kindness one coherent star shines and upon waking a pillow goes far beyond dreams wisely asking: Am(eye separate)from everyone eye see? Am eye them in different forms?
eye had thought that(eye was separate) but that separation came from a flawed teaching(that thought of itself as greatly separate) while not perceiving that it was of a larger whole
Separation can cheat a kind man and will mock the handicapped Separation can have achieved good grades and can have learned the crude lessons well
Unless one merely remains with the crudity lessons are for transcending and joyfully discarding thus flying love beyond the isolated cadaverous walls of self that enclose (in dark) while grounded
Beyond being Grounded … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2021
My beloved wife Marla passed away on 10/07/20 due to complex complications from Wilson’s Disease. Her Hepatologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center said that it was amazing that she lived as long as she did. This makes me feel that i succeeded rather well at helping her with her illnesses. Marla was very brave and went through a lot of suffering. She was born with Wilson’s Disease, an autosomal recessive genetic disorder rendering the body to be unable to eliminate excess copper naturally. She had an auto-allergic reaction due to the penicillamine medication that she was on for Wilson’s in the past; penicillamine has a lot of very bad side-effects. At that time, she almost died from ARDS and ended up with only half-lung capacity. She suffered from dystonia — a strong tightening of the muscles involuntarily — and had to have Botox injections deep in her neck every two to three months. Due to the chronic dystonia of her neck, she had to have 8 cervical vertebrae replaced with titanium implants. She then lost the ability to swallow and had to (permanently) eat via enteral feeding (i.e., by a tube going into her stomach area). Before i retired, i was a teacher for the multiply handicapped, and — for decades — helped with enteral feeding (i.e., stomach feeding tubes) with some of my students; so i was very experienced with helping Marla with hers. Marla then had to have shoulder surgery… and then reconstructive shoulder surgery. She had Elastosis perforans Syndrome, a skin disorder (on her thighs) caused by having been on the penicillamine for years before getting on the better (less intrusive) new zinc therapy. She often told me that she had a low threshold for bearing pain but she was way more brave and stalwart than i could have ever been. Despite her pain and struggles, we had a whole lot of great, joyful times together.
I fell in love with Marla largely because of her warm and compassionate heart. She always put others first and was always thinking of others. She often made things for others, like quilts, fancy embroidery things, and homemade lotions. She was a nurse and often would take her elderly mother to the doctors. Everyone who met Marla loved her radiant, caring personality. I am so honored to be her husband.
The following is one of the E. E. Cummings poems that i read at her beautiful outdoor memorial service along the Kankakee River:
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
[Note: The following poem was written days ago and was prescheduled. This note was written on 10/1/2020. Marla, my wife was taken to the emergency room today regarding sudden serious problems with her liver. She has Wilson’s Disease. I will be absent from blogging and will not be able to respond to comments. Take care and stay safe. ]
Note: This is a Praying Mantis. She is a female, laden with eggs. Because of the rotten, declining environment, there are fewer Praying Mantises in our area every year. Years ago, we used to see Mantises frequently; now we rarely see any. I found this one in a hospital garden, along a river, that used to have a lot of them. This was the only one that i saw. Fortunately, female Mantises do not need males in order to reproduce; they can produce fertile eggs and young that are exact clones of themselves. (It sure seems like my childhood premonitions about man ruining the environment are, many decades later, turning out to be true.)
One would like to reiterate that language oftentimes plays a tremendous role in regard to how we view the world. Language, whether we care to admit it or not, predisposes us to see the world… usually in rather primitive, erroneous, crass ways. After all, language evolved millennia ago (in its basic forms) and we, for the most part, continue on with — and accepting — the same crude, old thing. Our conditioning goes much further in its entrapment by language, further and much deeper than we realize.
As i’ve mentioned before, Professor David Bohm, Einstein’s protege, whom one has talked to a lot many years ago, developed new ideas for a more evolved style of language (via the Rheomode) wherein verbs play a much more predominant role, rather than nouns (as the rather isolated, static objects that nouns generally are). These days, we continue to use language rather primitively and wrongly. The extent of this goes far deeper than many of us suppose. Language loads us with presuppositions and inaccuracies that have trickled down from the primitive past.
