Pedro was a 97 year old man from Cuba who was always at the Senior Center where my wife goes.

She really liked him and would often talk with him.

He was funny, upbeat, and filled with life, dancing even into his late 90’s.

He died. That day our grandfather clock stopped. The grandfather clock had been running continuously for over a year. A few days later, when I opened it to see what had happened, I saw the chime mechanism was incredibly stuck. I needed a force of about 5 pounds to unstick it. This had never happened before.

Artwork by Bruce Zboray    www.bruce-zboray.artistwebsites.com


I am peace on earth.

It's amazing how easily peace spreads.
My thoughts declare a peaceful world.
All read my thoughts even if they don't realize it.
All decisions are better because I send illumination.

Today is a very good day.
The past is passed.
A new breath now.
A dove visits each person today, perhaps unseen.
I feel the peace growing.

Did you ever walk through the woods on a path?

How many people before you did it take to wear that path into the forest floor?

There’s a trust in following it. That it will lead to someplace very good, and be safe and interesting in the journey.

And in a very literal way, I am reliving the journey of the people before me on this path. I can almost sense the other people still here, in a very real way, their imprint.

Have you ever felt that your life was completely out of control? So out of control that you thought you would never get it back again? That's what drug addiction can do. I've been there. It was a long time ago but it changed my life.

In my case, the drug was Xanax. Xanax is a benzodiazepine, a class of super-addictive medications used to treat anxiety. Valium, Lorazepam, and Klonopin are other benzodiazepines. Xanax was prescribed for me by a doctor who did not take the time to explain how to use it. By misusing it, I became addicted.

I will touch briefly on the birth of stars.

Our Miracle Universe, absolute darkness. Not a hint of light. No stars anywhere. No sounds of any kind. Nothing of any kind. Nothing at all.

Then suddenly a huge explosion like the universe has never known before, and probably will never know again.

In a matter of seconds, the universe was engulfed in a huge cloud of hydrogen gas.

The Big Bang had just occurred. From a tiny point called a singularity in the universe, the universe as we have come to know was born.

If the stars are out there in the daylight, and we don’t see them, what else don’t we see?

Perhaps we need the contrast, the foil, the opposite to see what is hidden.

It really is a gift to appreciate what we have, and not take it for granted. There is a saying, that some dream of what we see as everyday normal, common place. I’m not saying this is bad, or that we are decadent.

Rather, it’s the difference between seeing objects and seeing essence. Being thankful for a spoon is just as important as being thankful for a smartphone.

Whenever I am in the car, and about to enter a busy place,
I always say, "Thank you for allowing peace in the traffic."
Feel it, even a little.

Almost every single time, and I mean 100's upon 100's,
there is a gap in the traffic when I get there.
I usually see a large block of cars that have just gone by,
and another block approaching in the distance, but for me,
there is clearly a nice, wide open space, right at that moment.
I believe that everyone involved has either slowed down or
sped up, to open the gap just for me.

I close my eyes and open my mind to a scene.

It is simple. The same person always appears. The person is near a tree. The person is dressed in a robe, standing. It could be Jesus, Buddha, or some master. But I like to think of the person as my higher self, the part of me that is still on the other side, and has access to great wisdom.

I’ll call the person “the master.”

I don’t speak. The master doesn’t speak. Yet I know the master knows what I need, and always gives me what I need. Something really happens. It isn’t pretend. It only takes 20 seconds.

You know who often teaches me
How to live life
Is my dog Missy
My shi tzu
I have to tell you
She really shows me how to embrace the day so often
When I get up no matter what time
What the weather is, whatever the conditions are
She just jumps up and is ready to the greet the day
She eyes me as I move around my home
She looks at what I do
And if she sees me put on my shoes and socks
Immediately she is ready to go
She has no clue where I am going
It could be somewhere not even fun that I am going
She wants to go