Beloved,
I am back, did you miss me? I was going on vacation
and falsely assumed that I would be able to fulfill my
weekly commitment to you . At the last moment, I
discovered that using my computer would cost $.75
a MINUTE. I was aghast, as it takes me several hours
to compose the newsletter. What could I do?
In a weak moment a year ago, I booked a cruise to
the Eastern Caribbean and made a commitment to a
woman to be her roommate. I had met her just once
to see if we were compatible. I seriously considered
cancelling several times as the expenses continued to
grow because of the severe weather we had last year.
But I could not let this woman down as the price for
a single would be too much for her to afford and I
take my commitments seriously.
I take my commitment to you seriously also and as
I pondered how I could keep both commitments, my
guidance gave me the suggestion of just not sending out
my weekly newsletter but I could not just NOT send it,
you deserved an explanation. Then it was suggested
that I not let the word get out that my home would be
unattended to for 11 days. What a quandary I was in.
I did not want to lie to you but I wanted you to know
that I would be unavailable for that length of time.
So I came up with my computer being on hiatus, which
was the truth because I would not be at the helm so it
truthfully was on vacation too. My computer was out
of commission because there was no one to operate it.
I am so relieved to now be able to tell you the whole truth
which feels so good. I hope that you can forgive me that
little stretch of truth.
Now I can tell you what a grand trip it was. My roommate
and I got along seamlessly and the best part of the trip was
the food. I am a Celiac which means I need to be gluten free.
I could not satisfactorily get the information about what I would
be fed so I took some food just in case. I was treated like a
queen and the Maitre’D in charge of special diets, “B.G.”came
to me everyday and suggested ways that the food on the menu
could be adjusted for my diet. I got to eat food that I had not
eaten in a long time, like pizza, french fries, chicken noodle soup,
creamed soup, creme de boule, spinach omelet, etc…So much
that I cannot remember them all. My stomach was full all the time
except for once when I went off the ship to an island which had
promised me a gluten free meal but had no record of my request.
I am always prepared, just in case, so I had taken some rice cakes
with Sunflower butter (like peanut butter) and some dried fruit and
my special chocolate. The ship refunded me some money from the
cost of the tour and got a written guarantee for the next day at
another island. As you can tell, I came back with a lot of food but
I was in lala land when it came to eating on the ship. I had dessert
for lunch and for dinner. Boy, was I spoiled.
It had been 28 years since I was on a cruise and much had changed.
This was a free style cruise which meant you did not need to have
formal wear for the evening and it was quite relaxed in that way.
The cruise ships now charge for just about everything you want to do.
there is a cost to play bingo, attend an exercise class, go bowling,
there are even many restaurants that have a cover charge just to
eat there. There were many restaurants but I went to just one
because I was so happy with the food. I could not go to the
buffet or other small restaurants that had no cover charge but I
did not feel deprived, not at all.
I went on a helmet dive which I had not expected to do. Do
you know the helmets that are used in deep sea diving, well
this helmet was like that. It weighed 75 pounds out of the water
but it was much lighter under water. Oxygen was pumped into
it continuously so there was nothing in your mouth and your
glasses did not fill up with water like snorkeling. In fact,
you could wear your glasses with this helmet and you
could even slide your hand under it and scratch your
nose if you had an itch.
It was awesome just to walk on the bottom of the ocean.
I just could not imagine walking under the water without
having a lot of equipment. Just the sensation of being
under the life giving water was a miracle to me.
The fish were not that unusual as we were only under 20
feet of water but the experience itself was stupendous.
The swells were strong that day so we held onto a pipe
railing which I was so grateful for as those swells would
have had me tipped over if I had not been holding on.
I held an ocean spider and a star fish that had long skinny
tentacles.
My roommate and I were put on different buses as she
was going as an observer and I was a diver. When I
joined the diving group who were all younger people,
I was asked: “Why are you doing this?” and I replied:
“If not now, then when?” They all laughed and the men
said they would look out for me so I was well protected on
all sides. There was a much younger woman who tried
three times to go down but was unable to because of her
fear but she had the consolation of at least she tried.
You know, I don’t think about my age until something
like this happens where I become aware that I am
indeed older than most but I am young at heart. I want
you to feel like that because you experience more of
life when you don’t think about your age. It is really
only a number.
I could go on and on but I may be boring some of
you already. It was such a mystical experience that
when we disembarked for the last time, the whole
trip felt like a dream. I believe I was closer to God
and Spirit on the whole voyage, I recommend it
as an extended meditation on the miracle of life
as you experience being surrounded by nothing
but water, that power is enormous. It took a God
to create all the immense and minute creatures that
live in the sea and also the human body which is a
miracle in itself. Thank you for allowing me to
share such a mystical experience with you.
This short video shows the immense power of
words. We do not realize that the words we say
have so much power and just how much we
affect the world we live in.
http://www.flickspire.com/m/guidance/PowerOfWords
Love and Light
Mary Grace
www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.IAmMaryGrace.com
http://www.waleson5.com/marygrace.html Videos of my TV Show
PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977