Time For a little "Feel Good!"

(I invite you to enhance your enjoyment of the video [below] with an understanding of the meaning of the Lyrics.)

Satchita Translation
(verses in Portuguese and Choruses in Indian Sanskrit)

Ask God,

That men find their lost steps
That dreams wake up sleepy eyes,
That love overflows and that we live in peace
That days end with tired arms
That luck strive to be on your side
That pain should not astound me
Or make me restless,

Ask God.

Sat - The formless
Chit - Consciousness of the universe
Ananda- Pure love, bliss and joy
Para brahma --The supreme creator
Purushothama -Who has incarnated in human form to help guide mankind
Paramatma -Who comes to me in my heart, and becomes my inner voice whenever I ask
Sri Bhagavate - The divine mother, the power aspect of creation
Same tha- Together within
Sri Bhagavate -The Father of creation which is unchangeable and permanent
Namaha- I thank you and acknowledge this presence in my life. I ask for your guidance at all times
Om - We are calling on the highest energy, of all there is

Ask God,

To send us from the sky a lot of wisdom
a true love, that nobody goes hungry
a brotherly hug, that we live in peace
That wars be ended and poverty too
That we find happiness among so much sorrow
That light enlighten lost souls,
And a better future

For Once in My Life | Documentary on Spirit of Goodwill Band | Independent Lens | PBS

As I allow this presentation to embrace me ... my thought is "Share this with everyone!" So, my Darling Friend, I invite you to join me. Enjoy!

For Once in My Life | Documentary on Spirit of Goodwill Band | Independent Lens | PBS

Kinship in Spirit

As I enjoyed the televised travel show, I was impressed with the ceaseless supplications, transmitted by these Prayer Flags, on the pathway up to the Bhutan's Taktshang ("tiger's nest") Monastery.

I was glad for a better understanding of the concept of ongoing Prayers being carried heavenward on the bits of constantly-disintegrating fabrics. In this, I was reminded of the Scriptures’ “Pray without ceasing” admonition." In these Prayer Flags, I saw a physical manifestation of that directive. I appreciated further personal enlightenment in hearing the Commentator’s explanation of the Belief that each Individual achieves “higher Karma” through their commitment to climbing upward, in their arduous ascension toward the ‘Holy Site’ of this Monastery. And here I found a like Truth in “Take up your burden and follow …” as presented in so many various forms of exhortation, toward disciplined Discipleship, in scripture. I saw Unity in intent, purpose, and expression here.
My ‘virtual’ pilgrimage served (through the presentation by “Travels to the Edge”), to weave, yet more tightly, threads of Truth, into the Fabric of spiritual unity between Faiths. Truth, offered through the perspectives of authors of the Bible … in complete harmony with the very same Truth demonstrated in the utilization of these Prayer Flags placed by faithful followers of the Buddhist Faith. Both aware of some whispered inner Voice that communicates to them the Message that says, “It is good to always maintain a reverential and prayerful attitude toward that Power that created Us ... All." And Each responding, in methods and forms, in keeping with their particular worlds.
How beautiful is this demonstration of our kinship in spiritual awareness! And how blessed we are when we can accept personal growth and validation of our cultural and societal interpretations, and expressions of our individual spiritual sense … through one another’s shared methodologies. Prayers … whether expressed in whispered words, or bits of flags that send their messages heavenward … are one and the same. Our Souls’ expression of all that we know the need to render. Ever more clearly … we are Kin with each other. Or so it seems to my Understanding.


IMAGE: National Geographic Society

Rum-Raisin Ice Cream

It was in May of 2008 when I last shared, this bit of perspective, with those who honor me with their attention. Since then, I am blessed with new Friends, and Readers, who have not read it. So, with apologies to those for whom this is a 'repeat,' Here is something that I still have strong feelings about.


I do not like Rum-Raisin Ice-cream.

There, I’ve said it.

There is nothing more to say on the matter (yet you and I know that there will, most assuredly, be more said.)

You see, Dear Friend, I do not begrudge anyone else their preference for Rum-Raisin Ice-cream. I hold no grudge against that flavor. There resides no bitterness in my soul toward the combination of elements that constitute that particular blend. I would never counsel anyone to disallow themselves the opportunity to sample that product nor would I undertake to undermine that dessert’s place in the universe of food products.

It is, quite simply, a fact that my own, personal, individual, particularly unique taste buds do not enjoy Rum-Raisin Ice-cream. And that is perfectly all right for there are myriad other choices offering themselves for my delight.

Yet... when my Friend of many years informed me, some time ago, that she is hesitant to allow herself to openly and publicly be my friend because of her children’s (all grown adults) reservations about me, I was disappointed. My big old twenty stone (sounds so much better than the equivalent in pounds) of feelings got themselves hurt. Why? Because ... (here is where I identify with Rum-Raisin Ice Cream) ... I am who I am. She doesn’t understand why I can’t mitigate myself to accommodate the sensitivities of her children. “Aren’t you denying them the opportunity to know you by insisting on Being you?” she asked. “Why can’t you soften up your presentation of yourself?” “They think that you are being ‘phony’ because you come on with such gusto.”

But who will they know if I present another image to them? Will the presentation of a ‘moderated’ me be an honest portrayal? Yet my friend persisted in the idea that we must ‘respect’ other people’s ‘space’ by adopting behavior that accommodates their sensitivities.

I lived the first four decades of my life in the daily practice of ‘accommodation.’ I was never relaxed. Every encounter was a ‘performance’ for the benefit and to gain the acceptance of, or create comfort for, my ‘Audience.’ This was as true with an Audience of one, as it was with a large gathering in some public meeting place. Consequently, no one (including myself) knew Me. I had no intimate relationships. There existed no place where I could go to, firstly, know who I was for my own knowledge and, secondly, to be that Person in comfort. The accepted social norm was that this was (and is) proper. I now reject that norm (for myself.) I also embrace the consequences resulting from that rejection.

One of those consequences is the reality that I will be (and am) sometimes rejected as a Person. That too is absolutely OK. For my Dear Reader, Rum-Raisin Ice-cream is not for everyone. But it is there for the individuals who have a preference for it and find enjoyment in indulging in its particular delights. And the Friendships that I now enjoy, I enjoy without reservation, in all of the intimate, passionate, and exuberant freedom, that is to be found, in Being the genuine ME.

(Don't you just love all of Life's available Flavours!?)



