P.S....

I raised up, joints creaking, and stuffed the last two handfuls of leaves into the bag and tied it. I looked with some dismay at the flower bed. I had just finished raking the third bag of last fall's leaves, and realized I had at least that much or more still to do on this bed. As I groaned, there immediately flashed through my mind a scene from an Internet news site of a Japanese family surveying what was left of their home after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. They searched through the mud and rubble to try and salvage some of their belongings. I felt ashamed.

Yes, I had worked hard. Then I thought of the freezing weather they were suffering in Japan, with no heat even in the shelters. It was a balmy afternoon in Texas, with temperatures in the mid-70s. I had the company of Piper, my neighbor's Great Dane. She's not allowed out of her yard, but as you can see, she scoots part of herself under the fence to get as close to me as possible without breaking her rule. A songbird trilled close by, and I could hear a dove calling "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?" As I scooped up leaves I had dropped I noticed a tiny violet who's seed had escaped the flower bed. It was blooming bravely under all the leaves. I sent a silent wish that some small sign of hope be given to the people of Japan as they dig through the debris left of their homes.

********************************

After I wrote my last blog post, I quit obsessively searching the news sites on the Internet, and again started limiting what news I see on television. I'm sleeping better. I just feel so helpless at times. Prayers don't seem to be enough, and I really don't have enough money to donate to all the disasters around the world. Earthquake damage repairs and human suffering are still being addressed in places like Haiti and New Zealand as well as Japan; and flooding in the United States and Australia has left many lives in chaos.

Chaos... I remember a very simplified definition of chaos that brings me some semblance of peace at times like these. "Chaos is a system rearranging itself to attain a higher sense of order." If a higher sense of order has ever been needed on this planet, it is needed now! We will learn from these disasters, and our lives will be better for it... maybe. Maybe we won't build more nuclear power plants in this country. Maybe if we do, we won't be stupid enough to build them on fault lines...like the ones in New York north of NYC. The uprisings going on in the Mid-east and Africa will hopefully bring about much-needed changes in the governments in those regions, and rid them of the brutal dictators in power. And maybe the protests we have had in the U.S. will cause our politicians to take another look at the cuts in budgets they are willing to make.

*******************************

This morning I read in my Cherokee Feast of Days the following: "...There are things that seem to break our hearts; pain that goes on and on. But we can work through. If we are strong and don't let our hands grow weak and slack, our work will be rewarded. We grieve for the loss of things, or persons, ache for what we cannot do, but there is a day when the sun finally shines. We can make it..."

I've had the opportunity to work with my hands twice in the past three days, helping those in need in my own community. There is nothing more rewarding than "hands-on" experience. And, I believe that when we help one person, we are all blessed. I cannot be in Japan - or New Zealand - or even in the flooded regions of the U.S., but I can do what I can for others right here in Burnet, Texas. And of course, I can keep sending prayers and positive images to our world at large.

*******************************

The highlight of my week was Sunday afternoon, when my oldest grandson Cameron called. We had a long telephone visit, and I caught up with all of his activities at LSU. Last weekend he was an assistant director of a production of the local opera company. At the end of this month he will perform in the LSU production of Figaro.

Cameron, who turns 21 this coming Saturday, sings in the choir of the Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge. He told me a little story of what happened at church Sunday, saying, "You're going to love this one, Grandmama." It seems the church had no electricity that morning, so they were conducting a candlelight service. The choir was performing "Miserere". (Not recognizing this, I listened to a version on YouTube - Awesome!) There was a quartet singing from the balcony, and the choir would answer with their part from below. Cameron was singing a solo part that went, "Cast me not away from Thy presence; take not Thy Holy Spirit from me." (This is traditionally sung in Latin, although they had chosen to sing it in English.) Just as the word "Spirit" came out of Cameron's mouth, the lights came on!

He was right! I absolutely loved the story. God's mysterious ways at work. He is, indeed, omnipresent.

********************************

I hope you are experiencing the loveliness of spring where you are. We had so little rain over the past few months we may not have an abundance of wildflowers in the Hill Country this year. There are, however, a few reminders that all's right in our world, and spring is on time. These are the first of my irises to bloom. I also have a few blooms on the Lady Banks rosebushes. I wish I could transport them to the suffering people in the world. Flowers brighten the gloomiest of days, and confirm to us that beauty survives even the harshest of conditions.

And...oh, yes.. P.S...

I love you,

Marilyn

***********************************

Not long after I published the above, I received an email from my dear friend Pam in Denton. She sent me the following letter from "a friend of a friend in Sendai, Japan". I cried tears of thanksgiving for proof that our prayers are being answered, and that there is a great deal of hope for the Japanese people and all who are there with them. This message will warm the heart of even the most cynical among us.

A message of hope from Japan:

******************

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, and share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out a sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on.

But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.

No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains of Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently. And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that is much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all,

Anne