tao1776

"The Diamond Cutter Sutra " says 'past mind can't be grasped, present mind can't be grasped, future mind can't be grasped': which mind do you desire to refresh?"

A deep and resonating knot abides deep within my gut. I feel sick, a little lost in some proverbial mud. of grief, of powerlessness; a tear just below the surface. I buried me Mum and me Dad and them and theirs before them. But this feels different. Time, they say, heals all wounds. We all hope so.

(Marie - The Lady - Jon) I was honored on November 17, 2007. You see, my friend was buried, laid to rest. I was a pallbearer. Her calling hours drew over five hundred people, paying their respects and giving their condolences. Her funeral over two hundred; many of whom had to remain outside in the thirty degree weather. You see, my friend was buried, laid to rest. I was a pallbearer. Sometimes we are fortunate to know someone with the ability to love you no matter how much of a schlep you were. Always seeing the best in you. Her ability was as subtle as a spiders web. She could leave you feeling better about yourself and the world. You see, my friend was buried, laid to rest. I was a pallbearer. I was honored.

Many of our friends (The Lady & me) are like us; married for many years, having never experienced divorce. Married in our late teens and early twenties, we grew up as our children were growing up. We saw the mess of the Vietnam war, the fallout of the hippie era, the rise and fall and the continuing rise and fall of the economy with each passing decade. Sometimes life was very, very good. At other times, very, very bad. At age twenty three, I had a full beard and long locks. I then invented the mullet. Hairlines and hemlines; the times; they are always a changing. My wife is not a stranger to me. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. We often think the same thing at the same time. We are aware of each others dark side or shadow self. We also know the transcendent component of one another. We know that we can both be assholes. It is comforting. In the 2002 movie "About Schmidt" Jack Nicholson plays the title character who finds himself a stranger in a strange ...

On Nov. 6th my long time friend and wife of my friend Jon entered the hospital for her second kidney transplant (see post Nov. 6th). On Wednesday afternoon it was reported that she was making a swift recovery (pix insert) and they believed that she might make it home by next week. Jon called me today to say that she had to re-enter surgery for a clot and had undergone severe pain but the kidney was fully operational and things were looking good again. Tonight, Roger, the husband of the first donor called to tell me that Marie had passed this afternoon. I am so glad that we spoke on the night before her surgery. I wish that I had some comfort to give to Jon. We are all sick. I can't imagine the pain that Jon is feeling. Her passing will be mourned by many. I couldn't imagine being Jon and playing his role at the calling hours or the funeral. I guess that is why they invented shock. This is the only way that some of us will endure these next few months. Marie.....we all loved you...

Other than the fact that Object Permanence is the name of my next band (see album cover) as stated in Wikipedia, Object permanence is the term used to describe the awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible. Jean Piaget conducted experiments with infants which led him to conclude that this awareness was typically achieved at eight to nine months of age, during the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. Such experiments consisted of behavioral tests with infant subjects. The infant would be shown a desirable object or toy, for example, and the toy would then be covered by a blanket or otherwise obscured from view while the infant was watching. Some of the infant subjects would immediately exhibit signs of confusion or dismay. Piaget interpreted these behavioral signs as evidence of a belief that the object had somehow 'vanished' or simply ceased to exist. Piaget concluded that some infants were too young to understand object perma...

Please pray, invoke, cast a spell or have warm thoughts today and in the days ahead for my longtime friend, Marie. She is undergoing her second kidney transplant; the first being unsuccessful. There is no other than success at this stage. Dialysis is no longer an option and her quality of life is severely diminished. I bow in reverence to all and ask for a compassionate universe to shine health and recovery her way. Let all of the love that she has shown to others return to her now. Let her recovery be swift and miraculous. So mote it be...