Welcome to the Myra House Holistic Living Center -60’th Birthday Letters to Sung
Dear Pastor Sung,
My first memory of you was seeing you in the old album that my dad had. You weren’t just a family friend – you were (and still are) always an uncle to me. When I first moved to the States, you and Myra gave me a home to stay, the place where I can come back for the Holidays. Thank you so much for all the love and encouragement that you’ve given to my family and me. I’m sure that there will be much more moments to
cherish together. Happy 60th birthday! -Helena Kim
Living at the Myra House and spending time working in the living water farm unlocked forms of healing and tranquility I have yet to experience prior in my life. The Myra house begun a transformation that changed the way I related to myself, nature and others. None this would of been possible if it weren’t for Sung’s creativity and innovation. Sung’s mentorship helped me improve in ways of self awareness, contemplation and consciousness. He taught me that self love is to be found through habitual practice of meditation throughout daily living. His devotion to the Myra House and Living Water farm has taught me the good and beauty that can come when someone not only puts their dream into reality, but daily makes that dream come alive through their hard work and passion.
-Lauren Myers
David-Appa,
You’re a rare man.
There are the obvious things I can point to:
You left a lucrative career to manifest a dream.
You passionately sought a God who is open and extended such openness to others.
You raised two incredibly amazing children that inspire me
(David always pushed me deeper-within to know and cherish the self,
and Lydia is actually the reason why I chose divinity school).
And you truly love your wife.
But when I think about you, I mean really examine who you are,
I realize that you’re rare because you truly believe you are God’s son.
In all that you do, you make your lineage known,
and you do everything you can to help others know that too.
It’s a gift you showed me long ago, a disposition I’m still trying to embrace.
Thank you for everything.
For opening your home,
For taking the time to share your words.
For always believing that we could be better.
Your life is art.
A work I hope to emulate with time.-Charles Kim
Happy 60th Birthday to you Sung! No person is as deserving as yourself, to be appreciated and celebrated for your kindness, gentleness, intelligence and wisdom for all that surrounds you. I will always remember the beauty of the Myra House and the importance of its mission. More importantly, I will always remember the man and family behind its inception. May God and the Buddha continue to bless your life and those around you. May you continue to bless us with your presence and outlook of this beautiful, living, and truly inspiring world of nature.-Malcolm Dulaney
Hey Sung, happy birthday!
Thank you so much for what you have done in my life and the lives of so many people.You were such a great blessing at an important time of growth and maturing in my life. I wish you so many more years of service and joy.I know that you and the Myra House willcontinue to inspire and heal the world.-Robert Vincent
Happy 60th birthday to the most awesome and inspiring role model whose exemplary life grounded upon faith in God and love for the nature has touched so many of us! Happy birthday, Dr. Sohn. I look forward to the exciting
second half of your life!-Your disciple, Joseph
Sung,
You’re a reverend, an architect, an ayurvedic practitioner, an acupunturist, a visionary, a handyman, Tai Chi master, meditation guru, leader, ecogardener, lifelong learner and myra house, ecoterra, living water farm (co)creator. You’re calm, confident, grounded, and persistent, yet as flexible as you need to be, like bamboo, as you find ways to succeed in your dreams.
You made it work time and time again when no one else believed it was possible. You’re very inspirational, you unite people for a good cause, you’re very compassionate, you’reself sacrificial for the greater good. You keep on the positive side and keeping pushing and help motivate others when down or calmed the energy down when there was a lot of stress. Day by day you cultivated the art of living, for yourself and others calmly, passionately, mindfully. Truly a renaissance man!
I’m fortunate you took me on as a myra house resident monk and ecoterra employee, and for a time, produce manager, health counselor, resident coordinator, juicemaker, shizzle ball comaker, myras pharmacy helper, what else? I learned a lot from you in many aspects of life, and I am still aspiring to be like you in many ways! (I was working for a carpenter for two and half years to try to get more handy like you! Still hasn’t come so easily for me though! )
I hope you keep reaching your dreams and sharing with the community as you’ve been doing. I can only imagine what you and the rest of the crew have been up to since I left!
