Kindness

 Before you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.

-Naomi Shihab Nye

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Travels and Thoughts!

 We have been traveling slowly throughout the western passage from North to South... stopping along the way to breathe and meet souls of the Earth. That is our favorite thing in life. Looking for the evasive (at times elusive)  connection to others. When you are quiet and breathing it just seems to appear. 

Our travels guided us through Kanab Utah and downward through Tucson and as always landed us in Tubac Arizona. Tubac has been a quiet refuge for us for 10 years. Many souls turned into deep friendships that will remain with us forever. Surprisingly, we have all aged... how did this happen? I'm not feeling much older and when I gaze upon my friend's faces they are eternally young. Several are turning 80 this year... amazing in my mind! The high desert treats them well. 

This year we decided to land in Pecos New Mexico for 10 days (outside of Santa Fe) and we were treated to an incredible experience. New Mexico walks in the wake of spiritual happenings. It is the land (of enchantment) of indigineous ways, of battles fought, of ancient lands. You can feel it all around you. We stayed in an incredible spot in the Sangre De Cristo mountains. Our hostess has developed a zen path with sculptural delights of buddhas, ancient indigenous sculptures, hindu sculptures and most impressive wind harps (outdoor sound sculptures). I had never experienced such delight to my ears and senses. The wind harp delivers. This site has some information: https://harmonywindharps.com 

Finally we met some incredible souls. One in particular was a gentle german shepard who guarded and guided us through our stay in New Mexico. Another sacred visitor was the blue heron who landed in the tree top beside us to sun his wings. Today as we explored a church at Apache Corner which was built in 1880 (Nuestra Senora de Luz Church) we met a sprite of a lady all of 4'10" who walked up to ask if I had a garbage bag or two. She was decked out in many coats, hats and scarves with large sunglasses upon her beautiful face. Her smile was contagious. And she grabbed my face in her hands and kissed me. I had been kissed by an angel. She had come from the Phillipines years before, had survived brain cancer in 2009 and now had difficulties in balance and vision. She held Traces and my hands as she talked. Everyday she walked to the church to pick up litter and to pray. We joined her and were set off with a kiss and a wave. Life is incredible on this planet.