Carol For Peace - Social Justice Activist in Denver

Trying to Simplify

2009-05-26T14:56:00.002-06:00

I'm packing up my bags and will be living only at A Peace Carol. Unless I change my mind some day.

Be well.

Walk in Peace.

Same Story, Different President?

2009-05-09T10:27:00.004-06:00

Once again, I can hardly stand to think about the actions of my country. It's beyond painful to know about the horrors that we are causing in Afghanistan (and Iraq - still).

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Life as 8-year-old Razia knew it ended one March morning when a shell her father says was fired by Western troops exploded into their house, enveloping her head and neck in a blazing chemical.

Now she spends her days in a U.S. hospital bed at the Bagram airbase, her small fingernails still covered with flaking red polish but her face an almost unrecognisable mess of burned tissue and half her scalp a bald scar.

"The kids called out to me that I was burning but the explosion was so strong that for a moment I was deaf and couldn't hear anything," her father, Aziz Rahman, told Reuters.

"And then my wife screamed 'the kids are burning' and she was also burning," he added, his face clouding over at the memory.

The flames that consumed his family were fed by a chemical called white phosphorous, which U.S. medical staff at Bagram said they found on Razia's face and neck.

It bursts into fierce fire on contact with the air and can stick to and even penetrate flesh as it burns.

White phosphorus can be used legally in war to provide light, create smokescreens or burn buildings, so it is not banned under international treaties that forbid using chemicals as weapons.

And I wonder...

When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

I Love This Man

2009-05-02T21:11:00.001-06:00

Barney Frank speaking in rebuttal at Wednesday's Hate Crime debate. (He begins by addressing the 2007 arrests of the Philadelphia 11 which had been brought up by the Republicans.)

Thank you to Thomas for the transcript of Frank's speech.

I just tried to email Barney Frank in order to thank him, but he's only accepting emails from his constituents. Bummer.

The Part We Play in the "Drug Cartels"

2009-04-27T09:41:00.003-06:00

Godwhacker posted a link to a John Stossel article titled, "Prohibition Spawns Drug Violence".

Americans also have a hefty demand for Mexican beer, but there are no "Mexican beer cartels." When Obama visits France, he doesn't consult with politicians about "wine violence." What's happening on the Mexican border is prohibition-caused violence.

Right on, John!

Is Peace Becoming a Popular Concept?

2009-04-25T17:21:00.003-06:00

I swear that I started wondering if I had awakened on the wrong planet this morning. As we stood today in our weekly vigil -with WINTER coats on AGAIN (oh, when will the cold weekends ever end?) - the atmosphere at our corner was like a party.

Never, in the 3 1/2 years that we have stood at this corner, have I heard so many horns honking in support of peace. People were SMILING. A lot! People were waving and peace signing and thumbs-upping. It was amazing and uplifting.

Did something happen to cause this? Something that I missed in the news?

When was the last time that you saw smiles on the faces of most of the people driving down the street?

It was beautiful.

2009-04-18T09:46:00.000-06:00

An Exclusive Memorial

How Would You Spend It?

2009-04-14T10:50:00.004-06:00

End the War. Build the Peace.

President Obama has just asked Congress to approve $79.2 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This request will push the cost of supplemental funding for the wars to almost $1 trillion since their beginning.

This request for U.S. spending in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan has a 20:1 ratio of military to nonmilitary expenditures. $75.5 billion would go to support military operations, while only 3.7 billion would go to nonmilitary assistance.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. spends twenty times more on military operations than on development. The U.S. military currently spends $35 billion a year in the country, nearly $100 million a day: yet USAID spending for 2008 was only $1.6 billion, some $4.4 million a day. A RAND Corporation report says that there is only a 7 % chance of military success in Afghanistan.

Military solutions aren't working. Instead we should be funding refugee assistance, Iraqi-and Afghan-led development, and diplomacy.

Ask Congress to fund peaceful alternatives - not war.

Citations:
USAID Country Profile: Afghanistan: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADN479.pdf
Caught in the Conflict, A briefing paper by eleven NGOs operating in Afghanistan, April 2009: http://www.afghanconflictmonitor.org/Afghanistan_CaughtInTheConflict.pdf
RAND Corporation report: How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering Al Qaeda. RAND, 2008: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9351/index1.html
Supplemental Funding Breakdown: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/budget_amendments/supplemental_04_09_09.pdf

American Friends Service Committee www.afsc.org

2009-03-12T15:47:00.011-06:00

"The U.S. must learn to live in a world with hostile powers and learn to get along."

That is one message that I heard from Michael Schwartz, author of War Without End, when he participated in the discussion on Lessons From Iraq and the War on Terror this past Thursday at the University of Colorado, Denver campus.

(Wasn't that a lesson that we were supposed to get, on the individual level, in Elementary School? At what point do we drop the lessons and pick up the bombs?)

Schwartz also brought up the point that I have heard several times before:

A Rand Institute study on terrorist groups concluded that there has not been one case of terrorist groups being defeated by war.

Still, the U.S. uses terrorism as an excuse to do whatever is necessary in order to secure our interests.

I wanted to write about the thoughtful discussion that was held on the University of Colorado at Denver campus this past Thursday, but I've found that I can't. I took pages and pages of notes. I also took mental notes of my impressions and feelings about what was said and how it was said. A few years ago, I would have written an article from my notes, but something is blocking me right now and I'm going to listen to it.

The people from the University of Colorado at Denver who created this event were kind, wonderful people and it was a great experience to work with them. They brought speakers, students, and the community together for a much-needed discussion regarding the U.S policy in Iraq and the world.

I enjoyed hearing from each of the speakers, and I learned a lot from both Mr. Schwartz and from the Director of Homeland Security. I could see how, if I were in the shoes of Mr. Recca, Director of the Center of Homeland Security in Colorado Springs, I would see the world the same way that he does.

It was all good. I wish that you could have been there.

Part of the cost of the oil we use.

Is this the only way and if so, is it worth it?

What I Learned at Eyes Wide Open

2009-03-11T15:39:00.005-06:00

People just want to be heard.

It was about 20 degrees out when we set up the Eyes Wide Open exhibit at the Auraria Campus which serves three schools: Metropolitan State College of Denver, the University of Colorado at Denver, and the Community College of Denver. It never got really warm all day and I am still frozen to the bone.

One of the first visitors that I interacted with at the exhibit was angry. I never figured out what he was angry about, but he was a veteran and he needed to tell his story. I get that. So I listened. And I learned some things. Connecting with that man made all of the lugging of boots and shoes worth it.

But there was more.

We have a sign about the veteran suicides and we place a pair of boots that have been painted white in front of it. These boots represent all veterans who have committed suicide while in the service or afterward. We will never know the number of people this one pair of boots represents. One young man was very, very touched that we remembered those who don't count in the casualty statistics. His friend, an Iraq war vet, killed himself a month ago. His brother, another vet of this insane war, has lost his home and his marriage because of his violence toward his wife.

War is an atrocity that reverberates through families and communities, and the damage will last for generations. How can we do this to ourselves?

I saw another man bent down for a long time in front of a pair of boots . I knew that he must have known the soldier represented by those boots. I heard his sniffles. He tenderly lined up one boot with the other. When he finally left the boots, I asked him if he knew people who had been killed in Iraq. That's when the stories came. The young soldier who was represented by those boots had died only a short time after turning 18. The two were good friends. The man I spoke with was traveling behind the vehicle carrying his friend as it exploded, killing all inside.

There is a tradition in the Army that I still don't understand completely, but soldiers, after a certain amount of combat duty, may be awarded spurs. It is a high honor. At another point, they may be awarded a Stetson hat. These honors come from the tradition of the Calvary. The man that I was just writing about, whose 18-year-old friend died two vehicles ahead of him, had earned two pairs of spurs and a Stetson. While we all shivered among the boots and shoes, he had his girlfriend bring a pair of his gold spurs and he placed them on the boots of his departed friend. It was stunning.

4,257 U.S. soldiers and countless Iraqis.

Isn't it interesting how sadness is so much more bearable when there are more shoulders to help carry the burden?

I hope to have photos from today soon.
I found some information on spurs and Stetsons here.

2009-03-08T12:51:00.001-06:00

Thanks for stopping by! You can also visit me at my other place, A Peace Carol.

6th Anniversary of the Iraq War

2009-03-04T08:02:00.005-07:00

We are quickly coming up on the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War and Occupation. The University of Colorado in Denver will be hosting the Eyes Wide Open exhibit to demonstrate the human cost of war. I will be very interested, also, in the discussion between the Homeland Security Director and the author of War Without End.

Here's the scoop:

Hold Obama accountable for his promise to get us out of Iraq.

4,255 U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq so far. We will never know the number of Iraqis who have lost their lives from this atrocity.

(I not only want an end to this devastating occupation, but I also want the U.S. to make amends for the death and destruction.)

660

2009-02-25T08:24:00.005-07:00

We've "only" had 660 of our soldiers die so far in the EIGHT YEARS of warring in Afghanistan. I wonder how many Afghan civilians have died during that time. I wonder how many "terrorists" we have created by our actions. I can't imagine how hard it is to live in a country where outsiders have waged war for so long...

I have a feeling that Obama's "surge" in Afghanistan will be VERY expensive in many, many ways. Aren't we smart enough to find a better plan???

(I'm still mostly hanging out at A Peace Carol.)

A New Fishin' Hole

2009-01-28T12:23:00.002-07:00

Will the Carol For Peace blog continue to exist?

Only the Shadow knows.

For now, I've picked up my pole and tackle and moved to a new pond.

Today, you can find me at my simple and new fishin' hole here: A Peace Carol

A Million Days or a Million Dollars

2009-01-26T09:53:00.002-07:00

What WERE they thinking?

Maybe they weren't.

A million days equals 2,739.7 years. The odds are very good that at some point during those years - say at around the 80 year mark, if not before - you might get Alzheimer's, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, or cancer. You'll only have to live another 2,659.7 years with that problem. You might be lucky and live 100 years before anything major happened to your body, but still... Generation after generation of people would have to take care of you. How would you support yourself and all of your elderly medical needs?

Nope! Not for me!

I'll take the million dollars, thank you, and I'll live my short little life here. A million dollars isn't much in the U.S. nowadays, but it could sure buy a lot of mosquito nets for people in Africa. I could sponsor a lot of women in the Women for Women, International program. I could help out a few friends. Yep, my million dollars would do more good than adding 2,000+ years to my old age would.

Maybe there should be an 11th commandment: Thou shalt not covet more years or wealth than needed, but thou shalt instead make the best of each moment.

Amen.

(Am I back from my blogiday? I don't know. I just couldn't resist writing about this church sign.)

Gone Fishin'

2009-01-18T09:07:00.003-07:00

I have thought about it and thought about it, and last night I knew for sure. It's time for me to take a blogation. Or is it a blogacation? Anyway, it's time to go away and do other things. I don't know when I'll be back.

Maybe in a week?

Maybe when the spring flowers make their appearance?

I don't know.

You can always contact me through my little contact form over there on the LEFT. And, if you're ever out my way on a Saturday, you can find me on the corner.

This Monday, our Women in Black group will be marching in the Denver Martin Luther King Day Marade.

"The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you're a blogger, I will still be visiting you (You can't get rid of me that easy!).

Thank you to all of the friends that I've made through Bloggerville. Thank you for visiting and for your support. You are in my heart.

Much peace. Much love.

AND

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

It Looked Better With Obama's Face

2009-01-15T18:25:00.004-07:00

I've been Obamiconned.

I found the Obamicon site on Joe.My.God's blog. You can Obamicon yourself at Obamicon.Me

Right Moment

2009-01-13T12:01:00.001-07:00

A man sat quietly on earth waiting for his right moment.

He made all the noise that others expected but that none would really hear.

And then he passed away. Suddenly. Along with his right moment. Which had been hiding in every moment.

- Nic Askew, Soul Biographies

(Thomas introduced me to Soul Biographies awhile back and I've been a fan ever since. Thanks, Thomas!)

Elder Practice

2009-01-12T14:24:00.006-07:00

We finally got a snowstorm that brought more than an inch or two. I think that we got about 8 inches last night into this morning. A pretty, perfect blanket of white fluff.

It's very kind of the climate to change like it is at this time of my life. When I was a teenager, we got a lot more snow than we do now. I loved it! We had a huge hill across the street and we lived for snowy days - and there were many - when we would "tube" down the hill on giant inner-tubes. That hill is now covered in homes, there is rarely enough snow to tube on nowadays, and I'm too old to do it without breaking into pieces. Now I'm just trying to stay strong enough to shovel the little snow that we get.

I'm still in the process of letting my hair grow out again in preparation for my old age. The photo above was taken today. I've mentioned before that my plan, ever since I was a little kid, has been to emulate my grandmother so that when I get older, I'll have very long hair which I'll put up on my head. I just can't figure out at what point I'll be an elder. When I'm 80? Tomorrow? (Today?)

At the point of "elderness", do I get a free pass out of snow shoveling?

Fierce Grace

2009-01-11T08:03:00.006-07:00

Last night we watched the movie, Ram Dass: Fierce Grace. If Ram Dass has touched your life in any way; if you are aging; or if you haven't seen this film yet (OK. Have I left anyone out?), I strongly recommend it.

What a heart-opening movie!

Named by NEWSWEEK as one of the Top Five Non-Fiction Films of 2002, RAM DASS FIERCE GRACE is an engrossing, poignant meditation on spirituality, consciousness, healing and the unexpected grace of aging.

