Something shifted inside me during the 2nd Quarter of 2022.
Generally I have been feeling overwhelmed and flooded, but in a good way. I have not been feeling stressed. But there are too many books and articles I want to read, too many videos to watch and too many podcasts to listen to. And I have too many projects started but not completed at the moment. And new and exciting ideas keep popping into my mind. I feel very ALIVE! It is all too much and something has to change.
One day in June I woke up with a moment of clarity. I realized that this would be my last year leading the Ajijic Book Club. I felt a sense of relief. So far this year I have read only two of the club's selections, although there are three more books that I voted for and hope to read. Starting this club and watching it blossom has been very satisfying, no regrets at all. But it does seem to be the time to move on to other things.
There are two books that I read that are important to me but would never be ABC selections. However, I have not yet had time to write book reports on them. That is high on my list of tasks to complete.
I read THE MAN LOVES THE WINE SHE SERVES THROUGH HER BODY An Erotic Encounter with the Divine Feminine written by my good friend, David Byren. I made a lot of notes while reading this treasure. More than reporting, I will be writing about my encounter with David’s encounter.
I read The Evolutionary Manifesto by John Stewart. There is a lot I want to say about this book. It reflects what is becoming an important piece of my current worldview.
In June I joined the Member Engagement team at Emergent Commons. This commits me to attending team meetings every second week and taking my turn as a Greeter of potential new members. One of my duties is to review answers to screening questions facing prospective members. It is very rare for prospective members to be denied approval. After approval, new members are invited to a Zoom meeting.
The last week of June was my first turn as a Greeter and it was a busy week. Eight new members joined EC and four have accepted my invitation to Zoom. What is particularly exciting is that one of the new members lives in Guadalajara which is an hour by car from where I live.
We did more socializing during the past three months. We attended a party hosted by one of our neighbors in a lovely setting, the garden in an adjacent undeveloped lot they purchased. I also attended A farewell to Margaret Van Every, Ajijic 2022 hosted by David Bryen. And we joined Larry and Glorine Barnhardt for lunch. But, generally, Pat and I have not felt stifled by the pandemic and we are in no hurry to be more active.
My attention continues to be captured by the war in Ukraine and I continue to be motivated to help somehow. I attended parts of a 12-hour fundraiser that I became aware of through Emerge. One remark I heard will stick in my mind for a long time: “I must kill Russians but I must not hate them.” It is my intention to attend a similar event in July. Our voluntary registration fees are used to support the Ukrainian people.
Dates of births and dates of deaths have become more meaningful to me. I am trying to capture such information on my website as a small way to celebrate the lives of others. June 4th is the birthday of my brother Peter and my friend Frank Racicot.
An opportunity arose for us to legalize our vehicle under an amnesty program but the effort stalled. This caused me a little bit of stress. But generally I have been amazed at how easy it has been to live without a vehicle, eighteen months and counting.
There was news from both my family and Pat’s family. There are long stories behind the news headline but, as they are not my stories to tell, I will just mention them briefly. Pat’s sister’s son, Conrad, and Misty Wind are expecting. My sister, Nikki, and her daughter Renita and children, are all moving to Airdrie, Alberta.
Circumstances required me to move my letter.wiki project to my website. And I also decided to retain a new webmaster. The transition is not going smoothly and this is also causing me some stress.
Finally, I would like to mention two projects that I have initiated but not found enough time to move forward with very much. I have worked on Unknowings for some time and this is an idea that grows rather than fading away. And I initiated a new Mapping Metamodenism project.