Love

According to what I have been told during meditation, my daily experience and my observation of daily living, the purpose of life is to grow in love. This idea has also been suggested by many spiritual leaders in the past. That growth has certainly taken place in my own life., moving from hurt and anger to love I would like that process to be a beautiful field of clover, always pleasant to behold and travel through, and much of it has been. However, some of the life process for me has not been pleasant though the results have been wonderful.

Gratitude

I have a very well developed awareness and a strong feeling of gratitude for the complete process of life. What I mean is that there is a great deal of the process of life which is not pleasant, but the final result is generally wonderful. I understand that part of life is working through problems and conflict, finally arriving at love, peace, forgiveness and faith. Ultimately that process is very fulfilling and rewarding to get through. I also feel grateful for the many pleasant things in life, things like relationships, friends and love.

Self-care

Today was a very simple day of minimal connection with others and a great deal of food preparation, cooking. One of the ways in which I do not participate in the general economy is that I prepare my own meals using organic and local ingredients with no preservatives and minimal added sugar or salt. Typically I prepare several meals at once and freeze them for quick, efficient and healthy future use. This sort of food preparation takes more time but I need to be careful with my health, I feel good about it and I enjoy it. Most of my days involve intense and complex connections and interactions. This was a nice break.

Love Matters

Recently I have been very aware of the comment made by Richard Pries early in my recovery process, that "Nothing matters very much and very few things matter at all". It is clear to me that relationships and love matter but that the vast majority of things we worry about really make little or no difference. Typically I ask myself "would I care about this if I were on my deathbed?" and the answer is usually "no". The reason I have been reflecting on this is that I have a friend who is about to die from cancer. I will miss her presence in my life and wish her well.

Being a Dreamer

Today at the Friend’s (Quaker) meeting one of the members of the meeting recommended my book to the other members, and at that moment I realized how proud I was that I had extended myself to write and publish the book. Later the same person commented that the book made her smile, which made me smile. I wrote the book as a major part of my efforts to "change the world" in favor of love, spirituality, compassion and forgiveness. I am a "dreamer" who also takes action. I keep encountering the same beliefs and attitudes in others, though those attitudes are frequently overcome by fear and competition. As Maria, my wife, pointed out, I am not done. I will continue in my attempts to "increase the integrity of the universe".

Gratitude

We are entering what is generally known as the holiday season, which I generally don’t participate in very much, preferring the peace of solitude and not getting caught up in material possessions. However, this season I am planning to participate in various social events and I feel exceptionally grateful for the numerous, varied and wonderful people in my life. I am also grateful for how good my life is, in spite of the inconveniences and challenges. Being awake and aware, I realize that the vast majority of people in this world have it much worse, and that given other circumstances, I would be miserable or dead. I feel very grateful for life as it is.