MEMBER

July 29, 2022

WORDS LIKE LIGHT

I guess all of us, me included, sometimes feel like an outsider, like there are all kinds of important communities out there, but we have no membership in any of them. The truth is, however, that I, and all of us, are life-long members of the only community that’s important – the community of the universe. All of us – squirrels, whales, old folks like me, leaves loosening up in the wind – are members of a marvelous gang of good-looking, lovable creations of the cosmos. We are all important building blocks in the construction of each beautiful moment. All of us, even the smallest housefly, even pieces of dust on a desk, are brothers and sisters in a vast and endless partnership. We all belong to an alliance of faithful friends, an exclusive clique that calls all of us to join with joy. Not only am I a member of this wonderful club, but I actually have no choice. Just the fact of being born 80 years ago brought me instant membership In this universal coalition made of love and leadership. Even though I am often blind to it, there is no possible way that I can resign my fellowship in the serene and easy togetherness of the universe. It’s a club I can’t leave – and I love that wonderful fact.

BECOMING A MEMBER

Become a member and save,
the ad said, and she said
she already was a member
of a marvelous club, 
the one that includes the clouds 
crossing the sky just now like ships,
and the light that looks
down on her from them,
and the squirrels and birds
that live in that light
right in her yard 
that has a place for her 
whenever she steps out of her house,
which to her is the home
of this quiet club
she's already a member of.

Below, my son’s two wonderful dogs that we cared for yesterday, Hogan and Patchy …