Lordy,lordy, Elle is... 6?!!?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE!!

Your sisters were so excited when you arrived.
And you grew, um... large, uh... rather quickly.
How do the years fly by so fast? It seems like only yesterday you were one.And eating dirt...And now you're making friends, making music, making goofy faces, and making us love you more each day.

Why I'm glad I'm "out of the loop"

If you haven't run across this wonderful post from Mrs. G, you MUST read it now.

Inspiration for the Week

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy."
* Rabindranath Tagore, nobel poet laureate, 1913

Questions

I like questions. I find myself asking more and more of them. My most enjoyable questions are those directed at me - taking a second look at things I thought I'd "known" for a long time. In that process, I'm working hard to abate my natural tendency to rush in with an answer, and just sit with the uncertainty for a while. Pema Chodron (watch the interview) tells us that's the space from which actual transformation is possible, and I've experienced it, but don't have words for it yet. Questions have never been more important.
"...the most important question facing us at this uncertain juncture in the history of human civilization is whether or not we can begin to ask the correct questions soon enough to halt the deadly consequences of asking the wrong ones for so long. Or perhaps, more accurately, it is important to ask not which questions are right or which are wrong, but rather which are relevant to the healthy and hopeful survival of humanity at this time - because, of course, some of the most destructive questions we have ever asked of one another concern what is right and what wrong." -Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, Asking Questions: A Challenge to Fundamentalism, pg. 4-5.

Thank you for the dream, Dr. King

From a speech to the SCLC, Aug. 1967 - the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we talk about "Where do we go from here?" that we must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society. (Yes) There are forty million poor people here, and one day we must ask the question, "Why are there forty million poor people in America?" And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising a question about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. (Yes) And I'm simply saying that more and more, we've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society. We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life's marketplace. (Yes) But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. (All right) It means that questions must be raised. And you see, my friends, when you deal with this you begin to ask the question, "Who owns the oil?" (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Who owns the iron ore?" (Yes) You begin to ask the question, "Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that's two-thirds water?" (All right) These are words that must be said. (All right)

Now, don't think you have me in a bind today. I'm not talking about communism. What I'm talking about is far beyond communism. (Yeah) My inspiration didn't come from Karl Marx (Speak); my inspiration didn't come from Engels; my inspiration didn't come from Trotsky; my inspiration didn't come from Lenin. Yes, I read Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital a long time ago (Well), and I saw that maybe Marx didn't follow Hegel enough. (All right) He took his dialectics, but he left out his idealism and his spiritualism. And he went over to a German philosopher by the name of Feuerbach, and took his materialism and made it into a system that he called "dialectical materialism." (Speak) I have to reject that.

What I'm saying to you this morning is communism forgets that life is individual. (Yes) Capitalism forgets that life is social. (Yes, Go ahead) And the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism, but in a higher synthesis. (Speak) [applause] It is found in a higher synthesis (Come on) that combines the truths of both. (Yes) Now, when I say questioning the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. (All right) These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

And if you will let me be a preacher just a little bit. (Speak) One day [applause], one night, a juror came to Jesus (Yes sir) and he wanted to know what he could do to be saved. (Yeah) Jesus didn't get bogged down on the kind of isolated approach of what you shouldn't do. Jesus didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop lying." (Oh yeah) He didn't say, "Nicodemus, now you must not commit adultery." He didn't say, "Now Nicodemus, you must stop cheating if you are doing that." He didn't say, "Nicodemus, you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing that excessively." He said something altogether different, because Jesus realized something basic (Yes): that if a man will lie, he will steal. (Yes) And if a man will steal, he will kill. (Yes) So instead of just getting bogged down on one thing, Jesus looked at him and said, "Nicodemus, you must be born again." [applause]

In other words, "Your whole structure (Yes) must be changed." [applause] A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will "thingify" them and make them things. (Speak) And therefore, they will exploit them and poor people generally economically. (Yes) And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and it will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. (Yes) [applause]

What I'm saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, "America, you must be born again!" [applause] (Oh yes)

And so, I conclude by saying today that we have a task, and let us go out with a divine dissatisfaction. (Yes)

Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. (All right)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. (Yes sir)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history (Yes), and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education.

Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.

Let us be dissatisfied (All right) until men and women, however black they may be, will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not on the basis of the color of their skin. (Yeah) Let us be dissatisfied. [applause]

Let us be dissatisfied (Well) until every state capitol (Yes) will be housed by a governor who will do justly, who will love mercy, and who will walk humbly with his God.

Let us be dissatisfied [applause] until from every city hall, justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes)

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes) until that day when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together (Yes), and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid.

