Every Stone, A Different Shape

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 9, 2021 in children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

September 9, 2021- The little boy, resting his head on his father’s shoulder as the family came through the door of Wildflower Bakery, looked intensely at me while I held the door for them. He grinned at me, across the room, until his family’s breakfast came-then the toddler had a very healthy appetite for scrambled eggs. It would not be presumptuous to conclude that he had a certain level of appreciation for that small act of courtesy. Small children, and infants-even fetuses, can pick up on sounds, gentle touches and, once born, facial expressions.

After my dental cleaning, the itinerary led to a visit to Penny’s grave, where I noted that a cent coin had been laid on it. Casting about, I noted that all other gravestones, at least for three rows, also had at least one penny laying on them. Some had several coins, but no matter. It was someone’s gesture of kindness.

Next was lunch at Local Jonny’s, one of my two favourites in Cave Creek-and my most likely stop for a light lunch, on the way back from a Phoenix errand. The ladies were gracious and attentive, as ever, with everyone getting prompt and considerate service. It was too hot, even for misters, on the side patio so I stayed indoors. A young woman and her daughter, who looked to be about five, took the table to my left. There was alternately a tension and camaraderie between the two, with sternness followed by happily sharing photos. Confusion is sometimes the price we pay for seeking comfort from those who want to both please their loved ones and yet exert a level of independence.

Every atom, grain of sand, snowflake, stone, oak leaf, ant, tree sloth, elephant and human being is different from every other among their kind. It has been said that a heart-shaped rock is a special act of God, as is a person who acts angelic. In reality, the Creator does no mix and match. We are, each and all, beloved at the time of our conceptions, from the onset of our existence. Each is unique, and is thus, for reasons known only to the Supreme Being.

So it was, that I encountered and drew the interest of two very different children, and a host of varied adults, in the course of what was a routine day. I see this partly as the heightening of my own awareness and partly as the intensifying energy of a planet-wide human bond. The days of being alone in a crowd are finished.

Just Because You Can…..

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 8, 2021 in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Striving

September 8, 2021- In this time of real and perceived threats to personal freedom of choice:

Just because you can run, pell-mell, into traffic, doesn’t mean you should.

Just because you can have sexual intercourse with someone you just met, doesn’t mean it’s the thrill of a lifetime.

Just because you can try to fly without wings, doesn’t mean you will soar.

Just because you can live a lie, doesn’t mean that’s the road to salvation.

Just because you can ignore the turmoil taking place across town, across the country or across the ocean, doesn’t mean you are isolated.

Just because you can intimidate many people, doesn’t mean you are their Lord and Master.

Just because you can abandon those who love you, doesn’t mean you are footloose and fancy-free.

Just because you can hoard, doesn’t mean you are wealthy.

Just because you can kill someone else’s innocent child, doesn’t mean you are giving that person her freedom.

Behaviour always has consequences.

Re-Communicado

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 7, 2021 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

September 7, 2021- A call came, out of the blue, and in short order, a bit of unfinished business was re-scheduled. The medical procedures that I had to cancel earlier, will now be a fait accompli before Thanksgiving, which seems appropriate.

The friend for whom I am covering, for a few more days, will be back soon. I’m sure the next chapter of needful things will be very clear, shortly after I finish this effort, on Friday. Whether this involves the Red Cross, and disaster relief, remains to be seen.

The tie between these three is that there was a fair degree of lack of communication. It was only this morning that the school situation became clear. The medical business was resolved this afternoon. Red Cross gives hints of when I might be called, but that will depend entirely on the situation on the ground, in northern California and in the areas affected by Hurricane/Tropical Depression Ida. Then, there are Larry, which may hit parts of New England, as yet and an unnamed depression that is taking aim at central and northeast Florida.

I mention these, in owning up to a fair degree of difficulty that I still have, with being held in abeyance. The lesson is to do better at contemplating the whole picture. Dozens, if not hundreds of factors can enter into any one series of events.

In the end, I always find out things when I am meant to find out.

Tribes and Such

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 6, 2021 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

September 6, 2021- Today being Labor Day in the U.S., many thoughts and expressions of thanks were offered to Frances Perkins, whose reaction to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, of March 25, 1911, metamorphized into the workplace safety movement of the 1930s-1970s. That it reached many of its goals is a grand social triumph, but it will never be something that can be set on a shelf. Human greed and self-centeredness can and will seep back into the consciousness of social policy, if we are not careful. Ms. Perkins was a genuine American hero and it would not be a bad thing at all, were her visage to grace one of the bills or coins of United States currency-perhaps even a bitcoin, if it becomes part of the American exchequer.

