JWG's Done and Not Begun January 27 & 28, 2011

Maspalomas  January 27, 2011  6:02 p.m. GMT

 A flock of parrots — noisy parrots — entertained us as we walked to Playa del Inglés. A couple of nights ago, when we took a brief walk outside of the Villas Blancas, we were able to enjoy watching an ambling hedgehog. Ii was an inquisitive little creature. No wonder Beatrix Potter made one a star in her little books.

At Playa del Inglés, we walked along the promenade which skirts the dunes. The dunes are very impressive. I do think it will be possible for me to walk among them. The only way to find out is by attempting these piles of sand which do seem to have paths among them.

Having restaurants as an oasis makes this trek more enticing. One needn’t thirst, ride a camel (although they do have some for camel rides), or squander precious moments.

There are a great many tourists visiting this island of Gran Canaria. We are a happy bunch. Especially, for example, like us, when we hear that nineteen inches of snow fell on New York City yesterday. Sitting outside to work and scribble is okay and makes for a Happy Day.

I talked to Mommy [Garand] today. Today is her eighty-eighth birthday. She is having a quiet day. All is well. Or, “as best as it can be” which suits her. She’s happy.

Maspalomas  January 28, 2011  8:07 a.m. GMT

 It isn’t often I have taken the luxury of reading, again, a book from my past. At present, this morning, I have finished scanning into my brain a book I first read over forty years ago. When I first read this book, I remember that for a book of few pages, it seemed daunting. The decades have been kind. This book flew by simply. It made me realize that I had to have read it completely and thoroughly for much of it I instilled into my being, or, perhaps, had it affirm what I thought instinctively all along in my short life which has lengthened into that taut chain I have made, or accepted. The book about which I speak is Hermann Hesse’s SIDDHARTHA. It is a book of Aloha. It is a book of simplicity.

When René and I vacation, we live a simple life. Away from our home’s surroundings, we are able to consider all that which is thrown in our path. Our path lengthens. Our World widens. Our esteem for one another grows, as it is said, in leaps and bounds.

Here, on Gran Canaria, we have met a couple from London, Andrew and Hans, whose manner of vacationing is akin to ours. We are not alone.

Last night, René and I dined with Hans and Andrew and chatted about meeting and living. We have similar stories. We all appreciate.

Appreciation of what one has, and is able to do, is not seen by everybody. Those are the ones that allow the past to overshadow the future. They are those who fear today.

Yesterday, I was told of a friend who has not yet conquered the muck that was thrown in her path — or, so she thinks. I, myself, think that she, herself, has allowed that murkiness to fester. Instead of fertilizer, she has concocted a poison that disallows her garden of thoughts, and love, to grow. One has to till one’s own landscape. For survival, one cannot fast too much. One has to eat the fruits of one’s Life. This not only sustains the individual, it helps sustain us all.

My passion whelms me. The clarity with which I experience has never been stronger. My fruit has ripened. I am prepared to harvest. I am prepared to lay out a banquet. I am prepared to sustain all that I hold dear. I have, as you know, been lucky. I have had over fifty-seven years to grow an orchard. Some trees are slow-growing. Such trees to grow properly also allows other vegetables, including nuts, to grow, ripen, and harvest. As of now, today, I am harvesting, with René, a garden and orchard larger than I thought ever possible. Many perceive our diligence as hard work. Others’ eyes only see results and do not comprehend the slow process involving patience. We are able to share because we care. We are able to understand because we realize. We are able to forget because we remember. We are able to move on because we have travelled. We are able to harvest because we have planted, fertilized, watered, nourished, and, again I say, we have been patient allowing proper growth and maintained our Life’s Garden with judicious weeding. The pleasure of feasting is satisfaction and happiness. The pleasure of sharing is a mystery that I, myself, will not even attempt to solve. Living is doing. Living is forgetting. Living is the ultimate enjoying. Living is Aloha. Our Lives at Zwerglipatch, in Hauppauge, with loving Neighbors, is true Aloha.

This morning, René and I have bid farewell to Andrew and Hans. They return to their home and their Life. René and I continue with our Life here on Gran Canaria — our Life of working leisure. My aspirations are being fulfilled. My heart is full of all that is good. I have no fear. The simplicity of being has been attained. Complications have been conquered.