When someone says, for example, “I had an insight,” it presupposes that the observer is separate from the observed; it presupposes that some supposed “static” center was at some psychological distance from what the process of insight was and “had it”. In reality, deep insight exists as a movement that no central, isolated “I” actually “has” or can legitimately take credit for. A supposed central agency (that is not really central whatsoever), being static, conceptual, essentially virtual, and essentially fragmentary, cannot justifiably take credit for having what is a movement of substantiality, a holistic movement. An empty sealed jar cannot hold the wind.
When we look, we see — via language, as we were taught — a world of separate things. We see fragmentarily, in a (set, prearranged) sequence developed by language. “This” as separate from “that,” “this” following “that.” Language consists of sequence and fragmentary movements through (and “as”) time.
Do not be a slave to language. This movement asks you to please look deeply beyond it.
[Note: I despise politics, but these are critical, precarious times when one must get somewhat “political.” The current diabolical U.S. administration is endorsing coal and fossil fuels and is deregulating and dismantling environmental mandates/regulations, not to mention destroying democracy and free-voting. Each year there are fewer butterflies, fewer bees, fewer lightning bugs, fewer of myriad types of wildlife creatures… not to mention fewer healthy people.
The cover of a recent Sierra Club environmental magazine stated: “Vote like the Planet depends on it (because it does).”]
Clear-eyed lightning thundering into people as a person whose booming tinkering blew separative self-seekers into roaring trepidation
Powerful winds upsetting murky, muddy minds of seem groundlessly thinking they were of clear, illuminated skies but falsely emancipated in dead houses of opaque beliefs
Earth’s life creatures were dying, not from the tempest but from the stale, stagnant home-dwellers indifferent, enclosed abodes of security hiding from the perfume of life
The tumultuous clapping was earth desperately tenacious among the sullied world of gadgets, plastic, and fossil fuels (Their adherence to self-gratification… not worth the price)
With this coronavirus thing going around, stay safe and intelligent, use social distancing, wash your hands often, refrain from touching your face, take vitamin D3 and natural vitamin supplements, and (like i’ve been suggesting for eons) stay local (in your own home and yard). Even after this crisis is over, refrain from long-distance traveling, long-distance vacations and excursions in heavily polluting jet planes (all of which are non-green and contribute to a sick planet).
I am not going to give you some “mindfulness techniques” to (supposedly) get you through this crisis with less fear. I myself am afraid (for my wife, myself, and for so-called others). Marla and I are both high-risk. (My recent cardio-stress-echo test, by the way, showed that my heart is in great shape… which was a relief to find out after having had that heart attack in October.)
Being fearful — at this time (with our inept, corrupt, science-denying government and rotten system) — is intelligent. The so-called U.S. government leader(s) — with $-signs in their eyes — are talking about businesses opening again soon, defying Public Health Experts. Bill Gates says we can’t restart the economy soon and simply “ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner.”
with- out a there there isn’t a here and with- out a here there isn’t a there and with- out a future there isn’t a past and with- out a past there isn’t a future and with- out a with there isn’t without and we won’t just be those things that they taught us because they are immersed in illusion and are it
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
If one knows that one is meditating, meditation isn’t there. If one knows that one is whole, wholeness isn’t there. If one knows that one is humble, humility isn’t there. If one knows that one is quiet, quietness isn’t there. If one knows that one is spiritual, spirituality isn’t there. If one cultivates simplicity, simpleness isn’t there. If one cultivates perception, insight isn’t there.
Who is pulling my leg from down there? 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
With this third time of me bringing fresh meat to the Colony, i am sure to finally get the recognition that i deserve. Hopefully, i will be promoted up the ranks and will be remembered as “The Great Provider” by the Colony. (All of this voluminous Beetle Meat is tough to move, by the way!) I will persevere and will get this wonderful bounty to the Colony.
Goodness! I keep hearing the huge, bipedal ape up above, with his camera, singing the following song to me:
“Getting to know you Getting to know all about you Getting to like you Getting to hope you like me…”
Hauling Beetle Meat to the Colony. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
[Note: This is a very unusual (very rare) Praying Mantis for our north-central Illinois area. It is probably a Carolina Mantis. These are southern mantids but, due to global warming, are moving more north. This one has wonderful chameleonic abilities. Note how it amazingly blends in with the different color tones of the park bench. It is a female and seems to be loaded with fertile eggs. It may not have mated with a male at any time whatsoever. Female mantises can lay many completely fertile eggs without a male. When this happens, the offspring are perfect clones of the mother.]
Chameleonic Praying Mantis. … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2019
I am not overly interested in the words that the Buddha allegedly said, since, over long stretches of time, words and translations get distorted. I am not overly interested in the words that Jesus allegedly said, since, over long stretches time, translations go askew, words get added and distorted. Even the early Coptic versions of the Gospel of Thomas (which many top scholars say preceded the other four gospels), and which the power-hungry Roman-appointed hierarchical bishops rejected, was not as pristine as the even earlier papyrus Greek fragments found of that cornerstone gospel. I am not overly interested in the words that Lao Tzu allegedly said, since, over long stretches of time, words and translations get distorted. (And each of the many translations of the Tao Te Ching is different.) I am interested in discovering spirituality on my own, and learning directly, without distortion, without merely depending on old words, organizations, translations, and ancient documents. They tried to get Walt Whitman to alter his poetry; he wouldn’t. They tried to get E.E.Cummings to alter his poetry; he wouldn’t. They tried to get me to alter my poetry; i wouldn’t. They like to stealthily insert their ideologies into the works of others, to suit their own ends, to suit their own self-serving needs. They often (over time) like to get their conniving, little hands into the works of others (and twist things around).
The Monarch that stands alone. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
And here is an excerpt from the Monster in the Mirror song sung by Grover… (not that i ever watch Sesame Street with my big bird friends).
If your mirror has a monster in it, do not shout This kind of situation does not call for freaking out And do nothing that you would not like to see him do ‘Cause that monster in the mirror he just might be you
Singing “Wubba wubba wubba wubba woo woo woo” Wubba wubba wubba and a doodly do Wubba wubba wubba you can join in too
Halloween Delight … Note the series of long, fine hairs on this spider’s hind legs; they are likely used for web construction. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
one budding diminutive why staring at the sky in that beautiful youthful wonderment of innocence beyond piggish power and far from cultivated fear so beyond the grip of authority beyond stuffy temples and stale priests and gurus beyond tests and drunken parties
sweet sky staring further than thought’s weary boredom and so far away from cold shoulds and musts
alive whole and unprogrammed
also looking down of course at tiny grasshoppers and katydids
Sweet little Katydid … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Fourteen steps climbed to the top from the bottom An hour and fifteen minutes moved a short hand and a long hand One fishing line ignorantly reeled in what it thought it wasn’t Three opinions typed what was surely right Seven sayings scanned the screen in a zigzag fashion Thirty-seven pieces of candy looked forward to Halloween Twenty-five Black-Eyed Susans were arrested for trespassing
A breach on humanity. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
It takes a lot of hard work to keep the colony healthy and thriving but i realize that the colony and i are one. We are each other. What each of us does is done for all. (Unlike those ruthless, competitive, bipedal apes, we are 100% cooperative and act for all.)
So here i am, hauling another large bounty of meat for the colony to feast upon. Maybe now i will finally get the recognition that i deserve. Maybe now i will be the great worker-ant that all of the other ants will aspire to be like.
But first, i must get this great bounty to the anthill. While they are feasting, they will be thinking of me. Oh lucky me for finding this treasure of voluminous, wonderful meat!
P.S. — Don’t cringe! (I know that you bipedal apes are watching… and judging.) You bipedal apes eat hairy cattle and pigs and unquestioningly think and feel that it isn’t gross in the least. So don’t judge!
Wonderful Meat-find #2 … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
And the space between a certain hand at a specific area of the face (i.e., that limited space between the hand and the face) constituted a certain consciousness
Now each of the hands had different lengths and colors and different numerals and experiences upon the face to go through
There were black hands with long lengths there were white hands with short lengths there were wide little yellow hands there were thin long red hands
For one space of a hand to hate another space of a distant hand was insanity since each hand was a part of the same one clock
For one space of a hand at four to want to eventually be wiser at eight was foolish since the space at four could never really be the space at eight
Unless the space at four could fully realize that it was the space of all of the other hands
There is the limited little dull space of the segregated self and there is the not-so-limited timeless space of vast intelligence vast compassion
Which would you rather be?
One takes no time whatsoever to get to
Timely Droplets within Spiderweb … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
It was such tremendous luck finding this big green meal for the colony
It is very difficult to move all of this fine meat toward our anthill but when I get it to the colony I will become a great heroine
I will be known as the one who courageously brought a lot of protein for the many larvae all the while risking being stepped on by those giant frightening bipedal apes I will be revered and may even be promoted to the job of attending to the Queen
Oh I am so very excited and happy
On the way to the colony … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
His inquietude made him what he was… a repetitive jumble of endlessly clamoring mental symbols that were not realities (i.e., they were the typical unreal, fabricated images of the mind).
Her quietude was the immense beauty that she was… a comprehensive wholeness of undivided reality, actualities of timeless life movement beyond the known (i.e., beyond mere superficial symbols of thought).
Neural Networks Personified … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The very wise ToadMaster perched near the toadstool, and with his croaky voice, he summoned all of the little tadpoles to swim up to the riverbank to hear another lesson.
He, in his sagely way, bellowed, “Unfortunately, many of the upright, large apes — that we have mentioned in the past — foolishly refuse to judiciously see that they too evolved from swimming fish, even as you here, as swimming tadpoles (through a long passage of time), will soon be leaving your aquatic existence to join our terrestrial lot. What is even more unfortunate is that the upright apes continue to mindlessly throw toxic debris into our water habitats and also onto the beautiful terrestrial domain that you will all soon be graduating to. The upright, large apes continue to make things that destroy things. The upright apes can be downright destructive and dangerous, though some of them are very kind and considerate. Overall, the whole world’s life forms are all rapidly disappearing due to what these, large bipedal creatures are mindlessly doing. Even as they claim that one of their kind is a God, they endlessly continue to pour cement and plastic over living things and spew out much toxic debris, killing our planet. They often do what is called “mowing their lawn,” which they think is very beautiful (though such activity callously cuts and kills many precious creatures, including us amphibians.) When you hop on land — which you all will be doing soon — do so with extreme caution, and avoid these large, bipedal creatures at all costs… and please
do your best to survive in the excessive heat (due to the climate rapidly changing).”
Marla, my wife, said that my poems occasionally need to be more uplifting, so the first poem (here) is meant to fulfill that end. The second poem is what was written before her comment.
Poem #1
Here in his hands is a flowery treasure with sweet petals and leaves much joy beyond measure
He is of hopes and images where as he ascends up in the elevator flowing fields of smiling imaginary angels open doors that were dreamt of later
Can we lift a luminous whole and bring new minds out of below rise to the top ever so mindfully in a towering highrise deep in the heart of Chicago?
(Well, elevators are uplifting, aren’t they?)
Poem # 2
There was a pond and every time a frog jumped into the pond the pond became a little froggier a little splashier
There was a grasshopper and every time he landed upon a weed the weed became a little leggier a little jumpier
There was a propagandizing political news-channel and every time a person watched it the television became a little duller and a lot more dim-witted
Leopard Frog, a species that will not survive long in a world filled with crass people who do not act diligently to prevent global warming and who think that “Windmills cause cancer.”. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
They called her Little Icky Vicky(and she cried a lot in pain)today because of her distorted facial features many people stared then quickly looked away
I called her Victoria & amiably sat next to her in grade school(& always with her was very very kind) There’s a lot of cold(cruel kids who name-call with dark dead hearts)and blind
[Side Note: We saw the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon over the weekend. It is highly recommended. It contains scenes involving both bullying and compassion.]
Not Mere Facial Beauty but Beauty Deep Within … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Here is a place where everything is not so everything is never here where delusive selfishness reigns in its spot
And timelessness an eternally sweet wholeness where when doesn’t matter while “getting to heaven” is foolish like tissue paper in busy rainfall clatter
Diminutive Leafhopper Nymph (just 2 or 3mm long) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Wishy and Washy were fun-loving gals and many folks knew that both were loyal (trueblue) pals
Washy (without Wishy) went to the laundromat (with a basket that she had her clothes in); later, the clothes were all swishy and went into full-spin
Wishy, however, was sitting in her comfortable, convenient chair pining for great nature photos at which she could stare
So, instead of viewing blog photos of nature (which you often appreciate) get over to the clothes-washer and put your laundry in (because it’s getting late)
Purple Wildflowers … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
?what kind of heathen sacrilegiously writes on a consecrated,wordless day, asking us to transcend all of our mindless traditions
[Note: Today’s posting was inspired by a comment by a wonderful blogger that i follow who, last Wednesday, in a “Wordless Wednesday” that i posted, graciously commented that my words were missed. Thank you much, A Curious Introvert ! … and hugs to Cutie Fuzzy Doggy.]
