Here and Now...What's Happening?

[1inMany]

Posted by Calz
Thought you were back in Texas I did ...

Chilly in Texas???

Hrmmmppphhh.

Haha, Calz. Yes downright chilly. It has been in the fifties and sixties, and for TX that is chilly. I know, that's not even close to chilly where you are.

Posted by Calz
Warm up this party we must ... (at 900 years old and working tonight sleep we must ... but the first dance is for you)

Awwwww.

Thanks for the welcome back, Sierra. Missed your squishy hugs! And hi right back at you, dan33.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by Sstarss (here)

Posted by ulli (here)

Someone out there was listening in on us and decided to crash our party.

Movements of joy,
moments full of wonder,
....our lovely 1inMany.

Ulli, I just love this picture! And my goodness, Starss. Thank you so much.

[meeradas]

Posted by dan33 (here)
... JESUS is awesome...

"Nobody f*cks with the Jesus".

---

Hey, J. Welcome back!
[Didn't have the feeling you were gone]

[1inMany]

Posted by meeradas (here)

Hey, J. Welcome back!
[Didn't have the feeling you were gone]

Thanks, sweetie It's nice to be back. Feels like I have lived a lifetime in just a few months. Or maybe the past 6 months. Or past year. Or two.

I think I will visit the Village healing pool after thinking about all that. And maybe light a candle. And maybe try to dig up my old magical broom. You know, just in case. It is a good thing to keep on hand. A fire would be nice about now...Nora, how is the weather on the mountain? Is it time for soup yet? My girls thought it was time for soup here, what with the rain. I've been chopping and simmering for a few days.

Speaking of soup and fire...Marianne, how are you doing these days? Do you have any new juice concoctions? Sending love your way, too. Hmmm, which has nothing to do with soup and fire. Yep. I'm back alright. Haha!

Much Love

[Dennis Leahy]

Holy guacamole, look who's back... with an infectious smile. :~)

Hi, "One"

[Carmody]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0gf7Ahd0a-o

[ulli]

Posted by Carmody (here)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0gf7Ahd0a-o

Wow, love this. Listening to everything Rothko now. Calming, just like Mark Rothko's paintings.

[1inMany]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
Holy guacamole, look who's back... with an infectious smile. :~)

Hi, "One"

Oh goodness. Hiya Dennis :D That was sweet.

(I would add a wave and a heart if I could figure out how to on this phone haha)

[TargeT]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
:~)

So I've been watching Fargo & Duluth is featured... the series says the stories are all true, can you comment on that?

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by TargeT (here)

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
:~)

So I've been watching Fargo & Duluth is featured... the series says the stories are all true, can you comment on that?

"Fargo", the movie? I never saw it (though I am aware of the actor's -Steve Buscemi's- demise.) You mention "series" - is it a TV show now too? I don't have TV service.

I'm probably the biggest winter wimp in Duluth - most characters here are toughened by 6 months of winter. It only hardens (freezes?) my desire to escape (though Duluth is wonderful in the short summer and early fall.) I'm guessing that there is nowhere on St. Croix where you can take a gas-powered auger out onto a frozen lake and drill down through 2 to 3 feet of ice in order to go fishing. Maybe we can work out a "house swap": I'll care for your horses during the winter - and you can discover the winter wonderland that is half of Duluth's personality. :~)

[ulli]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)

Posted by TargeT (here)

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
:~)

So I've been watching Fargo & Duluth is featured... the series says the stories are all true, can you comment on that?

"Fargo", the movie? I never saw it (though I am aware of the actor's -Steve Buscemi's- demise.) You mention "series" - is it a TV show now too? I don't have TV service.

I'm probably the biggest winter wimp in Duluth - most characters here are toughened by 6 months of winter. It only hardens (freezes?) my desire to escape (though Duluth is wonderful in the short summer and early fall.) I'm guessing that there is nowhere on St. Croix where you can take a gas-powered auger out onto a frozen lake and drill down through 2 to 3 feet of ice in order to go fishing. Maybe we can work out a "house swap": I'll care for your horses during the winter - and you can discover the winter wonderland that is half of Duluth's personality. :~)

So now it's St. Croix? I thought you were going to winter in Costa Rica?

[Michelle Marie]

Just a fly by "Hi!" Sent with Love

Cozy fire with kittens weather. Running errands, going to work.

Feels good here...this family of friends thread.

Michelle Marie

[ulli]

Posted by Michelle Marie (here)
Just a fly by "Hi!" Sent with Love

Cozy fire with kittens weather. Running errands, going to work.

Feels good here...this family of friends thread.

Michelle Marie

Experience has taught me that friends are preferable to family.
Someone needs to teach families how to be like friends.

[RunningDeer]

PurpleLama Camp Out

♡

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by ulli (here)
...So now it's St. Croix? I thought you were going to winter in Costa Rica?

December through February in St. Croix, March through May in Costa Rica? :~)

[ulli]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)

Posted by ulli (here)
...So now it's St. Croix? I thought you were going to winter in Costa Rica?

December through February in St. Croix, March through May in Costa Rica? :~)

Good choice. In January and February it does get chilly here at nights and after May it's rainy season.

[Guest]

Hey 1inMany you look so happy. You guessed it, I'm sitting by a good hot fire.
Hot vegetable soup coming soon.

️Hugs

Love

Nora

[1inMany]

Posted by Nora (here)
Hey 1inMany you look so happy. You guessed it, I'm sitting by a good hot fire.
Hot vegetable soup coming soon.

