Adjusting To Less Activity

MON., JULY. 17, 2000, 11:04 AM
FARM, STUDY

You look out at a very green “world”, and you are glad to be here. You still have some items on your “list”… To Do… and some more to add… but there really is nothing “pressing”. This relative inactivity does call for some “adjusting”, for your adult life was full of tasks and responsibilities, rarely with the time to accomplish them all. Now… mostly… it doesn’t matter whether you do something today… or another day.

You accept, and happily, I see, that hearing Me and writing these Teachings is your main, continuing activity… along with the writing and sending out, of Ruminations each quarter. These are both enjoyable… and… don’t worry about those Letters that are returned. Resend any that you can, without much fuss, but let some whom you didn’t know anyway, move on, “without Us”.

Your life was quite busy, and you were reasonably “responsible”, so it is not easy to adapt quickly to fewer activities. It almost makes for stress when you feel you should be doing “something productive”, and then… don’t… even as it doesn’t matter.

You are feeling some guilt that your garden is not more fully planted. You have one more bed to plant, if you can get it cleaned out. (The chickens do like those “weeds”.) Then some of the tomatoes need to be restaked… not much else, though you could be considering a late summer, early fall planting.

There’s a good deal of “clean-up” firewood, that should be cut and stacked. I realize that it’s a bit warm for doing firewood, but you could identify trees that could be cut, later.

You read part of a good human story last evening, and you now do have time to read more… and, as I suggested, re-reading of stories and books read in earlier years can be more satisfying, because its harder for your mind (and spirit, even) to accept “the new”, when it may or may not be better than some of what you’re forgetting.

This story, “Love Is Stronger Than Death” is provocative, and it does make you consider how you and Lenore shall be, when the first one (probably you) moves on to a spiritual realm. The idea that you can continue to grow after bodily death isn’t really strange to you, but it fits better with the future of which I’ve told you – of other lives for your spirit, which is not limited to one human experience or to one human identity. I tell you to be assured that when you come across it shall be quite clear, and “previous identities” will be like unto close family members.

As these undelivered copies of this latest, green, Ruminations continue to dribble back you see that people do move, and, then, may not want all of their mail to follow them. You receive much mail that seems superfluous; some of your “returnees” may feel that way about Our Letter, unfortunately. But I do want you to continue it, with fewer readers (but still some faithful, interested ones) and also less expense. Fewer… lesser… CAN be better.

Without the responsibilities that you have given up, you do feel less “committed” to the Carbondale church. This is a rather mixed feeling. You no longer have to do what you have done for years, and you feel freer to visit other churches, mainly those you have been associated with in some past. Yet there also is a loss… you no longer are “needed”… the “world” goes on without you… and that’s still a bit bothersome.

You also realize that you can’t do all that you once did, physically. And when you don’t use muscles, particularly at your stage in life, they atrophy and become weaker, so that tasks become harder, so it seems. So I say… keep mowing, stacking and carrying, walking (even a short run, now and again!) and using the body, even when it hurts a bit. You will never be as strong as you once were, but don’t let yourself become weaker than is “normal”.