branches up, roots down

SUMMER SOLSTICE, BATTICALOA , SRI LANKA The war had turned inward until it resembled suicide. The only soothing thing was water. I passed the sentries, followed the surf out of sight. I would sink into the elements, become simple. Surf sounds like erasure, over and over. I lay down and let go, the way you trust an animal. When I opened my eyes, all down the strand small crabs, the bright yellow of a crayon, had come out onto the sand. Their numbers, scattered, resembled the galactic spill and volume of the stars. I, who had lain down alone, emptied, waked at the center of ten thousand prayers. Who would refuse such attention. I let it sweeten me back into the universe. I was alive, in the midst of great loving, which is all I've ever wanted. The soldiers of both sides probably wanted just this. - Marilyn Krysl

One great thing about great loves is that just when you think you couldn’t be more in love, you find yourself turning it up another notch. Today, my love affair with this city called San Francisco went up to eleven . Standing in the morning light in the rotunda of City Hall, with the bust of Harvey Milk beaming at me, I, for the second time this lifetime, performed a wedding ceremony for my friends Morgaine and Lann. It was nineteen years ago today that I handfasted them on the beach at Point Reyes in Northern California. Afterwards, the wedding party went back to their Lagunitas home to feast and celebrate into the night. I still can remember the mountain of summer strawberries. Today, there was no feast or party afterward, except for the cupcakes that were given to each couple when they received a marriage license and the cheer that went up when they flashed it to the crowd that was waiting outside of City Hall. My friends were legalizing something that had come to fr...

" Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket. " Philosopher Eric Hoffer An aspect of embracing a magical life that I love is that when I'm musing on something, the world tends to jump in to engage in conversation with me. I open books to just the right passage, or overhear conversations that illuminate my thinking. Yesterday I opened the latest copy of The Week to the quote above. Perfect! Like anything, it doesn't hold the whole truth, but doesn't it speak to something we've all seen? It certainly speaks to what's been going on in my head about three communities I inhabit which are movement/cause based. This month is Pride month in San Francisco. My girlfriend is an organizer for the Dyke March. What makes the Dyke March both a difficult and a worthy thing to put on is that it's put on completely free of corporate sponsorship . And, they've had offers. Big Ones. T...