Wahsega Valley Farm

Hiding away

I might be turning into a recluse. It's my natural tendency - to be alone. I've never had the opportunity for much solitude in my life before now, so I like my newfound aloneness. A lot. But I fear I might be wallowing in it. Is that bad? I feel so comfortable here in our little cabin in the forest with my kitties and garden. I feel peaceful and in awe of the nature that surrounds me. If I don't really have to, I don't like getting in the car and driving into town or wherever. Even though I love my exercise classes, there are days when I just don't want to go and be around people and leave my quiet, serene world. The people are perfectly nice, but it feels like a jolt to my system dealing with them and making conversation. Like coming out of a tranquil dream.

I'm starting to struggle a bit with it.

And having to force myself to get out more. A huge part of me doesn't want to though. I know, I know... most people look for any opportunity to get out and about and socialize or be seen. Not me; give me a good book or garden plot or yarn to crochet, etc. and I'm happy as a pig in mud.

But... I'm wondering... is it a healthy way to be? I commun- icate quite a bit online and of course, I see Mike every day and we get along wonderfully. I've never liked talking on the phone, so I don't do much of that, but I love writing letters. I dunno... I think I feel pressure (but, from where?) to be more social, but now I'm in a position where I don't have to be. I am still in my celebration from having to mingle mode!

I think maybe it will even out. That right now I'm like a kid in a candy store and am eating so much candy that I'll eventually get sick. But then I'll wise up and realize it's a question of balance.

But I wonder... is it possible that too much introspection and tranquility can make me sick? Because for the most part I just feel plain ol' rejuvenated and at peace.

Pondering...

 

Well, here I am... back in the saddle. I think. I've been out of blogging mode since August 26 and must admit that I rather enjoyed my hiatus. I also quit Facebook since I didn't do much on it yet felt a pull to check in often for some silly reason. And, I didn't do any emailing during my hiatus either for the most part. Sometimes I just need to be invisible. It's probably the introvert in me. I wanted to be in my own head without sharing my thoughts. It was quite blissful. Should I continue? Should I put my blogging hat back on? I dunno.

I've thought about putting this place on the back-burner until Mike and I start going to our farm next year - and that is still a consideration. That was its original purpose... to log all the goings-on there since we have so many changes we want to make and gardens to build and chickens to get. I hadn't intended this place to be an account of my diet awakenings, spiritual quest or political opinions. I like writing and I love taking pictures - and life goes on... so all the while I've just been blogging about what's happening in my brain these past two years since we weren't able to get to the farm as soon as we'd hoped. Sometimes people like what I say and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they visit and wave at me with a comment and sometimes they shun me as though I should agree with everything they say or I'm not worth knowing. I will admit up front that there are some things about people I just don't understand.

I like peace. I like to be accepted for who I am. I guess it is just human nature to avoid people who are different from ourselves? Again... I dunno. I enjoy knowing all kinds of people; it opens my eyes and teaches me so many things. We can learn a lot from each other.

At any rate, I am here today and I might be here tomorrow. I'm just not sure yet. There is news; there are things I've been up to that I can write about. But I'm just not sure I want to get back into the blogging thang. Maybe I could post once a week? Or whenever something extra blog-worthy occurs? I think I'll think about that for awhile...

In the meantime...

Hello again friends.

Are you a scanner?

I bet a lot of you are. I am.

According to Barbara Sher, a "scanner" is "a very special kind of thinker. Unlike people who are satisfied with one area of interest, you're genetically wired to pursue many areas, and that's exactly what you've been trying to do. But because your behavior is unfamilar - even unsettling - to the people around you, you've been taught that you're doing something wrong and told you must decide on one path. But this advice has been a big mistake. You've been misdiagnosed. You're not a failed specialist, you're a different creature altogether."

Yeah, a different creature. I always thought I was different but I just wasn't sure in what way. I've never "fit in". So now I am not only an introvert, I'm an introvert and a scanner. Introverted scanner. Scanner introvert. Hmm.

