Little Shack: A Healing in Nature

My morning ritual is to meditate for about 25 minutes and say a grateful prayer of thanksgiving for all I have: My breath of life and everything I have experienced in that life. I am praying for Peace on Earth and Goodwill for all beings. Next, I always walk in the forest on trails I made 20 years ago. There is an Interesting story about the creation of these trails. I had a group of Tibetan monks who came from India and were touring the U.S. I was lucky that the monks were staying at the Vietnamese monastery nearby. At that time, I was having my usual breakfast with the monastery monks and visiting my friend Tre. I met the seven Tibetan monks and asked them if they wanted to come and walk my new trails and bless them. Surprisingly, they accepted! They all loaded into a small van with their arms and legs sticking out the window and the van doors! Once we arrived, the monks began to chant musically down the paths as birds commenced singing back. Other wildlife was peaking through the forest brush. This chanting produced an altered state where enchantment ruled the forest. Once we made it to the end of the path, we were at where the Shack would be. The monks started singing a blessing. A blue jay landed above them and began singing, and then they all stopped and listened to the jay. Time seemed to stop; everything became silent. I was exhilarated and proceeded to pass water around to my guest. The driver, a British man guiding the monks across the U.S., told me, “You just experienced Shinrin-Yoku.”

Shinrin-Yoku is a Japanese word that means “forest bathing," a form of reconnecting with nature that has increasingly become appreciated in Western culture as a well-researched wellness practice that improves body and mind health. "Bathing" in the forest is a time to reconnect with nature, by slowing down and taking it all in, with conscious focus on your senses, feelings, emotions and body. You simultaneously bathe in your immediate surroundings, the environment, the energy of the forest, and your own self awareness.

According to Susan Abookire, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Shinrin-yoku started in Japan in the 1980s during a national health crisis as increasing technology jobs and other industrial work seemed to be triggering stress-related illnesses.  Research connected stress reduction, improved mood, immunity, and attention span with time spent in nature.  Continued stress and high cortisol play a role in high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches, and other changes in health and research has shown cortisol levels decrease after a walk in the forest.  One Japanese study also showed an increase in immune cells and their health maintenance in people who spent three days and two nights in a forest, compared with people who took a trip to a city. This benefit lasted for more than a month after the forest trip!  But a more recent study of 20,000 people in the United Kingdom showed that spending just three hours a week in nature improved self-reported health and well-being. Taking our relationship to nature further, one study has shown patients recovering from gallbladder surgery in a room with a window opening to a view of nature healed faster than those with a window view of a brick wall. Another older study compared people who recovered from gallbladder surgery in a room with a window with a nature view needed less pain medication, and had faster recovery, than people with the same surgery in a hospital room with a view of a brick wall. Here's the link to this fascinating article with more on the healing aspects of connecting to nature:  

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-forest-therapy-enhance-health-and-well-being-2020052919948

Since understanding the effects of Forest Bathing, when I have guests, I jokingly tell them: Let's take a bath! Of course, they are startled, so I explain to them about Forest Bathing.

From the Little Shack: Try a forest bath and see how refreshing it can be!

Little Shack: Finding Happiness

I think everyone has heard this year's Grammy Song of the Year by Billie Eilish: What Was I Made For? The song reminded me of my friend and teacher who had been a priest-turned- psychotherapist. He had started a group in his seventies about the Shaktipat (spiritual transmission) Master, Adi Da, and had told me the story of why:

"After reading his many books, I traveled to the island of Fiji where Adi Da had started a spiritual community. Every morning Adi Da was carried on a palanquin to give his Discourse. A very loud ram horn type of sound would announce his arrival. I was sitting close and I saw a light as bright as the Sun shining over the whole area. I asked people around me: What was that? They said they didn't see anything; I was in awe the whole day!"

I would visit my friend usually once a week. I would jokingly call him my Shams Tabrīzī (the 13th century spiritual teacher of the poet Rumi). We would talk about spirituality and what was going on in my life. The last time I ever saw him, this wise man asked me, "Why do you come here? Why do you read all these spiritual books? Why do you meditate?" I couldn't answer him; My mind went blank!

He whispered in my ear: "You want to be Happy."

Perhaps because what he said was so simple, it took me a while to understand. This happened years ago and I did find happiness.

“Think I forgot how to be happy
Somethin’ I’m not, but somethin’ I can be
Somethin’ I wait for
Somethin’ I’m made for
Somethin I’m made for ”

— Billie Eilish

““O, happy the soul that saw its own faults.””

— Rumi

From the Little Shack: "Come sit with me! Let us drink the holy wine of happiness." - Rumi

Little Shack Enters the New Year!

