Summer Days… Up High

WED., AUG. 2, 2000, 10:15 AM
MORRIS LIBRARY, 4TH FLOOR

This is a fine summer day, and you are more cognizant of the heat and humidity, the result of walking only this short distance across campus. You mused on summers past when you prepared for… and then conducted… classes, mostly of your own choosing. That was a marvelous aspect of those last 10 or so years… classes you developed and then conducted, but never exactly the same as previous ones. You had a fine career, a good portion of it under that tower you can see… though the intervening trees will soon “shield” it from this view.

It is good, every now and again, to come up to this place, high above campus, to hear Me, in this unique, “forested” portion of the campus. You realize you are doubly fortunate to have your home place AND this unique campus as wonderful settings for the diminished activities of your life, as an Emeritus professor. You, earlier, looked at the “evidence” of awards you received in the good years you had here. These don’t show you to be outstanding, but, as I’ve judged, above average.

Before you walked over here you re-read Teachings from 10 years ago at this time of summer… when you went to Synod School and left a kind of “record” of this experience in Teachings, daily during that week. You don’t remember it precisely (and more and more of your memories will be of this fuzzy, indistinct sort), but you had some responsibilities… AND… you found a way to share some of your Teachings from Me. You have no clear recall of how these were considered… even accepted, but you do have a record there of an “attempt”. Just accept that the several times you had the Synod School experience leaves you with an unclear, jumbled recollection, but a decidedly pleasant one. You shall probably not attempt that unique form of spiritual growth again.

In a relatively few summer days it appears that you will be traveling to Durango for this projected family reunion. You are not eager to go, but you are not willing to go against Lenore’s wishes on this matter, and hence… If you can be reasonably assured that your animals here will be looked after you can try to pump up the enthusiasm for this gathering. When you go I urge you to participate, fully and vigorously, to at least partly counter the discomfort of being perceived as “old”… “not what you once were”. But also acknowledge that you are “elderly”, probably the 4th oldest there. Look upon this “opportunity” as positively as possible. And realize, of course, that you do have plenty of money now, so you “can afford” this brief adventure. Just appreciate the “high points” of the Gathering, for you’re sure there will be some.

You seem overly disturbed by losses that you’re experiencing now… when I have assured you that many (if not most) of these will be with you for the rest of this earth life. I still want you to focus on the positive… on what you still have and can still do. Oh, don’t overdo trying to appear younger and without important losses, but keep the negative example of your brother-in-law, Bob, ever in mind. And… be quite honest about your expectations for the next portion of this extended life of yours, back in some quite desirable spiritual realm. Know… for I assure you… that the relationships you’ll lose (temporarily) in this life will be more than matched by relationships re-established. You can’t quite imagine this, but you’ll remember that I told you this, when you’ve moved “across”.

Summer days are to be enjoyed, and you should replant some of your garden for some fall “treats”. You also anticipate the fine Fall season that will follow. There are a diminishing number of students that you know, and that know you, but take advantage of these few, with some special invitations to these. As the summer heat wave diminishes you’ll get to cutting firewood again… and look forward to those Fall and Winter nights when the fireplace is so appreciated.