The past couple of weekends have been uncomfortable for me because every time I turned around, I was possessed by another interest... another activity I wanted to pursue. On Sunday I just sat down and couldn't do anything; I was rendered immobile! It was like looking at too many options on a menu and just plain not being able choose. Too many choices and not enough me. While most of the time it is a good thing to have so many interests, sometimes it creates a feeling of inadequacy because I think I can never get it all done. And in the middle of working on one thing, my mind is thinking about the next thing I want to do. It's all fun stuff that I love doing, but I get discombobulated at the prospect of doing it all. When? How?

I was told of Barbara Sher by my friend Olympia because she is a big-time scanner too and very multi-talented. She thought I might have the same "affliction". She was right.

I'd like to read Barbara's new book, Refuse to Choose: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love. On the cover of the book, it says: "Don't know what do do with your life? Are you drawn to so many things you can't choose? Do you ache to find the right direction so you can settle down and just do it? If this is you, you should refuse to choose!"

Maybe she can teach me how to create a balanced life - and get everything done I want to do. She has a forum where other scanners hang out and it's been interesting reading others' experiences and problems. I don't want another day like this past Sunday. I like being creative and industrious and busy with all the things I love to do. And for heaven's sake, when I get to the farm I will have even more to do. But... I think it will be different then - because I will be away from the confines of a corporate job and suddenly be in wide open spaces... timewise and physically. That might change everything.

Progressive Christianity

I've been having a written conversation recently with a progressive Christian and it has been like a breath of fresh air. Or the clouds parting... or the fog lifting perhaps. As any regular reader knows, I am not a Christian. I was raised Christian, but it never "took". It all seemed alien to me and I didn't like the music at all - even as a child. Or the loud preacher getting all red in the face. I strongly believe in God, but don't agree as many Christians do that one must be the member af any man-made religion to be truly connected to God. The past few years I've been seeking out Christianity a bit to learn more - talking to people here and there, and reading. But the Christianity that kept being revealed to me by those I discussed it with never felt right. It felt rigid and confining like a shoe that's too tight... so uncomfortable - and the opposite from what I perceive God and spirituality to be. And, several times that I've been open with Christians, I've been hit over the head with dogma and judgment, and some of the most profound and meaningful experiences in my life were discounted and condemned by them. So I recoiled and wandered off, wondering why it felt so unwelcoming, so chilly. It didn't feel warm, inclusive and loving. It didn't feel like the God I know. It felt arrogant, staid, close-minded and "right". It felt suffocating.

But suddenly out of nowhere a progressive Christian appeared and I have seen a little light! There are Christians who are not so rigid and conservative - who seem to see things in ways that appear more Godly and just and kind. I knew these Christians existed, but I'd never run in to one. Here is what this new acquaintance wrote recently, when I asked a few questions:

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"Yes, there are progressive Christians and for the most part they are called Episcopalians. We ordained a gay bishop recently who has been the subject of a great deal of controversy, and many other clergy are openly gay. Most Episcopalians are pro-choice on abortion and pro-social justice and pro civil rights. Unlike the Roman church, we have women as priests and bishops. Unlike Rome, our priests and bishops can marry. Many are environmentalists.

Of course, we are criticized profusely by conservative evangelicals who accuse us of not following the Bible, or at least their interpretation of it. Here is why conservatives are wrong... Yes, the Bible is the word of God, but it was God's word to a certain group of people at a certain place in a certain point in history. It is actually a collection of books written over several thousand years by hundreds of people. It is really a compendium of oral tradition, and much of its authorship is unknown or anonymous. It was never meant to be something set in stone for time and all eternity. Such a view contradicts the nature of God; we never know fully who God is, and as we discover more about our universe, we discover more about God all the time. I see God as ever revealing, not someone revealed a long time ago who never changed. God continues to speak to us in our age in a different way than God spoke to those in former times. For example, in 2000 BC there was a high infant death rate and there was a need to populate the earth, so God said, "go forth and multiply." Now, however, our planet will soon reach its capacity as to the number of people it can support, so God gives us a different message. In ancient times, there was no scientific information on homosexuality, we now know it is genetic. Some people just have a problem adjusting to a changing world.

