Lion Baptism

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No run today, Clear, -16°C!, no wind

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Today was my lion's baptism day. I left the house at 5:45 so I could be at the laundromat when it opened. The automatic lock, however, didn't seem to have the correct time.

I used the extra 1/2 hour to read about the story of Ruth & Naomi. Pity it wasn't something about baptism. Perhaps the why of that will come later

I was struck by the grace & humility of Shirley, the laundromat's proprietor; definitely a P ot PBGs. OOPBGB most of her life. I have a long way to go if I want to be as giving and selfless as her. Or as tough as nails too. They sure make them well out on the east coast!

The lion survived the rigors of the baptism, and didn't spill any stuffing. In fact, he could use a bit more stuffing. I wonder why he was discarded.

Suggestion 5

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It is better by far to do something in Love, than it is to simply do something.

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This was the PBGs answer for Mo's original "It is not what you do, it is how you do it," comment. Thank you Mo for your suggestion.

Nothing like running on an undisturbed path full of fresh snow. There were several short stretches of virgin path.

I also checked out the "river" in which Aslan will be baptized. They are open for self serve at 6 AM. There is also a change machine. I do believe the proprietor is also a Person of the PBGs.

Another thought that came today: My new friend at Bonnie Doon pool taught me how to break the ice with strangers. Too cool. Thank PBGs. On Official PBG Business (OOPBGB).

Suggestion 4 (2)

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The PBGs will help you reveal the part of the Plan inside your heart, but it is up to you to decide to act on it.

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The PBGs are sneaky and relentless! So much happened on this run that I hardly know where to start. First there was the pursuit of the runner in the green coat. I saw him 4 times on this run. I get the feeling that he figures in my part of the Plan somehow.

Then there was the commitment I made today to share my talents and start a boys group at church. The PBGs admonished me for wanting Them to lay it all out for me. They suggested that it is me that has to make the decisions. Choose the outlet. Perform the duties. Get On With it Buddy! So I did.

I got the ball rolling. It was the easiest thing I ever did. Everyone I talked to about it at church was very supportive. Even eager. You could almost hear the pegs clicking into place. As if all everyone was waiting for was my acceptance of the task.

Needless to say, I am scared. Deep down, I know I can handle it. I do feel like I have jumped in the deep end though. Everyone except me seems to be confident in my abilities.

...And then there was the symbols I found on my run. Purple feather, just like I had imagined. When I took a closer look, it turned out to be a pen with a big downy feather.

Then there was the cheeky way the PBGs pulled me off the running path with bottles as rewards just to tell me to remember Suggestion #1.  "Tim, keep a humble heart," They seemed to say.

Then to top it all off, They delivered Aslan the lion himself to me. I am sure that "he" will come in handy for many things in my boys' group.

Now I know the PBGs have a Thesaurus and ample vocabulary to communicate with me.

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I almost forgot the man in the green jacket. I've seen him before on other runs. At the start of my run, I saw a can. Rather than carry it the entire way, I left it there to pick up at the end of my run. I commented to the PBGs "I wonder what significance this will have at the end of my run." Later, when I saw the man, I wanted to ask him why he only ran on the paths, never next to the roads. I caught up to him at one point but held back, fearing his reaction. He turned off just before I overtook him. "Opportunities come and if you wait, they fade away. They may come again, but they won't be the same twice."

I saw and greeted the man in green just as I went to get that pop can. Guess what, he lives across the street!

Thoughts - Freshly Squeezed

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6.8 Km, 37:05.9, Dark 0°C, 6 km wind

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My mind is crowded with thoughts; not much room for the PBGs. They don't seem to mind. They are very patient.

Work, ferrets, relationships all jostling for a turn at the thought center of my brain.

Consequently, it was only at the end of my run that the PBGs managed to squeeze a thought in: "Even when it seems like We are far away, we are right there with you."

It echoes a scene from the ferret book: Baxter has just discovered that even though he is a ferret fairy, he also has a guardian angel who is watching over him. He sees his angel briefly and is startled when it disappears. The angel says: "don't worry, I'm not gone." I didn't despair this morning, but it is still nice to know that I won't have to.

