I look forward to the Mansion meditation class all week; we have a loyal and dedicated group; of between eight and ten.

I invited them to come to meditation with me at Bedlam Farm this week once it warms up a bit. We could sit out in the pasture with the donkeys and the sheep (I’ll get carrots for them) and do our meditating and talking there. They were very excited.

Today, we talked about the challenge of aging, and we prayed and meditated. We talked about aging, and I read from a Henri Nouwen passage in one of his books.

We need creative tension in our lives, he wrote. Otherwise, “we no longer expect something new to happen. We become cynical or self-satisfied, or simply bored.

“The challenge of aging,” he wrote, “is waiting with an even greater patience and an ever stronger expectation. If we believe in God, he writes, “we can look forward exultantly to God’s glory.”

And if we don’t happen to believe in God, I added that there are many ways to explore hope and faith and gratitude for our friends and families and every hour of our lives.

The residents love talking about issues like this, they rarely get a chance. I am touched and surprised by their openness and eagerness to talk.

And they love learning to meditate. They have the time and the need.

Meditation can help us look at ourselves, I said, and think about our mission. That drew a lot of nodding heads.

We can also find ways to be creative and challenge our minds and interests.

It was a good talk, and I read from some prayers and essays. It will be great to have them on the farm on a warm Spring Day. The donkeys love visitors with carrots.

We did our 10-minute meditation and several breathing exercises. I played a guided tape on how to deal with feeling overwhelmed.

We are reviving our Pen Pal program for those many people who keep asking for it to come back. We’re clearing a few bureaucratic obstacles and will soon publish a list of the residents who want to get letters. Some of them can answer, some can’t.

My policy is never to ask the residents if they received letters or have answered them; that is often perceived as pressure, and many of the residents fear angering people.

I can’t promise you will ever hear back, but much of the time, people do.

Writing scares some of the residents; they are working-class farm people and are insecure about writing in most cases.

I’m also starting a program (at Tania Woodward’s request)to put some flowers on the nine dining tables at the Mansion. I’m talking to Heidi at Country Power Products in Greenwich, N.Y.; she is a gifted florist.

We’re looking for long-lasting, straightforward flowers like carnations to brighten up the tables. If we can figure out how to keep the costs down, I’d love to do it regularly. It means a lot to the residents to see fresh flowers.

I could use some help from the Army Of Good with this program, It will not  be expensive, but the Mansion Fund, like the refugee fund, has gotten a good workout lately (two new residents urgently need clothes.)

We’ve also ordered a dozen air plants to decorate the Mansion’s newly painted hallways.

That would be great if you could help; it should be too expensive via Paypal, [email protected], Venmo, Jon-Katz@Jon-Katz 13. You can also send a check to Jon Katz, The Mansion Fund, P.O.  Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. This is a lovely example of looking for small acts of great kindness.

Thanks.

(Photo, Maureen, meditation class.