@HomewithDean - Homily 10/17 - a podcast by KFI AM 640 (KFI-AM)

This week was Tina’s birthday. So indulge me for a moment and let me revel in just a little bit of what you've probably already guessed about my best friend, Tina ...

She loves the simple life, but don't think for a moment that means she's accustomed to settling. Tina holds herself and her life to a very high standard, and we all benefit (me especially) from the positive results each and every day.

Loving the simple life means her ambitions are not centered on acquiring more and more, but rather doing the harder thing ... going deeper and deeper into the wonder of what already surrounds her. She has wisely embraced time as her life's most valuable commodity. And instead of spending her precious time working in vain to own the whole ocean, she'd rather discover the ocean in a single drop of water.

If that makes her sound like a Zen master, well, it’s because she is a kind of spiritual master, but definitely NOT the Zen type. Tina's life philosophies are far simpler than any religious dogma, but her spirit is rooted far deeper. She is an authentic believer. Believer in what? In whatever is authentic enough in this life to be worthy of her belief. When she discovers something beautiful or healthy or just plain old good, she becomes a powerful advocate. And if she chooses to believe in you? Well, then you will never have a more loyal or fierce friend.

Tina believes in Life itself. She believes in wonder. She believes in all things precious and lowly and funny and friendly and furry. Tina believes in honesty. I’ve never encountered a more honest human being. Sometimes people like that make us a little uncomfortable, but it is a small price to pay for the far greater comfort of knowing exactly where you stand. When Tina smiles at you, you know you are ok. If Tina says, “I love you,” she does. She is a woman without duplicity or guile or hidden agenda.

As a creative soul Tina loves a good story. Yet, at the end of the day she will always trust animals more than most people precisely because animals don't tell stories.

Tina’s most famous—or perhaps infamous—quote is, "Everything you need is in nature." A maxim for which she sometimes gets teased because folks might think she means you should weave underwear out of palm fronds or build a car out of tree branches. But what she’s really saying is, "You see, you see, life is enough! If we can only learn to embrace it, work with it, not overlook it or neglect it, then what we've been given, what is already right here in our hands, is enough!"

If that isn't spiritual mastery then I don't know what is. But Tina's life mastery will, in most cases, continue to be understated and sometimes go unnoticed. That's because she is a doer, not so much a talker or a writer like, for instance, her unremarkable husband. She will likely never write a long spiritual tome outlining her life philosophy. I doubt she’d ever want to. She just lives it. Every moment of every day. Which is why she will always be the master, and I, the student. That is as it should be. My life partner, my best friend, a force of nature, a wild thing of which I am but an observer sitting in a blind and writing for all the world to understand what I am learning from her. Which means I have the best job ever.

She is, in one sense, ageless. But in another her age has brought her to a place where she is largely at peace with herself. In fact, I think it’s safe to say she is the happiest, most contented, and most at peace that she has ever been. As her best friend and biggest fan, that makes me very happy indeed. The world is a far far better place for her being in it. She is my world, and should you ever be blessed for her to enter your world then you too will begin to understand how every day she inspires me to build myself a beautiful life.

Further episodes of KFI Featured Segments

Further podcasts by KFI AM 640 (KFI-AM)

Website of KFI AM 640 (KFI-AM)