We borrowed the DVD from the library and I loved it so much that I'm buying a copy for myself, knowing that I want to see it many more times. A few parts of the film are on YouTube, but you really need to see the entire film in order to witness and imbibe the love and wisdom of it.

You may know of Ram Dass by his book, Be Here Now, or through stories of his experiments with mind-altering drugs.

You may know that he had a stroke in 1997 - or, as he says, he "got stroked". His right side is paralyzed and he has expressive aphasia, making it so his words don't always come out easily. He works with all of this with strength, patience, authenticity and with... - what word goes beyond humility? I know - selflessness. There is no "Ram Dass, victim of a stroke". There is just the same light and love AND there is a body that works differently than it did at one time.

I have almost every book that Ram Dass has written. I have many tape series that he's done and I've listened to them over and over. I've seen him speak in person. Watching Fierce Grace, I finally allowed the love and service that Ram Dass embodies to enter my heart and change the way I see life. It's absolutely beautiful. (crying as I write this...)

This video is a tiny part of Fierce Grace. I am carried away by Ram Dass' ecstasy. Even though his body is not dancing, his soul is.

Thoughts on a Spring Day in January

2009-01-10T08:41:00.005-07:00

As the darkness of the night,

even were it to last a thousand years,
could not conceal the rising sun,
so countless ages of conflict and suffering
cannot conceal the innate radiance of Mind.*

- Tilopa (10th Century), Song to Naropa (From the book, Mother of the Buddhas)

Last weekend we went hiking and, at one point, the Buddha dog and I were standing still and waiting for Mr. Carol For Peace to catch up to us (Mr. CFP can be SO slow sometimes!) (Truthfully, he was running to a trash barrel to dispose of some of the Buddha dog's ummmmm... stuff). Anyway, Buddha and I were silently standing among the trees and sun and birds, and I suddenly SENSED THE SPRING THAT EXISTS IN THE WINTER. That can be done easily in late winter as springtime dances in and out, trying to take possession of its place in the changing of seasons. But sensing spring beneath the winter in January... that was a first for me. I really got that while green grass and flowers and wildlife aren't showing their faces, things are brewing beneath the scenes. I could feel it. As I've known all along - but sometimes forget - dormancy doesn't mean vacant, dead, nothing is happening.

As it is so easy to think that winter is just winter, I can find myself focusing on the "countless ages of suffering" and neglecting the "innate radiance of Mind". I never again want to forget to sense the spring of compassion that lies under and within the winter of our hardened ways against the earth and each other.

as my eyes
search
the prairie
I feel the summer
in the spring

- Chippewa song

Lirun at East Med Sea Peace posted a video of some of the light that's shining in the midst of the darkness of the Israeli/Gazan violence. You can see it here.

*Mind (with a capital M) is sometimes also called unconditioned awareness, enlightenment, egolessness, pure awareness, or perfect wisdom.

Habits

2009-01-08T20:54:00.002-07:00

The threat to our salvation is the clash of peoples:
Jews and Arabs,
offspring of a single father,
separated in youth by jealousy,
in adolescence by fear,
in adulthood by power,
in old age by habit.
It is time to break these habits of hate
and create new habits:
habits of the heart
that will awake within us
the causeless love of redemption and peace.
- Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro

May it be so.

Who I Am

2009-01-07T07:44:00.005-07:00

On Christmas morning, I found a strange bug-type thing on my bathroom wall. I got a glass jar and captured him because a) I usually escort small foreign visitors outside, but it was too cold for him to survive out there and I certainly didn't want him living freely in my house, and b) I hadn't seen a bug like him before so I wanted to check him out.

I became quite entranced by this little creature, even deciding that he was now my newest pet (though I never got to the point of naming him). I pondered over just what kind of food he might be interested in and ended up putting in some oats and lettuce, along with a few drops of water for good measure. I also gave him some tissue to climb on and/or eat. He was a fascinating and spunky little guy who could climb to the top of the jar in no time.

I observed the actions of my bug friend frequently until he appeared to die a couple of days later. I figured that bugs don't live for very long, and since I didn't know how old he was when I discovered him, I guessed that he most likely lived a long, full bug life.

Second bug pet

Two days ago, I found another bug just like the first. I found this one on my bedroom wall. I caught it in a jar, just like I did with the first creature, but I figured that one bug was interesting; a second one indicated a pattern that I wasn't sure I liked.

Let me back up and tell you why this bug was so interesting. It looked like this:

The long, skinny part was like a worm, about the thickness of a thread, and it could poke in and out of the tube thing, which was kind of fibrous-looking and about a half an inch long. If I disturbed the bug, the thread-like part would pull back in. It appeared that the long, thread thing was what would cling to and inch up the wall, carrying the tube along with it. Isn't that fascinating??? And weird???

With this second bug, I was more intent on figuring out what kind of animal I was befriending. I did my research and this is what I found:

Clothes moths are major pests of fabric and other items made of natural fibers. Clothes moth larvae commonly feed on wool, feathers, fur, hair, upholstered furniture, animal and fish meals, milk powders, and most animal products, such as bristles, dried hair, and leather. Larvae will also infest or feed on lint, dust, paper, and materials soiled with oil. Clothes moths can feed on mixtures of natural and synthetic fabrics. However, they cannot feed on materials made of synthetic fibers.

...The larvae spin a silken tube or case to protect them from the environment and natural enemies.

I had me a clothes moth larva!!!

Suddenly, I didn't find pet #2 to be any fun at all. I didn't put any food in his jar. I didn't give him any tissue. I didn't watch him. He's in that jar still just because I didn't want him to freely roam in my house. And I don't know if he's alive or dead.

I can't stand to kill him.

But, for some reason, I'm okay with letting him starve to death in that jar.

The eeewwwwwww factor is high and I am wondering how many more of these I'll find and what fabrics in my house are being eaten as I type this.

What's even more fascinating than this bug is the process that I go through that lets me decide which life is worth supporting and which life I am willing to let die.

Me = Ms. God

We do give ourselves the power to support life or take it away - with bugs and with all of life. We can decide that we don't like someone's behavior so we put him on death row. We don't like the government or actions of a country - or the fact that they have something that we want - so we starve the people through blockades or trade embargoes. Or we just bomb them to smithereens. Or both!

You may say, Ah, but Carol, this was only a bug and it could be harming your extravagantly expensive designer wool sweater (if I had one). And I'd reply, Ah but Reader, some say, as they justify war, that those are only people with a weird religion and government and they could be harming our extravagantly expensive superior lifestyle.

At what point would I be willing to justify the death of someone else in order to preserve my life or my way of life?

Obviously, eating my clothes is a line you'd better not cross over...

99 Things

2009-01-05T13:59:00.004-07:00

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars. - I love it and want to do it more often.

3. Played in a band. - OK. How about violin in a 5th grade orchestra?

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to Disneyland/World - Disneyland in the '70s.

8. Climbed a mountain - a few, including 8 or 9 that are over 14,000 feet.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo. - No way and NO WAY!

11. Bungee jumped. - ditto above

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.

15. Adopted a child.

16. Had food poisoning.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill. - Not sure, but most likely, when I was a single parent and exhausted.

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb.

26. Gone skinny dipping. - The last time was about 14 years ago - in hot springs in New Mexico.

27. Run a marathon. - I've only run a half-marathon

28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.

31. Hit a home run - I think that you have to play baseball for this to happen, don't you?

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community.

36. Taught yourself a new language

37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing. - Won't be doing that again...

40. Seen Michaelangelo's David in person.

41. Sung Karaoke.

42. Seen Old Faithful Geyser erupt.

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.

44. Visited Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. - but I wasn't the patient; I rode with my 18 month-old-son who had had a febrile seizure

47. Had your portrait painted. - And I'd do this why?

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain. - Probably

53. Played in the mud.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater. - almost every date with my high school boyfriend was at a drive-in theater... ;-)

55. Been in a movie.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood.

65. Gone sky diving - Never!

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.

67. Bounced a cheque.

68. Flown in a helicopter.

69. Saved a favourite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar.

72. Pieced a quilt.

73. Stood in Times Square.

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Seen the changing of the guard in London.

77. Broken a bone - I never went to the doctor with it, but I think that I broke my nose when I was 15.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Walked in Jerusalem.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper.

85. Read the entire Bible.

86. Visited the White House. - never been IN it, but I protested outside it

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.

88. Had chickenpox.

89. Saved someone's life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a Book Club.

93. Lost a loved one. - who hasn't?

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person.

96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake - does standing in it count?

97. Been involved in a law suit. - only as a witness

98. Owned a cell phone.

99. Been stung by a bee.

Love IS Having to Say You're Sorry

2009-01-04T10:24:00.008-07:00

Oh, it's so good to be back! Blogger has managed to stop me from posting for a few days. I hope to soon ditch them for something more reliable. I am sooooooo over them!

It's cold and gray today, and I'm staying inside to catch up on reading and writing. Here's the view outside my front door as I write this:

The latest issue of Tikkun (te-kun - to mend, repair, and transform the world) is made up of "Memos to Obama", written by various activists, spiritual leaders, educators, mental health professionals, and probably people from other categories as well.

Reading these memos, I was struck by the eloquent expressions of concern. Some of the subjects addressed were: climate crisis, the economy, education, health care, the Middle East, media reform, and peace.

One memo, in particular, meant a lot to me. It not only hit an emotional nerve, but I realized that, unlike addressing climate change or world peace, this article spoke of a healing action that could be done relatively easy, giving immediate results.

In the memo, Fred Morris makes a plea to Obama:

"Please apologize to and compensate every individual who has been tortured by the United States government, even those found guilty of illegal acts."

Whew! A simple act that we seem to find so hard to do!

Fred Morris was a missionary in Brazil in 1974 when he was kidnapped and tortured. His torturers used the same techniques that we have used at Abu Ghraib and they bragged that they were graduates of our School of the Americas - the combat training school for Latin American soldiers that we have in Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Fortunately, because of political pressure, Morris was released after seventeen days. THIRTY-FOUR YEARS later, he was called to return to Brazil where he, along with twelve others who had also gone through similar experiences, were asked by the Brazilian government for forgiveness. They were also given a lump sum of money and a lifetime pension as compensation for what was done to them.

To date, the Brazilian government has asked for the forgiveness of hundreds of people.

Imagine the U.S. government asking for the forgiveness of each person that we have put through torture. Imagine the goodwill created by that act. As an individual, when I acknowledge my mistakes and make amends, I'm better able to sleep at night. Would our whole country breathe a collective sigh of relief if our government did the same? What would happen if the "grown-ups" of our government modeled the behavior that we try to teach our young people!

Fred Morris requests that Obama create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and begin the task of asking forgiveness of those we've tortured. I second that. (You can tell Obama about the changes you would like to see by clicking here.)

"Torture brutalizes and dehumanizes not only those who are tortured but also those who torture, those who are intimidated by the torture of others, and those who try to ignore the fact that torture exists."
- Fred Morris testifying before a congressional committee about his experiences in Brazil

2009

2008-12-31T09:11:00.008-07:00

From my - ahem - astute observations, it appears that we don't automatically change just because the year on the calendar does. Events in 2009 will most likely be the result of what we put into motion in 2008 and previous years. So, I'm not holding my breath, believing that in 2009 I'll be smarter, kinder, younger, more fit or anything else. I'm not expecting world peace, either. But I do know that there is much love and joy in the world this year and I bet it will continue into the new year, also.

I choose to end this year, and begin 2009, with appreciation and love for life. These 50+ years have been a fascinating trip and I'm thankful for the whole thing.

I'm so lucky to have friends and family near and far who are kind, generous and loving. I love them and I am loved. (Didn't someone say that love is what makes the world go 'round?)

Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. - Kahlil Gibran

This year, I've been able to reconnect with friends and family that I haven't seen for 30 and 40 years. That has been such a gift!

And speaking of gifts...

Thank you, Dancing in the U.K.

Thank you, Nick in Kentucky

Even though I have met very few of my fellow bloggers in person, you are all in my heart.

As much as I love the humans in my life, my furred, feathered, leafed, and vegetabled friends are every bit as valuable. This year, I had a great garden and I got to watch baby owls and baby hawks grow up. AND I've hiked many miles with the Buddha dog and tended to many scratches from Ms Kitty.

I'm thankful for people who are working to make this a better world. There are so many...

I'm grateful for the fact that I have everything I need.

I could go on and on. Just this morning, I SO appreciated my good night's sleep - after blowin' in the wind the night before.

What has brought you the most joy this year? Whatever it is, whether you continue to have it in 2009 or not, may the joy of it carry you through the coming year.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child - our own two eyes. All is a miracle. - Thich Nhat Hanh

Blowing in the Wind

2008-12-30T14:48:00.004-07:00

and Not Finding "The Answer". Yet.

Last night, winds pounded us. My sleep was restless and fitful. For a generally calm type of place, we can get winds this time of year that want to blow our socks off.

I get pretty nervous about our 50-foot cottonwoods - the majestic trees who stand alongside our property and who, if they ever decide to topple, will most likely land on our roof. Or through it. (In fact, in a suburb north of here, a cottonwood did topple last night, but, fortunately, it landed on a truck - with no one in it - instead of a home.)

But I wasn't worrying about the trees in the night. I was just tossing and turning and trying to sleep. I think the wind stirred things up and created mayhem in my sleep patterns.

