wishing you the journey you dream of, and the dreams to get you there

8/14/2019 Wishing You the Journey You Dream Of, and the Dreams to get You There.

1/20

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going byI see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"

They're really saying "I love you

--What a Wonderful World, Performed by Louis Armstong

Return to WainwrightP. Crockett

EXACTLYnow, on an evening somehow just like this one, seems the righttimeto finally begin working into some form (any form!) my simple Holidaygreetings. Why? For one, as the din and haste of yet another mad holidayseason once again recedes into memory, I can hear myself think!

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2/20

And just now, within that welcomed and welcoming silence, I feel a need arising

to just reach out to so many people I care a great deal for, but have not seen fortoo long, and askHow do you do?I want you to know that I care.

Some of you might have little idea how much you mean to me, or how much

richer my life has been because of your place in it. William Blake wrote,Kindness is the milk of the Human spirit.

True enough, because life can be brutal and hit us head on, full force.

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3/20

In which Man learns the tragic (but important) lesson of the return of a hurricaneseye wall. Miami Beach, 1926.

IT occurs to me that it is yourkindness I want to celebrate, in this brief greeting.To say: I am grateful for the ways you have touched me. And as well, to offer upa reminder that no genuine act of kindness, however small, is everwasted. Or,even forgotten. (Reality check that idea in terms of your own experience. Itholds, for me.) I have grown to realize that it is absolutely impossible tobestow ablessing on another without as a result receiving some other, in full, likemeasure.How, exactly? And when? And why would this be so?

I cannot say; don't really know. But I don't need to. I know what I know. Theidea is fully mysterious to me, because it is not always ours to see what we might

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4/20

be giving or receiving., to or from whom. Often, the exact opposite of what Ibelieved to be true was in fact transpiring, to vastly greater effect.I have zero doubt that the thought is the deepest kind oftrue.

We seem to generally miscomprehend the extent of our logical understandingconcerning matters of the heart, and grant our clownish notions a solemn dignitythat befits our notions as polka-dotted diapers might, a baby elephant.

Our conscious musings generally plod along at a fair distance behind the realaction by the time it arrives upon the scene the souls might already havealways known one another for all of eternity, for in that realm there is no time.

Or there might have been some great show with sparks cascading like fireworksand even current arcing, yet the quicksilver dance will have been completedand its restless energy already moved on. Its ebb and flow is both ancient andvastly subtle, relating to the unfolding needs of the soul. None can presume tochart it, or fathom its depths. It is sufficient to completelyexperience.

In the processes of our inner growth and becoming, so often facilitated in themirror of relationship with others, the rational mind indeed plays a critical role.

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5/20

Yet it is only one part of the picture. And quite possibly a lesser player, at that.One part of us hates that idea, and the other even half breathes a deep sigh ofrelief, Thank God!

The things that we think we know about matters of the heart might bear no morecausative relation to its actual kinetic unfoldings, than our awareness of ourbreathing and the the beating of our hearts initiate or govern either process.This is why it makes sense to give beyond reason, as we may be called, or feel led.In a sense it is our only way ofkeeping anything worth having.

THESE are hard, truly awful times for many. Yet even so, strangely, it occurs tome to put this idea upon the table:

If you want to receive the best others have to give, then give others your own. Doit first, and do not waver. Come on, what choice do you have anyway, really?

And, if youd actually see yourself in a position to receiveblessings, and are trulyready, then start first by applying your creative intelligence to focus upon what itmight be that you have to give. Ascertain whatever it is that you, and you alone,have to give to the world. I am warning you: if you see it at all (for we are often

blind to our own true inner gold), you might think it either foolish, or laughable.But I am telling you: it is there. And it might point the way toward your salvation.(By which I mean, the satisfaction of your deepest needs. Your personalepiphany. A sudden "click of miracle" that is your own.)

Personally, I take heart in Oscar Wildes observation that only the shallow knowthemselves.

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6/20

Along the Way P. Crockett

The good news in this whole scenario, this canyon of epic paradox: there are notreally any wrong answers. Life may be a schoolroom for the Spirit, but it is not a

test. From one perspective, certainly, none who really try, who gives it theirall,fail.

And we are not here simply to compete with one another until our last, clinching,tight-assed breath!

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7/20

THE theme to which I keep returning in this "non-Hallmark Greeting," Isuppose, is a reassurance, flowing from my deep conviction that we are none ofus truly alone. Whatever in the HELL might be going on! Even if (or perhapsespecially if), for example, your mess of a financial situation and Home SweetUpside-Down Home have you feeling something like this,

At least you can be glad that you put on festive shoes that morning!

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8/20

I like the idea of reaching out on this day precisely because it is ordinary. ThisHoly day (a Monday, yet!) is marked out on no public calendar as different,and accorded no special significance in observation of any historical event ortradition, or prevailing custom, expression of political bombast, etc.

It's simply a gay-day, man! Yet another jewel upon the mysterious and goldenchain that somehow takes form, and knows no end. That makes upa life.

La Paz GardenP. Crockett Collection Eric Raits

IT is not special because of the date on the calendar, or tomorrows.

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9/20

More so, because the sun rose this morning and completed its arc across the sky,leaving us once again to the moon above, and the stars.

Solar System Quilt, 1876.

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10/20

Because the children played,

inviting a contemplation of innocence.

And because we enjoyed the supreme luxury of taking for granted the company ofour loved ones and of our pets, exactly as if wed have them forever.

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11/20

My longtime next-door neighbor and friend Vivian Howard, ever the soul of grace.She is here 9, with her brother and her sister Sibyl. She had essentially (and

suddenly) become a mother to them both after their mothers death in childbirth onlymonths before. If she ever felt put upon, or for that matter anything other than

blessed, I was never shown the first clue of it.

Because it may be so that we will always have an opportunity to touch those welove and simply say, in words or through actions, I love you

My father's parents, Bruce and Annelise, enjoying easy lawn time together in thefront yard of their home on SW 26th Road, always a block away from ours, I lovethis picture. He adored her so.

but the sharing may be more rewarding while they are still here with us.Today.

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12/20

My parents, Anne and Jerry, back in the swingin' sixties. This August, God willing, will

mark 57 years of sacred partnership together. They have attended well to the onlylesson that really matters-- howto loveand done their level best to pass it on, ashad been their truest legacy.

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13/20

The gracious and truly one-of-a-kind Betty Langdon: Alans Mom. It is she, I am quitecertain, who taught her son that differences can indeed be festive, and wove color all

around her beloved boy, free as air.

Certain lessons never quite die. Below: a glimpse of Alans kaleidoscopic innersanctum.

TODAY seems the day because it is of threads exactly like that added on this day,for better or for worse, that over the course of a lifetime the tapestries of our livesare interwoven.

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14/20

And so: though it may well be that dreams are dying all around us.

New American Gothic Illustration: P Crockett

Why not then make it a special point not only to keep ours alive (itself, no smallfeat!),

but to go for the biggest and most brilliant we can imagine? To one day hold itspromise as our very own, inside of our hearts?

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15/20

Dreams need no reason, but we need our dreams!

If nothing else, why should we not set our sights on the prospect ofhaving anepic dream? So many have been orphaned

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17/20

ALONG the course of your journey, may you be well accompanied,

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18/20

and allow yourself the luxury of time to see and to savor and to share the beautyall around.

Bear Cut, Key Biscayne

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19/20


20/20

So there you have it, my simple New Years Greetings, from the heart.THANK YOU for coming along on my journey.

Thank you for being.

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