Below Christmas letter 2025
Christmas 2025 with Audrey
Time is moving faster and faster and my body moving slower. I used to walk around the block in half an hour, now the steps are slower with rests on the park benches. People pass me by. I can sit on the bench for half an hour but it feels like five minutes. And look, another year whizzed by.
I don't watch the news anymore. The news is not even news—it is drama, and how do you know the truth? Remember the newscasters Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings? Well, the world is definitely in chaos. Good things are happening that are not in the news. Great inventions are on the horizon. Big changes are coming.
Most of my life takes place here at Ya Po Ah, about 225 people on 18 floors, but I know probably 50 or 60 that I see more often. We live close together, studio apartments on the north side and one bedroom on the south side that faces the city. It is like a little village. I am so glad that I live here. This is a special place and it is the people that make it so. We look after one another, and as we age we need help. It is not easy to ask for help. I was brought up to be independent. Don't bother other people if you can do it yourself. Actually, people like helping. Yes, leaving an isolated home in Maine and moving to Eugene was the best thing for me.
Within walking distance of Ya Po Ah are two cultural centers. The Hult has a 2,500 seating capacity. The Eugene Symphony and ballet company perform, as well as events like the musical Hamilton. This holiday a group of residents from Ya Po Ah, including me, saw the Nutcracker. The atmosphere and performance were great. The Shedd also puts on musicals and concerts, and I usually get to one of those once a month. There is also a small theatre, and I get to see a play once a month. What is most disappointing is the art scene. Two art galleries, not very big spaces, that show professional artists' paintings.
My summer trips to Maine give me the opportunity to soak up art. I see my artist friends, go to galleries and museums, and paint endless subject matter outside on Back Cove. This is the place I love the most. What I love about New England is the architecture, the small villages along the coast, the granite shores, inlets, and islands. I love the four seasons but better where I live now—less cold, no snow, and I have the river to go to on hot days.
I love being with my sons and their families. My granddaughter Lucy lives in Eugene, and Doug and Christina, Lucy's mom, bought the house next to Lucy and Johnny's house. Doug is rebuilding this house. He worked on it all fall, took a break at Christmas, and went back to Maine. He is about to return soon to Eugene. The Patriots made a comeback this year and Doug and I watched the games at a local sports bar. I watched the Oregon Ducks football with Chris. Thanksgiving was in Ashland this year where Chris's wife Diane's daughter Courtney lives. Peter and Courtney have two sons, ten and twelve, both smart, remarkable children. I love going to Ashland for the holidays. Christmas was just Chris, Diane, and me. A tradition for us is watching the movie A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott.
I had a setback during the holidays. Thought it was the flu—couldn't breathe. Not the flu, fluid buildup in my body. Got it out and I am OK now. So SLOW DOWN, STAY AROUND.
Every year is a good year when one does one's best to appreciate life. How would we learn anything without challenges, like getting along with your fellow man or solving problems? I am always positive about the future. I see signs of goodness every day, little acts of caring. Just yesterday as I was walking up the driveway of Ya Po Ah, David, one of the maintenance workers, was walking toward me as I passed a man that didn't look right to me. David said he saw this person that looked like he was on drugs and did not belong on the property. I asked David if he was on his way home, and David said, "I wanted to make sure you were OK," and he turned and came in with me.
I have also been following the progress of the monks walking across the country for peace. They are gathering more and more people each day following them, moving in peace, united in mind and spirit.
My favorite children's book is The Wind in the Willows. A lot of the characters in children's stories were animals that were people, as were the animals in The Wind in the Willows. I have a little story, not from that book.
There was a cat that lived in the glen, and this cat was a Manx cat. He didn't understand why he didn't have a tail. He didn't have a long shadow where his tail should be. So the cat with no tail went into the deep woods to find answers. When he came to the old oak tree, there was an owl on a branch. "Why do you wander?" asked the Owl. "My shadow is too small and I feel less because of it," replied Cat With No Tail. "You must seek the Pool of Folly, and to see its truth you must gather three things," said the Owl. "You must gather a fragment of the Eternal Dreams, a thread of the Moon's Courage, and a feather of the Forgotten King."
