Be of good courage all is before you, and time passed in the difficult is never lost. . . What is required of us is that we live the difficult and learn to deal with it. In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us.
― Rainer Maria Rilke

In the moments before the light of dawn, one feels as though time is holding its breath in anticipation. Darkness waits silently, patiently before it is dispersed. It has no fear. It does not feel agitation. It rests in the comfort of its role in the cycle of night and day, its dance with the inevitable light, and the inbreath and the outbreath of the universe. [node:read-more:link]

It will be interesting to see what stories come out of this time in history. A worldwide pandemic was something once written about in the annals of history, but not experienced in the lifetime of many of us. The thought of anything so “inconsequential” as a virus killing over 100,000 people (as of right now) belonged to writers of science fiction and suspense. Unbelievable to many of us, we assumed we are too intelligent a species not to be able to deal with it; after all, viruses have come and gone. We are still here and scientists have always found a solution. [node:read-more:link]

Do not blame Love for the agony it brings;
Love is the King of all paths,
And the heart not wild with longing
Is already dead, already a burial ground.

One evening in September, author Andrew Harvey came to speak at the TS headquarters about the poetry of Kabir. I had never heard him speak before. I remember reading some of his work years ago and not feeling drawn to it. At the time my (exhausted) mind was occupied with raising children and all that comes with it. From the moment a child is born, one’s life is handed over to them. It is the way it is and the way it needs to be. Children are, for a good portion of their life, defenseless creatures who need hands on help, encouragement, and immense nurturing. This is why it is the hardest job ever given to anyone. Even when you feel you have nothing left within you, your heart warms at their cry despite the frustration that all you want is to close your eyes and sleep. Many people who don’t have children can recognize this experience—all too brief from where I am now—if they have ever had a puppy. It is this constant dance between exhaustion and invigorating love that revives you to keep on going and giving. [node:read-more:link]

I would like to wish everyone a joyful new year. From the photo, you can see that a few of us from the US were in India over the holidays attending the international convention. As always, the international convention is like a family reunion. (Not too different from our national summer convention at Olcott!) It was wonderful to spend some time with TOS International Secretary Nancy Secrest who is now living in Adyar working as international treasurer. Kathy Gann, who is standing next to Nancy, visited Adyar and India for the first time as did Christopher Dixon, TSA’s chief of staff. [node:read-more:link]