Thanksgiving, a day to be reflective, of our moments, gifts, successes, failures, lessons and relations.
I have so much to be grateful for, so much to celebrate, so much thankfulness.
Having just traveled to Central America, by the grace of my grandparents, Herb & Peggy Repass, my uncle and aunt; Beth & Jay Repass, my father and his wife; Randy & Sally-Christine Repass, my first client ever as an IT consultant; Shannon Lee, all for having helped cover the cost to go on a house-build. My mother; Sue Robinson for inspiring the trip, and all those engaged in the trip itself. From the persons I shared the chicken bus with, to the local expatriate who first informed me of how I could get to where I was going, to the founders of the Fuller Center for Housing, Millard and Linda Fuller, to my facebook friends who encouraged me and listened as I mentioned a place or a picture along the way, and to my family; my wife Sukhada and my children who kept me grounded and gave me the freedom to let the wind carry me; and to Living Love-Noni and Dear for teaching me to ground and showing me unbridled love… so many made this possible. I am so grateful to you all.
I am a man of God. Not someone who seeks to force that on others; God knows I have. But one who lives internally on the quest daily, remaining open to the messages of the Spirit, the Divine, in each of us and all around us. Today is a day for me to reflect on this and be grateful for this vision and a vision of hope in that guidance and the greater plan of all that is.
We live in uncertain times. I believe that we will be tested in this time far more than we are experiencing now. I believe that that is a good thing, as it teaches us new ways to live and breathe, to pray and respect each other, the earth, the universe and beyond.
We are a people globally who are spoiled and take so much for granted. Even the impoverished, the down trodden, the beaten. We all do it. We overlook what we have breath to breath.
Granted, there are many who take this moment each and every day, to be thankful to love what they have and respect all of their lessons and such. But we all expect the sun to rise, the rain to fall, the earth to give, the oceans to make waves, on and on; and that may be, but I am here questioning of my own ways, not to judge… that is not my job.
In travelling to Central America, what have I come back with, what will I do with that, how will I live today?
On one level, I hope to help further stimulate the community we built 16 houses for by providing computers for each of those houses… I mean, how many of you have an old computer which is a “dinosaur”? Well, that dinosaur could be a treasure for someone in that community, and puts those people on an even playing field with the rest of the world, literally (not to mention keeping that toxic stuff out of the landfills). That is the beauty and the danger of the internet… you never really know what you are dealing with on the other side of that web; in this case it is an opportunity for sure.
On another level; I believe most of those “impoversihed” people are far more wealthy than most of the “first” world. We are so buried under our “stuff” and often so lost in our “stuff” based holidays, that we forget that our hearts are led by pain, hurt, anger and the biggie, FEAR. This is a personal journey for each of us. We each must look at fear, or choose not to, and learn from that choice. Or as I have been learning; wash it from us.
Washing the fear from the heart means washing the anger, pain and frustrations of our lives right out of us. This is everything directly apposed to what we are taught and how we live since our learning and teaching is based on so much fear. Fear through war, fear through suffering, fear through what will happen if we do not accept this way or that. Fear.
We are afraid of poverty. Yet, our own poverty is there to teach us and we live in poverty.
In the world I grew up in, poverty was how we avoided dealing with our pain, our anguish at not being heard or understood, or whatever. This poverty is in either trying too hard to understand it (via this therapy or that, this answer or that), or in not doing anything about it. After a life of this journey, in embracing religion, institution, shopping, yoga, this way and that; I am finding that the simplicity of the body I was given is telling me so much, the world in which I live is constantly communicating with me. It is only up to me to pay attention be alert.
I don’t want to make this posting a “way” for others. I want only to share my joy in finding my way. In knowing that we are all individuals, we each have our way. Yet, ironically that way for each of us, I believe, is only available to us when we embrace what others; friends, relatives and the Divine Spirit, are showing us. Each is our own personal messenger. Each entrance of a being, each vista, is there for us. There is no shame in this, there is no egoism in it. It is a gift to us from the Divine Spirit, or what ever you personally call it.
I am aware that it is not an easy vision to see, and I as much as any often refuse it’s lessons. Yet still they are there, and the Divine Spirit never tires at showing us those lessons, never gives up in the effort to bring forth our love. First for ourselves so that then for others. Oh, what a hard lesson I find. To love myself as a divine being, here to grow, here to learn, here to love and be love.
Oh’yee!
Aho!
Jai!