When I finally got out of bed this morning, I worried about how I would get through my day after such a crappy night. Then I thought of people all over the world who, for various reasons, continually live in less-than-safe sleeping conditions. What does that do to one's nervous system?

I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone's behavior, but nerve-wracking nights do tend to leave us feeling raw and on edge. Today I am experiencing a lot of empathy for those who go over that edge.

We came out relatively unscathed. This is our fence, broken in last night's wind. Don't worry, Mr. Carol For Peace, it's only four panels of the fence. And the Elm is holding it up!

Did I ever mention that I really don't like wind?

A Hundred Eyes For An Eye

2008-12-29T09:16:00.009-07:00

There are human-created atrocities going on all over the world at this moment. Even in a relatively peaceful place like Denver, Colorado, murder, abuse and destruction happen daily. Has it always been this way? Will it always be?

Israel's inhumane blockading of food and supplies to Gaza has been weighing on me. Now, the all-out carnage over there is breaking my heart.

I'm not the brightest star in the sky, but I do know that when I do the same thing over and over again, I usually get the same results over and over again. Maybe, just maybe, the parties involved over there might want to choose to do something different in order to get their needs met.

Or maybe they really like the results they've been getting for a very long time.

When will this insanity stop?

I stole the title for my post from Norman Solomon's article, A Hundred Eyes For An Eye. In the article, he writes about the fact that one Israeli has been killed by Palestinian-fired rockets in the last year while Israel has now, in a short time, killed 270 Palestinians [Update: deaths reported now: 350] and injured at least 1,000. These figures don't include people who have not yet been found under the rubble. The Israelis continue to issue collective punishment against the Palestinians in Gaza and that is just plain wrong. Where is our disgust?

I have been reading Lirun's blog, East Med Sea Peace. His writing helps me to connect with the human experience in Israel. I am not a person who is anti-Israeli in favor of the Palestinians. I care about LIFE. All of it. As I hope that the world doesn't think that I support the actions of our president as he chose to destroy Iraq, I know that not every Israeli supports the killings in Gaza. And not all Palestinians are terrorists.

My heart goes out to all who are living over there. Just as I worry about the future of the children in Iraq who only know war, I also care about the effects on the Israeli and Palestinian children. May the young people be wiser than their elders and learn from this, saying NO MORE WAR.

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." - Mahatma Gandhi

May Peace Abide in All.

Update:

Vigils against these attacks are occurring around the U.S. If you live in Colorado, here's info on one that will take place tomorrow, December 30th:

Emergency Peace Vigil
"Stop the Attack on Gaza!"

Please come express your solidarity with the people of Gaza
Join with groups across the county on this national day of action

Tuesday, December 30, 5:00 pm
Capitol Building, West Steps, Denver

Bring signs and flashlights
Your presence to express your opinion is vitally important
Please help spread the word - pass this announcement on to your contacts

Co-sponsored by: Friends of Sabeel-Colorado,
Colorado Progressive Jewish News,
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
and other groups

Muddy Feet

2008-12-27T08:45:00.006-07:00

When I woke up yesterday, the thermometer said it was 40 degrees (4 degrees C) - warmer than it's been for what seems like a very long time. Because most people were still off of work for the holiday, our brown cloud was absent and the bluest of blue Colorado skies held the earth like a blanket.

It was time for a hike with the Buddha (both the dog and any other type of Buddha that wanted to come along).

Because of the wonderful, heart-warming, smile-producing warmth of the day, the snow was melting and the trails were MUD. I walked through many shades of that water-logged dirt: the kind of mud that almost sucked the boots right off my feet; semi-frozen mud; mud that is really more like a wading pool; and the kind of mud that has lots of gravel in it, making each step feel like I was walking in thick, thick carpet.

Animal sightings: One human, one dog, two red-tailed hawks, many geese honking overhead, an unknown number of magpies, sparrows and other assorted small birds.

Walking with my wise Buddha dog who doesn't need to have conversation, I sunk deep into the joy of being among the trees, hearing only the crunch or slosh of my footsteps in whatever kind of mud they happened to be in at the time. The sounds of brittle leaves rattling against each other in the trees above my head gave a lovely background harmony.

At one point, two red-tailed hawks circled above me low enough that I didn't need my binoculars in order to see the details of their beauty. One of them cried out - over and over - in his raspy hawk cry. That sound hits me at my core. It reaches something primal in me and wakes up a part of me that gets lost when I spend too much time indoors.

Ask Mr. Carol For Peace about the importance of regular Carol For Peace hikes. I am a nicer person to be around if I hike enough. I have to visit my friends that don't need clothing or computers. I have to escape words and allow in human-less sounds. My nervous system can't take the constant battering of human invention.

Maybe this is true for everyone, but many of us have forgotten. We have become familiar with living a life removed from our connection to the earth and we think that we like this new, easier life better - just like we have grown to think that food should taste like the packaged stuff we get in the store, forgetting the taste and feel of straight-from-the-earth vegetables.

And I wonder... would there be less war and less greed if our political and financial "leaders" were required to walk in the woods once a week and partake in a vision quest at least twice a year? Would they, like me, be nicer people for it?

Save The Land!

2008-12-26T13:45:00.006-07:00

Tim DeChristopher did the right thing and now he needs support. Oil and gas leases went to auction last week, opening beautiful Utah land next to Arches and Canyonlands national parks for drilling. Twenty-seven-year-old Tim DeChristopher won bids of about $1.7 million in an effort to stop the destruction of the land. Read more by clicking here or here.

The U.S. Attorney's office is contemplating charges against DeChristopher since he doesn't have $1.7 million dollars to pay for his auction items.

Donate to his legal defense or to help pay for the land here.

I love the Utah desert, so I'm sending some money for this cause that is dear to my heart.

"If I am not willing to take a stand for my generation, then who will? This year I have come to terms with the idea that I might be my own best hope to defend my future. Hopefully all of us will realize that we are the ones we have been waiting for." - Tim DeChristopher

Bravo, Tim!

Have Yourself a Merry One

2008-12-23T21:00:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow night - Christmas Eve - I'll be fixing dinner for my family and extended family. The older I get, the harder it is for me to make Christmas into a day more meaningful than any other. I'm not trying to minimize Christmas at all. It's just that every day is getting more and more meaningful as my life unfolds. Each day is a miracle worthy of celebration.

But I'm willing to play along with the rest of the gang. Neither decorating nor getting together for a special feast will do any harm.

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!' -Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide"

So, last night, Mr. Carol For Peace and I brought out the decorations and spruced up this place a bit. I was going to show you the lights on our Norfolk Island Pine, but I had a little camera problem. First, my lens quit working. Big bummer. Then I tried Mr. Carol For Peace's lens but I didn't use a tripod, so this is what I got:

I kind of like it.

Incidentally, the pine we decorate is one that we bought for our first Christmas together. It was about this big (she says as she holds her hand about 10 inches above the desk). Now it's about 5 feet tall.

We hung stockings. Here's the Buddha dog's:

(I hope that Santa finds his way down our chimney, because I haven't been to the doggie goodie store and have nothing to put in this big toed stocking!)

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? -G.K. Chesterton

Friends, Family, Anonymous Visitors, and Spidering Robots,

I'm calling to say that no matter what holiday is special to you at this time - or even if you celebrate no holiday at all - may today, and all of your days, be filled with laughter, peace and joy. Thank you for taking the time out of your life to visit me and my little blog. You mean a lot to me!

Peace.

Look out for the wall!

Milk

2008-12-21T12:11:00.004-07:00

Last night, we saw the movie, Milk. I'm not a movie reviewer. All I can say is Sean Penn is an acting god. I learned a lot that I didn't know about Harvey Milk and about that era. I was captivated.

GO SEE IT!

"Milk is that rare biographical movie that makes you believe you've met the man yourself. At the very least, the movie makes you wish Harvey Milk were still around, fighting the good fight." - Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune

Present Presents

2008-12-20T08:51:00.004-07:00

A few years ago, I said something rather "un-artful" to a friend. It was the truth. I knew it and she knew it. But it didn't need to be said, and it especially didn't need to be said the way I said it. It just erupted out of my mouth like a volcano - exploding after a long time of below-the-surface rumbling and ruminating. I made my big mistake right as we brought our plates from the Indian food buffet to our table. My friend let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that she didn't appreciate what I had said. We both lost our appetites and left the restaurant with untouched food - and broken hearts.

We tried to work through the damage with tearful phone calls, but nothing worked, except a lot of time away from each other. A LOT of time. Years.

My friend works in an office with other mutual friends. At some point, I ran into her and we awkwardly talked a little. She told me about a concert that would be taking place near my home. For a reason I'll never understand, we agreed to go together. Since then, we have slowly worked our way - just a little - into each other's lives.

Yesterday, we took a walk together. At the end, she told me she had a Christmas present for me in her car. I opened it and saw that it was a beautiful pair of pierced earrings. I can't wear pierced earrings, because I'm so allergic to metal in my ears that earrings not only create lumps in my lobes, but they also cause me searing pain.

The Carol I used to know would have taken them, thanked my friend, and brought the earrings home, wondering what I'd do with them. The Carol that was present yesterday told her friend that I can't wear earrings, but I loved those that she gave me.

I told my friend about how a few weeks ago, Terry Tempest Williams' publisher, after seeing that I had blogged about Terry's latest book, emailed me to find out if I wanted to speak with Terry for my blog. If I could choose only one writer in the world to speak with, it would be Terry Tempest Williams. I bathe in her books. They bring me back to myself. Yes! Yes!

But there was no follow-up from Terry or her publisher and I have not spoken to my favorite author. And that's OK. I was asked, and that's enough. I just loved that I was asked. I don't have to have every experience I want in order to be happy. I was asked! THAT was a gift.

I let my friend know that the earrings are beautiful. She had given me this present - this symbol that I was thought of and cherished. THAT'S the gift. I thanked her for the gift.

The fact that I felt safe to be honest with this woman was another gift. I HOPE that I expressed it artfully. I feel free, knowing that I won't have to dance around why I never wear the earrings. And I feel closer than ever to this forgiving woman.

Life is so rich and generous.

Young Eyes

2008-12-17T09:02:00.009-07:00

When he walked into the library and saw so many boots and shoes spread across the floor, the little boy who could not have been older than 4, asked, "Do we need to take off our shoes?" The innocence and awareness in those eyes...

He was standing amidst a collection of boots representing the soldiers from Colorado that have died in this occupation of Iraq. He was looking at hundreds of shoes that represent the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Iraqis who have died because of our presence in their country.

He is a precious little boy who I hope will never have to see what the people who were represented in that room have seen.

***

Last night I worked my first exhibit as coordinator of the Colorado Eyes Wide Open. It was held at the Jefferson County Open School, which is the most human and the most whole school I've ever known. As their site says, the world truly is their classroom. I want to go back to school and be a student there. I'm willing to start at first grade again, because I know that I would learn life skills and valuable life lessons that I don't have yet as an adult.

I watched the 16 year old organizer work magic as she and her crew made the whole thing happen - from set-up, through hosting the site for 3 hours, to take-down. I spoke extensively with three 15-year-olds - some of the most interesting people I've spoken with in a long time - and I came away with a sense of hope. The students at that school are incredible beings that exhibit maturity, confidence, refined group skills, and polished conflict resolution skills. They are already contributing for the betterment of this world with a sense of themselves and a way of being in the world that a majority of adults have not yet attained.

These people were probably not born with anything that we all don't have. But they have grown in an environment where they have been supported and nourished in ways that most public schools are not willing to do.

Last night was the school's annual Peace Night. This event began after the events of 9/11. The entire school participates in a phenomenal collage of events, displays and fundraisers. Unfortunately, I didn't take the opportunity to explore all that was going on, because I wanted to stay with the Eyes Wide Open exhibit.

I did go to the school theater, though, to listen to speakers Greg Johnson and David Bacon of Playing For Change. You may have seen Bill Moyers' show about this organization that is creating peace through music. They bring street musicians from around the world together through technology. Not only do they create peace through the universal language of music, but also through their non-profit organization that builds schools in South Africa and Nepal. Great men doing great work.

I'm always touched by my experiences with this exhibit. Even though its point is to show the human cost of war, thus it focuses on death, it has a life of its own. As I heard more than once last night: you can hear about the exhibit, but until you have witnessed it and felt the impact made by rows and rows of empty shoes and boots, each carrying a name and age which make real the humanity that once gave them life, you won't really feel the impact of the exhibit.

I hope that through acknowledging the death of our soldiers and those Iraqis whose lives have been lost, we will decide that we are not willing to tolerate war anymore.

Setting up the boots.

And the shoes.

***

As she walked among the shoes, the young girl of maybe 6 or 7 called out the ages written on the attached tags. Mostly she called out the ages of those younger than her - 11 months, 2 years. I never saw her look at the boots. She was fascinated by the shoes - especially the children's shoes. She was so fascinated that as her mother left the room, she lagged behind. As she looked at the last group of shoes and read the ages, she turned to leave and said (to whom, I don't know... the air? the world? God?), "This is just wrong!"

My Grandkitty

2008-12-15T21:31:00.005-07:00

A week and a half ago, we were in California to visit my daughter and to attend the wedding reception of some friends. My daughter has a brand new house. This is a photo of her brand new house and her brand new Christmas tree - and my new grandkitty.

My daughter is a teacher. One of the best. No, THE best. Just ask me. Or ask her students - or their parents. My daughter does an amazing job and her students are very lucky.