Here today, it is raining. It has been raining hard all week.  The song, sung by Brook Benton in 1969, comes to mind: "A rainy night in Georgia; it seems like it's raining all over the world; I feel like it's raining all over the world." With all the challenges ahead of us: Climate Change, Politics, Wars, Race, the border crisis, AI with its questions about what is real and what's not, and much, much more,   we sometimes get caught up with the thought: "I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do, so I leave it up to you." (Lyrics from Alvin Lee.) I offer you the way that has come to me, sitting with the rain.

This New Year 2024, my actions will be:

• My feet firmly grounded with focus and clarity through my daily meditations and a relentless optimism fueled by Faith and Prayer.

• A community and neighborly involvement in solving the challenges, no matter how small our actions seem.

• I know Spiritual Intelligence and Power work these small actions in a higher correspondence. This higher correspondence supports our chosen actions for the good, the true, and the beautiful!

From the Little Shack: Happy New Year 2024!

“After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.”

— Walt Disney Company

Little Shack: Reflections on War and Its Veterans

When I was a young boy, I listened to the stories my parents told about WWII. They both served in Europe. My Father did not see much combat but would talk of the destruction that leveled cities. My Mother was a combat nurse and saw many battles and witnessed the horror of the broken bodies of young men, as well as serving in the concentration camps when her mash unit came to help. Like most boys, I began to glamorize war, playing s with my friends with toy guns. I even tried to enlist in the army in my early twenties. I was told by the enlistment doctor that I would not make it through boot camp. I had severe hearing loss and torn knees from a motorcycle accident. I went to work at a pipeline company where most of the men were veterans. There was no glamour there. If asked about their experience, you would see the men, some with ashen faces, look at each other and remain silent. These men and women were all heroes to me because of the courage, humility, and discipline they brought to their work. There were many other wars in the 20th century. The veterans that I have met, the nightmare of those wars has affected them all. It is hard to believe that in the 21st century, war is still a way to settle differences between nations. 

Rod Serling, famous for The Twilight Zone, was a combat veteran of WWII serving in the Philippines.  Serling, a paratrooper who fought through Manila and Leyte, spent his 20th birthday on leave, recovering from the intense combat. Years later remembering that day, Serling wrote: “It was a gray morning carved out of gray clay and shadowed by fog. It was not just a time—it was a mood—the kind of mood that is part of the province of combat and never conveyed vicariously to the human being who has not lived physically with the tension, the violence, the anguish of protracted war.”     

His daughter, in her book As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling, wrote:  “What I vividly recall is my dad having nightmares, and in the morning I would ask him what happened, and he would say he dreamed the Japanese were coming at him. So it was always present, and clearly . . . he got it off his chest in his writing." 

““The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war”.
”

— General Douglas MacArthur

From the little Shack: As we honor our Veterans, Pray for Peace and an End to all War.

“ There is nothing good in War. Except its ending.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Little Shack Celebrates

The Day of the Dead - Halloween.  I prefer to combine them and call it: The Great Transition, meaning the movement of our tangible Life Force into a greater sphere of being. It is as special day when we can remember and communicate (in our own way) with those who have passed on and with whom we have shared this majestic mystery we call life on earth.  We all hope to see the ones we have loved again once we have taken our last breath.

““If I go first, I’ll wait for you there, on the other side of the dark waters.  Be with me now.” ”

— author James Jones

From the Little Shack: There is JOY in remembrance and communion!

NASA in the public domain

The Little Shack Hears the End of Summer

The little shack has been in hibernation all summer, the hottest I have ever been through. The temperature here has reached 109 degrees at the highest--103, 104, 105 consistently--for the past three months!  Extreme drought has had most tree leaves brown or dead. The wildlife has suffered immensely. But NOW!, the first hint of fall with rain and cooler weather.                        

Before summer hit, I had received a cochlear implant. Throughout this extreme heat, I was adjusting to the new device. I can now hear the changes. I hear the rain, the birds, the wind; sounds I haven't heard in decades! 

Nature is whispering to us her Love. She is whispering: "Be with me now, smell my scent, drink my waters, and tell me you understand my cycles and Love me as your partner.” Her truth is intoxicating.

"Let these words fly through time
to someone coming
you know who you are...
This Love has nibbled on your ear,
whispering secrets
That doesn't make sense
to anyone else" - RUMI

From the Little Shack: Embrace it All!

Little Shack: Reflection on a Birthday

“We are all guilty of sin...the great sin of not living life to the full. Everything we hate, despise, and envy serves only to defeat us in the end. I say peace unto you all: and if you don’t find it, It’s because you haven’t looked for it.” —Henry Miller

Recently, I had a birthday. How time has flown--a calendar in the wind and a long story that sooner or later comes to an end!

What chapter opens now? I don't know. When you are young (YES! The sweet bird of youth!), you see a sunrise with all its possibilities and dreams. When you are getting old, you see a sunset of either beauty or regrets.