This afternoon, I visited my somewhat laid-up hiking buddy, who was injured last week and is now on extended hiatus from the trails. Our conversation turned the matter of another friend finding her tribe. HB remarked that my tribe was all over the place, which is true, essentially. I have detailed the names of friends, extended family and those I regard as angels. That some are on one end of the ideological spectrum and some on the other end, with most in between, does not trouble either my basically progressive stance on many matters or belief in the sanctity of all life.

Some tribal members are solely seen on Zoom, these days. Others hang out in downtown Prescott, or at Rafter Eleven, or at Synergy Cafe. Some live in western Arizona, northern Nevada, eastern Tennessee, northern Indiana or all along the three coasts. My heart family, as I’ve said repeatedly, is found in any number of places and I know I will find more of them, as time unfolds.

There will always be outliers, who can be accepted for who they are, as long as they don’t hurt others. One such was a young man, with a rather pleasant voice, who sang acapella on the edge of Courthouse Square, this afternoon. He sang “I love myself and I love you (to a few random passersby). I love my backscratcher (which he held up, for all to see).” Telling him he had earned A for effort, I placed a tip in his jar and walked further around the Square, taking in the Crafts Fair and the blessed mass of humanity who had gathered along the sidewalks. I don’t mind crowds. They are proof that our species is alive and thriving.

Many thanks to all who labour honestly, today and every day.

Barricades

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 3, 2021 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

September 3, 2021– Firefighters holding the line against the Caldor and Dixie Fires, burning large swaths of northern California, are making progress, as of two hours ago. There is an enormous amount of physical energy being directed at the enemy that is wildfire. There is also a tremendous amount of spiritual energy being directed at the blazes, as well as at their opposite numbers, the hurricanes and remnant tropical depressions that ravage the southern and northeastern sections of the country-and at all manner of similar catastrophic events around the world.

Barricades, especially against harm, can be put up and maintained by both forms of energy. There are also barricades against progress, or against the betterment of life. We see many of both types, being put up simultaneous to one another, in the course of public affairs. The former revolve around inclusion of diverse people and the advancement of human dignity. The latter are more concerned with restriction, exclusion and the enrichment of the few.

Both types of energy may be used, in either case. There are constructive actions that people across the political spectrum can take, in which the sole difference is an emphasis on individual effort versus collective action. With destructive actions, the reverse is true. Conservatives favour individual initiative in making life better, but indulge in group think when plotting acts of limitation or destruction. Progressives favour collectivity in the betterment of life, but they are prone to be lone wolves or small cell teams, when rising in opposition to what they see as oppression.

The course of public events being what has been lately, I would not be surprised to see both sides change up their tactics, and reverse matters further. In the best of all worlds, there would not be any need seen for such antipathy between the two sides, as all would realize that they are, in large measure, being played by a select few. Having friends on both ends of the spectrum, and at all points in between, I see only the universal recognition of human dignity, with room for both kinds of positive action, as the solution to all manner of ills facing mankind, and our planet.

A Sestina for the Suffering

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 1, 2021 in collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Poetry, Social, Striving

September 1, 2021- The need to be of help in relieving suffering, be it of humans or of animals, is among the most fundamental urges most of us have. This sestina, a verse of six stanzas, rotating six end words, and capped by an envoi of three lines, addresses the suffering that is encountered by many.

We go about our daily deeds, both joy and drudgery, meeting peace, to outward-seeming. Life has its minor struggles, persistent, sometimes nagging disappointments, and adventure. There is, however, no growth or triumph, without struggle. We learn, at any early age, that one safeguard against harm is that of attachment. The warmth of mother, the sturdiness of father, the friendship of sibling, curl up in memory. As we grow, there are many reactions to those around us; the best of these being empathy.

The plight of the poor, those living below what we have come to expect, summons empathy. There are hovels, tents and rolled-out blankets, which defy credulity, even to outward-seeming. A visit to an encampment, even seeing the modest trappings of ingenuity, is seared in memory. The day-to-day struggles are not uniformly dreaded by the homeless, who may see adventure. A rolled-up camp and the camaraderie of mates may trigger attachment. There comes to be seen as a truism, that what matters is not the destination, but the struggle.

