Share #8: Homemade soup, artisan breads, sliced pear and kiwi, cheese and salami

Jean jean o thank you Jean. I haven't seen you in forever! You were busy. Sick. I was too. Me too. We broke bread, some of hers and some of mine. She toasted hers. I arranged the salami and cheese. She cut the kiwi and served two bowls of magnificent, memorable, creamy soup made with chicken and beef broth and root vegetables.

There was so much to say that the coughing got worse, so Jean talked and encouraged me to drink water. We talked about the work we are doing and Jean loaned me a book, Basic Self-Knowledge by Harry Benjamin. Benjamin believes Krishnamurti and Gurdjieff were saying the same thing in different ways. In his book he explains why. He begins with a quote: "This work is beautiful when you see why it exists and what it means. It is about Liberation. It is as beautiful as if, Zonked for years in a prison, you see a stranger entering who offers you a key. But you may refuse it because you have acquired prison-habits and have forgotten your origin, which is from the stars."Maurice Nicoll, 1952.

Jean says she gave up wanting recognition long ago. She just want this. Life. The dance. As I was leaving, Jean said her life was about gratitude. She's living a life of gratitude. "If we're lucky, we've got 30 summers left. Or maybe one? That puts things into perspective." She told me about a practice she does when she goes to bed. Five and five. She folds one hand over the other and laces her fingers together. On the first hand, she counts five things from her day she is grateful for. On the other, five people she is grateful for. Five and five. Simple. Easy. Leaves you with more positive than negative.