Learning to Meditate

Eulogy for Linda Joyce Cook

Linda’s friend, BJ, in Southern California, always called her “Little Buddy.” And for more than 25 years Linda has been my best buddy through sunny days, the Russian River flood of 1986, and the ups and downs of both our lives.

The middle name on Linda’s birth certificate is Joyce. But I think her middle name is Giving. Linda and I met at a little church in Guerneville one winter morning, and a few weeks later she gave me a small travel diary after learning that in the spring I would be going to France to visit friends. Can’t you just see that big smile of hers as she said, “This is for your trip!”?

If you ever expressed a fondness for something and Linda heard about it, you were in luck. I once told her that I liked Butterfinger candy bars. The next thing I knew, there was one attached to my birthday card...and later on, at somebody else’s birthday celebration, hosted at Linda’s house, there would be Butterfingers in my party favor bag, because Linda always individualized the contents of those bags at the countless parties she threw.

Right after Linda’s stroke, when she was just starting to talk again, she pointed at me and asked, “How-you-thing-thing-thing?” I knew exactly what she was saying. I said, “You mean how’s Midnight?” “Yes!” she said. Even at this difficult time, Linda was reaching out to give the gift of her interest in me and my cat.

We all remember the many ways that Linda’s giving touched our lives. And even after death, Linda continues to give. There was a pink donor circle on her California Driver License. Here is part of a letter I received from Golden State Donor Services on April 5^th.

Through Linda’s generous decision to donate, the most wonderful possibilities can be realized. Through corneal transplantation, the gift of sight has already been restored to two very thankful individuals from Tennessee and Nevada. The recipients of this cherished gift are a sixty-five year old gentleman and an eighty-five year old gentleman. Both are now able to partake of the immense beauty that surrounds us daily. What a great tribute to your friend.

To close, I would like to read something by Langston Hughes. It’s called “Poem.”

I loved my friend.

[S]he went away from me.

There’s nothing more to say.

The poem ends,

Soft as it began—

I loved my friend.

Our Inner Being

The way to freedom from any limiting condition in the world of mental, emotional, and physical expression is revealed as we accept, experience, and express the resources of our inner being. We have the ability to set aside any sense of burden or apprehension and start rejoicing and giving thanks for the good in our world...

Every tree, every flower, every blade of grass is magnificently and magically different. You, too, are wondrously unique. Instead of thinking negatively about how you may be different from others, accept the challenge, the joy, and the wonder of variation. You can create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life...

Each of us tends to become what we think we are, and if we present to the world a person whom we honestly believe is "okay," the world will respond to us positively and with acceptance.

John Marks Templeton
in Worldwide Laws of Live

Having

We tend to forget that happiness does not come as a result of getting something we do not have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

Frederick Koenig

Positive Thoughts

Our thoughts, like seeds, sprout and blossom according to their variety. Thoughts we cultivate create our experience of life. Positive thoughts get positive results, whereas negative thoughts lead to negative results. Understanding this cause and effect relationship can help us think into being the kind of life we wish to have.

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John Marks Templeton

Pale Blue Dot by Dr. Carl Sagan

Happy Springtime