I prefer to choose to see the natural bounty of Beauty that surrounds us, with new adventures and opportunities awaiting, knowing you can still live Life to the fullest, even to the final chapter. I remember what my Mother told me not long before she passed away: "I have lived my life to the full!" I would like to add--her cup runneth over to the last breath!         

I include this poem by Maya Angelou. It sums up the new chapter in my story:

On Aging

When you see me sitting quietly,

Like a sack left on the shelf,

Don't think I need your chattering.

I'm listening to myself.

Hold! Stop! Don't pity me!

Hold! Stop your sympathy!

Understanding if you got it,

Otherwise, I'll do without it!

When my bones are stiff and aching,

And my feet won't climb the stair,

I will only ask one favor:

Don't bring me no rocking chair.

When you see me walking, stumbling,

Don't study and get it wrong.

'Cause tired don't mean lazy

And every goodbye ain't gone.

I'm the same person I was back then,

A little less hair, a little less chin,

A lot less lungs and much less wind.

But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in.

From the Little Shack - Each Day, May Your cup runneth over!

Little Shack's Reflection on the New

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” Anais Nin

With the new year just beginning, I started reflecting on the experience of the New. I like the words strange and unexpected to describe that experience. How do I go beyond the old to the new, veiled by the expected and anticipated repetition? In my personal experience, it all begins with the heart, not the mind. There is one way among many; this one has worked for me and is called "The Prayer of the Heart" or the "Jesus Prayer." The prayer originated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with the original wording, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me."  The words " a sinner" were added later. I think you can use this prayer in any form you want--I don't use the word sinner. For example, you might substitute "I have lost the path", or "I have missed the mark".

Repeating the prayer gave me my first glimpse of the New. Years ago, I had been studying Gnosis of the Eastern Orthodox Church. I started repeating the prayer, unceasingly throughout the day and night, as prescribed by the tradition. I discovered a catalyst, and that catalyst was Romance. At that time, I met a woman at work and that began an immediate attraction for both of us. As we got to know each other more, our hearts began to open to each other. Although never consummated physically, we began a spiritual romance. As I repeated the Prayer of the Heart, a fire began to burn. Like eyes, my heart could see and I began to see through the door of my heart. All that I perceived was unexpected and strange; I would walk into a room I had gone through a thousand times, and everything: the furniture, the walls, became pristine and remarkable, unidentified by my memory. I was in a strange land! Perhaps I had entered a space that never grew old and would not become personally identified and acclimated by me. In order for me to function in the world, this perception of the heart began to be replaced by my thinking mind, the woman drifting away to another place in time.

The prayer is said by me sometimes in the morning, but not unceasingly. The door to the heart is known to be the path of least resistance to a transformational experience. I know factually that the prayer of the heart with a romantic catalyst:  woman or man, whoever will kindle the fire of your heart, will open the door for a glimpse of the New.

From the Little Shack: Knocking on the door of your Heart!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks..." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Little Shack Chooses Freedom

“Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of freedom.”

— The Buddha

What is it like to be free--to be free of the bondage of our past, to emerge as the authentic, independent individual that you are inside and meant to be, unencumbered by society's pressures or the expectait like to be free--to be free of the bondage of our past, to emerge as the authentic, independent individualtions of your parents, romantic partner, professors, or friends, to be unique in every way? I think one who has escaped slavery should know.

I came across a story about Harriet Tubman:

Harriet Tubman was enslaved and around twelve years old, when a fellow enslaved man attempted to run away. After he was found and brought back, Harriet and a few others were ordered to help tie him up to be whipped. She refused, and when the man attempted to run again, she blocked the doorway to help him escape. An overseer threw a two-pound weight at the man but hit Harriet instead, fracturing her skull. Throughout her life, she suffered from severe headaches and narcolepsy from this incident.

“Freedom lies in being bold”

— Robert Frost

A petite woman of only about five feet, Harriet was strong-willed and courageous, and as she grew older, she became determined to escape to the North. Upon learning in 1849 that she would be sold, Harriet, now in her mid-20s, decided the time was right. One night, she, along with two of her brothers, ran away. Her brothers soon turned back, and for the rest of her journey, Harriet was alone without friends. She walked at night, hid during the day, and didn't know who to trust, or where to eat. At times she had shelter; often she slept outside on the ground overlooked by the stars. After about ninety miles of travel, she crossed into the North to freedom! Reflecting on reaching the North, she said:

“I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person now that I was free. There was such glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.”

— Harriet Tubman

And like a true Bodhisattva; a free being who has put off entering their permanent freedom to help others attain it for themselves, Harriet went back into the South to help family members escape. After getting them North, she went back to the South again to help more family members; then she went to help others. Harriet would make many trips over the years, rescuing approximately seventy people. Of the experience, she would say, "I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."