Thank you again for a wonderful opportunity to participate in your dream turned reality of eco communal spiritual living. Truly a blessing it was. I wish you and myra (and MH, ET, LWF, and whatever other new projects you’re dreaming up,) the best. And of course shout outs are necessary to david, lydia, james, guntram, sue, miguel, michael, q’s and j, stephen, jason, max, kristi, malcolm, nate, jill, kimberly, of course Gomy, and everyone else that made the experience come to life. Happy birthday!! May it be joyous and fruitful! To many more years of learning, dreaming, and achieving more once-thought-impossible things!
-Andrew/ Andy/ Andi
(Myra House Resident Monk still in spirit)
Sung,
Happy 60th Birthday! You’ve reached quite a milestone. So without further ado, when I think “Sung Jacob Sohn, Ph.D”, I think…
You could have followed the herd. You could have bought your family a beautiful, luxurious, southern California home, complete with a tennis court, swimming pool, and of course, a small avocado orchard. You could have continued working as a full-time architect, growing wealthier each day but remaining unsatisfied in your soul. You could have kept the beauty of the Myra House to yourself and to your family, excluding all others save for close friends. These were not your choices.
Instead, you have chosen to follow where your heart has led. You have done this by opening your doors to so many young men and women, by creating a peaceful home that resonates with the land, and by helping others grow richer in spirit, to name a few. You have also cultivated a bold vision. Those of us who have been able to share in your vision are grateful and indebted. And maybe sunburned for a little while.
It was a struggle creating the Living Water Farm with you. Some days I wanted to quit. But your determination became my determination and your persistence became my persistence. It was a shared struggle. What that understanding gave me, and no doubt everyone else on the project, was the strength to press on. Together, we all succeeded by overcoming obstacles, some of which were personal, some of which were shared. The Living Water Farm came to fruition. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!
Thank you Sung, for showing us what can come when we open our hearts to others and pursue our goals with unapologetic zeal. Thank you for sharing your incredible, uniquely talented family- Myra, David, Lydia, James, and who could forget, Gomy. You are all sorely missed! Finally, thank you for working so hard to embody the values you believe in.
Last of all, for your birthday, I will leave you with something you said to all of the Myra House when we had finally finished building the LWF: “Now is the time to celebrate! Do whatever gives you pleasure!”-Nathan Migdal
Dear Pastor Sohn, many of my best memories of my time in Claremont took place at Myra House. I recall with fondness things like cooking for community dinner, feeding chickens, morning service. You and your family have shaped me in more ways than I can express. I wish you joy and blessings for many years to come.-Susan Freese
Dear Dad,
As I read through these letters written to you, especially by young men who knew you in their twenties, it is not at all surprising, even humorously so, how a common thread among all of them is that you have been an example to them and that they are striving to be more like you. What a compliment! But, for those who know you, it is easy to see why this is the case. Even as you are turning sixty, you show the kind of traits that young men, who are pure of heart and earnestly trying to become better men, are drawn to. You have dreams, you fight for them, you work tirelessly to make them a reality, through hard work and backbreaking discipline, you love your wife, you are strong yet stronger for knowing and feeling beauty. In short, you inspire and live an inspiring life.
Of course, you’ve always been like this and I’ve always admired you, especially as I began my own journey into young adulthood. And perhaps over the past fifteen years or so, knowing this about you and how people, even my friends and peers, admire you for your quiet heroism, I have felt the weight of what that might mean for me, as your son. In one sense, I may be the closest thing, biologically, to you as I am your only son and your father has passed away. But, I admit that despite this biological union, I have felt incredibly far from actually being the kind of person you are, the reasons you’re admired.
And maybe because of this weight of feeling I should be more like you, even though I am not, I have made decisions that appear rebellious. Maybe this is also why I’ve chosen the life of a professional, to wear a suit, to work and make money like everyone else, instead of the life of the dreamer, the individual, the artist, the revolutionary.
But as I try to find my own way in this world, to learn what it means to be my own man, I’m grateful and relieved to find that the essence of who you are is with me and a part of me. I find myself taking my job seriously, knowing that it takes sacrifice, discipline, and dedication. Even through the mundane issues I have to juggle with as a lawyer, I find myself trying to find the best, and most courageous life giving solutions. I find myself quietly contemplating nature on my train ride to and from L.A., or reading books on philosophy and literature in my free time. I see that even as I have chosen a life different than yours, the way I live my life as a lawyer is just a mere reflection of the way you live your life as a dreamer.