But this post is mostly about my grandkitty. I met my grandkitty for the first time during this trip. I almost put her in my suitcase to bring her home with me. She's a little love.

My kitty - Ms Kitty - is almost 20 and she spends her time eating, sleeping or meowing (with her old kitty bad breath) for me to pick her up and put her on my lap. Oh yeah, and she walks around the house yowling loudly. A lot. Especially in the middle of the night or when I'm concentrating on work. Ms Kitty is an elder that we love, respect and care for.

My grandkitty, on the other hand, is a character who climbs up into the middle of the Christmas tree and throws ornaments out all over the floor. She's excellent at playing hide and seek. Best of all, she also allows us humanoids to hold her and love her endlessly. She's a beautiful little thing that I can't resist.

I don't know if I'll ever be a grandmother. I really don't seem to have the "grandmother" gene. If neither of my offspring have offspring, I'm fine with that. And if a grandchild would come into the picture, I'd love it with all of my heart - and more.

But right now, I'm truly, truly in love with with a beautiful little black kitty in California.

"I put down my book, The Meaning of Zen, and see the cat smiling into her fur as she delicately combs it with her rough pink tongue.
Cat, I would lend you this book to study but it appears you have already read it.
She looks up and gives me her full gaze.
Don't be ridiculous, she purrs, I wrote it.
- from "Miao" by Dilys Laing

To Passionately Open in Love

2008-12-14T09:22:00.004-07:00

I make the effort
to maintain a ground of oceanic silence
out of which arises the multitude
of phenomena of daily life.

I make the effort
to see and to passionately open in love
to the spirit that infuses all things.

I make the effort
to see the Beloved in everyone
and to serve the Beloved through everyone
(including the earth).

I often fail in these aspirations
because I lose the balance
between separateness and unity,
get lost in my separateness,
and feel afraid.

But I make the effort.

- Ram Dass

from the book, Life Prayers, by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon (my teachers)

Today I will make the effort.

Wonder

2008-12-12T20:51:00.002-07:00

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life. - Rachel Carlson

(I posted that quote about a year ago at this time. It's worthy of repeating.)

May your day... no, may your LIFE always be full of wonder.

Humility

2008-12-12T00:01:00.001-07:00

My 27 year-old son sent me the song below because he knew that I would like the lyrics and the music. I LOVE the lyrics. The music is alright. Well, more than alright.

Behold the beauty that surrounds us. No matter what, it's always here.

Humility by Covenant

behold the beauty that surrounds us
see the wonders we take for granted
roam the world in all her glory
sail the seas and climb the mountains
discover things you never knew
be happy that you're alive
so many reasons to remain
so many people to embrace
so many stories to be told
so many errors to correct
turn your gaze towards the moon
even further if you dare
turn your face towards the sun
and be grateful that it's there
behold the beauty we have made us
all the wonders that we created
see the cities of the ancients
in the deserts and the jungles
see the truth you always knew
be happy that you're alive
so many reasons to remain
so many people to embrace
so many questions to be asked
so many answers to be found

It's Gotta Suck To Spend Christmas In A Cell

2008-12-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

If you have a few moments, some extra cards and empathy for those who refuse to kill in your name, you might want to send some Christmas cards to those who will be spending Christmas in prison for refusing to fight an unjust war.

From Courage to Resist:

The holidays are a difficult time for many folks, especially when separated from family and friends. Now imagine you're a war resister imprisoned for refusing to fight in Iraq.

Please take a few moments this holiday season to write a letter of support to a imprisoned objector. Better yet, organize your social club to collectively write letters to these brave men with the courage to resist.

Tony Anderson, Robin Long, and Daniel Sandate are currently jailed and are not expecting release until well into 2009. Benji Lewis, Blake Ivey and Andre Shepherd are publicly taking bold stands against war that may result in their eventual courts martial.

Anthony Michael Anderson
PO Box 305
Fort Sill OK 73503-5305

Robin Long
PO Box 452136
San Diego CA 92145-2136

Andre Shepherd
c/o Military Counseling Network (MCN)
Hauptstrasse 1, D-69245 Bammental
Germany
($.94 USPS postage req. for this overseas address)

Benji Lewis,
Blake Ivey, and
Daniel Sandate
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610

For more information about each individual, follow the link from their name.

Home

2008-12-10T09:26:00.004-07:00

A smooth white blanket covers our yard and it's 23 degrees outside. Last night, the nearly full moon lit the sky and illumined the snowy whiteness around here. I love that. It brings back memories of sleeping alone under the desert stars with a moon so bright that I never felt alone. It reminds me of hiking in the mountains at night, able to see my way, but feeling a little jumpy because moon shadows make unknown creatures appear where really there are none.

I'm glad to be home right now. I love my bed almost as much as I love my husband. Kidding! A little...

We are back from the west coast where we visited my daughter and her husband. We also attended a beautiful wedding reception where we ate THE BEST Indian food I've ever had. Oh my god - the spices were otherworldly.

Normally, I would blog while on vacation. I would take photos of my experience and post them. This time, I took a vacation from all of that. The only photos I took were of the rooms of my daughter's new home - and I won't be posting those here.

Much of our vacation time was spent in FOG. To me, fog = sleepy. Fog = nap. I just never feel energized and quite awake when there is no sun. It feels like part of me is missing. I admire people that can function normally under those conditions day in and day out.

I may write more about my trip as time goes by. I may write about my talented daughter and my experience in Berkeley.

But now, I want to write about another Home.

When we looked through our mail yesterday, I found a letter from Women For Women International. I had been expecting this. I knew that my latest sister had graduated from the program and I would soon be introduced to my newest sister. My latest sister lives in Nigeria. Her home has no running water and no electricity. For the year that I sponsored her, my adopted sister learned about her rights, was educated about health and hygiene, and developed skills in order to help support her family. I'm so happy to know that she is now aware of her rights as a person and better equipped to care for her family.

My new sister lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1992 to 1995, war ravaged her country, leaving more than 200,000 dead, another 200,000 severely injured, and millions of people deported or forced to flee their homes. An estimated 20,000 to 50,000 Bosnian Muslim women were raped by Bosnian Serb soldiers. Sixty percent of all houses in Bosnia, half of the schools and a third of the hospitals were damaged or destroyed. My newly adopted sister has had at least one family member killed in war, as is the case with all of the women that I've sponsored over the years.

I may support my sisters with money that allows them to learn skills. I may support them with letters that encourage and connect. But the sisters that I've sponsored over the years have helped me to realize a certain strength that we humans carry within us. I have even more gratitude for my big nest of a bed and the safety that I experience today. Still, my sisters help me to know that I can go on even without these things.

A Keystone Holds It All Together

2008-12-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia: "A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community."

PrairieDogs.org: "A keystone species is a species whose very presence contributes to a diversity of life and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life. Keystone species help to support the ecosystem (entire community of life) of which they are a part."

I took this photo looking down into the little creek-ette that formed due to the beaver's work in one of our hiking areas. Beavers aren't just big-toothed creatures and keystone species. They're also artists.

I've written recently about Prairie Dogs and Beavers. Both are keystone species. There might be good news for the prairie dogs (or prayer dogs, as Terry Tempest Williams sometimes calls them - mostly because they stand in a posture that looks like they're in prayer). An article in the Tuesday Rocky Mountain News says that these creatures are getting closer to being declared an endangered species. This will allow them more protection. I'm sad that their population has reached this point, but I'm hopeful that this status will help them a little.

Sometimes I read a few comments on articles. I don't enjoy it, but I learn a lot about people that way. Just reading the first comment on the article above, I understand why the prayer dogs' population is so threatened. Some people...

Peace and light to you this 18 degree (F) day. I hope you have much warmth where you are.

Singing Through the Hard Time

2008-12-03T19:46:00.005-07:00

I really need to be doing other things right now. I'd love to write more, but THINGS ARE HAPPENING. Opportunities to display the Eyes Wide Open exhibit are falling into my lap. I'm getting ready for a trip (stay tuned). I have fruits and veggies to freeze before I go, cleaning to do, etc., etc.

Aaaaahhhhhhh.....

But tonight was the AFSC holiday party and I couldn't miss it. I wrote last year, after a holiday party with activist friends, about how much I love being around these people. I am not a party person, but I will make time to be with wonderful people who use their lives to make the world a better place. I'm just honored that they allow me to be there, also! ;-)

Tonight we sang a song together and I leave the words with you:

Singing Through the Hard Time
- Utah Phillips

We are singing through the hard time,
singing through the hard time
Working for the good times to come
We are singing through the hard time,
singing through the hard time
Working for the good time to come.

Some times our living gets so dark and lonely
It seems like there's nothing we can do
So we reach out to each other, and raise a song together
And let our voices carry us through.

When the war clouds gather it's so easy to get angry
And just as hard not to be afraid
But you know in your own heart no matter what happens
You just can't turn your back and walk away

Hand in hand together we help each other carry
The light of peace within us every day
And if we can learn to give it, to walk and talk and live it
That world of peace won't be so far away.

Peace to you this cold December evening. Sing a song. Our voices will carry us through.

The $185 Dishcloth

2008-11-30T22:07:00.006-07:00

After Dancing sent me a handmade dishcloth, I thought that it would be fun to try to make one myself. After all, in 1963 or so, I earned a Girl Scout Knitting Badge (can't believe that I admitted that) and I've knitted three scarves in the 45 years since then. Knitting is just like riding a bike, right? One never forgets...

Undaunted by my lack of recent experience, I dove into this project and finally came out with TWO HANDMADE COTTON DISHCLOTHS.

To Dancing: Proof that I did it!

I'm figuring a low estimate of 12 hours to make the first one due to the time it took me to start it, tear it apart, start again, tear it apart again, look up how to purl in order to see what I was doing wrong, start again, tear it apart... over and over. At $15 an hour (a figure I just pulled out of the air) plus materials, I've now got a $185 square of twisted yarn. I mean A $185 PIECE OF FINE ARTISTRY.

I flew through the second dishcloth. I got the knit/purl groove going. It was a meditation. A dance of the fingers. I was in The Zone. That was fun!

I don't think that this will become a knitting blog, though. It's hard to knit and hike at the same time and I've got my priorities!

All Things Change

2008-11-30T12:52:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago, we hiked in one of our favorite open space parks and noticed that beavers had been working to change the route of the creek that runs through the park. We had to walk through water in places that water had never flowed. I figured that the parks people would eventually find out about this and "relocate" the beavers, then tear up the beaver construction job and put things back "the way they're supposed to be."

But surprise, surprise, surprise!

Instead of all of that, Mr. Park Ranger just built a couple of little bridges over the newly formed little creek-ettes. Here's a photo, taken today, of the view of one of the new waterways.

(Oh yeah, our whole hike today was in a few inches of white stuff with snow falling on us the entire time. 32 degrees F, 0 degrees C. It was HEAVENLY!)

Seeing that this important beaver work was allowed to continue, seeing that, for once, humans didn't think they knew best... I just felt sooooooooooooo happy! Happy for the beavers, for nature, and all of the changes that will follow because of this one water-diversion. Habitats will change due to water flowing where it hasn't before. Who knows what all will be different by spring-time?

For some reason, seeing all of this (as opposed to seeing man refuse to allow the beavers to pursue what is natural for them), I felt complete freedom in my cells.

Peace & Joy to you this last day of November.

Finding Beauty in a Broken World

2008-11-28T16:03:00.003-07:00

Oh, there is so much that can be written about all of the beauty in this broken world. Or is the world truly broken? I'm not going down that road right now because I just want to write about Terry Tempest Williams' latest book, Finding Beauty in a Broken World. In particular, I want to share a little about what she has to say about

Prairie Dogs

Prairie dogs are native to North America. In the U.S., they primarily reside in the western states. Recently I have heard that they are being sent to Japan as pets. Oy. Not a good idea.

I love seeing prairie dogs in fields around here. But some people don't.

These furry little creatures live in tunnels under the ground. Developers and people with livestock fail to see the beauty and importance of prairie dogs and are known to throw poison or fire into the tunnels, then close them off, causing the creatures to die a horrible death.

But the loss of prairie dogs is the beginning of a ripple effect, because it's true that all life is dependent on other life. Species that can disappear - or almost disappear - when the prairie dog is removed include: the black-footed ferret, many types of birds (including owls, hawks and golden eagles), some types of mice, and swift foxes.

And these animals are not only important for the survival of other species, but they also work the land in ways that help the plant life around them.

But this is what I wanted most of all to tell you:

A man, biologist Constantine Slobodchikoff, has studied the communication patterns of prairie dogs and has proven that they have the most sophisticated animal language that has ever been decoded. The sentinel prairie dog warns the rest of the colony of impending danger by - get this - using different calls depending on the species of the predator.

From the book:

Focusing primarily on Gunnison's prairie dogs near Flagstaff, Arizona, he [Slobodchikoff] has also found variations within prairie dog speech - call them dialects - that differ from region to region. But studies have shown that they do understand one another. Their use of "language" includes not only nouns, but modifiers, and the ability to coin new words. To date, one hundred words have been identified among Gunnison's prairie dogs. And now, with the use of advanced technology, Dr. Slobodchikoff is in the process of deconstructing prairie dog grammar. "A short chirp, about a tenth of a second is analogous to a sentence or paragraph... If we dissect the chirp into a bunch of different time slices, each slice has some specific information on it."

Time slices become words and the assemblage of an idea appears.

