I Remember Mama
In grateful remembrance of our Mom’s 103rd birthday (in heaven)…shown here with our Dad...
I’m honoring her poetic influence on me with some reflections on the Nature of things and beginning my “SUNnet” (sonnet) with the title from her self-published book of prayer-verses…which was a life’s work and brought to all of us by her Editor - our sister Peggy.
It was published one day after the 60th anniversary of the day she carried me here.
This morning's sunrise...
And fittingly...through the trees...
Following in her footsteps, I add my words to the Dance...
93 Million Miles: Across the Universe Just for Us
--tOM Tittmann
The God of the Universe Dances in Trees
As your sun warms my face, hands and knees
Your wind crafts shapes in the clouds high above
As with yourself you fill each heart with your love
With patience your rivers carve valleys so deep
Likewise you wait for us your ways to keep
You show us that life has it seasons of four
And invite us to find beauty in whatever’s on the floor:
Flowers or grass or leaves or snows
These are the ways everything grows
Imitating you, we work, create and rest
And when sun sets we return to our nest
This happens daily as we lay down to sleep
Trusting that with grace our lives you will keep
Until that day when our sun rises last
And with peace our lungs return their first gasp
Day is done
Gone the sun...
NASA beamed this Beatles song to space on Feb. 4, 2008.
"Amazing! Well done, NASA!" McCartney said in a message to the space agency. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul."
Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, characterized the song's transmission as a significant event.
"I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe," she said.
A recent sunset...recalls Genesis 1:2
Music & Inspiration for Dancing with Trees
For our little saplings...
For sisters Peggy and Cathy and other friends and family in Florida...
For all of us...
I've always been attracted to the energy of trees. For my first psychedelic experience, I walked from my parents' house in Richmond Hill to Forest Park and communed with these wooded beings. Despite having no idea what was going to happen, I was totally filled with peace, as I enjoyed the quiet of the forest...
At our Tai Chi "retreat" at Hempstead Lake Park, NY... (Tuesday's & Thursday's 8 AM)
I've reconnected with a friend from my late 20's surfing and partying days. A few months ago he invited me to join him on the Lake for morning Tai Chi lessons. Richie has studied martial and related arts like Tai Chi and Qi Gong for many years and is a gifted and patient teacher. These practices are helping my balance, enhancing my kundalini yoga practice and helping me be more mindful about how I move through my day.
We meet on the fishing pier (Parking Fields 2&3) or in inclement weather under the Pavillion by Parking Field 1. Feel free to join us.
The natural beauty is breathtaking...the sunlight dancing across the water...waterfowl soaring on air currents, birds calling to mates and trees rustling in the wind...
...where the wind longs to play with my hair...
I selected the above image because Mom wrote a poem about her two surfer sons: me and Mike...and it was published in THE coolest place: Surfer Magazine.
Across America with Mom & Dad in 1973
After a series of reconciling encounters with my parents, in the Summer of 1973 my folks asked to accompany me as I was moving to California to begin a new adventure. Dad sat in front enjoying one of his hobbies: taking photographs, while Mom rode in the back of the bus writing poems.
Tree-chi: Connecting with our Mother...Earth
Tree-hugger...
--across the street from our home: pines adjoining the George Washington Elementary School
--same location but in the play field
Tree pose...
"Come back to me
With all your heart
Don’t let fear
Keep us apart
Trees do bend,
though straight and tall
So must we, to others’ call...."
Next on Deck...Treebeard & Offspring
A week ago during our Tai Chi session, this fallen leaf captured my imagination, inviting me to imitate nature and lift up my own upper limbs...
Then, that same day...I was greeted by my neighborhood Treebeard...
Tolkien's reminder that trees are sentient beings and deserve our respect and care...
These images from dock and neighborhood called out for a song. While there are a lot of scriptural exhortations to lift up...hands, heads and voices...this one with its '70's visuals from my youth got my vote. Bottom line: It's simply just good mental health!
Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park (Great River, NY)
...where every day is Arbor Day...
In early summer 2022, Eileen and I started hanging out with members of the Town of Islip
(Long Island, NY) Baha'i fellowship. The Arboretum was a favorite place where we met to share...
...and then feasted on goodies at the cafe.
Great group of folks and we've been enjoying spending time among them and among the trees...Feel free to join us.
Planted around the property...among the trees and in the mansion...are reminders of our connection...to each other...and everything else...