Over the past ten years, you and I have walked hundreds of miles along coasts and trails where it was always raining, places like Oregon and Scotland. The wet and drizzly weather of these places made it appear like it was neither either day nor night. It was as if we were walking in some time and place beyond the ordinary limits and constrains of daily human living. I have memories of us walking in silence, sharing laughs, drinking that hard-earned beer at the end of the day, and of course, of you being my father, never forgetting that despite my age, you’d take care of me.
I know that no matter how far or different I try to live my life compared to yours, you and I always walk together, father and son. Happy Birthday young man!-Your Son
Hello Sung!
Happy Birthday!! I am so very very grateful you and Myra are followers of dreams, conviction, and discernment!! Where we would we all be without your ministry?? You are an inspiration and I have a deep admiration for you both!! And today we get to celebrate you by sharing our precious memories:
I loved, absolutely loved, living in community with you all back in my 20s!!
Back then, about 15 years ago, we would all gather in the morning to the sound of a loud clanging bell. Some of us, would be bright-eyed and ready. Others of us would stumble in, eyes barely open. I was part of the eyes-barely-open camp and yet what an amazing way to wake into the day! As I slowly came into consciousness I was surrounded by music, caring, prayer, community…These were truly irreplaceable moments that were purposefully and divinely created and experienced because you followed your calling to build Myra House. The sound, the feel of the floor, the chapel, those moments are part of my living memory that will carry me forever when I need to recall love, peace, wholeness.
The chickens!! How many chickens have we raised over the years? I loved those little chickens and every once in a while I would have a fellow resident that had a soft spot for those creatures, too. If we were to sit for a moment, we would be able to recall so many stories related to chickens. I’m sure you are thinking of at least one, right now!
The gardening. My favorite room to care for was the abundant jungle of plants in the solarium. It was like a greenhouse in there. I had never cared for so many and I learned there is healing in caring for plants. After a hard day there is something meditative and peaceful in tending to their little basic needs. What a beautiful gift to learn and how great is our God to give us this. I would have likely come very late to this lesson had I not lived in Myra House. Thank you.
The residents. Oh we have so many memories. The years when we were filled to the brim with college kids and seminary grad students. Our Wednesday dinners that burst tables at the seam with laughter, camaraderie, stories and support! The adjustment of receiving new residents and saying farewell to others. I turned 30 at Myra House. What an amazingly beautiful time. This was a foundation-building time. A time of healing, growth, learning, bonding. This is a beautiful gift you have bestowed on so many with your mentoring, ministry and leadership!
Speaking of caring, you and Myra have taught me so much about following dreams, perseverance, the strength of vulnerability, honesty, what love of ministry can look like and love built in marriage and family. I truly feel like I have a second home with Myra House and a second family, I love you all so very much!
I wish you a very Happy Birthday, Sung! Thank you for following your dreams, aspirations and calling!-Jennifer Brueggemann
In the summer of 2007 I packed up my bags in Arkansas and headed to Claremont for eight weeks to work as an intern. Someone at the School of Theology had suggested that the Myra House would be a good place to take a room during my time in Claremont. I had no idea what to expect but was really rather transformed by the time I spent living with Myra, Sung and the other residents that summer.
I remembering savoring Korean meals on the porch and chasing chickens back into the coop. I enjoyed every second of tagging along with Sung to join in tai chi on the streets of Pasadena with the homeless community there. These simple things stretched my mind and my heart because they were new to me.
One of the greatest lessons I learned from Sung during my time at the Myra House was the need to coexist with nature. It wasn’t the lack of air conditioning in the sweltering SoCal heat or the need to use a clothes line to dry my things that bothered me. It was the beady-eyed raccoons, which I originally thought were mountain lions, that slept right outside my bedroom window most nights. Because of the cool nighttime air, I wanted to Keep the window open at night. But I was super, super scared that the animals would claw through the screen and – I don’t know- eat me! One of them was missing its tail after all so he must have known something about a good fight. After several sleepless nights, I decided to ask Sung to take care of this problem for me. His reply was not at all what I had anticipated. Instead of concern for my safety or a desire to keep the critters off his house, he simply said, “Well, they were probably here before you got here so I think it is fine.” Unable to understand what I had gotten myself into, I had no choice but to spent the next seven weeks learning to be with fine with it. Eventually I decided that the raccoons were likely trying to avoid the dangers of mountain lions by hanging out on my second floor window seal at night.
