On a Zoom call, this evening, the moderator put forth a telling message: “It is not necessary for me to put out your candle, so that mine may burn brighter.”
Cynics may counter-“Too many lights put each other out.”
I beg to differ. Life is not a zero sum game. Some conservatives want a world without progressives. Some progressives can’t wait to rid our planet of conservatives. I find either prospect an empty one. There are features, of extremists on both sides, that I find reprehensible- From the alt-right: The murder of an African-American jogger, on February 23, by two white men; the drawings of swastikas and nooses; “Rassus” jokes, told by both whites and Native Americans; ANY hint that one race is superior to another. From the extreme left: The caricatures of conservatives as knuckle-dragging hominids; ANY defense of pedophilia (which occurs among both liberals and conservatives, by the way); advocacy of wholesale slaughter of those in power.
I’ve covered the need for an array of responsible viewpoints, in an earlier post. So, I will end with this: I know plenty of respectable, responsible and loving people, on both sides of the chasm. I know plenty of decent, morally sound people, among all ethnicities, economic levels, creeds and ways of life. My candle doesn’t need yours to be snuffed out, in order for it to shine brightly. Come on home.
I arose earlier than usual, this morning. I just could not sleep past 5:30. Summer is like that for me.
This is a day often set aside, in much of the world, to honour labour. There are a vast number of workers who deserve this honour-the medical community, those who provide food, beverages, beneficial pharmaceuticals and naturopathic remedies, first responders ( as always), spiritual and psychological advisers and sanitation workers-among others. Your efforts are more valuable than ever.
Then, too, this is the beginning, essentially of Teacher Appreciation Week-or at least the cusp of it. Teachers are more the invisible heroes of the current pandemic. Those who have held up nicely, deserve extra praise. Those who are sinking, deserve extra support.
I noticed a couple of items, relative to Special Needs children. There is an article, in this month’s National Geographic Magazine, about autistic adults. The emphasis is on those with severe needs, but I am still grateful to see us be the focus of empathic attention, in the press. I also saw a photo of a “favourite cap” to which a mother sewed buttons, so that her little boy would feel comfortable, while wearing a mask.
Things that made me smile: The energetic, effervescent departing president of a college club showed up on my e-mail feed, with a proposal for a club handbook; Earth Rising and my cosmic advisor each had energizing assessments of what lies ahead in May; paying rent (thankfully, not a problem for me) was made easy by the assistance of a Tablet Teller. Yes, a roving teller, accepting deposits using an encrypted Tablet, is one of the outgrowths of the current crisis.
This month has not started out all that well, for many, and we can only change that by pulling together- not in serving as fodder for those Trollmasters, who thrive on sowing division.
Part II, of “HAL and Griff” will appear on Saturday’s blog. In the meantime:
We have, as is Americans’ wont, reached the Rim of the Grand Canyon. Everyone is right, in the confines of their own silos, and whoever dares caution someone not to call for the firing, arrest, or DEATH, of another human being, who happens to be either suspected of wrongdoing or is the focus of exposes of various levels of veracity, is an unctious waste of DNA in his/her own right. This speaks volumes about those who stand in judgment.
A few thoughts, then, from my own humble and fallible mind:
We each have a dual nature- There are things about which we are self-centered and “freedom-loving” and there are things about which we are supremely giving and kind.
I believe in the sanctity of life-from the moment of conception, AND I believe it is a mother’s place to decide what is done with her body, hopefully choosing adoption over abortion, but her informed decision, nonetheless-and no one else’s.
I believe that a community can and should take the stance that the lives of everyone-richest to poorest, of all ethnicities, genders, ages and sexual orientations, are sacred, as well. I believe that respect for everyone’s sensibilities, with regard to health, is just common courtesy. I also believe that no one should be deprived of livelihood, for an open-ended period of time. Staggered shifts have been proposed for school children- the same could conceivably work for those whose jobs preclude work from home. Ditto for using common sense, with regard to spacing of people whose infection status is unknown.
We are also in a state of flux, which I know is scary for many. Humanity has been at this juncture before, when barbarian hordes have invaded their homelands. A micororganism is not a barbarian, so there is the all-too-human tendency to turn one’s perceived opponent into said barbarian. This, to me, is valuable time wasted.
