Once Again, Keep It Positive

TUES., FEB. 29, 2000, 6:10 AM
FARM, STUDY

Yes, o son, a big challenge for you, in the life you are now privileged to lead, is to see as much of it as you can… as positive, as fun, as “interesting.” The corollary, then, is to give as little attention as possible to the negative – to your losses, to what you no longer have, of what you once had.

It is bothersome to be awakened several times in a night with the urge to urinate, caused, presumably, by a prostate that slowly enlarges. I see that you’re trying to keep this positive… a little exercise, relief as you urinate, and the capacity to go right back to sleep. This is your condition now. Live with it, as happily as possible.

It is irritating when the two calves and the small bull get out of the pasture. You can repair the fence, and you did, in one place, but that makes it harder for them to get back in… and they will go back to be with “the family.” They do stay in most of the time, and if this Spring weather continues (as it should) the pasture grass will be more appealing than the “outside.” Give more attention to what you “have” than to what you “haven’t.”

Just accept, with some pleasure, at least, that you’re aging, “just about on schedule.” Even with the losses you recognize, you still are healthy, for your age. You have little (to no) desire to live on, just to “live on”… with accumulated natural losses. To live on as an increasingly older person, to be bed-ridden, to be in a nursing home… these consequences of more earth life are not appealing. You want to be active right up until you drop your body. That’s a worthwhile positive goal.

For… remember… you shall be giving up something good – this physical-mental-social-environmental life as Bob Russell – for something better – a return to spirit realms “nourished” by this successful life We have created and sustained, together. Realize the (yes, it is the morning sun) dominance of your secular, scientific, humanistic culture that urges you to hang on, have treatments, avoid death “at any cost.”

It may seem as though I am, like “Johnny One-Note,” giving too much attention to this transition ahead. Not so, as I see it. I want you to see the earth life that you shall be privileged to continue as a positive gift, rather than a loss-impaired “drag.” Glory in what you still have rather than mourning for what no longer is. But I also want you to have the perspective I have, which is that life in the spirit is the finest form of life. What you have now is good. What is in store is Better. You needn’t yearn for it, but when it “is time,” come across happily and expectantly.

You have desires to clean up this study and to make your “outside” neater and more presentable (to whom?). These are worthy motivations, and you shall finally achieve them, but only if you continue to simplify your present life. This is still difficult for you, for there is still much that interests you, and choosing is harder than just “letting things pile up.”

Just know that when your total view of life becomes more simple… which I am encouraging… then these “simplifying actions” will come with more ease. It’s not so much a matter of “pushing yourself” toward a simpler life as it is just letting your “more mature flow” carry you there. You’ll recognize changes as they come. Then just adapt to them and feel a new, but older rhythm.