Cat wandered deeper into the forest. On the path was a Snail, and beside him was an open book. "What are you reading?" asked Cat. "Of stars. I dream of climbing the tallest tree and touching them, though I know I never will," said the Snail. The cat asked, "Then what is the point of dreaming of something impossible?" "The stars remind me that I am part of something vast. That is enough," replied the Snail. Then Snail tore a page from the book and said, "This is a fragment of the Eternal Dream."
Cat took the page and walked deeper into the woods. There he met the Moth. Her wings had once carried her into storms and bright moonbeams, and now they were tattered and torn. "Now I sew. My stitches carry the dreams I once followed. Because now, grounded as I am, I see the world in ways I never did," said the Moth. She took a silver strand of thread and gave it to Cat With No Tail. "It is the Thread of the Moon's Courage, for those who have fallen can still find their light," said Moth.
Cat took the thread and continued his journey, deeper into the forest. He next encountered Raven perched on a low branch. "Why are you here, Cat With No Tail?" asked Raven. "I am searching for a feather," replied Cat. "I will give you one of my feathers. It carries the weight of a story. I wanted to be strong and lead, but I failed because my heart was not wise enough," said Raven. "What did you do?" asked Cat. "I listened," said the Raven. "I heard the voices of roots and plants and voices I had ignored. I learned in other ways I could show the way. I could guide. Take this feather. It is the Feather of the Forgotten King."
Cat padded on, and then the Pool of Folly revealed itself. The surface was still, and the stars above trembled in its depths. Cat sat down with his treasures and waited. "What is your truth?" asked the Pool. "I don't know," replied the Cat. The image of Cat reflected in the water, short and steady, perfectly matched his form. "Your truth is that you are enough as you are," whispered the Pool. "But I am lonely," said the Cat. "Then reach out, seek and be sought," replied the Pool.
Cat With No Tail returned to the glen, and all the animals gathered around. Cat told his story. And for the first time, Cat loved the way it was—as he felt, just right.
This short version is a story for children of the hero's journey, and it has been repeated in many ways as we all travel our paths through life's adventures, learning through experience.
The Meaning of Three
Completeness and wholeness. Balance and unity. In many traditions, three represents the union of mind, body, and spirit or the connection between past, present, and future. I am not into numerology, but I do believe in the symbolism numbers represent. I love structure, and I use geometric shapes, mostly the triangle, in my sacred geometry paintings. We now go into a year one, 2026—new beginnings, change, something positive from the chaos. The earth and all living things move within cycles, some thousands of years long, cycles within cycles, rotating, spinning round and round but spiraling up, constant moving energy. Everything pulsates, everything breathes in and out, expanding and contracting. We are at a pivotal point of a breath, a second of a pause, and on the verge of a breath of expansion. The earth needs balance. We all want balance. For something to happen the pendulum must move, and it will with positive action. Humanity is waking up. We are moving into the Aquarian age. I believe in the goodness of mankind. The light is winning.
Christmas came and went. Even though I had some setbacks, I had my beautiful live tree, decorated with ornaments that carry memories. I had my fake candles that look real. I have the fireplace that Chris made for me, and I think of the real fire in the wood stove in Maine, when it is cold outside and cozy inside. I love all the traditions of Christmas: the lights, the magic, the music, the movies, the decorations in the shops and homes with strings of lights everywhere, sharing good food, and being with friends and family on Christmas Day.
I love all the seasons, but there is something special about winter—cold with the beauty of snow and having a warm place, a place to sit by a fire of crackling wood and watch flames and breathe the smell as the wood burns. Letting the heat sink into the body after coming in from the cold and relaxing into it. Yes, to being able to look up at the stars on a cold, clear night and experience the vastness of uncountable lights in a ribbon crossing the sky. Yes, YES to life and being physical.
Blessings, and remember, "You are enough as you are." The threads connect us all.
"Being a successful person is not necessarily defined by what you have achieved, but by what you have overcome." —Fannie Flagg
"You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot—it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive." —Maya Angelou
Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift.
"The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to BE IT." —Amanda Gorman
