Groundhog's Day!
Same as it ever was - nothing constant but change!
It’s Sunday, the second of February of 2025. It’s my brother-in-law’s birthday. We saw each other in a little surprise visit that I made to my parents’ home in Williamsburg. I drove down on Friday to visit Mom at Charter Senior Living and to also return some glass ornaments my sister wanted. Mom was fixated on making sure that the mantle clock came to me. It was given to my great-grandmother, Lucy Greiner Gill, upon the occasion of my grandfather, the first Harold B Gill, being born on January 16, 1907. My father too was born on January 16 in 1933, the same day as Susan Sontag. I am currently the Executive Director of the Harold B Gill Foundation where I do what I can to steward his legacy. It’s slow work given that I am living my life and the sole employee of the Foundation, thus far. This Substack is its primary publishing arm.
Gratitude is all I can possibly hold onto for everything. As has been observed in earlier posts, the Danes often mark their tombstones with the simple statement “Tak for Alt” which translates, “Thanks for Everything!” - and I find that charming.
There is nothing constant but change and therefore, what should we do with this opportunity to participate in the ongoing flow of activity happening on the world stage? As I came up through my undergraduate education, I was afforded a number of opportunities, and one of these was to join Amnesty International and Waging Peace.
What I found was that I was in the company of a handful of students who were similarly motivated and we were led by the college’s Director of Religious Life who, at the time, was Charles Haynes. About that time, he was writing a book called “The Awakener” about Meher Baba. He introduced us to the fact of Meher Baba’s life.
Awareness of this bit of history of our species has been a part of my make-up ever since. Reading and growing in understanding of what it is to be here now has been impacted by this awareness. So it goes. I have more to say but the day beckons.
Let’s wrap this post with a simple statement to inspire the coming week:
Linking it all together - bringing it all together like Beads on One String - and here is the message that Meher Baba gave to Hollywood in 1932. It is well worth the 17 minutes it takes to watch it.
So it is that I am navigating today and everyday - much like “Groundhogs Day” - the movie. We would do well to dig down into the rich soil of our cultural output to find the foundations are strong and can survive the changes that are being manifested in the world.
There is nothing constant but change. We can ride these waves while breath is still in the body.
Onward!