a few days into the the new year

I thank everyone for their countless blessings, powerful love, and healing energy..... and of course, where would I be without Nintendo's Wii! I am doing far better, feeling far healthier and more energetic than before. All in all, notwithstanding all the possibilities and risks of my treatment, things are looking great. And although I do know this person, and may never meet him, I cannot be anything but grateful and appreciative of his generosity and large-heartedness in sharing his healthy stem-cells with me. It resolves the ever present doubt that strangers can care for one another and makes me humble enough to know that I live well at the sacrifice of others.

The world can just as quickly become familiar and intimate as it can become distant and obscure. The past few days have been more than heart-wrenching only because the stories and images real or imagined of what is happening in Haiti are viscerally torturous to hear and think about. We have a close friend and brother, Herns, who is there right now working with others searching for survivors and helping people emerge from this tragedy. He says that state resources are absent but people are working tirelessly to do what little they can.

A few days into the new year I feel a breeze of compassion in the air. Yet, I don't know if its discernible enough today.