Category Archives: Striving

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part XI: Purification

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Posted by on in children, Family, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 2, 2017, Prescott-  

A handsome, smug man, in his twenties, happens upon a lovely woman, about his age, tries to get a date with her, and is rebuffed.  He stalks her, online, and screen-shoots photos she has posted on her social media.  He finds that, instead of going on a date with him, she went to a rave, at a converted factory.   Incensed, (no pun intended), he goes to the very next rave, finds her, and drops an incendiary device near where she is standing.  He has carefully jammed the nearest exit shut, the device goes off, and 39 people die, in the ensuing blaze.  The woman he wants survives, but is burned over 30 % of her body, and is blinded.

This was the gist of a three-part episode of Dick Wolf’s “Chicago” quadrilogy, which aired Wednesday evening.  It hit hard at me, for several reasons:

  1.  I have had a family member, by the grace of God, survive severe burns and go on to live a full life.  I could not imagine life without that family member.
  2. There was a time in my life, about seven years, when I was rebuffed by women, primarily because of my own awkwardness and quirky behaviour, not because of any particular flaw on their part.  I never harboured any desire for revenge against any of them, figuring we would each find our own special soul.  I did, and had thirty good years with her.  One of the women, I know for certain, also did and has had nearly 47 wonderful years, with a very good man. I’m willing to bet that a good many others have had fine relationships. I’m glad we’ve all moved on, in peace.
  3. I maintain that the worst human loss is that of a parent losing a child.  Thirty nine couples lost a child, in the triptych mentioned above.  My in-laws lost their daughter, nearly six years ago.  My mother lost a son, many years ago.  Some good friends have lost children, over the years.
  4. I know children, still of formative age, who show serious signs of heading in a sociopathic, or at least misanthropic, direction.  Good people, professionals, are doing all they can to head such a fate off, at the pass, in a manner of speaking.  Yet, we can’t save everyone.

This is the season when we Baha’is conduct a Fast, of nineteen days’ duration.  There is a physical component:  Able-bodied people, between the ages of 15-70, take no food or drink, between sunrise and sunset, during those nineteen days.  The more important spiritual component gives rise to examinations of self.  It is all about purification, as the season of Lent, which coincides with our Fast this year, does for Christians, when conducted at its best.  The self-examination aspect is what led me to share the above observations.

MisPriced

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Posted by on in Community, Entertainment, Social, Striving

February 27, 2017, Prescott-

A little observation about the Academy Awards:

Seems there was confusion about envelopes.

Perhaps colour-coding is in order.

Colour was, in itself, not an issue tonight.

The ceremony was bathed in full Moonlight.

The auditors, though, remained in LaLa Land,

jarred only by the stunned expression

on the face of Warren Beatty,

and the concern for justice,

in the eyes of Emma Stone.

Mahershala Ali calmly waited his turn,

knowing, in his heart of hearts,

that the prize was his own.

The gauntlet has now been run,

and the people have won.

Oscar is no longer a grouch,

the voice of reason has spoken out.

Facing reality has trumped sweet escape.

Several notions of beauty,

now leave the beholder agape.

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part IX: Relativity

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Social, Striving

February 22, 2017, Prescott- 

In honour of George Washington and my paternal grandmother, (who would have been 118 today), this day was devoted to keeping my nose to the grindstone and making certain that the disparate, discordant and mutually-dissociated elements that come together, to make up my work day, were harmonized enough so that all were safe.

Lead teacher’s concerns are not the same as those of our students.  I have to listen to and answer her, while insisting to the children that they may NOT kill or maim one another-even if that means getting between them and restraining the wiry, determined revenge-seeker.

At bus time, our kids all got onto their buses, in short order- a welcome change of affairs. My other charges, the rest of the school’s bus riders, experienced a different scenario. There was unusually heavy traffic, parent-wise, today and for the first time this year, there were not one, but two, backlogs of cars.  I kept things going relatively smoothly, nonetheless.

General Washington barely knew a moment’s peace, until he retired to Mount Vernon.  My Nana only knew tranquility after her youngest son was married, and she was able to hold court on Sunday mornings, with us regular visitors in attendance.  I know peace and quiet, from 3:30 on, so by comparison, my days are sweet.

The Universe Says “Stay Put”

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Posted by on in Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 18, 2017, Prescott-  This weekend being a holiday weekend (President’s Day), I had penciled in a hike or two.  Lo and behold, the rains have come!  We have to lick this drought thing somehow, though, so here I sit.

Taxes got done, though, and I have a chance to honour a couple of friends who are moving to California. There will be a gathering for them, tomorrow, at 1 PM.  A friend from Oklahoma will be here, tomorrow afternoon and evening.  Monday will take me down to Phoenix, for a wellness appointment, and I will get in a first hike on the Maricopa Trail afterward.  It will give me a good indication of just how the rain has affected the Sonora Desert, perhaps for the last time until Fall, depending on how warm March and April turn out to be.