Air Ferrets Aloft

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No run today

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Just because I take a day off, doesn't mean that the PBGs do. Mo & the kids have been reading "Air Ferrets aloft" by Richard Bach. It has been a very long time since Mr. Bach came to call in our lives.

This book is very much, about the PBG conversations I have been having

• Suggestions from a moderately high power; flying ferret fairies can only suggest!
• coincidences from on high to follow the "Path" or higher right
• gifts of seeing things as they already are
• destiny mixed with free will

Very interesting coincidence that this book would come to my attention when it did. Apparently it was brought to Mo's attention by her atheist father! Guess what the current book in the series is about? A writer ferret having trouble with his muse! (I just had to buy a copy for you Mo!)

Gotta love those PBGs

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6.8 Km, 38:30.4, Snow -2°C, 10 km wind

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I asked the PBGs what they had to say about Love today. Apparently not much. They hinted that "that was beyond their scope; have to take that to a higher power (chuckle, snort!)". Thanks, Guys. Big help.

When the guffaws subsided, they admonished, "What would you feel like if we withheld our Love?" I didn't have an answer to that, and they continued to withhold Their answer.

Where are you Love?

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Only a short swim today

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Tension was pretty high today. Mo is stressed about making her Halloween bug things. I haven't been too tolerant.

In church today, there was a baptism service. The focus was on relationship and love. I got to thinking about all the "conversations" I have had with the PBGs, not one of them has been about love, companionship, neighborliness, peace... Is that a lack in me? Is it my conscientiousness that has trouble with this concept? "Even the poet spares a thought for love"

Our minister told me briefly that there were no others interested in the Faith Inquiry so it has been cancelled. I hope there will be some other small group meeting to take its place. There is going to be a men's breakfast next week.

Suggestion 4 (1)

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The fact that you cannot perceive all of the PBGs Plan does not preclude you from being a part of it. Right or wrong, your actions make the Plan unfold.

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The PBGs have no hands of their own. They control the world through their Suggestions. But they have a much better way of changing the world: US. Since we have free will, we can choose not to listen to the carefully planned schedule of the PBGs. It is my assertion, however, that even that is built into the Plan. If the PBGs started creation and then sat back to see how things would unfold, the wouldn't need to be involved in our daily lives. Free will and an involved god implies that THE PLAN must be constantly adjusted and monitored in order to keep it on track. So every time a person makes a "Wrong" choice, the Plan must be altered to take that into account.

Or perhaps the plan is set up to work for either choice. More likely, with a caring, loving present god, the Plan is structured so that many trivial choices are used to practice for the really pivotal choices in our lives.

Then again, how should I know how the gods have structured the world... I am only a runner, not a PBG.

Fears of the Dark

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6.8 Km, 37:09.9, Dark 0°C, light wind

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The turmoil of yesterday and this morning has left me confused and unfocused. It is dark & silent on my run today. My focus keeps coming back to the fears that are holding me lately.

1. fear of risking my current job just because it is unsatisfying
2. fear of not being able to "fool" anyone else that I should be paid my current wage
3. fear of appearing a "fool" for needing a god (even a couple of minor ones) to help me decide what to do
4. fear that my current employer will decide a little more fat trimming is necessary for the health of the company (who do you think they would let go?).

I am sure I could go on. It is encouraging that some of these fears I am addressing.

PBGs be willing, I will be ready to jump when the time comes.

Spiritual Advisor?

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?? Km, ??:??.?, Cloudy 13 °C, 25 km wind

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I met with our churches Minister today for lunch. I expected it to be 16 °C so I didn't wear a coat. I told him a little about the PBGs and he told me a little about his being a minister. I saw some parallels between him relationship with his brother and my relationship with my brother S. In the course of our conversation, I discovered that one of the strongest influences I had for creating the PBGs was a lack of direction. Up to this point in my life, I always had some goal and some hope of getting there. Now I have lost faith in all of my dreams and have no hope of attaining them. So, I require an external source of direction. Sounds like a perfect home for a roll-your-own deity to me.

Why invent one (two)? With my reluctance to make a fool of myself (be wrong?) it is much easier to believe in something I know isn't true than to risk saying I believe in something that cannot be proven and may in fact be total garbage.