“It is only when the mind is free from the old, that it meets everything anew, and in that is joy.”

—J. Krishnamurti

Our strivings for freedom do not carry the weight and horror of physical human slavery, yet the those who have suffered through slavery show us the insight, faith, strength and courage that freedom demands. Can we be inspired by this woman (as I have!) to throw off our bondage, a slavery to the past, to conditioning, to fears, to uncertainty and dare to travel through the wilderness to freedom? Can we even have the courage to come back and help free our Sisters and Brothers?

From the Little Shack: YES, WE CAN!

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

Sources: http://www.harriet-tubman.org / Women of Achievement by Benjamin Brawley, 1919, Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society / Portrait of Harriet taken circa 1868 by Benjamin F. Powelson / Wikimedia Commons / https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman / Women's Words : The Columbia Book of Quotations by Women (1996) by Mary Biggs, p. 2

Little Shack is Shining

Many times when I meditate, I hear collective humanity screaming from painful existence. This is very real and frustrating to me and I am aware of an impatient longing for transformation.

“Romans 8: 22 ...We know that the entire creation is groaning together, and going through labor pains together, up until the present time. 23 Not only so: we too, we who have the first fruits of the spirit’s life within us, are groaning within ourselves....26 ...the spirit comes alongside and helps us in our weakness. We don’t know what to pray for as we ought to; but that same spirit pleads on our behalf, with groanings too deep for words. 27 And the Searcher of Hearts knows what the spirit is thinking, because the spirit pleads for God’s people according to God’s will.

— Romans 8: 22-23 (NIV)

  Then sometimes I see a bright Sun and hear a hum that sounds like a motor running.

As the sound gets louder, a hole appears in the middle of this radiance, and I know this is the heart of the sun. But the hole is a dark unknown and through faith, I am comfortable with this.

I take a full breath as if I just came out of a deep, deep dive into the ocean.

I then begin my morning walk on the forest path. I see a radiant spider web on trees that shine, shimmer, and are luxurious.

A rare red dragonfly lands on a branch and seems to communicate with me; I keep the discourse secret.

There is an old bench, It's wood worn with wrinkled grains of age but comfortable. I sit for a while; everything is shining!

I remember last night the stars were shining like Australian Opals, different colors, sparkles. The fireflies were burning their lights, and crickets and frogs, singing their enchanting songs. Even in the darkest night, everything was shining!

I move down the path and think about the darkness of groaning, suffering, and fear on this earth we are experiencing now. And yet, All Things are shining with an inner light. The psalm Isaiah 9:2 comes to mind:

“The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them

From the little shack: Keep on Shining!

The Little Shack Says: "I CAN!"

Birthday time and another year of aging is on the calendar for me! I haven't been able to get moving in the morning to get out of a dark space of negativity and a personal monotonous rhythm. It has been a 100-degree temperature since May, the Ukraine war, the school shootings of little children, Covid, and Inflation all have been weighing on my motivation to move forward with new visions and plans. I was in bed this morning when a childhood memory occurred of a family member telling  me: "Never say Can't!"  I received a jolt of energy from these words, kicking me out of that bed. I began to think about how powerful these words are. I remember that many years ago, a spiritual teacher told me that in my life, I would have many difficulties and doubts but to keep saying, "I Can! I Can! I Can! There was also a time that I was team coordinator at a well-known computer company. The team members were worried about all the work we had to do and felt that we would never make our quota. I told that team, "Let's have a CAN-DO ATTITUDE!" I saw the change in motivation right away. We worked together in unison, rallying to surpass our quota that week. 

“Our every action has consequences. Thoughts have consequences. Since actions start from thoughts I guess I can say technically that thoughts, in general, have consequences. In our thoughts we make dreams. So if I think I can do it, then my actions will be “I CAN” and I am able to do it. So the result or the consequence will be “I did it!” Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”

— Diana Rose Morcilla (contemporary author)

I bring up these examples because right now, as we all know, there is a reckoning going on in our nation and the world. In our individual and collective experiences during this reckoning, we can affirm I CAN! I CAN! I CAN! This affirmation can open the door to the Creator's highest Grace and Will for us to channel: Strength, Courage, and Motivation to stand tall against any negativity, depression, or fear of the darkness occurring at this time.  Consider the words of poet Denise Levertov as she contemplated Rilke:

“A Variation on a Theme by Rilke (The Book of Hours, Book I, Poem I, Stanza I)
A certain day became a presence to me;
there it was, confronting me—a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend
from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task. The day’s blow
rang out, metallic—or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can.  ”

— Denise Levertov

From the Little Shack: Your honor and your task today is an "I CAN ATTITUDE: I CAN! I CAN! I CAN!"