Life always manages to bring a full course to my table, whether I’m at work, on the road, or just chilling here in our lovely sky island.  Some say that this is exactly what will keep me going, for years to come.  We’ll see about that, but I know it won’t ever be dull.

 

Which None Can Really Know

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Posted by on in children, Education, Matters of Faith, Poetry, Social, Striving

February 16, 2017, Prescott-

I work for someone who doesn’t entirely trust me,

and is constantly seeming to be under the gun.

I work with children who don’t entirely trust anyone,

and are each very much under siege.

I work in a community which thrives on trusting its own,

yet views the wider world with a flinty eye.

I am a native son of a country which is not sure who to trust,

yet asks the rest of the planet to go with its judgement.

I am a citizen of a planet which is getting more intimate,

and is entering a future which none can really know.

And Then, There Are These

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Posted by on in Education, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 11, 2017, Prescott-

I did a routine workout at Planet Fitness, this evening, after having visited a tax prep office, finding out I was short a critical document, and getting that document printed off a website, which will serve me well- the NEXT time I go to that tax office.

On the way out of PF, I passed some young adults flirting/ connecting.  This is as it should be, especially of a weekend evening.  Life, even in hard times, should continue with certain features:  Infants learn to walk and speak for themselves; toddlers should say “No”, and thus begin learning their limits; children should continue that process, while acquiring life skills-hopefully in a safe, nurturing environment; teens and young adults should be able to visit confirming situations, in which they might feel an ocean of hope and a wealth of encouragement; older adults, like me, should be in a fully affirming, supporting role, for those on their way up the ladder, supporting,.

I am concerned about what lies ahead, for our nation and for the human race.  I know, in my heart of hearts, that our species has a grand future, long-term.  I also know that, in the short run, there are forces of reaction that will play on the fears of some basically decent people, many of whom I know and love, perhaps leading them to do harm to others, who I also know and love, because of the divergent ways they express themselves and live their lives.  I cannot, will not, choose to participate in any movement, group action, or, certainly, any pogrom directed at a people or groups, based on ethnicity, faith, gender, sexual orientation or political affiliation- in either direction.  For having said this, I have already been excoriated by a bitter, diffusely angry man, in another online forum.  So be it, as long as necessary.

My life, by year’s end, will feature: An end to a business affiliation of 36 years;  the second of four school years, in which I work full-time as an educational paraprofessional, with the possibility of a fifth, and more attention to qualitative aspects of my service to others.  I may take stands that will cost me friendships, but it will always be the dispossessed, the downtrodden, the kicked-around, who have my heart.   There, will go my heart and head, in synchronicity.

Dystope

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Posted by on in Community, Social, Striving, Travel

February 9, 2017, Santee-  Last night, whilst my son was engaged in a “guild event’, related to a video gaming network to which he belongs, I took a short walk downstreet from the hotel.

Spotting a fenced-off area, which resembled a random back-to-nature scene, I crossed the street and walked around to a place where a few people had parked, and noticed them walking their dogs, on the lot.

It turns out to be an abandoned property, with boulders strewn about and a few remnants of buildings.  The locals are using it as something of a dog park and exercise yard.  If I were in Santee, for any appreciable length of time, I would certainly make regular use of it, as well.

The immediate impression I got, though, is that here is an example of what may become commonplace, if we lessen civic pride, even more than we already have.  The city of Santee is, in general, a well-kept place, so this is no judgment on it. My larger point is that Nature is quick to move in on what Man leaves behind.

To wit:

The sunsets are certainly worth an evening spent here.SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

I have always been drawn to boulders and large rock formationsSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

This is a natural barbecue pit.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Thus, I hope there is a grassroots effort to make the property a true park.  It’s time to say goodbye to a dystopian mindset.

Sixty-six for Sixty Six, Part VI: California Turnstile

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Posted by on in Family, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

February 8, 2017, Santee-  I had not spent much time in San Diego’s eastern ‘burbs, prior to last night.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a homey little motel, Villa Embasadora, in El Cajon, a town I have previously associated with huge malls and Miles of Cars.  It is a working man’s motel, so my neighbours were up, and off to work, between 4-5:so, this morning.  After dawdling, online and with my prayer book, i headed off to find breakfast, around 8:15.

A further drive down East Main Street brought me to Pizza Stop, which, despite its name, is a highly popular gathering place for full American breakfasts.  I went inside, expecting to be seated by myself, perhaps at a corner table, away from home-schooling families and small groups of older ladies.  Surprise!  I no sooner had made my way to a two-chair table, when I was summoned to join a large group of my male age-mates.  Seems that eastern San Diego County, with a large population of retired military men, has three service clubs, which help provide security at San Diego’s football stadium, and other large public facilities, in the area.  Most of the men in the room  about 50, all told, were in their 60’s and 70’s.  It was like being at an American legion or VFW breakfast, only writ large.  The breakfasts are huge, keep-ya-full all day affairs.  The group gathers, Morning Lions Club-style, every two Wednesday mornings.  It was a great mid-week start to yet another transition in my life.