(NOTE: If You have been reading my stuff since February of last year, first,thank you for your kindness! Secondly, Yes! you have, indeed seen this piece before (March 2007.) But I like it! And I like to "run it up the flag pole" around this time each year (ice cream season is upon us!) So, if nothing else, maybe it will inspire a visit to your favorite ice cream parlor. [smile])


IMAGE Through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

By Whatever Name ... In Every Way

The heart of a Father soars
at the first unintelligible sounds of loving recognition
from his infant child.

He requires no lofty phrases of oratory …
no declaration of profound allegiance
or obedient devotion.

His joyful acceptance
of this simplest, unadorned, adoration and trust
is without reservation or qualification.

This is true in the lands and regions
of all of humankind.

Language, custom, tradition, and setting
have no dilutive effect
on this timeless dynamic.

So it was with those first recognitions
of an awesome Power …
some inexplicable Source …
by earliest Man.

He expressed his sense of wonder and awe
in scratchings on wood, stone, or earth.

He gave vent to his need for expression
through ritual and ceremony …
with dance, song, and works of artful display.

The Father of all that is
cannot have been any less affected
by these efforts to speak,
than any father regarding his child.

A touch; a look; a sound from an adoring child
is always appropriate and correct
in the heart of its father.

I am certain that the “I Am” hears
the absolute, unadulterated message, from the Worshiper,
when addressed as Allah, God, Yahweh, Vishnu,
or through the rhythms from a ceremonial log.

This surely has been … and, forever will be, so.

John-Michael

27 September 2010

Generosity of Spirit

"It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others." ALFRED ADLER

Many years ago, I found myself kneeling at the finish line, on a track with six lanes of “runners” coming toward me … my camera at the ready … cheering the Runner progressing toward me in the lane that I occupied … and feeling the tug at my heart-strings as I saw him falling further and further behind the competitors in the five other lanes. The runner was my son. The event was one of several that he was competing in as part of the annual Special Olympics (a version of athletic competition tailored to the special limitations [all mentally impaired to differing degrees … some physically impaired] of its participants.) My son has cerebral palsy and the portions of his brain effected result in a moderate impairment of his intellectual functions as well as a minimal impairment of his hips, and legs. He was, on that day, the only participant in that race who relied in the services of crutches. And it was due to this limitation that he was losing ground to the other competitors.
My role, in all of this, was to subtly assist him in maintaining a focus on his own lane so that he would not drift off into the adjoining lanes. (That challenge of "focus" being one of the aspects of his impairment.) I accomplished this (without causing him the embarrassment that would accompany an obvious display of my intentions) by appearing to be intent on photographing him as he raced. I could see the growing dismay in his eyes as he recognized the inevitability of crossing the finish line well after all of the others had.

Then a wonderful thing, that (even at this moment, all of these years later) still has my eyes brimming with tears, at the recollection. The runner in the lane to my son’s right looked over his shoulder … saw the sadness and frustration on my son’s face … and stopped … and waited … and ushered my son … ahead of him … across the finish line. And then applauded my son (while also cheering him.)
Need I say anything more? Is there anything that my words could add to the eloquence of that young man’s sermon in demonstrated compassion and self-sacrifice? Can the poetry of one person’s obvious generosity of spirit be enhanced by anyone else’s commentary? I think not! So rather than speak to that young gentleman’s nobility, I will speak to us … You and Me.
Would it take so much for us to step aside and allow the one struggling along-side us to move ahead? Will our position in our own life-race be jeopardized by a spirit of generosity and sacrifice? Is that “finish line” of immediate gratification worth the loss of the higher goal of betterment of our shared environment? Will we be any “better off” as a people if we insist on focusing on our own agendas to the exclusion of a sensitivity to the plight of our neighbors? Did that young man not demonstrate, to all of us, the noble value of assuming responsibility for and taking action to benefit those who (while doing all that they are capable of doing) are falling behind?
No, My Dear Reader, I can not add to, nor do I wish to detract from the beauty of the message delivered by that wonderful Human Being’s behavior. So, in this thought on reaching out and touching others, I will dry my tears of recollection … and send these considerations to your safe-keeping.



IMAGE: Matthew Michael Brown (My Son)

Aristotle (pretty smart guy) on FRIENDSHIP

The ancients listed friendship among the highest of virtues. It was an essential element in the fully flourishing life. “For without friends,” Aristotle says, “no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” Words worth remembering in a world of perishable “goods.”

According to Aristotle, friendship either is, or it involves, a state of Character, a Virtue. There are three kinds of friendship. These are based on pleasure in another’s company (friendships of Pleasure), or on usefulness in association (friendships of Utility), or on mutual admiration (friendships in Virtue). All are essential to the good life, and the best sorts of friends will not only admire each other’s excellence but take pleasure in each other’s company and find their association to be of mutual advantage. Here is a portion of Aristotle’s classic discussion.

From: The Nicomachean Ethics

"As the motives to friendship differ in kind, so do the respective feelings and Friendships. The species then of Friendship are three, in number equal to the objects of it, since in the line of each there may be “mutual affection ... mutually known.”

Now they who have Friendship for one another desire one another’s Good according to the motive of their Friendship; accordingly, they whose motive is Utility have no Friendship for one another really, but only insofar as some good arises to them from one another.

And they whose motive is Pleasure are in like case: I mean, they have Friendship for men of easy pleasantry, not because they are of a given character but because they are pleasant to themselves. So then, they whose motive to Friendship is Utility love their friends for what is good to themselves; they whose motive is Pleasure do so for what is pleasurable to themselves; that is to say, not insofar as the friend beloved is but insofar as he is useful or pleasurable. These Friendships are a matter of result; since the object is not beloved in that he is the man he is, but in that he furnishes advantage or pleasure, as the case may be.

Such Friendships are, of course, very liable to dissolution if the parties do not continue alike: I mean, that the others cease to have any Friendship for them when they are no longer pleasurable or useful. Now it is the nature of both pleasure and utility not to be permanent, but constantly varying: so, of course, when the motive which made them friends is vanished, the Friendship likewise dissolves; since it existed only relatively to those circumstances…

That then is perfect Friendship which subsists between those who are good and whose similarity consists in their goodness: for these wish one another’s good in similar ways; insofar as they are good (and good they are in themselves); and those are specially friends who wish good to their friends for their sakes, because they feel thus toward them on their own account and not as a mere matter of result; so the Friendship between these men continues to subsist so long as they are good; and goodness, we know, has a principle of permanence….

