Christopher Foster's Blog

My dear wife JoAnn will be departing this world sometime soon. How grateful I am for the gift she has given this world, and to me personally. What is that gift she has given, you may ask? It is the gift of love, and the gift of truth.

I knew that JoAnn would always give it to me straight, and I think she knew I would always be truthful to her. I would use a lot more words than she would, mind you, when I was relating with her, while she was very good at succinct.  We would remark often that this made a nice complement between us.

As I ponder the inevitable–JoAnn’s passing from this world–I am so very grateful for some words a friend of mine sent me recently.

“Dear Christopher,” she wrote, “in a way JoAnn is not dying. She is being born into a realm of great freedom and love. She is turning to a truer home in which all is possible.”

My love to you. If you have any thoughts on the above you would like to share, please write.

The post The gift that my wife gave to this world first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

My dear wife has been continuing her journey toward the transition we call death, with both of us appreciating very much the hospice care that we receive at our home.

Thrust into the role of a caregiver, I do my best to assist my wife in her journey, appreciating every day her strong, caring, courageous spirit.

An old saying comes to my mind that goes something like this, action speaks louder than words. One day, early on in our process, without really thinking about it, I reached out and held my wife’s hand.

I felt an immediately rush of spirit, and of love. Even as I write these words, tears come to my eyes. I have been holding JoAnn’s hand a lot ever since, and I will continue to hold it as long as she lives.

How thankful I am, and I will end this little soliloquy now, to know that a beautiful, happy, heavenly welcome awaits my dear wife when her earthly journey ends.

If you have any thoughts on the above, please share. My love to you.

 

 

 

 

The post Holding my dear wife’s hand first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

As I’ve mentioned before, my dear wife, JoAnn, was diagnosed recently with ovarian cancer, and is receiving hospice care at our home.

As I ponder this journey that the two of us are on, I find myself marveling at what I see as a remarkable truth. Yes, life sometimes visits us with what seems like overwhelming pain and loss.

But life is a miracle worker. In the midst of our pain or loss, I’m sensing that life has the power to open our heart more fully to the truth of our eternal nature, that is untroubled forever by any human affliction or loss.

If you have any thoughts on the above you would like to share, please write.

 

The post The miracle we call life first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

Dear reader,I shared with you recently the sad news that my dear wife has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I would like to update you regarding my wife’s situation.A week or so ago, JoAnn had a talk with her surgeon, who basically said she has two choices. She can undergo a lot of chemo, followed by surgery and then lot more chemo, a rather challenging ordeal for a now 91-year-old woman. (It was JoAnn’s birthday on July 18).Alternatively, she can call it quits and spend her remaining time in hospice care at our home, spending time with her family and me and friends.JoAnn had no hesitation. She feels strongly the right thing for her to do is to close out her life with family and friends, and she will commence hospice care at home in a few days.I am so proud of my wife. My love to you,ChrisThe post I am so proud of my wife first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

So here we are, my dear wife and me, with a new challenge to face. JoAnn was recently diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.

A day or two ago, we had our first visit with our gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Julia Embry-Schubert. We were very heartened  by this visit. Dr. Embry is not only highly qualified, but she has a buoyant spirit, which itself is a balm.

I won’t go into all the details. But suffice to say the doctor presented us with a clear plan to follow that includes a mix of chemotherapy and surgery.

JoAnn and I shared a long-distance relationship for two and a half years, and will have been married for 25 years in December.

We have had our fair share of challenges, for sure. But on the whole we feel we have been gifted with interesting and rewarding lives– perhaps even at times magical lives.

So it is that at age 90, we feel we can afford to be a bit philosophical about this new adventure/challenge that has knocked on our door. Whatever comes will come. Whatever comes, we’ll do our best to handle it.

We would love to hear from you if you feel you would like to add a few words  to the above.

 

 

 

The post A new challenge for my wife and me first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

Aging has its drawbacks, of course, drawbacks that can sometimes be painful and challenging to say the least.�� Yet, as a newly minted 90-year-old, I find that aging can open a door to a happier and more meaningful life.

It’s true, for example, that I can’t walk as fast as I used to walk, and I can’t walk as far as I used to walk. But so what? With joy, real joy, I realize that my slower pace gives me more opportunity to appreciate the beauty and wonder of a tree, or a flower; the song of a bird, the bark of a dog, the sound of a stream.

At the core of my being, and your being, is love. I find that with more leisure time, so to speak, aging gives me increased opportunity to express the love that is in my heart not only for Nature, but for all creation, including, of course, my fellow humans.

Come afternoon I like to visit a local coffee shop. It is not only the coffee that I enjoy. I enjoy being with people. I enjoy loving people. My love to you. If you have any thoughts on the above you would like to share, please write.

 

 

The post Why I kind of like aging first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

It was a beautiful fall day in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Walking in the peaceful countryside, my friend and I came upon two horses standing placid in the sun. One looked around and stared at us for a moment, uncaring, indifferent. The other presented only his rear to us as he (or she) gazed eternally into the distance.

As we came closer the horse who had condescended to look at us turned and moved leisurely away, the other following just behind. It looked as if there was not to be a meeting between the two of them and the two of us, as if man and beast were separate and apart, standing on either side of a wall of ignorance and distrust so long maintained as to appear normal.

