The Daily Breath - Sunday, February 6, 2022

 

Sunday

 

it was another good day

we had a zoom church service

with a sermon that took us

to the end of time

when

after the end of everything

the pastor assured us that

resurrection

was possible

 

in nature

one blade of grass

sprouting out of a

dead tree stump

proclaimed

a new beginning

the miracle of life

 

i think he meant it as a metaphor

or a reality check

utter destruction could happen

he wanted us to know that

a new and perhaps

a better world

will emerge

from a tree stump

and a blade of grass

metaphorically speaking

 

 

 

after the zoom church service

mark and I drove to davis

as instructed

between 12:30 and 1:30 pm

to hand all the choir christmas music

out of the car window

to betty and ann

and to receive new music

in return

betty said we were only the second

car to arrive

and it was almost 1:30 pm

 

at least it was a sunshiny day

and they had each other  

without masks

keeping their distance

 

we thanked them

for their service

and drove away

to west sacramento

where we used to go after church

when it was live

and had lunch

outdoors

at a picnic table

on wooden benches

in the warm California

sunshine

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Breath - Saturday, February 5, 2022

 

I can’t stop being happy

 

The mail came

And it was good!

 

Changes happening

Wedding

Retirement

More time

 

It all began to happen a few months ago

When I couldn’t stop being happy

 

The week before I had been

Praying for my children

I was so distraught

I was all tied up in knots

Inside

 

And then

At the end of the church service

We sang an allelujah

In a minor key

And I started dancing in the pew

While singing

The dancing was mostly in my mind

But also in my body

Though my feet weren’t really moving

Everything inside was dancing

And all those knots were breaking loose

And setting me free

And I couldn’t stop laughing and dancing

All the way down the aisle

And out the front door

And down the steps

And I was still dancing

When I stood before the pastor outside

And told him what was happening

And someone to my left said

You are having a catharsis

I thought she meant a stroke or something

But yes it was a catharsis

And it has continued to this very day

 

I can’t stop being happy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Breath - Friday, February 4, 2022

 

Mind candy!

 

While we were shut in

the first two days of February

I remembered (I don’t know why)

Thomas Carlyle, who lived and thought and wrote in the Victorian Age. He was very well regarded by many, including Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He was also an assignment in my English Literature Class, and I read it and loved it, though it was hard to make out in all its conflagrations!

 

It turns out Carlyle invented the concept of the “me” and the “not me”

The “not me” (as I understand it) is everything outside of your “self” including your body. The “me” is that undefinable thing that is yours alone: “self” or “soul” perhaps.

 

Thomas Carlyle was a wily fellow

he put it better than I can  

however

today

pondering the meaning of

the “me” and the “not me”

I wrote this little ditty

……………………………

there used to be a lot more

“not me”

in my experience

now not so much

I keep my “me” hidden

so I still have it

the “not me” is out there

somewhere

running around

with my body

doing good

I hope