The Road to Diamond, Day 61: Return to (Maybe) Forever

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 29, 2025 in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 28, 2025, Pasay– Three robust boys came to me with a request all too familiar, even back at Home Base I: Would I be so kind as to support their youth basketball league, with a small contribution? In a Metro Manila that is all too overrun with urchins thrusting out hands or paper cups, this was worth the small contribution that I gladly offered. Of course, the urchins were there, too, one hanging on my arm for a split second, but I am mindful of the futility that accompanies piecemeal rendering of small change. Like those who want millionaires and billionaires to pay off the national debt of the United States, the folks who scold others for not giving on demand to the people in the street are barking up a limbless tree. The Big Dogs don’t have enough, even collectively, to pay off the debt. The rest of us don’t have enough to keep paying the world’s destitute, ad infinitum. It’s simply best to support programs that can raise up the people; inspire and enlighten, educate and empower them.

I arrived at 10:30 a.m., in Apollo 11 Village, in the Barangay of San Gregorio, in the southeast corner of Pasay, and close enough to the gradually cleaner, but still rather fetid, Estero de Tripa de Gallina, to be a bit pestered by mosquitoes. Apollo 11 Village was in a festive mood,as many were gathered for the 75th birthday of a local matriarch. The scene even became a tourist attraction, with a few European visitors taking pictures of the birthday singing and cake cutting. I demurred on that front, out of respect for the lady and her family. My mission at that point was more quotidian: Walking to Mercury Drug, a mile to the west, to pick up spare razor blades. It was irksome to me, to have a day’s growth of beard, and my razor handle not fit into the blade. (For whatever reason, it would be more cooperative the next day).

My beloved contacted me and talked about all the things that had been going on in her life, over the past two weeks. She is always up front, so long as I give her the space that any person needs and deserves. We may well get closer, this time around. This visit may be a “return to forever” (with apologies to Chick Correa). It will, in any case, be memorable and nurturing, at least for me, and hopefully for both of us.

Here, for fans of the technojazz of the 1970s. is Return to Forever’s Majestic Dance, from their “Romantic Warrior” LP. Yes, it is an acquired taste for many, but I have grown to admire Chick Correa, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola and the rest, for their dedication to consciousness raising.

The Road to Diamond, Day 60: Floating and Weaving

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 29, 2025 in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 27, 2025, Hong Kong– When I was a teen, boxers would speak of the technique of bobbing and weaving, as a means of dodging an opponent’s punches and getting in blows of their own. On a long-distance aircraft, the techniques for safely navigating an expanse of ocean, or of continent, or both, require knowing when to move aside an air current and when to “float” through it. The flight crew of our Cathay Pacific craft handled the turbulence over the mid-Pacific very well tonight.

It is the time of Lunar New Year, ringing in the Year of the (Wood) Snake. The holiday in general leads thousands upon thousands of East Asian people to travel to their ancestral homes, and there was quite a multitude in LAX, on our flight and others like it, and in the transit lines at Hong Kong International Airport. We moved, sometimes in flow and at other times haltingly, but there was only a minimal delay in take-offs and in deplaning upon landing. What issues arose were mostly because of scanning issues, with regard to passports and boarding passes, or because people did not understand the concept of facial scanning. It could be construed as a privacy issue, but to me, the government knows what I look like already and I have nothing to hide from any given national authority, so I look straight into the screening device and am waved on my way.

Wedged as I was between two Chinese men, both bigger than I, on the fifteen hour haul from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, it was nonetheless a stress free leg. The three of us had an unspoken agreement that when Window Seat passenger needed to answer nature’s call, we all found our way to the Comfort Room, Aisle Seat passenger going last. There is plenty of leg room and a fairly ergonomic seat construction. Even though we were at the very last row before the galley cabinets, room was still made for us to recline our seats. In fairness to everyone else, who had to bring their seats upright at meal times, we uprighted ours as well. The meals themselves, dinner and breakfast, were fully balanced and appetizing, by airline standards.

