[Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Remembering Betty Pesek, from Elise

[Nancy Trask via OE]

Dear All,As I reflect on the rich & full life of Betty Pesek, I wish to honor her abiding & profound contributions to the worlds of caring for the earth and human development and the spirit depths.  I remember a time of working with Betty that I now consider to have been fun, but at the time it required that our whole team stay up all night producing documents and collating about a million of the copies, so at the time I recall that it wasn't all that much fun to face a sweltering night in Mumbai doing all that collating.  I think we were preparing for an IERD press conference.  And we got the job done, because of course failure was not an option.  As the night progressed and turned into morning, our team made it through with lots of silly and hilarious moments to keep us awake and on the task.  

I've recently been listening to the music of Ladysmith Black Mombazo in my car, and I was surprised to hear an interlude in the midst of their medley of the grand old hymns Amazing Grace & Nearer My God to Thee -- you can imagine those harmonizing African voices.  The interlude goes like this -- shoo ga doo ga doo doo doo, shoo ga doo ga doo doo doo, shoo ga doo ga doo doo doo, Praise His Holy Name.  
I am grateful to Betty for adding a lot of shoo ga doo to our lives, in the most sweet and loving and helpful ways, and in the midst of a lot of heavy missional lifting, so to speak.   My regrets that I can't be in Chicago for the celebration and appreciation of her great and unique life.
Best regards to all,Nancy Trask
 


   

  On Wednesday, July 8, 2015 3:20 PM, Raymond Caruso via Dialogue <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
   

 Elise thank you for this poignant remembrance of our dear friend and spirit colleague, Betty:
Yes there are giants among us who have left us like Betty...Her elegant style and penchant to move the right things along the path are still with me...Part Pancho ( side kick to Don Quixote) and sometimes D Q in disguise...Her territory was the other world always in the river of consciousness as it flowed inward and outward to places we could not reach alone..Ah yes, I remember her steadfastness, diligence ,grace and genius in cubicle,bringing wonder to Guardian meetings and yes holding us working on projects accountable...
Thich Nhat Hanh in his last retreat I attended ( before his stroke) delivered wonderful dharma talks around the theme of:" What  happens when you die? Which on the flip side of the theme was "What happens when you are alive?"... He talked about our 7 bodies  of which the 4th is our/her Continuation Body.. She is in us now;and we are in her now.
 And so Betty sang her song and composed life for all of us...She is with me now. I too am inspired by her living song that I can tap into at anytime..
Dear Betty we journey on with you and forever more. Now go like a River...I too will be with you all present for the memorial from afar.
Salvatore( Ray) Caruso


On Jul 7, 2015, at 8:21 PM, George via OE wrote:

 
 BrightBetty, We Remember You  It is impossible for me to imagine a world without Betty Pesek.  Haveyou ever shared an office with Betty?Betty---witha flair for adding artistry to the mundane?  Just the right addition of gold, royal purple, bright red, deep blue to brighten the boring; to add sparkle to the shop-worn. Stirring up celebrations with multicolored bags and ribbons.  Silently connecting with Spirit.  Haveyou ever been in the outtbacks of the world with Betty?Betty---with her endearing smile and the twinkle in her eye, making friends across borders. Betty, gracefully treading through dust and mud, squeezing into over-crowded busses with eagerness and grace.  Part Queen, part Princess, part Trooper.  Haveyou ever run into the Indomitable Spirit of Betty? Thatspirit that took on gathering stories from across the world to artfully compose the book, The Circle of Life. She sculpted raw stories into a symphony of memories of her bold colleagues laced with humor, sorrow and joy.  Can you imagine the grit that it took for Betty to bring her organizing genius to the initial task of sorting through piles of yellowed papers to help  forge a Global Archives project-----or to guard and sort the papers of a prolific sage, turning them over in pristine order to an institution where they can live forward in the minds and hearts of students and seekers?    Haveyou ever identified with Bridging Betty?  Born on one side of the tracks, and daring to cross over to the other?  Appreciating the strengths of both sides, and using the gifts of one to meet the needs of the other.  Can you imagine Betty telling her North Shore friends that she was going to take the train each day to a West Side across-the -tracksplace,and therefore would not be available for tea?  Can you imagine Betty recruiting these same friends for a weekend of study in a church basement, or a chance to make a safe haven for West Side children during riots, or beckoning these friends to a life of action sparking social justice?  Wereyou gifted to know Energetic Betty in her elder years?  She set the bar high for keeping going-----creating notebooks that documented the stages of her life with news clippings and photos.  Creating an archive on eldering.  Betty---proud Mama and Grand mama of the spirited Pesek clan; and spark plug of her circle of elders. Replacing aging with saging, and then drifting into Spirit. Daring to let go.  Betty,when I think to add a touch of gold; when I'm prompted to dive into a mess to bring order; when I remember the gift of a wink and a smile; when I dare to cross bridges that might lead to dust, mud and quick sand------you are in my heart; you spark my spirit.  You were there and here; and now you are everywhere.  A world without the spirit of Dear Betty?  Such a drab world could not exist.                                                                                            ElisePackard, June 2015 #yiv2778039301 -- filtered {font-family:Helvetica;panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}#yiv2778039301 filtered {panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}#yiv2778039301 filtered {panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}#yiv2778039301 filtered {panose-1:3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1;}#yiv2778039301 filtered {panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}#yiv2778039301 p.yiv2778039301MsoNormal, #yiv2778039301 li.yiv2778039301MsoNormal, #yiv2778039301 div.yiv2778039301MsoNormal {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;}#yiv2778039301 .yiv2778039301MsoChpDefault {font-size:12.0pt;}#yiv2778039301 filtered {margin:.8in 1.0in .5in 1.0in;}#yiv2778039301 div.yiv2778039301WordSection1 {}#yiv2778039301 _______________________________________________
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