The Evangelical Conservatives are quite dogmatic and judgmental, but Jesus most assuredly was not. He ate dinner with tax collectors and prostitutes and consorted with just about everyone who was no one in the days in which he lived. Jesus was a revolutionary, not a pillar of the establishment of his day. Jesus' continuing message was that judgment belongs to God alone and not to us. Jesus preached forgiveness of sins, not punishment. Jesus' message was to love each other, not to follow a set of rules. The message is repeated over and over again. The key is to study Jesus with an open mind, without conservative overlay and filtration. Christians do have a bad reputation because of some people who misinterpret His message."

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After reading what he wrote, I decided to take a look at progressive Christians and came across this from Liberalis:

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What is a Liberal Christian?

Sometimes liberals are thought to be Christians who have backslidden; people who don't have enough faith, or are too "in the world." Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Liberal Christians are committed believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who have thoroughly studied the scriptures and traditions of the Church, and have examined their faith in the light of reason and experience. They believe in:

Diversity:Perhaps the defining characteristic of liberal Christians is that they are comfortable with ambiguity and diversity. They realize that life is a complex spiritual journey, and that each person on that journey is confronted with unexpected revelations and unique experiences. Liberal Christians therefore welcome a variety of approaches to understanding God, and are open to new ways of talking about the divine. Religious questions are seen as complex, and answers only tentative. Certain that "now we see through a glass, darkly" (1 Cor. 13:12), liberals are cautious about making dogmatic statements or claiming to have a monopoly on the truth. They see the search for truth as an ongoing task rather that one that has already been completed.

A Non-Literal View of Scripture:Conservative Christians are often content to answer religious questions by appealing to the absolute authority of Scripture. Liberal Christians, on the other hand, find such an approach to be flawed. Many see the Bible as a witness to revelation, or generally inspired, rather than completely inspired in all its parts. Just as Jesus was fully human and wholly divine, so one must also see the Bible as a product of both human and divine influences. Indeed, liberal Christians are quick to point out that the falleness and imperfection of its human authors gives the Bible an imperfect quality and authority.

Liberals view scripture through a critical lens, and are not afraid to challenge traditional assumptions and interpretations. They rely heavily on higher criticism of the Bible, which looks into the origin and composition of the biblical texts, revealing a great deal about the human aspect of Scripture. Modern philosophical, biological and cosmological theories that are well supported by evidence, and reflect the true nature of the world around us can also shape the way liberals interpret Scripture. Traditional Christian doctrines, such as the Virgin Birth, the Atonement, the Trinity, the deity of Christ and the Resurrection are sometimes given new interpretations by liberals.

Perhaps moreso than evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, liberal Christians see the teachings of Jesus as having a central place. Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience are each given equal footing in determining Christian faith.

An Intimate, Personal View of God:Imminent and personal images of God in Scripture are attractive to liberals. For some, this takes on the form of a belief in pantheism (Everything-in-God-ism). Liberals also see little distinction between the natural and the supernatural, and therefore do not look for "miracles" to confirm the existence of God. Instead, they feel that faith in God allows one to see the Spirit moving in the everyday stuff of life.

Universal Salvation:The concept of personal salvation is not typically stressed by liberal Christians. Accordingly, traditional images of heaven, hell and the End Times are not given much weight in their theologies. When salvation is discussed, liberals are more apt to stress its "this worldly" aspects, and appeal to a universalist interpretation of Scripture when confronted with questions of eternal punishment and rewards.

For many liberal Christians, social justice is a central concern, and the transformation of society, rather than that of the individual, is more typically stressed. Equality for racial minorities, women, homosexuals and the economically disadvantaged is seen as an essential part of the Gospel message. A concern for the environment, and other typically liberal social issues, also find a great deal of support among liberal Christians."

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Then, I found this blurb interesting:

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"Let me begin by encouraging all liberals to rediscover their religious roots. Especially all you Bleeding Heart Liberals. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the origin of this term, "bleeding heart liberal" was first printed by a journalist in the 1930s, and was (and still is) typically used to describe anyone who is overly sympathetic to the plight of impoverished and downtrodden people. The "bleeding heart" part of the epithet alludes to a symbol used in Christian imagery and iconography, where a heart wrapped in a crown of thorns is depicted bleeding in the chest of Mary or Jesus. Thus, a bleeding heart liberal is someone whose concern for the poor rivals that of Jesus and Mary."

So, being called a bleeding heart liberal is not a bad thing. But then, I never thought it was.

And maybe there is a place for me in Christianity afterall.

