Dear Reader:

The hardest thing yesterday was leaving Rest in Peace’s front porch. I do believe that if warring politicians would just rock for awhile on Brooke’s porch… peace and unity would prevail.

We Ya’s have solved so many world problems on that front porch and even helped each other out with our own personal ones. We all leave saddened but also lighter than we arrived.

Libby made the astute observation that the older we get, the more intertwined our needs and wants become. Materially we need less and less with each passing year and our wants are no longer excessive either-we simply want to maintain a status quo that we recognize can dissipate quickly with one stroke or serious diagnosis. Such is life.

When I came across this story it helped open my eyes to another layer of life we must include in our carry-on bag!

Once a Japanese emperor had an absolutely magnificent vase that was ancient and intricately beautiful. One day it fell, while being polished and broke into thousands of fragments… which were all gathered up to await the best potter’s hands in the land. When he couldn’t reassemble it-he was executed and the next potter was called. But no one could fix it.

Finally an old Zen monk was called. He brought his young apprentice to help him gather all the fragments snd take them back to their cave in the mountains.

For weeks he worked on it until it was complete-then the old monk and his apprentice returned it to the palace. The emperor was so overjoyed he gave the monk a handsome reward.

Then one day the apprentice unexpectedly came upon the fragments of the vase. He ran to his master crying out ” Look Master! You never assembled all the fragments from the vase!… How did you make it so beautiful?”

The old monk replied ” If you live the life you do with a loving heart using your unique talents-then you will always be able to restore and even make something more beautiful than before.”

How true! So until tomorrow life is never stagnant-we must change with the times-BUT if we look for beauty in every new situation we will find it!

May your day never burden, May evening find you gracious and fulfilled-May you go into the night blessed, sheltered, and protected-May your soul calm, console, and renew you. ( Anam Cara)

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh