Quote - by Ronnie

Mommy, it's so cold the leaves are shivering on the trees!! -Ronnie 10/12/07

Harry Reed Interfaith Hero - Found on the Net

Harry Reid, interfaith hero:
For the first time in history, a Hindu clergyman delivered the opening prayer for the United States Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev, had invited Rajan Zed, the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, to deliver the opening prayer to begin the session on July 12. It is common for chaplains and clergy from various faith traditions to be invited to say the opening prayer at the start of each Senate session. However, most of the time it is delivered by a Christian. It's a shame that the voices of intolerance and ignorance spoiled this special occasion. As soon as Zed began to speak, he was disrupted several times by Christian Right activists who objected to a Hindu prayer being offered on the Senate floor. Three people were handcuffed by police and charged with disrupting Congress, which is a misdemeanor. This saddens me, because I don't see how anyone could possibly object to the following words in Chaplain Zed's prayer: "Let us pray. We meditate on the transcendental glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of heaven." These are beautiful words and certainly consistent with the Christian belief that God is omnipresent. In addition, Chaplain Zed ended his prayer by saying "peace, peace, peace be unto all." This was appropriate, because after the prayer the Senate was going to resume debate on President Bush's Iraq war policy. So I have to ask those who objected to Chaplain Zed's prayer: What's the problem? Why did you object to this? Did he say something that was so different from your Christian beliefs that you felt America was threatened and that it would bring down the wrath of the almighty? If so, I did not hear it. Chaplain Zed's prayer embodied what I so frequently refer to as the common moral beliefs and values that most faith traditions share. One of the protesters said that he was a "Christian and patriot." Now how can you claim to be a patriot when two of the founding principles of this country are religious tolerance and diversity? I am proud of Harry Reid for inviting Chaplain Zed to pray. He's my hero of the month and has done a lot to promote interfaith education as a solution for community and peace building by using this highly visible, symbolic and powerful venue to highlight America's religious diversity. Sen. Reid, who is a Mormon, said, "I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak, in communication with our Heavenly Father, regarding peace." Yes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is not only a hero but also a champion of interfaith. He's a shining example of how we can use religion as a tool to build community and not divide it. You know there are these voices of fear and intolerance in this country that perpetuate what I call a state of enemy thinking, in which it's us against them, or Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Jew, black vs. white, gay vs. straight, rich vs. poor, etc. In other words, if he or she doesn't look like me, worship like me, or vote like I vote, then he or she is absolutely wrong and I am absolutely right. We should not let these voices of intolerance and fear prevent us from honoring the beliefs of others and accepting that there just might be another point of view with some validity. And you know what - when we peer beyond the labels that the voices of fear and intolerance use to divide us, we just might find a lot in common. I am not a Hindu, and I found Chaplain Zed's words comforting and consistent with my beliefs. Thank you, Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York . You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at The New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is jayspeights@newseminary.org. © copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.

Nature is The Art of GOD - Dante

Think about it....If you were GOD and you created HEAVEN out of nothingness ... and you created beings to live there and enjoy your creation - your HEAVEN... how would you feel about what's been done to it? Some of that having been done in YOUR NAME?
We admire the works of Monet of Ansel Adams of Georgia O'Keeffe - but the original artist was "God" "Gaia - the living Goddess" or name any of the myriad "Creation God/Goddesses".
"Judgement" for the sins of pollution, waste and hatred is happening every day. The climate is changing; garbage gets thrown carelessly everywhere; hate causes everyone to live in fear - with locks and walls.
And again : You MUST BE the change you wish to see in the world. No one is perfect; but how can we increase "walking the walk"?
I have a friend who just recently brought my attention back to an issue close to her heart: water. "WOW, as a family of 4 you must use (waste) a lot of water. I can honestly say that I try to be aware of this consumption. I make sure I run a full dishwasher and full washing loads. I turn the water off while I'm brushing my teeth (which we never did as kids). I use soaker hoses to water the garden when it hasn't rained for a while. So, I feel pretty good about myself....however I could do better.
Sometimes I use a large bowl to wash veggies in - sometimes I use running water.Sometimes I use the veggie wash water to water plants - inside and out - sometimes I dump it down the drain.I NEVER turn of the shower while I'm soaping up or washing my hair. And sometimes I let it run longer than necessary to come to temp.I sometimes let the water run while rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher.
And that's just water.
I also heard a news story this week about plastic recycling. There are several industries which grew up around USING recycled materials as raw materials for their products; newer carpet factories are one.
Well - they can't get enough raw materials - and in-fact 75% (3 of 4) plastic bottles (soda/water etc) used in this country are NOT recycled even though there is a demand for them. Why? Because there is no HANDY recycling container. Sport/Entertainment arenas are a big culprit. What can be done about this?Letter/e-mail writing campaigns - to law-makers and to the centers themselves. Encourage/Demand easy recycling access or ask for fines to be levied.If you attend these events - TAKE YOUR CONTAINERS HOME to recycle.
And the biggest thing you can do is THINK. Think about - "what if everyone in the world did what I am doing; treated people as I am treating them" - what kind of world would we leave our children - our grandchildren?
THINK - AND DO - AND CHANGE.
Peace!

Courting the "MUSE"

This Moon's theme is "The Muse" - As we have progressed in our study this year it has been amazingly affirming how frequently our We'moon calendar has corresponded with the monthly theme - and how frequently our own lives have taken us along for the ride.

The book we are using as our 'study guide', "Ariadne's Thread" by Shekhina Mountainwater, though frequently irritating in its datedness (it was concieved of and written in the 70s/80s), usually has some tidbits to learn from.

This month we are pondering "The Muse" and once again We'moon has some treasures:

Sometimes, the Muse
this poem
flung out of my pen
one day.
the ink wanted to go
like that.
excerpt Marni Norwich 2005

Volunteers she called them
Volunteers she called them,
my eighty-five-year-old friend Dorothy,
those flowers that appeared mysteriously
in her Ohio yard
without her planting them,
sown by the wind
or perhaps by bird droppings.

Volunteers, I call them,
those poems that appear
in the poet's dooryard,
unsought,
of uncertain origin,
gifts from the bounty of the universe
Karen Ethelsdattar 2005

Several weeks ago as I was writing in my We'moon calendar and reading the current offerings, I decided to visit their website - to see what the '08 theme was going to be. Once there I found that the 08 calendars are indeed on sale, and they are still accepting contributions for '09. The theme for '09 will be "At the Crossroads" and I just happened to have several pieces of my own that were in keeping with that them which I have now submitted...again a chance happening which goes along with the monthly theme - honoring the MUSE!

I have also found that I am particularly verbose on my blog this month.....where usually I think of things I want to write about but don't ever type them in.....

Thoughts on Mortality

(Not morality - morTality)
"Having children can change the things you think about." -That's a no brainer you say??

Well, one day while I was driving home I think I took it to a new level.

I have a close friend who's mother died before she turned 4, her mother left not only her, but a younger brother and an infant sister as well. Within a year, my friend's father had remarried (I imagine in self-defense, it was the early 70's Mr Mom was over a decade away). My friend grew up with this new person being her mother. Her birth mother did not abandon her, was not legally separated from her, but was ripped away from her by some sort of brain hemmorage. Her maternal grandparents lived many states distant and she grew up not knowing them - it was never clear whether this was by their doing or by my friends father and new wife. Her father and "mother" did keep photo albums of her mother and momentos of her early years locked away, and the facts were NEVER allowed to be spoken.I have known this story since our college days. It has always bothered me when I've allowed myselfe to think about it. But other than the one or two times my friend needed to get it out of her system and talk it remains a secret garden - hidden/overgrown/forgotten. She has only hints of memory of her mother...more of the chaos sthat ensued after her death than any concrete memories of the person who gave her life.

My children are similar in age to 2 of the 3 left behind by this mother. My connections to them are so vibrant, but what would happen if I wasn't here any more? Would they remember the times we've snuggled for hours? Would they remember the silly faces and giggling? Would they remember how much I have loved them?

I hope those questions never need answers.

Now, I GET IT!!!!!

Last night as I was driving home I had an a-ha moment. Actually, I had 2 but I can only remember the content of one. Anyone who has 2 kids less than 2 years apart can probably relate.

This particular a-ha moment was music related. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have been a musician practically since I was born. My primary instrument was violin, but over the years I had lessons on recorder and piano, and viola - which almost became my primary instrument during my highschool years.
Most of my musical experiences up to high school were pretty much fed to me by my father. He was a dance-band and orchestral musician, so Classical music was the biggie with Montovani and the like a close second.

One summer when I was in High School, my brother and I went to sleep-away music camp for 3 weeks. I got in on a viola scholarship, which meant I had to play viola in most of the groups I was scheduled to participate in. They did let me play violin in one quartet. However, to my GREAT disappointment, the music that was selected for that quartet to play was (horrors) a MODERN selection. With "MODERN" being spoken with the same disgust as a dirty word. It was dissonant and had a meter that constantly shifted. It wasn't the Mozart or Vivaldi I was used to - that I knew I could play.

I despized that piece of music - I was depressed that the only chance I had to play the violin was compromized by my lack of appreciation for the "ear-shattering" dissonance of the piece. I don't even remember who wrote it. I do remember that it was a brand new piece and that our little quartet would have been only the second formal performance of it. I say "would have been" because the four of us disliked it so much that it was never performance ready. Our coach - who picked the piece and LOVED it - was highly disappointed in our obvious disrespect and disdain.

That summer, I was introduced to another idea. The idea that music was linked to or could draw out our emotions. I heard one of the counsellors comment that the Brahms trio my brother's group was playing "made them cry" it was so beautiful....

That was new for me. I had always looked at music as a very mechanical thing. You played the notes on the page - with the inflection required by the composer - loud/soft/fast/slow etc. That gave me something to think about, and aspire to. But I didn't connect any of that to my dislike of the "Modern" quartet.