Little Shack: The Whole World Matters

“Faith is confidence, not mere belief. Hope is effort, not wish; effort to make it so; not a wish that it may be so.” George Gurdjieff

I saw a T-shirt the other day that said: "The Whole World Matters." It reminded me of a passage from Martin Luther King's wonderful book "A Testament of Hope." The quote is from the 1967 Christmas Eve “Peace on Earth” sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he served as co-pastor. Although this is Easter time; with the covid virus cases rising again, the war in Ukraine tragedy, and all the violence and separateness spreading through the nations of the world, I think the passage is relevant for this Holy Week .

"It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality. Did you ever stop to think that you can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world? You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the sponge, and that’s handed to you by a Pacific islander. You reach for a bar of soap, and that’s given to you at the hands of a Frenchman. And then you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that’s poured into your cup by a South American. And maybe you want tea: that’s poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you’re desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that’s poured into your cup by a West African. And then you reach over for your toast, and that’s given to you at the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker. And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half of the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality." Martin Luther King

I ask myself, what can I do? My better angels answer: Let It Begin With Me! This hymn, "Let There Be Peace on Earth", written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller is the closing song of many church services. The original song, that spoke of universal brotherhood and a solemn vow to practice peace has been updated in different versions, including this one from Hillside: "...with God our Creator, Family all are we, let me walk with my family, in perfect harmony. Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now, with every step I take, let this be my joyous vow, to take each moment and live each moment in Peace eternally, Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me. "

"Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone; no nation can live alone, and as long as we try, the more we are going to have war in this world." Martin Luther King

I consider myself a tragic optimist, I have intense optimism and I know from experience that to overcome tragedy, suffering, and loss without the denial of it takes HOPE and WORK to make it so. Without Hope and Faith that things will get better because of our hard work, we have no foundation for the Grace of our Creator to work its miracles.

I like that T-shirt "The Whole World Matters". We are kin to this planet and all the beings that live on it. What happens to this world happens to us and what happens to all of us, happens and matters to the world.

From the little shack: Happy Easter,  Peace on Earth, and Good Will to each of us!

The Little Shack: Hearts on the Plaza

“Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere, they are in each other all along”

— Jalaluddin Rumi

Valentine's day made me think about a day trip I took years ago to Santa Fe for the Indian market on the plaza. There was a Native American artist there selling her paintings. She was a beautiful woman with long jet black hair, a Creativity stamp all over her face with a smile that said: "I have something to share!" I was looking at her paintings of adobe houses, mountains, waterfalls, and rushing streams. These paintings were landscapes of vivid colors. They glowed with a luminosity that revealed the artist's vision of a mysterious synergy between Nature and Spirit.

I began to explain to her that the artwork reminded me of the paintings of Nicholas Roerich, the famous artist, peace activist, archaeologist, poet, mystic. He was interested in hypnosis and his paintings are said to have hypnotic expressions.

In the middle of our conversation, a Native American man came up with his paintings and set them up next to her. He had long black hair rivaling hers and a hurt demeanor. It was evident that this man worshiped this woman. He could not keep his eyes off her and was jealous that we communicated so well. The man spoke to her by name. I was sure there was a broken heart here on the plaza; he looked so full of sorrow.

I began to look at his artwork. His paintings were of scenes in Santa Fe. One was of the Loretto Chapel with light shining from the windows--instead of shining through the stained glass outside to inside, colors were bursting from the inside to the outside! All I could say was WOW! I then caught the woman giving the man a wink. A smile came across him as if he had gone to the Loretto altar and sang Hallelujah! My wife was waving at me from a shop--funny, she was holding a bright-colored landscape painting! I had to leave!

I like to think the two artists I met were really in love, that they built a life together, creating new works and....life goes on at the plaza.

“Wherever you are and whatever you do, be in Love.”

— Jalaluddin Rumi

From the Little Shack, Happy Valentines Day!

The Little Shack: A New Year to Soar to New Heights!

“It was a mistake to think of houses, old houses, as being empty. They were filled with memories, with the faded echoes of voices. Drops of tears, drops of blood, the ring of laughter, the edge of tempers that had ebbed and flowed between the walls, into the walls, over the years.

Wasn't it, after all, a kind of life?

And there were houses, he knew it, that breathed. They carried in their wood and stone, their brick and mortar a kind of ego that was nearly, very nearly, human.”

― Nora Roberts, Key of Knowledge

During the Holidays, like most of us do, I drift back to old memories of the Holidays when I was a child—some unpleasant, some good, and the Old home where I lived at the time. I decided to look up the old house. I went online to some real estate sites and typed in the address. What I found was a complete transformation of the old home.

