~ Falling into Life...Catching Impermanence ~

One of the things I have realized (I think) is that we all fall, and fall often.We are also always caught , by the same hands, each time. Think about it and it May dawn on you too

I live in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), in a town just outside of Portland, Oregon. Many of the cars sport the bumper sticker, "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD", and it must work. The Ancient Taoist Sage told me : "We (you and I) are both more and less important than we think. Occasionally we glimpse things, and even realize stuff...really important stuff, like we consist of the same stuff that the Stars are made of, and everything is engaged in a vital, cosmic dance.

I find myself reading much on impermanence, and engaging in some good books like the one by the Dalai Lama "Advice on Dying" and Living a Better Life , and a rather interesting book by STUDS TERKEL sent to me by my friend Justin from Worcester titled : " Will the Circle be Unbroken"...Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith. This book, perhaps one of those 'must reads' is Terrifying, Moving, Painful and Redemptive...HHHMmmmnnn !

The Spiritual injunction I encounter over and over is simply to "LET GO". Let Go of our attachments to things as we think they are, and open ourselves up to Grace !

I have finally found, that when we can stand calmly in the face of our own passing-away, i.e., looking at a newborn infant and say," this too will fade and be no more; when we can sense the nearness of impermanence / death and its rightness, equally with birth, then fear can no longer hold and sway or power over us.

Fact..."We are, each of us, part of something larger and unchanging..."

The Old Sage entreats me to keep it all very simple, chewable, digestible, saying "we all have within us a capacity for wonder and awe; a so-called ability to break the bonds of so-called ordinary awareness...and glimpse in awe.

This is true, and what else is true is the fact that we are all really in this trek, this adventure together.

Yes, our journey takes us to suffering and sorrow, but via faith and stillness and meditation...there is a way through this suffering to something like, well...redemption; something like joy etc. that is outside of so-called time.

I have two very wonderful friends, both named John /Jonny. Both of them have very strong and beautiful Mothers in the midst of dying. One lives here in Southern Oregon and the other in my other home in Jerusalem. Through their lives being fully lived out, the Mothers and the Sons, it has dawned on me in a very real way, that "we are all fellow travelers along the same living stream."

We all will find ourselves, by Grace, as we surrender and open ourselves to Hope and Wonder.

Impermanence ; something Indeed to think about and come to grips with...

I am embarking on writing on Falling, both individually and collectively; for we all Fall, and often...and we are always caught, caught by ...

 Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites