Reiki and Other Blessings

Sunrise on March 8th, 2015

Thank you for your kind thoughts and words around Katie's 20th birthday. We had a lovely day - which is in itself a kind of miracle, considering the circumstances - including a beach walk, delicious brunch at Alchemy Bistro and Wine Bar in Port Townsend, and a movie, with popcorn for dinner. A truly "Katie" kind of day.

Toasting Katie at brunch

Last week, I had the pleasure of accompanying our friend Charlotte on a tour of Building Hope at Seattle Children's Hospital. You may recall that David and I had a brief tour of the building in November for the purpose of a photo shoot, featuring Katie's Comforters Guild in the Guild News.

A patient receiving her blanket from Katie's Comforters Guild, represented by yours truly

On Thursday, Charlotte and I toured the Emergency Department, Cancer Ward and the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. This new building is a great advancement upon what was available to us during Katie's treatment eight years ago. It is absolutely state-of-the-art, in every way.

There were wonderful surprises for me on this day, as we were met by several staff members who had taken care of Katie at her most fragile: during chemotherapy, and after her 18-hour surgery. It was a pleasure to be able to introduce these gifted caregivers to our friend, and to have them explain to her what they do, and how the facilities in this new building make it possible to make patients and families even more comfortable during the most stressful time in their lives.

We ran into one of Katie's dear oncology nurses

I am grateful to Drs. Baden, Brogan, Jeffries and Mazur for their generosity with their time on Thursday. I'm also thankful for all that they and their colleagues have done (and are doing) to save children's lives, as well as to the nurses and technicians who support their work - and to the donors who made this building possible! It truly is a team effort.

Since taking first-degree (Shoden) Reiki in November, I have been practicing daily, and looking forward to taking the next class (Okuden, or second-degree). I was able to do this a couple of weekends ago through Emerald City Reiki in Seattle.

My certificate of completion, with gratitude to Reiki Master Claire O'Shea.

Reiki brings peace, balance, calmness and relief from physical problems such as pain, digestive upset, stress, insomnia and much more. The potential for healing seems unlimited. The more I read about it, the more I enjoy learning from its practice, for Reiki isn't something that one learns from reading; practice is the most important way to learn. I find it has given me a new way to pray for myself, and others; it has restored a language of prayer which I had lost, and enhanced it, by keeping it free from "dogma." This freedom leads to pure joy and love when practicing Reiki. I think of it as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, or healing power of God. [If you have questions about it, one of the best books I've read is called "Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide" by Pamela Miles.]

Update on Grandma:  we now have a routine in place for supporting Gregg's parents. We all take turns bringing Grandpa Ed to see Grandma Elaine, sit beside her bed with him until he gets tired, and then take him back to his home in assisted living (we are still waiting for a bed to open for Elaine in the same facility where she and Ed have been living). Gregg visits his mother nearly every day after work.

I am thoroughly enjoying serving on the board of the Bainbridge Public Library. What an interesting and generous group of people! At each meeting, I learn new things, and am grateful for the kindness and sense of community spirit among the members. Last Friday was my first time helping to host an artist's exhibit during the "First Friday" Art Walk. We host a different artist in the Community Room of the library each month. This month, I'll take a class to qualify for a certificate which will allow me to serve wine at these events.

Field's End (a committee of the Bainbridge Public Library) continues to offer opportunities for growth and stimulation for writers in our community. This week, we're hosting a Story Slam at Treehouse Cafe on Bainbridge Island, and on March 20th, there will be an Open Mic at the Poulsbo branch of Kitsap Regional Library. A Travel Writing Workshop will be taught by Perry Garfinkel in May through Field's End. If any of these events sound like fun to you, please visit www.fieldsend.org for more information.

"Antidote for Pessimism"

I've been leading a writing workshop called "Word Soup" on Bainbridge Island for two weeks. It's great fun and the class is brimming with talent and energy. It is wonderful to see the students jump in and write. Each prompt that I offer is met with energy and willingness to enter the scene and draw it with words. Each student has a unique voice and perspective, and it is a privilege to add ingredients, stir the pot and see the delicious "soup" emerge.

