A Great Loss

I apologize for the lapse between postings.

It's been a hard, extremely draining couple of weeks.

My dear old friend Theo, aka The Wizard, has finally passed from his life on this earth. I spent every day at his side these past couple of weeks, and although he slipped in and out of consciousness the last few days of his life, we did manage to have some great conversations together, and with his consent, I tape recorded most of them (I will attempt to transcribe some of these tapes and share them here with you). I felt a desperate need to try and capture as much of his humor, wisdom and unique personality as I could before he left us.
He also wanted me to pass on a message to my readers, a simple one, but one he hoped would put some things into perspective for a lot of people.
Here it is:

Dear friends,

I want you to enjoy your lives. Life is meant to be enjoyed. A great philosopher once said, "don't sweat the small stuff." It is so easy to get one's self caught up in petty little dramas that eat up time and brainpower, and take your focus away from the really important things.

Parents, show your children that you love and appreciate them; cherish them, because life (especially childhood) is fleeting.
Children, love your parents and stop blaming them for all of your life's miseries.

Stop listening to and giving your money to the professional nay-sayers who broadcast doom and gloom every day.

Treat yourself now and then.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Have lots of safe consensual sex.

Eat the foods you enjoy, but within reason (and health considerations)--be nice to your body and don't overburden it.

When confronted with a task that looks seemingly impossible, I have found that it is better to attack it head on and start chipping away at it rather than sit and tell yourself that you cannot do it. Push wherever you can and something will eventually give, just keep pushing.

Don't wrap yourselves in the self-righteous cloak of your suffering. To be human is to suffer--no one can claim a monopoly on suffering (except the Third World).

Drink lots of water, appreciate that you can obtain it readily.

Be civil to people, but don't worry and obsess over whether they like you or not. Who cares? If you are being the best that you can be anyhow, what more can they expect?

Remember that this period in human history, with all of its evil and calamity, pales in comparison to the extreme suffering visited upon this earth millenia ago by passing comets, geological upheaval and plague. Enjoy this brief respite!


Yours,

Theo

Folks, please pardon the somewhat preachy tone, he just wanted to help.

By the way, Eddie and I inherited quite a few things from Theo, some of which you may find intensely delightful and interesting. Eddie took possession of Theo's immense book collection, while I was bequeathed a large storage unit of items I have yet to inventory. More to come on that later...

Oh, and I adopted Theo's cat, Tesla.

As I type this, I am listening to a beautiful musical piece called "Longing for Daydreams" by Holger Czukay. I highly recommend it.

Well I am all moved in to my new place. I can't wait to tell you about some of my new neighbors, but it'll have to wait 'til the next entry, I am exhausted. Also I want to tell you what Eddie found out about the mysterious visitors who came looking for me at the trailer park...

Love and Light,
Timetraveler