They used to be something to let melt in my mouth
Kind of like unflavored popsicles.
(I know too much to do that now.)

Labels: photography

3900 U.S. soldiers have been reported to have died in Iraq as of today.

That is not counting all those who have committed suicide or are living with unlivable injuries.

And it's not counting the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died in this war and occupation.

Labels: Iraq War

The International Community School in Decatur, Georgia has a student population of 380 students. More than half of the students are refugees from 40 different countries affected by war. The rest of the students are local, from low-income or middle- and upper-middle-class families, there because their parents want them exposed to other cultures.

While attaining quality education, the students are learning what it is to be international citizens.

If you have the time, check out the article: Georgia School as a Laboratory for Getting Along from the New York Times. The little video, "An Unusual Friendship", that goes along with the article is very sweet.

Labels: International Community School, Things that give me hope

On Christmas day, just two days ago, we received about a foot of snow. Today, the skies are at it again. I seem to remember a forecaster saying, just a month ago, that he was predicting the driest Colorado winter in his seven years of forecasting. And I believed him. Of course, the winter is not over yet...

Last night, we watched a DVD of The Last King of Scotland. I remember hearing Idi Amin's name on the radio and television news in the 70's. I was pretty ignorant about the world and politics at that time. All I knew, from what I heard, was that the name Amin was synonymous with killing and evil.

It appears that Amin was a pretty likable guy in many ways. His leadership was actually welcomed both within Uganda and without - at first. That is, he was welcomed before it was realized that he was killing masses of citizens. Watching Forrest Whitaker as Amin in the movie, hearing his promises to the crowds that gathered to hear him, seeing the excitement of those who believed in him, I couldn't help but think how willing many are to, with such naivete, go ga-ga over W or anyone they choose to think will bring them a better life.

Labels: Bhutto, Idi Amin, Last King of Scotland, let it snow

Labels: Howard Thurman

Family

When I was young, family meant my brother and parents and about 40 others who were residents of a small town about a half an hour away from us. Many Christmas days, after opening presents at home, we traveled from one great-grandparents' house to another, then to the homes of different great-aunts and great-uncles, then on to both sets of grandparents. For me, it was a day to visit old people - listening to old people talk about what old people talk about. Not so special to me then. Now I realize how lucky I was to have had so many living relatives. My great-aunt who died a few days ago at 94 was the last of her generation in my family.

Now, family is small. I'll only travel to one house today - my parents'. I haven't always lived near them. For years, I was away in other states (both literally and figuratively) and rarely made it home for Christmas. Now I get a taste of how that was for them, since my daughter lives 1100 miles away and we will not see each other for Christmas this year. I'm not one to think that a holiday has to be just so. A day is a day, and where I am right now is what I work with. But I have to say that last night, something seemed to be missing...

Hmmmm.... family... As Marsha Norman says, "Family is just accident.... They don't mean to get on your nerves. They don't even mean to be your family, they just are." Guess that's true about our entire human family. We all just kind of landed here together and now it's up to us to figure out what we want to make of it.

Merry Christmas to the family that most closely shares my DNA!
Merry Christmas, belated Happy Hanukkah, and belated Eid Mubarak to the wonderful people in my life that I've chosen to take in as family!
And to my amazing, huge, diverse family of humanity, Happy Whatever is Most Meaningful to You!

Labels: Christmas, family

The House passed H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith on December 11th. Being a "simple resolution", it is a done deal and doesn't need to go any further before taking effect. We really need to give our reps some feedback for more important and INCLUSIVE items we'd like them to be working on.

Or we could elect Starhawk to bring some sense to the situation. Her resolution:

Hi friends, I thought you might want to see the response I've written for the Newsweek/Washington Post On Faith site, to the question below:

"The U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 847 (see link below) recognizing the importance of Christianity and Christmas. Would you have voted for this resolution? How would you amend it?

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-847

On Faith can be found at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith

My response should be posted sometime this week and you can join in the discussion. I write for them pretty regularly but don't always post my responses to this list.

A Pagan's Christmas Resolution
By Starhawk
www.starhawk.org

Would I vote for a resolution affirming the importance and contributions of Christmas and Christianity? As my readers may have noted, I'm a Pagan, but I'd vote for such a resolution-heck, I'd even introduce it, if it went like this:

"Whereas Christians and Christianity are of undeniable importance in the world and the foundation of this country, in respect for his example and story at this time of year we make the following statements:

"Whereas Jesus Christ was born in a stable because his parents could not find shelter, and whereas in the last weeks we as a nation have allowed the destruction of the last remaining housing for the poor in New Orleans, and whereas our streets are full of the cold and the homeless, we repent of our policies and in his memory commit to housing all who wander without a roof or a welcome in our cities and our towns.

