“God placed in the mind the call to Joy.
This call is so strong that the ego always dissolves at its sound.”
— T, 69. The Course in Miracles
What is your Call to JOY?
Is it to Write?
To Sing?
To play some Musical Instrument?
Is it to Paint?
To Garden?
To go for a Walk?
Is it to enjoy an evening with Friends?
To see Theater?
To bring a child to see a Movie?
To build a Snowman?
To build a treasured Memory?
(more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on January 31, 2016
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2016/01/31/call-to-joy/
I like the Lights.
When I grew up, the Tree was put up on Christmas Eve.
Children awoke Christmas Morning and were told that Santa came and put up the Tree in the Night.
Parents are Amazing in their SuperPowers & what they can come up with…
The Lights and the Decorations were all a part of that one brief event: Christmas.
It has all grown very secular
And that’s fine if it makes it more accessible for more people.
Celebrating Kindness…
Celebrating Giving…
Celebrating Gratitude…
Celebrating God With Us…
All of these things are Christmas to me!
And all of them can be celebrated with a string of Lights, or a SnowFlake, or a Wreath or a Drum, as well as anything else.
(more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on December 20, 2015
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2015/12/20/light-em-up/
One of the things of which I am Proudest
Is to live in a Nation in which we set aside a Holiday for the sole purpose of
Giving Thanks.
Some say I am naïve,
And the true purpose is FootBall,
the sale of Cranberries,
and the Inventory Clearance Shopping Day — now Week — known as “Black Friday.”
And perhaps those elements have protected and buoyed this Holiday Up
Into the Five Day Weekend that it is for So Many of us
With the Travel Home
And the Celebratory Feast.
Others voice Great Political Objection to an Occasion that marks the obliteration of an Indigenous Culture by White Europeans.
Well, all of these issues may be worthy of discussion.
but that is not the Holiday I choose to Celebrate.
And I do not expect for one minute that any of those things account
for this being the greatest Travel weekend of the year.
There is some Larger Spiritual Aspect at work.
Gratitude.
(more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on November 26, 2015
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2015/11/26/giving-thanks-day/
Onions are SO FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS!
Cut ‘em up and fry ‘em in a pan with a little bit of oil.
That’s all you have to do.
Ever watch Onions Cook?
They start out So Big and Robust — Raw and Hardy Vegetable Chunks.
They’re Beautiful.
And they make you Cry.
Then, the Heat gets to them.
They separate into thin strips.
They start to sweat.
It looks like things are gonna’ be pretty bad for the Onion.
Sautee’ ‘em a Bit.
(more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on November 22, 2015
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2015/11/22/onions/
Earlier this Summer,
I planted a Basil Plant in my Kitchen Window.
I wanted a Rich and Robust Verdant Plant with Opulent Flavorful Leaves of Basil, like the kind you find in the Italian Markets at the Peak of Season.
I was wrapped in Glad Expectancy!
But that didn’t happen.
Instead, I got a long kinda’ scrawny, spindly plant with very small and thin pale green leaves.
And although it wasn’t what I was hoping for,
It is still a Miracle.
I stop and Count the Miracles.
(more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on September 19, 2015
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2015/09/19/small-leaves-of-basil/
My Partner and I have Seven Young Graduates in our Lives this Year — GodChildren, Nieces, Friends… Graduating Different Levels of Schooling,
Beginning a New Phase of their Life Adventures.
This piece is for them.
And for All of Us who would like to Commence a New Life Adventure… a New Phase of an Old Project… a Way to Begin or Begin Again… A Fresh Start,
Today…
“Commencement”
The Word means “Beginning!”
This is the MOST EXCITING TIME OF YOUR LIFE!
You can Do Anything!
Now is the Time
Before Marriage
Before Mortgages
Before things to pay for, fix , and feed…
You are Free!
BackPack through Europe.
Try an OutDoor Adventure — IceLand, The Artic, The Dakotas…
Experience Africa and Asia and the Galapagos Islands…
Intern with a Favorite Theater Company or Art Project or Doctors Without Borders
Dance!
Dream Big. (more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on June 14, 2015
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2015/06/14/commencement/
New Year’s Eve
The Sixth Day of Christmas
Nothing to distract from the chaos of the Holidays like adding in Another Holiday in the Middle…
It has been several weeks of rushing about
And I am reminded of that Children’s Book in which the Little Boy wishes it could be Christmas Every Day, and then gets his wish…
And within only a week or two of eating big feasts at Every Meal, rushing around and seeing relatives, and not getting anything else done, he starts to go out of his mind.
Sometimes, just the Twelve Days of Christmas can begin to feel like too much…
It ain’t necessarily so. (more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on December 31, 2014
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2014/12/31/sixth-day-of-christmas/
Tisquantum
It’s a Strange Holiday, isn’t it?
It Moves…
The Fourth Thursday in November could be as early as the 22nd or as late as the 28th
It’s Late this year.
And that shortens the Shopping Season between Now and Christmas
And that makes the Primary Beneficiaries of Capitalism angry.
Growing Up, there was this Marvelous Long Weekend in November
You could do whatever you liked.
Relax…
Play…. (more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on November 27, 2014
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2014/11/27/pause-and-give-thanks/
Commercial Establishments Rush the Season.
It’s Happening now.
Two weeks ‘til GivingThanks Day…
Store Windows are being decorated;
Businesses are in full Regalia
Though not a fan of the Commercialism of Christmas
I do like Planning.
And I do like the Kind of Advance Preparation that makes things run Smoothly.
And I Like Christmas! (more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on November 15, 2014
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2014/11/15/40-days/
Ordinary Days
Messy and Clunky
And with So Many things needing to be worked out
Who can tell
Where we are heading or What we would like or When it will all be Fixed??
In the final Act of THORNTON WILDER’s OUR TOWN, Emily asks, ”Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it every, every minute?” (more…)
Posted by Arnold J. Mungioli on November 2, 2014
https://livethequestionsnow.com/2014/11/02/ordinary-days/
Live The Questions Now 