Rare it is probable Friendships of this kind will be, because men of this kind are rare. ... [ Note: With regard to the matter of 'rarity', it is worthy to note that, given the definitions of values inherent to Temperaments and Personality Styles (as identified by the “Myers/Briggs” methodology) those individuals given to the “Utility” and “Pleasure” motivations, as their most NATURAL and easily followed inclinations, make up approximately 85% of the general population. For these (the vast majority of the population) to seek the "Good" motivation requires some determined effort of Will.] ... Besides, all requisite qualifications being presupposed, there is further required time and intimacy: for, as the proverb says, men cannot know one another “till they have eaten the requisite quantity of salt together”; nor can they, in fact, admit one another to intimacy (much less be friends) till each has appeared to the other and been proved to be a fit object of Friendship. They who speedily commence an interchange of friendly actions may be said to wish to be friends, but they are not so unless they are also proper objects of Friendship and mutually known to be such: that is to say … a desire for Friendship may arise quickly but not Friendship itself."

_______________________________________

With the insights stated by Aristotle and restated countless times since then by innumerable others in various forms ... it should be clear to all that we do not all share the same hopes for, nor desires in, our friends. It is, then, my humble opinion that it might suite us better (and be far more fun), if we could celebrate the rare gifts in Friends that Life has given us; exercise the particular senses of 'taste' that satisfy our requirements for new friends; and avoid the easily available habit of condemning others for not living up to our unique set of expectations and/or qualifications for our "Friends."

I found ... in my personal quest to find a means for understanding (and accepting) the vagaries of those supposing to, at one moment, present themselves as Friend ... then assume themselves to be but passing Acquaintances ... that Dear Aristotle's observations were of great help. I offer them to You, Dear Reader and Friend, in the hope that your happiness and comfort will be similarly served.

Acceptance ... Respect ... Honor ... and Appreciation of each other - as we are - makes for a delightful world in which to celebrate the wonder of who we are. Just a thought ... [smile]


This item submitted with credit and thanks to the work of William J. Bennet in his "Virtues of Friendship and Loyalty." (A wonderful idea for a gift)

Our 4th Visit to an IDEALIST Neighborhood Card Shop

We Idealists are, if you will, the “Neighborhood Card Shop” of life’s market place. We do not offer the “necessities” of life … the lumber or nails … the motor oils … the bread or butter, nor the wine or cheese. We offer, instead, the reminders of the ideals that make all of the essentials worth their pursuit. Meat and potatoes we do not present … but we do offer the bouquet, the candles, the card that expresses the sentiment that You might wish to convey over the fine dinner prepared from the meat and potatoes. We do not provide essential nutrients for the sustenance of the Flesh ... we offer the reminders of the Spirit and Soul, the Emotion and Desire that inspire the Heart as well as the Mind. We provide the ’soundtrack’ that adds dimension to the ’movie’ of life.

There are far fewer "Card Shops" than there are other merchants. There is good reason for their infrequency. Life’s day-to-day requirements have material need for far more of the providers of ‘basics.’ It is also true that The Almighty created a fewer number of us Idealists in life’s mix. (Providing evidence of obvious 'Divine Intention' in this design ... fewer 'spices' are necessary in the 'recipe' of living.)

I know my place. I do not offer myself as your provider of your day-to-day material requisites. But, My Dear Friend, I ask that you grant proper acknowledgment and acceptance of … respect and care for my place in the “shopping district” of your world. I will serve you happily and faithfully.



(Those of you familiar with this blog will recall having seen this message before. I replay it here, once every year or so, to allow new Readers to know me better. I do hope that this little 'window' into my Person serves that purpose well.)




IMAGES [top]Silvia Doberti,
[center] Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com
[lower] Jon Sullivan, PDPhoto.org

Did You See ...?

I always look forward to traveling as a passenger. So much, of what surrounds me, is lost to me, when I drive. Thus, I find myself 'discovering' all manner of 'new' sights, when free to let my focus take in the fullness, of all that surrounds, in what may be a very familiar area. If I mention my discoveries to whomever is driving, they often declare that I have found things, that they had not, previously, been aware of.

Just as this is true in travel, I find that we all 'find' different sounds in shared enjoyment of musical selections. I am very fond of the Oboe and Bassoon, while my companion may be more inclined to being attuned to Strings or Percussion. Our different perspectives make for an enhanced life experience, when we share.

These diversities of awareness occurred to me as I engaged myself in one of my favorite pastimes ... perusing the "In Pictures" area of The BBC News. So, I thought that it might be fun to share some of my recent discoveries ... and see if those elements of the photographs are the same 'focus draws' that attract your attention. Kind of the same exercise that we did as children looking at the same cloud formations ... yet seeing completely different images in them. So, here goes ...

The Photographer saw this image from a Fashion Show, one way ...

Photo: Philippe eLopez/AFP/Getty Images/BBC

But I saw something else in it ...

Here, the Photographer asked us to see the Dogs
following the Trained Monkeys ...

Photo: DeShaka Ivan Chowdhurt/AFP/Getty Images/BBC

But I saw something entirely different ...

And (as you will note from their shared "comments"),
'Lime,' and 'SulDog' found this young man more interesting.

We were asked to see the pattern of Circles in the Snow, as created by the Traffic ...

Photo: BBC

I prefer to enhance the Pattern without noting the causation ...

A Tasting of Cooked Rice, was the Subject here ...

Photo: BBC

But not for Me ...

'Sam the Koala' has been popular for his survival of his injuries
in Australia's recent tragedy of wildfires ...

Photo: AP/BBC

But his magical Expression grabbed my attention ...

I surely have enjoyed sharing these Moments and these Images with You, Dear One. I thank you for your companionship. And please remember ... my happy focus is always unwaveringly on my Love of ... YOU. [smile]



All IMAGES from BBC News / In Pictures / The Big Picture

Kinship in Spirit

As I enjoyed the televised travel show … I was impressed with the ceaseless supplications transmitted by these Prayer Flags, on the pathway up to the Bhutan's Taktshang ("tiger's nest") monastery. I was glad for a better understanding of the concept of ongoing Prayers being carried heavenward on the bits of constantly-disintegrating fabrics. And, I was reminded of the scriptures’ “Pray without ceasing” admonition. In these Prayer Flags, I saw a physical manifestation of that directive. I find further personal enlightenment, in hearing the Commentator’s explanation of the Belief that each Individual achieves “higher Karma” through their commitment to climbing upward, in their arduous ascension toward the ‘Holy Site’ of this Monastery. And here I found a like Truth in “Take up your burden and follow …” as presented in so many various forms of exhortation, toward disciplined Discipleship, in scripture. I saw Unity in intent, purpose, and expression here.

My ‘virtual’ pilgrimage served (through the presentation by “Travel to the Edge”), to weave, yet more tightly, threads of Truth, into the Fabric of spiritual unity between Faiths. Truth, offered through the perspectives of authors of the Bible … in complete harmony with the very same Truth demonstrated in the utilization of these Prayer Flags placed by faithful followers of the Buddhist Faith. Both aware of some whispered inner Voice that communicates to them the Message that says, “It is good to always maintain a reverential and prayerful attitude toward that Power that created Us ... All." And Each responding, in methods and forms, in keeping with their particular worlds.

How beautiful is this demonstration of our kinship in spiritual awareness! And how blessed we are when we can accept personal growth and validation of our cultural and societal interpretations, and expressions of our individual spiritual sense … through one another’s shared methodologies. Prayers … whether expressed in whispered words, or bits of flags that send their messages heavenward … are one and the same. Our Souls’ expression of all that we know the need to render. Ever more clearly … we are Kin with each other. Or so it seems to my Understanding.


IMAGE: National Geographic Society

The Right to be ...

Embracing a perspective that runs contrary to what we see as “Truth” is neither a natural, nor comfortable, function of our human psyche. I offer here, a valuable tool for the sometimes-challenging task of accepting the hard-to-accept.

This “device” was a gift from one of my favorite people. The Reverend James Ellenburg was the Pastor of my church some years back. His background of work in fabric mills of South Carolina, and raising a family while answering the Call to the ministry ... then attending college, in response to that Calling, and maintaining his family, all the while ... gave him a delicious, earthy, spice of perspective on life. He was as 'down-to-earth' as I have ever know a man to be.


I enjoyed, immensely, watching him when he delivered a particularly bothersome point of instruction in a message. He would lean on the pulpit ... look out across the congregation ... and allow a slow, gentle, almost-impish grin to spread across his face. “I can see, by the redness on some of your faces, that you do not like what I am saying to you. That’s alright … you have the God-given, and constitutionally-guaranteed, RIGHT… to be … Wrong.”

He would then chuckle with an irresistible kindness that made his point even more profound.


Many times over the past years, I have used Jim Ellenburg’s humorous truth to cope with a challenging person in my path. “It’s O K, you have the right to be wrong.” (silently spoken to myself) puts a smile on my face while defusing a potentially unpleasant moment. What makes it work is the imbedded truth that they do have “the right to BE,” or think, say, or believe whatever or whoever they choose.

I can honor that even if I do need a little spoonful of humor ... to make it palatable.







IMAGES: Through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

Love's Creator

On the eighth day of April, of this year, I completed the sixty-second year of my personal pilgrimage on this silly little globe. Yes! I do see it as silly… inasmuch as I choose (often) to see the “realities” of life in my own contrarian way. As all about me are declaring the grandeur of our place in God’s firmament… I say “Not so!” For I am convinced that all that we now see… all that we perceive and understand… is but a fraction of what is. And that, My Dear Friend, I find exciting and inspiring. That there is so very much that I have no hint of. That beyond the elements of life that I am thrilled by (and there are many, many such elements… among them, You, as you read me now)… there are realities and worlds that are being born and completing their own cycles of life… without even the slightest of awareness of them, in my perception.

But I digress (as is often my way)… from my central thought of this day. And I would not navigate, today, from what has occupied my thinking for many years now… for I now feel confident enough in my understanding (and in my chronologically established right) to state what has pulled and tugged at my being all of that while. And that is, simply, that there is the Voice of… the message of… the intent of my Creator in every element of all that is. And all I need do, to know… to hear… to have a moment with the Voice of our Creator… is… to be willing. There is a portion of scripture that speaks to the “foolishness” of preaching… and puts in a healthy perspective what we have presented to us by all-to-human voices around us. Another that advises that “if they do not tell of Me… the rocks will speak of me.”… which I always remember when science discovers some new truth about our world’s past… from rocks, with their record of history sealed in their structures. And, for years now, I have read, listened, observed, felt, heard, and enjoyed the growing understanding within my core Being, that the One who Created all that is and maintains all in a beautifully choreographed dance of sublime perfection… withholds knowledge and intimate awareness of Him (if you will allow my use of a gender-specific identification of the One who created gender as we know it)… from… no one! Our Creator is transparent in every aspect of possible consideration… if I am but willing to know. To “be still… and know.”

It is my continual joy to see and hear and discover more about this life in (literally) every day of my life. I listen to what you say when you speak to me… and I not only hear the text of your message… but (because I am listening for it… because I am willing to hear it) I hear the texture of what you communicate to me. I hear the ‘music’ accompanying your lyrics. I sense the depth and breadth of the portrait that you paint… even while you intend only to give freedom to feelings and concerns that you have been wanting to make available to a caring ear. I learn from You as I learn from every source and force influencing my life. All because I am willing to know. I have adopted a lifestyle and adapted to a set of life-circumstances that permits me the luxury of taking whatever time necessary to stop and dwell on the tiniest of details of life. Because I want to understand… I have willed myself to understanding. And what I understand is, without the slightest of hesitations, that every culture… every society… every people of every place in time and locale… has had available to them the insights and understandings to know all that they want to or are able to know about our Creator and the omnipotent Love that governs our very existence… at every level… past, present, and most certainly through whatever Eternity is.

What has served as catalyst for my stating what is my personal conviction and knowledge, is the present (though certainly not new) state of discord in our world… which exists primarily as a direct result of sectarian ‘religious’ influences. Power Centers that use as their ’justification’ some ridiculous idea that they and they alone have an exclusive franchise on access to the One who created us all… equally. Equal in our ability to hear the Voice speaking out the messages of the rocks. Equal in our abilities to exercise our will in accepting or rejecting the influences of ego, greed, avarice, pride, and hate… as well as charity, forgiveness, humility, generosity and love. Equal in our abilities to nurture and care for each other and bind the wounds inflicted by circumstances of all sorts.