"Whereas Christ was born among the poor, lived and preached to the poor, we repent of the selfishness and shortsightedness that has failed to provide for all of our children, and commit ourselves to provide health care for all children and for all of the poor.

"Whereas Christ commanded us to 'love our neighbors as ourselves' we repent of the walls we have drawn across borders, the deaths of those who have tried to cross the deserts in search of a better life, the wall we have supported that cleaves the Holy Land itself in two and confiscates the farmland of the Palestinians, cleaves villages in two, and stands as a lasting monument to our failure to achieve peace, and we commit ourselves to establish justice which alone can provide true security.

"Whereas Christ has been called the Prince of Peace, we repent of our eagerness to use war and violence as the answer to every international situation, of the horrific and destructive war we have waged in Iraq which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and we commit ourselves to a withdrawal of our armies, to a new foreign policy based on the building of relationships, not the bombing of children, and to fostering and nurturing peace."

Anything less is just a bunch of empty words, and real Christians must be cringing at the hypocrisy.


If I may quote Jackson Browne's beautiful song, The Rebel Jesus:

"Now pardon me if I have seemed

To take the tone of judgment

For I've no wish to come between

This day and your enjoyment

In a life of hardship and of earthly toil

There's a need for anything that frees us

So I bid you pleasure

And I bid you cheer

From a heathen and a Pagan

On the side of the rebel Jesus."



As light is born out of darkness, may hope, love and compassion be kindled this season,


Starhawk

Labels: Christmas, hr847

Reverence

Labels: Christmas, O Holy Night

Labels: Christmas

Today, while standing with Women in Black, I realized that #4 on my list of what I like about Christmas has to be SANTA.

Standing beside the holiday traffic as it found its way into the mall, I watched many people who were supportive of our efforts. Everyone was waving and peacing out (to use a friend's phrase). Still, there were two or three people who passed by that had forgotten to get their Christmas Spirit shots for the season. I just had to stand in silent wonder...

Then, SANTA rolled down his window and waved at us! Santa, the spirit of giving. Passing by in all of that traffic when he has so much to do this time of year.

You know why he laughs with a deep, thundering belly laugh? Because he is overflowing with the happiness that comes from giving to others. He's in the flow, man!

And I hear that he has job openings. There are so many people who don't have everything they need that he's asking for you and me to help by sharing some of our abundance with others. Salary range: Happiness - Deep, Thundering Belly Laugh.

Labels: Christmas, Santa, Women in Black

They've canceled Christmas in Bethlehem
They've canceled Hope

Labels: Bethlehem, Christmas, Garth Hewitt

Great video (as usual) from Chun Pan.

Labels: Chun Pan, Elizabeth Kucinich, peace

I went to a mall the other day. I completely avoided the crowded inner labyrinth, only having to navigate the crammed parking lot before and after I visited a store via its outside entrance. I found a parking space and realized that it was only available because the mountain of snow beside it extended into it causing my rear-end - or my car's rear-end - to hang out too far. As I backed out to look for another spot, I noticed the back-up lights on a car parked just a short distance from me. An elderly man using a cane to walk down the snowy aisle signaled to me that, "Hey, here's a space for you!". I gave him the "Okay" sign and he smiled. THAT is what I like about Christmas. The humanity. The connection. Strangers wish each other Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. People ask each other what they'll be doing for Christmas. Shoppers walking out of stores drop paper and coins into a kettle in order to help someone that needs it more than they do. Donations of food and toys pile high everywhere as strangers connect through anonymous acts of generosity. Neighbors stop by with plates of home-baked goods.

Letting go of wanting something from others and knowing that we have all that we need in this moment, we always have something to give to another. Maybe our gift is showing the way to a coveted parking space. The beauty of a moment's connection with another is the best thing about Christmas.

Labels: Christmas, giving

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this letter finds you well.

It has been a good year in the _______ household. This fall, we updated our old 1980's kitchen with all stainless steel appliances and a nice marble island. We really enjoy the new look.

John's company laid him off last summer and he is still working on finding his next job. We were lucky that we could finance our new kitchen with a low interest rate, since funds have been sparse on unemployment. Because of John's bad back and sciatica, we had to pay others to do all of the work on the kitchen. John makes an excellent supervisor, though, so the job was completed on time. Maybe he should be looking for a supervisory job from now on!

