Thanks to the Better Half’s [BH] leading the way, today we dumped half a coffee can’s worth of change into the coin counter at our credit union. For a long while the lobby at the branch we use was off limits due to COVID and the only coin counters I could find were the commercial ones that limit you to a gift certificate or charge a fee of almost 12%. Last week the BH did a run with her coin jar and today she showed me how it works. Despite Omicron, things seem to be improving slightly, at least on some fronts, although, unless there’s a massive change in behaviors and attitudes all over the world, we had best learn to live with pandemics and adapt to horrendous climactic and related conditions and growing levels of autocracy. It’s up to us and our record so far isn’t encouraging. Perhaps for Christmas and during the new year we can “do better."
one of my all-time favorite Christmas ornaments
Photo by J. Harrington
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After the credit union, fully vaxxed, boosted and masked, the BH and I visited our local bookstore and, as my contribution to “Giving Tuesday,” I bought a poetry anthology, Poetry of Presence. I gave it to myself as an early Christmas present. After Minnesota’s “Give to the Max” day, I’ve pretty much reached my limit on charitable contributions for the time being. However, I am once again going to try to be more mindful in my daily life and including the anthology’s poems as part of my morning reading routine seems like a helpful and hopeful way to ease in to themes of mindfulness such as “acceptance, impermanence, non-clinging (“letting go”), compassion, or the unity of all things.” Few, if any, of these themes get much attention in the news or social media and yet, they seem to be essential if we are to have any joy in the world we’ve created.
As an example, today’s poem is included in the anthology and, without naming names, at least once of us needs to be reminded again and again!
How to Be a Poet
(to remind myself)iMake a place to sit down.Sit down. Be quiet.You must depend uponaffection, reading, knowledge,skill—more of eachthan you have—inspiration,work, growing older, patience,for patience joins timeto eternity. Any readerswho like your poems,doubt their judgment.iiBreathe with unconditional breaththe unconditioned air.Shun electric wire.Communicate slowly. Livea three-dimensioned life;stay away from screens.Stay away from anythingthat obscures the place it is in.There are no unsacred places;there are only sacred placesand desecrated places.iiiAccept what comes from silence.Make the best you can of it.Of the little words that comeout of the silence, like prayersprayed back to the one who prays,make a poem that does not disturbthe silence from which it came.
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Please be kind to each other while you can.
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