Monday, January 14, 2013

The beholder's eye

The way to the beach. Lots of wires in the air. 
They're much more noticeable in photos.
Water looks rather like a tsunami.
My days filling up and I'm hella jetlagged and coughing a lot today. It's 7:30 pm and I will try to stay awake long enough to do this. It's nice not having ants crawling on my computer screen.

Talked to Carol Gerstein, the social worker, today. About travels. About a Living Funeral. About my Advance Health Care Directive (I'm going to do a new one.) Then walked at Ocean beach. It was beautiful and sunny, and there were very cute little birds. If I were naming them I would call them Running Fat Cutebirds.

I am as enamored with San Francisco as I was with Bali. Fact: Here is an astonishing lack of traffic. Look at the beach on a Monday, hardly anyone there!

Facing north through the ice plants
next to the imaginatively named Ocean Beach 
I'm wondering about doing a Celebration of Life or a Living Wake or whatever when Parmamanda is here in early April. I had asked him to officiate my funeral but perhaps it makes more sense to do it while he's here anyway, and I'm still alive!

I also looked up some places for cremations and natural burials, etc.

I don't know if my face hair is just normal middle aged lady stuff. Maybe it would have happened in X years anyway? On the pos. side, my fingernails are amazingly healthy.

Oh yeah, found a cool version of the Heart Sutra that seems to be based on the one we use (Kapleau's translation). Will post it later.

Oh yeah again - Singhashri went to Rainbow and got me groceries, that was awesome, and the latest Tricycle magazine, on the subject of 'facing death'.

Oh yeah, MJ transcribed my talk. I say "like" a lot: confirmed. Do I hammer on about this talk? Sadly it's pretty much the only teaching I've done in the last year which makes me sad. Anyway I need to edit the transcription, but will post it when ready. So much shit to do, so little time...?

Everything looks really beautiful. Is it in my eyes? Is it the light? Am I dead?

I must not be, 'cuz here's my calendar:

Now to Jan 24 - lots of dr. appointments, and prep for retreat.
Jan 24-Feb 8, Feb 15-18 - Retreats.
Feb 22-24. 2 people visiting.
Early March - week in New Orleans with Lo and others
March 23-29. Singapore spring break!
Early April Paramananda

"As to me I know of nothing else but miracles" Walt Whitman



* Done. 10:22 pm.

2 comments:

  1. I hope that I'm one of the people you have as visiting! I'm coming in on the 14th, to go on the weekend retreat, and then I'm staying on for about 10 days at the SFBC, before Rich comes over for a few days and then we go on our cruise.

    I'm available for pretty much anything you want to do or need me to do. Beach walks, museums and wandering around aimlessly looking in shops are my specialties.

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  2. Hey there,
    Glad to hear that you still enamored with San Francisco, I have not been too either. Have been thinking of you and thought that I would drop you a line.
    I like the title the beholders eye. Thought that i would share a poem with you which is my favourite.

    Come, come whoever you are!
    Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
    It doesn't matter.
    Ours is not a caravan
    of despair.

    Come,
    come even if you have
    broken your vows
    a thousand times.
    Come,
    come yet again,
    come!
    Inscribed at the tomb of Jelaluddin Rumi

    I saw Singhasri at Padmaloka in december. Thinking of you often think of your puja's on my Ordination retreat and the excerpt about the 'snake' which makes me smile.
    tons of love Karunadhi xxx

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