Simply Live
So another
year transitions across into a new year and somehow those thoughts
of 'newness' - new century, millennium, year, decade, etc., fade
into it's a new day today and a year is just a number
on the calendar and weight is just a number on a scale...
And it throws
one back to look inside for meaning - how one's life continues
to flow one moment to the next and time is not part of nature
- only process is and time merely helps humans to measure process.
When I know
me inside I can stop measuring and simply live - and feel
- and use time as a means of communicating with others...
And tonight
I'm chairing the [Al-Anon] meeting on Step #1 - Powerlessness
and unmanageability.
- from the journal
of Kathi Simpson
January 2, 2001
Available evidence suggests
that Kathi died at the hands of an assailant upon her return
from the Al-Anon meeting. The motive is not known.
A suspect was arrested shortly
after Kathi's body was found. Two months later he took his own
life. |
To Forgive
There was,
a few years ago, a young girl who was raped and killed by a young
man from another state. This is not an uncommon story these days,
and many of us are frightened and angry that these things continue
to happen despite our attempts to stop them. Sometimes we blame
God and sometimes we become despondent. At times we feel there
is no safety and we lock our doors, hoping for some small measure
of peace.
While the story
is not uncommon, the response of the victim's parents was much
different than we often hear. The newspaper quoted them as talking
about forgiving the perpetrator of that horrible crime. This
stands in stark contrast to these demonstrators who gleefully
carry signs around the prison walls when someone is about to
be executed.
The impressive
thing about these parents' desire to forgive was that they were
able to respond in a way that gave them strength to rise above
the natural common tendencies of vindictiveness. In desiring
to forgive, to desire mercy rather than justice, they moved toward
healing of themselves, the perpetrator, and their own loved daughter.
-- from the
journal of Kathi Simpson
July 30, 1989 |
