The Inheritance

The Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny begins with three unlikely people being made executors of a will.  Not only did the three liquadators not know they were going to be chosen they didn't  think they knew the deceased.  The will was strange too.  The Kingdom of the Blind is really like living and working with out knowing anything.

The deceased called herself the Baroness.  She left millions to her three children.  The problem she didn't have a title, nor any money.  She worked as a cleaning lady.  

One of the Baroness' children is killed.  It couldn't have happened for his inheritance.  To come find out, the two sons, who were investment brokers were doing things they shouldn't have been doing.

To complicate matters, the Baroness was in a nursing home before she died.  Guess who she met and fell in love with--a Baron.  

I'm not going to tell you more.  Louise Penny ties everything together, as only she can.  You will enjoy this mystery.

 

Elisha's Bald Head

 Have you ever wished something bad would happen to someone who embarrassed you?  That's normal.  Even holy men, like prophets did.  Elisha cursed the young punks who made fun of his bald head.  2 Kings 2:23   

Jesus taught us differently: Luke 9: 55-56.

The Cobrador

 Louise Penny amazes me.  In her mystery novel, Glass Houses, she has the story begin with a person in a grim reaper costume, standing in the village's Common. The cobrador is a figure that will stare at the guilty.   He just stands and stands, for days.  He doesn't speak, even when spoken to--or even threatened.  Finally, he shows up dead, in the basement of the church.

Who the cobrador is, is a real surprise, so I won't spoil it.  Who killed him will gradually enfold as the story continues.  It's also interesting how Louise Penny has Inspector Gamache's problems keep getting more and more intricate.  The politics are so intertwined in a web of deceit, I don't know how Gamache can stand it.  But it doesn't seem to faze him.  Thank goodness his personal life is self nourishing.  It sustains him.  

I'd like to know how the people who live in Three Pines can afford to eat at the Bistro, every single day.  That's where the reader can see who and what are committing crimes.  It's where the behind the crimes are figured out.

Burning the Boats

 When you have no choice, you often hear the expression, you have to go on, you burned your boats.  The expression comes from the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes.  He wanted his men to see that they couldn't retreat.  So he burned his boats. Failure was not an option.  They had to win.

My advice is the opposite.  Always have plan "B".  When I have a plan, I always plan for the worst that could happen.  I know that probably won't happen, but if it does, there's always plan "B."

I'd like to know why Cortes' men didn't kill him.  How were they suppose to get home?  If they won all their battles, how could they get home to tell everyone?  If they captured all the gold the Aztecs had, what would they do with it--there were no ships to transport it back to Spain?

Burning the boats was stupid.

Fools

 There is a saying about living in the present moment:

Old fools live in the past.
New fools live in the future.

My "cloistered brothers," know this.  They have horrific pasts.  It would be devastating to live in their pasts.  What good would it do?  They can't fix it?  Learn from it, adjust, and move forward.

The future is a worry.  Dreaming about a future is OK if you know it's just a dream; you can't live in dreams.  That would be foolish.

What's left.  The present is what's left.  Conscious awareness is vital. We must observe the present situation we find ourselves in.  Appreciate it.  Use it.  See its beauty; its good; its truth.  Is it enjoyable?  Then rest in it.  If not--adjust.  Does breathing reduce the pain?  Does singing help?  Talk to God.

Overriding distractions and adjusting to resting in peace takes practice.  Think of  eating a cookie. Don't gobble it up.  Hold it in your hand and gaze upon it.  Does it look good.  What kind is it?  Smell it.  Take a small bite.  Chew it slowly and swallow.  What do you think?  Take another small bite.  Was that bite tastier than the first bite?  Are you enjoying this cookie?

It's not a real cookie but you are focused on the cookie.  The same is being in the present moment.  Focus on your body in your surroundings.  Feel it bit by bit.  Eventually, you are enjoying the moment just like you enjoyed that imaginary cookie. Rest in the present moment.

Odysseus' Retirement Home

 There are many stories about Homer's Odysseus.  Call them folk-tales or legends, and consider that they're oral stories handed down through centuries.  

The one I think sounds plausible is Odysseus' retirement story.  He was sick and tired of being away from home.  So he took an oar and walked in the forest.

He kept walking.

Eventually, he walked so far that people asked him what was that thing, he was carrying.  They had never seen an oar before.  

There!  That's where Odysseus retired with Penelope.

No is Redirection

 There we were at our monthly recording at the TV/RaWFPR.FM,dio station.  I read my autobiographical story about bargaining with God.  Usually, after one of us reads, there is some banter.

One of the participants mused, "I wonder if it's true that God answers all prayers."

Of course, I responded. 

She looked surprised.

I then explained that sometimes He says, "No."

She thought about that and then dismissed my answer.