But perhaps, most remarkably, Dr. Slobodchikoff has witnessed something he may never be able to explain. During a set of observations involving widely separated Gunnison's prairie dogs from different colonies, he showed each village a European ferret, an animal they have never seen before, and the isolated prairie dogs came up with the same word. [Emphasis mine]

I wonder what prairie dogs are saying about humans as we destroy them...

Of his work, this biologist says, "I am hoping that this work will help show that prairie dogs, and all animals, are not just mindless robots that can be disposed of as vermin or property but are sentient beings that should be treated with empathy and respect."

May it be so!

(If you have never read Terry Tempest Williams, I highly recommend her book, Refuge - An Unnatural History of Family and Place.)

Awarded For Having Fun

2008-11-25T10:18:00.006-07:00

Scribbling:

What I do when I'm talking on the phone.

But I'm not talking about THAT kind of scribbling - even though I think I'm pretty good at that kind since I put so much practice into it.

Wonderful person and thoughtful blogger, Border Explorer, awarded me with the Superior Scribbler Award. Thank you, B.E.! Thank you for thinking of me and thank you for what you do in the world. People like you give me hope, make life worth living, and teach me and others more than you'll ever know.

I'm supposed to list the rules and then award five other bloggers with this sweet award. Try as I may, I just have a hard time following rules.

If you only knew how traumatic it is for me to take personality tests - "Choose one phrase from this list that most describes you..." After much debate, I have to write, "I DON'T KNOW!!! NONE OF THEM AND ALL OF THEM!!!" Deciding on the best seven albums last week nearly pushed me over the edge. I needed to know which moment in time were we talking about.

This one?

Or this one?

It can all change without notice.

Sooooo... if you want to read the rules and check out the other bloggers that Border Explorer chose, click here. I also want to link to the creator of this distinguished award: The Scholastic Scribe. Dear S.S., I apologize for not playing by the rules.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge a few of the varied and interesting blogs that I frequent and love. This award is for you to take or leave as you wish. You all certainly deserve it.

In no particular order:

Withinsight - even though he's in love now, so he posts infrequently (love can do that to ya, you know), I enjoy this Canadian's view of life. And the place where he lives.... HEAVEN.

The World According to Indigo - Indigo has a certain beautiful and vulnerable strength and from that strength, he allows himself to be seen just as he is.

Otowi - I have the deepest respect for Otowi as she humbly lives her faith in a sea of differing views. She is a rock.

Nick's Bytes - My sweet friend. Nick and I share a common Myers Briggs personality type. Does that mean that all the qualities that I admire in him I can also find in myself? Nick has definitely taken them to another level. From his Monday jokes to his provocative justice posts, his blog is a daily fix for me. I love ya, Nick. And while I'm writing about Nick, I can't forget Alex, the cat who owns him. His blog, Alexicon - A Kitty Kat's Life with his Hooman, is a good record of his adventures and thoughts on life.

Living Next Door to Alice - I love the way Thomas looks at the world. He makes me think, he gives me smiles, and he posts about fascinating things that I would never know about if it weren't for my daily visits to his place.

Mark of Cancer is Killing Me - I Will Never Give Up - Mark writes about his experience as he lives with cancer. He's very real.

Amy's Head - Even though I didn't meet Amy when I was at Camp Casey, I feel like I did. She is a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She is one strong woman. I remember her speaking on stage at Camp Casey, telling us how hard it was to be a lone Gold Star mother in Texas speaking out against the Iraq War.

Daffy of Almost There - Funny. Sweet. Daffy has a great way of looking at the world.

Dancing on a Blade of Grass - My dear friend. Dancing posts beautiful photos of Great Britain, making me want to go there. If and when I get across the ocean, I want to have tea, soak in healing waters, knit, and explore with Dancing. And I hope that if she ever gets out this way again, she'll do the same with me here.

Left of Centrist - Beatles and activism. Robert is a video-maker, activist, connector. If it hadn't been for him, I'd still be riding around in some train in the D.C. area, trying to find my way. Robert helped me find a place to sleep while I waited on my friend to get released after her arrest there in September of 2007.

Oh! And the site where I most like to lurk: Joe.My.God. Gay New Yorker guy. One of my favorite blogs.

"I sincerely believe blogging can save America."
- John Jay Hooker

If he's right, we're all contributing to a noble cause!

The Price We Pay

2008-11-24T14:10:00.003-07:00

Taxpayers in Colorado will have paid $10,029,679,452 for the Iraq war by January 2009.

With that amount of money, we could have offered 1,777,367 scholarships to university students for one year, given insurance coverage to over 3 million people for a year, paid the wages of over 178,000 jobs for a year, or supplied over 13 million homes with renewable energy for a year.

But we couldn't do these things. Instead, we funded a war and occupation. We have interesting priorities, don't we?

Find out the price you and the residents of your state are paying for the war (excluding casualties, lost jobs, loss of goodwill, etc., etc.) by clicking here.

Life Is But A Stream

2008-11-23T10:56:00.004-07:00

There are those whose very presence bring me back to... to .... to something that seems more real. To the truth of who I am, maybe? Who we all are? Do you have people like that in your life? People who seem to cut through all the stuff in the world and take you right to all that really matters? My two teachers do that.

I went to a class held by my teachers Friday night. One thing we spoke of there was how nothing is solid, the same, from one moment to the next. You don't see the same river twice. Those water droplets that make up what you see in this moment aren't the same as the ones you see a moment later. It's constantly changing. Everything is constantly changing.

When it's all never the same, what is there to hold on to? We seem to do a pretty good job at holding on to our illusions of constancy.

How can we give others a chance to change if we hold on to our ideas of them? I have felt the frustration that comes from feeling changes within me while those around me seem to want to hold me to the Carol I used to be. It's hard for people to see us with new eyes each time they lay eyes on us. And it's hard for us to do the same for others.

So, as W leaves the White House SOON and as we associate with people of different beliefs/religions/races, can we see them as if for the first time? As much as I don't like most of what W has done over the last 8+ years, can I have the courage and grace to allow him to be who he is now, instead of who I think he is by what he has been? Can I do that with everyone and everything around me?

Aaaahhhhhh.... that smells of freedom....

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust

Now What?

2008-11-20T07:45:00.003-07:00

I started this blog when I went to Camp Casey to join Cindy Sheehan and others protesting the war in the summer of 2005.

That experience, and my trip back there in the spring of 2006, changed me. And I have continued to change.

I think a lot, wondering what means are effective to stop a war. Is stopping a war what I am drawn to do here? Or is my life to be used to change the root causes of war? Oh, there are many root causes. Or is there just one big one - forgetting that we are all one? How can I affect the violence toward other living creatures if I have any seeds of violence within myself? Maybe animals innately contain seeds of violence and there is nothing that we can do about that. Maybe everything is following some grand plan exactly like it's supposed to. Maybe there is no plan - only chaos.

I refuse to follow any singular religious or political structure of thought, but I'm more than willing to explore them all, to think and learn. The thoughts and practices that humans have thought and practiced over thousands of years have gotten us where we are now. The capitalism and democracy that this country has exercised over the last 100+ years has created the interesting times that we now see. Maybe it's time to think in ways that we have never thought.

I just read a short article by Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us. He tells of visiting the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. An area that once held rice paddies and and villages is now a wilderness between two fighting peoples - who are really one people. With hostile armies ready to shoot on either side, red-crowned cranes feed in the bulrushes of the wilderness below. Only 1500 of these cranes exist, so this beautiful habitat is serving a vital cause. What's fascinating is the fact that this area only exists because of the fueding of the people. Once they reconcile, suburbs and industrial parks nearby will expand into this land. There are already plans for that.

Fortunately, there are people working to protect this land as a peace park. Will peace win out against profit? All I know is that the paradoxes of life are very, very intriguing to me. That war would create and sustain a wildlife habitat is beautiful. And I know that war also poisons and destroys habitat. It's ALL there.

I began this blog to talk about Camp Casey. Then, for awhile, I documented activism in the Denver area. It wasn't long before my blog became a mish-mash of my life. Today I'm feeling a need to engage more with things that I love - especially the outdoors and my spirituality. These two things can be fodder for blogging, but diving into them with all cells doesn't happen on the computer.

This long diatribe is my long way of saying, "What the heck am I doing here today?". And maybe it is giving me permission to stand back a little to see what my next step entails.

No matter what, I'm determined to soon post a photo for Dancing- once I've finished knitting this dishcloth I'm working on. My VERY rusty knitting skills have made this simple task a great adventure!

Much love and peace to you and all on this beautiful planet.

Bet Your Dog Can't Do This

2008-11-18T21:40:00.004-07:00

I was needing a smile today. Watching my dog, Buddha, do The Crab always brings a long-lasting smile to my face. Our strange, but sweet dog will do The Crab on demand. He turns in circles until he catches his tail, then he walks like a crab around the house without ever running into anything. I think that he has eyes in the back of... well, in the back of some body part.

I love this one. It looks like he has teeth on the wrong end.

Buddha, the dog, teaches me joy. When Buddha knows it's time to go for a walk or hike, he cannot contain his happiness and he has no embarrassment about squealing uncontrollably .

Buddha, the dog, teaches me about living in the moment. He is always present to whatever is going on around him. He holds no grudges and lets go of disappointments effortlessly.

I am learning to be like Buddha.

Except for the Crab part.

And maybe the squeals.

More Music That Moves Me

2008-11-17T13:00:00.002-07:00

Switchback
We see them every year when they come to Colorado.
This video is a Johnny Cash cover that shows much of their talent. The only thing you don't get to experience in this song is the beauty and clarity of Marty's perfect tenor voice. His rendition of Danny Boy can make the hardest of hearts melt and if there was a YouTube of that, I'd post it here.

Kan'nal
The Washington Post says about one of their CDs: "It's a rare CD that makes you want to rub sticks together in your back yard, yank off your clothing and howl at the moon while cavorting around a crackling bonfire."

Owwwwooooooohhhhhhh!

"Walk as one people
one color
one earth
We're all One!"

Dead Can Dance
I never saw them and now I can't because they are no more.

4201

2008-11-16T21:25:00.002-07:00

We have now surpassed 4200 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

627 in Afghanistan

Thousand upon thousand of civilians in both countries.

In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons.
Croesus

Blogging Album Project

2008-11-16T12:16:00.003-07:00

I was tagged by Robert at Left of Centrist

THE RULES:

1. Post your list of the seven best albums, the seven bloggers you will tag, a copy of these rules, and a link back here.
2. Each person tagged will put a URL to their Blogger Album Project post along with a list of the seven best albums in the comment section here.
3. Feel free to post the "I Contributed to the Blogger Album Project" Award Graphic (found here) on your sidebar.
4. Post a link back to the blogger who tagged you.

My seven favorite (not necessarily the best, just my favorites - and in no particular order):

1. Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed
2. Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
3. Talking Heads - Little Creatures
4. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
5. James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
6. U2 - Joshua Tree
7. Neil Young - Harvest

I tag (and feel free to blow me off - even though I'd love to hear about the music you like):

Mary - Get Your Own
Nick - Nick's Bytes
Thomas - Living Next Door to Alice
Chani - Finding My Way Home
Dancing - Dancing on a Blade of Grass
Indigo - The World According to Indigo
Michelle - Crow's Feet

Tomorrow I'll post my favorite World/Unknown/Alternative list.

For Lisa

2008-11-14T15:54:00.005-07:00

I'm a little slow to get this posted. Your birthday was two days ago. BUT I know that you are away from computers right now, at your "Untensive". You are giving yourself to the moment in ways that only you can do. This little blog post will be waiting for you when you get back.

Here is documented proof that the anniversary of the miraculous day of your birth was celebrated here at the CarolForPeace House.

First, the wine - as requested. (By the looks of it, I think that a being from the "other side" joined us, too!)

A toast to you.

And a piece of gluten-free zucchini bread (warmed to perfection)

Wish you could have been here to celebrate!

Somehow, I think you were.

You are always in my heart.

November Garden

2008-11-12T16:26:00.003-07:00

Remember the 130 green tomatoes that I picked before the first frost? After almost a month of tender-loving care, here are just a few of them today. The flavor of dark-drawer-ripened tomatoes is a close second to vine-ripened. They're still better than those from the store because no shipping was necessary and I know they are chemical-free.

We still have carrots and chard outside, covered up every night as a protection against the frost.

Tonight: Tomato-based veggie soup.

Open Eyes

2008-11-11T18:24:00.003-07:00

I recently took on the volunteer job of Coordinator for the Colorado Eyes Wide Open exhibit.

The Eyes Wide Open exhibit is a display with pairs of boots that represent each of our soldiers killed in the Iraq War/Occupation. It also includes many pairs of shoes that represent Iraqi dead. The exhibit used to be national, but it got too big and expensive to move thousands of boots and shoes all over the country, so now it's been divided into an exhibit for each state, each one containing boots representing the men and women from that state who have died in this war.

I worked on the national exhibit when it came to Denver two years ago. On the day that we took the display down, 2,753 of our young men and women had died in Iraq. Nine of our soldiers died just in the two days that the display was up.

Today, 4,193 of our soldiers have died in this occupation, along with 176 soldiers from the U.K., 138 soldiers from other countries, and, of course, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

Oh. These photos. Remembering... Blessings to all who have died in violence around the world...

####

Well, after digressing for a few paragraphs, I come to the point of what I wanted to write in the first place (Sheeeesh! I've had no words for days and now ya can't stop me!).

