Perro is teaching me yet another lesson.
Oh how I wish I can have Perro back! I find myself looking for him constantly. Where is he? And then I have to remind myself about yesterday. And then my heart sinks but I still look for him, wishing that I was wrong.
The lessons for today are:
Never waste the life we are given.
Be the best we can, every day.
Seize the Day.
Our time in this realm is a gift.
Today can never be repeated again.
So don't take it for granted.
I know these lessons - but it's good to be reminded.
These are all life lessons that will help me live a simpler life. IMHO.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Perro aka Petal died today at 2pm.
He was an awesome dog and an awesome Spirit.His Spirit was friends with my Spirit.
And he nurtured my soul, and hopefully, I gave him enough in return.
I realize that, even though he was a dog, he was a unique, unrepeatable spirit unlike any other. The technology exists to clone him genetically, but he, as a sum total of his nurturing and naturing, was unique.
And he held a unique place in this World for me.
I made new friends yesterday. I had left Perro at the hospital (thinking that he was going to get better). But I was grieving his illness, and so when a neighbor (name starts with the initial S) who I'd been casually conversing with here and now for months invited me over, I ended up spending the entire evening at their house, smoking and drinking and talking. They are a family of four, and a bunch of their friends were there as well. S's husband T told me that he was born Muslim, and that he has studied all religions - and that he realized that all religions basically say the same thing: "God is Within Us."
So we are all unique and we all carry God within. (Later, when I talked about this with a Shaman I met randomly, he corrected me to say that actually, his view is slightly different. He says that actually, the correct statement is that "God is Within All Beings" - not just humans. I agreed with him that that was a better statement. Because it included Perro.)
(February 14th update: Since, I've thought about this a bit more and I think now the correct statement is "God is Everywhere." Buddhists have a way of placing a lot of importance to serving the other, but in a very self conscious way. And Christianity says that humans sin and that we must seek God which is without (outside of us). So I think the correct statement is that God is both within and without. Indeed, God is everywhere you want to be. Just like American Express.)
I've heard a Buddhist teaching that says that there are 6 billion paths to Peace (now 7 billion). They say that each human being represents a new opportunity for Peace. We are, each one of us, all opportunities for a better World. We are given this lifetime to show our true colors and shine through all the adversity, in order to be representations of the God that we wish for. And God is Love, above all else. Both God and Love are pregnant with infinite possibilities, IMHO.
I believe that this principal even extends to puppies like Perro. He was a unique, unrepeatable angel on earth, a symbol of good and love. Perro was my teacher. He taught me love, when all else felt concluded. When I was younger, he nourished my heart, and loved me back to life when I could have deserted it. He pawed at my hands, and gave me something to hold onto. His spirit, and the existence of him, made me a believer - that anything is possible, to even a fool like me.
So here's a poem I wrote for Perro months ago (Sept 2009, to be exact).
I'm reprinting it here as a eulogy to my Puppy.
As your
Berro sticks out ("Berro" means "tongue," and "Perro" means "slurp")
Can’t I resist the temptation to
Dance with your paws
Eager to please, you
Feign deathly hunger
Getting no-where with your whines
Happily wagging your fuzz
In the hopes of getting lucky
Just barely short of desperation
Kissing the floor which I walk on
Lickity lickity lick
Making the floor very sticky
Nothing you do makes me angry
Owing to your grand cuteness
Perro you are my darling
Quite a shame you are a dog
Resting your chin on my arm
Slumber you do while you snore
Tickling me with your wet nose
Up you go with your whine
Vetting for lady luck’s smile
Wetting your appetite for more
Xciting tidbits to fall
You are so amazingly perfect
Zeus made you for me - and me for you!
Perro - I will miss you very very much.
Thank you for being my teacher.
You will always be my love.
And he nurtured my soul, and hopefully, I gave him enough in return.
I realize that, even though he was a dog, he was a unique, unrepeatable spirit unlike any other. The technology exists to clone him genetically, but he, as a sum total of his nurturing and naturing, was unique.