The Creator of all of us has no ’brand name’… no stylish ’logo’ that is a registered stamp of authenticity. We were created before the existence of any of these nonsensical marketing organizations that sell their religious product under labels of protectionist divisiveness… be they operating from mosques, churches, temples, teepees, huts, or under trees. What they are marketing is what has been and will always be before them and after them. And their performance of the illustrative play that tells the eternal tale, is just as it was well before recorded history. A play that has its script spoken through the spirit of EVERY person who has ever been. A script that is the Voice within each breast of each willing listener. And it is the purest folly to make feeble attempts to literal-ize the play performed as a human expression of that script… that individually realized spiritual understanding… and played out in the scriptures of each particular culture and society in the costumes, in terms of the customs, in the language and dialect of the peoples to whom that truth is revealed. For even the most cursory of studies will readily reveal the absolute fact that from the earliest of cave carvings through the recordings of Mayans, Native Tribes of all the world, Far Eastern, Middle Eastern, European, and Western worlds… all have always had at their core… the very same script… the same revelations… the same myths, the same stories and legends, all the same! And the only denominator common to all of them… is their shared Creator… Who has always whispered truth into the ear of every willing soul… individually.

So, My Dear Friend… with this understanding at my core… you can see why I am distressed and saddened by all that we are inflicting upon each other in our world today. And all under some variation of a flag of religious, sectarian, legitimacy. Such a foolish waste! I prefer to “listen to the rocks.” I enjoy hearing the song of nature that awakens each day and serenades the world with reassurances that are consistently there… for all who will but be willing to listen. It is my personal choice to respect and find common ground for understanding with every soul that Life allows me to meet. I celebrate and find delight in learning new variations in the performing of my Creator’s script as presented in other belief practices. I have, indeed, put on my very own set of ’blinders’ that shut out conflict… and, instead, focus my gaze on harmonies. For, My Dear and patient Reader… I am absolutely convinced of the overriding truth of one of the very earliest of scriptures taught to me… “God is Love.”

"Peasant Food"

"You eat Peasant food" my French pastry-chef Friend told me. And his comment refreshed a memory of the label of "Potaje" that was visited on my daily fare by a Spanish Friend who explained that I enjoyed a sustenance that was traditionally enjoyed by the Peasants of Spain who threw all of the ingredients of their meal into a pot ... and concoct a meal that is the result of whatever that blending produces. This "potage," or "thick soup," of life is what I do, genuinely, enjoy. And that is a very good thing! For it is what constitutes the mainstay of my diet.

Which is what I had come to mind as I considered the variety of “Ingredients” that Life has brought to my “Bowl of Life.” My daily experience is richly blessed with a diversity of Individuals who have no obvious commonality with my life. I have my experience enhanced by a range of Peoples whose life-styles, experiences, educations, cultures, nationalities, religions, native languages, and customs, are all of a scope of such magnificent range that I could never have dreamed of garnering such folk by any concentrated effort of my own. But they are, each and all, a comfortable and completely delectable ingredient in the Potaje of living that nourishes, nurtures, sustains, and enhances my every day.

All of this became a clear and glorious reality of Awareness just now … as I was writing a response to a heart-warming comment left by a gentleman who has become, in a very short, and marvelous time, a dear Treasure to the very core of my Soul. Jim Sullivan (also known as “SulDog”) is a man who first captured my heart by his unfailing habit of always referring to his wife as “MY WIFE” … all in capitals … every time. His openly … even overt … love and respect for this lady, and the beautiful relationship that they share, won my instant and total admiration and respect. I fell in love with this “SulDog” guy. And all of that emotion and regard began spilling out from the keyboard, as I typed my response to his comment, this morning. Which, in turn, spilled over into this posting.

I began reflecting (with happy gratitude) on the assemblage of folks who I have written notes to in just the most recent days. And I am quite aglow with loving appreciation and delight in the assurance that we … each of us in our own very unique and individual respects … share genuine respect for, love of, and comfort with … each other. I am so very blessed!

So, my Dearest Reader, I am giving you a window through which to see the wonder of Possibility that Life brings … to Any and All who are willing to make available their own “cooking pot” of life, to the richness of “Ingredients” that Life has waiting and ready for our support, encouragement, and happiness. I whole-heartedly recommend, to each of You, the Wonders and Joys of “eating Peasant Food.”

Larry (part one)

Matthew neither needed nor wanted his Dad hanging around. He was basking in the delights of an all-encompassing cocoon of adoring attention, provided by two beautiful teen-age girls, who were serving as Volunteers, at the Special Olympics. They had Matt’s schedule of events. They knew when and where he was to compete. Hence, having a Parent hanging about would be nothing but a impediment to their enjoyment of all of the peripheral events provided for the enjoyment and entertainment of the attendees to this annual event. Food, fun, and games abounded. And none of those required my presence. So, I made my Self scarce. I took this opportunity to meander through the grounds and see what there was to see.

In the course of said meandering, I happened upon the swimming venue. The room enclosing the pool was packed to capacity with Friends, Families, and Fans of the Participants in the swimming events. It was loud, humid, and heavy with enthusiastic energy. So, I found myself a place out of the way and watched. The athletes were entering the pool for the next competition. All walked to the pool’s edge and eased themselves into the waters. All … save one. This exception to the group did not have the use of his legs. Consequently, he was lowered into the pool by attending hands. I wondered at this obviously unfair situation. But knowing how difficult it is to group contestants into homogeneous classes of capabilities … when you are, by definition, working with a population of all-handicapped individuals … I accepted the obvious inequity as something that was probably unavoidable. Then … the starting gun.

There was a mad flurry of churned waters as all of the swimmers struck out for the opposite end of the pool … where they were to touch the wall, and return to the Finish point … where they had begun. Away they went. They crowded facility was made nearly-unbearable by the cheering voices of all in attendance. The coaches screamed. The Volunteers exhorted their Charges. The Swimmers who awaited their events, all yelled and hollered. It was an electric environment. And in the midst of it all … was Larry. How do I know that his name is Larry? Because, Dear Friend, after the group of contestants touched the far wall … as they in mass struck out for the point of origins that constituted the race’s finish line … they passed the lone swimmer who was not-even half-way across the pool. They had all … save the One … reached the finish, whilst he was yet struggling toward the far wall. They, each and all, had removed themselves from the waters … and he had not yet brought himself t the turn-around point. “Take him from the pool when he reaches that first wall. Save him any further embarrassment and frustrated anguish!” I thought to myself. But … No! This single Swimmer did no less than touch the far wall … and turned for the opposite wall. Slowly … inexorably … ploddingly he began his lone trip across what (in that moment) looked like an immeasurable expanse of water. Then it was that I learned his name.