Today another woman and I met with some members of the Amnesty Club of a local High School because they are interested in hosting the Eyes Wide Open exhibit at their school. I don't know what about this touches me the most:

1) This High School is not in the most affluent neighborhood of Denver. Maybe the Eyes Wide Open exhibit will have the ability to open one student's eyes to the cost of war, helping him or her to realize that the price is too high.

2) The young people with whom we met are poised, confident and capable. I have seen this a lot in the youth of today. They are not like anyone that I knew when I was that age. They give me hope.

3) This administration has not allowed us to see the dead and wounded of this war. We can easily live each day not even remembering that our country is involved with fighting and occupying another sovereign nation, killing its citizens and displacing millions. The Eyes Wide Open exhibit is a tiny look into the truth of what is happening. I am proud to be a part of bringing this glimpse of reality to people too young to have seen the carnage of Vietnam, thus they don't know what is being blocked from their view now.

I will probably be writing more about this exhibit as I attend the events that will be occurring at different venues across the state. I know that these experiences will change my life.

If you are trying to figure out how to use up a few minutes of free time - or if you're curious about my posts from the Eyes Wide Open exhibit when it was here two years ago - here are some links to the posts I wrote at that time:

Eyes Wide Open
Biceps
A photo of the Iraqi shoe display
What Would We Do If Another Country Did This To Us?
People Just Like Us
Boots Tell Haunting Tale Of Losses In Iraq
Stories

No Words

2008-11-10T09:08:00.001-07:00

Every once in awhile, the clouds get in my way and I need to step back and let the sky clear again. I've been wordless for days. Still am. But I wanted to at least wave "Hi" to you on this COLD November morning.

Today, I feel like I'm walking a crooked and lonely trail and I resonate with this quote of Abbey's:

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Edward Abbey

Japanese Waterfall

2008-11-07T09:04:00.003-07:00

Beautiful!

BlogBlast For Peace: November, 2008

2008-11-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today I wish for peace.

Not just an absence of violence or conflict

(Even though I want that, too)

But my bigger wish is that we/you/I may all know our true Self,

The Self underneath our name, our title, our talent, our mood, our beliefs

Down to who we were before we were born

Before the ideas that float around us stuck to us

like a dust storm on a newly-washed car.

Ideas of who we are,

right and wrong,

who is lovable and who isn't,

what we should look like and what we should do.

If we take a small glimpse of what there is under

all of those thoughts that are, really, only thoughts,

I think - no, I KNOW - we will experience

the beauty of our unity

and true Peace.

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
- Black Elk

(BlogBlast For Peace globes are being displayed in 44 countries today. Check out Mimi's site to find out where you can see more. THANK YOU, Mimi, for bringing together so many people from around the world!)

One People

2008-11-04T20:52:00.009-07:00

"Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people." - Barack Obama, from his presidential victory speech, 2008

May we put the divisiveness of the campaigning season behind us and work together to heal the problems facing all beings on this planet.

On This Election Day, 2008

2008-11-04T07:00:00.002-07:00

A Call For Guts

Frances Moore Lappe (author of Diet for a Small Planet), the November issue of Ode magazine, says, "The future depends on mastering the art of positive courage."

Quoted from the article:

"Like a lot of us, I keep asking myself, how did we get into this mess? Since humans have innate needs and capacities for cooperation, empathy and fairness - which science now confirms - why does so much suffering and destruction continue? For many, the answer seems obvious: Humans just aren't good enough; we need to become better people; we need to overcome selfishness and evolve into more caring and cooperative creatures. I disagree. Since these positive qualities are hard-wired in virtually all of us, maybe what we really need more of is something else: backbone.

Have you ever considered we're too cooperative? Maybe we're hard-wired to follow others, even if we should say 'no way.'"

Lappe goes on to site recent studies where people were willing to administer electric shocks to others in order to induce learning. More than half conform, delivering up to 150 volts, even when the subject cried out in pain. When interviewed afterwards, those that stopped sending shocks believed themselves to be responsible for the shocks. The ones that kept going believed the experimenter was the one to be held accountable.

Maybe, because we believe our government is accountable, we don't hold ourselves accountable when we witness racial slurs, poverty, and other problems that we say are not acceptable.

"...In these do-or-die times, the future depends on how quickly we grasp that we must keep power dispersed. As it's dispersed, more of us come to feel accountable. We must master the art of positive courage. We can, for example, reward our kids from the earliest ages for speaking out against injustice.

To call forth courage in the wider culture, we can actively protect and publicly reward and honor truth-tellers willing to risk humiliation or even their livelihoods to uphold our shared values of fairness and honesty. We can work on ourselves, checking our tendency to go along with what we should not.

Preaching generosity and cooperation alone won't get us there. Evidence-driven thinking about the real challenge of our species - cultivating gutsiness - is the first step toward the world almost everyone wants."

Breaking Our Silence

2008-11-03T00:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, the local Unitarian Church had as its guest speaker, Charlie Clements, President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. I may write a post on Charlie sometime. He is an amazing man. Today, Charlie spoke on the economic, political, and social costs of the Iraq occupation, telling of their effects on our soldiers, the people of Iraq, and our children who will be paying for this war for a long time. Hearing these painful facts was almost more than my heart could hold in one sitting.

Before Charlie's talk, members of our Women in Black vigil were invited to stand up front with our banner for a few moments and speak about our vigil.

One woman spoke for all of us, then we each said a few words. Here are the words that BL spoke, followed by my contribution:

Every Saturday afternoon since September 2005, the women you see in front of you along with other women in the area have gathered on West Colfax Avenue in Golden to stand for one hour in support of peace, to protest war, rape as a tool of war, ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses all over the world. We hold the banner you see in front of you which reads, "Women in Black, Standing in Silence for Peace." We are silent because mere words cannot express the tragedy that wars and hatred bring.

This worldwide network, Women in Black, began in 1988 in Israel in protest against Israel's Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. A group of brave women crafted an agreement that called for the establishment of a free, independent and secure state of Palestine side-by-side with a free, independent and secure state of Israel. As the idea of peace expressed through these women grew, "Women in Black" developed into an international peace network in more than 30 countries around the world. Women in Black have stood in Bangalore, India to call for an end to abuse by religious fundamentalists, in Yugoslavia and Serbia to set an example of inter-ethnic cooperation, in South Africa when its government massacred children in Soweto, in Argentina where women walked silently in central plazas every week to commemorate and mourn thousands of their loved ones who "disappeared" during the military dictatorship.

The response of people who see us standing each Saturday has been uplifting. There are visible signs of support from a thumbs up to the peace sign to comments like "way to go," "thank you," "right on." Some have parked their cars, walked over, and stood with us, some have brought us cold bottles of water on hot days, some have brought their small children in strollers and their teenagers to stand, and some have even offered us money.

My words:

I first started standing as a protest against war.
War is still with us, but so is love and kindness.
I have witnessed it, not only in the women who stand each week through all types of weather, but also in they eyes of those who acknowledge us in some way as they pass our vigil.

In parphrasing Anne Pauli of White Lake Women in Black, I say,
Our silence is a voice for the voiceless.
Our spirits are replenished, reenergized and rededicated.
We are a force for love, hope, faith, and peace on earth.
We stand for very human.

Slowing Down

2008-11-02T08:29:00.004-07:00

From The Sun magazine -

The writer Andre Gide relates this experience of a trip he took into the Belgian Congo:

My party had been pushing ahead at a fast pace for a number of days, and one morning when we were ready to set out, our native bearers, who carried the food and equipment, were found sitting about without any preparations made for starting the day.

Upon being questioned, they said, quite simply, that they had been traveling so fast in these last days that they had gotten ahead of their souls and were going to stay quietly in camp for the day in order for their souls to catch up with them.

So they came to a complete stop.

Good idea. I think that it's about time for us to slow down and wait for our souls to catch up, too.

Nonviolence: More Successful

2008-11-01T10:01:00.004-06:00

Researchers are claiming that nonviolent resistance is twice as effective as violence. Makes sense to me.

Nonviolence Is The Right Choice - It Works

by Amitabh Pal

Nonviolent resistance is not only the morally superior choice. It is also twice as effective as the violent variety.

That's the startling and reassuring discovery by Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, who analyzed an astonishing 323 resistance campaigns from 1900 to 2006.

"Our findings show that major nonviolent campaigns have achieved success 53 percent of the time, compared with 26 percent for violent resistance campaigns," the authors note in the journal International Security. (The study is available as a PDF file at http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org)

To read the rest of the article, click here.

"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is This What We Want?

2008-10-30T21:39:00.003-06:00

When I was in my early 20's, I lived in 3 different southern states. I wasn't very politically aware at the time. I just lived my life. I remember all of the wonderful neighbors I had in each of those states. I loved them. And they took me in like family. We would have done anything for each other.

As I got older, I realized that most of those neighbors were probably politically conservative. If we would have gone to the polls together, we would have discovered our very different political values. But we shared the most important things. We were kind to each other and looked out for one another. THAT'S what mattered.

The air feels different nowadays and I don't think it's all because I'm more politically aware and involved. Our country feels more divided. Is it because of the media's divisive messages of labels, lies, and name-calling?

Is this what we want?

I am really sad. This name-calling has seeped into our extended family. We were people who once loved each other; relatives who shared the exploration of ancestry; friends who emailed adventures of birds and sales. Now, names and labels and rigid rights and wrongs are hurled, dividing family into treehuggers on one hand and those who know what's "right" on the other.

And I wonder... On our deathbeds, what will matter most: Believing that we are right or knowing that we loved?

Picnics for Peace

2008-10-30T07:24:00.005-06:00

I don't know if the Dalai Lama really said this, but I think it's a great idea.

We need to, once again, create community.

Photo taken by my cousin, Larry G. Blackwood at Aunt Dolfe's Hall of Recent Memory in Willow Creek, Montana.

It's Getting To Be BlogBlast For Peace Time Once Again!

2008-10-26T20:16:00.005-06:00

On November 6th, 2008, only 11 days from now, multitudes of people around the world will be displaying their peace globes in one unified voice for peace upon this earth. Think about it. This will be happening only two days after the U.S. Presidential elections. What better time for some unity?

(Hmmmmm... looks like I'll have to get my globe out of the closet, dust it off, and make a little change on the date there.)

If you want to participate in the next BlogBlast For Peace, if you want to be a part of a huge movement created by the peace woman herself, the dedicated Ms. Mimi Pencil Skirt, click here and then let the creativity begin!

Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind. - Daisaku Ikeda

All of the Parts

2008-10-25T14:46:00.002-06:00

It used to be that when I felt lonely or depressed or mad, I thought that all of me was lonely or depressed or mad. I thought that I was defined by the feeling of that moment.

But, with a little investigation, I have discovered that I am never only one thing.

For instance, for the longest time, my first feelings upon awakening have been of fear. Fear of facing anything that the day may bring. At some point, I decided to look around inside and see what the fear looked like. To my surprise, it only took up a small part of my insides. There was a lot of alrightness around in there, too! I had been only focusing on one part of a much larger picture. It's kind of like having a cut pinkie and deciding I'm going to die from it instead of knowing that, really, I have a healthy body with a cut pinkie.

The other day, I was feeling lonely. When my inner parts got to talking about that, though, I realized that only a little bit of me was lonely. The rest of me was having fun baking. (And, when you have different parts that can talk with each other, how can you be lonely? In fact, how do I decide which part is the lonely one?)

Have you noticed this yourself? Have you noticed that you can experience both grief and peace at the same time? Can you feel the melancholy of the autumn season or the autumn of life and still know a deep, inner joy?

Serenity
is not
freedom from the storm,
but
peace
amid the storm

- unknown

A Warm Cup Of Coffee

2008-10-24T08:42:00.005-06:00

I used to say that, if everyone received massage, there would be peace on earth. I still believe that. But I found an article that has convinced me that we can also find peace spending less money and time than a massage requires.

The results of a recent study done by University of Colorado psychologist Lawrence Williams show that those people holding a hot cup of coffee in their hands will see others with warmer attributes than people holding a cup of iced coffee. Those holding a nice, steamy cup of java will also be kinder than those with an iced cup in their hands.

So, holding a hot cup of tea (I hope it works as well as coffee), I'm thinking of you with warm thoughts on this cool October day.

Human

2008-10-23T07:59:00.002-06:00

Yesterday my friend and I met at a local coffee shop just to spend time together. I don't drink coffee, but I love Passion tea.

I had never been to this coffee shop before. While I was paying, the young man at the counter asked me, "So, what have you been up to today?" It caught me off guard. What HAD I been up to? It was fun to think about it and talk about it and to ponder together over the likelihood that it was now going to snow. I walked away from the counter with a smile and feeling pretty good about life.

As my friend and I drank our tea and talked at a nearby table, I heard the young man at the counter ask the same question of each person that he served. And, like he did with me, he acted interested in the answer.

In a world where so many people behind a counter seem to be just grouchily getting through their jobs, this man, if he can keep his spirit, should go far.

Today I'm going to ask someone I don't know a question about his or her life.

Whew!

2008-10-22T14:19:00.003-06:00

A couple of days ago, I was tagged by daffy. I pondered for awhile and finally decided what I'd write about. I was going to tell you some very embarrassing moments in my life. I even began writing the post. But then I re-read the rules and realized that I'm supposed to write about things/habits/quirks.

Here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Do you see? It does not say "embarrassing stories". So, for once in my life, minding the rules is going to pay off. I won't write my embarrassing stories today. Sorry.

Too bad I don't have any habits or quirks to share, though...

