A dear friend sent the following quotation to me this morning:

It is a secret which every intellectual man quickly learns, that beyond the energy of his possessed and conscious intellect he is capable of a new energy (as of an intellect doubled on itself), by abandonment to the nature of things; that beside his privacy of power as an individual man, there is a great public power on which he can draw, by unlocking, at all risks, his human doors, and suffering the ethereal tides to roll and circulate through him; then he is caught up into the life of the Universe, his speech is thunder, his thought is law, and his words are universally intelligible as the plants and animals. The poet knows that he speaks adequately then only when he speaks somewhat wildly, or "with the flower of the mind"; not with the intellect used as an organ, but with the intellect released from all service and suffered to take its direction from its celestial life; or as the ancients were wont to express themselves, not with intellect alone but with the intellect inebriated by nectar.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The events of recent weeks have scrambled my thought processes just a bit. I find myself being pulled in many directions, energies and attention scattered. When crises present themselves often times I lavish upon them attention and importance far beyond that which they truly deserve. Ego searches for a foothold in which to secure itself on the mountain that is consciousness, eager to claim the lions share as its own dominion. Anger and frustration seek center stage. Self-pity sneaks in quietly through the crack under the door of my human frailty. It is during these episodes that I often lose sight of the Big Picture - the overriding essence of what my life means to me.

It is while immersed in these phases of life that friends step in, make a difference with a word, a touch, a glance, a smilean e-mail. This is a new lesson for me. I am learning to unlock my human doors. Thanks goes out to each of you who took the chance, and those who will do so in the future. Thank you for knocking on my door. Im truly grateful for your presence in my life.

Blessings -- Rich

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), September 14, 2000

Answers

Ain't it the truth! BTW, I'll break from my math studies to join you folks tonight in Bok's Groks. Um...yeah...those math studies...what AM I still doing here? Over and out.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 14, 2000.

Thanks for the reminder, Anita.

Meeting time in Bok's is 9:00 pm EDT, every Thursday. Folks tend to wander in and out before and after that time. All are welcome to attend.

For those of you unfamiliar with Bok's chat room, here's a link to it:

Bok's

Password: newt

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), September 14, 2000.

Just BREATHE......

-- x (x@xyz.com), September 14, 2000.

OH, man! Bingo, I'm so sorry. I was only knocking on your door to ask if I could use the restroom! :)

-- helen (b@s.d), September 14, 2000.

Moving, thoughtful, and powerful words, both Emerson's and yours, Bingo. May you always have a friend knocking on your door, and may you always be a friend, knocking on another's door. Gratitude is an often unspoken but beautiful by-product of friendship. Friends are truly blessed.

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), September 14, 2000.

Bingo,

God Bless you and yours - take care now, ok?

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), September 14, 2000.

Bingo, thank YOU for being the friend you are and the valued thoughts you share with us. And -- what Aunt Bee said -- she captured so much in just a few words.

Hang in there, Bingo. I trust things will turn out all right.

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), September 15, 2000.

Kind words, Eve, Aunt Bee and Deb M. Thank you all. Yes Eve, it will work out all right in the end. Just requires a mountain of patience to get to the promised land! And a few good friends.

Enjoy the weekend, people. And remember...Smile from the Heart!

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), September 15, 2000.