Missing Persons – Words
Author: myunfablife
HI - I'm Robb ( or Rob or Robin or Robbie depending on who in my family is talking to me ) I'm a 60 something gay guy living in Denver with my partner/husband Marck & our four MinPins - Roxie , Bandit , Red Baron ( R.B. ) and Taz.
I'm a 3rd generation Colorado native with roots going back to Scandinavia and England with a little bit Crow Indian thrown in for good measure ( we think - although my maternal grandfather swore to this , it's never been proven ).
I'm the oldest of 3 kids. One younger brother and an adopted younger sister.
My entire family lives within in boarders of Colorado , which makes holidays very fun and sometimes eventful ( dittoheads vs Olbermann-ites ).
Daily Tao / 263 – Counterpoint
It is blazing hot today.
Valley heat is drawn to meet the coast.
The cool days of autumn dance with false summer.
White within black, black within white.
Autumn was coming on, and yet today there is a sudden shift. It is hotter than summer. Even in the midst of a cooling trend there is its opposite.
In the minds of those who follow Tao, duality in life is not clearly demarcated. There is a fuzziness at the line. Day does not have a sharp border with night. So it is with the alternations of the seasons. It is not a simple, smooth continuum from summer into autumn. There is complexity and counterpoint.
If nature is full of subtlety and even false appearances, how wise must we be in order to follow life’s rhythms unerringly?
Arrrgh –
today be Talk Like a Pirate Day , time t’ get your Pirate on !
My pirate name is:
Red Roger Flint
Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Like the rock flint, you’re hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you’re easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
Daily Tao / 262 – Loneliness
Loneliness need not be despair.
It could be an opportunity.
Why are people lonely? It is because they feel no contact with anyone or anything else. They need to feel that they are valued, that they are a part of something, and that their environment will respond to them. When that does not happen, they feel isolated.
One of the major strategies for combating loneliness is to have a mate and family. That is not always perfect, and the problems of a relationship and family sometimes outweigh the terror of loneliness. It is far better to be self-sufficient. Then whether one has loved ones or not, one will not suffer from loneliness.
Some people claim that self-sufficiency is a myth. A person is a social animal, they declare; people cannot successfully live outside of some community. But that is not the correct way to understand true self-sufficiency. What we are referring to is a supreme sense of connection with oneself and the cosmos around oneself. This doesn’t preclude community with others, but it does prevent the excesses and shortcomings that occur when society is one’s only source of union.
Tao surrounds us. One who is with Tao is never lonely, but is an integral part of the natural cycle. In the same way that water surrounds a fish, Tao surrounds us. If we feel lonely, then it is only because we are forgetting how we are totally immersed in Tao. That is why loneliness can be an opportunity : It reminds us that we are dwelling on our own egoistic identity rather than on the support of Tao.
Daily Tao / 261 – Silence
Seek silence.
Gladden in silence.
Adore silence.
As one progresses on the path, one seeks silence more and more. It will be a great comfort, a tremendous source of solace and peace.
Once you find deep solitude and calm, there will be a great gladness in your heart. Here finally is the place where you need neither defense nor offense — the place where you can truly be open. There will be bliss, wonder, the awe of attaining something pure and sacred.
After that, you will feel adoration of silence. This is the peace that seems to elude so many. This is the beauty of Tao.
Daily Tao / 260 – Stimulation
Sex, coffee, liquor, and cigarettes
Are the totems of today.
Stimulation has replaced feeling.
In today’s world, these are the unfortunate equations :
Do you want intimacy? Have sex.
Do you want to be energetic? Drink coffee.
Do you want freedom from inhibitions? Drink wine.
Do you want a fashionable prop? Smoke cigarettes.
Why is it that these things have replaced what should naturally be done? Because people have lost the knowledge of how to do these things without artificial stimulation. Why not seek intimacy through sensitivity? Energy through good health? If we overcome our obstacles, we won’t need inhibition. Pretension will fall away. Only then will there be a blossoming of Tao.
Daily Tao / 259 – Bridge
Dream arch shimmers in storm clouds:
Bridge between heaven and earth.
Its entrance is hard to find.
In legends, they say that the rainbow is the bridge between heaven and earth.
Think how difficult it is to walk this bridge. Not only does it appear very seldom, but we cannot easily find it. It seems to be just at the horizon, but the more we go toward it, the more it eludes us. To find its end, to even stand at its base and contemplate the dizzying heights that must hover over its high arch is even more impossible. If we were to stumble upon that sacred path, could we be light enough and pure enough to walk its raindrop surface to the embraces of gods?
My companion says that he once saw a triple rainbow. What a rare sight indeed! Truly, the land where he saw it must have been blessed, and he was lucky to have such beauty revealed to him.
But then again how high must heaven be to need three insurmountable bridges?
Daily Tao / 258 – Cleansing
Early autumn rain cleanses away smeared heat.
A grateful traveler takes in crystal skies and crisp air.
Distant mountains seem more vast and blue,
And the sound of the waterfall grows more loud.
Autumn is coming. The air becomes fresh and crisp. The fruits of summer are being harvested; the heat of labor is beginning to cool. There is a more relaxed feeling in the air : The fiery activity of summer is replaced by the celebrations of autumn.
In spring, we all had to struggle to make the ascendancy of the year. In summer, we reveled in the glory of fire and vigor. Now, we can begin to let things relax. Just as the pumpkins are beginning to fill out, the squash is hanging heavy and golden on the vines, and the leaves are starting to hint of warm colors, so too can we look forward to mellowness and quietness.
This is the time for harvest. But every planting and growing season also leaves behind excess and inevitable waste. The dust of summer still lingers. The stubble in the fields will have to be burned. We must harvest fully and then clean up fully. Harvest is also the time of cleansing and taking stock.
Chuck & Beans
so true –
What’s Playing –
this week on my iPhone –
The Pet Shop Boys – Electric ( 2013 )
my mostly unfabulous life 