A person, or an animal, waging the fight for freedom, draws admirers to their struggle. There is no end to the outpouring, at least initially, of empathy. The identification of onlooker with target, and against oppressor, becomes a torrid attachment. The course of action becomes clear, to outward-seeming. Some will join in the fray, if only to experience a rare adventure. On their deathbeds, the onlookers turned fighters will whisper their memory.

There is a power, though, in the storehouse that is memory. It nags, it pleads and ultimately forces the onlooker to join the struggle. There is scant relaxation, maybe a dearth of comfort, in the ensuing adventure. The fire of action fuels the sword of courage, forged on the anvil of empathy. Those not convinced of the truth that is spoken to power see waste, to outward-seeming. Greed, envy, avarice, lust and pride are among the foci of their attachment.

The suffering, living day-to-day, may grasp at their helpers, in oblique attachment. The y have yet to experience the living out of a dream, with squalor their sole memory. The plight of the oppressed can seem intractable, to outward-seeming. It is all too easy to kneel in pleading, not wanting to engage in righteous struggle. It is the rising, however, that engenders and sustains empathy. It is the fortitude, the joining of hands, that sustain the real adventure.

The signals are clear, when an oppressed soul stands and embarks on such adventure. The multitude gathers, moves forward in serried lines, and hope is their sole attachment. They walk along, forge past all obstacles, and bathe one another in empathy. In time, the victories, no matter how fleeting, build a treasury of memory. The triumphs fuel, and the setbacks harden, the boldness of struggle. Then, there will be a measure of unity, between inner perception and outward-seeming.

All in all, what is past is prologue, and what is to be, generates from memory. The chef who cooks recollection, needs a fresh supply of struggle. There is no daylight, in the end, between inner perception and outward-seeming.

Purists may bemoan the relative lack of iambic pentameter, but such is life.

Unstuck

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on August 31, 2021 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 31, 2021- I was given to a bit of a rant, yesterday, none of which I regret. I still stand for the betterment of the lives of people, through networking, consistent effort, perseverance. I will never subscribe to the quick fixes of begging, unilateral solving of other peoples’ problems, exclusion of certain groups for the benefit of the relative few.

A student asked today, whether it was to be the norm for people to be expected to hate being White. It should never be, that anyone be made to hate who he or she is. I stand, foursquare, for inclusion-of everyone, regardless of their falling into any category. It is violence, deluded thinking, taking advantage of others and actively working to deprive others of their God-given rights, which I oppose. The student in question should certainly, always, love who he is.

Many around the world are, simply put, “stuck in second gear”, to quote the theme song of the old TV show, “Friends”. I have gone through periods of such a state of mind and body. The Baha’i Faith helped me get unstuck, but I had to make the consistent, persevering effort to overcome that state of mind completely. Only then could the balance between conservative and progressive, rational and emotional, decisive and contemplative be established.

Being unstuck brings greater responsibility, as well as greater reward, and I look forward to being, more and more, part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Wellness Trumps Sinuses

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on August 29, 2021 in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

August 29, 2021- A brief, localized fullness was in my head, for much of the day, with none of the aches and congestion reported by those who have contracted one form of COVID or another. Yes, I am one of those who has not let up on wellness regimen, throughout this pandemic. It is the only way I can function, in all that needs to be done.

Thus, it was a blessing that the sinus headache responded well to an hour’s nap, a bowl of spicy chicken tortilla soup, being out of the desert heat and the clearing of the skies tonight, after a few bolts of dry lightning (which thankfully did not start any fires.)

I am feeling energized, also, by the elevated conversations that my friends in Lake Havasu City and I had last night and this morning. There is strength that comes from facing issues and from helping others with what they think are intractable matters. This will long have to continue. A week more, at least, lies ahead at Prescott High School, (with Friday devoted to another elementary classroom), with the days after Labor Day being something of a cipher, as yet.

There is one thing I haven’t figured out yet: How do we resolve the headaches caused by ignorant prattling? (i.e. “Creative Comrades is a Communist organization!”) The aforementioned organization is a job-search assistant, in Lake Havasu City, hardly a hotbed of Marxism.

Privacy

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on August 29, 2021 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

August 28, 2021, Lake Havasu City- Years ago, I happened by this resort and retirement community, an hour from any other community of comparable size, in any direction. It was the third week of May, and Private Property Week. This told me all that I needed to know about the mindset of the community at the time.