I thought often of this lesson from Sung often during the four years I spent living rather closely with nature in India. It has informed the way that I see myself as a part of this great big world and the way that I seek to identify my cosmic tasks, or vocation, in the midst of it all.
Thank you, Sung, for the taking me in that summer and sharing your beautiful home and lovely family with me. Thank you also for leaving me with a kinder impression of the world and my place in it. I wish you the very happiest of birthdays. I hope that our paths can cross again soon.-Katie Robinson
Dear Sung,
Thank you for opening your home and heart to me. You gave me more than a bed, more than a sanctuary, more than a community. You gave me peace, peace in your presence, your leadership, and words. A part of my heart will always be at Myra House. Happy Birthday!-Justin Haven
Dear Sung,
Your kind presence and dedication to simplicity and spirituality has meant so much to us over the years. Your steadfast devotion to building community and offering a space for reflection, contemplation and conversation is always appreciated and deeply needed. At times when we’ve been searching for a calmer way of life, we found the Myra House and continue to rediscover and grow with the community there even as we flow away and flow back together, like the water. You truly lead by example, the way toward a more sustainable, more joyful way of life. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and happy birthday! May you bask in the joy of the day and continue to cultivate the genuine well-being that you share with each of us.-Vanessa & Rhonda
I liked that we could tend to our portion of the garden out in the front yard of the Myra House. I picked purple and red flowers, and they actually grew! I was shocked. But the “best” memory has got to be of the fire that came raging down the Mt. Baldy hills. There were so many fire trucks and ambulances around, but they were all just hanging out because there didn’t seem like anything else they could do. The fire, once visible from the hills, seemed to have rolled down to the bottom and out of view. Then suddenly (and I mean suddenly), the fire RAGED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
Myra was screaming from the window, and I swear the flames were 20 feet high. It came so fast that none of the responders were ready. All we could do was watch it. It was so high that the palm tree over my car caught on fire, with embers falling around my car. So uh, I vacated the premises. I think I took you with me and brought you back to Scripps. All that separated us from the fire was the street! Meanwhile, Sung was outside with the only weapon he had: the garden hose! If Myra House was going to go down, he was going with it! So he stuck around and kept watering as much as he could to stave off any stray embers and then a bit later I drove back up, and discovered everything was still standing! My parents even caught wind of the crazy fire, and sent me a newspaper clipping of it, where the fire chief even said that they were caught off guard so badly that the fire burnt all the vegetation around the fire station near Myra House, and it would have been pretty demoralizing if the fire station had burnt down. hah!
On a more serious note, Sung was key to helping me learn how to be a hospitable and gracious host. There are just a few people in my life who taught me how to be generous with my resources and your dad was one of them. Since then, I have tried to be as welcoming with my home when people need a place to stay. So we’ve taken in all kinds of different people who are passing through for noble causes. For example, my wife’s brother was part of an organization called LiNk (liberty in North Korea), and we would house their people who would do fundraisers up here in the Bay Area. Sung and the Myra House taught me to invite the strange and welcome all guests.-Jordan Kwan
Dear Dad/Appa,
I could have formally called you Mr. Sohn, Pastor Sohn, or Sung but in the 18 years that I’ve known you, you have been more of a father figure to me. I recall when your family first moved to Claremont, at the Scripps house. You made a huge leap of faith to break out of your comfort zone and move from a very stable lifestyle to one where God was in control. I couldn’t be more thankful that you made that move, because I would not have met my best friend and built a lifetime of memories otherwise.
Even still, you continued to feel God tugging at your heart, to be used in a greater way, and so you again moved your family to what is now the Myra House. It was indeed challenging at times, but you always had a positive spirit and persevered through every hurdle, to ensure that His will would be done, and that His people were taken care of.