Walls had been taken down and renovated to more spacious rooms. The kitchen was a total remodel! Gone were the wood floors,  replaced now by shining tiles throughout the house. The trees too were all gone, except one oak that had grown into a large timber with acorn clusters hanging. ( I remembered that tree; my parents had staked it down the day Hurricane Carla was about to hit.  As the wind force suddenly surged, my mother cut her ankle wide-open on one of the stakes. She had to drive herself to the emergency room to get stitches, while my father stayed home with us children. She got back just in time before the storm hit!)

After seeing how the old house had become the NEW, the OLD lifted from my shoulders. The feeling was like a bright white light, cleansing any negativity that harbored there...I knew I could drop the past that was still gasping to live there and soar.  I let go to a Greater Freedom and Exciting New Year!

From the Little Shack: Happy New Year! and Hoping you soar to New Heights!

Little Shack's Message From Time

An old friend texted me the other day saying: "I went to the Doctor today." I knew that he had some chronic health problems. He had already lost his whole family to the scourge of cancer. I texted him back: " Well, what did the Doc say?" He replied: "I don't want to talk about it; Indeed, Time doesn't stop for no man." I have always appreciated this friend's simple, wise aphorisms originating from a lifelong journey of hard knocks.

We both are growing older and health problems can progress. I know he meant that it wasn't good news. His statement reminded me of Walt Whitman's poem "To Think of Time." I wanted to comfort him with a few passages, but I haven't heard from him since that last cryptic text.

I know how he felt in a way, because of my own struggle with cancer 7 years ago. I am very grateful for my healing, but still there are those days when I catch myself looking in the rearview mirror, making sure the cancer is not stalking me. You see the past terror behind you, but keep moving forward, knowing: only time will tell. I wished I could have sent him these words from Whitman:

..."Do you suspect death? If I were to suspect death, I should die now, Do you think I could walk pleasantly and well-suited toward annihilation?

Pleasantly and well-suited I walk, Whither I walk I cannot define, but I know it is good, The whole universe indicates that it is good, The past and the present indicate that it is good. How beautiful and perfect are the animals! How perfect the earth, and the minutest thing upon it! What is called good is perfect, and what is called bad is just as perfect, The vegetables and minerals are all perfect, and the imponderable fluids are perfect; Slowly and surely they have pass'd on to this, and slowly and surely they yet pass on.

I swear I think now that everything without exception has an eternal Soul! The trees have, rooted in the ground! the weeds of the sea have! the animals! I swear I think there is nothing but immortality! That the exquisite scheme is for it, and the nebulous float is for it, and the cohering is for it; And all preparation is for it! and identity is for it! and life and materials are altogether for it!"

I hope the Little Shack doesn't sound morbid tonight, It's not meant to be. There is sadness in the beauty of the beginning of Fall, the leaves, the birds flying south, the animal's hustling for food, the snake's shedding of skin-- all for The Creator's preparation with Perfect timing for Winters's sleep and Spring's resurrection!

From the Little Shack: "To think of time—of all that retrospection! To think of today, and the ages continued henceforward!" Walt Whitman

Little Shack Gets Young

I recently was visited by a relative for my birthday; she is a little older than I am. My wife and I were planning to show her around the nearby area. I knew I was coming across as a tired old man, complaining about my aches and pains. Then she said something that gave me a jolt: "Jack, let's get out of that Senior State of Mind (throw away the cane, so to speak!) and get out and do something!" I replied, "OK; spark-plug!" We all went out and had a very vibrant time in the City.

A week later, the visit and her words "that Senior state of mind." were still fresh in my thoughts, when I read an article about a man named Lawrence Jaffe, age 98. Mr. Jaffe is producing his first feature film: "The Girl Who Believes in Miracles." The film has attracted some well-known actors from Hollywood. It was released Easter Weekend worldwide in 2021. Jaffe was asked: "Why at almost a century years old would you want to start a new career?" His reply was, "I guess I have never been one to look back, only forward. That's the secret to a full life." He was asked, as he approaches a century of living, "might there be more films ahead for him in the future?"  "Absolutely. I may not be a spring chicken, but I am still clucking."

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."- Les Brown

Last week I was watching the News Show 60-minutes. There was a segment with Nuremberg chief prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz who at age 27-years-old became the chief prosecutor of 22 Einsatzgruppen Nazi commanders at trial number 9 in Nuremberg. Here is an excerpt from part of the interview given by Leslie Stahl.

Lesley Stahl: You are such an idealist. Benjamin Ferencz: I don't think I'm an idealist. I'm a realist. And I see the progress. The progress has been remarkable. Look at the emancipation of women in my lifetime. You're sitting here as a female. Look what's happened to same-sex marriages. To tell somebody a man can become a woman, a woman can become a man, and a man can marry a man, they would have said, "You're crazy." But it's a reality today. So the world is changing. And you shouldn't-- you know-- be despairing because it's never happened before. Nothing new ever happened before. Lesley Stahl: Ben— Benjamin Ferencz: We're on a roll. Lesley Stahl: I can't— Benjamin Ferencz: We're marching forward. Lesley Stahl: Ben? I'm sitting here listening to you. And you're very wise. And you're full of energy and passion. And I can't believe you're 97 years old. Benjamin Ferencz: Well, I'm still a young man. Lesley Stahl: Clearly. Benjamin Ferencz: And I'm still in there fighting. And you know what keeps me going? I know I'm right. 