I slept for probably 6.4-7 hours, during the flight, availing myself of three films, during the waking portion. “The Wild Robot” explored the notion of adapting Artificial Intelligence to interpreting and communicating with non-human sentient beings. It also considered the adaptation of AI independence from possible future orthodoxy and repression. “Kingdom of Heaven” followed one man’s spiritual progress through the terrifying time of the Second Crusade, and the overarching climate of relative harmony between Christian, Jew and Muslim up until the time that a boorish claque of English and French nobles used the death of the Christian King of Jerusalem and Acre (Akko) as a pretext to seat one of their own on the throne and to wage war against the mighty Saladin. Various documented aspects of the actual Second Crusade, which ended with Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem were incorporated into the film’s narrative, but the story was greatly embellished. “High Noon”, a classic Western of the early 1950s, is a film I had not seen, though I was named for its lead actor, Gary Cooper, and its themes of the nobility of a true hero and the fecklessness of both politicians and the average “get-along” citizen are quite remarkably presented. The film is about 1 hour long,and its plot concerns itself with one hour in the life of a small southern New Mexico town of the 1880s.

So, my time crossing the Pacific was well-spent, and now I ready myself for the final 2-hour flight to Manila. Much will be decided, these next three weeks.

The Road to Diamond, Day 58: True North, ’25

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 25, 2025 in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 25, 2025- It is finally getting cold here in Home Base I, the sort of bone-chilling cold that foreshadows a snowstorm. That storm is expected here, sometime between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning. I will be elsewhere during that time- largely in the air, or in airports: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Manila. Tuesday morning here will be the early morning hours, Wednesday, in Metro Manila. It will not be cold, and probably not wet.

I have received nothing but good wishes from friends here, and sense only good energy coming from the Philippines. My dear one, and our mutual friends, will believe that I am coming, when I get there, and send out the first messages on the ground. I have now gone back and forth so many times, that they who have largely spent their lives in one area have lost count.

Our True North, however, is the same. The Divine Spirit has gotten me from A to B, and back, countless times-even in 1971, when I was barely alive, spiritually, and all the more so, over the past four decades. It is that Spirit which kept Penny and I physically safe when our vehicle’s engine died, on a bridge above I-10 in Phoenix and again during the evening commute, in downtown Glendale, when I was pushing the car to a safe spot off a main street, while she watched from the safety of a sidewalk. It was that Spirit that landed me in this small and cozy apartment, when the house I was minding needed to be sold, eleven years ago this coming April. It is that Spirit that is bringing me back to Luzon for the third time, in less than two years.

It the same Spirit that has safeguarded two trusted friends here and kept each of them in home and hearth, despite limited circumstances. It keeps another little family, well north of here, in a tiny but sturdy house, as their grand-matriarch finds work wherever she can. It keeps my own little family in safe surroundings and guides them safely through times that could be far more uncertain. It sees my dear one and her family free from harm.

Each of us has had our share of harrowing situations, and will face them again, in times to come. It is our True North that will provide the way forward, each time.

The Road to Diamond, Day 57: Better Power Source

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 24, 2025 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 24, 2025- In the end, I can remember four of the five elements that inspirational rapper Colby Jeffers listed, during the course of his Better World concert this afternoon, at Prescott’s Yavapai College. Better knowledge, principles, creativity, power source, and one element that I have blanked out, were the main focuses of Colby’s message to both college age youth and mostly Boomer adults who gathered to hear his message.

Hip hop concerts, especially during the Friday lunch hour, attract people who can stay for a while, enjoy some of the songs and then have to go on to meetings, athletic practices or Friday seminars. Ten of us stayed for the entire session because, well, we can use the connectivity.

At my age, when I am a bit fatigued, especially at the end of a day, I yearn for a better power source. I don’t feel on the verge of dementia, but it would be nice to have longer recall, without having to take copious notes. Maybe I’ve always been the sort who’s needed to write things down, yet it rankles more now.

Hah! The fourth pillar is better action. That was on the edge of my tongue for a while. The last step of any prayer is action, otherwise one is stuck looking at the bridge that isn’t building itself. So, in order to get a handle on this little “brain blip”, I put on some choral music this evening and stimulated that part of my cerebrum that tends to put a choke hold on certain nuggets of cognition. Music is, for me, a better power source than is “dry” recall.