As my best friend’s father and a father figure in my life, you’ve been a model example of a loving husband and father, and spiritual leader in the household. Your warm-hearted greetings when I’d come home from being away for years, exchanges of laughter with Myra, morning prayers, meditations in the garden, spiritual guidance, mealtime discussions—every action and word that has been passed in these 18 years, has shaped who I am and what I aspire my family to become. Thank you for being the loving and compassionate person you are, and for impacting the hundreds of lives that you’ve welcomed into your heart and home. Happy 60th birthday, Appa!- Love, Maria
I always loved coming over to the Sohn family home, whether it was the house on Scripps or Myra house. This is a testament to my dear friend Lydia, but also to her parents, whom I adore.
Mr. and Mrs. Sohn always made me feel welcomed, like another child of theirs. Mr. Sohn would be sure to ask me how I’m doing, and he would often laugh and smile with such kindness. He is an incredibly kind man, and I would feel at ease sharing what was on my mind – which I rarely did with my own parents then, at the height of teenage angst.
Two prominent adjectives that come to mind to describe Mr. Sohn are visionary and unconventional. As an architect he had a vision to build his own home, one that has become a safe haven for many. The Myra house is also a place of many joyous occasions, including gatherings over delicious Korean barbeque and the site of Lydia and James’s wedding reception. Mr. Sohn is the most unconventional person I know of our parents’ generation. He is not afraid to dream and pursue his dreams, no matter how big or small. His courage and hard work are greatly admirable.
When my father passed away in 2006, I was living in New York City. Upon coming home to be with my family, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Sohn stood outside with a basket of fruits and treats, and I was more than relieved to see him. His presence brought much comfort, and his care and compassion meant so much then and even now.
What a gift it is to know and befriend the Sohn family. Much love and respect to you, Mr. Sohn and 60th birthday! -Rosa Tsay
I have great memories of staying at the Myra House while Lydia and her accomplish Jennifer B. ran the shop. Her parents were in France. I was very nervous because of the rigorous details in the brochure about using organic and natural soaps and cleaners, which to a Texas goat rancher meant that I had to throw out my shaving kit. I had to go to Ralph’s and buy new stuff and worry about what I was going to snack on at night. I hid some vanilla wafers in the closet and waited to put aftershave on after I left the house. I recall we decided to make homemade jelly and it was a disaster.
That was now many years ago and I still remember how surprised I was to hear a bell ringing and looking down a hallway and strangers were walking around in their pajamas for morning prayer. I met Sung the next summer at the Claremont train station. It was all smiles and as if we had known each other forever. So much gratitude and love to you, Sung.
-Johnny Mayfield III
To Sung on his 60th birthday.
I am so proud to be a part of your family. I hope this
poem tells you at least a little bit of how much you mean to me as a role model, father figure and the creator of my home away from home in Claremont.
Happy birthday and may there be many more for you to enjoy with us and your grandchildren!
To my father in law, a man of mystic poetic mind
Prose cannot capture the essence of this artful life
He moves through it purposefully, gracious and kind
His efforts are a brushstroke of color amidst strife
The man makes art, just as the art makes the man
Tolerance, humility, calmness and above all vision
He has made himself from little but with little he can
Make the most of all things with loving decision
I came to Myra’s house with my expectant bride
He did not need to accept me, though did with ease
He took me in with kindness, a hug never denied
His quick love made me loyal and willing to please
Perhaps it was not the most secure fit at the start
I am rigid, cold and exacting with the ones that I live
But he bent me to his person with kindness and art
His innately loving nature is so quick to forgive
The Myra House became a home far from my own
With freedom and willing purpose I took on my role
To manage chickens, plants and dirt heavy with stone
Into an spiritual collage with a deeply aesthetic soul
I love him for all that he has done and can teach
On the earth and God and Christ he does preach
With actions, words and thoughts does his part
To make this man and this world a divine work of art -James, your son-in-law
Dear Dad,
I wear the stoles that you once wore and I love sharing with others that my father gave them to me. I preach the words that you have once preached or have taught to me personally. I water the garden that you have planted for us and eat the vegetables that you have nurtured.
And each time I do these things, I do not take them for granted. I know that I walk in your footsteps and reap the abundant fruit of your hard and difficult labors. Your hands are evidence of the work you have done. Your wearied soul is evidence of the rejections you have encountered. Your wrinkles are evidence of the sweat you have poured.