This March, Ben Ferencz turned 101 and he's still in there fighting. A bust of Ferencz was just installed outside that Nuremberg courtroom where he argued almost three-quarters of a century ago. Below his face, his motto: "law, not war." And he's been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. On top of all this, The man gets up every morning and does 100 pushups!

"There is a certain part of all of us that lives outside of time. Perhaps we become aware of our age only at exceptional moments and most of the time we are ageless."- Milan Jundera

Another fascinating person I ran across this week (call it synchronicity!) is Sam “Sonny” Bryant Jr., a 77-year-old (2020) natural bodybuilder who started working out when he was 44 years old. The muscular physique and strength he achieved by age 72 are amazing (he deadlifted 405 pounds at a bodyweight of 176 pounds). Sonny’s philosophy on aging is inspiring and can change a person's perspective of what is a Senior State of Mind! Here are his 10 pointers:

1. “People have the misconception that age makes you old, but I realize that it’s a state of mind that makes you old.” 2. “Age is just a number." 3. “I want people to recognize what I’m doing and realize that it can be done.” 4. “A lot of young guys, they go home, sit around, watch TV and do nothing – I’ve seen a lot of young guys who are older than me.” 5. “People ask me when I’m going to retire. I say ‘never.” 6. “I, honestly, I’ve never felt like I aged since I started bodybuilding at 44. I don’t feel different.” 7. “As long as I’m busy, I don’t get hungry.” 8. “People ask me when I’m going to act my age. Well, I’m not an actor, and who set the rules about how you’re supposed to act at a certain age, anyway?” 9. “Age doesn’t play a factor in how I feel about what I’m doing.” 10. “If you start thinking you’re old subconsciously, your conscious mind is going to take hold of that and your body is going to start acting old, feeling old. Then you’re old.”

Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.-Betty Friedan

From the Little Shack: I have to thank my visiting "spark-plug" for giving me that jolt! I am MOTIVATED, how about YOU?

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The Little Forest Sings

Spring has finally begun in my little forest; the re-birthing is obvious. The midwives of heaven: Sunshine, Rain, the Full Moon have all done their part. With each grounded step I take in my morning walks, I can feel life bubbling up from the Earth. There's a gentle movement of growth that rises to the peripheries of all being: the Rock, the Vegetable, the Animal, the Human, and the Spiritual Kingdoms. This movement is always a new rhythm. It is not a time to look backward, but a time to move forward, boldly into our destinies. This new rhythm is a joyful time, a hint of the eternal promise we read in the scriptures. With each grounded step I take, I almost hear the forest celebrating, singing "Feeling Good":

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life for me, yeah It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life for me, ooh And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel River running free, you know how I feel Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life for me And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know? Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean Sleep in peace when the day is done, that's what I mean And this old world is a new world And a bold world for me, yeah-yeah

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel Scent of the pine, you know how I feel Oh, freedom is mine And I know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life for me I'm feeling good! — Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse

Feeling Good at the Little Shack—Hope you are too!

Frozen at the Little Shack

"In Nature, nothing exists alone."  Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Here we are, another new year at the Little Shack; January with all its political drama has come and gone. I can't believe it is already March!  During February, we experienced a once-in-a-100-year blizzard. People around here call it the snowpocalypse, or snowzilla! (typical gallows humor for country folks). The weather professionals even gave the storm an official name: "Uri."

For about three days the weather forecasters had warned everyone that there would be extreme cold, ice and snow for at least a week, starting on Sunday evening. I prepared like a hurricane was coming, closed off my bedroom, and bunkered down. The wind started blowing at gale force; the sleet that was falling turned to snow. By morning the temperature was 6 degrees outside, the coldest I have ever experienced. The electricity had gone out for me and millions of others. It was 37 degrees in my room. My wife, our two cats, and I covered up with six blankets.  I turned on a small propane heater that brought up the temperature to the upper 40's.   What began nagging my mind was my concern for the wildlife having to endure this unfamiliar cold.  I was concerned about this young buck deer that I knew from 3 years ago when he came up to the shack with his mother and sister as a spotted fawn. He had been hit by a car just four months ago and left with only three legs. Crippled, he had now become a loner.