Let’s follow Daddy-Long-Legs … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Is it worth all of the time & competition? Is surpassing and suppressing those below and impressing those above worth it? When you finally get to the top, is there really genuine happiness there or is it an empty lie?!
Getting to the Top … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
So here we are, Master FourEyes, and i don’t think that what i write will change things enough
and i don’t think that what you nibble on will change things enough … and that’s OK; it’s OK
And when we look at each other each other we are And when each other we together look at oneself
Our unbelievable now is more timeless than any dead(stone-cold temple that replaced the prairies) while Mr. Death — whom so many fear — has nothing on us
because we livingly understand him(and smile with and beyond him) more than teardrops grow upwards and flowers flow down
Master FourEyes… who happens to be a Milkweed Beetle on, of all places, a Milkweed Plant … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Yes, dears, I am your long lost auntie. We finally get to meet, my sweet loved ones! Life’s been tough, as you can see by all of the many timeworn scratches on my aged back. Come, come, I have some sweet, fresh salad for you to enjoy! You had better eat it while it’s fresh… that way, you will get all of the best vitamins that will help you grow.
Eat plenty, eat! After we eat, that is when your loving auntie will hug you dearly. We’ll hug and hug to make up for all of the lost time that has befallen us. Now, let’s eat, dearies, let’s eat!
Photo of Your Long Lost Auntie … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
My wonderful, magnificent pet frog croaked, and i was very sad. The next day, he was quite alive, and i was very happy. But then, my wonderful, magnificent pet frog croaked, and i was very sad. The next day, he was quite alive, and i was very happy. But then, my wonderful, magnificent pet frog croaked, and i was very sad. The next day, he was quite alive, and i was very happy. But then, my wonderful, magnificent pet frog croaked, and i was very sad. The next day, he was quite alive, and i was very happy. But then, my wonderful, magnificent pet frog croaked, and i was very sad. The next day, he was quite alive, and i was very happy. But then, my wonderful, magnificent
pet frog croaked, and i was very sad.
The next day, he was quite alive,
and i was very happy.
But then, my wonderful, magnificent
pet frog croaked, and i was very sad.
The next day, he was quite alive,
and i was very happy.
But then, my wonderful, magnificent
pet frog croaked, and i was very sad.
The next day, he was quite alive,
and i was very happy.
But then, my wonderful, magnificent
pet frog croaked, and i was very sad.
The next day, he was quite alive,
and i was very happy. Ad Infinitum… 🙂
My Eastern Gray Tree Frog named Infinitum … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
[Note: While photographing this Monarch caterpillar, it noticed the camera and suddenly went from high activity and movement to total stillness. More of us would be better off by letting total stillness — of the mind — occur more often (even though it is not merely an occurrence and has nothing to do with time or effort).]
Monarch Caterpillar … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
A kind of postmortem examination was done on him long before his actual physical death
because unfortunately, his brain became quite un-alive after the innocent age of childhood.
Miseducation, brainwashing commercials, propaganda-oriented news networks, and being satisfied with remaining in one dull routine after another
all contributed to his cadaverous pseudo-existence. He often watches television and, of course, likes sports. However, the little birds who nest in his yard have far more compassion and life than he ever did.
Red House Finch Eggs … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Walking just walking along gingerly and slowly swaying waltzing alien-like from leaf to leaf
Stalking just stalking along stick-like & Oh so lean happily wondering whom next i can eat
Suddenly out of nowhere a huge ominous creature appears thrusting a blackish lens-thing right up to me
In a flash, I quickly leap away and am so very glad that the huge hideous creature didn’t eat me
[Note: This photo was taken about a month ago. This was the first Praying Mantis that i’ve seen this summer; it was young, just around 3cm long. And, yes — with blackish lens-thing macro camera in hand — i am the ominous, hideous creature. (You must admit, we ominous, hideous creatures are pretty huge.)]
Young Praying Mantis (praying that I don’t eat him) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
May i understand why people don’t understand. And why is there such a disconnect in people’s minds betweenthings, between them and all other things? They look with (and “as”) sep ar A tion, each from a center that never was a true center and that never will be a true center… like bubbles floating in a glass of milk
each thinking that they are separate from
the milkiness.
The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. The flower at a distance always looks better than the one you are standing on. Separation is a definite illusion.
Young Katydid pining for a distant flower … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