Next post: some thoughts on a couple of controversial issues. 

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"One's own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one's Maker and no one else's."

- Mohandas Ghandi

Kindness

Here is a quote from one of my most favorite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez - who wrote one of my most favorite books, Love in the Time of Cholera.

 

Election Anxiety: What to Do if the "Other Side" Wins

An interesting article...

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Election Anxiety: What to Do if the "Other Side" Wins
by Russell Bishop

Are you stressing out over the election that is just around the corner? I mean, it's bad enough that we have this economic tsunami crashing around us every day, and now we are about to endure what could be a seismic election impact.

What if McCain-Palin somehow pull the rabbit out of the hat? What happens if Obama-Biden win in a landslide?

So what if we do get the "other" folks in office? How will you be affected? What can you do about it? This question applies no matter who you think the wrong choice might be, McCain-Palin or Obama-Biden.

Part of the fear, anxiety and consternation that seem to dog us every day now around the issues of the economy, this goofy war in Iraq, and the prospects of a sharply divided society all come back to a favorite theme of mine: the difference between independence and freedom.

Most people I have worked with over the years like to think of themselves as independent. I don't mean independent as a political term, but more of independence as a state of being of self sufficiency. Do you like to think of yourself as independent? I know I did until I got the difference between independence and freedom.

My theory is people proclaim independence, thinking they are claiming freedom, and, in the process, actually forfeit their true freedom in favor of apparent independence. Think about how often independence is proclaimed by someone who is clearly angry and you will get a glimmer of the freedom-independence difference I am writing about.

So, if you consider yourself to be independent, try this little test: do you make your own clothes? Do you raise your cotton? Anyone make your own sewing needles? You get the drift - just about all of us are dependent on others for a wide variety of life's necessities ranging from jobs to clothes.

About the only time any of us get worked up about our problems with being dependent on one another is when our set of expectations get threatened by someone else. Enter the election and the current economic meltdown.

The top couple of percent are worried about losing some of their excess, while those in the middle and lower brackets are worried about losing somewhere between a little and everything if the other ticket gets elected. Some have already lost a lot.

The real tragedy has nothing to do with lost bank accounts, homes, jobs, and the like. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that losing these kinds of things is a non-event. I lived in my car while in college after my dad died so I have some sense of what it is like to be at or near the bottom of the economic ladder.

The lesson here is more about freedom than it is about independence. Would you be willing to substitute the word freedom, or being free, for independence? Do you like to think of yourself as free, of having freedom? One definition for freedom might have something to do with the freedom to chose who you wish to be, truly independent of what others might want you to be.

Are you sacrificing your freedom to choose who you are because of something that happens around you or something that happens to you? Would you be any less free depending on which political party prevails?

So what do I mean by 'Freedom?' I am referring to true Freedom. The only Freedom that you have 100% control over. The only Freedom that no one can take away from you. Perhaps the best way to understand the concept, and more importantly, the power of the difference, is to consider the life of Victor Frankl.

Victor Frank was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist working in pre-World War II Vienna, helping troubled people who were considered suicidal. His work was incredibly successful and caught the attention of some prominent thinkers in Germany.

As the war grew, he wound up being deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp, along with his wife and parents. They were quickly separated and sent to different camps. Frankl himself was transferred to several, including Auschwitz and Turkheim (near Dachau). All of his family members, except his sister who escaped, died in one of the concentration camps.

On his arrival at Theresienstadt, he was selected to live, rather than be immediately executed. Once that decision was made, he was sent to the "showers" where he was stripped, completely shaved and clothed in prison garb that intentionally was the wrong size (large people were given clothes way too small, while small people were given clothes way too big). He quickly reasoned that the process was intended to strip the individual of any sense of being, importance or relevance.

Next up, the Nazi's gathered up his huge collection of research, records and writings, and burned his life's work in front of him. From there, he endured all manner of cruelty and inhumanity, including various forms of physical suffering and torture.

Along the way, as he struggled to maintain his sense of self and his dignity, he came to formulate some compelling thoughts and bits of awareness, which together allowed him to live, and to exude a dignity that the Nazi's could not extinguish.