And he held a unique place in this World for me.
I made new friends yesterday. I had left Perro at the hospital (thinking that he was going to get better). But I was grieving his illness, and so when a neighbor (name starts with the initial S) who I'd been casually conversing with here and now for months invited me over, I ended up spending the entire evening at their house, smoking and drinking and talking. They are a family of four, and a bunch of their friends were there as well. S's husband T told me that he was born Muslim, and that he has studied all religions - and that he realized that all religions basically say the same thing: "God is Within Us."
So we are all unique and we all carry God within. (Later, when I talked about this with a Shaman I met randomly, he corrected me to say that actually, his view is slightly different. He says that actually, the correct statement is that "God is Within All Beings" - not just humans. I agreed with him that that was a better statement. Because it included Perro.)
(February 14th update: Since, I've thought about this a bit more and I think now the correct statement is "God is Everywhere." Buddhists have a way of placing a lot of importance to serving the other, but in a very self conscious way. And Christianity says that humans sin and that we must seek God which is without (outside of us). So I think the correct statement is that God is both within and without. Indeed, God is everywhere you want to be. Just like American Express.)
I've heard a Buddhist teaching that says that there are 6 billion paths to Peace (now 7 billion). They say that each human being represents a new opportunity for Peace. We are, each one of us, all opportunities for a better World. We are given this lifetime to show our true colors and shine through all the adversity, in order to be representations of the God that we wish for. And God is Love, above all else. Both God and Love are pregnant with infinite possibilities, IMHO.
I believe that this principal even extends to puppies like Perro. He was a unique, unrepeatable angel on earth, a symbol of good and love. Perro was my teacher. He taught me love, when all else felt concluded. When I was younger, he nourished my heart, and loved me back to life when I could have deserted it. He pawed at my hands, and gave me something to hold onto. His spirit, and the existence of him, made me a believer - that anything is possible, to even a fool like me.
So here's a poem I wrote for Perro months ago (Sept 2009, to be exact).
I'm reprinting it here as a eulogy to my Puppy.
As your
Berro sticks out ("Berro" means "tongue," and "Perro" means "slurp")
Can’t I resist the temptation to
Dance with your paws
Eager to please, you
Feign deathly hunger
Getting no-where with your whines
Happily wagging your fuzz
In the hopes of getting lucky
Just barely short of desperation
Kissing the floor which I walk on
Lickity lickity lick
Making the floor very sticky
Nothing you do makes me angry
Owing to your grand cuteness
Perro you are my darling
Quite a shame you are a dog
Resting your chin on my arm
Slumber you do while you snore
Tickling me with your wet nose
Up you go with your whine
Vetting for lady luck’s smile
Wetting your appetite for more
Xciting tidbits to fall
You are so amazingly perfect
Zeus made you for me - and me for you!
Perro - I will miss you very very much.
Thank you for being my teacher.
You will always be my love.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Winter Solstice and the Full Moon - a time of pregnant transformation
My friend Sharron sent me a beautiful e-mail. I want to re-print it here but I'm still getting clearance from her and her friends. They wrote it together.
Sharron's e-mail was about the winter solstice and the full moon that took place on December 20th. It was the first lunar eclipse that took place on the same day as the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) in 350+ years. She talked about the importance of Darkness: Without darkness, nothing can be born. All life first begins in darkness. Darkness is pregnant with possibilities.
They spoke about Kali, the hindu goddess of destruction. Without destruction, there are no new beginnings.
"From the comfort and safety of this blessed darkness, let us release the fear of the unknown and welcome the light. There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." E. Wharton
“To continue one’s journey in the darkness with one’s footsteps guided by the illumination of REMEMBERED RADIANCE, is to know courage of a peculiar kind, the courage to demand that light continue to be light even in the surrounding darkness” H. Thurman
Another friend of mine gave me, for Christmas, a DVD of "Eat Prey Love," originally a book written by Elizabeth Gilbert. In the movie, Richard from Texas talks about how transformation is difficult but necessary - that it's a GOOD thing.
