My sweet daughter, Sarah, recently bestowed one of the greatest honors of my life, when she asked me to officiate her upcoming wedding. At age 35, she has finally found the man she wants to make this commitment with, so she and Ralph invited us to be there for their beachfront ceremony on the Spanish island of Ibiza on October 23rd. We are really excited about the wedding - to say nothing of the joy in receiving this all-expense-paid trip to The Netherlands and Spain, courtesy of our son-in-law-to-be.
GOING SOMEWHERE
But we've all had to travel quite a long, sometimes strained journey of relationship to get to this joyful juncture in our lives, because Sarah was born and raised in Den Haag, five thousand miles and seven time zones away from San Antonio. I'll spare you the details of the story, but some of the major plot points involve my falling in love with her mother when I returned to my native country (The Netherlands) at age 25, simultaneously seeking my fortune as a professional musician and fleeing from the wreckage of my first marriage. As so often happens with rebound relationships, Sarah's mother and I broke up after a few months, only to find out that she was pregnant. Conflicts ensued, I fled back to Texas before Sarah was born, and wound up hitting rock bottom, both personally and professionally, before I finally met Zet and started turning my life around.
It wasn't until Sarah was six years old and started asking questions about her absent father that her mom allowed us to visit or make contact. Our initial meetings were strained and awkward, but everyone involved did their best to stay in touch across the many miles, emotions and cultural differences that lay between us. Over the years, Zet and I invested our discretionary income and vacation time in order to travel there - or have Sarah come here - for our all-too-brief visits every other year, slowly closing the gap between us and building a meaningful relationship.
GETTING THERE
Thankfully, we eventually formed a deep social bond to accompany our genetic ties, especially after the birth of our beloved grand daughter, Aiko, which enabled Sarah and I to acknowledge the joys and difficulties of parenthood together. And now, thanks to Ralph's generosity and the magic of Skype, we see each other regularly, and are enjoying a much deeper relationship, which continues to evolve and enrich our lives.
I'm telling you all of this in order to share our family's joy, as well as to address the fact that Zet and I will be away for the next three Sundays. This is only the second time in the twenty-two year history of Celebration Circle that we'll be absent for three Sunday Circles in a row - in part, because I felt that we "needed" to be there in order for things to go smoothly in the past. That is clearly no longer the case (if it ever was), because the Circle community has grown significantly in the past few years, and so has our relationship to it.
BEING HERE
At some level, Zet and I are, and will always be, the co-founders and "parents" of the Celebration Circle, but these days our "child" is much older, stronger and becoming ever-more independent of us under the leadership of the Council of Stewards and a growing group of volunteers. Over the next three weeks, a powerful slate of guest speakers and musicians will be working with our staff, Stewards, band, friends and volunteers to sustain the high level of energy we've been enjoying in the Circle on Sunday mornings and throughout the week.
But they can't do it without you and all the others whose time, talent, treasure and presence make this community possible. We are asking for your support in attending Circle events, sending your blessings and raising the consciousness of Oneness that connects us all, whether Zet and I are there or not, whether it's next week or next year. It will take many hands and hearts to nurture the ongoing growth of our self-sustaining, independent and inclusive spiritual community - and I'm hopeful that you will be among them. Thank you for your support and participation.
With gratitude and blessings,
Rudi
No comments:
Post a Comment