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."  -Lao Tzu

In my morning walks, I would him find right next to the shack where he felt safe. I know he had to rest a lot because of his injury. After the storm, there were other deer around looking for food. But I could not find him. I was afraid that either the coyote packs that run through the forest took him down, or he just froze to death. After three days, he came hopping around looking for me and his evening meal.  I was surprised he was able to persevere through a week of suffering this unusual weather. Not only was the buck OK but, the other animals that I used to see also. The turtles and fish were swimming, warming up in the now-sunny sky. Birds that had their feathers ruffled to keep warm during the freeze were singing their celebration songs. The squirrels were playing tag, chasing each other up and down the trees.

"We are of the earth and healed by nature."  -Unknown

Mother Nature was very harsh that week, but the natural life came through OK.  The human population did not fare so well. There was the loss of electricity, no water, food was scarce (and still is).  Tragically, quite a few deaths occurred. Burst pipes were the norm. Everyone will be waiting to see if their plants or trees will come back to life this spring.  By witnessing how natural life bounced back so quickly and by acknowledging we are part of nature, I have confidence that even though humankind has seemingly separated itself from nature's order with all our technological wonders, we will bounce back within nature's web of life, connected and blessed by a Higher Intelligence and Will.  

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

― Chief Seattle

From the Little Shack-- Have patience, we will persevere!

Sweet Memories at The Little Shack

Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.  Psalm 25:6

It was the day after Christmas that I went out to the pond, having a Senior Moment. I could not remember why I had gone! The weather was Spring-like, warm, a smooth breeze coming from the Gulf of Mexico.

I looked at the hammock that I had bought on the border several years ago. I decided this was a perfect time to lie in it and relax. Maybe I would remember my errand. I drifted off into reverie, back to my childhood home in Houston. My mother is bathing me in the kitchen sink. There is a window right in front of it; the sky is blue but not that deep blue of New Mexico! She is singing:

"On top of old Smokey, 

All covered with snow,

I lost my true lover from courtin' too slow.

From courtin' too slow, dear,

From courtin' too slow."

Down South, we call these moments: "Tender Mercies," blessed memories during difficult times...

...I am looking out the window. In the backyard is a brick and mortar barbecue pit made by my Grandfather, who had lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, my Mother's birthplace. By the barbecue pit are two trees that would always blow as if a hurricane came through, whenever a jet aircraft from Ellington Air Force Base would fly--almost over the tops of them! Afterward, you would hear a sonic BOOM!

I was awakened from my reverie by my wife: "Honey, did you get those oranges off the tree?" I was thinking: "Those oranges!" "Now I know what the errand was!" I had planted them seven years ago. We had been dreaming of sweet, sweet oranges every morning for breakfast, but finally, after years of waiting, they turned out to be bitter Seville oranges! My wife's knack for culinary chemistry had saved the day by making marmalade. Now she shakes me out of my orange meditation and says: "Quit your dreaming and start picking!" 

Tender mercies memories are never forgotten. They are loving blessings from LIFE itself. 

From the Little Shack:  Take time to relax and enjoy the gift.

Artwork by S. Correu

Little Shack Feeds the Light

Hey now, all you sinners,

Put your lights on

Put your lights on

Hey now, all you lovers,

Put your lights on

Put your lights on

Hey now, all you killers,

Put your lights on

Put your lights on

Hey now, all you children,

Leave your lights on, you better,

Leave your lights on...

-Carlos Santana and Everlast; words and music by Everlast (from Supernatural "Put Your Lights On")

Several years ago, when I was battling cancer and going through aggressive therapy, I began to sink into a darkness of doubt, fear, and sometimes even panic. A very supportive friend of mine, who understood what I was going through, quoted to me the Bible verse John 1.5: "...and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not."   Whenever I found myself slipping into darkness, I would repeat that verse. It became my drumbeat to victory, repeated like a mantra;  it fed the light.  It put my lights on.

I had a dream not too long ago that reminded me of that healing practice.  In the dream, I was in my living room.  The lights had gone out; it was pitch dark. I carefully crawled to the front door, a heavy Spanish style door that has a "speakeasy" hinged opening. As I opened the door, a flood of light burst through--so bright I couldn't see.  I slammed the door shut but the "speakeasy" opened by itself.  A beam of light shone through, illuminating the room. Then a voice said in Spanish: "Aliméntame, Tengo Hambre"; (Feed Me, I am Hungry!)

"Hey Riku.... what do you think it was, the Door To The Light?"

"This."

"This?"

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think."

-Kingdom Hearts II

“Practicing The True, The Good, and The Beautiful is the Bread of Light.”

-from the Little Shack: Feed the Light, It is very hungry this year!

"You were sent by God to let His Light shine through you in dark places. Choose to let God's Light radiate in everything that you both say and do. Let His Light shine through your countenance and communication. Let His Light be revealed through your work and through your character. "

-Pastor Vance K. Jackson