No Death, No Fear

This body is not me; I am not caught in this body,
I am life without boundaries,
I have never been born and I have never died.
Over there the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies
All manifests from the basis of consciousness.
Since beginningless time I have always been free.
Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out.
Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek.
So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye.
Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before.
We shall always be meeting again at the true source,
Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.

No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh.
the above passage is from this book. it was recommended to me by Rev Julie to assist in my grief for Jesse. I had started it a month ago only to put it down. too many tears to really get through it and read clearly. so finally on saturday I picked it up and started all over again. only last night did I complete it and it is WONDERFUL!!! even if you have not lost a loved one of late, I highly recommend this book to better understand death on what it is and what it is not. there is many messages on living as well. Thich is a Buddhist and his thoughts shared here are powerfully moving. I love this book. he has others and I'm probably going to read them all. Rev Julie reminded me he has one on Anger as well which will be most helpful to me now. in the recent childhood wounds that surfaced, I recognized a little bit of anger I had yet to resolve. so I'm looking forward to another book by Thich in the very near future. No Death, No Fear I will use for my book report coming up in class in another week. I have much other homework to complete, but will get to this report soon. I'm not a Buddhist, but am open to different spiritual teachings. Thich is a great introduction for me. I've read a little of Dalai Lama. at the moment I struggled through it, but I'll return to those books as well for further understanding of Buddhism. i desire to learn all that i can "spiritually". after talking with Rev Julie yesterday, I know I will continue to learn much from her and probably become a practitioner after all. only recently i was discouraged by a friend's words who also is a practitioner. i'll think lightly upon this over the summer. but i'm more optimistic now than before....i am more peaceful nowadays after last week. did i tell you i'm checking into martial arts? i will go check out at least a couple places. this is something i've always wanted to do and Rev Julie reminded me of the spiritual practice those arts are. i had forgotten and the reminder only ignited my soul's desire to do so. the martial arts is for self defense as well. i am a protector and i need to have a place to express that, release it and embrace that which i am. maybe the exercise will help me lose some weight as well. i have much on my journey that i desire to do. only time will tell how i get it all done. but most importantly i need to spend as much time hiking as possible or at least in the midst of nature somehow, someway allowing it to nourish me and continue my quest. time is unfolding and i must be on my way...