There is a saying within the Native American tradition that the first generation plants the seeds and waters them with their tears while the second generation gets to enjoy the abundance. This, I know, is my life.
Your life, as struggle-ridden as it was though, has been filled with so much power, beauty and joy. The letters in this book testify to that. So many people have walked through this home. The dust from their shoes have remained on our tiles and you have made an imprint on their hearts. Many times, I doubted the purpose of the Myra House because I witnessed how hard it was for you. But now, I see that something magical was happening, sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally. God has always been working through you.
You have changed lives, created community among lonesome travelers and brought so much meaning in a world that very often feels devoid of meaning. And you have inspired me to pursue that kind of a life filled with beauty, meaning, power and joy.
I am so proud of the life you have created with your bare hands—a life that you fashioned from scarce materials. Several times in this book, people have referred to you as an artist. That seems to be the theme of your life. Not only do you bring beauty to the lives of everybody around you, your entire life is a beautiful work of art that you have crafted. And I am so deeply fortunate that I have seen that life, learned from your methods and am also trying to craft such a life.
Thank you for your example, your love for us that nobody can measure and finally for the life that you have lived. No matter what happens with your acupuncture exams and no matter what happened with the career blocks of your life, always know that I don’t care about those things. You have already made us so proud of you. You already are and always have been our role model. I love you so much Dad.-Your daughter
Dear Sung,
Congratulations on reaching this pinnacle milestone in your life. In the tradition of Yoga, we believe that time is only a concept of one’s ability to connect with their awareness and I believe you live your life in a means of seeking that. I have been blessed by having the opportunity to be a substantial part of the Myra House Community and feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from you.
I feel that life continues to provide for us what we need when we are ready and that has surely been a recurrent theme through our interactions together. It is important to know that your efforts and vision help others to also connect and find where their heart guides them. I hope that as time continues that you continue to share your gifts and presence with the greater LA area and world and that what you have created will be a keepsake for all those that cross over your path.
Thank you again for providing inspiration along my journey and I hope that my light is able to penetrate the souls of those I come across as your light has for me.-Jason Gorenstein
Revered Sohn,
I still remember as a significant moment during my college years the night that you took me to dinner to talk about getting involved with the Living Waters church community. I’m not sure whether you knew it at the time, but I was in a very difficult state emotionally and spiritually and becoming involved with a new church plant was deeply meaningful for me. With the Living Waters community and at Myra House, I found a sense of community that I had been missing. I remember especially the delicious Sunday brunches, where I felt the comfort of home and the warmth of a church family. Even though I don’t feel that I was able to contribute much to the enormous task of starting a new worshipping community, I can see that God accomplished much. A few months ago, I was ordained as a Presbyterian pastor to begin a new ministry of creating films for congregations and for society at large. I believe that my time with your community was God’s provision in my life at that time, and a critical step along the way. I thank you deeply and sincerely for listening to God’s call and ministering to me at a time when I needed it deeply. I wish you the warmest joy in celebration of your birthday and God’s continued blessings to you and the many lives you touch.-In Christ’s Love, Robert Felix
Saunter On Suns Sohn
Between the oscillations of,
Our, Thirst for annihilation and, Our, Starvation for salvation,
We land in healing hands of empowered congregation,
We come across light beams and humble seekers that,
dare to build shelter to keep the fire alive within those already burning,
kindred flames who seek alternative games,
face-to-faceless-space, awake in transmutation witness how objects
become subjects of the utterless name,
within systemic structures which survive off mitigating the burn, and
medicating those who roll-the-dice in search of the subtle structures we seek to learn,
we gasp for air and scream out loud,
any proof out there that another feels this fire for another story,
no more can we continue running upon hedonism’s treadmills,
we know not, but there is something far deeper, not economic but sincere invisible hands,
for those who wish no longer be another rat within the grain.
Between the oscillations of,
Our, Thirst for annihilation and, Our, Starvation for salvation,
We come across light beams and humble seekers that,
dare to build shelter to keep the fire alive within those already burning,
We land in healing hands of empowered congregation, Myra’s bungalow,
for the beauty in difference we come to learn,
silence becomes tolerated and stillness no longer scorned,
the opportunity to share from inferno’s call that one must come higher,
all the while go deeper, tend to Earth our home, storehouse of vitality, vivacity’s supplier,
To come up we must go down, Embrace our Humanness and build communities that nurture the acrobats upon the wire,
For we all must walk line,
no gift like open arms and encouragement to walk on, to walk on, to walk on.
