciding the extremes
of all that happens to us. I want to concentrate on just being. I think the deer would agree.


R

Just sittin' and wondrin'

Earlier today, I was making my presence known on or to my sofa. I was
glibly staring out my window onto the flooded salt marsh as the tide
had begun to recede. I call this idling, and often a way of just passing time -
but then I think about what I am seeing and something else emerges in
my deeper self. My attention is drawn to the dappled light reflecting off the
water as it begins its transit to its greater self. I am engaged anew. Is it
just the beauty of the reflected light or something else? I ponder. I watch.
I wait. I just observe as if I have never witnessed this unseen miracle of
nature's ever evolving life. 


How often do we just look and never wonder? Today I was mesmerized, a moment I thought was just wasted. After all, there were untold numbers of
solitaire games to play on my computer. I was glad I stopped and watched.


Tomorrow it the first Sunday of Advent. I began my watch a day early. I 
sensed something greater in nature was being offered to me and I stopped,
waited, watched, drank in all that was offered. And for that hesitation and giving of myself to a greater offering, I am glad.


R

Death and Distraction

This past spring, my neighbor of 31 years died after a long struggle with cancer. Her illness seemed to tranform her and create a newness of self that became appealing to many who shyed from her. She always was her true self to me and she treated me like a family member. She left the planning of her
funeral service to me with the one exception of music which she had chosen. I was to select readings and work on vaious particulars of the service. As her family members were of diverse spritual backgrounds, I opted for readings that seemed inclusive and non threatening to the unchurched.

But I felt that in comforting them, we were forgetting the journey of the
departed one. It seemed appropriate to address the 23rd Pslam in a more
direct way to her. So, I paraphrased it in more or less my own words and directed it to her in this way:

            God is like your shepherd

         You can never lack for anything

           You will be fed and have rest in a lush green field.

          You will tarry by flowing waters of comfort.

          God will bring your soul to wholeness,

          And lead you in all ways,

         For God loves you completely.

          Even when life ebbs away

           And death seems close,

         You will never fear,

         For God is ever with you,

      And God's love will sustain you.

       Your place is prepared for you

     And your troubles will melt away.

         God touches your forehead with healing oil,

      And fills your cup, ever full.

        God's love and compassion

           Will be yours always.

       And God will live with you

        As you will live in God, forever.

It was one last gift to her and my gift to those left here.
May it be a blessing to you and those you love.

R

Post # 1

I thought that Thanksgiving would be a proper place to begin; after all, I am a thankful person and have much to be thankful for. It is something that we don't acknowldege in our lives. We work at the possibility of being happy more than accepting that we are thankful for who we are and what our potentials might be - if pursued. Is it not too true that we put these possiblities on hold or on the very back burner for expression in the future? Why not finally say that today is the time to begin? I am and today is the day. So if this finds
some inner response in your life, just now, please join me in my journey. I
hope to be responsible and express my thougts and feelings in an honest manner and evoke a response in my readers. One does not journey alone; one  needs people to populate and enrich the walk. Tune in as you are able.

R