Better knowledge leads to better principles, creativity, action-and power source. I knew I could get this recapped, sooner or later!

The Road to Diamond, Day 54: Common Sense

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 21, 2025 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 21, 2025- One of the stated principles of the new administration in the Executive Branch is “the return of common sense.” We’ll see.

The concept means different things to different people. As one who used to overthink matters, or rush through things without a thorough thought-process, or sometimes both at once, I began to consistently adhere to common sense, rather late in life. Now, though, even the most random or novel of events are unlikely to throw me off.

There are matters that would appear to be easily decided by common sense-like “two sexes”. That is what is necessary for natural procreation. IVF and artificial insemination also require a male/female interaction. In the world of modern genetics, however, the effects of chemical contamination, from microplastics in the blood stream to adulterated foods, have been more and more evident in the past three decades. Thus, mutations present themselves, across the world of nature, including the human race. Common sense tells me to accept people as they are.

There is the matter of criminal justice. “What constitutes a crime?” is a process that has evolved, since the dawn of civilization as we know it, across the continent of Asia, in northeast Africa and in various parts of the Americas. Punishment of crimes has likewise evolved. Common sense would seem to indicate that a crime has been committed when one or more persons cause injury or death to one or more other people, or when they steal, or cause damage to, public property or the private property of others. This has been complicated, by the notion that public order is at risk, if a certain level of respect is not shown to rulers or other public officials. Common sense tells me that ridicule, alone, does not impede a leader’s , or other official’s, ability to do her/his job. An emotionally secure person can take quite a lot of ridicule.

We will see to what extent common sense prevails, in the next four years-and beyond.

The Road to Diamond, Day 53: Widen the Circle

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 20, 2025 in children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 20, 2025- Over 400 people gathered at the modest United Methodist Church, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Many marched from Prescott College, around the Courthouse and back to the church. Others gathered at the church, in advance of the celebration. I walked from Home Base I to the College, and caught up with the marchers as they were stopped on the west side of Courthouse Square, then went over to the Church.

The celebration itself had several moments of joy, especially a lengthy spoken word poem and address by Jeff Daverman, a progressive activist. He again stressed the need to maintain action, in pursuit of one’s goals, especially as it pertains to justice. Jeff stressed nonviolence, a key point for people across the spectrum to keep in mind, in this time of social ferment. (Is there ever a time when there isn’t social ferment?) After several songs, by Womansong, Rose-Gibbs Duo,and Prescott Interfaith Choir, another activist, Truth B. Told, took the stage and also called for a concerted effort, day to day, to bring about social justice. He also stressed nonviolence, but did not call for non-confrontation. No Black man growing up hard, in a Michigan factory town-or anywhere, for that matter, can be expected to view the world the way Whites view it.

A little girl was soloist for Prescott Interfaith Choir, on a song whose message called for widening the circle. Jeff, and Chris (aka Truth), both spoke to the dilemma faced by Whites, especially in a town with few African-Americans, itself having the past of a Sundown Town. (Except for the few who settled here, in the 1870s, Black people were not allowed to stay overnight in Prescott, until the 1970s.) The circle, in that respect, is a fair amount looser than it was back then. That was 50 years ago, though, and there is a lot more to be done, in the expansion of our diversity.

The thing is, though, diversity cannot be forced, nor can it be contrived. Each individual has the responsibility for her(his) own personal growth. Gimmicks, like DEI committees, will not, of themselves lead to the widening of the circle. Conversely, canceling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will not make the issues that led to these committees go away. Equity is not a four letter + two word. It means, simply, being impartial and fair. In that respect, it has the same cachet as equality. Inclusion means inviting those who might be marginalized into the decision-making process, especially in matters that pertain to them. Diversity may shake the comfort zones of those whose world has been homogeneous, for a very long time, but it will not shatter that world.

Widening the circle depends on each of us, at least a little, every day.

