Monthly Archives: June 2017

Sixty Six, for Sixty-Six, Part XL: Breathe, and Be

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Posted by on in children, Community, Personal Values, Social

June 4, 2017, Prescott-

I made it a point to watch several of the You Tube videos coming out of today’s One Love Manchester concert, organized as a response to last month’s bombing, and, by extension, to yesterday’s attacks in London.

The performances, in my view, were heartfelt, as was the outpouring of support from responsible adults, worldwide.  Any one critiquing the “quality” of the singing, or the motives of the people involved, is missing the point.  Many young people, both male and female, were injured-and 22 lost their lives, needlessly.  Entertainment is part of a full and healthy life.  The kids had every right to go to an entertainment venue of their choice, so long as no one else was harmed by that choice.  No one should have to answer to conservative religious zealots, macho men who hate girl singers, or anyone else, for that matter.

Enough of that, though.  The focus was, and will remain, on the healing of those communities which have experienced deadly attacks.  It takes most people a long time, and some never fully recover.  Survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack and of the World War II concentration camps, have been forever scarred by their experiences.  People who were in New York and Arlington, VA, during the September 11, 2001 horrors, are hard put to set those events aside.  They ought not have to answer to conspiracy theorists, or naysayers of any stripe.

The same is true of those recovering from these latest terror episodes.  The focus needs to be on just breathing, on being.  I have a lot of love for kids, and for people in general.  Victims have a special place in my heart, as they do in the hearts of a good many.  Terrorists and haters, so long as they persist, will never count for much in my book.

Sixty Six, for Sixty-Six, Part XXXIX: Duality

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Social, Striving

June 3, 2017, Prescott-

I went to see the film, “Wonder Woman”, tonight.  Of course, it is a fantasy, and quite over the top, but it does raise issues of the reality behind female empowerment and of the dual nature of human beings.

The title character, being a super hero, born to a demigod, of a mortal human,  has dual natures.  She uses her strength for the good of the innocent and tempers it with the fully loving power of the human female.

There is an exchange, towards the climax of the film, between Wonder Woman and the film’s archvillain, in which she points out that humans are not, as he claims, inherently wicked, but rather are dual in nature.  She makes it her mission to stand up for the goodness of human nature, while standing up TO the baser, destructive tendencies of mankind.

Here, art suggests life.  I have, most of my own life, favoured a loving response, even to injustice, over one of violence.  Toughness is sometimes necessary, in a tough world, but I was raised to choose such battles carefully.   Yet, for being judicious and tender-hearted, in the Maine of the mid-1970’s, I was labeled, by people who were themselves quite weak, as effeminate and insipid.  The Southwest has been more accommodating of a gentle nature, than the Northeast was, when I lived there, but I sense things are changing all over.

Each of us has a duality to face.  So it goes, every day that passes with my having chosen love over fear and loathing, that a daily accounting brings a sense of having lived another one, in a successful manner.

 

Need v. Want

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Family, Striving

June 2, 2017, Prescott-

I postponed tomorrow’s scheduled drive north,

due to complications with finances.

It’ll all get straightened out,

a matter of need trumping want.

Several people have posted “Go Fund Me” blurbs,

some for making rent,

others for buying a plane ticket,

still others for medical care,

or meals.

I won’t do such a thing,

for myself,

as there is no NEED.

In my family,

Dad said “If you want it, earn it”.

I still go by that.

If I get extra, from the Universe,

beautiful.

Mostly, though, it’s what I have made.

Those waiting for their gifts from me,

will just have to wait a bit longer,

until the mess gets sorted out.

In the meantime,

my car payment goes out, tomorrow.

Sixty Six, for Sixty-Six, Part XXXVIII: It’s Not Heat That Hurts

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Posted by on in Family, Inner Struggles, Service Activities, Striving

June 1, 2017, Phoenix-

I came here to do two things.  First was to deliver a box of books and some food, to a loving, struggling young couple.  An entry error on WAZE  put me in central Phoenix, whilst their home was in a town several miles to the west.  A phone call, a corrected entry and some help from the staff of the apartment complex’s leasing office helped get the job done.  Husband is a mechanical innovator, and a true survivor.  Wife is a sweet lady, and works tirelessly, as well. I am glad to see how far they have come, as a unit.

My second task was easier:  Getting a document for my son.  Since that included stopping at Romanelli’s Deli, not far from his alma mater, I was in the best of graces.  A delectable sausage and peppers submarine sandwich and purified water set the rest of my afternoon on a good footing.  Promise to self:  Spinach and baby kale for dinner, tonight! The document was in hand, ten minutes after I filed my request, and the very professional Registrar gave me her business card, so that the process will be even more streamlined, still.

While tooling about my home city of ten years (2001-11), I felt a still aching pull on my spirit.  The area in which I spent most of my time was where most of the day-to-day heartache occurred, and the west side was where Penny spent her final days.  I know I have to root these feelings out, and not be shy about being in these parts of our blessed Home.  There are many good people in the Phoenix area, people who loved us, and were hurt that I moved away.  The pain, to me, comes from the anonymity of living in a large city, with so many people who came here to be anonymous.

Anonymity brings out the worst in many.  The mentality seems to be:  ” I don’t know anyone here, so why remember my manners?”  This mindset is hardly limited to Phoenix, or to the Southwest.  I’ve seen it elsewhere, wherever there are large numbers of “move-ins”. I tend to think of others, just because it gives meaning to my life.  I’d sooner let a headstrong, overwrought person have a small “victory”, or two, if it:  a) doesn’t cost me much, in terms of dignity and b) doesn’t give him/her a false sense of entitlement.  There are many things in one’s day which are best let happen, rather than having an equally entitled “arbiter” step in and unilaterally make things worse.  I trust in the conscience to kick into gear, more often than we give it credit for doing.

So, I feel pretty good about having come here, today, and it wasn’t all that hot outside.