Touching Thoughts

Since touch is something I have come to realize is very important to me, I am going to put a few things as I come across them together here. Maybe I can come close to expressing some of what I feel, some of what I understand through touch of all kinds. This will be a changing and growing blog, I hope. To begin:

". . . we are not endowed with real life, and all that seems most real about us is but the thinnest substance of a dream---till the heart be touched. That touch creates us."

Nathaniel Hawthorne (from his notebooks)

I'm not a poet, either, but . . .

Velvet reds, maroons

Fires orange, showers yellow

Renewing autumn

(a humble attempt at Haiku)

Starlight

I saw The Milky Way for the first time in a long time this morning on the way to work. So refreshing. So simple. So good.

The Male Dance

There is a special feeling of mutual understanding and respect that develops when men work at hard labor together. It is best when each knows what to do, digs in without instructions and joins the rhythm, the dance as happened this time. As tasks change and are completed, each moves to the next step without interrupting the dance. Conversation is limited, in fact, rarely needed, and is little more than bits of banter. But there is an awareness of what each of the other partners is adding to the dance. Each leads, each follows in turn, each carries his share of the labor and more. There is woven through the dance, a tapestry of respect, trust, shared skills, and memories that bind. One looks and thinks, "This is how men work, and I am one of them. I am accepted in this dance of men. I am a man." Such an experience is essential from time to time to every man so he can take his own measure and assure his heart that his place in this world is secure.


Last Thursday I had the joy of having three of my "seven sons" come and assist in removing 11 cottonwood trees. There was heat, dust, noise, and physical labor plenty. But I will cherish the "dance" that ensued for a long time. A special part that made my heart swell with pride was when I looked up and saw "our women" who were there, pitching in and working, too. They stacked, pulled, and hauled along side the men. Perhaps it is a strange thing to feel such a mundane experience is so special, but to me it is. More importantly, I know the family members who were not there due to distance, work commitments, or health situations would have and could have joined in the "dance" were they able to arrange it. These bindings, whether they come from working side by side, hiking Timp, wading the Narrows, birthing a child, making a home, or living and forgiving together, are the bindings of eternity. These bindings are as strong and eternal as any other.

More Wanderings

Late, tired, and can't sleep. Wind is blowing the trees outside. I can easily imagine it to be the wind in the Limber pines back at Wheeler Peak of the last 4 days. Miss them already. Wind in pines is a unique melody with its own harmony. Love mountains. They are cleansing and uplifting in so many ways. My place in Paradise has some breath-taking mountains.
There was a small stream, lined by green grass and filled with moss covered rocks. Music. When I was still, I could hear a pitch below me, one in front, and two more different ones upstream at a small water fall. Their harmony was constantly changing, but always there, always in harmony. Literal music. All things have their music. So much is above or below our receptive range right now. Even the pitch of the universe itself is measured and known as it hums along very, very low. I am anxious to get my real hearing back. Maybe then the "still, small voice" won't be so difficult to hear at times. What music there must be!
I love the music of Judy's heartbeat accompanied by the rhythm of her breathings. I love the music of wind, leaves, and streams. I love the music of laughter, especially childrens'. I love the music of moving water, especially in a forest rain, or snow fall. Have you ever been quiet enough to hear the snow fall? I love the music of thunder in a slot canyon or between high peaks. It rocks me. I love the music of heart to heart communication that uses no voices.
Watching Judy play in the forest was music in motion. A dance. No agenda. No place to go. Just beauty to observe, wonders to see, music to hear. She played and explored with the innocent joy of a small child and took wonder in many of the same things. It brought youth and fun back into my heart to be with her. What a gift to be able to set aside adult cares in so carefree a manner. Now I understand Him better when He said, "one must become as a little child. . ."

Random Thoughts on Refinishing Cabinets

I refinished all the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms yesterday. They look new and the wood has a rich tone to it. Nice.

Sometimes I will postpone an event or task such as this one because I don't know the outcome will be beneficial enough to overcome my lethargy. I wonder if I'll approach the resurrection like that?

A new face for the cabinets. Don't we all sometimes desire a new face? Sometimes I am bored with the old one, sometimes I don't like the effects of it. How often did my mother tell me to put on a new face, or put on a happy face?

A new face. Is that why women wear makeup at times? Does it change their emotions or the give and take with their surroundings? What power does that give them? Should men wear makeup?

Do we have different faces for different people, occasions, and different moods? When we change faces, are we being honest?

How often is our face determined by others' expectations or dictated by society?

I want a new face lit by the light of Christ . . . and by my own increased light. Does love put on a new face for us? I think so.

(Shouldn't do repetitive motion tasks late at night when tired. My mind wanders. Or is a wandering mind a good thing?)

Hinting

A hint if interested: I consider out of the ten questions, all to be false but one. Further light will be shed if interested.

No longer lurking. . .

There are some posting blogs who . . . well, if they can do it, so can I. Besides, it isn't fair to lurk on the sidelines with sundry comments without entering the arena. And some of the blogs written surely require comments. I have grown to love the communication possibilities opened.

I haven't figured this all out yet, but will chip away at it at a pace to assure non-addiction. I will willingly accept all advice, but will heed it at my own discretion, of course.

To begin with: perhaps I may be permitted to provoke some thought? A close friend was preparing his High Priest Group lesson (an assignment we have in common) one recent Saturday, and prayed for guidance to know how to stretch and help the brethren to grow without stretching them too much, and these are the questions which were given him:

True or False ?

1. Because of my willingness to obey the commandments the Lord loves me more than one who is not willing.
2. Acceptance of priesthood responsibilities (any calling) gives me the right to have a special relationship with the Savior.
3. The Lord withdraws his love from me when I do things that offend his spirit.
4. If God can withdraw his love when my neighbor offends the spirit, so can I.
5. Divine love is conditional.
6. The Savior loves me the same no matter what I do or don't do.
7. The Celestial Kingdom is reserved for those whom the Lord loves the most.
8. Enoch and his people were taken up because they learned to love on a higher level than we have.
9. I need to qualify for the Savior's divine love.
10. If I fail to qualify for His highest love in this life, having been given a divine opportunity, I will never receive another chance.

May your thoughts be provoked.