The Road to Diamond, Day 51: “Everything’s Gonna Hurt”

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 18, 2025 in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 18, 2025- So said a veteran athletic coach to a pre-teen with whom he had worked a few years back, and had not seen in a while. This was in reference to the boy saying he was almost twelve, which sparked Coach’s musings on the joys of adolescence. Everything does hurt, physically, mentally and emotionally, as the body goes from childhood towards adulthood. It is one reason why, after taking Developmental Psychology, I let go of any residual anger I might have felt towards those who bullied me in junior high school. They, for the most part, grew up to lead lives of industry and decency. Those who did not were pretty much nasty to everyone. They also died young.

I have had few aches and pains in my life. There was a bad back, after lifting my semi-conscious wife in 1991, in a situation that is too delicate and personal to share on this blog. (It was, long story short, due to an allergic reaction to medication.) The rest is negligible, especially compared to the constant woes suffered by so many of my peers. A lot does hurt, as one gets deeper into seniorhood. I give credit to Life Long Vitality supplements, Zinzino oil, healthy diet and regular exercise. Sobriety also has a great deal to do with it.

After a brief bout with some sort of crud, I woke up healthy enough, and non-contagious, so today was a full one: Farmers’ Market, Zeke’s and a Baha’i spiritual feast. I took in a concert by another of Prescott’s best, a cover band called Scandalous Hands. That was where Coach was advising his young protege’. A while later, a man two years my senior was advising a couple of other men close to us in age about thriving in one’s seventies. He himself looked like a picture of health.

It could happen, one day, that everything will hurt. For now, all I am doing for myself and for others is enough to keep the pain at bay.

The Road to Diamond, Day 49: Move Without Fear

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 16, 2025 in Assistance, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

January 16, 2025- The woman sitting across from me at lunch was unequivocal: “Asking people to vote for a woman of colour for President was a waste of time.” She went on further, looking at other races that did not go to her liking, and concluding that it is best to conserve money and energy to only run candidates in races that they have a chance of winning.

Conventional practices bring conventional results-until they don’t. I have a lifetime of “punching above my weight”, with checkered results. Looking back, though, my regrets are primarily due, not to taking on challenges, but to lack of preparation and of self-confidence. I have also been guilty of placing too much trust in those who have, in retrospect, given every indication that they had no intention of acting honestly. Following a tack of business as usual has not ended well, in such circumstances. Yet, here we are.

Elections are a basic part of life in a free society, but they are only a part. The hard work of citizenship, if it is to meet with success, has to cast the conventional out, when it no longer works. Typecasting people, by race and/or gender, is an idea that no longer works, if indeed it ever did. Limiting effort, by placing too much emphasis on money and time, especially on the former, is more a reflection of fear and fatigue than on meeting the actual needs of our society-as it exists now. Holding meetings in secret and consigning decisions to a select few is a shopworn idea, counterproductive to progressives and conservatives alike. This last would be well remembered by those who are “okay” with government by oligarchs, who by the way, may be found on both ends of the political spectrum.

Finally, there is the same hand-wringing I have heard, about “what’s wrong with the young people?”, that I’ve heard since I was a teenager myself. Heck, similar messages have been translated from hieroglyphics! What I hear from younger people is that they respect authenticity, above all else. That’s no surprise, given that the primary job of a young human is self-discovery. Fakery is lethal to someone just starting out in life. The second most important quality to youth is courage. Left, right, in -between, fearlessness is what will bring one across the finish line.

Stand tall, keep head and eyes clear and heart open. The world cannot progress, covered in yesterday’s dust.

The Road to Diamond, Day 48: Desert Rose

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 16, 2025 in collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 15, 2025- He was never, to my knowledge, at a loss for words. in his search for truth, he frequently spoke of a figure in his dreams, to whom he referred as “the shiny man”. I, too, dreamed of that same figure, on my first visit to Prescott, in 1979. William Sears and I had both dreamed of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Mr. Sears, who preferred to be called “Bill”, established Desert Rose Baha’i School, along with his wife, Marguerite, in 1988. It was held in various locations, in Tucson, for its first eight years. Mr. Sears passed away in 1992, but Marguerite and a small group of helpers purchased land in 1996. This became Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, occupying about half of the land that Marguerite had envisioned for the Institute. (The other half, still owned by individual Baha’is, faces an uncertain future.)