Actually, John thinks there's a good job opportunity right around the corner. You know that beautiful wildlife refuge near the Great Sand Dunes? Well, some Canadian company is planning to tear it up and get natural gas out of the ground. We need all of the natural gas and oil and stuff like that to come from the U.S., so that we don't need to rely on the Middle East and we can keep up the American dream that we all have worked so hard for. Anyway, John sees a job opportunity there. He's sure they'll need lots of supervisors to get those big rigs up.

Mary still spends her time with her bridge group, babysitting the grandkids (ages 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17), and teaching crocheting to anyone interested. Her lumbago keeps her from swimming in our backyard pool, but she still enjoys entertaining around it. Oh, did we tell you that we were not allowed to fill our new hot tub with OUR OWN WATER? Had to buy 200 of those gallon plastic jugs of water and lug them home in order to fill it. Rules, rules, rules... Since no one swims in our pool, we've filled it full from the water coming out of our washer. Took a few loads of washing, but a lot less work than hauling all of those plastic jugs of water!!!

We had to put our dog, Betsy, down last summer. We were all very sad, but it freed us up to take our annual trip to Belize. We had missed that the year before when we couldn't find anyone we trusted to stay with Betsy.

Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth to you and your family!



I really do enjoy Christmas letters and cards. It's good to stay in touch, if only once a year, with people around the country and to remember them for a moment. Fun to see how big the kids have become and what their interests are as they grow older. Every card, every letter that I open, I smile inside and think of the sender. It is good.

But in this family, we don't send Christmas cards or letters. So those who don't read my blog will never know what I'm up to or that I wish everyone a

Season of love and peace that lasts the whole year

May there be peace on earth


(and may we think of our planet and all who live on it when we consider buying hundreds of plastic jugs of water in order to fill our hot tubs; may we let go of greed so that this earth can be the beautiful, diverse ecosystem it was created to be.)

Labels: Christmas, Please care for our earth

8. Another thing I like about Christmas: It's takes place in the winter- at least it does in the hemisphere where I live. And it comes soon after the longest night of the year.

For desert animals like me, this is quite the blessing. I swear, Christmas gives me something to look forward to, a reason to think of others, a need to leave my house in weather colder than my freezer, a light to carry me through the dark, dark days of winter. Left to my own devices, I would MAYBE come out for a hike or snowshoe jaunt during these days, but hibernating until the spring thaw is my first choice. I think that it has to do with my, hmmmm, age and the fact that my shoulders know "frozen" inside and out all too well.

I have read theories that Jesus was born in the spring, fall, or maybe summer, but someone or a group of someones decided that we would celebrate this special occasion in December, near the winter solstice. I'd like to thank those wonderful people for making such a good decision.

One gift of Christmas is the knowledge that during the darkest and coldest time of year, we can realize that warmth and light don't have to come only from the sun.

Labels: Christmas, light, shoulders

Last December, I posted an article written by my teacher. You can read the entire post here.

The article excerpt below leads me to #9 on my list of

Ten Reasons I Like Christmas.

9. The quality of the child that shines through.

Babies and young children, with their innocence and preciousness, can melt the hearts of even the most hardened of us. We see in them the clarity that is still within us even if it does become covered by years of disappointments and wear. Because Christmas was created as a celebration of the birth of a child who came to bring peace on earth and goodwill to (wo)men, many of us take this time to connect with the beautiful child within ourselves and those around us. This time of year is a reminder to put aside our grown-up differences and connect with others through all that we have in common.

AND I enjoy seeing the excitement and magical wonder in the eyes of children as they watch the Christmas lights, visit Santa, and wake up on Christmas morning. The memories of my excitement as a child, my children's happiness, and even the look of wonder on the faces of children I've never met - these moments are enough to give me sustenance for the rest of my life.

Excerpt from the article, Leaving Our Father's House by Elias Amidon:

Glistening Eyes
Some time ago on a trip to Syria I was invited to give a talk to a group of about 40 Shiite clerics and businessmen at a beautiful mosque in the old city of Damascus . I hadn't prepared and was unsure what I should say. I got up before the microphone and looked at the circle of bearded and turbaned men, some in elegant clerical robes. I thought I saw suspicion in their eyes, their arms folded, waiting to hear what this American had to say.

Looking back now, I see this was a moment when I stood at the threshold of my father's house, looking at other men standing at the threshold of theirs. And for some reason I was able to take a step - a little one admittedly - and go forth into the unknown.