For Frankl, the critical realization came as yet another indignity was forced upon him. That realization was about freedom. The simple yet powerful realization, goes like this: "Freedom is that place in time just after they do something to me, and just before I choose my response."

The following are some quotes from Victor Frankl's seminal work, Man's Search for Meaning, which was published in 1946, after his long ordeal in the various concentration camps:

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves."

"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

As we move through the coming days and months of unsteady economic challenges and the prospects of a difficult election, I encourage you to remember that as bad as you think one party or the other might be, no one will be off to concentration camps even if they do get elected.

Follow Frankl's advice: think about where you are headed in your life, what experiences you are having, and what choices you can make about them. How could you choose freedom even in the worst of circumstances: How could you change yourself?

Allow me to leave you with a famous quote from Alexander Solzenitzen: "If you were to put the world to rights, with whom would you begin? Yourself or others?"

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by Sunny Brown

Il bel far niente

Morning by Maxfield Parrish

Il bel far niente means "the beauty of doing nothing" in Italian. I don't speak Italian, but I've been reading a book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, that has been quite entertaining so far. A bit of fluff perhaps, but a fun read even though the author has little in common with me. And I had to laugh when I read "Il bel far niente" because just as the words were going from my eyes into my mind, I realized I was experiencing the closest I'd come to "doing nothing" in a long, long time. And so was Mike.

We were at the condo open house and hadn't gotten any traffic yet and were hanging out in a pacing, uncomfortable kind of way. We decided to go lie down in one of the bedrooms and just relax, or - as it felt to us - do "nothing". Mike started to fall asleep, so I picked up Eat Pray Love and started reading. Although I was reading, I still felt as though I was experiencing what the book was describing - the beauty of doing nothing - because it was peaceful, unplanned and still. Something Mike and I don't have nearly enough of in our lives right now. Our days are push push push until we finally collapse 17 hours after we got up when it's time again to go to bed. We don't want it that way - at all - but until certain things happen in our lives we can't afford to kick back and relax too much. There is too much to do, take care of... keep on top of.

I continued to read about how Il bel far niente has always been a cherished Itlalian ideal. "The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement."

Now, I don't now about the rest of the world, but here in the United States it seems we need to feel that we have earned our happiness before we can experience it, and even then there is that ticking in the back of our minds that we should be productive. Always. Mike and I both struggle with that a bit. I can't relax at home until the house is clean. I can't watch a movie unless the laundry is done. And, for some reason, if Mike is working, I feel that I should be working too. Or there is guilt. In this country I think part of it stems from the old, ingrained Puritan Guilt that affects us whether we want it to or not.

But the bigger part of for me isn't that I feel I should be productive for the sake of just being busy and constantly working; it's that I have a life-time of ideas constantly bubbling throughout my mind that I want to do. I like creating things. Making things. It doesn't matter if it's something I cooked, sewed, crocheted, grew, threw on a potters wheel, wrote in a blog, shot with a camera or made with oils and lye. I like to create things. So I am always researching the best way to do this or that, or I'm almost always in the process of learning a new technique or recipe. Since I work full time, and have a house to maintain too, my creative time is limited - so I grab what I can when I can.

I'm not sure when I will experience much Il bel far niente. It's funny that I should read about it while I was experiencing the closest thing to it. I read a lot, but most of what I read is instructional or reference. I've not read a fiction book since I met Mike six years ago. And, I didn't seek this book out, it just presented itself to me. I was in a co-workers office and it was lying on her desk. I read the title, "Eat Pray Love" and it sounded interesting. That was three weeks ago. I am now on page 70. I'm not a slow reader; that's just all I've been able to squeeze in since then.

Il bel far niente. Hm. I aspire to more of that. One day. When everything I want to do has been done.

Life and death

I've been thinking about life and death lately. I think that happens when one loses a loved one. I am not morose about death and understand that we all live and then die.That is the way is it supposed to be. I wouldn't even want to live on earth forever and can say that I even look forward to when it's time for me to go - though I am in no rush. But when someone you love dies - including pets, but moreso with people - the pain is so crushing that you temporarily lose that intellectual understanding - and become an open wound ebbing and flowing with emotions and memories so intense that at times you wonder how you can go on. Feelings. Intense feelings - without the protection of your intellectual rationale. And at the time of a loved one's death you might feel more alive than you have in a long time. Is that a crazy thing to say? I don't think so. For me it's necessary to go through the mourning process full on - straight through the pain - and then let it go. I've heard that some people take drugs to numb themselves, but won't they eventually have to feel it? I believe the only way out of grief is to go through it.

