Second Chance Dance: July 2024

Monday, July 1, 2024

Impermanence and the Eternal Now

"(Schopenhauer suggests)Just as you have met those in your life by

chance became agents of the structure of your life, so you have

become an agent to help

in the structuring of the lives of others....

.... follow your bliss - there is something inside you

that knows if you are on the beam or

when your off the beam ...

('this moment now is the heavenly moment')"

- J.Campbell

"If a problem is fixable, if the situations is such that

you can do something about

there is no need to worry. If the problem is not fixable ,then there is

no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worry at all."

- Dalai Lama

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"

- John lennon

The Inspiration:

So, there the pilgrim pirate stood as the plan he had conjured

seemed to be ready to have the specified grains of multi-colored

sand fall into place into a yet to be designed great mystical Mandala.

Before he could exhale a sacred wind swept in dispersing the sand

in the blink of an eye changing everything

He was stuck in the moment.

Slowly the reality of his attachment evaporated.

The voice of his master sherpa echoed in the distance

" Not to decide is to decide.All things change, you know "

The pilgrim chose to be awake to the present and let go.

The Writing:

Impermanence and the Eternal Now

The words loop into an infinite mantra,

"Let it be simple and let it be ."

There is no need to choose between Simon of Cyrene,

Dismas or even Trina's caterpillar.

Mary wrote that the final instruction

from Buddha was "Make yourself a light."

Students of Siddartha suggest that the teacher's

last word was simple - "Care."

Do any of the discrepancies really matter in the end?

Does not the universe experience

the comings and goings of every star?

Does the recent trimmed blade of grass

refuse to grow again?

Do trees mourn autumn

or over-celebrate spring?

Whatever this moment is -

Whatever state you are in -

Mindfulness , presence and being

the authentic compassionate creation

is what matters - isn't it?

- JF Sobecki

Poetry:

"Poetry is the window to the soul"

"For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business."

- T.S. Eliot

"Poetry is an act peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet

as flower goes into the making of bread."

- P. Neruda

O Me! O Life!

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring

Of the endless trains of the faithless of cities fill'd with

rage foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more

foolish than I , and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light , of the objects mean,

of the struggle ever renew'd ,

Of the poor results of all , of all the plodding and sordid

crowds I see around,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest

me intertwined.

The question , O me! so sad recurring---What good

amid these , O me O life?

Answer.

That you are here ---that life exists and identity

That the powerful play goes on, and you may

contribute a verse.

- W. Whitman

Music:

Did you ever hear a song or musical piece that seems

to speak to you and the light becomes more than you ever imagined

and for that moment you find peace?

Be Here Now - G. Harrison

https://youtu.be/B5MwgMKcHdI?si=_pvhxYLufHyPopAV

My Cousin Caterpillar - Incredible String Band

https://youtu.be/B_gZu1xK29s?si=j9srzgke7BcFA1ba

Across the Universe - The Beatles

https://youtu.be/iotagMCkJRE?si=t8HIumceaPiQy2yS

Coda:

Some additional pieces or grains sand to consider:

The Eternal Principle - J. Campbell

https://youtu.be/qX8j9TE7P38?si=_dWWuUOknV-SkeH4

Eternity is The Ever Present Now

https://youtu.be/vuMTVLvAzak?si=Qug-JBR5-oC3mAM9

One more - Just Because

The Rescue Blues - R. Adams

https://youtu.be/zJz9fzgENgg?si=HTWwmeyP19RHA_WQ

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