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Monday, January 01, 2007
Wanderings and Wonderings
Northern California Magic on New Year's Eve Eve
Click on the photo to get a larger view and you will see the little bitty boats in the water. I have never been an ocean-going type of woman, so took this photo from nice, dry land, but I think that floating the sea under skies like this would be heaven - sign me up!
This is my one day at home before leaving tomorrow for N.Y. I am not usually such a travelin' woman. I don't like the effects that all of our traveling has on the environment.
I will be in N.Y. to begin an intensive study with my Sufi teachers. What a great way to begin '07!
This past year has been very full. I have tried to stay upbeat and see the bigger picture, while watching our sick government do its thing. I am intrigued by the question of how we will come through the damage that we are incurring upon the world, environmentally and politically. I try to stay focused on the perfection in all of this imperfection.
I have gained new friends via blogging and email - mostly women, for some reason. And a lot of them are of the Muslim faith. I feel somewhat of an affinity with these women, even though I will never be a true blue Muslim. I envy the sisterhood that they share. I admire their devotion and their intelligence. I have learned a lot from them, and I have laughed at their adventures and great writing.
I hear so many people express judgments about Islam - a Christian saying that the Quran is so violent (hellllooo! Your Bible is not???) and people who believe that Islam dictates that women have no rights and are to be subservient to men. This last one, I think, may have a small fleck of truth, but it appears to me that most of this behavior has to do with culture and rulers, not the religion. And a lot of other religions (Christianity) and cultures (U.S.) have a way to go on the equality scale, too.
Three Muslim women whose blogs I read daily when I can:
Finding Salihah. Muslims just celebrated the holiday, Eid Al-Adha. With all of the Christmas hype and such, I betcha didn't know about that! But you can easily learn about it by following links on Salihah's blog. Salihah has a great sense of humor. If you are of the type to stereotype Muslims, read Salihah and LIGHTEN UP!
Sister Scorpion used to live here in the Denver area, but moved to Tulsa (and I have almost forgiven her for that). She is well read and gives a perspective on Islam that comes from being born in the U.S. in a non-Muslim family. Read about her too-cool community and their Eid celebration here. Sr. Scorpion's blog takes us on too many adventures to tell about here (like major life change through healthy diet and pumping iron), so you will just have to see for yourself.
Masooma has a great description of her trip to Hajj (the spiritual trip to Mecca that every Muslim tries to take at least once in his/her lifetime) on her blog. I can't figure out how to get the link to the exact posting, so you'll just have to go to her December 31, 2006 postings to find it. Keep your Wikipedia window open, though. You'll need it for the Arabic words in her story. Like Sr. Scorpion, Masooma is an American convert (since 1994), and lots of times, I find that it is easier for me to separate the cultural beliefs from the religious beliefs when I read the writings of American converts.
***
And I wonder... If the glorious sunset lights up the sky for ALL to see, if catastrophe hits with equal opportunity, and if humans existed long before Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, or Mohammed, why don't we all share, before any other belief, a core knowledge that we are all one?
I'll be back in a week...
posted by Carol at 9:24 PM
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