written for the Band of Writers, meeting at First Unitarian Church of San Jose, May 6, 2018
This is my world, and welcome to it.
Welcome to never-ending arguments with people who never change their minds as a result of the arguments I made. Welcome to never ending preparations for arguments that never happen, or happened already long ago and weren't finished the way I wanted. Welcome to hurt feelings; sometimes they heal and sometimes they don't. Welcome to discouragment about whether I'm ever going to achieve what I want to achieve, do what I want to do, be what I want to be, get what I want to get, let go of what I need to let go of, love whom I want to love. Welcome to frustration with my world that doesn't turn out the way I want. Welcome to fears, cravings and procrastinations that help to guarantee that my world doesn't turn out the way I want.
Welcome to interesting ideas that flitter forth through my mind, and fritter away again. Welcome to loads of laughter out loud about all the things that aren't what I want them to be. Welcome to the sounds of birds chirping and squirrels squeaking in the background, and interesting memories stirring in the back of my mind. Welcome to mental pictures of all the beautiful places I have been and beautiful people I have known. Welcome to waves of swirling, wafting sounds from the best music in my world that soothe and smooth over everything in my life. Welcome to ideas visiting my mind for creating my own snippets of sounds and melodies to insert into other peoples' worlds. Welcome to sounds and melodies that others have made that I practice making again and again for others to hear. Welcome to dreams of places I could be but haven't been to yet, and times I could have been in but don't remember or haven't known except in memories recorded by others. Welcome to reams of paper with words I have written on them, some published and most not. Welcome to stacks and stacks of books with words others have written on them, some read and some not. Welcome to endless plans whirling around in my head about events I organize that offer experiences which some people enjoy and some don't.
Welcome to lots of time and space to rest and dream, to stand and lie in the grass and watch my world go by. Welcome to old friends and family that come and go but warm my world while they are with me. Welcome to new friends that come and go and may become good friends or may not. Welcome to endless charts of stars and planets and patterns of destiny that only I can read from them and prophecies noone else has made so well. Welcome to endless ideas about how many different ideas in different traditions are woven together in ways noone else has combined so well. Welcome to beautiful visions and plans of how my world could be that noone else can conceive of. Welcome to a direct line to truth that I can access and find all the answers that I want. Welcome to groups like this one that offer opportunities that no other groups can offer.
There's lots more to my world, but that's enough for you to decide how often and how deeply you want to visit or sample my world, or steer clear of my world. One thing I know, is that my world is not mine alone; that my world is the only world there is, and includes all the other worlds too. My world is a miracle at which I can only wonder in awe but never fully explain. And I am, grudgingly at times, grateful for my world.
Eric Meece