I started by talking about children, the little four year-old girl, Roquai'ya, a Shiite saint whose shrine was the heart of this mosque, and the Prophet Muhammad as a little boy whose birthday was being celebrated that day, and the infant Jesus who was spoken of in the Quranic verses we had just heard recited under the dome of the mosque. It touched me that we grown men and women had come here to take notice of these children who lived long ago, and the mystery of innocence and presence they revealed.

I told them I had recently been blessed with my first granddaughter. I made the gesture of holding her in my arms, and said, "Surely some of you must know how that feels, with a grandchild or a baby of your own." Suddenly I saw little smiles appear. Some of them glanced at each other and nodded.

And then I said, "When I looked down at this little one I suddenly realized she was not an American, or a Syrian, or a Russian, or from any nation. Where was she from? She was from God's country. And then I realized, oh my goodness! She was not a Christian, or a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or a Jew. What religion was she? She was from the religion before any of these!"

The men melted. Their eyes glistened. For that moment we were together, outside our fathers' houses, realizing that actually we all shared the same belonging, the same home, the same nation, the same religion, just like little children.

Labels: Children, Christmas, Elias

I might be getting myself in trouble here. I just got back from a Christmas party and I know one reason that I like Christmas. I thought I'd follow my own pattern and, as I did with Thanksgiving, give a countdown. Only this time I'll limit it to 10 instead of 50. And If I can only come up with this one reason for liking Christmas, I'll just stop. I'm a grown-up and I can't flunk this test!!!


10. I Like, no, I LOVE Christmas because of the Christmas parties! Not the office parties, but the friend parties. Each year, a particular friend has a BIG party in her little house. Most, but not all, that come are from the activist community. There are some people that I see there each year and never see the whole rest of the year. All good people with big hearts. I leave there each year with a sense of community and hope.

Hold the presses!

I just heard that Dan Fogelberg died.

Oh.

I wasn't allowed to embed this youtube, but here's the link. I will always love this song: Dan Fogelberg - There's a place in the World for a Gambler.

Yesterday, my great-aunt died at 95 (great as in my mother's aunt, but also as in a GREAT person). Today, Dan Fogelberg died at 56.

Oh.

Labels: Christmas, Dan Fogelberg, Parties

Labels: love, photography, Rumi

I wrote a whole blog post this morning that I won't torture you with. There was one BIG problem that caused me to hold the presses.

I wrote about forgiveness. I have been reading that the families and friends of those who died in last Sunday's shootings (at the churches here in Colorado) have been expressing forgiveness to the person with the guns and to his family. I likened it to the response after the shootings at the Amish School in Pennsylvania, and I saw it as a contrast to what happened after the Columbine shootings. I wondered where the forgiveness was at Columbine, because I hadn't seen it (as if it only exists if the MSM reports it- and as if it's any of my business anyway).

When I got done, I thought, who am I to talk about forgiveness after someone has a son or daughter killed??? That hasn't happened to me, so I can't say, with any confidence, what I would do.

Then I thought of times when I felt that someone caused me pain in some way. Have I completely forgiven old events from my past that are only a 5 on a scale of horrible things that can happen?

And for me, the hardest person to forgive is myself. Just the other day, I did something thoughtless that could've caused a couple of people some irritation and worry. After I fretted and made up all kinds of stories about the event, feeling awful about myself, I finally got to speak with the victims of my dastardly deed. They were fine about the whole thing while I was a mess.

So, I don't know nuthin' about nuthin'. I'm just glad that there are people who can forgive when the worst that can happen happens. They show me that it can be done.

Labels: forgiveness

A couple of weeks ago, we went to dinner at a restaurant in the Lodo district of Denver. Being the non-hipsters that we are, we have not visited the expensive restaurants in the area, but there are a couple of less expensive yummy places where we eat about once every two years or so. I like the Lodo area, because the buildings are old with lots of brick and nice wood. They feel like grandmothers and grandfathers.

Because of the time of year, evergreen garlands and beautiful lights adorned railings and windows around us while we dined.

While sitting there eating, I thought about how I used to feel all warm and magical and full of love when surrounded by Christmas trees and lights and carols sung sweetly. The smell of fir, the sound of O Holy Night, our ritual of going to the quaint Christmas Market in the mountains each year and freezing our butts off while carolers strolled the streets, a candle-lit room full of angel voices singing Away in a Manger, gathering with family and eating too much (ummmm, fudge and peanut brittle!)... The list could go on and on...

But while stuffing my Mongolian stir-fry into my face that night, all the glitter and lights seemed like things you put out because you're supposed to (or because it will bring in money).

Then, before Bah! Humbug! could pass through my mind, I realized that I could choose to feel warm and magical and full of love. Symbols have meaning if we choose to give meaning to them - whether our choice is conscious or not. The feelings that can come from a candlelit night in the cold winter didn't die - a part of me had.

