<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Yes, thank you<div class="">let our mindful thoughts and actions now bring on the sangha <div class="">and let our bodies bring on the rain. . .<div class="">tomorrow at 9:00 right?</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;" class="">First Rain</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">The land strained</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">cracked from the dryness that had gone on too long;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">devastating fires raged all around us</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">decimating the forest;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">I was parched and taking the garden to the river</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">daily,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">we all worried, we all wondered,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">how long, how long?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">How long until the rain comes</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">how long will our country be ruled</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">by fear?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">Then suddenly one day</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">it rained;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">such a gentle rain, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">like a lover’s kiss at first,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">a tender breeze moved through the branches,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">the forest opened to water</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">like a woman surrendering to her mate</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">and allowing the sensual dance to take over;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">a glorious undulation </span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">embraced the soul of the woodland</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">and united all the trees,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">branches singing their bliss;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">a radiant joy choreographed the swaying.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">The past was included</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">together with my pain and my grief </span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">but I no longer had to remain in it,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">no longer had to carry the burden of it,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">and I saw Raindance,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">my long departed horse</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">galloping happily through the foliage. . .</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">I knew that like him I deserved to be free,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">I did not have to fix anything,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">everything was just as it should be.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">When I am parched</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="">and the river runs dry</span></div><div style="text-align: center;" class=""> the
Host carries water. . .</div></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment--><div class=""> <br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Oct 6, 2020, at 08:21, Roz via Thespiritexpress <<a href="mailto:thespiritexpress@lists.mcn.org" class="">thespiritexpress@lists.mcn.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">Perhaps our mindful</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">thoughts and actions now for him will bring that closer<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></div></div></body></html>