“Laaar -Ree, Laaar -Ree, Laaar -Ree,” chanted the crowd. Every eye was on this single individual. Unfettered good-will and enthusiastic encouragement was on every face in that place. “Laaar -Ree, Laaar -Ree, Laaar -Ree,” they went on … louder and with increasing vigor they cheered. And Larry ploughed through the interminable length of that pool to a chorus of his name … on everyone’s lips … over and over. Until, at long last, he completed the swim … and was removed, from the waters, by the same caring hands totally, completely, and absolutely spent … and smiling the smile of a victor! It was Larry’s moment. He was … at that time and in that place … the most significant and loved person in the whole world. And Lady Muse whispered to me.

I knew, in that moment, to the accompaniment of those cheering voices, and Larry’s glowing countenance, a lesson of timeless value. For, you see, Life had presented a demonstration of an eternal Truth in this experience that I had been privileged to be enveloped in. I will tell you about it … in following installments. I look forward to sharing it with you.

The Math Team

An opportunity for insight ... a rare time to be with her
Parenting in the “Adult Chaperon” role
With (of all things) her school's Math Competition Team
How challenging could that possibly be (besides the math)?

A chance to see why she is even on the Team
She hates math … and isn’t that good at it (I think?)
But she is one of the four … very curious … why?
What role does she play … how does she contribute?

To the venue we go … the two girls, two boys
One girl studiously checking over her note cards
One boy engaged in his book, the other with headphones
And she … she is detached and seems oblivious

I see the scheme … one team per table
Problem placed face down … do not start ‘til signaled
Then the bell … and I watch them set to work
Each with their own style and focus

The boys locked into the mechanics of the problem
The ‘Other Girl’ explaining the language and parameters
She listens … takes it all in … doing little that would be math
Then she strikes … directing the others … taking charge

Other teams work feverishly … members contributing equally
Her team is disparate … she is the coxswain
She beats out the stroke cadence … exhorts the efforts
Then, they have each contributed … she raises her hand

They win, or come in second, or third, of two dozen teams
Another problem … same scheme … She is the coordinator
Over and over they are in the top finishers
And they win a trophy … first time for their school

Break time … all of the other schools’ teams talk of the Mall
I have another plan … to that Special Park … out of the way
Those oak trees fighting for sunlight … by growing horizontally
Huge trunks just feet off of the ground … begging to be climbed

Girls leap from the car …excited for something of boys’ domain
The boys stay locked into heavy metal and book … watching
The book is marked … set aside … the headphones removed
Boys hesitantly approach a forest of strange accommodations

These four find new joys … none had ever climbed a tree
Physical endeavors were unknown to them … beyond them
There was laughter … silliness from the Math Team!
I saw her in her element … the Leader … the Dominant One

Life's Scars

“Thank you, Muse.”

I just had a recollection of a conversation that I had with my son’s mother subsequent to my presenting her with a gift. If memory serves well, it was a Mothers’ Day gift. Our son was quite small … was involved in all manner of tests, therapies, and training … all related to his cerebral palsy. One of his accoutrements was an elaborate system of metal and leather leg and foot braces that went from his shoes to a thickly padded ‘belt’ around his waist.

His mother was voicing her concern that the metal of the braces was doing damage to the beautiful finish of a lovely rocking chair that I had given her for Mothers’ Day. “One day, you will look at those gouges and scratches in the wood … and recall fondly the moments when we held and rocked him in that chair. Those will be treasured reminders of the circumstances and the feelings that are now so fresh and real to us. Let him record all that he can in that chair’s finish … for our later enjoyment.” I responded.

And isn’t it so with all of life’s wounds, scars, and bruises? Do we not have, at our option, the ability to recall the pains endured in their acquisition, with some measured sense of accomplishment … or at least a dollop of gratitude for our survival through it all. So, My Dear Reader, I offer this little encouragement for you. Please do not turn your back on those circumstances in which you find yourself labouring. Choose, instead, the option of embracing all of what is this moment’s engagement, with a spirit of eminent victory over passing impediments. And an awareness that, in some future time and venue, you will have, at your command, some “souvenirs” of these challenges, to revisit, and allow as reminders of your victories and accomplishments along the way.

So, today, and in all of your days, I encourage you, My Dear Friend, to embrace all of Life’s offerings to you. Fully know, and appreciate … live, and savour … sense, and indulge in, every element of your life experience without fear of or concern for the possibility of “scars” that may result from your allowance of complete involvement. For to live a life governed by a focus on “scar avoidance,” is to risk passing through life as an unblemished cadaver … absent any experiential “wounds”… but totally Lifeless. Your “rocking chair” may be show-room pristine … but the cost would be the loss of a treasury of memories and blessings. And what a waste that would be! I urge you to accept, embrace, celebrate, and enjoy all that Life gives you (even the bumps and bruises.)

And … yes, these many years later … my son’s mother did, indeed, remind me of that moment … as we looked, with a complex and rich blend of feelings, at those well-earned scars on that, well-worn, chair.

Revisiting an IDEALIST Neighborhood Card Shop

We Idealists are, if you will, the “Neighborhood Card Shop” of life’s market place. We do not offer the “necessities” of life … the lumber or nails … the motor oils … the bread or butter, nor the wine or cheese. We offer, instead, the reminders of the ideals that make all of the essentials worth their pursuit. Meat and potatoes we do not present … but we do offer the bouquet, the candles, the card that expresses the sentiment that You might wish to convey over the fine dinner prepared from the meat and potatoes. We do not provide essential nutrients for the sustenance of the Flesh ... we offer the reminders of the Spirit and Soul, the Emotion and Desire that inspire the Heart as well as the Mind. We provide the ’soundtrack’ that adds dimension to the ’movie’ of life.

There are far fewer "Card Shops" than there are other merchants. There is good reason for their infrequency. Life’s day-to-day requirements have material need for far more of the providers of ‘basics.’ It is also true that The Almighty created a fewer number of us Idealists in life’s mix. (Providing evidence of obvious 'Divine Intention' in this design ... fewer 'spices' are necessary in the 'recipe' of living.)