Penny and I visited DRBI last, in 2007, when we joined a gathering of musicians. The late Dan Seals was among the artists present, and is the only person who has ever persuaded me to sing in a chorus. It was not a bad experience, joining people whose voices were pleasant, in a rendition of “We Are One”. That, of course, was both Dan’s, and Penny’s, last visit to Desert Rose. He died in 2009, and she, in 2011.

I went there today, after visiting Tohono Chul Park, in Oro Valley, near Tucson. That salubrious desert park’s Garden Bistro served up what will now be among my favourite plates: Mesquite flour pancakes, filled with Poblano peppers, topped with fresh berries. It was my second fabulous meal in a row, dinner having been a supremely savoury taco salad, at Benson’s Cafe 86, a homey local favourite, staffed by a hard working couple.

It was thus time for spiritual food to supplement the repasts. I pulled up next to a sign at Desert Rose that said “administration”. A small group was sitting outside a house next to the building. After greeting each other, I got basic directions from one of the ladies, as to the location of Mr. and Mrs. Sears’ memorial sites. (Marguerite passed in 2006, and is buried in the Institute’s Memorial Park.) After a brief stroll around the main property, I stopped at the memorial dome that is dedicated to Bill, reflecting on his life’s work, which ranged from being a sportscaster in Philadelphia to humanitarian efforts, from Mississippi to South Africa. He was ever a stalwart foe of racial segregation, but always worked within the law.

The Memorial Dome for William Sears, Desert Rose Baha’i Institute, Eloy, Arizona.

Here are a few of the other buildings that grace the property.

Round House is the dining hall and doubles as a conference center.

Musician Chris Ruhe manages this small FM radio station, which serves up both spiritual and secular programming.

Hadden Hall is the main conference center.

This is Marguerite Reimer Sears’ resting place. Several other friends are also laid to rest in the Memorial Park.

After saying several prayers there, I went back to my hosts’ house and joined them for a cup of peppermint tea. Telahoun and Brooke Molla were proprietors of an Ethiopian restaurant in Tempe, when I lived in Phoenix. We enjoyed the fare there, a few times, and became friendly with the family. It was a delightful surprise to find them living at DRBI, with their youngest child.

PROMOTION: Desert Rose is looking for energetic, sustainability-oriented xeriscapers or those trained in permaculture. The kitchen garden and a tree-planting campaign are the current foci of self-sustaining volunteers. Spiritual open-mindedness is a plus. So, too, is being able to innovate ways to deal with extended periods of high heat (Upwards of 118 F, in the height of summer.) The adobe homes do offer protection and there are two swimming pools. A large bank of solar panels helps to provide power.

https://drbi.org/facilities-and-rentals#rh

The Road to Diamond, Day 47: Picketpost

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 14, 2025 in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 14, 2025, Benson, AZ- The old centipede moved haltingly across the floor of my motel room. Whether it was its age, or the cold of the floor that stymied the creature, it was clear that the animal was not robust. I was able to get it into a trash basket, using a sheet of paper as a push vessel. From there, the centipede was placed outside, on some rocks that would warm up shortly thereafter.

I also got myself moving, a short time later, and after a light breakfast next door, at Gypsy Sisters Coffee and Tea House, it was time to head to Picketpost Trailhead, which intersects with the Arizona Trail, some five miles west of Superior. I have long wanted to climb the actual mountain by that name, but have found that the common trail at the south end of the peak is closed, due to a rock slide.

That left the magnificent Arnett Canyon, between the mountain that forms a western boundary for Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park and Picketpost Mountain’s 9-mile north to south expanse. Arnett is a mecca for wildflower enthusiasts, each Spring. Today, a good 2.5 months before any blooms appear, it was the rock formations, and small gems and minerals that commanded attention.

When I pulled into the parking lot for Picketpost Trailhead, I was pleased to see that three small groups were also preparing to take in the area. I did not want to be strictly alone for the duration of the hike. As it happened, a group of five women were on a search for Apache tears, the obsidian glass-like gems that dot the middle reaches of Arnett Canyon, near some copper mine tailings left by the predecessor of Resolution Copper, which now operates a limited enterprise east and south of Superior. They invited me to join them for a time, and I was thus able to gather nineteen of the droplets, with initial help from one of the women, who is a gemologist.