But my dog does. In the mornings when I turn on the computer, Buddha dog comes in and asks (silently) for his morning massage. He then, with all the seriousness this important practice calls for, puts his big old nose between my knees and stands there while I massage his neck muscles and upper back. When he's done with me, he shakes it all off and we go on our merry ways.

Oh, and my socks have very strange habits. In the winter, when my feet are cold, I wear socks to bed. Then, magically, in the night, my socks come off. They can be found either at the foot of the bed or tucked neatly together by my side. I don't know how they get there.

And then there's my husband. He has this way of mastering everything that I start. I started doing some drumming (Djembe). It was fun and I felt that I was getting pretty good at it. Then Mr. CarolForPeace decided he'd try it and he whooped my ass. Same thing with photography. He's gotten really good! I think next I'll try cleaning the house more often. Come on, Mr. CarolForPeace, show me how good YOU can do it!

(Nick knows about this one). My stove - no matter where I live - seems to, every once in awhile, just boil a pan of food until it is beyond charcoal! It just cooks and cooks until things get very ruined and ugly. When the smell gets funny or the smoke alarm goes off, I go to the kitchen and I'm always amazed at how a stove can do such dumb things!

Oh, I finally thought of two weird things that I do:

When it's really, really cold outside and I get into a cold car, I make a very strange noise that comes from my whole body. Kind of a verbal shiver. I can't help it. I have to do it every time that I'm that cold.

And when I laugh, I HAVE to end my laugh with a little ending sound. It's kind of a verbal sigh. When my ex-husband would make fun of me for it, I would hold it in as long as possible, but it would HAVE to come out, even if I did it a minute later. It's very important that things have proper endings, you know?

Bonus #7. I do not like to tag people. I know, I'm a party pooper. Don't ever send me a chain letter. The buck always stops here.

But if you want to grab this meme and make it your own, it's all yours!

What Will You Do If Your Vote Isn't Counted?

2008-10-21T08:14:00.004-06:00

Below are some excerpts from an article in Rolling Stone by Greg Palast and Robert Kennedy Jr. who warn us of vote tampering on a massive scale.

As Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise..."

Don't worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report out today in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of "GOP vote tampering" on a massive scale.

Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.

Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.

While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.

Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of 'Jim Crow' tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.

A fired US prosecutor levels new charges - accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as "fraudulent."

Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called "caging" ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone duo predict that, this November 4, it will be far worse.

Block the Vote by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Greg Palast is in the current issue (#1064) of Rolling Stone. [Media enquiries - Dave Falkenstein, Sunshine Sachs & Assoc, via interviews@gregpalast.com.]

Check this out: Kennedy and Palast are releasing, simultaneously with the Rolling Stone investigative report what they call, the vote-theft 'antidote': a 24-page full-color comic book, which can be downloaded or obtained in print from their non-partisan website, StealBackYourVote.org

For updates and video reports, go to RollingStone.com

The End Of The Road

2008-10-20T20:18:00.004-06:00

We have watered them, loved them, wooed them, , covered them with warm blankets, and BEGGED them to PULLLEEEESE ripen. But I admit defeat. It is just too cold to ask them to perform the impossible. So today, I picked about 100 green tomatoes to add to the 30 or 40 that I had previously picked up off the ground and brought in.

And I made a fried green tomato for the first time. It was okay. I wouldn't crave another one, but I wouldn't pass it up if I was hungry, either. I've found a few different variations on how to make them. This was trial #1 and I still have about 139 green tomatoes for further experiments.

And there's always Green Tomato Cake, Green Tomato Raspberry Jam, Indian Style Green Tomatoes and Vegetables Over Rice,...

Let Your Little Light Shine

2008-10-18T14:15:00.003-06:00

Shine
by Joni Mitchell

Oh let your little light shine
Let your little light shine
Shine on Wall Street and Vegas
Place your bets
Shine on the fishermen
With nothing in their nets
Shine on rising oceans and evaporating seas
Shine on our Frankenstein technologies
Shine on science
With its tunnel vision
Shine on fertile farmland
Buried under subdivisions

Let your little light shine
Let your little light shine
Shine on the dazzling darkness
That restores us in deep sleep
Shine on what we throw away
And what we keep

Shine on Reverend Pearson
Who threw away
The vain old God
kept Dickens and Rembrandt and Beethoven
And fresh plowed sod
Shine on good earth, good air, good water
And a safe place
For kids to play
Shine on bombs exploding
Half a mile away

Let your little light shine
Let your little light shine
Shine on world-wide traffic jams
Honking day and night
Shine on another asshole
Passing on the right!
Shine on the red light runners
Busy talking on their cell phones
Shine on the Catholic Church
And the prisons that it owns
Shine on all the Churches
They all love less and less
Shine on a hopeful girl
In a dreamy dress

Let your little light shine
Let your little light shine
Shine on good humor
Shine on good will
Shine on lousy leadership
Licensed to kill
Shine on dying soldiers
In patriotic pain
Shine on mass destruction
In some God's name!
Shine on the pioneers
Those seekers of mental health
Craving simplicity
They traveled inward
Past themselves...
May all their little lights shine

Margaret and Helen

2008-10-17T10:33:00.002-06:00

Oh my... This woman is great! If you have the time and want to see what I want to be like when I'm 82, check out the Margaret and Helen blog.

If The World Could Vote

2008-10-15T16:20:00.003-06:00

If the world could vote for the person they'd like to see as the next U.S. prez, which candidate would win this election? (Voters are only allowed to pick from the two candidates that get any press.)

Click here to find out.

Then let me know if you are surprised at the results.

Full Hunter's Mooooooon

2008-10-14T07:18:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I heard that Canada was gearing up for their Thanksgiving Holiday. I decided I wanted to add this excuse for more giving of the thanks to my repertoire, so I started thinking ahead as to how to celebrate it. But I just googled Canadian Thanksgiving and found out that I MISSED IT! The Canadian Thanksgiving is officially the second Monday in October. It was yesterday. Since no one can dictate how or when I can be thankful for this amazing experience of life on this planet, I decided that I can call any day Thanksgiving for myself. I'll begin with today - the day of the Full Hunter's Moon.

This photo of the Full Hunter's Moon, was taken at this time last year from my one of my favorite places on this sweet Earth - the desert of Utah. Those who make up rules about when you are supposed to be thankful and where you can camp will no longer allow us to camp in this spot without a major hassle and fine and talking to, but they can't take away the joy that comes with remembering the feeling of being there those Spring and Autumn mornings of silence and crispness before the hot day began nor can they erase the sound of those lonely evenings while coyotes sang at the mooooooon. Those memories are in my cells and my cells say

THANK YOU, LIFE!

What To Remember When Waking

2008-10-13T08:08:00.003-06:00

In the first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other more secret, moveable
and frighteningly honest world where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.

What you can plan is too small for you to live.

What you can live wholeheartedly
will make plans enough for the vitality
hidden in your sleep.

To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.

To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.

You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.

Now, looking through the slanting light
of the morning window toward the mountain presence of
everything that can be,
what urgency calls you to your one love?

What shape waits in the seed of you to grow and
spread its branches against a future sky?

Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white page on the waiting desk? - David Whyte

Treated Like Royalty

2008-10-11T17:40:00.007-06:00

I think that I have won two prizes in my life - in addition to my hubby, son and daughter and this amazing experience of life that I breathe in every day. But I'm talking here about the kind of prizes that you win when your name is pulled in a drawing. I won $50 at a bar in 1988, and a couple of weeks ago, I won my second prize: gifts from Dancing On A Blade Of Grass who lives across the ocean in England.

Whoo hoooo! This second prize was the best!

In my mailbox Friday night, I received my first ever ROYAL MAIL!

And inside the package, I found a Royal dishcloth (hand knitted by Dancing herself), a Royal bathroom sign, and a very cool Royal calendar with wonderful photos. I KNOW this calendar is royal, because it has all kinds of holidays in it that I've never heard of. There are holidays that are just called, "Holiday". I LOVE that! Who needs a reason? (Besides, we've forgotten the reason we began most holidays, anyway.)

Thank you, Dancing! You did a beautiful job knitting the dishcloth and picking out lovely gifts. I will think of you often as I use them.

If You Spot Some Hollow Ancient Eyes

2008-10-11T08:00:00.002-06:00

Say "Hello In There. Hello".

A visitor that I haven't heard from in a long time stopped by and commented on a post from last week by offering the lyrics to the song, "Hello In There" by John Prine. I have to admit that I didn't know who John Prine is so I had to YouTube him. He's good. But I also have to admit that I'm more of a Michael Stipe/Natalie Merchant kind of person. So, with much appreciation and a request for forgiveness from Yan, here are Natalie and Michael singing Hello In There.

Hello In There
Copyright John Prine

We had an apartment in the city,
Me and Loretta liked living there.
Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown,
A life of their own left us alone.
John and Linda live in Omaha,
And Joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost Davy in the Korean war,
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore.

Chorus:
Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day.
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello."

Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more,
She sits and stares through the back door screen.
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen.
Someday I'll go and call up Rudy,
We worked together at the factory.
But what could I say if asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do."

Repeat Chorus:

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes,
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello."

On a Gray October Day

2008-10-10T08:57:00.004-06:00

I like it that this tree/bush that grows in our yard defies social norms by popping out in Springy pinks in Autumn while everyone else is putting on rusty fall colors.

John

2008-10-09T07:15:00.002-06:00

Inspired by Thomas' blog post regarding John Lennon's birthday today and Yoko Ono's wish for peace, I wish you - and the world - much peace and love this beautiful October Thursday. Thank you for sharing this wild ride with me.

Standing For Change

2008-10-08T14:37:00.004-06:00

My friend was motivated to organize a grassroots rally/vigil at the capitol today. We didn't have a huge turn-out, but if you include those that walked by and applauded or thanked us, and if you include those that honked and waved, the rally was HUGE!

One of the many reasons that I stand for peace: I don't want any son (or daughter) to go to war.
My friend on the right... Her son served in Iraq and Afghanistan. What he witnessed is almost unspeakable.

My friend on the left... Her son just left for his second duty in Iraq. I just got goosebumps typing this. I don't know how I'd get through my days if my son was over there.

Bless these strong women and their sons...

Another reason I stand for peace: So that this little boy will be able to grow up in a safe, healthy world.

We will be voting on a proposal for an amendment in Colorado: Amendment 48. It was created by a young woman who is a member of "Colorado for Equal Rights". The proposed amendment states that "personhood" begins at conception thus a fertilized egg should be granted constitutional protections. So some forms of birth control would be considered murder. Basically, as one blogger put it, Colorado could become the first state to make illegal both abortions as well as some forms of birth control.

Breathe, Carol...

2nd Hand

2008-10-05T13:59:00.003-06:00

Goodwill is the place I go when I need "new" clothes. There is a new one in Denver that has such great clothes that even I, a woman who must have slept during the distribution of shopping genes, have fun there.

Clothes should have many lives. Why waste the resources it takes to make new ones when there are so many "gently worn" (or maybe wildly worn with abandon), perfectly good pieces of clothing needing a home?

I've also bought a few second-hand cars. In the 1970's, I bought two different yellow VW bugs (I had to buy the second one to replace the first that got totalled when I was rear-ended - Ouch!). The second one had a sun-roof, so it was especially cool. Until the first rain. The day following the rainstorm, I drove down the street under a clear sky, and when I stopped at the first stop sign, a rain storm magically appeared - but only inside my car and only on my head. That was fun...

Besides cars with no seal around their sunroofs, there are a few other things that should never be obtained second hand - and I'm not talking about underwear or food here, even though I don't think I will see the day that I buy those used.

I'm talking about spirituality.

A local liberal church is doing a two-month gig of educational lectures about the different mystic paths. Following one mystical path myself, I thought it would be interesting to go and hear what was said. It just so happened that the talk this first week was about the very path that I follow.

I got a lot out of the evening. Not what I thought I'd get, but, hey, that's the way my whole life seems to be going. Life presents what it presents, not MY idea of what should be.

One of the ministers of the church gave the talk on this spiritual path that she knew nothing about until she read some information on it in preparation for her talk. Basically, we got the CliffsNotes on a path that has existed for centuries and, over that time, has woven itself into different lineages and practices.

I study in one of the lineages of the spiritual path which this woman described and I came away feeling like she had hammered many dents in the wall, even dinging the nail once in awhile, but by the end of the evening, the nail was no further into the wall than when we began.

We got second-hand teaching. A view of a view of a view.

In this case, I think it was no more dangerous than a surprise shower inside a car on a sunny day. But with some cases, like in the second-hand view most Americans have of Islam, misleading information can sometimes be as dangerous as a used car seller "forgetting" to tell the potential buyer about the bad brakes.

Morals to the story (for me, anyway): Don't believe most things you hear. AND buy used clothes, not used beliefs.

Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" Priest: "No, not if you did not know." Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?" - Annie Dillard

Peace to You This Beautiful October Friday

2008-10-03T13:34:00.003-06:00

If This Is Heaven...

2008-10-01T09:54:00.000-06:00

Last week I posted photos of Hell, so I thought I'd compensate this week by posting photos of Heaven. This is the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. We were there last weekend. What an absolutely beautiful, no, HEAVENLY place!

To get a perspective of just how tall those salmon rocks are, look near the bottom left corner to see the itty bitty road that goes between them. You can always click on the photo to embiggen.

It's like a natural cathedral.

We also drove into the mountains to check out the yellow and gold furnishings.

