Second Chance Dance: Aspects of The Great Chain of Being: A Few Considerations

Monday, August 1, 2022

Aspects of The Great Chain of Being: A Few Considerations

" St. Bonaventure taught that to work up to loving God ( having a complete experience with the divine), start by loving the very humblest and simplest of things, and then move up from there."

- Richard Rohr

(*Note: Every aspect of creation is interconnected and interdependent. The Divine is that ineffable eternal spark, that perpetual ever-present sacred DNA in all creation . Just because one does not completely comprehend the simplicity and yet majesty of the universe does not mean the sanctity of everything does not exist.)

"The love of the divine ( that eternal spark ) creates in us such a being that when truly seen, no person can separate themselves from another person ( any other aspect of creation). In the sight of the divine ( the light of all people creation , are connected ) and are one."

- Julian of Norwich

"Your grandfather once told me it was ok to think about what you want to be until it was time

to start doing what you were meant to do"

- The Rookie

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous"

- A. Einstein

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The Great Chain of Being: Considerations

Consider Beethoven upon completing

The fourth Movement (Ode to Joy) of his Ninth Symphony

Saying the full orchestra was not needed .

Since the first chair violinist was the best musician,

Only one instrument would suffice.

What is the sound of a violinist playing notes without an instrument?

Listen to the sound of one hand clapping.

What if there was no space or rest between notes,

Is there music ?

Is the silence the one great connector of everything?

The internet reported Ringo releasing

A solo collection of the Beatles greatest hits

With only the sound of the drum tracks for each song.

Did Monet think how a single water lily would be enough?

Why use more paint than necessary?

Imagine Whitman after writing "Oh me oh my..." thinking additional words

Would be a potential distraction .

What if Papa Hemingway, tired of standing,

Pulled the ribbon from his weary worn typewriter after just a few words,

Silently self scrutinizing ," I only write what I know."

What about the teacher who directs the lesson

To just one of a class of 23 students

The remaining 22 being less attentive,

Possibly less smart and maybe not as good looking?

Is there that mother loving, feeding and nurturing

Just one of her hungry children?

Is meditating on blades of grass or egrets in the shallows

A waste of time and effort?

Would there be any future plants

If the wind suddenly refused to blow seeds from one landscape to another?

Can the beach have an ocean without tides or waves?

Who decided why bees, other incects and critters

Play critical roles in pollination , rebirth and resurgence

With the magical result of feeding the world?

How do sailors who circumnavigate solo

Know where they are headed if there are no stars

Or have no electronic navigation once created

In a lab in New Jersey by a lonely

Over caffeinated frustrated scientist?

Did Edison consider the result of a Gallup poll questioning

IF electric light was truly necessary?

Do you know any humble sentient beings grateful for the inspiration

That motivated Dionysus to make grapes into wine?

Do we only give love if there is a guarantee of love being reciprocated?

- JF Sobecki

_______

( Sometimes simplicity is the perfect place to start and sometimes it is the answer)

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Aimless Love

This morning as I walked along there lake shore

I fell in love with a wren

and later in the day with a mouse

the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,

I fell for a seamstress

still at her machine in the tailor's window

and later for a bowl of broth,

steam rising like smaoke from a naval battle.

This is best kind of love, I thought

without recompense, without gifts,

or unkind words, without suspicion,

or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut

the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

Bo lust, no slam on the door--

the love of the miniature orange tree,

the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,

the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting , no huffiness, or rancor-

just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest

on a low branch overhanging the water

and for the dead mouse,

still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always standing on its tripod,

ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail

to a pile of leaves in the woods,

I found myself standing at the bathroom sink

gazing down affectionately at the soap.

so patient and soluble,

so at home in its pale green soap dish.