My son, Aram, heads to South Korea tomorrow, for a 1-2 year tour of duty, which may or may not be his Navy swansong.  While 2019 seems far-off, I know, from the freshness of memories from 2011, on to last year, that it will be upon us, sooner than realized.  So, as with any life event, we both have several contingency plans for that time.  (I’ve had contingency plans since I babysat my younger siblings, when our parents were out for the evening.  I was 11-13, and whenever they were late coming home, I had the phone numbers of my aunts and uncles at the ready.)  In the meantime, I headed up the road, to Santee, in the foothills of the Laguna Mountains, where Aram had some last-minute business.

I will relax at this Best Western, in Santee, until we head out, early tomorrow morning, to San Diego International Airport.  Once Aram is on his way to the TSA line, and other fun stuff, I will need to head straight back, towards Prescott, and my own present routine; thus, the “turnstile” aspect to this jaunt.

My next visit west, in June, will be to the north of here- from Orange County to Santa Barbara and Ojai.  By then, my son will be acclimated, once again, to life in Korea, the land of his birth.  Time will tell if I get back there, myself, during the next two years.

 

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part V: Subsets of Love

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Posted by on in Community, Family, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 6, 2017, Prescott- In Baha’i Scripture, as well as in the Teachings of Christ, four kinds of love are identified:  The love of God for His Creation; the love of God for His children; the love of man for God and the love of man for man.

It is the fourth kind,  on which I will reflect, in this post.  There are several subsets of this type of love.  Some are obvious- Parental love, and its mirror image:  Filial love (which, in this context, applies to both sons and daughters).   The love one has for extended family is an outgrowth of parental and filial love. Love of spouse, likewise, in most cases extends to the spouse’s family.  Clan and tribe are the furthest biological love boundaries, traditionally.

Love for one’s neighbours and community takes this a step past the bounds of family.   Over time, this has found extension in the form of loyalty to state, country, civic organization, interest group (including political parties and service organizations) and faith community.  Love for all mankind is the furthest expression of inter-human love, and is regarded as the consummate goal of a Baha’i, in this physical plane.

Love can be expressed in various ways:  Gentle, patient suasion; forbearance; standing alongside the beloved; “tough” holding the beloved’s feet to fire, so to speak.  The goal of any human love, though, would seem to be helping the beloved to attain nearness to God and the development of his/her talents and abilities.  This isn’t always a simple task, and may entail a combination of the four ways mentioned, at the head of this paragraph.  A prime example of this is love of one’s opponents, or perceived enemies.  Seeing their good qualities, and not depriving them of basic human rights, is certainly an illustration of such.

St. Matthew wrote that such inter-human love is “not snide” and “does not put on airs”.  In the Baha’i Writings, it is stated that  “Love is the secret”, to all that is good in the Universe, and “In the world of existence, there is no greater power, than the power of love.”

May there be a ten-fold, or hundred-fold increase in the subsets of inter-human love.

 

Archangels

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Posted by on in Matters of Faith, Spiritual, Striving

February 4, 2017, Prescott- This afternoon, I finished reading “The Standing Stones Speak”.  Set in Carnac, France, British spiritualists Natasha Hoffman and Hamilton Hill detail a series of messages they claim to have received from archangels, on topics ranging from the existence of Atlantis to the progress of souls.

 

There are numerous references to Jesus, Mohammed, the brief primacy, in the not-to-distant future, of a “charismatic figure”, whose rule will be primarily in Europe and North America, and will last 3 1/2 years, before he is removed.  There are references to karma and reincarnation of souls, from one human body to the next, over  the past several thousand years, and that both karma and reincarnation will cease, in the very near future.  This will take place, the archangels say, because the “New Jerusalem”, mentioned in the Bible and, essentially, the true New World Order (the opposite of that which is, rightly, feared by devout Christians), will be built and will obviate the need for souls to constantly return in human form, in order to resolve their issues.

That is the gist of the archangels’ messages.  To me, these would conveniently explain my wistfulness and longing for the forest, for certain places in Europe, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, being drawn to particular people and familiarity with certain situations, that I had not previously experienced.  I would need a lot more confirmation of these messages, from more authoritative spiritual texts, especially from the Baha’i Writings, before I would be “all-in” with the overall content of the messages in this book.

Nevertheless, the tone of the book is positive, encouraging of people to develop the goodly character of their souls, and to work, mightily, to seek spiritual advancement, through a righteous life- not in isolation, but among the people with whom we find ourselves.  Baha’u’llah teaches us to be of good character, in group settings, as well as individually, just as Jesus did.

I am continuing to read several Baha’i books, as well as “Apocalypse”, by Dr. Jim Richards and “Return to The Garden”, by Shakhti Gawain, in pondering this primal subject.