Gratitude 20 … Accomplishments
Today I am grateful for my Accomplishments — both those seen as such by myself, as well as those deemed to be “failures” by others; recognizing while I do so that none of the former could have been completed without the help of many assistants, and that none the latter could be criticized at all if not for their innate worth …
First of all, I am thankful for “The Brown Book” — a tome that is comprised of most of my favorite quotes and images collected over a 6+ year period (with almost all of its contents being inserted therein between mid 2003 to 2010). Hand written and hand-illuminated, it is my own personal “Book of Truth” — and has brought many who have perused its pages the Peace that comes from sacred inspiration and deeper wisdom …
… and I am thankful for the labyrinths I have been blessed to build or help build over the years: the Wildwood Labyrinth at Alexzanna Farms (pictured at left; made of sunken sandstone spurs), the Feuerbacher Wald Labyrinth in Weilimdorf, Germany (laid out in two-pound river stones on the forest floor), the Eibergen Labyrinth in Eibergen, Holland (carved by machine and smoothed by hand), and the San Bol Labyrinth in San Bol, Spain (made from a pile of cast-away construction stones) — allowing all who have walked them to reunify with their most immediate source, the Earth, and their truest Self, the Soul …
I am also thankful for the various stairwells I have carved into hillsides: the stairs leading up to the plateau above Appolonia Sabine’s home in Huautla de Jiminez (Mexico), the stair-laden switchback trail that leads into the hollow of Alexzanna Farms (“The Mossway”, pictured at left), and the AAC stairwell running from that company’s main office down to its artifact-processing lab — that all who traverse these paths with their legs be simultaneously climbing to new heights of objective Awareness (or delving deeper into their unique inner Knowing) while doing so …
… and I am thankful for having been blessed to walk the Camino de Santiago — that I might continue bring to others the refreshed sense of humility and Oneness I gained on that Journey most Wonder-filled …
I am thankful for the courage it took to make a true Leap of Faith and begin living as a Peace Pilgrim back in the summer of 2005 — as well as for my Big Island “Experiment with Truth” the two years prior that led me to ultimately walk that Path …
… and I am thankful for the strength it took to finally learn (after many, many failed attempts) what it means to truly LOVE another person; to Care for her/him while being pushed away; to maintain a sense of Self while being ridiculed or encouraged to change; to continue to Love while being left behind — that I might now carry this perfect LOVE to others …
I am thankful for having “rescued” both Billy (1990-2004) and Nooka (pictured, 2004 to present) from the streets and finding them both a good home on Alexzanna Farms — where they then made my Love appear quite small compared to the constant, unconditional Caring for everyone they encountered (well, in Billy’s case, almost everyone) …
… and I am thankful for the humility it required to set aside my adolescent revulsion for the Bible (brought on as a reaction to being “damned to hell” by well-intended-yet-ignorant friends during my childhood), to read and re-read what it has to offer, and then to test its Truths for myself — not by adhering to its dogma, but by radically & Faith-fully following its Way …
I am thankful for having cleared the land on top of Lani Kona Road — for setting aside my own visions of “what is best” or what others might like or dislike, and simply fulfilling the desires of the land to Breathe & Shine …
… I am thankful for continuing to unconditionally Love & Care for all the friends, family members and associates who still refuse to see the Rightness of my current path — that I might continue to bring the selfless Way to those ready to Hear its Wisdom & See its Truths …
… and I am thankful that I still give to every home-free beggar who asks of me — sometimes only giving a dime; other times lending a friendly ear; sometimes giving only a nod & a smile; other times an open, humble recognition of their brilliant Human Being within … and yet always sharing something of worth that helps them to re-cognize their own innate Beauty …
I am thankful for the times I smile when sad, am calm when angry and stride boldly forth when frightened; when I give to the grasping, care for the critical and Love my persecutor — for these are Life’s true Accomplishments.
And so it is that I climb to my proverbial mountaintop, take a deep breath filled with profound reverence, and let loose with a long & loud –
Thank Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
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