Let us be dissatisfied (Yes), and men will recognize that out of one blood (Yes) God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. (Speak sir)

Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, "White Power!" when nobody will shout, "Black Power!" but everybody will talk about God's power and human power. [applause]

And I must confess, my friends (Yes sir), that the road ahead will not always be smooth. (Yes) There will still be rocky places of frustration (Yes) and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. (Yes) And there will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. (Well) Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. (Yes) We may again, with tear-drenched eyes, have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. (Well) But difficult and painful as it is (Well), we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. ...

When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair (Well), and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights (Well), let us remember (Yes) that there is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil (Well), a power that is able to make a way out of no way (Yes) and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. (Speak)

Let us realize that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Let us realize that William Cullen Bryant is right: "Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again." Let us go out realizing that the Bible is right: "Be not deceived. God is not mocked. (Oh yeah) Whatsoever a man soweth (Yes), that (Yes) shall he also reap." This is our hope for the future, and with this faith we will be able to sing in some not too distant tomorrow, with a cosmic past tense, "We have overcome! (Yes) We have overcome! Deep in my heart, I did believe (Yes) we would overcome." [applause]

Mandatory Viewing

I had the opportunity last night to watch three amazing short films on the impact that climate change has on the lives and work of three families, from Indonesia, Niger, and Peru. (produced by these folks: http://www.ddcmadagascar.com/index.php The videos I saw aren't on-line yet, but there's similar stuff to check out).
Anyway, thinking about a huge global problem like climate change can be disconcerting as you wonder "What can one person do?" Well, fret no more - watch this short video on The Story of Stuff and you'll realize just how much one person can do.
ENJOY!!

Global Warming, Schmobal Warming

Playing outside (for fourth day in a row - highs in the 70's), Jan. 12th
Oh, wait... high for tomorrow - 39!!!! Nevermind.

The Office

A quick tour of my "office", for a friend in a cornfield somewhere.

Desk, check. (All I need are some cutesy post-its to remind me of stuff I'm not likely to do.)
Bookcase, check.

It's not behind the door, but will an unused corner do as well?

Thanksgiving

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

From the Virgin Islands!!!!!!

A wonderful essay on the true spirit of thanksgiving:

Thankfulness is of various kinds. There is a verbal thanksgiving which is confined to a mere utterance of gratitude. This is of no importance because perchance the tongue may give thanks while the heart is unaware of it. Many who offer thanks to God are of this type, their spirits and hearts unconscious of thanksgiving. This is mere usage, just as when we meet, receive a gift and say thank you, speaking the words without significance. One may say thank you a thousand times while the heart remains thankless, ungrateful. Therefore, mere verbal thanksgiving is without effect. But real thankfulness is a cordial giving of thanks from the heart. When man in response to the favors of God manifests susceptibilities of conscience, the heart is happy, the spirit is exhilarated. These spiritual susceptibilities are ideal thanksgiving.

There is a cordial thanksgiving, too, which expresses itself in the deeds and actions of man when his heart is filled with gratitude. For example, God has conferred upon man the gift of guidance, and in thankfulness for this great gift certain deeds must emanate from him. To express his gratitude for the favors of God man must show forth praiseworthy actions. In response to these bestowals he must render good deeds, be self-sacrificing, loving the servants of God, forfeiting even life for them, showing kindness to all the creatures. He must be severed from the world, attracted to the Kingdom of Abhá, the face radiant, the tongue eloquent, the ear attentive, striving day and night to attain the good pleasure of God. Whatsoever he wishes to do must be in harmony with the good pleasure of God. He must observe and see what is the will of God and act accordingly. There can be no doubt that such commendable deeds are thankfulness for the favors of God.

Consider how grateful anyone becomes when healed from sickness, when treated kindly by another or when a service is rendered by another, even though it may be of the least consequence. If we forget such favors, it is an evidence of ingratitude. Then it will be said a loving-kindness has been done, but we are thankless, not appreciating this love and favor. Physically and spiritually we are submerged in the sea of God's favor. He has provided our foods, drink and other requirements; His favors encompass us from all directions. The sustenances provided for man are blessings. Sight, hearing and all his faculties are wonderful gifts. These blessings are innumerable; no matter how many are mentioned, they are still endless. Spiritual blessings are likewise endless -- spirit, consciousness, thought, memory, perception, ideation and other endowments. By these He has guided us, and we enter His Kingdom. He has opened the doors of all good before our faces. He has vouchsafed eternal glory. He has summoned us to the Kingdom of heaven. He has enriched us by the bestowals of God. Every day he has proclaimed new glad tidings. Every hour fresh bounties descend.

