Second Chance Dance: A California Reunion

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

A California Reunion

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience

but spiritual beings having a human experience."

- Pierre Teilhard Chardin

The Inspiration _______________

(Over 100 family members and friends gathered in Northern California's

wine country to honor and celebrate the life of the pilgrim's sister 's

free spirited husband who had recently passed on to the other side.)

A venerated teacher proclaimed ,

"It is is said that a Buddhist story that sites

the probability of our incarnation as a human being on

this earth at this time is something like one life preserver

being thrown randomly into the ocean. There is this one

turtle in all the oceans on earth swimming underneath the

water somewhere .The probability that we come about in

this world is the same as this one particular turtle sticking

its head out of the water —-and at that specific moment its

head peaks through the hole in that one random life preserver

in just one try. Some social scientist promulgated that

the odds of one becoming a real thing ( a life) is about

1 in 400 million."

The pilgrim responded "If all of creation is not a miracle

I don’t know what is.

The vessel may end the earthly journey but the essence

of the spirit is not finished as a new journey begins."

The Writing _____________________

( A personal reflection inspired by the post's theme)

A California Reunion

What is that flame , that light -

That mystically draws searching souls,

Abandoning their daily passage to gather,

Reuniting in compassion and empathy ?

How is it that in one fleeting urgent moment

The baggage of their journey

Is left behind with no regrets or hard feelings?

How strong is that desire for healing

The broken heart of a fellow traveler?

The pilgrim and two offspring converged

In the land of the ghosts of Jack's Dharma Bums ,

The California Stars , with

The great pilgrimage.

To be to where

Mindfulness is the living practice of

The redemption and gratitude ,,

Is "the holy communion ."

This is where rivers of tears can

Flow like sacramental wine.

The days of the unwavering torrential rain

Came to a hard stop without notice,

Giving rebirth to divine virgin blue heavens

Making room for the great gleam.

The Tower of Song of the mask-less sojourners

And companion hearts sang out

As one unified voice of a singular solemn

Choral family filling the sanctuary

On the secret sacred banks of the Russian River

One puss south of the Golden Triangle

Guarded by the glorious green mountainous grandeur.

Sounds of the Chicago blues echoed

From the celebratory chapel of love,

The same source heard in the most holy of arias.

Higher and higher, cowboy laments ,

Palomas and fries added to the nourishing

Of the hungry hearted congregation.

It is in this sacred retreat of , leaving the world behind,

The one sublime transformational moment of the authentic

Consecration of unconditional love washing down every

Aspect of the universe ,

All kneeling in the deepest chamber of their hearts

In humility to the light.

- JF Sobecki

The Poems ______________________

( Poetry reflections on the inspiration)

Where Many Rivers Meet -

All the water below me came from above

All the clouds living in the mountains

gave it to the rivers

who gave it to the sea, which is their dying.

And so I float on cloud become water,

central sea surrounded by white mountains,

the water salt, once fresh,

cloud fall and steam , tree root and tide bank

leading to the river' mouths

and the mouths of the rivers sing into the sea,

the stories buried in the mountains

give out to the sea

and the sea remembers

and sings back

from the depths

where nothing is forgotten.

- David Whyte

The Holy Longing - Goethe ( From the Favorite Poem Project)

https://youtu.be/8YWoOj5mJMo

Song of Myself - Walt Whitman ( From The Favorite Poem Project)

https://youtu.be/hPLHVQpm1JA

For The Children - Gary Snyder

https://youtu.be/UXY5NTaL_48

The Music _____________________

(Reflections on the inspiration)

Transcendental Reunion - Mary Chapin Carpenter

https://youtu.be/RxgscjinS-k

Heavenly Father - Bon Iver

https://youtu.be/vAoADCSpD-8

Live Forever - Drew Holcombe

https://youtu.be/ntbNQk2Tk7Q

Windfall - Son Volt

https://youtu.be/f1XrTzVzbJY

California Stars - Wilco

https://youtu.be/gQwlAjiSzQcLeonard Cohen,

Tower of Song - U2 with Leonard Cohen

https://youtu.be/OpLBtWG3JR4

No Hard Feelings - The Avett Brothers

https://youtu.be/aaU2HvRhCPw

Jim Cuddy,

Wash Me Down - Jim Buddy

https://youtu.be/V6KxemuVYMU

Setons of Love - Rent

https://youtu.be/UvyHuse6buYAndre Bocelli, Hopland, California

Coda_____________________________

A Time to Say Goodbye - Andrea Bocelli/Sarah Brightman

https://youtu.be/4L_yCwFD6Jo

Remembering__________________

R.I. P. Skip

Higher and Higher - Marybeth at Skip's Memorial Celebratio

https://youtu.be/yF_Ap_vOSuM

Tbird and The RedHead - Jimmy Smith Band ( Featuring Skip on harp)

https://youtu.be/LY2BP6IoRwg

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

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

A California Reunion

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