THIS VAST TREASURE Dear Lord, kind Lord, gracious Lord, I pray Thou wilt look on all I love, tenderly today, And with all the needy, oh divide, I pray-- This vast treasure of CONTENT that is mine today. ‘That sentiment, tucked away in 1938 for future reference, has this year (in midsummer 2009) come to full resolution for me. This morning, as I rested my 85-year-old limbs at the hilltop of Lincoln Lane, I wanted to sing it aloud as a sort of sacramental prayer. How good life is—the mere living, “how fit to employ all the soul and the senses with joy.” (Now, where did THAT come from?) Dear loved ones: If it were only possible to divide this vast treasure among any or all of you who might at this time be needy. If only its components could be parceled out to bless each of you according to your present needs. If only my weak prayers to that Giver of All Good Things could effect those transfers. I do know that there is a small seed within each of you which swells and grows under certain conditions; and all of you understand it and many of the laws that govern it. This is not intended as a preachment but as an acknowledgment of the options available to each of us. And I know that the powers of a thankful heart are developing for you, commensurate with your desires and efforts, and that you are already outdistancing me in many ways. May CONTENTMENT be the capstone of your summer! Fi, Jon) = ely B09