> > Some leaders of Skem...... are becoming pretty unglued - > > This sort of stuff is crazy-making. > A lot of people on FFL, myself included, would be a lot more > unglued than we are, if Rick hadn't set up FFL > some years ago, and saved our sanity.
Sweet, appreciative, and perceptive statement. I've been away from this forum, and from Paris, for a week or so, living down south in Languedoc where living is more like living. In that environment, I rarely bothered to check email or the forums I lurk on or write on when in Paris. So I get back this afternoon and decide to try to catch up with some of the traffic on FFL while I've been away. And I'll be honest with you, a lot of it up to this post has been more than a little bummed. I was starting to wonder why I ever logged on here. But then this post nailed it, and I remembered. The ups and downs of spiritual life, and of spiritual trips, can be crazy-making. Absolutely. No question about it. Been there, done that, thrown away more T-shirts than I still have. And the path, although it leads to light, can get gnarly and dark sometimes. It fucks with your mind. During those times, it is nice to have a place like this. It's like the mythical bar in "Cheers," where everyone knows your name (although they don't), and where you're always welcome, and where there are like- minded people who speak your language and are willing to talk about things, *whatever* those things might be. The original title of the film "Casablanca" was going to be "Everybody Comes To Rick's." That's what that particular mythical bar was all about. Rick's Caf� Americain was the ultimate ex-pat bar in troubled times. People seek- ing a small respite from the insanity around them went to Rick's, and listened to Yvonne sing sweetly in French, or to Sam playing The Song That Must Not Be Played, and were served their aperitifs by Berger, smiling that smile that cannot but be shared, and they talked. They talked about the things that ex-pats in troubled times talk about. And at the end of the night, they went home lighter. I like this cyber-version of Rick's Caf� Americain. It's a nice bar. It has a good intent. In my opinion, intent is pretty much everything when it comes to creating a cool bar. The intent of this one seems to me to have been to create a safe place where ex-pats in spiritually troubled times can talk about things over a few cyber-drinks. And go home afterwards lighter. That's a nice intent. You guys should appreciate it more. It's a rare thing to find in the spiritual smorgasbord. Unc To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