Consider how all the people are asleep, and ye are awake. They are dead, and ye are alive through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. They are blind while ye are endowed with perceptive sight. They are deprived of the love of God, but in your hearts it exists and is glowing. Consider these bestowals and favors.

Therefore, in thanksgiving for them ye must act in accordance with the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. Ye must read the Tablets -- the Hidden Words, Ishraqat, Glad Tidings -- all the holy utterances, and act according to them. This is real thanksgiving, to live in accord with these utterances. This is true thankfulness and the divine bestowal. This is thanksgiving and glorification of God.

I hope you all may attain thereto, be mindful of these favors of God and be attentive. It is my hope that I may go away from New York with a happy heart, and my heart is happy when the friends of God love each other, when they manifest the mercy of God to all people. If I see this, I shall go away happy.

* 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 236-7

Oh Bossy, How Do I Envy Thee... Let Me Count the Ways

This will only be funny if you're me; or..., if, like me, you just came off of a 72-hour Bossy marathon, but even then, probably still only funny to me. Oh well, for everyone else, here's something funny for you to watch

For me, enjoy...


1. At least Bossy's backyard weeds flora bloom.

Of course, not all of my yard is weeds.

2. My pj's are typically whatever clothes I pass out in (notice dress socks, leftover from a meeting the other day). And yes, that is a Charlotte Hornets t-shirt, just to date myself (and my wardrobe) a bit.
3. Walking down my hallway at any hour of the day yields a choice between dodging piles of clothing on their third day of strike and dog toys.

4. My husband was also a rock star when he was younger.

5. My cultural background is Southern - all the guilt, none of the beseder holidays.

6. While I have a great sense of humor, not much of it is original - I have to steal blog ideas from Bossy!

7. It's hard to have "stretched arm photo taking skillz" when all your strength goes into holding the battery compartment closed on your 2.0 mp hand-me-down (and yes, it's my first digital camera). Though, I do live in the same town as Elizabeth Edwards.

8. I don't even have shutters.
9. My dog has the right coloring, but lacks the gi-normousness of Bossy's.

Also, I can't get her to strike the same adorable sleep poses as Bossy's deer dog.

10. All my quirky 80's music

[had to do it]

is trapped on cassettes somewhere in the vast wasteland that is my attic. Though I did manage (God bless i-Tunes) to download a fun tribute song:

Pictures of You, The Cure

11. Try as I might, I just can't refer to myself in the third person!

12. My hair challenge? The EXACT opposite of "embracing my inner curl."

13. My photoshop skills consist of open file, crop, save, exit...

14. Bossy's husband doesn't have anything to fear from my garden.

Unless there's such a thing as "okra envy"?!

15. The only time I've seen the wee hours of the morning, is when I've stayed up way too late free-basing youTube videos - thanks Nathan.

16. I completely missed the Little People, Big World marathon.


p.s. any plans for one last college tour - Southern style?!!

Giving Dads Their Due

In all fairness, here's one for the Dad's too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

Moms' Anthem

Finally... our very own tribute song - enjoy. I can't seem to get the link to function correctly, so copy and paste this address into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

1-2-3-4 Dance

So I get into the car after a meeting and the clock says "12:34", and I become acutely aware of how much I miss my girls (all three are in school now during the day). They have this delightful practice of, whenever anyone realizes that it has turned "12:34", doing the "1-2-3-4 Dance". It consists of simply stopping whatever you're doing, hopping to your feet (if necessary), and performing any combination that feels good of shaking your hips, bouncing up and down, and swinging your feet and/or arms. It lasts until, you guessed it, "12:35". The pure joy and infectious radiance of their countenances is manna from heaven. As I remember that I'm in the car, I'm struck by how deeply spiritual this act is - talk about "living in the moment". For that minute, nothing exists but the dance and the happiness it brings. Next time, I hope I have the courage to pull-over and dance.

Here we go again!

So I reached an interesting turning point in my life - all three of my daughters are now in school. So I've made a commitment to using this "blog thing" to be of service somehow. Or, at the very least, to take one step closer to communicating regularly with friends and family. Stay tuned.

Too Old for This Sort of Thing?!?

Well, here goes... I've been toying with the idea of actually using this blog for a couple of months now. It's been a rather schizophrenic process. Part of me says this is just something "today's youth" do instead of calling each other on the phone. Then there's the rational side that says, well you've never been that great at calling folks yourself, maybe this is at least a good way to keep folks up-to-date with your life. But then there's this third little voice that just says "Do it!" And I'm not even quite sure why, but I think I'm going to dive right in and see if I can swim.

I have no idea what I'm doing

Well I launched into this so that I could communicate with Adwoa, but I didn't realize how committed you had to get just to say "hi" on her blog. Who knows, maybe this will be of use later somehow...