For that Love again and again we must re-find,
no gift like Gomi, Kimchi and Mt. Baldy to nurture the birthing and give burial to the already gone.
May we all saunter on.Happy birthday Suns. May we all saunter on. -Max Francis Finkel
Memories of sung I remember vividly are all the times working with him out on the farm. Summertime at the Myra House was always a season I somewhat dreaded. Working on the farm at Myra House during 100+ degree heat was definitely a challenge of one’s character but I always remember how driven and positive sung was towards all of the residents during this time. He was always the first one out there working, and the last one to come in after the day was finished. And throughout those days he was always displaying loving and supportive attitude towards us all. He definitely encouraged me in times where I was near my breaking point out there. But his character and attitude out on the farm goes so much deeper the farming. He displays those qualities throughout other aspects of his life, and by doing that, encouraged me to do so as well. I hope Sung has many more blessing filled years in his life and I am so grateful for everything he has done that has impacted me and my life. There’s no way I could be the person I am without his existence in my life. Happy birthday, Sung!-Stephen Mayfield
Sung,
You are thoroughly an example of a person who leads by example. Your daily diligence in carrying forth your vision and dream shows itself clearly in the web of mundane life. I am becoming more brave and even more courageous while working with you; a willingness to take the next step into the unknown is an infectious gift, especially when routine tasks are done in good humor as an expression of a higher intention and thought. By this daring, frontiersman’s attitude, we can come toward a relationship with sound and even light itself.
I hope, for the sake of your being, for your family, and for future Myra House Residents, that you and your loved ones find ease and comfort in the moment to moment journey of community living–a circle of breathing spirits in expanding presence–and that each of you discovers fully happiness and contentment.
Your friend (in some ways understudy),
Sincerely,- Davis Saul
Happy birthday, Reverend Sohn! I was so blessed to spend a summer at Myra House in 2004. In some ways, it was a tumultuous time of life — just graduated, looking for a job, wondering how to make sense of who I was in the world. But Myra House was exquisitely peaceful — the daily and weekly rhythms of chapel, meals, chores, and most importantly, community. I learned many new things at Myra House and carry them with me now — how to tend a native garden, how to compost, how to worship in the Taize tradition, how to create a warm community of “strangers” (now friends) under one roof. I do all these things in my life in North Carolina, and I think of Myra House every time with gratitude.
A pothos vine, planted in the purple Myra House pot, sits in the entry way of our home, greeting family and visitors with the symbol of love in its heart-shaped leaves. It must be over 10 years old now, but the memories it evokes of our Myra House community remain strong. Thank you for pursuing the vision God gave you for a beloved community under the California foothills. It made a profound difference in my life, and the fruits of your labor live on. Very warm wishes on your birthday.-Amy Walter Beisel
In 2002 I began the five years it took me to complete the MDiv at CST. One of my first concerns was to find a place to stay one or two nights a week. What I found was a second home and family with you. I found a contemplative and engaged community of love and respect, and a foretaste of the Beloved Community. Thank you for your vision and your tenacity in bringing it to fruition. And speaking of fruition, I really miss those kumquats!
One of my favorite memories from Myra House was the practice of sharing dreams in the morning. At first I thought it was frivolous. Then, one night I dreamed of a great bear that came and spoke to me and laid out a vision for me of ministry as pastoral, prophetic, and priestly. I shared the dream at morning prayer and thought little of it. There had been some fires in the hills above Myra House. The next night I pulled into the driveway at Myra House in the dark after an evening class. I immediately sensed a PRESENCE. Before getting out of the car I looked into the side view mirror and the darkness congealed into the form of a very large bear. I stayed in the car as it shuffled along, snuffling and purring. It stopped by the side of the car and looked directly into my eyes. It must have only been a fraction of a second, but it was an eternity before it moved on to climb the garden wall into the neighboring yard and I could breath again.
At Myra House I met my spirit animal. Thank you, Sung Sohn, for making a space for that meeting – a space that welcomes strangers and cherishes them as friends. Godspeed.
-Paul Mitchell
