Wishing the Happiest Holidays of Year 2013-2014

We become happy when our hearts are filled with gratitude. Thanksgiving dinner was that sort of event where we gathered with hearts full of gratitude. Family and friends from different religious traditions—Unitarian Universalists, Jewish, Buddhists, atheists as well as Christians—came together to feast, share and sing. Our happiness reached its peak when we sang carols and Christmas songs around the piano after dinner. The scene was not a dream. That lovely moment needed no further explanation to the question, where is God on earth? We truly felt the divine presence in our midst as we became one community in a choir of melody. A fruit basket was displayed in the middle of the dining table filled with apples, pears, lemons, oranges, jujube dates and pomegranates we had just picked from our garden. The basket held the season’s bountiful fruits and it symbolized the multiple things we were grateful for. As I reflect on what I am most grateful for, three things are most prominent.

First, I am grateful for our 2nd annual lecture series: “Solutions to Sustainability” that happened in late August. I am grateful for our amazing participants and supporters who made the event a success. I am especially thankful for the two keynote speakers, Dr. Philip Clayton and Beth McDuffie. Both speakers gifted us with great insight about our planet and offered us wisdom in moving forward in our journey of creating a more sustainable world. Both remarked on how the Myra House is a practical example of where ecology and spirituality merge in its work of contributing to the flourishing of the earth. The work of Myra House is not only ideological for me, it is also deeply personal. I therefore received their complements with humility and gratitude and felt compelled to respond to their reflections with my personal experience of working and living at the Myra House. You can read both speakers’ presentations as well as my response, on the Myra House website, Here under the 2013 Fest Event.

Second, I am blessed by the support and ministry of two people: Sue Carlisle and Dr. John Cobb, whose lives we look up to and want to learn from. Their ongoing support, mentorship and encouragement have helped us to sustain the programs of the Myra House such as the internship program for Integrative Health and Sustainable Living. As they increase in age, they seem to become ever stronger in health and wisdom and we never fail to receive inspiration from them. We were especially grateful for Sue’s 80th birthday this past year, in whose honor we celebrated the 2nd annual sustainability fest. The Myra House presented them with a special gift of my calligraphy written for them. The words read: 萬壽無疆, man soo mu gang, which means long life filled with health and wealth. The frame also contains images of leaves and bamboo branches. The life of a bamboo tree is a fine example of how to live abundantly while enduring all harsh weathers, bearing much similarity to the lives of Sue and Dr. Cobb. They will forever be models for us for how to live gracefully and sustainably.

Finally, I am grateful for our two-year-old Living Water Farm. The farm keeps us busy pretty much every day of the year. It is not just because of our obligations to deliver weekly produce to two local restaurants that we have forged partnerships with. Our work also includes understanding the land more deeply. And our reward is beyond what words can express. We have begun to know more intimately each plot of land and their co-habiting creatures—worms, insects and birds and wild animals who occasionally visit. We have kept track of the growth patterns of the various vegetables and herbs and how much produce can grow in the 3×5 feet vegetable boxes during each season. And we have noticed great differences between the plots of land which were irrigated by the ecologically balanced pond water versus the city water. In many ways, we have discovered our vocation through our work on the farm, which is a deeply creative and spiritual process. You can see pictures of our progress and harvest on our website here.

As we have been blessed with so many things this year, we hope that you too have received your share of abundant blessings. We wish you a most happy and meaningful holiday season as you end 2013 and get ready to start the New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With Gratitude,
Sung and the Myra House Family.