With palms together,

Good Morning All,

The morning sun has brought severe wind gusts and cold air.  Its good to be inside.  I am finally over this nasty cold thingy, with the small exception of an occasional "tickle" in my throat causing a minor cough. But my voice is back.

I have been withdrawn over the last ten days. I have not attended functions at Temple Beth El.  I have rarely left the house. Mostly in an effort to heal, but also to protect others from this cold.

In my seclusion, I have done a considerable amount of practice.  Not always in the Zendo, but often right here at my desk.  Attention to breath, seating, posture, I am simply present. 

Yesterday I had the experience of sitting for awhile with a friend who is dying.  We talked some.  I washed his back, put powder on him, helped him change his shirt.  He is suffering. Not so much from pain, as he is on hospice care, but more from the experience of decline and facing his death. He slept most of the time.  I sat in meditation at his feet.  I chanted the Heart sutra in a barely audible way. 

Then, last night, granddaughter Livvie came bounding into our bedroom where I was resting, "Pappa!" she screamed, full of life and energy.  She used the bed as a trampoline laughing and giggling.  We then played horsey, where I was the horsey and she was the rider.  We did this until I really needed a break.  But then it was time to go to YouTube and find movies of horses.

Life never ends. Its just a vast process of change.

Today, I get back to my routine.  A meeting at Temple Beth El at 1:00 PM and a class at 2:00 PM. Tomorrow we will sit Zen at 7:00 PM at the Clear Mind Zendo.

May you each be a blessing in the universe,