We're back from our family vacation in Holland feeling healthy, happy, relaxed, and grateful for all the fine food, fun and good times we had with our extended Dutch family.  And for arriving home safely and comfortably, though I freely admit to being a little less grateful for the 101° heat that greeted us.  Having been immersed in the cool, lush-green Dutch landscape for a couple of weeks, it was depressing to see how distressed and thirsty our yard looked.  So the very first thing I did after unloading our bags was to change clothes, grab a garden hose and water a few of our favorite herbs and perennials.  Despite being sweaty, sleepy and more than slightly jet-lagged, it felt great to give my droopy plants a drink and watch them perk up in the blink of an eye.
 
Standing there with the nozzle in hand, I enjoyed an impromptu caravan of visions that my imagination was projecting onto the spray mist before me:  images of all the family members, friends, and friendly strangers we'd met on our trip - and how each of them had "watered" my soul in various ways.  How much I'd enjoyed "spraying" them with love, and receiving their love in return.  Visions, too, of all the wonderful folks who'd been "watering" our lives by taking such good care of our home and various Circle duties during our absence. OK, so maybe I was just overly tired and slightly delusional.  But as the parade of images kept dancing their way through the life-giving spray soaking the garden, I continued with the metaphor, marveling at all the love and support flowing freely through our lives.  How wonderful it is that each of us has an infinite capacity for love, which we can pour into the lives of loved ones and strangers alike - and receive from them in return. 
 
This, in turn, caused me to reflect on how our weekly Sunday Morning Circle gatherings give us regularly scheduled opportunities to experience and express this Sacred flow of love in powerfully ritualistic and creative ways.  And how excited I am about our first-ever Sunday Sundown Circle at the Quaker Meeting House this coming weekend, August 2nd.  What a great new opportunity to allow Spirit and each other to "water" us in a slightly more relaxed, low-wattage format!  PLEASE NOTE:  the Sunday Sundown Circle is not meant to replace our morning Circles, but to supplement them for the convenience of those folks who can't attend Sunday mornings and/or prefer a more intimate setting than Jump-Start theater affords.
 
For now, the Sundown Circle will occur just once a month, but it may become more frequent if it proves successful.  Our intention is for each Sundown Circle to build on the thematic focus of that week's Morning Circle, using a gentle blend of non-amplified music, discussion and meditation that seems particularly well-suited to the sweetly contemplative atmosphere of the Quaker Meeting House.  Hopefully, it will also enable more folks to join us in celebrating our Oneness. 
 
In any case, I personally see this as a great new opportunity to experience and express the joyful power of our Celebration Circle community.  To be surrounded by others who are consciously choosing to grow their capacity to give and receive, to shower and be showered with love.  Thank you for the part you have played in helping the Circle grow.  I trust that you, too, will continue to grow along with us.
 
With gratitude and blessings,