2-26-09
I hope all is well in your world; my world is vastly different since my last letter to you. As you can see from the envelope, I’ve been moved. These movements are disruptive and inefficient, yet they keep continuously moving us from yard to yard.
Anyway, I’m back on the Lewis complex at Buckeye. No longer do I hear the birds singing or see the beauty of the trees, the bushes, the flowers. No longer do I have the privacy and peace and quiet of a private room. For a little while at least, it seemed like I was on a college campus; it didn’t seem like a prison. Now, however, it feels like I’m back in prison as I again find myself in a noisy, overcrowded dormitory on a barren yard.
A teaching position is not available now, so I’m volunteering to teach without pay until something opens up. This makes things pretty tight, but some of my former students are here, and I have a number of new ones, so I’m busy doing what I love to do – teaching and making a difference in the lives of others. On the “blessing side” of things (and that is where I like to focus), I have new friends to meet and new opportunities to help others.
One way to look at life’s disappointments is to view these events as a spiritual challenge. The best can be brought out of us during hard times. Every disappointment and every heartbreak is an opportunity to grow more loving and compassionate.
I’m reminded of a definition of compassion that I’ve always liked –
“Compassion is the recognition that we are each doing the best that we can within the limits of our current beliefs and capacities.”
It’s hard for me to judge others when I remember that.
I believ it’s time for me to pull out my handy dandy “Blessing Extractor” and see what I can extract from this move. As I use this marvelous device and continually look for the pony, I think of the way you ended one of your letters…
“merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.”
Tom’s new address:
Charles “Tom” Brown #140237
ASPC – Lewis – Bachman – 3 FIOL
P.O. Box 3500
Buckeye, AZ 85326
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