A morning spent reading on the Internet has been a little journey into the past for me today, riddled with co-incidences and revelations. I read my weekly ‘Mystic Medusa’ horoscope and her latest blog post:Bibliomancy: Tekhne led me to a link to review of a book she is reading about metaphysics, history and myth, some of my favourite subjects. The John E Mack Institute website however, was the real find for me.
Without wanting to reveal too much of my flakey past, I did a ‘spiritual’ course once and met John E Mack. He was one of the participants. My friend Shirley and I and around 20 others had this adventure that was so shoddy. Shirley and I discussed it last time we caught up and she asked whether I’d heard anything about John, as she really liked him. I thought he had died and today, that was confirmed on that website. He was a very interesting, humble and gentle man. When he listened to you, you really felt heard and Shirley was especially touched by his ability to listen and hear.
He died 3 years ago in an accident.
He was quite sick on that course and that was one of the objections I had about the course. They wouldn’t allow him to deal with his health issues and I felt that was crazy and almost cruel as I could see he was in pain and I felt almost in collusion by being there and watching them deny him care. It was a very unpleasant experience for me. I ended up being totally outraged and basically throwing a tantrum, which was then put down to a flaw in my spirit. Still, on reflection, I learnt lots from that course about myself and about deferring to others. I had perhaps lost touch with myself and that was what it took to make me realise who I was.
Earlier this week in class (although I was hardly there, I did have a couple of lessons), a student asked me whether I believed in UFO’s. John came into my mind. I told the kids what he’d told me about his research and that although I had no evidence, I trusted his and I personally do believe.
Crackpots Unite
Today I received one of those email stories and I loved it. It went well with Tuesday’s excursion. It came with a disclaimer that the person wasn’t sure if it was really a Chinese story or a woman for that matter, which also made me smile. I felt a bit like that leaky container today :
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived
only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman
bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course,
the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made
to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to
the woman one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”
The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?”
“That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day
while we walk back, you water them.”
“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You just have to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
A Social Life
I have had a very social weekend. I even went shopping with my little sister Kate this weekend. I love having Kate around, she’s so generous and funny. My friend Rhonda came over yesterday afternoon and we all sat around and laughed till it hurt.
I had two events last night. My twin Auntie and Uncle’s 50th Birthday party and a close friends engagement party. I wanted to attend both and managed it. I forgot to take my camera, which was a shame, but there were camera’s around so I imagine I will see photo’s.
I loved catching up with my family. They are such great fun and I had a few good memories. I saw a photo of my auntie and I, that was taken probably 30 years ago and I immediately remembered how much I idolised her. She was probably 20 and I was probably about 11 or 12. She was heading off to Malaysia with her partner and I was devastated. When she returned after a few years our relationship had changed, I was older, the gap had lessened. I forgot how much I adored her. All my brothers and sister were there and it is always good to catch up with them as well as most of my mum’s 7 brothers and sisters and their families. It was great.
At the second party there were people I worked with and some who had left the school had returned for this party and I loved seeing them again. My work mates are a valued part of my life and it was lovely to catch up with those I’ve missed.
I feel very blessed and happy today. Both my children are home and safe, it is holidays and all is well in my world. I am grateful for the wonderful life I have.