Once there was a twice and then three times Twice there was a once and then three times
Once there was great green earth and no crazy endless raging fires Once there was clear ocean with everything freshly alive
with everything freshly alive…
Once fossil-fuel cars and trucks and redgreenyellow stop lights Now there’s empty rust and black smog while nothing much is alive
while nothing much is alive
Once we made dead plastic we mindlessly tossed it all around Now it’s a veryonceuponatimeplace where life used to be
Once there was heaven fresh air butterflies soaring sweetly in sun Now a lot of toxic dead ocean smell and large bipedal mammals there are none there are none
Once there was a twice and then three times Twice there was a once and then three times
Once there was a Katydid. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Real aloneness is that independence from all “influence.” It is that innocence that occurs when the mind is not tethered to achieving more and more and still more. It is to stand alone away from all influence, from all beliefs, traditions, suppositions, habits, fears, and conclusions. (Besides, beliefs and many iron-clad traditions tend to divide people and cause havoc in the world.)
Aloneness is when, without planning or effort, the mind is of an intelligent emptiness beyond mere thoughts and thinking. It does not occur when the mind consists of desires to get something out of such emptiness. Ambition and expectation have nothing to do with such emptiness manifesting. There is no acquisition or reaping involved with such emptiness. You don’t make yourself empty to “get something.”
When the limitations of thought/thinking in (and “as”) consciousness are intelligently seen, then there may be an abnegation due to seeing the false as the false. Clinging to falsities and limitations may involve effort akin to hugging onto shadows persistently.
That aloneness, that emptiness that is beyond falsities, is like an uncontaminated sky that is open, pure, and unspoiled by the activities of man.
An alone Grasshopper … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
When Barney, the bulky, bullheaded Bullfrog decided to take up residence under my car tire, i told him politely, “Barney, that is quite a perilous spot at which you can — most definitely — easily expire.”
Barney just sat there without a trembling twitch and said, “You sure are a very worrisome bloke; i can assure you, most greenheartedly, that we brave Bullfrogs are, indubitably, not afraid to croak.”
Then i realized that all of my careful cautions and pale-lectures would not cause Barney to fearfully quiver, so i grabbed his humongous, bullheaded, brown-old butt and — despite his slimy objections — threw him into the river.
Barney the Bullheaded Bullfrog by my car tire. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
[Note: Tree Crickets are very elusive; if they see (or hear) you coming, they hide on the opposite side of the bush or foliage that they are on. Please note the tympanal membrane on the front leg of this specimen; it is used as a hearing mechanism… an ear.]
Tree Cricket with Tympanal Membrane on front leg … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
I am doing better but i’m still in shock over what happened. Like i mentioned before, i’ve been a vegetarian since 1973 and have (especially over the last couple of years) been eating mostly whole, organic, unprocessed foods. When i would make pizza, i would use fat-free cheese (with a little bit of organic, regular cheese sprinkled on too); i am gluten-free; i do not eat eggs, but when i did, they were mostly Egg-Beaters cholesterol-free eggs. Realizing that heart conditions run in my family, i would take 2,000mg of fish oil every day. I always religiously, very vigorously exercised on a Schwinn indoor bicycle, 15 minutes a day; plus i kept active with cleaning my aquariums and going on nature walks, etc. My total cholesterol (when i went into the hospital) was 104. My LDL cholesterol was 44. (Needless to say, these were very good numbers.) Other factors can play into what causes heart problems, especially, inflammation (and heredity). I have both osteoarthritis and mild rheumatoid arthritis. (Actually, there is a very good chance that if i did not live such a healthy lifestyle… i would have simply flat out died.)
When i was in the hospital, at one point 10 doctors, (as a group, for staff “learning” purposes), came into my room. I said, “Well if something happens to me now, i’m pretty well covered for care!” 🙂 The doctors told me that i was doing everything right. That is both very reassuring and very disheartening. (Hopefully, the medications that they are putting me on will help.)
My blogs keep running (as i had previously scheduled) them and when those run out, that will be it for a while. I will likely take a break. I will (in the future) likely continue to blog but i’ll be doing so with much less frequency. Thanks very much, everyone (for your very kind wishes) and please take good care of yourselves.