I have a healthy respect for people’s property, so in and of itself, this was, and is, not an unsettling concept. What I do find disturbing, however, is the lengths to which our society has placed property over people. Fences, and walls, supposedly make good neighbours. This is rich, to one who grew up in a neighbourhood where there were no walls that shut people out from one another, and the privacy fences that set one yard from another were ONLY in the back yards. People were warmly greeted by the same folks whose back yards were havens of privacy, extensions of the bedrooms and playrooms, as it were. We would see our neighbours, every day. I learned, or had reinforced, critical life lessons from those who lived around us. When my father passed on, it was two neighbour ladies who fed the large extended family that showed up in our back yard. As time went on, and the older people passed, it was as if I had lost treasured aunts and uncles, besides those to whom I was more closely related.

This comes to me this evening, as my hosts speak of how those in this lovely but often forlorn city seem more tense and grim in their daily encounters. The Southwest Garage Door Syndrome, by which people leave and enter their homes, in their cars, by way of said garage door, is as commonplace here as it is anywhere in the suburbs of Phoenix, Las Vegas or Los Angeles. My younger host, a gregarious and garrulous sort, who has much to say of import, notes that his conversations in shops, restaurants and other public spaces around town are often exercises in the hard uplifting of people who are either ready to snap or are so far down in the dumps, it’d take a steam shovel to bring them out of their holes.

Essentially, from where I am, we are social beings who have often made the mistake of assuming we are stuck on our own, with no recourse to meaningful engagement. It’s always a pleasure to be in the company of those who see past that self-imposed trap. This, I came to realize at a rather late date (about fifteen years ago), but better late than never.

How I Overcame Self-Absorption

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on August 28, 2021 in children, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 27, 2021-

There was a time when I bumped into a clearly visible barrier pole, whilst backing my car out of a space, at Breakheart Reservation, in my hometown of Saugus. My head was so far into a matter of such earthshaking importance, that I can’t even vaguely recall what it was. I remember the fender bender, though, and the mildly amused twelve-year-old kid who chuckled at my ignorance.

Mom and Dad didn’t raise us to ignore our surroundings, and I caught more than a few rounds of indignation, when I turned too far inward. Gradually, in the wider world, the core of my being, which loved my family and those around us, took focus. Penny came into my life, and we helped each other break out of our respective shells. Students, clients, by the hundreds, became my focus and between wife and children, I realized that my life actually mattered far more than I had thought. Aram became our responsibility and made sure, in turn, that I didn’t lapse into my former bubble.

There was a long eleven years, in which my wife was my primary responsibility. In the end, son and his crew, Penny’s family and my brothers were our primary support group. The cackling crows who castigated me for using the adjective “my”, when I referred to Penny, offered absolutely nothing in the way of help-save their mealy-mouthed ideological puffery. There were also the masses, who went about their business, but at least didn’t get in my way.

On my own, I had choices to make, and slowly shed the residue of self-absorption, once again. A few women came to me, hoping that perhaps they would be the next Penny. It didn’t happen, and life took a far wider turn. I almost deluded myself into thinking that one or two others might be the next Penny. That didn’t happen, either, and life took a wider turn, still. There were three things that propelled me out of my bubble, altogether.

The first was dealing with five people who were/are so intensely self-absorbed, in their own right, that I was constantly wondering what, if any, place there was in the world for me, or any other good soul who was just trying to live a good life. Four of these five are gone from my world now, banned for constantly magnifying every single mistake I made, ignoring any good thing I did and yet clawing at me for attention. The fifth at least thanks me for what has already been done. I thank them, though, for making me aware of all the times I was the same towards others.

Secondly, I found myself largely responsible, for the well-being of over 80 people in a storm shelter, in Alexandria, Louisiana, late last summer, during the daylight hours of a Red Cross operation. That is when my work never stopped, until wiser heads pointed out that the opposite of self-absorption is not complete other-immersion. Then came a more balanced view, that both my personal needs and those of others had equal importance. I also realized that being too deeply in the business of other people robs them of dignity.

Third, the full acceptance of others as complete human beings, beyond their physical trappings and even their personalities, has come about from our collective dealing with COVID and all the climate change-based events that we have faced, and will continue to face, long after I myself have left this earthly life. It takes me three to five seconds to recognize that a woman has pleasing features, that a child is precious, that anyone has an engaging nature.

There are things that are about to happen in this life, that make such an emergence from self-absorption more essential than ever. I look forward to them all.