Oozing with promise . . .
Tuesday, April 21, 2026. It's Tiw's day . . . Gusty Southerlies are to bring clouds to TulseyTown this afternoon. A cool 73º is in the forecast.
The longest reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II was born on this day in 1926, London, England.
It's the birthdate of Max Weber, born in 1864, Erfurt, Germany. The sociologist and political economist is best known for his thesis of the “Protestant ethic,” relating Protestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas on bureaucracy.
Novelist Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre) was born on this day in 1816 Thornton, Yorkshire, England.
And, today is also the birthdate of naturalist John Muir, born in 1838 Dunbar, Scotland. Earth Day is tomorrow.
Trump's aides have been keeping him out of the room as they receive Iran updates, simply telling him what was going on at important moments. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.
We're seeing only a fraction of Trump's corruption. He's “classifying” most of it. – Miles Taylor, Defiance, 4.20.26
These are potent times, oozing with promise for a revolution of our collective soul. Patriarchal structures are losing their 5,000-year-old grip on our spiritual imagination. In their place, timeless feminine wisdom is flowering, spreading its intoxicating fragrance and ripening into vital nourishment for people of all genders. This female-shaped transmission activates our connection with the earth as a beloved relative, reminds us that we belong to each other, and eradicates the very concept of otherness. – Mirabai Starr
A Walk
My eyes already touch the sunny hill,
going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So are we grasped by what we cannot grasp;
it has its inner light, even from a distance –
and we are changed, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
we already are; a gesture waves us on answering our own
. . . but what we feel is the wind in our faces.
– Ranier Maria Rilke, Selected Poems by Ranier Maria Rilke, traslated by Robert Bly, Harper Collins Publishers,1981.
First the good news . . .
Monday, April 20, 2026
It's the Moon's day . . .Moderate Southerlies are to maintain sunny skies and upper 70's today in Green Country. A few clouds are likely this afternoon over TulseyTown.
Conscious navigation in The Way requires curiosity and courage, in that order, until you find yourself swimming with both at the same time.
Today is the birthdate of Joan Miró. The abstract/surrealist painter was born in 1893 Barcelona, Spain.
Jessica Lange is 77 today. The Triple Crown awarded actor was born in 1949 Cloquet, Minnesota.
And now the rest of the overstuffed mailbox...
Today in 2021 Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
Sixteen years ago – in 2010 – an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig owned by British Petroleum—located in the Gulf of Mexico – created the largest marine oil spill in history. The rig was approximately 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
The Columbine High School shooting occurred today in 1999. The tragedy galvanized national attention around the issue of school violence in a way other incidents had not.
And, it was on this day in 1914 that the Ludlow Massacre occurred. It was the bloodiest event in labor history. Ludlow, Colorado, is just over the border between New Mexico and Colorado near Trinidad.
The news just keeps on coming. – Joyce Vance in Civil Discourse.
What can you do now? – Robert Reich, posted this morning on substack.
Mark your calendar: On May 1st across the country, workers are planning to call off, students are organizing walkouts, and families are committing to stop spending for the day to make one thing clear: this country does not belong to billionaires.
The biggest myths are the ones we believe about ourselves. We all live inside a self-created box of limitations, with the vastness of possibility just outside. The cure is courage combined with curiosity. We are all stronger, braver, and more capable than we may believe. All it takes is one small step. Prove to yourself you are more than you may have thought. – David Stewart
History translates silence . . .
Sunday, April 19, 2026. It's Sol's day . . . A lovely Spring day is at hand for Green Country and TulseyTown. Moderate Southerlies bring sunny skies and mid 70's to the afternoon. The New Moon is taking on its wax-job.
Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real. – Iris Murdoch
Do you think Mother Mary did not wish her baby boy did not have to suffer and die under Roman occupation? Whether or not she consoled herself with the understanding that this was his sacred contract, it couldn't not hurt to witness his persecution and his excruciating death. Of course she wished things could be otherwise.
Do you think the goddess Kali does not desire the liberation of all her children, that is, every human soul? This is the source of her ferocity, the fuel for her wild dance of destruction. She destroys every obstacle that keeps us from union with God. She will not drop her sword until we – all – are free.
My point is simply that it is ridiculous to expect ourselves to be above wanting. We want intoxicating kisses and hand-squeezed fruit juice. We want our kids to find something they love to do and are good at. We want certain countries to stop bombing the shit out of certain other countries. We want a thriving planet for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.
The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences, proclaims the Third Zen Patriarch. But we misunderstand. This does not mean we must not thirst for justice, are not permitted to crave bagels with cream cheese, are expected to allow selfish friends and relations to trample our boundaries. The invitation is to open our hearts and dare to let love guide us. She will not lead us astray. Mirabai Starr, 4.14.26
There are no words for the present moment. It has never before occurred. It can be experienced, only. Enlightenment cannot be expressed in words or evaluated conceptually. Whenever we impose language or thought on an experience, feeling, or phenomenon, we are no longer entirely present. – Rebecca Li, writing in Tricycle, “Translating Silence.” Dr.Li has both an academic/professional role in bioethics and a substantial Buddhist teaching role.
One of those singular moments occurred 251 years ago today in Lexington and Concord Massachusetts with “the shot heard 'round the world.”
So That Others Do Not See Our Love – after Rilke
We kneel and make pious gestures,
build domes of gold, sing and worship
a blue-sky god, meanwhile
practicing ignorance of Indra's net
connecting us to our earthly origins
our roots shared by mushrooms and stars.
— jab