Merry Chirstmas!!

A blessed Christmas and Peace to all of Goodwill

Last night, Christmas eve, one of the families here in Tumianuma invited me to their turkey dinner. They are an older couple and five of their grown children were there with grandchildren. In addition most of their neighbors are brothers, sisters or aunts and uncles. Apart from the fact that my Spanish is pretty bad, I had a great time.

Life is such a mystery. I look down at myself from the mountain top and wonder what I am doing. Why go and live in a village with strangers and where you can hardly communicate?

When my late wife Joan died in a car crash in 1998 I realised that we think that we have control over our lives, but we don’t. We can plan and scheme, but in the end we live in the moment. Sometimes we have insights, glimpses into the why.

All we have is love. But that is a hard road at times. It needs so much trust, belief and courage.

Thinking over all this I realize I have my foolish side. I still like adventure. Usually I learn to swim. I wonder what life will bring this year. I wonder what I will write next Christmas. Life is still exciting.

This morning I decided to finish unpacking my books and tidying the house up a bit. It sure would be nice to have a partner help with that. When I feel down I often listen to Handel's Water Music. It is totally uplifting. When I die I would like that to be playing. Let Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates of heaven know that I am on my way.

This morning I was invited by some friends to join them in a Christmas service but decided to have a quiet morning for myself. This afternoon I will go to Finca Sagrada and join them for Christmas dinner.

I am content. I have so many good friends, folks that I love, and likewise people who love me. I trust in my intuition that I am doing the right thing. Recently I had the spiritual experience where Mother Mary said that she would take care of me. That reassures me that all will be well.

May we all follow our path with love and wisdom and devotion.

Just in case you're wondering how I have set up my house, I included some photos. The white board is from a lecture I gave to some of the garden ladies. The four paintings are from a painting class here in Vilcabamba. Maybe not very talented but they represent water, air, fire and the ether. The class was a lot of fun.