I know my place. I do not offer myself as your provider of your day-to-day material requisites. But, My Dear Friend, I ask that you grant proper acknowledgment and acceptance of … respect and care for my place in the “shopping district” of your world. I will serve you happily and faithfully.



(Those of you familiar with this blog will recall having seen this message before. I replay it here, once every year or so, to allow new Readers to know me better. I do hope that this little 'window' into my Person serves that purpose well.)




IMAGES [top]Silvia Doberti,
[center] Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com
[lower] Jon Sullivan, PDPhoto.org

Rum-Raisin Ice Cream

I do not like Rum-Raisin Ice-cream.

There, I’ve said it.

There is nothing more to say on the matter (yet you and I know that there will, most assuredly, be more said.)

You see, Dear Friend, I do not begrudge anyone else their preference for Rum-Raisin Ice-cream. I hold no grudge against that flavor. There resides no bitterness in my soul toward the combination of elements that constitute that particular blend. I would never counsel anyone to disallow themselves the opportunity to sample that product nor would I undertake to undermine that dessert’s place in the universe of food products.

It is, quite simply, a fact that my own, personal, individual, particularly unique taste buds do not enjoy Rum-Raisin Ice-cream. And that is perfectly all right for there are myriad other choices offering themselves for my delight.

Yet... when my Friend of many years informed me, some time ago, that she is hesitant to allow herself to openly and publicly be my friend because of her children’s (all grown adults) reservations about me, I was disappointed. My big old twenty stone (sounds so much better than the equivalent in pounds) of feelings got themselves hurt. Why? Because ... (here is where I identify with Rum-Raisin Ice Cream) ... I am who I am. She doesn’t understand why I can’t mitigate myself to accommodate the sensitivities of her children. “Aren’t you denying them the opportunity to know you by insisting on Being you?” she asked. “Why can’t you soften up your presentation of yourself?” “They think that you are being ‘phony’ because you come on with such gusto.”

But who will they know if I present another image to them? Will the presentation of a ‘moderated’ me be an honest portrayal? Yet my friend persisted in the idea that we must ‘respect’ other people’s ‘space’ by adopting behavior that accommodates their sensitivities.

I lived the first four decades of my life in the daily practice of ‘accommodation.’ I was never relaxed. Every encounter was a ‘performance’ for the benefit and to gain the acceptance of, or create comfort for, my ‘Audience.’ This was as true with an Audience of one, as it was with a large gathering in some public meeting place. Consequently, no one (including myself) knew Me. I had no intimate relationships. There existed no place where I could go to, firstly, know who I was for my own knowledge and, secondly, to be that Person in comfort. The accepted social norm was that this was (and is) proper. I now reject that norm (for myself.) I also embrace the consequences resulting from that rejection.

One of those consequences is the reality that I will be (and am) sometimes rejected as a Person. That too is absolutely OK. For my Dear Reader, Rum-Raisin Ice-cream is not for everyone. But it is there for the individuals who have a preference for it and find enjoyment in indulging in its particular delights. And the Friendships that I now enjoy, I enjoy without reservation, in all of the intimate, passionate, and exuberant freedom, that is to be found, in Being the genuine ME.

(Don't you just love all of Life's available Flavours!?)



(NOTE: If You have been reading my stuff since February of last year, first,thank you for your kindness! Secondly, Yes! you have, indeed seen this piece before (March 2007.) But I like it! And I like to "run it up the flag pole" around this time each year (ice cream season is upon us!) So, if nothing else, maybe it will inspire a visit to your favorite ice cream parlor. [smile])


IMAGE Through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

Let's Address That "Yearnache"

"An 'aching' what?" you will now be asking. To which I point to your own sense of Yearning. Yours, mine, all of ours. Our Yearnings. How seldom it is that we hear (if, indeed we ever hear) any mention of yearning. The word conjures the absolute sense of that always present yet silent and unassuming vacuum within that wants, endlessly, for filling. David Keirsey in his wonderful work "Please Understand Me" (particularly the book 2) artfully presents, in his explanation of our "“values", the YEARNING facet of our total BEING.

"“Why" you may ask "“is this attention to individuality so important that you continually insist that we are repeatedly revisit it?" I am so glad that you asked. The importance (in part) lies in the necessity of avoidance of a malady that plagued me through my first forty years. Here I will present, for your consideration, the idea of preventing the debilitating nemesis: YEARNACHE. That'’s right! The all-encompassing aching that has its roots in the absence of fulfillment of Ones individual aspect ... Yearning. Hence, I am, hereby and forevermore, coining the never-before-known Yearnache to establish an identity for a naturally recurring reality in my life (and, I might add, something that I have recognized in the lives of many, many others all about me over the years.)

You see, each of us has, as a major influence on our inborn value systems, a knowable and predictable Yearning element. The fact that such a consideration is not a part of our daily transactional vocabulary (nor is it something that we even know how to address inwardly) leaves the matter unaddressed (most often for the entire duration of our lifetimes.) Thus, it is my absolute conviction that we are, most likely, apt to live lives of, not only unsatisfied but also, unidentified Yearnings. We are presented with social, cultural, religious, family, and moral standards by which we are taught to establish and measure our Desires. But far too often we are left (after satisfying those commonly accepted and recognized Desires) with an empty and sadly unsatisfied sense that we are not, somehow, complete.

Most often the answer to our sense of dissatisfaction is provided in the assessment of that 'wonderful' (NOT), guilt inducing charge of "Self-Centered-ness." "“So you are feeling unhappy, then just get over yourself"” I oft hear repeated. Herein lies the rub. Your Self is just exactly who You are supposed to be. Your Self is the individual identity with which you were wondrously created. And, my dear Reader and all-enduring Friend, your Yearnings are a valuable, integral part of the completeness ... the totality of ... You. (And the same is most assuredly true of each Child, whose development and nurturing, is the responsibility of each of us, with whom that child has even the briefest of contact.)

We can be attuned to each other'’s yearnings and make an effort to encourage and strengthen or, by default, leave that Yearning to wither and produce a 'Yearnache' in the Spirit of the other. To the end that we do not do that ... please allow me to introduce you to the four basic Yearning Identities. From there it is my hope that you will; first, recognize and honor your own Personal Yearning ... then grow to respect and edify the yearnings of those presented, by Life, to You.

Where do yearnings play in the business of the orderly stratagem of providence? I understand it to be generally accepted that the seventy-six percent majority of all of us humans are fairly equally divided into two camps.