️Hugs

Love

Nora

Nora!!!!! It is so wonderful to see you, to touch you! That warm fire has been my own warmth and comfort so many times. I hope you are doing well and healing from your rough ride. Sometimes that is a long danged road to internal peace. I'm still on that road. But going the right direction. I hope you are, too.



Much Love,

[1inMany]

I guess I chose the right picture for my avatar, if my smile is infectious and I look happy. I chose it because that moment that was captured was a single moment of so much joy. I was filled up and it was spilling over. Here and now, I am remembering that evening. It has caused me to stop and assess many things.

My older brother had contacted me because he was going to be in the Dallas area and wanted to meet up for dinner. We hadn't seen each other in many years. My siblings scattered all over the states, and when my mom passed it seems the family gatherings came to an abrupt halt. A story for another day. Or probably not. Anyway, we all love each other, even though we don't speak much and rarely see each other. There are the usual family dynamics, someone is always on the outs. But one glue between us is the childhood religious indoctrination. I have said this before, it took me probably ten years to stop the nightmares. And it has been pointed out to me that I still carry remnants of that old belief system. Each of us has struggled to free ourselves. Messy business, this.

This brother just stopped having nightmares a few years ago. He is 66 now, I think. But his remnants are strong. And the damage was deep. So he always looked to find his own truth. He has grappled with who God is, what his spiritual purpose is. That's what I think anyway. And there is always a feeling left over from this of being unworthy.

Well we met for dinner. When he saw me, he ran across the parking lot and hugged me like he would never let go. Tears fell. His tears. Mine too. We caught up, we talked about our children, our spouses...er...his wife and my current situation. We talked about so many things. He asked if he could say a Blessing when dinner arrived. I find that a beautiful thing, when someone wants to express gratitude for what we are given, even though I don't do such a thing as say a prayer or something. He held my hand across the table and cried. And the tears reached my soul. They were tears of joy. Joy of reconnecting with me. He thinks I am such a special person. And how could that not touch my very soul? The blessing was beautiful, so heartfelt.

So here's why I am sharing this. After we ate, he shared with me that he has found the one true religion. I listened as he recounted his recent religious experience. And instead of being turned off in any way, I was so moved. I saw love in him. I saw peace. I saw unfettered joy. And I was elated for him. Seeing how happy he was lifted my heart. He has found God... He spoke of the transformation at the moment of baptism. And he said he wished he had thought to invite me to that, and I assured him I would have gone to support him. I felt total unconditional love, for him and from him.

A month later, here and now, I sit and wonder...why in the heck would I be so happy that he has now been ensnared in yet another control trap? I firmly believe that damned Yahweh is *not* God...he is/was a psychopathic control freak. How in the heck could I have been silent through all his chatter about finding a spiritual family...finding a purpose that fulfills him...finding a Divine love... in such a system that was created to control, manipulate, and strike fear into the hearts of humanity?

I think it is this. I had a prophetic dream once, about how I would find "God"...and that hasn't come to fruition. I rather doubt it ever will. Maybe I think that what he feels is what I would have felt if that dream had become a reality. Maybe. But just feeling what he felt, across the table, I was so happy for him. The "God" I was supposed to find...that is not at all the same as the "God" he found. But I recognize his joy. The feeling that Universe knows his name. He said that, actually.

Anyway, that picture...is me absolutely beaming with joy in support of another human being who found some kind of Higher Love and Acceptance, a total Inner Peace. I used it because I do look happy there haha. And I like the look of me happy. Under the surface...I think uncertainty might be the phrase of this stage of transformation. But coming out of a dark period (or seeing a way out...or seeing the light at the end of the tunnel) feels a helluva lot better than going into it.

Here and Now, It's Okay.

Much Love,

[Carmody]

I let people discover life in it's various stages.

At the age of 23-24 or so, I had a friend (same age) who admitted to me that he had 'found god'. etc. I say admitted, as we were a bunch of troublesome youth, of the anarchistic hedonistic (new life that possesses no differential than it's past/origins...is a dead thing)... the generation that never existed, that hole between Boomers and the X.

I supported him fully. I knew it was something he needed (as the words came out of his mouth, it was easily visible) and he would go with it for as long as he had to, as long as he felt he needed to. Or not. So I accepted that direction in him. I was seemingly his only friend of the past days who accepted that, and felt good for him.

I could not place what I projected and moved through... into the path of another's journey of discovery. I instead rejoiced with him that change and discovery had come to him, in whatever form it did. He had a tumultuous marriage with a very religious woman, and that ended ...and he moved on.

Thinking of Fear and Loathing, and the ending of the book/film (and interesting yin/yang mixes of Beer/Vodka/Mesc/LSD):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cw2ze1Iw9d0

[Ron Mauer Sr]

1inMany it warms my heart to see a happy woman. Your avatar is great.

Allowing others to follow their own path, when so different from what one believes, when the other is feeling good is the best choice.

We all have chosen our personal journeys and circumstance, either by conscious choice or by default. And if we choose to change, we can always choose another path. The most important thing we can do is to choose to feel good. And allow others to feel good.

Sometimes I wonder how other life forms, eternal beings, might feel about being human. Maybe that is why some of us are here, for the experience, the drama, to touch the stove to see if it is really hot, and for the thrill of the ride.

Hugs, Ron