Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The End -- and The Beginning

there's all kinds of roads out there
good roads, bad roads,
smooth ones, rough ones

you can find yourself going
through good neighborhoods or bad
they're all out there
to choose from --

look for me on the good road
hope to see you there


><><><>< This is the final scene from the last of the silent film era. A favorite. See you on the good road. ><><><><
The new patch of dirt el poquito is digging: www.flowerandsongartgarden.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Restoration: The Full Circle

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery,
none but ourselves can free our minds.”
- Bob Marley ‘Redemption Song’

It was a turning point - one of those pivotal moments in a life that remain etched in your mind forever. The elderly gentleman sat across the table from me; others were present, also, but in that moment, only his eyes locking onto mine existed; all else, including the others, receded into a hazy background.

A patch of bad fortune had recently fallen upon me, but as often happens, my bad fortune was quickly followed by good fortune. First, was falling down an unseen rabbit-hole that challenged my mortal invincibility and questioned my immediate survival, then, followed by the good fortune of an older man whom I trusted, just ‘happening’ to arrive --- from 2000 miles away - Mexico.

Tlakaelel, an elder made wise through 90 years of life experience, had befriended myself and my family a number of years before. That was a previous good fortune - that somehow our paths from Mexico to Michigan would cross and a bond forged. His guidance and friendship had meant much to me throughout the years - but it all felt as if it had been leading up to this point - this single moment. His words became a guide to me out of the darkness. Nothing more than this needed saying, and in fact, I remember nothing more than these words from that visit. These were my marching orders. Five years later, they continue to be. Like seeds planted deep inside of me, I tend them daily, some days better than others, but tended nonetheless - essential truth to be embodied during hard and difficult times:

“If you are enslaved, do not be a slave. If you are imprisoned, do not be a prisoner.”

On this day, these words were planted deeply inside me - and thus began the Restoration of one man: body, heart, mind and spirit.