Quite Places

I haven't written much in a while, life has been particularly difficult lately and has handed us some challenges with no clear path to take. Finding the time to post has not been easy and being able to string together a few complete sentences to create a coherent paragraph has been nearly impossible for me.

Raising an autistic teenager who now refuses to take prescribed medication is turning out to be one of the most challenging experiences ever in my life and right now that responsibly is all consuming.

At this moment, I'm sitting in a church parking lot on a rainy May morning. Not because I thought that's where God would be but mostly because I needed a quiet place to think. I like it when I can be by myself and in my own head away from the noise of other's thoughts and demands and away from an un-medicated emerging mental health crisis.

But, it is in those quiet places that do I meet God. Those quiet places can be almost anywhere, most often for me it's out in nature.

I must go now and take care of some responsibilities, but I'll try to post more often. And I'll keep trying to find those quiet moments alone with myself and God.

“Be still, and know that I am God"

Psalm 46:10

Peace , Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

I Ain't No Saint

 I ain't no saint, but I was named after one. My mom was raised Catholic and she noticed St. Kevin's Catholic Church in Los Angeles and decided to name me after the Irish saint Kevin of Glendalough.

June 3rd is Saint Kevin's Feast Day.

Here is some info about St. Kevin:

https://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ASaints/Kevin.html

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

Another 584 Million Miles Around The Sun

I just completed another lap around the sun and I'm still hanging on for dear life.

I haven't traveled much but I have covered nearly 38 billion miles circling the sun in my lifetime.

On a larger scale, since my birth our solar system has traveled over 292 billion miles around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

I should be eligible for some serious airline perks by now but all I seem to be getting are more aches and pains. Well, today I woke up on the sunny side of the lawn again and any day that you wake up on the sunny side of the lawn is a good day!

 

"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" ~Jesus

 

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

Map segment retrieved from the Library of Congress at: Map of the square and stationary earth

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Social Unrest

Photo; CNN

This month's Rock Mass was all set to be about "churchianity" via some Jethro Tull songs, but that can wait because some things can't be ignored.

I wrestled this week over how to pick songs that were on target, I kept asking myself "What is the Spirit saying at this moment?" I struggled with trying to avoid being trite or too happy-clappy. I wanted to have my white privilege in check. I wanted to use as many live performances of people of color that I could find to give a human face to their words. And, I wanted to honor their struggle yet provide a voice of hope.

I'm feeling weighed down and heartsick by this week's events. My grandparents were born in Minneapolis, my dad was in law enforcement for 25 years, my ancestors were Quakers (I believe abolitionists), and I have ancestors who were wealthy white folk who lived below the Mason-Dixon Line (ya’ll know what that means). My mom had so much White Guilt, she was always trying to find ways to atone for her family's sins.

I say all of this to point out that I feel a connection to what is going on right now in American cities. A connection yes, but a loose connection that doesn't offer me the same perspective or level of pain that four hundred plus years of injustice provides.

I'm just a white dude trying to understand the pain of others. How to live on the same planet without living in separate universes. How not to be silent. How to be part of the solution. Pray for me!

B.L.M.

Here's the link to this month's Rock Mass.

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

I See Colors, Man!

I just had the most surreal experience this week. I’m not sure where to begin or how to frame it...

There was a brother who went by the name Maverick with a Facebook page that I followed and from time to time I would like a post, maybe even leave a comment. I can’t remember how long ago I started following Maverick’s page but the thing that drew me to it was the name – “Hippie Christian Fellowship: I see colors, man”.

James Scott "Maverick" Dixon

I don’t know a lot about Maverick except for what he posted about himself. Mostly that he had a heart for the poor and fought for the legalization of Medical Marijuana to help end the opioid addiction crisis.

In late March I saw that Maverick was in the hospital waiting to be transferred to John Hopkins. I called him on the phone number listed on his Facebook page but because of poor cell service I was barely able to introduce myself. We exchanged a few text messages, I was able to give a better introduction and tell him that he was in my prayers. A week and a half later I sent Maverick another encouraging text message but I didn’t hear back from him.

I began to fear that Maverick might have taken a turn for the worse and after a little searching my fears were confirmed, I found that Maverick had passed five days after my last text message.

Obituary of James Scott "Maverick" Dixon

This was so weird, amid all this COVID-19 isolation I try to reach out to a brother in his time of need and barely make a connection with him just before he dies. I guess the life lesson here is to make the effort and get connected, reach out and be there for each other. As the word says, Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

I hope that in some small way I was able to brighten up Maverick’s last few days.

I see colors too, man.

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

(Colorful sheep image was from Maverick's Facebook page Hippie Christian Fellowship: I see colors, man.)

1969 - Fifty Years On

Fifty years ago 1969 was a year filled with historic, horrific, inspiring, and earth shattering events, events that had a profound lasting effect on me. Some of the events of 1969 that I remember most were the first manned moon landing, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, the Jesus People Movement, the 3-million gallon Santa Barbara Oil Spill, the Vietnam War, John & Yoko's Bed-in and them singing Give Peace a Chance.

Here are some news photos of those benchmark events fifty years ago:

TOP LEFT: Arthur Blessitt on Sunset Strip, TOP CENTER: John & Yoko Bed-In, TOP RIGHT: Pres. Richard M. Nixon greeting troops in Vietnam, BOTTOM LEFT: Santa Barbara Oil Spill, BOTTOM CENTER: Max Yasgur at Woodstock, BOTTOM RIGHT: Buz Aldrin's footprint on the moon

The events of 1969 were part of an entire generation’s coming of age, even though I was only thirteen at that time it left an indelible mark on me shaping much of who I am today and how I have lived my life.

The Lord said to his people, “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths and where the best road is. Walk in it, and you will live in peace.”

(Jeremiah 6:1)

Peace, Love & Light!

Kevin (Cloud)

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