Jack McCarthy poetry is nice and apropos, and to add to it, the other story which does not romp with the run for the roses, but quietly unfolds knowing itself to be already a winner and free from the gate of individual human existence itself is mine to tell.

The biology of my youth introduced me to the image of the 200 million sperms my dad gifted my mother each time they shared a cozy moment, and about 200 of them make it first to the egg my mom had each lunar cycle to be fertilized.  The egg, for some reason, does not automatically open its fold to the first arrival.  One of the 200 million "gets chosen" (my language), or how many times a cozy moment is shared in the 3-5 days of ripeness, and there, I spin my story.  As an I egg, I decided, I was free; as a sperm, I was literally one in millions, a winner.  If one considered the odds, given the two year hiatus between I and my elder sister, one can imagine the number of sperm and egg encounters.

Competition and the race to the front lines or to the tip of the pyramid hanker back to the Egyptian mounds and has been part of the achievement goals of many cultures to be #1, especially that emanating from Gaul.  McCarthy uses "victory" as the holding category.  Malthus earlier contributed his layer of "not having enough to go around" justifying the cut-throat competition under empires among the less fortunate hoi polloi since population was always going to exceed food production by his measure, developing social darwinism that the nazis took to its logical conclusion, and developed the high-level anxiety above all others in our determined sense of and search for excellence.

There is a quiet meditative and contemplative tradition, often referred to as the celebration of the Way Life Is (YHWH in the old metaphor), that the biology of my youth allows me to reach to the profundity of the Wonder of Life at the gate, without having to race in frenzy into a heightened destination.

Gordon, for the few times we crossed path, was rather laid back in his celebrative stance, thus, dying comes as par for the course, a surprise at the timing and the circumstances, but nonetheless, just one of life's wonder-filled "aha"s.  His collegium struck me as an invitation, using his own situation as context, like a good pedagogue does, to invite us in the reflection of our own terminus.  If one is still running the race of the roses, more power to you.  If you had discovered the World of Wonder along the way, one can choose the WOW that life naturally is, let us hear from you.  My IMH reflective Opinion.

Jaime Vergara
Saipan

j'aime la vie
yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today, participate! in all, celebrate!




-----Original Message-----
From: via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>
To: oe <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Tue, Sep 8, 2015 3:38 am
Subject: OE Digest, Vol 42, Issue 7

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Today's Topics:

   1. Two poems, Gordon, from a guy named
Jack McCarthy
      (James Wiegel via OE)
   2. Re: [Dialogue] A Very Brief
Collegium (RICHARD HOWIE via
OE)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message:
1
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2015 07:59:12 -0600
From: James Wiegel via OE
<oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>
To: Gordon and Roxana Harper
<gharper1@gmail.com>
Cc: Order Ecumenical Community
<oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>,	Colleague
	Dialogue
<dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net>
Subject: [Oe List ...] Two poems, Gordon, from
a guy named Jack
	McCarthy
Message-ID:
<D3E18888-69BE-4768-BA28-19995A5D2180@yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="utf-8"

Some additions to your collegium on death.

Jack McCarthy
is a character like you, unavoidably urban, a spoken word poet.  Two poems of
his add to this collegium.

Victory.
http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/0/a/30a4f0ee4af1a59d/indiefeed_jackmccarthy_victory.mp3?c_id=5228309&expiration=1441635253&hwt=4db3f37d1403299e9b5979cf42737046

And,
When the Cholesterol Catches up with me.
http://youtu.be/OGlwxdSMwF8

Jim
Wiegel
401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353
Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or
011-623-363-3277
jfwiegel@yahoo.com
www.partnersinparticipation.com

[We
have] been pressed so hard towards useful work and rational calculation [that we
have] all but forgotten the joy of ecstatic celebration.  Harvey Cox

Get
ready to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the ToP Network.  January 8-11, 2016.
Here in Arizona. http://youtu.be/2uEoJlDC5mg

Upcoming public course
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For
online registration go to http://www.top-training.net

