beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam

 

Let’s start off with the good news. My Covid test returned negative (no surprise there) and I’m back in my original room (B2111-2) and out of bed jail!  I also walked over 400m today, between my various physio sessions and other trips walking, so all in all, very productive day!  I’m exhausted but I’m comfortable so it’s all good.  I’m another step closer to removing the medication pump, so I’ll be switching to just pills and greater independence.  Plus Don is now fully vaccinated against Covid, so that makes all of us.  I’m hopeful that I will get to see the priest here tomorrow, so I can have communion, and, perhaps almost as important, a meeting with the dietitian so we can see about feeding me actual food!  My staples (20!) are out, as is the last tubing and bandage from my central access line.  Wow. That’s a LOT of good news today.  Wonderful.  My pain is still high, annoyingly.  We can’t figure out what is causing it, but we’re still trying.  The picture is a collage of the view from my window in isolation throughout the day.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did while I was there.  The photos range from 4:45am to 8:45pm, beginning with the top left image.

I was listening to a meditation on the sermon on the mount. That lovely and famous talk given by Jesus where he introduced the beatitudes - “Blessed are the…” (in Latin, in which I am not conversant, “beati que…”) The meditation pointed out that the beatitudes are an expansion of and completion of the commandments.  Where the 10 commandments lay out the rules for humanity, but they are effectively a checklist. Have you honoured your parents?  Have you lied, cheated, committed adultery?  They are yes or no questions, easy to answer.  

The beatitudes, on the other hand, require that you reflect to determine whether you’ve followed them. How meek have you been?  Were  you sufficiently poor in spirit?  It’s not possible to enumerate them, nor to be precise in their execution.  But it’s definitely possible to live up to them.  We can be poor in spirit by not being in thrall to the acquisition of things, and not yielding to the desire to get more. Or by putting people ahead of material items. It’s certainly possible to be a peacemaker, and to encourage others to unify under a banner of peace. 

It’s definitely worth considering, that in order to be a good and decent person we must do more than just avoid certain failures like lying or cheating, but that we must actively advance internally to be kind, considerate, gentle to ourselves and others; basically to do a lot of internal work on ourselves to improve how we relate to others.  My view remains that religion is only valid in so far as we are in good relationship with each other.  It’s not possible to have a private religion, because you’re not bonding.   

In my view, sharing our thoughts helps us become wiser, and allows us to deepen our links with each other.  Have you noticed that?  When we can exchange our deepest thoughts with at least one other person, we become wiser.  I’ve been finding inspiration from some zen koans, which lead me back to the concept that we only really exist because we are interdependent.  One that spoke to me was, “Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst.”  At that moment, you have reached the point where you are blessed for mourning, because you will then be comforted.  There isn’t anywhere lower to go, so you learn some wisdom, and you can share it with someone else, who will remind you (possibly just by being there) that you’re not alone.  Then it’s even better.

Good night.  I look forward to reading your thoughts on my ramblings… 🥰