And I believe in God and life after death. Death to me means the soul goes somewhere else. Perhaps into the cosmic flow of life and everything eternal. Maybe to another stage of learning and becoming wiser and closer to the white light where God is. Maybe to a place called Heaven. Some people say life after death is illogical because it can't be proven. But I believe our brains are finite and what is beyond this life is infinite. We aren't capable of understanding the infinite - no matter how erudite we are. Our little brains sputter trying to grasp it. So, it takes a leap of faith to believe in something that can't be proven. 

When someone dies it's the missing them that is so difficult. Adjusting to life without them. It's a selfish thing really.They are in a better place if you believe in life after death. But we want them to still be with us, making us smile and laugh, touching us in so many ways. Gimme.

I've been thinking about life and death because of Mesa and Cujo of course, but also because when Mike and I move to our little farm and take on lots of animals, death will happen more often than I am used to. Animals die and I will have to get used to it and not let it overcome me so. It's the way it's supposed to be. The problem is when you get so emotionally attached... and I do - you miss their little innocent souls. But I will have to learn to accept death easier in the future. Well... I will try.

And then there is Mike and me. As far as we go, we're hoping to both get hit by lightening while working out in the garden or strolling around the farm one day - and leave this world together. Wouldn't that be nice? Of course, we'll have to make sure that we have a back-up person on stand-by to take care of all our animals if that happens.

Jane Fonda and Christianity

Jane Fonda is here today to talk to my boss and fellow executives during their weekly Friday lunch - and I wonder what she is going to talk about. She lives here in Atlanta now. I know she stirs up a lot of controversy - especially because her Vietnam stand and actions. But I think she is a very interesting woman. I read an article yesterday about her finding Christianity and could relate to a lot of what she was saying. I'm struggling with it myself. I was raised a Christian and felt as though I was "saved" when I was 19, but it wasn't in a very "acceptable" way according to Christians I have talked to. But I've never been a practicing Christian because of so many things I consider negative associated with it. I'm beginning to think that I might be a Christian, just not like any - or many - I've met thus far. I do not fit in to any sort of mold and I struggle with some of the things the Bible says. I wonder how much of it has been changed by man over the years. Can I rejoice in the parts that ring true and turn away from the parts that don't? How can I accept things that I feel God would never condone - that I can't condone because of my dealings with God thus far? I read of God's "wrath" and it doesn't ring true with my experience with God. I don't associate wrath with God at all.

I keep bumping into Christianity these days as though I'm being called to take a closer look. Are they coincidences? Here is a quote from Jane Fonda about coincidences:

"... And from that time forward, I became aware of, I call them coincidences. I just became very aware that the absolute right person would come into my life at the moment that I needed to know something. The exact right book would come into my hands. Oftentimes by people I didn't know. They were like sign posts! And I thought, "Has this been going on all along and I just didn't notice?"

And along about that time, I heard Bill Moyers say, "Coincidences are God's way of manifesting," and that lodged in me."

I think I relate to Jane because she is still finding her way too. It's easier to talk to those who are still searching. I've never been a black and white person; I'm a gray person. It's difficult for me to have someone tell me "This is the way it is" when it doesn't feel right to me and everything in my being says it can't be true. Are there different flavors of Christianity? Which flavor is the right one? Or, are there a few universal truths and the rest is based on love and kindness - and you take it from there? And, if I am a Christian, does that mean I have to think that other peoples' religions are false? That there is only one way to God even though some people have never been exposed to that one way?

Has man made a mess of Jesus and Christianity - and all that it really means? How does one get through the mess and clutter, the politics and patriarchy - to the essence and heart?

Desiderata

While doing some research, I stumbled upon the Desiderata. It was the exact version of the one I framed for my father back in the 1970's. It was a birthday present for him and he loved it. Kept it on a shelf right above his desk where he spent so much time. I tucked an autumn leaf underneath the glass and it kept its color for all these years. When he died, I brought the Desiderata to my house.