Theme: Screening season
The pea pod is brought home from harbor. After a year's continual service forgivingly navigating winter swells and early spring winds she deserves scraping and sprucing up. We paint bottom dark blue, paint floorboards sky blue, slather boiled linseed oil/pine tar/turpentine soup on sides and inside boat, paint top strake pink. (These are the chosen colors Anna left on the boat when she asked us to steward the double-ender, and they will continue as she wishes.) The yard has looked like a boatyard with hanging oarlocks, anchor, lines, bumpers, tarps, cardboard, brushes, rags, and assorted clamps, wood screws, work-horses, dog, and cat.
Chapel/Zendo is fit and used with gratitude and quiet joy. Merton bookshed/retreat is stretching loose as three months with resident guest comes to end. I sit upstairs and read at end of day, watching sunlight's final climb up Bald Mountain, then shade of dusk drawn down over this valley bowl.
Visits to prison for conversations and class in philosophy of friendship continue Each week. As unofficial nobodies we delight in coming and going with only intent the good of all -- employees and inmates -- in heart and mind. It has been a gift to be allowed to be present, converse, and engage the education we all need to cultivate. No other agenda; no other purpose. Perhaps when anyone leaves prison they will have an experience and skill to carry with them of listening/speaking, appreciating/thinking, clarifying/seeing through. The links between the greater outside Meetingbrook community and the prison Meetingbrook communities grow strong with holding lines.
The nursing home poetry, tea, and thee Fridays are wonderful. These 90 year olds and their younger compatriots bring words that evoke laughter and tears. Grandchildren attend. Friends show up. We're going to need a bigger room. The delight of poetry to insinuate itself into the human psyche and corpus penetrates us at each meeting. As some weaken and some do not show up we are more intent to keep doors of attention open so that profound sentiments will amble halls to rooms around corners where they reside watchful and wondering.
Life is an odd friend.
We are pleased to share it with those we can -- free, informal, and open.
And with you.
Friend!
Best,
Saskia, Bill, Rokpa, Mu-ge*
And all who grace Meetingbrook with presence
27June2011
*Note: On 5July2011 Mu-ge, our dear cat companion, was found dead on the edge of Barnestown Road. We are saddened. We miss him. We are grateful for the time, 9 years, he spent with us.
(9July2011)
