Conversations with Calliope- Gift of the Earth

(Sunset on Honeoye Lake)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Still meditating on last night.
CALLIOPE: On what specifically?
JOE: Sunset. I spent the day reading and talking about what we do to the earth and don't even seem to notice our destructive ways.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Despite it all, the earth favors us with treats such as fantastic sunsets despite all our worst habits.
CALLIOPE: An interesting thought.
JOE: My question is where it will take me.
CALLIOPE: Do you have any ideas?
JOE: Not specifically. I realize I can't change everyone's attitude about the earth any more than I can change how people treat each other.
CALLIOPE: You're not God.
JOE: Exactly. Even God leaves it to us how we treat the earth and each other. Although we have free choice, we also must accept the consequences of our decisions.
CALLIOPE: Maybe you should write about the connection.
JOE: I have been, but maybe I need to do more of it. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Time with Nature

(Into the Woods)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you take a break as promised?
JOE: I did. I took a walk down a country road and communed with nature's beauty on the best day I have seen all summer.
CALLIOPE: Good timing.
JOE: I can't agree more.
CALLIOPE: What did you discover?
JOE: Birds, cornflowers, Queen Anne's lace, fields, woods and wild black raspberries.
CALLIOPE: Did you take along your camera?
JOE: Not this time. I had to choose between just being with nature or capturing it. I chose the former.
CALLIOPE: Not a bad choice. What did the experience do for you?
JOE: Helped gain me some perspective on life. It's the journey which matters, not the goal.
CALLIOPE: Others might disagree.
JOE: Let them. We all have to choose our own paths and make of them what we will. I'm happy with the choices I have made.
CALLIOPE: Glad to hear it.
JOE: Thanks. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Something Personal

(El Morro Castle- San Juan)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Mulling a self revelation.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like there might be a story to it.
JOE: There is. Yesterday I spent the morning at a meeting with mental health staff and fellow board members.
CALLIOPE: How did it go?
JOE: Mixed. The first part was a pleasant exchange and presentation with the staff. The second part turned to some thorny issues.
CALLIOPE: Where did you find the revelation?
JOE: We were discussing staffing and the issue of Americorps came up. Someone wished I was available for their project rather than already committed to the arts council.
CALLIOPE: And your response?
JOE: I realized only as I said it that there are many personal issues related to mental health involving my family which make it hard for me to be any more involved with the field than I am now.
CALLIOPE: Is that what made you turn to writing instead of mental health?
JOE: In retrospect, I think so. I have plenty of experiences to draw on but don't want to revisit them, at least the personal ones.
CALLIOPE: Good realization.
JOE: I thought so. Talk with you tomorrow.