We have kept this holiday time alive for thousands of years, first celebrating the light that starts to creep in after the long, dark night of the solstice, then bringing in the celebration of the birth of a man who came to bring light by teaching love, hope, and peace. OK, and being the great consumer culture that we are, we also add a lot of meaning to wrapping paper and a bunch of stuff that we don't need.

Still, a tree is a tree is a tree (whether you call it a Christmas tree or not). A teddy bear is a teddy bear, whether you call it Mohammed or Fred. A painted statue is just wood and paint - whether it represents Buddha or Jesus. There is something that we somehow do that makes a piece of wood or plastic or metal into something more than the stuff of which it's made. We embed our words and our things with deep and important meanings that may or may not reflect how we truly live our lives.

I think these icons and decorations can be reminders for us, encouraging us to renew our vows to love and give to others. They can be warm family traditions, which also happen to bring about love. I want to think more about the special traditions and decorations that I can use this year to symbolize the light and joy that is present for us at all times.

But these things will still just be things that I have chosen to represent an idea. They are NOT the idea. So, there is no reason to get all tied up in knots about the symbols that others choose - even if they happen to be, in my opinion, a garish version of the manger scene or an over-the-top yard display of every theme under the sun. I am happy to see people enjoying the celebration and it's important to respect people's choices. Still, it would be nice if others remembered that their idea of what's important for the holidays is THEIRS. They may find joy in forcing their religion on others, but it does nothing for those with different beliefs.

And isn't this time of year all about GIVING joy and love to others? At least, that's the rumor I heard.

I hope you find much meaning and renewal this holiday season, in the way that most feeds your soul.

Labels: Christmas, symbols

It is cold and snowy outside my house. Where I was during the last week, a few flowers can still smile. Some, like this one, feel the way I do today: Like curling up and not dressing for the world. Sometimes, we just have to draw in our juices, go dormant, and allow fallow ground to do its thing.

Labels: dormancy, photography

So.... this place where I was for the last 6 days... We shared it with a rafter of wild turkeys (how do ya like them woids?). This photo was taken AFTER an amazing event happened (photography lesson for the day: keep camera in hand at all times - with a telephoto lens).

A few minutes before I took this photo, these turkeys you see - plus a few more - CHASED a coyote away! Whooohooo! Go little guys!

The following day, Mr. coyote and I crossed paths. He froze at the edge of the woods, while I stood still, wondering what behavior coyotes prefer from humans. Hmmmm... If I walk toward this Wile E. Coyote, will he try to defend himself? Or would he feel more threatened if I keep standing here looking at him? Obviously, I forgot that this guy is afraid of TURKEYS! I'd be safe, no matter what!

I decided to walk, which incited my four-legged friend to bolt through the forest.

So, if I am happy that the turkeys ganged up on my four-legged friend, avoiding transformation into feastdom, would I still be happy if Wile E. starved to death because of the profound bravery of these delicate turkey creatures??? I hate to ask it, but how does one live without another dying?

Labels: coyote, turkey

I'll be in the Bermuda Triangle of Bloggers for a few days. Heading west to a place of forests and quiet. No internet, no phone!

Renewal, rejuvenation, and much learning.

Don't forget to Love and Wonder!

Labels: See Ya

My sister through Women for Women International has graduated from her one-year program, and I now have a new sister. Both of these women are from Nigeria.

I have sponsored women through Women for Women International for a few years now - maybe five??? My sisters have lived in Iraq, Kosovo and Nigeria.

This is the information that I just received about my newest friend:

• She is 23 and divorced with one young son.
• She has completed some primary school, but can't read or write more than her name.
• She lives with 13 other people in a place with no electricity and no water (has to get water from a neighbor).
• She is not working due to lack of education, skills, and capital.

From Wikipedia:

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the 9th most populous country in the world with a population of 135 million and has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Life expectancy is 47 years (average male/female) and just over half the population has access to potable water and appropriate sanitation; the percentage is [sic] of children under five has gone up rather than down between 1990 and 2003 and infant mortality is 97.1 deaths per 1000 live births.

In 2003, Nigerians were reported to be the happiest people in a scientific survey carried out in 65 nations in 1999-2000. The research was reported by one of the world's top science magazines, New Scientist, and was picked up by a number of news outlets. See Nigeria tops happiness survey.

(We in the U.S. rank 16th in the happiness survey.)

Looks like maybe quantity does not equal happiness.

Labels: Happiness, Nigeria, Women for Women