Years have passed - about 25 now - and I've been through a lot. Relationships have come and gone. My life philosophy has undergone stress and modification. I understand and appreciate everything from Gregorian chant to Heavy Metal. I don't ALWAYS want to have to listen to either, however. AND - my big a-ha moment - I LIKE music with"tight" harmonies. AKA dissonance. I frequently prefer it, in fact, and have for many years now...

Jazz, folk, rock, "Modern" classical.... It resonates deep within my heart and soul.

It is about emotions, it's about fear and loss, it's about getting to the other side.
It is about LIFE.
And Modern Life is not always - or even usually - harmonious.

Peace & Enviromentalism Continued

You must BE the change you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Ghandi

Continuing to stand on the soapbox I got up on yesterday...
Peace and ecology go hand-in-hand. A lot of things are really about "have"s vs "have not"s.
If we can each make a smaller impact on the world around us it can only help the planet and all of mama earth's citizens in so many ways....
What Ecological footprint are you leaving?
http://www.reuseablesolutions.com/ - Reusable Solutions

Summer Solstice 2007 - Dreaming of Peace

Ours is a SMALL planet, but this planet is essential to us.
We cannot yet survive independent of it. We need its fresh air and water... we need the warmth of its sun filtered through its atmosphere...we need its gravitational pull on our bones. There is enough potential for Mama Earth to throw us off her back -all on her own - violent earthquakes - waves - monster volcanic erruptions.... We need to stop fighting each other and Her and live like the family we are. Sharing our resources; finding ways to stop laying waste to the fields and oceans; doing what's right for humanity.
We're all connected - in oh, so many ways........
http://www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/ - UNESCO's Transdisciplinary Project "Towards a Culture of Peace"
http://www.the-peace-project.org/index.html -The Peace Project
http://www.sadako.org/ - World Peace Project for Children
http://www.worldpeace.org/peacepoles.html - Peace Pole Project
http://www.worldpeace.org/wpps.html - World Peace Prayer Society
http://www.everestpeaceproject.org/ - The Everest Peace Project
http://peaceproject.com/info/links.htm
http://www.earthday.net/
http://www.thinkearth.org/
http://www.nrdc.org/

Mommy, Did we Loose Missy?

Ok, I have SO MUCH to write about - things going on that are making me CRAZY!
BUT - Last week one night my big boy had a bit of a melt-down and as he was calming down from it he asked the cutest thing....
"Mommy, did we loose Missy?"
"Which Missy do you mean, honey?" I asked. I only know one Missy, but he goes to daycare, so you never know.
"You know Mommy, Missy & Julie"
Missy and Julie and Lizzy are our adult nieces, and Missy moved to Maryland last summer. We really haven't seen too much of her since then. She's been back north a few times, but schedules haven't really meshed. I explained that she lived far away now, but that we would see her some time, hopefully soon. But Ronnie was really upset, so I asked him if he wanted me to help him e-mail her.
"No, Mommy. Can we call her?"
Thankfully I still have her cell phone number - so we dialed it - he pushed the 'send' button.
We left Missy a message telling her we love her and miss her.
It is so easy to loose people, people we care about, people we love - unless we take the time to reach out to them.
Don't forget to connect with those you love today!

Found on the Net

Rules for LIFE

1. You will receive a body.
You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have
the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of trial and error: experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."

4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here."
When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."

7. Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Life is exactly what you think it is.
You create a life that matches your beliefs and expectations.

10. Your answers lie inside you.
The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

11. You will forget all this.

12. You can remember it whenever you want.

Giving Thanks

As the kids are taking their nap I'm taking time to sit back and reflect - ....I think I spent too many years on my own with the ability to have things "just so" to have things stay cleaned up for more than a couple of hours...etc - in those days I was sad - because I didn't have anyone to share life with. And now I get aggrivated every day with all of the little things that pile up - that need to get done over and over and over because of little messes.

The fact is - I wouldn't change any of it. I love my kids, I love my husband, I love the process of keeping the house, and the garden...I even really like my job - ok mostly - The problem is that there is just not enough time to do it all well...to take my time with it and enjoy it in the moment as much as I'd like.

This year has been a year of settling in - to the house, to the marriage and being together all of the time, to the kids - now that Evan is more of a participant....

My goal for next year is to stop worrying about what can't get done - and to enjoy what can be done more. To be in love with my life as much as I love my life - so that I show it more to all of the people I love.

This year, I am thankful for:

My children they are bright active and fun...healthy sassy and LOUD! They make life exciting and wonderful!

MY husband -who is the best daddy I know, loves our family, works hard making our house a home we can be proud of, allows me time for myself and accepts me for who I am.

My parents - who helped us make it through the year. From staying with us when the 4 of us had a stomach virus to keeping the kids for several weekends and Shakespeare evenings so Clark and I could do things as a couple.

My spirit sisters - for being there and listening and understanding and sharing life's ups and downs.

Grammy, Jill, Leana, Donna, Kim and Lizyy for emergency childcare!!!

Leana & Clyde for MANY evenings of dominoes, tea and chocolates!

My job - that I got a new one with a decent boss and moved to the Morristown office.

Blaize - for all of the years of companionship and love and loyalty and mouse hunting.