Know that wisdom is found in many places … SOFTEN THE GROUND OF YOUR BEING

Physical manifestations of life are plastic and when they fail to suit the requirements of time and place they may be manipulated and changed by man. But that which is intangible is beyond the power of man, existing as a permanent reservoir from which the potential of life may be draw as the need arises."

I was once a devourer of books. Stacks of them, rose from the floor around my side of the bed. I was an avid self-help reader in search of recipes that might conjure explanations to my quandaries and discomforts. Words offered explanations I had not thought of, other times a philosophy matched the discourse in my head and I would, "Ah ..." in communion, "that's it." In more recent past, I grew to love the fiction of writers who could simply entrance me with a good tale. In the year before MCS topped off my internal rain barrel I read a dozen novels and mysteries in a week. A sort of last supper of print perhaps. Today I have read no more than parts of one or two books. The layered effects of sensitivities to the environment have screened out new books as companions, and even old books might be too musky to handle.

I appreciate the ability to be able to pick up the book from which I've gleaned the quote above. Re-reading snippets of The Tao of Architecture, a tiny book Pete introduced me to many years ago, I found a way to be at peace with today. In contemporary language of an ancient observer of truths, Laotzu, the author draws images that dip into that permanent reservoir of potentials making sense of nonsense. Here's how the quote above is softening the ground of my being today. First, we watched the inauguration of America's first Black American president this morning. Along with a billion or more other citizens of The Planet, Pete and I have lived long enough to see something unthinkable be a current reality. We listened to President Obama's message, toasting our cups of hot tea as his blue black lips carved out a space in auditory history. This is a man, a leader who reaches out his hand to a minister with beliefs that raise the hackles of the liberal gay community and others. Why do that? To embrace the common good in all if the 'other' will unclinch his fist. It seems the well of potentials has been dipped today.

On the home front, our personal journey here in the industrial center of Seattle, where the billowing factories fill the air with particulets of poisons, we build a home no bigger than most people's guest room. Small in dimensions, the process of making a nurturing home in a complicated society is large. Why do that? We do it because we have experienced many alternatives, and find no comfort or safety with those alternatives. We have no blueprint for success with materials specific, safe and accessible to two old dears. The life experiences we bring to the challenge of re-building a nurturing nest sometimes thwarts the flow of solutions; what we used to believe/who we deem as good-trustworthy/what we believe is 'right' changes. So how are decisions and choices made firm and good for the building of safety? Well, the natural flow of The Planet's elements is showing us they have a strength that will not be manipulated ... mold will gather where there is damp. If my system is truly sensitive to the materials both natural and synthesized we will need to dip into the 'intangible ... beyond the power of man' because the need does arise. Could it be a choice we viewed unthinkable shows itself as a solution? I'm looking into the reservoir, knowing wisdom is found in many places.

Joy be part of your day, Mokihana