The AZ ToP? Community
of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting again on Sept 5th at ACYR,
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Message:
2
Date: Mon, 07 Sep 2015 10:14:49 -0400
From: RICHARD HOWIE via OE
<oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>
To: Janet Sanders <janetasanders@hotmail.com>
Cc:
Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...]
[Dialogue] A Very Brief Collegium
Message-ID:
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	DelSp="yes"

As is my wont, I have
painted a mandala and written a haiku which is  
in the mail to Roxana and
Gordon.
As, the beauty of community and the love of colleagues who are 

sharing so profoundly this journey!!!
Love to all,
Ellen Howie
On Sep 4,
2015, at 8:09 PM, Janet Sanders via OE wrote:

> Dear Gordon and Roxana,
>
>
When I saw your email title, I thought to myself you were at the  
> global
archive project and were  going to give us a pearl of wisdom  
> from our past.
That a wonderful rich dialogue would unfold.
>
> So I and our community were
surprised and saddened to hear of your  
> news.  It is news coming to all of
us sooner than we might  
> anticipate.   I find myself rejoicing in the fact
that the  
> community is still here to usher us all into the next assignment
to  
> mystery.
>
> You have launched us on a heart warming dialogue.  I
shared your  
> note with Joy Jinks this morning.  We both thought you had  
>
articulated who we were in history rather profoundly.  The wonder  
> of who
were had dimmed a little until I read your note.
>
> Grace and Peace dear
colleagues as you take us through this  
> journey.  I look forward to your
comments and will try and move  
> from the 'just reading' status.
>
>
Jan
>
> Janet A. Sanders
>
>
> Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2015 21:19:20 -0700
> To:
dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net; oe@lists.wedgeblade.net
> Subject: [Dialogue] A
Very Brief Collegium
> From: dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net
>
> Beloved
Colleagues --
>
>
> Few of us, as the end of life approaches, get the chance
to speak  
> directly to anything like our whole community.  It appears that I 

> have that opportunity, and I?m taking advantage of it.
>
>
> Last week,
after two months of medical testing to find out what had  
> suddenly landed on
me and drained me of my strength and usual  
> energy, Roxana and I got the
diagnosis.  It?s a rare form of fairly  
> fast moving (typically two months to
two years) leukemia, called  
> CMML.  There?s little to be done to treat it,
especially in someone  
> my age (about to be 79).  I'm getting good medical
care and have a  
> fine local support community here in Seattle.
>
>
>
First of all, I want you all to know that I am at peace with this,  
> as is
Roxana.  My life--in good part because of you--has been rich,  
> crazy,
wonder-filled and a unique and unrepeatable journey with the  
> Mystery. And
no one knows better than you and I how to celebrate  
> both our being here and
the completion of our journeys.
>
>
> I am taking this rare chance to express
to all of you how much  
> you?ve meant to me over the years--as the amazing
collection of  
> individual nobodies we are that rode out like the Man of La
Mancha  
> to throw our beings into the challenge of bending history.  More 

> than that, you all contributed your own weird and special gifts,  
>
neuroses and idiosyncrasies to the makeup of our corporate life and  
>
community, all over the world.  Without you, there?d never have  
> been such a
community; so thank you, thank you, thank you.
>
>
> I hope to be able to
chat with at least some of you individually or  
> collectively over the time
remaining to me, through one of the  
> dizzying array of communication tools
at hand today, and give you a  
> little abuse.  (What else would you expect
from me?  And please--do  
> return the favor.)  We?ll see how things work out.
In the  
> meantime, this note will have to stand for my salute to all of you, 

> my heartfelt gratitude for your having been and continuing to be  
> who
you are and for that remarkable webbing and mission that  
> connects
us.
>
>
>  The peace of God is yours this day --
>
>
> Gordon
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing  
> list
Dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/ 
>
listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net
>
_______________________________________________
> OE mailing list
>
OE@lists.wedgeblade.net
>
http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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