Dear Reader:

Anne Lamotte tells the following Indian fable:

I often remember the story from India of a beggar who sat outside a temple, begging for just enough every day to keep body and soul alive, until the temple elders convinced him to move across the street and sit under a tree. Years of begging and bare subsistence followed until he died. The temple elders decided to bury him beneath his cherished tree, where, after shoveling away a couple of feet of earth, they found a stash of gold coins that he had unknowingly sat on, all those hand-to-mouth years.

You already have the gold coins beneath you, of presence, creativity, intimacy, time for wonder, and nature, and life. Oh, yeah, you say? And where would those rascally coins be?

Anne continues by asking her writing class that unless someone is married to the news anchor….does an hour of the day devoted to news make you feel any better about your life or help direct your personal path towards your own source of creativity?

You could write two or three pages, or even just one, from the novel you’ve  always dreamed about writing in that amount of time…thus inching closer to  your goal.

Can’t you give up one hour at the gym a week to meet a friend at a book store or coffee shop to compare notes and help each other stay directed towards discovering each other’s gold  coins?

When you turn eighty, will you be proud of having the cleanest house still on the block or will you suddenly realize the precious time you lost getting to truly know and love your children and grandchildren?

If you make it to the top and have no one to share it with, do you think the prize is worth the loss of the gold coins of friendship and/ or/love?

Lamotte says she then takes some pity in her students’ eyes as they begin averting hers….after all she has been where they are now and understands how addictive busyness can be.

Busyness is Linus’s security blanket wrapped tightly around oneself to keep others out and yourself locked into a comfortable routine of familiarity. You are a no surprise person…just the thought of risk-taking makes you climb back under the bed covers.

Busyness is also a power tool….don’t we hear people say all the time “I wish I could… but look at my calendar” and then sigh audibly so the other person will sympathize with them over their terribly  busy life filled to the hilt with responsibility. There is no one else in the world that can handle the job but them….or so they think.

Busyness is a one-stop joint where you can get everything you want except for what you need.

Anne concludes her talk about finding the creative person inside of us (trying desperately to get out) by giving each student a moment of shared understanding. Anne has been there and she knows…

“They look at me bitterly now—they don’t think I understand. But I do—I know how addictive busyness and mania are. But I ask them whether, if their children grow up to become adults who spend this one precious life in a spin of multitasking, stress, and achievement, and then work out four times a week, will they be pleased that their kids also pursued this kind of whirlwind life?

If not, if they want much more for their kids, lives well spent in hard work and savoring all that is lovely, why are they living this manic way? Why are they teaching their children, through their own actions, that this type of life is even acceptable, much less fulfilling?

…………………..

So until tomorrow…Our gold coins…our true wealth is worth fighting for…it is time: this day, this hour, this moment.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I decided after taking Eva Cate back home and finishing up with my oncology appointment to go see Ben and check on how things were going with him and also on a lot of medical “stuff” that has to be done… (as we all know who have been in the middle of appointments and then more appointments  with the new January medical insurance forms to add to the experience.)

*Lee and Vikki….everything looks so good….thank you for all your efforts, work, and time to help Ben out during this crisis.

I had taken some homemade spaghetti (mother’s recipe) to Conway and Bekah and Ady joined us for supper…we had fun. The next morning I followed Ben to his Veterans counseling session in Myrtle Beach. I got to meet his counselor, Carlos, and thank him from the family for being so supportive of Ben in his plight to reach his pension goal. Carlos didn’t even know about his stroke so it was an informative visit.

Inside the Veterans Center I saw the book “America’s White Table” in a small room with a table/chair and white table cloth set according to the book. The author, Margot Raven Theis, who recently died from cancer, would be proud to see the table set inside the Myrtle Beach VA Center using her story.

On the way to the car I bumped into one of Ben’s friends who has just gotten his 100% and he has been at it about the same length of time (six years) as Ben. His name was Doc and he said he thought he would never live long enough to see it actually happen.

Sometimes Ben feels the same way….what a mess our poor veterans come home to….another long war waiting for them.

…And now for some great news….Libby texted yesterday afternoon that the tests have all come back with good reports and now the hospital week-stay for Trey might be quickly coming to an end. No dilly-dallying around in this situation.