But oh my, how lovely that setting was. The trees still gaily danced and sang in the magic of Indian summer. The lake shimmered as if it was July, its smooth surface unmarked and unruffled save where a muskrat swam slowly toward the shore.

We called out to the horses as they ambled away, and they stopped, and turned back, and approached us as my friend and I spoke to them in a friendly, loving way.

Presently we were patting them and stroking their necks, and telling them how beautiful they were. They posed serenely for a picture, and the wall between us came down. We realized with joy in our hearts that we were parts of one perfect creation.

PS: If you have any thoughts on the above, please write. I would love to hear from you.

 

 

The post A lover of animals am I first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

It was a beautiful fall day in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Walking in the peaceful countryside, my friend and I came upon two horses standing placid in the sun. One looked around and stared at us for a moment, uncaring, indifferent. The other presented only his rear to us as he (or she) gazed eternally into the distance.

As we came closer the horse who had condescended to look at us turned and moved leisurely away, the other following just behind. It looked as if there was not to be a meeting between the two of them and the two of us, as if man and beast were separate and apart, standing on either side of a wall of ignorance and distrust so long maintained as to appear normal.

But oh my, how lovely that setting was. The trees still gaily danced and sang in the magic of Indian summer. The lake shimmered as if it was July, its smooth surface unmarked and unruffled save where a muskrat swam slowly toward the shore.

We called out to the horses as they ambled away, and they stopped, and turned back, and approached us as my friend and I spoke to them in a friendly, loving way.

Presently we were patting them and stroking their necks, and telling them how beautiful they were. They posed serenely for a picture, and the wall between us came down. We realized with joy in our hearts that we were parts of one perfect creation.

PS: If you have any thoughts on the above, please write. I would love to hear from you.

 

 

The post In love with animals am I first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

Editor’s note: I was browsing some of my blogs and came across the first blog I ever wrote, on May 1 2009. It was a step into the unknown, for sure. I wondered if you might enjoy reading this little bit of personal history.����

Hi. Welcome to my blog.�� At the age of 23, to the dismay of my parents ��� I was an only child — I gave up a promising job as a reporter on the London Daily Express and moved to British Columbia. I didn���t know a soul there. But there was a longing in my heart to know the Truth ��� to find a deeper meaning and purpose in life ��� and the longing said this was what I should do.

I got a job as a reporter on the Daily Colonist in Victoria, British Columbia. It is a beautiful city with beautiful ocean vistas all around, and since I love the water, I soon bought a small sailboat. I named the boat Vision. What else was I going to call it?

When a vacation came up, I decided to go on a short cruise. I had never done any coastal sailing, and my navigational skills were zero. The weather was nice when I left Victoria, but in the afternoon a storm moved in. What had been a pleasant, exhilarating sail quickly changed character. The shore seemed a long way away as I struggled against a fierce headwind, not sure how much progress I was making — or if I was making any progress at all.

After a difficult, challenging time I finally reached the safety of a secluded cove. With no other boat in sight, I left the open sea behind and entered a magic realm where the water was smooth and calm as velvet. The contrast was incredible. It was like being in a cathedral. With stars peeping out, and with barely a whisper of wind, I ghosted across the velvet surface enfolded in a cocoon of peace unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I felt at one with everything — with God, with the water all around me, with the tree-lined shores of the cove and with the beautiful sky above.

It was wonderful to find refuge from a storm long ago in a remote cove on the British Columbia coast. But I have learned, as the winds of change have gusted through my life, often in fierce, totally unpredictable ways that I do not have to go anywhere to find inner peace.

God is not separate from me, as I was brought up to believe. Quite the opposite. When I am still, in mind and heart, I feel the presence of Infinite Love permeating every part of my body. How could that Love be any closer? I feel its presence in every cell — in my arms and legs, my chest and feet. It is the great organizing intelligence which animates all form everywhere — and look, it finds time to repair my damaged finger.

Said the great Persian poet Rumi: ���Out beyond ideas of right and wrong there is a field ��� I���ll meet you there.���

This is the invitation, I believe, that Life, or Being, or God is extending to each of us in this time of violent upheaval and change. Things do look pretty bleak from one perspective, that���s true. But from another perspective, what an extraordinary opportunity is being unveiled in these times.�� It is the opportunity, I submit, to claim our true spiritual heritage — to��know ourselves at last as the beautiful, timeless, unconquerable Being we truly are.

I reach out my hand to you in friendship.�� I hope��you will find��some inspiration and assurance, perhaps even comfort, on this site, and��at the same time, I look forward to any comments or thoughts you may wish to share.�� Poems are welcome also.��I plan to put up new posts Tuesdays and Fridays, to start with.����Thank you��for stopping by, and I hope you will visit “The Happy Seeker” again — Christopher Foster.

The post Welcome to my first blog first appeared on The Happy Seeker.

I recently published a blog entitled, “Did my deceased mother pay me a visit?” I was a bit nervous sharing such a personal post, but the response was so comforting and heart-warming that I’d like to share with you a follow-up that occurred one evening a few days ago.

I was sitting quietly in my chair, a book in my lap, enjoying the stillness, when I felt my mother’s presence. In the same instant, my whole body, every part of me, was flooded with joy. I was shaking with joy.

I have never felt such happiness. Is such a thing possible? Was my mother really hugging me? I believe she was.

My love to you. If you have any thoughts on the above, please share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Was it a hug from heaven? first appeared on The Happy Seeker.