In January, Midge and I joined friends at a local church for a White Stone
Ceremony.
In this personal time of meditation together, each person holds a pure
white stone (okay it was a bright piece of bathroom tile), warms the little
rock between clasped hands, and sits in quiet contemplation for
guidance. Generally a word comes to mind, and helps set an intention
for the next year. These first four words came quickly to my mind:
Live. Laugh. Love. Learn…
Some time later, as the exercise ended, our eyelids fluttered open,
and Midge and I simultaneously scrawled out:
Share!
Strangely, even a single word of true clarity had eluded Midge for the
minutes of the exercise. Why then this word? And why for both of us the
same time. A mind meld perhaps?
Welcome to… the Twilight Zone.
I’m a “web guy” and did a search for the term. I found lots of variations
using the first four words, but adding “share”… that made it unique. And
that’s hard to do in our ever-more entwined web-wrapped world!
So imagine my surprise when I visited the church’s pastor and found the
SAME 5 WORDS neatly painted on a bright and cheery little sign by her
front door. In my haste, the sign caught my eye and set my head spinning.
I paused a moment in disbelief… then laughed with
certain acceptance and rang the bell.
When the pastor answered the door, I shared our White Stone story with
her, hit the punch line, and pointed at her little sign. She smiled
knowingly, and quite simply said,
“It’s been there all along.”
In a word: Wow. Again… cue The Twilight Zone!
Live | Laugh | Love | Learn | Share
How simple this phrase, yet how poignant the command to:
LIVE – Exist in a simple state of be-ing.
LAUGH – Fully enjoy all that life has to offer.
LOVE – Embrace an all-consuming affection.
LEARN – Allow an openness to new ideas.
SHARE – Pass along all you know to others.
Humans Be-ing
Midge and I are moving through an incredible time of busy-ness in
our lives. It’s hard work to re-learn how to
“Live simply so others may simply live.”
Now on the cusp of our living together as a couple once again, we seek
an open-minded community of friends with similarly kind and kindred
spirits. Friendly folks that openly share food, fun, and fellowship while
working to achieve personal goals, attain cooperative objectives, and (if
desired) affect positive global change.
Be an Expression of Thanksgiving
Midge and I are thankful for all that we have and look forward to
meeting many more fellow travelers who embrace and embody
those same core values while having a great, and fun time, simply be-
ing.
So wherever we meet, and however we connect, here’s to all that
answer the call to live, laugh, love, learn, and share along a gently
winding road… together.
Live Large — Go Tiny!
Thom Stanton