It’s time to wake up, gear up and stand up-for the raising of a truly shining humanity.
“To whom much is given, much is expected.” I have heard this since childhood, and know that it has applied to me, more often than not. It has given rise to two key aspects of my personality: Owning my mistakes and never walking away from a fight.
The first has led me to admit, readily, when I’m wrong, even if it has meant the loss of a job. That admission has then propelled me to look into WHERE I went wrong and to investigate further into the issue at hand. When called out, I have to recognize where the critic is correct, but also not take either the information that is being challenged or the critic’s position at face value. It has quite often ended up with the silver lining of the truth being uncovered. As ‘Abdu’l-Baha once wrote: “The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.”
Standing up to someone who is more aggressive has been ingrained in me, since childhood. I did walk away, once, from a beat down, when I was in VietNam. That was a matter of not walking into something that would have been detrimental to both me and the individual who was seeking the confrontation. I would have suffered possible head injuries and he, being on thin ice with the military brass, would have looked at a long stretch in Leavenworth. He eventually realized that, after a period of harping on my refusal to engage in a bare-knuckled fist fight.
That was an anomaly. What was consistent is that I didn’t run away crying. I never have. Back in Saugus, that would only have brought more trouble down on my head. Life since then has been much the same. I’ve had a lot of positive experiences in life, because of being willing to stand up to aggression. In the process, also, many innocents have been spared-especially when helping abused children speak truth to power.
I think about these tonight, in working to get to the bottom of some rather deep controversies being sparked by the words of our president-and of some of his critics. Both sides are tossing brickbats. I will get hit by some of those, but have no choice other than to go about finding the truth.
I joined a small talking circle, as part of a weekly class on the subject. One of the members began talking. His talk led him from one painful episode of his past to another. When he reached the end of his often tearful recounting-and expressed gratitude for the place his journey had brought him, we were all awestruck, and humbled.
The customary rule of a talking circle is that everyone gets a chance to speak. With three minutes left, before we were brought back into the Great Circle, the remaining three of us each managed to make a meaningful introduction of ourselves. It was not a hard thing to do.
These are far from normal times. The task of those involved in imparting healing energy is, more than ever, to do so one soul at a time. This was an intense twenty minutes, and I believe it made all the difference in the world, to someone who had likely not been really heard, for a good long time.
He spoke softly, but his story reached crescendo levels.
Sitting in my comfortable abode, I am pondering the various reactions to both COVID-19 and to the policies that have arisen in its wake. I base my own responses, to the cacophany of ideas, pleas and outright demands that people are making, of one another and of the powers that be, on my inner voice and on the messages from my spirit guides.
1. Isolate, or sally forth- Many say: Stay put, you’re old and at risk! Others say: Don’t let the “guvmint” tell you what to do. Get out and enjoy life!! Me: I have lots to do around Home Base, for now. I can get out, just a bit, support restaurant friends and the Farmers’ Market, with take out orders, wash my clothes and take a nature walk, now and then. I will hang close to home, until at least June 1.
2. Get tested, or lie low- Mainstream health activists say: Get tested! Some add: What’s so terrible about getting microchipped? Others say: Don’t trust Big Pharma-or the Gates Foundation!! Diet and exercise will suffice. Me: I will get tested, if the public health experts mandate testing for the whole populace. I would only get vaccinated IF there was a guarantee that no human body parts were used in the serum, not to mention any heavy metals (Mercury, lead, etc.) . I will never agree to be Microchipped. I do have a predominately organic diet, free of GMOs and use only natural supplements, derived from therapeutic grade essential oils.
3. Open society back up, or extend restrictions- We basically see that ultraconservatives and people of colour are in rare agreement, in demanding that society open back up, immediately. Watching white supremacists and Native American activists say the same thing is quite fascinating. The Other Side says everything from: “Give this two or three more months” to “Whatever we do, let’s not open schools back up until the vaccine is ready-even if it’s August, 2021. In fact, let’s keep everything shut down until that day comes.” This scenario-partly pragmatic, but mostly fear-based, is wishful thinking, and would probably require martial law in order to be effected. Me: I go with 1-2 more months, with society gradually opening up, in the meantime. Schools ought to carefully re-open- one month late, in places, in September, of THIS year.
These are my humble responses, or additions, to the cacophany.
A Sagittarian Seeker 