Two really good books (from BookBuyers in Mt. View, a fabulous used bookstore where I went after dinner Monday night with Fran Bellet) kept me up late last night: "Good Grief: Healing Through the Shadow of Loss," by Deborah Morris Coryell. She comes from the Jewish tradition and heads the Shiva Foundation in San Luis Obispo CA. Shiva is both the first 7 days of mourning in Judaism (from sheva, Hebrew for seven) and Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and creativity. Cool. The 2nd book is "grieving mindfully," by Sameet Kumar, a Buddhist working out of the Mt. Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami Beach and Aventura FL. Coincidentally, that's where Audrey is right now, playing tennis and golf.
From Good Grief: The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how we use them. (Susan Salisbury-Richards) "..it is the presence that we continue to have after we are no longer present that acknowledges the power of our being. Our deeds, our actions are the way we make our presence felt in the world, and to the extent that we continue to influence and impact people's lives after we are dead, we continue to live."
So let us allow Linda to influence our lives. Let her live on in you as you organize your papers, see a butterfly, get a bargain (see below), play with your pets, enjoy a good meal, find a rainbow, sing with enthusiasm, and especially, dance with complete joy.
Tonight's dinner at Fusion (oft mentioned in Linda's blog) with Nath Brophy was delicious. I love introducing people to the wonderful creativity of Yung Le. And of course, sticky rice with mango for dessert. That was in Linda's honor because that was the dessert she and I shared at a Thai restaurant the first visit she made to California, August 1999.
One person minus newspaper subscriptions: much less recycling. Reduce that carbon footprint, I say.
Bargain story for the day: Before dinner I stopped into Safeway to get a cantaloupe for Ketzl. If I'm going away, at least he should eat well and there is still asparagus. But they were $4.99 each (I know, it's not summer and they are shipping in from Central America...not great but..). So I love the cat but not $5 worth. So I found one that had a few bruises and asked the produce clerk if she could mark it down, as it was destined for my cat. She said that if she were going through the melons, she would probably throw that one out, so why didn't I just take it home with me. I would have been willing to pay for it, but I got it for free. "What would Linda do?" Try to get a deal. It worked. All I had to do was ask.