Word Soup took a break last week; class will resume this Thursday for another two weeks, and I am thankful for the pause, because Gregg and I caught a virus just before we left for Canada and I did not want to infect anyone else. This is a small problem - nothing compared to chronic or acute illness - but it reminds me of two things:
1) when I'm sick, I always, ALWAYS think of Katie, along with others who suffer from horrible illnesses and truly disgusting treatment regimens (and their cruel side effects). This reminds me that I have no reason to complain about something like a virus and
2) a pet peeve: I dislike reading "illness" posts on facebook. If a person is asking for prayers, by all means, post a request, but otherwise, I do not want to read the daily complaints about allergy symptoms, vomiting in the backseat of the car, what came out of your cat's nose, bum, ear, etc. A little filter is a blessing!

I am not unsympathetic to small or large suffering, but there is enough negativity online and in the media to sink most ships on any given day, and the broadcasting of our run-of-the-mill virus, sniffles and stomach flu "news" simply does not help to keep anyone's ship on an even keel. In my opinion, that's the purpose of a private journal.

Which brings up something I've been wanting to share:  Gregg went to Spain on business at the end of March, and the first week of April. Because he was there over a weekend, he arranged (at our expense, not his employer's) to take a tour. Spain has a richly diverse history and many sites of great cultural interest.

One of the things I admire about Gregg is his willingness to go off of the beaten path, on his own, exploring foreign places. Many people would find it intimidating or exhausting, but he loves to do it, and it enriches his business travel to fill his "down time" with such forays. Museums, palaces, bull fights, bus tours, Roman ruins, churches, Jewish ghettos, famous restaurants, shopping streets, markets, live music, parks - from his work in Japan to France, Italy and Spain, he is open to all of it.

On this trip, he visited (among other places) the city of Italica, and the cathedral of Cordoba. The cathedral has its origins as a Christian temple in the Visigoth period, was turned into a mosque in the year 785, and back into a Christian cathedral in 1236. The architecture and interior design tell many stories, and the brochure which Gregg brought home was packed with facts.

The most interesting thing in the little pamphlet was the following passage:

"A REFLECTION
"The Church, through the Chapter, has ensured that this Cathedral, an old Western Caliphate Mosque, and World Heritage Site, is not in a pile of ruins today. In fact, this has always been one of the missions of the Church, to safeguard and inspire culture and art.

"The visit to the Cathedral of Cordoba may awake the demand and the quest for a greater Beauty that will not wither with time. Because beauty, as truth and righteousness, are an antidote for pessimism, and an invitation to take pleasure in life, a shaking of the soul that provokes the longing for God."

I had never before seen this aspect of the church put into words, but it explains why I enjoy visiting historic places of worship: they are sanctuaries where beauty, art, architecture, history, allegory, music, faith, longing, hope, love, soul and spirit converge.

Perhaps this relates to my instinctive recoil from dreary illness-posting and negativity-spewing on facebook. It is not a lack of interest in others' opinions and experiences, nor a lack of compassion for the small sufferings of our daily lives; it's a question of how much we spread the grit of our small annoyances. Spreading "beauty, truth and righteousness" lifts the spirit - our own, and those around us.

We all need safe sounding boards - places where we can share our deepest heartfelt feelings. In a public forum, however, it's important to think about what we are creating with our words and images, since we have the power of instant, far-reaching communication at our fingertips through the internet. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. - Phillippians 4:8, New Living Translation

Bucket List Item

Just a small note: before I die, I want to go here
and see this house, inside and out.
I want to hike in the park and stay in one of their properties, and meet her:

My deep admiration for her character and humor, fascination with the era of her upbringing, and my passion for art, the decorative arts, furnishings and architecture, are the reasons for this longing.