My minister says there isn't much interest in the "Faith Inquiry"; just me so far. He says that perhaps we could form a small group of people; perhaps a book study or something.

I told him that what I was really looking for was some community. I also told him that I really didn't go for the "prayer" time or formal Christian tradition stuff. He admitted that most groups have that component, but that it usually was a small component of any gathering. I guess, from my limited experience, I agree with that.

Mostly Quiet.

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6.8 Km, 34:00.2, Overcast 1°C, 5 km wind

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Partly Cloudy, Relatively Calm, Mostly Quiet. My spirit collects in small dark oily pools. Calm, quiet, but not particularly clear. The dog barking in the distance; every bus in the city seems to be in Millwoods. My repeating sounds; Breath, plodding feet. My non-stop thoughts; work, home tasks, church concerns, kid concerns...

I am striving for a quiet, calm, clear spirit, but even at 6:30 the world cannot be entirely shut out.

Then the thought of the day comes (as it often does, near the end). Since the PBGs insist on free will (horrors!) and expect decisions (!) they must also proscribe actions. Independent, creative, "because I think it is important", actions. When deciding on actions I must keep Suggestions I, II & III in mind.

To have it any other way would not do. PBGs do not lead children through the forest with trails of M & Ms to ginger bread houses. Nor do they guide reluctant donkeys with carrots on sticks. They do not intend to walk with your bloated ego floating above them on a string like a bizarre balloon.

We are all the hands of the PBGs. They work with us, through us and for us. My mind and creativity are just as much at their disposal as my hands and my heart.

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One more thought to record: "I am On Official PBG Business". A motto for any People of the PBGs that I may meet or inspire.

Suggestion 3

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It may seem like you're being tested, but rest assured, the PBGs are not keeping score.

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Not a lot of chatter around this one; it just popped fully formed into my consciousness. Prior to this Suggestion, I was thinking about the Purity laws and ritual purification. I thought today's topic (eh?) was going to be "Who is your neighbor". Who knows, it still could be. Just because my run is over doesn't mean I am through with the PBGs

Quiet Running

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6.8 Km, 37:23.3, Sunny -4 °C, wind chill -9 °C. Ice & snow, clear

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Quiet. Too Quiet. The PBGs seem to be taking a holiday. More likely they are off somewhere else planning and scheming something I am not directly a part of.

Me? I was not a particularly attentive student anyway. Maybe I was not hearing the Sermon today because I was busy listening to the griping of my sore shoulder, the burning in my calves & thighs, aching knee and off balance posture.

So for most of my run I was content with the actuality of the PBGs' silence or my own reluctance to really listen.

The revelation came, (as so often happens, when you start to get tired or bored or both) near the end of my run.

"Hey there! There is no need to push," they said. Pushing in life, as in running, just wears a body down and decreases your overall endurance. Save your breath!

Supposition a)

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A small coincidence can have a large meaning and a large coincidence can have no meaning; it all depends on your frame of mind.

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For me, the PBGs use "coincidences" for much of the conversations we have together. What I am thinking often meshes with what they have arranged to place in my path and, one would suppose, what I am thinking about. This is only a Supposition (I am inclined to think this is their word, from their thesaurus) because it only supports the other more important Suggestions.

I tried to introduce a Covenant with the PBGs today. Right off the bat, Covenant seemed too strong and definite a term for the PBGs. I asked them to inspire me with a better name, but even though they seemed to have a thesaurus, they weren't talking. The covenant I was trying to get them to agree to was that I would run along, thinking my thoughts, and anything they thought was important, they would mark with the appearance of a can or something.

The trickster of the pair, taunted me with a wayward rabbit. "I know you haven't chosen this path; follow me!" said the rabbit (Jack, the PBGs' pet rabbit)

The other of the pair, complied vaguely by providing two cans for the thought of documenting the "10 Suggestions".

In the end I will just have to be satisfied that they will do what they want, when they want. After all, it is their show, and I am but a bit player. I can only act (or choose not to act) out the role I have chosen in the manner that is most comfortable to me at this moment.

PBGs, I am listening, and questing. I hope you (and I) find myself worthy of the challenges you have planned.