And you know you're in heaven when the Bed and Breakfast where you stay serves hot-out-of-the-oven CHOCOLATE cake for breakfast! No joke! Too bad I've been laying off the chocolate lately. BUT when you're in Heaven, ya gotta do as the angels do. It was sinful!

Questions

2008-09-30T07:28:00.004-06:00

Recently, W appeared at a fundraiser in Oklahoma for McCain and other Republicans. Even though McCain is distancing himself from him and criticising this current administration, W, the ever loyal prez, is out raising funds to help his friend in his bid for the next 4 years.

My email friend, Darla, and her friends were there to protest the event. She sent me this article that was written by John Scripsick whose son died in Iraq. In 2005 and 2006, I sat in the bug-ridden heat of Texas with Cindy Sheehan as she waited for answers to her questions. Now I read this grieving man's questions. And I wonder... will anyone in power ever answer these people? How does one sleep at night knowing the pain they have caused millions all over the world?

What Did My Son Die For?
by John Scripsick

Most people will lie or stretch the truth for one reason, and that is money.

My son died in Iraq one year ago, and it has made me study the reasons we went to war, as any parent would do looking into the loss of their child.

President George W. Bush came to Oklahoma City Friday to raise money for Senator John McCain. I think for a donation of $5,000 you got your picture taken with Bush at a beer distributor's house. I was there outside the house but did not attend the fundraiser.

My son joined the Marines to help this country do good. I tried to talk him out of joining, but after 9/11 lots of young men and women joined. One day before his final signing, I thought he was having second thoughts, but Bryan looked at me and said he already gave them his word. I was worried but proud that he was a man of his word.

As time went by, I have seen that President Bush, Dick Cheney, and others are not men of their word. They will lie straight to your face.

I was there on Friday, not to get a picture taken with Bush, but to ask some questions:

How can our government pay $800 to $1,000 a day to Halliburton, KBR, and Blackwater employees, who work for businesses that Cheney has ties to, and only pay our troops $70 to $100 a day?

Is it true that Blackwater, which has cost taxpayers billions to provide security in Iraq, has given generously to your campaign?

Was Enron your largest contributor?

Did a Texas oil company that gave to your campaign drill in the Kurdish region yet?

Did you read the report sent to you in August 2001 about an attack in America coming soon?

Did you pay $5 million to a man from Iraq so he would not talk about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)?

Did you ignore Iran's offer to infiltrate Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attack?

Did you disregard Joe and Valerie Wilson's knowledge about WMDs and Al Qaeda in Iraq?

How many military leaders, CIA officials and others, have resigned since you have been president?

If you collect enough money, pull a good-looking rabbit out of the hat, and McCain becomes president, do you get a pardon from these questions?

My son died in Iraq on Sept. 6, 2007. Does my asking these questions make me unpatriotic? Did my son die for my freedom. or did he die so Bush could pump money through private contractors and please Republican campaign contributors?

I was sure standing on a corner outside the fundraiser would not get these questions answered. But maybe the right person will hear the message. I do know that doing nothing will produce nothing.

Can't Find My Way Home

2008-09-29T14:14:00.007-06:00

Today they did it. One of our tall giants is gone. Chopped up and spit out.

Now, we no longer have our north star. This tree was right up against the street - a great landmark to note when telling someone how to get here, a marker to give us a visceral sense of when to turn into the drive. When Mr. Carol For Peace came home from work tonight, he was really sad to see our cottonwood gone. I said, "Yes, now we can't find our way home." Coincidentally (is there really such a thing?), THAT was the exact song he had been listening to in the car as he turned in our driveway.

Here is where our beloved tree once stood:

I took the photo below while standing and looking down on what's left of the tree. I am not tall enough to be able to get the whole girth of the stump in my photo. See how tiny my feet look compared to the size of this big guy? (And I DON'T have small feet!)

And, as Dancing On a Blade of Grass had suggested, this morning I tacked a note to the tree before the hackers, I mean, tree surgeons came.

So they left me this:

Now I have to find someone to turn this into a piece of art that can reflect the beauty of the tree that used to help us find our way home.

Invisible

2008-09-28T11:47:00.004-06:00

I just got back from buying some groceries. The man in front of me had gray hair. His fingers were all bent and it took a long time for him to write his check. He looked to be about 80 years old. When the cashier asked him for an I.D., he pulled out his driver's license and told her that, before his wife died, they decided to tear up their credit cards, so now he only has his driver's license for an I.D. The middle-aged cashier made some kind of faint, uninterested, "oh" sound and did her job. Or maybe I'm just making that last part up. She may have said nothing and I give her too much credit.

The man could be a very happy person who misses his wife somewhat, but is at peace with life. He may not have even liked his wife, for all I know. Still, I don't think his comment was about the credit cards. It was about the fact that his wife died. I had heard him in the store earlier, telling a different person that he lived alone, so didn't want to buy too much of something that might go bad.

I wonder how many of us are carrying un-witnessed grief. We try to tell our story but no one hears because they have a job to do. A job that can also serve as an excuse to avoid connecting human to human.

Sometimes, the more people I'm around, the more I start thinking that this world is a very lonely place.

My Bestest Friend (with four paws)

2008-09-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

I have asked this Blogger thing to make my post magically appear while I'm away in Colorado Springs with my parents - a mini get-away. So, while you're reading this, I may just be taking in the curvy, smooth, giant, grandfather rocks of the Garden of the Gods or I may be looking at the grandeur of Pikes Peak (or maybe I'll be visiting Focus on the Family or the Air Force Academy, but probably not).

And while I'm away, I'll be missing my bestest friend with four paws who you see in the photo above. Just looking at his photo, my heart melts - and I think I'll just stay home with him. NO ONE is a better hiking companion than that there Buddha dog. And he truly does teach me the lessons of the Buddha. Except for the non-attachment lesson - I'm very attached to him.

I wonder if tonight's "debates" will happen? If they do, I wonder what the two candidates that are allowed to speak will say? (Too bad we only get to listen to TWO of the current presidential candidates and too bad there will most likely be no surprises as to what those two will say - but that's where we are right now.) I'm sure I'll find out all about it when I get back.

Don't forget to kiss your bestest friend with four paws today.

Carpet

2008-09-25T21:08:00.003-06:00

That's nature's colorful carpet back there on the distant mountains. When I was up there on Monday, I was a little early for the full fall colors. There's still a lot of green in that carpet.

I hope that I'm not boring you with all of my photos the past few days. I'm just trying to keep peaceful and sane during the craziness going on in our country. And it ain't always easy.

Everyday, I have so much for which to be thankful. I want always to stay aware of that. Thank you for visiting me this fine fall day!

Aspen - Up Close and Personal

2008-09-25T08:30:00.003-06:00

This is the third in a series of Hell's Hole photographs.
Click here to see #2
Click here to see #1

If you look closely at a tree you'll notice it's knots and dead branches, just like our bodies. What we learn is that beauty and imperfection go together wonderfully.
- Matthew Fox

Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh. - Leonard Cohen

It is foolish to pretend that one is fully recovered from a disappointed passion. Such wounds always leave a scar
[At least on the tree where you carved your initials!]. -
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Defending the Peace?

2008-09-24T16:30:00.001-06:00

During the Democratic National Convention here last month, the police demonstrated some questionable actions, one of which was recorded in a video I posted here.

The police officer who told 24 year old Alicia Forrest to "Back up, Bitch" and then slammed her with his baton, knocking her to the ground won't face charges.

And the police are profitting through the sales of post-DNC T-shirts that brag, "WE GET UP EARLY, to BEAT the crowds"

Oh, this says so much...

Hell's Hole Haiku

2008-09-24T08:28:00.002-06:00

Under pine tree roof
Sunshine dances with shadow
Jealous, I cut in

There's gold in those hills
More valuable than metal
Don't tell anyone!

First day of Autumn
High country snows have begun
Lonely looking sky

If This Is Hell...

2008-09-23T07:35:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, Buddha (the dog) and I spent the day hiking at Hell's Hole. Two of my favorite places are Hell's Hole in Colorado and Hell's Roaring Canyon in Utah. So, I guess if someone tells me to go to Hell, I'll gladly do it.

I had planned to drive to Hell's Hole to see the changing aspen, take some photos and come home - maybe be gone 3 or 4 hours. But I lost all track of time - heck, I totally misplaced any concept of the existence of time - and we got back home 7 1/2 hours later. With very tired paws.

I could write much, much more, but duty calls and I have to go to work today.

The photo above is one of my favorites from the day. Yellow aspen leaves floating on the water. The trees you see are only reflections.

It looks to me like the leaves are floating on air.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus

Happy Birthday, Leonard

2008-09-21T21:20:00.004-06:00

We just watched the DVD, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. After smiling through the whole thing, I came back to the computer because I was curious to find out Cohen's age and I saw that today is his birthday (born 9-21-34).

How auspicious is that???

This song was my introduction to Leonard Cohen in the 70's:

If you haven't seen Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, here's the trailer:

Three Years

2008-09-20T10:48:00.005-06:00

Someday this month, the third anniversary/birthday of our Women in Black vigil will occur. No one knows the exact day it began. I kind of like that. After-all, there is no "celebration" that is appropriate for acknowledging our vigil against violence.

As of today, 4,168 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Hmmm... when they died, they thought of themselves as different from each other, coming from different countries; participating in opposite sides of a war; some Christian, some Muslim, some Jewish, some atheist. Now, in death, there are no differences. Perhaps there never were???

2, 235 of our men and women have died in Iraq during the three years that this vigil has existed. Obviously, all of the vigils and protests and rallies that we've attended before the war and after have not stopped the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, nor the talk of more war in Iran, nor the bombing in Pakistan.

Maybe we should, as some drivers who pass us by say, "Get a life". Those moments are so priceless for me. Each week, I stand for one hour with a sign that, I hope, reminds people that peace is a possibility, and every once in awhile, some man driving out of the mall yells at me to get a life.

Maybe he's right. I should just put away my sign and go to the mall where I can find a life.

Nah...

The Sun Never Says

2008-09-19T09:19:00.001-06:00

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says to the earth,

"You owe

Me."

Look

What happens

With a love like that,

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

- Hafiz

Things

2008-09-17T09:48:00.005-06:00

My blog is working, but my brain isn't. That's only a bad combination if the unworking brain tries to write something coherent. I'm just having a great time freezing and drying peaches, apples, broccoli, and green beans. I'm up to my neck in zucchini, and today I'm going to make a ton of zucchini soup to freeze. Sounds exciting, huh?

***

I've been reading Sway, The Irresistable Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Braffman and Rom Braffman. It's giving me a different understanding and more compassion for the human behaviors that we tend to judge in negative ways. Through reading it, I can see how I might have made the same decisions on Vietnam as LBJ had I been in his position. Scary but true. I highly reccomend the book.

***

Robert of Left of Centrist is reminding us that today is Constitution Day. Our Constitution was signed 221 years ago. We would do well to remember what we have and to do our best to not let it be destroyed.

And I hope that we figure out the definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and do what's right, because if taking our country into an unjust war and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people through the course of that war aren't high crimes, I don't know what are. (Section 4 of Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution: The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.)

Hey Robert, remember what was happening a year ago yesterday?

Becoming Human

2008-09-15T11:23:00.004-06:00

Once a man came to me and spoke for hours about

"His great visions of God" he felt he was having.

He asked me for confirmation, saying,

"Are these wondrous dreams true?"

I replied, "How many goats do you have?"

He looked surprised and said,

"I am speaking of sublime visions

And you ask

About goats!"

And I spoke again saying,

"Yes, brother - how many do you have?"

"Well, Hafiz, I have sixty-two."

"And how many wives?"

Again he looked surprised, then said,

"Four."

How many rose bushes in your garden,

How many children,

Are your parents still alive,

Do you feed the birds in winter?

And to all he answered.

Then I said,

"You asked me if I thougth your visions were true,

I would say that they were if they make you become

More human,

More kind to every creature and plant

That you know."

- Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Everything Comes and Goes

2008-09-14T09:06:00.005-06:00

Right now, we have four huge cottonwoods on our lot. They are old grandmothers and grandfathers - around 100 years old. In a few days, one of the beautiful giants will be cut down by the city. We will be spared the financial cost of this euthanasia, because this particular tree is right by the street. The city did give me the choice of whether to do it now or to wait, even though the tree doesn't have another ten years in him and he has been so chopped up he doesn't look very stylish anymore. The poor old tree has some bad health problems and it is right that we take him out of his misery. Still, it is almost like the death of a family member. I will miss him very, very much.

He's so big that I couldn't get him all in one photo without going down the street and including the whole neighborhood in the picture.

Here's his top:

Up close (Isn't he magnificent?):

And the yellow ribbon that says, "Here I am! I'm the one you're going to cut down!"

I did my best to measure the circumference of this tree today. It's around 12 1/2 feet around.

I love the way cottonwood leaves dance in the wind. I love the deeply grooved bark. I love how cottonwoods like to gather where there's a water source. I have had so much fun listening to baby northern flickers cheeping when their mom and dad brought food to the nest nestled within the big granddaddy trunk.

This tree has been the landmark that we mentioned so that people can find our home - just go to the house immediately past the cottonwood that sticks out into the street.

Keeping things in perspective, I know that there are people near the Gulf that wished they had a dry home right now - with or without a tree. There are people in the Middle East suffering losses so immense that I'm embarrassed to be talking about my tree.

But I'm still going to miss him...