I believe in the Goodness of Transformation. I believe that right now, things are "dark" because I'm letting go of all the things that weren't working for me, before I decided to simplify my life. I'm letting go of the food, lifestyle, and love that I thought would nourish my soul but didn't. It's hard - but I'm looking forward to the new me that is nourished completely by what the Universe provides me with, without over-consuming resources and without my strained interventions. It's a painful journey along the way - I'm making a lot of mistakes in applying the lessons that are being taught to me - the main lesson being that I should trust my instincts. I'm writing this blog to record the lessons so I'll remember them. I don't trust my instincts fully yet, so I make a lot of mistakes and it's not been a picnic around here - but I've seen the light in life and I remember happiness. So I know it's waiting for me somewhere on the other side of this.
I want to be the change that I want to see in the World. That's the only way I know how to exist, because that is my life purpose - to help others realize our Oneness in this Universe. These days, my life purpose has felt like a burden. I miss the days of living selfishly and unconsciously. I miss being stupid. But life has presented me with a challenge, and I don't know how to walk away from it without it being a challenge.
Yet.
Sharron's e-mail was about the winter solstice and the full moon that took place on December 20th. It was the first lunar eclipse that took place on the same day as the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) in 350+ years. She talked about the importance of Darkness: Without darkness, nothing can be born. All life first begins in darkness. Darkness is pregnant with possibilities.
They spoke about Kali, the hindu goddess of destruction. Without destruction, there are no new beginnings.
"From the comfort and safety of this blessed darkness, let us release the fear of the unknown and welcome the light. There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." E. Wharton
“To continue one’s journey in the darkness with one’s footsteps guided by the illumination of REMEMBERED RADIANCE, is to know courage of a peculiar kind, the courage to demand that light continue to be light even in the surrounding darkness” H. Thurman
Another friend of mine gave me, for Christmas, a DVD of "Eat Prey Love," originally a book written by Elizabeth Gilbert. In the movie, Richard from Texas talks about how transformation is difficult but necessary - that it's a GOOD thing.
I believe in the Goodness of Transformation. I believe that right now, things are "dark" because I'm letting go of all the things that weren't working for me, before I decided to simplify my life. I'm letting go of the food, lifestyle, and love that I thought would nourish my soul but didn't. It's hard - but I'm looking forward to the new me that is nourished completely by what the Universe provides me with, without over-consuming resources and without my strained interventions. It's a painful journey along the way - I'm making a lot of mistakes in applying the lessons that are being taught to me - the main lesson being that I should trust my instincts. I'm writing this blog to record the lessons so I'll remember them. I don't trust my instincts fully yet, so I make a lot of mistakes and it's not been a picnic around here - but I've seen the light in life and I remember happiness. So I know it's waiting for me somewhere on the other side of this.
I want to be the change that I want to see in the World. That's the only way I know how to exist, because that is my life purpose - to help others realize our Oneness in this Universe. These days, my life purpose has felt like a burden. I miss the days of living selfishly and unconsciously. I miss being stupid. But life has presented me with a challenge, and I don't know how to walk away from it without it being a challenge.
Yet.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
OK, giving up meat is not so simple.
And I performed retail therapy today.
I haven't taken my dogs on long walks this last couple of weeks.
It's been really busy.
In a good way, maybe.
Or not? I have no idea.
OK - I had pork today. And the dish wasn't even worth breaking the rule for.
I was just hungry and cold and the memory of ramen (Japanese-style noodle soup) comforted me.
I haven't taken my dogs on long walks this last couple of weeks.
It's been really busy.
In a good way, maybe.
Or not? I have no idea.
OK - I had pork today. And the dish wasn't even worth breaking the rule for.
I was just hungry and cold and the memory of ramen (Japanese-style noodle soup) comforted me.
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