Excerpt
The first section of my book, Sweet and Deep, contains poems to, for and about Nancy.
Following that, there will be poems just for fun and reflection then poems about nature. Next will be poems on my religion then personal reflections and finally peace. You will see that, in many respects, they cannot be so cleanly separated. One invariably spills over into another. And that’s OK. That’s the way it should be.
I was 74 and Nancy was 60 when we got married. I never imagined I could be so happy. And part of my happiness was seeing how happy Nancy was. We were a perfect match. Every one hopes for a marriage like we had. We loved each other and wanted to be together all the time. Yet, when we had to be apart, that was OK, too. Nancy got ovarian cancer and died six years later.
She will always be a part of me and I will always be grateful for her contribution to my life, health and well-being.
The more I have learned about God, the more contradictions I have run into. Some would say this and others would say that. Who were we to believe? Such inconsistencies did not satisfy my insatiable appetite to know and serve God. As I discarded some unacceptable concepts, I still found myself with other people’s definitions or concepts. This made me wonder where those notions came from. Some were straight out of the Bible, to be sure. But even these seemed to be someone else’s ideas about who God was. What can anyone really know about God? What has God ever said to anyone? How has God revealed himself and to whom? Are those who claim divine revelations telling the truth, engaging in illusions, trying to impress someone, or could they be mistaken?
Jesus is considered to be the enfleshment of God. He is the Word of God in the flesh. But how can we know what Jesus was really like? There seem to be many documented things that he did, but when the editors, translators and writers with vested interests got through with these accounts, what can we know for sure about Jesus?
When I take my daily hike up “Big Glassy” I invariably find myself in a mode of appreciation and wonder. How beautiful are the forests, the skies, the people walking by. I experience myself as a part of all this majesty of nature. The tall pines, the poplar and the giant oak are all so impressive. Still, they, like I, will some day fall and become a part of the earth that nourishes the sprouting acorns, the grass, the bushes and young saplings. Here is a sense of belonging. Here I am at home. And my life will go on forever.
When I get to the top and look out over the hills and valleys below, I drink it in like a thirsty deer by the side of the brook. My spirit is inseparable from the universal spirit that surrounds me. Those who walk by and those who pause to talk, all share my spirit and I theirs. We are wedded without even knowing it. Or, perhaps, some of us do.
My sense of ego, self and higher-self are, for the most part, united with this universal spirit to which I belong.
As my sense of belonging increases, my self-esteem increases proportionately. I am no longer so defensive and vulnerable. As my self-esteem increases, my acceptance and appreciation for others also increases proportionately.
Enjoy!
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