Hi SpiritImage - I was wondering what you meant by how do we come up with that stuff - lol. Do you mean literally, or was it a joke, or??? Not sure! Let me know. :-)
Steve, I hear you - I think. Good points. As you probably intuited, I am entering a new phase of life. The past couple of months have been a self-imposed hermit-stage for me; I am taking stock, reflecting, analyizing a bit - and meditating more than before. It is a time for lessons learned, new beginnings, endings, etc. In short, I am trying to find 'me' again - which means a lot of alone time. After much soul searching, I have to say - we are who we are. Part of who I am is... an extremely loyal person. C'est vrais! Once I love someone, it is a life long love. Just is. Doesn't mean I will spend my days with the various people I have loved, especially if their path is not perfectly aligned with mine or they no longer serve my growth. Doesn't mean I will wait for them to want to spend their days with me, either. But... I recognize a certain bond no matter the details of life, and that bond is pure. In this way, I always leave doors open. Never burn bridges. Whenever I feel inclined to do so, I step back and reflect. My marriage ending after so many years has not been pleasant, but not all is lost. There is still love and mutual respect between my husband and I, and the children too. We have shared so much. That doesn't happen by accident. We will continue to share, I am certain - although to a lessor degree, and perhaps someday not at all in a tangible sense. Still, I feel blessed to have had the experiences I have had. I expect future blessings, too! The calmest place is not within a tight circle of friends whose aspirations match our own. The calmest place is in our own hearts, which weathers storms come what way. Only God and we know what is in our own hearts. The rest is window dressing, no matter how 'spiritual' or 'advanced' the players in our lives may seem. It is good to seek like company, but sometimes the greatest lessons come from adversity - and I am far from longing for a life of God-communion in a cave. I am alive, on Earth - in a body - why should I want to pretend I am not? We shall all be dead soon enough (again). Food for thought.
'SRFers should marry SRFers. It’s different life styles. Others don’t understand our way of life – as we understand theirs.' ~Brother Bhaktananda
