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One year, 3 months & 2 days in -- Happy Valentine's eve

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To all,

This is a short note (certainly for me) to thank all of you for being there for me, and for each other. I have two announcements and two Valentine's gifts for you:

Announcements:

1) On Wednesday, April 25, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is hosting a benefit for me to help save my farm from confiscation by the feds. The benefit will be at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville and will include an evening of bluegrass and blues with performances by Jonell Mosser and the Mike Henderson Band, and perhaps other special guests. I am very grateful to these premiere musicians for donating their time and to NORML for hosting this benefit.

So please put this date on your calendar and plan to join us. These musicians will pack the house, so as soon as we have the ticket process organized, I will let you know. And if any of you would like to help with organizing and putting on the benefit, the next organizational meeting is Saturday, February 24, at 4:00 pm. Just email me back your interest and I will send you directions to the meeting.

2) On Thursday, May 10 (of this year), I will be released from the halfway house. On Saturday, May 12, I will have a party on my farm to give thanks to all of you who have been there for me in so many ways over the past few minutes. It will be a pot-luck event, and there is plenty of room for camping. If I'm lucky, there may even be some salad greens harvestable from my garden for the party. So put this date on your calendar, polish up your musical instruments and plan to join me as I give thanks to all of you by lighting a
big bonfire by my house (and a small fire in the sauna).

Gifts:

1) Early this morning, I got an email from Nick Hogarth, a young Australian who once worked on my farm helping me plant the blueberries and raspberries. Nick is a fine young man who is now doing research in China. He sent me a link to his home page that includes some truly remarkable photos of his adventures on
the other side of the world. I was struck by the beauty and artistry in his photos, so I would really encourage all of you to take a few minutes (when you have them) to click on the following link and get a guided tour of the other side of Heaven.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yabbieyabbie/

2) Over the past months, I have given lots of thought about many of you, and what you mean in my life. Some of you have known me since I was born, others of you I have known since you were born, still others of you I have had the pleasure of walking the same roads with, and some of you I only know through this (internet) highway. Many of the other halfway "house" residents ask how I can know so many people and what kinds of folks you all are. Some times, I have short, quick responses for them; other times, I still can't frame the answers. With that in mind, I wrote a Valentine's Day poem on the subject of the really important questions we should be able to answer about all the important people in our lives. It follows at the bottom of this email -- I hope you enjoy.

As always, it will be good to hear back from you. Please have a restful and loving Valentine' Day.

Bernie
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Questions About You: As the long, long winter begins to melt away, 2007

If you were a mountain, if you were a valley, if you were an ocean, if you were the sea:
Where would you be?

If you were a wild one, if you were a tame one, if you were corralled, if you were free:
How would I treat you?

If you were a solid or the space in between, if you were matter, if you were energy,
How would I understand you?

If you were a flower, if you were a fragrance, if you were the forest, if you were a tree:
What would you be?

If you were my sight, if you were my sound, if you were my taste, if you were my touch:
How would I sense you?

If you were time, if you were space, if you were the journey, if you were the place:
How would I know when I arrive at you?

If you were a gesture, if you were a greeting, if you were a healing, if you were a feeling:
How would you be part of me?

If you were soulful, if you were spirit, if you were purpose, if you were peace:
How would I share you?

If you were twilight, if you were a twinkle, if you were a marvel, if you were magic:
How would I cherish you?

If you were songbirds, if you were heart songs, if you were the music, if you were the melody:
How would you sound?

If you were a flavor, if you were a scent, if you were a feast, if you were a sacrament:
How would you nourish me?

If you were celestial, if you were empyreal, if you were astronomical, if you were divine:
which heavenly bodies would you be?

If you were a poem, if you were a prayer, if you were a passage, if you were a phrase:
How would I speak and pray you?

If you were serenity, if you were courage, if you were wisdom, if you were surrender:
How would I practice you in my life?

If you were a lifetime, if you were a season, if you were a moment, if you were a memory:
How would I remember you?

If you were a friend, if you were a companion, if you were a role model, if you were a relation:
How would I respect you?

If you were thought, if you were action, if you were resistance, if you were release:
What would I learn from you?

If you were a meditation, if you were a mantra, if you were stillness, if you were silence:
Would you share my Goddess with me?

If you were the rainfall, if you were the river, if you were the springhead, if you were the stream:
Would you wash me clean?

With all of life’s complexities, how can you be so elementary?

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