LOSS FROM THE FIRES HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

It's been quite a weekend.
I could write about the amazing No On Prop 8 rally/protest/march we had on Saturday afternoon in downtown LA but it wouldn't feel right. The city was burning down all around us.
I looked to the south of us and saw smoke and thought to myself that the smoke from the Sylmar fire had really traveled. Once I got home that afternoon and turned on the TV did I learn that the smoke I was seeing was actually the City of Brea and Anahiem Hills burning in Orange County.

FRIENDS LOSE A HOUSE
Two of my friends Craig and Dennis lost a house on Friday night in the SYLMAR fire.
There is nothing left of the house.
And in the words of my friend Dennis, "it's just stuff."
They have each other to get through this temporary setback.
The amount of help pouring in from friends and family is amazing.
We wish them well as they rebuild their lives.

MT. CALVARY IN SANTA BARBARA BURNS
Also on Friday night the Montecito fires moved all the way into Santa Barbara.
I didn't learn of the destruction to the beloved Mt. Calvary Monastery and Retreat House until Sunday afternoon.

I have attended for the past several years a retreat at Mt. Calvary. It happens at Thanksgiving.
When I got the email from Adam who is our group leader for this event, I just told him to donate my fee for the retreat to the Monastery. See the link below. Included on the flickr site are the photos of the devastation as well as some before photos.

This is one of the few places in my life that I have felt a peace beyond my own comprehension.

One afternoon sitting in my room overlooking the Pacific ocean, I actually quieted my mind long enough to experience the feeling of being one with everything around me.

(For those of you who know me, to quiet my mind, much less my MOUTH for more that 5 minutes is a miracle!)

The monks will rebuild but gone are the old hand carved chairs, the 1,000's of books in every room and the PRICELESS artifacts. What does remain is the stone labyrinth that you can see to the right in the aerial photos. Amazingly the iron cross statue and the circle of grass surrounding it look like they are almost "untouched" by the fire. The back hall next to the mountains and labyrinth was left standing as well.

On Thursday night when the Montecito fire broke out I thought to myself that Santa Barbara and Mt. Calvary was far enough away to be spared. Mother nature had another idea. The fires burned right up and over Mt. Calvary.

They will rebuild. The monks at Mt. Calvary and my friends Dennis and Craig.
It's going to be a process for both but we will be there to celebrate will all of them when the work is done.

Peace and Blessings,
GM



HERE'S THE LINK TO THE MT. CALVARY PICTURES

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariya_umama_wethemba_monastery/3035944653/in/set-72157606067631588/