Full of Hope and Sunshine!

When last I left you, dear readers (whatever number you are), I had just finished celebrating an abstract concept - time on this earth and in this body - really an artificial construct, when you think about it - for what is time? A passage marked by the beating of the heart? The seasons? Milestones of biology?

Every time I think about time, my mind returns to music - which one might (MIGHT) argue, does not exist without time. And I think about a piece titled, "Quartet for the End of Time" by Olivier Messiaen. An excellent discussion of his work appears here. Messiaen composed the first parts of this work while incarcerated in a Nazi prison camp. The context of the piece is the last book of the now-existing Christian Bible: the Book of Revelation - and it refers to the moment when an angel announces that "time shall be no more." He and two (or three?) fellow prisoners actually performed this for the other inmates of the camp - in other words people for whom the abstract concept of time had become all too real. I also marvel at the fact that people for whom food was scarce could somehow be spiritually or emotionally nourished by music. I don't know why, but that thought brings tears to my eyes - like the reports I heard of children in the camps drawing pictures.

Life has so many issues, doesn't it? The economy and some poor decisions on the part of certain persons involved in contract administration for Merlin have had an impact on my job. That same economy makes my husband's job just that much shaky. Policy decisions made by priests at my church have hurt the very people they should be helping.
And yet I have hope. I have hope because I work with and for good people who are doing their all to make a difference for our clients - kids who need to get a break somewhere. I have hope because we have a good man in office in Washington, DC - a man who has the intelligence to do this all-encompassing, stress-for-a-lifetime job, and yet has the humility to say, "I screwed up," and the quietness of soul to realize he needs Something bigger than himself. I have hope because the people I sing with and worship with actually worked together to be honest with a rector who appeared to be out of touch with the needs of some of her congregation.

I have hope because there are people like Colin , who refuses to identify with the abusers in his life and instead rails righeously (in the true sense of the word!)  against abuse and cruelty to children or like Indigo, who  has split into different people so that do not choose to be the one who hurt them. I also have hope because of the wonderful, dear, light-filled souls I have met and re-met after years of separation over the internet.

Maybe I have hope because today was a sunny, beautiful day. Or that Sunday, I got to walk with the best friend outside of my family that I have in this world, even though sometimes I wonder what that friend must think of me, LOL:)!

I know the greatest thing that gives me hope is my family - because they love me more in spite of me than because of me (and I thank God for that!).

The Xian Bible says that hope is one of the remaining three things that will be left at the end of time, along with faith and love - but it says the greatest is love.

I think there's a lot of truth there.

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On a less spiritual plane, the past few days have been an assortment of hearings and visits and I think I'm finally into the home stretch of catching up with all my visits - of course that only lasts for a few minutes before the cycle starts up again!

And I'm still working on the 45,000 projects I've started and have yet to finish. The above picture is what I worked on tonight at the Columbia Sip 'n Knit - for the first time in forever! It was wonderful - I forgot how good it can be!

Well, dear readers, it is late and I have preached to the choir (sorry). Time to chill out and get ready for bed - court tomorrow!

Until next time, God be with you 'til we meet again.

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