I could feel myself falling again

as I felt its turning in my wet hands

and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

- Billy Collins

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Water Lilles - C. Monet

Beethoven 9th Symphony - Movement IV - "Ode to Joy"

https://youtu.be/hdWyYn0E4Ys

Bernstein Conducts NY SymphonyA Fanfare For The Common Man - A. Copeland

https://youtu.be/MK1N46dRPVg

Part of The Plan - D. Fogelberg

https://youtu.be/NqDyH-dMrKw

Shower the People - J. Taylor

https://youtu.be/GfJWqjoekow

My Lord - Michael Franti, Bono, Don Henley, and Jeff Skoll

https://youtu.be/LyF7Mn6aL4k

God's Grandeur - G. Manley Hopkins ( read by S. Kunitz)

https://youtu.be/vpEaCp8iiSc

Life Itself - G. Harrison

https://youtu.be/bLltRayHHL4

Oh Very Young - Yusuf

https://youtu.be/fLHCC3geTpc

Is This Heaven? - Field of Dreams

https://youtu.be/lXjz-M_6eN

Egrets - Breathe and be Mindful - "Sacrament"

https://youtu.be/210NioezEf0

Little Egg Harbor Religious Society of Friends Monthly Meeting House

Quaker - One of the Oldest Houses of Worship in Ocean County NJ

amdg

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New Blog - Rain and Rivers Revisited: A Journey of a Lost Weekend

Well you may recall I have been working on a piece of fiction for a while now. It is still a work in progress. However, I decided

to release drafts of the first few episodes ( chapters.) Much of the work is completed but I am always cutting and editing.

http://rainandriversrevisited.blogspot.com/

It is difficult to release just pieces at a time as they are created as independent episodes they are also all parts of a larger piece (and picture .) I could share more but I am curious to read or hear your feedback.

I want to thank those friends and supporters who have already provided feedback ...and of course all the folks who have been following my Second Chance Dance Blog ( by the way that will continue.)

The material in the Blog is all copyrighted and cannot be reproduced in any form. Though, I welcome you to share the link and this blog with others .So please when you have a few minutes take a read and let me know what you think. I expect to be posting a series of subsequent episodes shortly.

Thanks....

News of Death

(This is for Coach)

Last night they came with news of death
not knowing what I would say.
I wanted to say,"The green wind is running through the fields making the grass lie flat."
I wanted to say,"The apple blossom flakes like ash covering the orchard wall."
I wanted to say,"the fish float belly up in the slow stream,stepping stones to the dead."

They asked if I would sleep that night,
I said I did not know.
For this loss I could not speak,the tongue lay idle in a great darkness,the heart was strangely open,the moon had gone,and it was then when I said, "He is no longer here"
that the night put its arms around me
and all the white stars turned bitter with grief.
- David Whyte

What Work is

We stand in the rain in a long line

waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.

You know what work is--if you're

old enough to read this you know what

work is, although you may not do it.

Forget you. This is about waiting,

shifting from one foot to another.

Feeling the light rain falling like mist

into your hair, blurring your vision

until you think you see your own brother

ahead of you, maybe ten places.

You rub your glasses with your fingers,

and of course it's someone else's brother,

narrower across the shoulders than

yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin

that does not hide the stubbornness,

the sad refusal to give in to

rain, to the hours wasted waiting,

to the knowledge that somewhere ahead

a man is waiting who will say, "No,

we're not hiring today," for any

reason he wants. You love your brother,

now suddenly you can hardly stand

the love flooding you for your brother,

who's not beside you or behind or

ahead because he's home trying to

sleep off a miserable night shift

at Cadillac so he can get up

before noon to study his German.

Works eight hours a night so he can sing

Wagner, the opera you hate most,

the worst music ever invented.

How long has it been since you told him

you loved him, held his wide shoulders,

opened your eyes wide and said those words,

and maybe kissed his cheek? You've never

done something so simple, so obvious,

not because you're too young or too dumb,

not because you're jealous or even mean

or incapable of crying in

the presence of another man, no,

just because you don't know what work is.

Philip Levine

On Marriage - Kahil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love:Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loafSing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.And stand together yet not too near together:For the pillars of the temple stand apart,And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

A favorite "Journey" poem from a favorite poet

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
-- Mary Oliver

Send or post one of your favorites! They can be lyrics to a song!

Playing For Change

Please see the current music video from "Playing for Change" at the bottom of this page. It is a movement. Enjoy!

"Playing for Change" is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world

Fall in Love

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” --- Pedro Arrupe SJ

Monday, August 1, 2022

Aspects of The Great Chain of Being: A Few Considerations

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