Thirty-eight percent of the Concrete Thinking world yearns to make an impact while seeking constant stimulation. The other half of this empirically functioning group yearns for belonging and is motivated by a quest for security. The former were referred to, by Aristotle, as the Hedonics (Artisan). The latter he called the Proprietary (Guardian).

Of the equally divided Abstract Thinkers (the remaining twenty-four percent of the Population), one half Aristotle knew as the Ethicals (Idealist) while the other half were, to his thinking, the Dialecticals (Rational). The Ethicals (Idealists) are driven by a yearning for idealized love best defined as romance, while seeking Identity in their lives. Dialecticals (Rationals) yearn for Achievement and are compelled to seek it in knowledge. While the labels for these four (the Hedonic, Proprietary, Ethical, and Dialectical) have been revised by many who have studied them over the millennia, there has been a consistency of definition and a concurrence in the interpretation of their respective natural traits.

I think it highly unlikely that we will have a natural comfort level with Friend Aristotle's terms of identity in our own day-to-day contemplation's. Being the image-oriented creature that I am, I find it more workable for me to relate the divers types to people who exemplify their types.

Truman (the concrete thinking/ Guardian/ Proprietary) said:
"I never give them [the public] hell. I just give them the truth, and they think that it is hell."
Churchill (the concrete thinking/ Artisan/ Hedonic) gave us:
"“In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity.
In peace: goodwill."”

It was Gandhi (the abstract thinking/Idealist/ Ethical) who said:
"“Freedom and slavery are mental states."”
And the consummate abstract thinker; the Rational/ Dialectical Einstein left us his:
"“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Perhaps relating your thinking to these so-well-known figures will make the consideration of the four types more agreeable to you ... such is my hope. So, to summarize (I do enjoy the exercise of replaying the '“tape'” to reinforce the image.) We have:

*Einstein - the Dialectical/ abstract thinking/ Rational who yearned for
achievement and was compelled to seek it in knowledge. His happiness came in a life of logical investigation. [12% of us]

*Gandhi - the Ethical/ abstract thinking/ Idealist who yearned for idealized love (romance) in his world while seeking identity for himself and his people. He found happiness in the employment of moral virtue. [12% of us]

*Churchill - the Hedonic/ concrete thinking/ Artisan who yearned to make an impact while seeking constant stimulation. His happiness was derived from sensual (visual, auditory, taste, tactile, and aromatic [cigar smoking not excluded]) pleasure. [38% of us]

*Truman - the Proprietary/ concrete thinking/ Guardian who yearned for belonging as a responsible "“member in good-standing"” of his society while pursuing his quest for security. His happiness was centered on the acquisition of assets (to include honors, position, and authority.) [38% of us]


I take considerable comfort in the obvious significance of each of these types to the history of our world. (You will, no doubt, note my frequent reference to terms of "“comfort" or "“comfortable"” in my writing. For, My Friend, it is to this state that I seek to guide you; first, in your mind, and then in your life. Your recognition of; acceptance of; embracing of; then (ultimately) comfort with ... your SELF.) No credit, acclaim, respect, admiration, or honor can be legitimately taken away, from any of the exampled individuals, for their non-conformance to any set of measures, based on someone else'’s set of "“norms"... nor from You (with your own unique Personhood.) They each played a part of great consequence in the symphony of history.

You and I have our own part to play in this, our life'’s 'composition'. I smile to consider the irreplaceable tone of a singly struck Triangle in the midst of an orchestra'’s performance of a great work. So small the instrument. So limited the time of implementation. Yet the effect on the listening sense of the audience makes the musical experience whole. I encourage you to "strike a note" on the Instrument of your Uniqueness and enhance our shared experience of Life's Symphony with the resonance of ... YOU.

Vive la difference (YOUR difference)



IMAGES Through the gracious courtesy of Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com

Generosity of Spirit

"It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others." ALFRED ADLER

Many years ago, I found myself kneeling at the finish line, on a track with six lanes of “runners” coming toward me … my camera at the ready … cheering the Runner progressing toward me in the lane that I occupied … and feeling the tug at my heart-strings as I saw him falling further and further behind the competitors in the five other lanes. The runner was my son. The event was one of several that he was competing in as part of the annual Special Olympics (a version of athletic competition tailored to the special limitations [all mentally impaired to differing degrees … some physically impaired] of its participants.) My son has cerebral palsy and the portions of his brain effected result in a moderate impairment of his intellectual functions as well as a minimal impairment of his hips, and legs. He was, on that day, the only participant in that race who relied in the services of crutches. And it was due to this limitation that he was losing ground to the other competitors.

My role, in all of this, was to subtly assist him in maintaining a focus on his own lane so that he would not drift off into the adjoining lanes. (That challenge of "focus" being one of the aspects of his impairment.) I accomplished this (without causing him the embarrassment that would accompany an obvious display of my intentions) by appearing to be intent on photographing him as he raced. I could see the growing dismay in his eyes as he recognized the inevitability of crossing the finish line well after all of the others had.

Then a wonderful thing, that (even at this moment, all of these years later) still has my eyes brimming with tears, at the recollection. The runner in the lane to my son’s right looked over his shoulder … saw the sadness and frustration on my son’s face … and stopped … and waited … and ushered my son … ahead of him … across the finish line. And then applauded my son (while also cheering him.)

Need I say anything more? Is there anything that my words could add to the eloquence of that young man’s sermon in demonstrated compassion and self-sacrifice? Can the poetry of one person’s obvious generosity of spirit be enhanced by anyone else’s commentary? I think not! So rather than speak to that young gentleman’s nobility, I will speak to us … You and Me.

Would it take so much for us to step aside and allow the one struggling along-side us to move ahead? Will our position in our own life-race be jeopardized by a spirit of generosity and sacrifice? Is that “finish line” of immediate gratification worth the loss of the higher goal of betterment of our shared environment? Will we be any “better off” as a people if we insist on focusing on our own agendas to the exclusion of a sensitivity to the plight of our neighbors? Did that young man not demonstrate, to all of us, the noble value of assuming responsibility for and taking action to benefit those who (while doing all that they are capable of doing) are falling behind?

No, My Dear Reader, I can not add to, nor do I wish to detract from the beauty of the message delivered by that wonderful Human Being’s behavior. So, in this thought on reaching out and touching others, I will dry my tears of recollection … and send these considerations to your safe-keeping.




IMAGE: Matthew Michael Brown (My Son)