AJ!!!!!
Yet another beloved family member returning around the same time for what appears to be an unconscious reunion of sorts! It's funny you mentioned how people seem to be coming back and posting in the wake of Sandy's absence.. I was just saying to her not long ago about how the timing is impeccable because, let's face it, her and George both could probably use a "break" I think sometimes, and I'm happy that we are here together to "hold the fort down", to meet and greet newcomers and share with all and each other.Oh yeah, you asked where I've been, aha well let's just say I let myself become mentally and emotionally trapped in a life of material and attachment.. all in all: attachment to a futile, soul-draining job; attachment to substances and abusing them; attachment to a girl and ensuing heartbreak.. I have overcome them all and am currently just experiencing some down-time as I am engaged in a big transitional period.. so that is how I have mustered up the right frame of mind and the subconscious spiritual "pull" to come back to the board!
AJ you mentioned something that really resonates with me.. about the love you feel for your fellow human brothers and sisters. I have been having a LOT of the same thoughts and feelings lately. I can't help but feel a powerful, endless, overflowing compassion and mercy for all humanity lately, the kind that makes you pray for those you mentioned aren't praying for themselves, the kind that makes you hurt when you know people are hurting, the kind that makes you learn how to forgive the ones *doing* the hurting, the kind that just makes you want to be a better person all the time always and not just for you but for the world you love so much..
I love what Pet was saying too. Hey girl, I know what you mean, I feel like I really *notice* those little miracles and acts of kindness and compassion around me! If you're anything like me, a big ol' smile seems to rush up your body to your face uncontrollably sometimes when you see, for example, a stranger showing kindness to another stranger.. it certainly makes my day. Your beetle story was really cute and reminded me of something too. I was outside in my backyard one day, and lost in a gaze watching some ants wander aimlessly to and from their colony. Then I saw a dead fly on the ground somewhere and I picked it up to put it right by the hole to their home and watched as they all came out and started bringing in the food. And later, the sweetness of such an act and the beauty of humanity dawned on me.. there was really no requirement nor a nagging itch for me to do that, to bring the food closer to make life easier for the ants, and certainly it's not like the ants even had a clue that they had just received kindness or something to feel any sort of gratitude for.. and yet just the thought that a human can willfully choose to give and act out love so freely and unconditionally if chosen, just for the sake of it and not demanding a reward or favour.. to me that is beautiful.
I'm with AJ.. I love you all so much!
Love
Lucky
