It is such an honor to be a part of the MJ community. There is so much love, awakening, giving, sharing, learning, and growing going on for all of us. The birthday celebrations and projects are sure to have Michael smiling and twirling in joy and love. I think he approves of us giving him the gift of doing our part to make his dreams come true. Vaccinations, children's parties, money for orphans, children's homes, and so many more, as well as endless individual acts of love, all in his name. It is a joy to be a part of. Michael said, "People sit at the table and pray, and that's beautiful, but doing something is the thing, we have to ACT." I see that we are acting, as his advocates, devotees, emissaries of love, representatives, disciples, followers, students, gopis. Whatever we call ourselves, we are carrying on Michael's work and wishes and with his guidance and inspiration, we are making a difference and changing the world. He said, if each of us could help just one person, its a big step forward, because there's a lot to be done. We hope you like all your birthday presents, Michael. They are only a drop in the bucket compared to what you have given us.
My beautiful friend Siren, and I, spent the day together celebrating Michael on his birthday. We had set the day aside, making arrangements to have the time free for our little trip to Banff and Lake Louise in the beautiful Rocky Mountains only a couple of hours from home. Having lived here for so many years, we tend to take our local attractions for granted, but as I had planned to write about our day for my devotion, I was looking at everything through the eyes of all of you who have never been here and it helped me to appreciate the wonder of it.
We had planned to make Stones of Love for Michael and leave them at the top of Sulphur Mountain, where there is an old Cosmic Ray Station and a weather station. Cosmic Ray, sounds so Michael like that we thought it would be a good place to go to celebrate him on his birthday. There is a gondola that takes people to a big lookout station with a restaurant, and from there it is a bit of a walk to another peak where we planned to leave the stones.
Proudly wearing our Michael T-shirts, and knowing it was going to be a warm and sunny day, we forced ourselves to take time to stop for gas before we left the city. As I waited to pay for my gas, I heard an older lady asking for help to put coolant in her car. The cashier told her that the gas attendants are not allowed to do for her, as they are not mechanics. Normally, I would not even think twice about the lady and her predicament, but being Michael's birthday, and wanting to ACT as he would, I offered to put the coolant in for her. She was very happy to have my help, and as I was pouring it for her (hopefully into the right opening) I showed her my shirt and told her it was Michael's birthday and I was remembering him by helping her. I think she thought I was a bit crazy, but she appreciated the help. Feeling great for making the effort to do this small random act of kindness, we drove out of town and stopped at a drive through coffee shop in Canmore about an hour later. This time we asked to pay for the order of the person in the car behind us. This is something I have often thought of doing, but have never followed through on. The cashier warned us that the lady's order was a big one, but we were excited to have the chance to give again.
On the highway again, we headed for Lake Louise, listening to Michael and catching up on all we had to share with no computer or telephone between us. I highly recommend to everyone to find someone who lives close enough, or if not, make the effort to go and meet other Michael followers. It is wonderful to be able to share feelings, thoughts, insights without holding back, or wondering if the other person thinks you are insane. It is wonderful to have the time to get deeply into the conversation without having to sign off, or hang up, due to personal or business responsibilities.
We walked along the path at Lake Louise, Siren offering to take pictures for tourists and enjoying the beauty of the day, and then had lunch on an outdoor patio looking out over the lake. Time was magically flying by, so we headed back to Banff, to the bottom of Sulphur Moutain to get on the gondola. There were many, many people there, and we were probably the only Canadians in the waiting line. There was a bus load of Japanese tourists, and people speaking French, German and other languages we didn't understand. We got in a car with a Japanese couple, and with Siren keeping her eyes closed all the way, rode above the trees, with the parking lot and town of Banff, fading away until there was nothing but tree tops and sky around us. Soon we were being welcomed at the top. We didn't stay at the main building where most of the tourists were, but started on our walk over to the Cosmic Ray Station.
Finding a spot where we could leave the main walkway, we looked for some nice flat stones, and sat on a big rock to enjoyed the sun and the view. We got out our markers and our Dancing the Dream book and made our Stones of Love for Michael. There are so many incredible quotes from Michael to choose from, it was tough to settle on only a couple. I was imagining visitors walking up and reading one of our stones, and realizing that Michael is much more than they had realized. Our only company was a little chipmunk who suddenly appeared standing between us on our rock. Since we didn't have any food, he quickly lost interest in us, and disappeared into the rocks. Times was magically flying by, and we gathered our markers and stones and headed back to the walkway to go up to the top of the lookout. We tucked our stones along the way, where they could be seen, but hopefully not disturbed too easily. It was getting cloudy, windy and cooler as we reached the Cosmic Ray lookout point. We put our last stones, along with a birthday card for Michael under the steps of the weather station cabin.
At the very top of the lookout point, it was very windy. We were waiting to be alone, as there was one more thing we wanted to do for Michael's birthday. Finally, we just couldn't wait any longer, and in spite of the other few people around, we shouted out together "We love you Michael" into the wind. Just then, as we looked at the clouds, there was a heart shaped opening with light streaming through. Siren snapped a couple of pictures, and then it was gone. Hugging each other, and having done what we came to do, we hurried back down to the top of the gondola, half afraid that the wind would cause it to be closed and we would have to walk down the mountain in the dark. No worries, it was much calmer when we got there, and we were soon zooming down the mountain. A quick dinner in Canmore, lots of conversation and music all the way home, and before we knew it, our day was over. It was like a time warp, one day of a different life, which we can hold in our hearts, along with Michael. Just something else to be grateful to him for. My intention is to continue to Celebrate Michael in Service, not only for his birthday, but as my ongoing gift to him, to myself, and to the world.
I have posted an album of pictures on my facebook page for anyone who would like to see them.
Celebrating Michael Aug29/11
