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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Happy Ash Valentine's Wednesday!

   


    The juxtaposition of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day on the same day is not an occurrence I can remember happening prior to 2024. Those who go to church today will hear the words: "From dust you came and from dust you will return" as they receive ashes on their foreheads. These words come from Genesis 3:19 which was written long before Jesus said, "You are the light of the world" and demonstrated that we are spiritual beings destined for eternal life. 

    Valentine's Day is a celebration of love in all of its forms. Romantic partners exchange gifts and flowers, children exchange valentines and share special treats at school, and many people show their love for family and friends in different ways. This year I sent Valentines to my elderly aunt, my grandchildren, and friends who live alone. Tomorrow I will host a Valentine party for friends who will share photographs of people who have taught them about love. 

    Jesus never told us that we are dust. Genesis 3:19 refers only to our physical bodies which will indeed return to dust one day. Jesus taught us that our true eternal selves will never die. Our love nature - the part of ourselves that we celebrate on Valentine's Day - is part of our eternal spirit that lives forever. 

 

 

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Through Empathy to Light

    

   


    This morning at breakfast Mark and I discussed some reasons not to dwell on the sorrows and suffering of the world. Some people steep themselves in daily reports of war and the unspeakable horrors of earthly life. They say those who don't are acting like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Mark and I are not ostriches - we are well aware of life's darker side, and we see enough of these reports to know that humanity is still struggling to emerge from its evil tendencies.

    I can't say that I never feel the weight of this evil, but I make a concerted effort to lift that weight whenever it threatens to squash my spirit. I know what it is like to "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" and I believe this is something every person much do before we can emerge into the light on the other side of this shadow. 

    Many people experience "man's inhumanity to man" firsthand. (I would add, even more women than men experience this inhumanity, and too many children.) Most of my experience has been due to my empathic nature, my ability to feel the pain of others. As a child, I became acquainted with the horrors of war when I watched the movie "War and Peace" and afterward cried myself to sleep. Not long after that I watched the evening news with my parents and saw the coffins of Vietnam soldiers coming off the plane, one after another, after another. I felt the pain of their parents and other loved ones who might be wondering for what purpose these men had made the ultimate sacrifice.

    Throughout my teen and young adult years I read books and new stories, and watched movies, that illustrated the shadow side of humanity. Sometimes I would dwell on a story, cry and pray for days and days. I didn't realize that in doing so I was adding to the sadness of the world, and yet it was something I had to go through before I could know that I didn't have to do it anymore. 

        As I said to Mark this morning, I think it is necessary for most people to travel through that shadowy land before we can be the light of the world. Those who are still able to harm others have probably never learned to feel another's pain. Once a person experiences empathic feelings they will not be able to hurt someone else without feeling it themselves. 

    Both modern science and spiritual inquiry are discovering the interconnectedness of all beings - something that has always been known by the indigenous peoples of the world. This oneness of everything means that when one being suffers, we all suffer, and when one being is filled with joy, the energy of the whole is raised to a higher level. When enough people fill the world with light, we will have heaven on earth.

    Now that I understand my unity with all life, I know that the lighter and more joyful I feel, the more love, light, and peace I can contribute to the world. Some people make fun of me because I avoid violent movies and books. After all, it's part of real life, isn't it? But I have seen enough of life's hellish side. Now I choose to focus on these words from Philippians 4:8: ". . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

    To focus on beauty, peace, and love when so much of the world is focused on ugliness is a formidable task. I have decided to accept the challenge along with a myriad of other lightworkers!

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Fall Celebrations: The Time of the Thinning Veil



Throughout history, celebrations have occurred at this time of year: Halloween, Samhain, The Day of the Dead, and All Soul's Day all take place between October 31st and November 2nd. On these dates we are at the halfway point between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. We are also experiencing the time when the veil between the material and physical worlds is at its thinnest. Some believe this means it's the best time to communicate with departed loved ones. I would like to suggest that it is also a good time to commune with angels and other divine beings who have humanity's best interests at heart. 

The angels and all divine beings who do God's will are working tirelessly to promote the Oneness of humanity, to help us recognize that we are ALL children of God, and that nothing we do can separate us from one another or our divine parents. These divine beings do not recognize the political, religious, and cultural divisions that people have created to separate ourselves into Us and Them camps. The Divine Plan is for all people to realize that we are interconnected and interrelated - so when any one of us hurts another, we also hurt ourselves and all of Creation. The Time of the Thinning Veil is a good time for people and divine beings to work together on this plan. 

One way this happens on Halloween is felt in the comradery of trick-or-treaters and treaters. When I was growing up in the '60's there were a lot of tricksters out on Halloween night: squirting shaving cream on unsuspecting friends and throwing eggs at windows. I don't see this kind of behavior anymore - maybe because there is a 4-6:00 limit on the activity that used to take place only after dark - but maybe because people as a whole have become more considerate of others. 

Last night when trick-or-treaters came to our door, I greeted them in my hippie-peacenik costume. I offered a piece of chocolate to each person who came to our door, regardless of their age, color, or costume. Nearly all of the children said "thank-you," and one boy even gave me a hug! I know that everyone else in our neighborhood was being kind and generous in the same way. Halloween is an equal-giving-and-receiving opportunity!




Our grandchildren live in West Bend, Wisconsin, where trick-or-treating takes place on the Saturday before Halloween. The whole town celebrates, so it feels like one big party. Mark and I joined our family for this event, and I carried my "Imagine Peace" sign as we accompanied Mary Potter, Belle, and a little witch on their treasure hunt. 

As you can see in the above photo, the good people of West Bend like to hang out in their front yards, often sitting around a portable firepit to pass out candy and other treats. As we moseyed from one yard to another, we only met one person who didn't quite get the meaning of togetherness that the rest of the neighborhood was feeling. This guy had generously set up a table with candy for kids and jello shots for adults. But next to the table was a poster insulting President Biden. 

When Mark and I approached his table, this man proudly showed off the front and back of his T-shirt and baseball cap, all with messages that either insulted Biden or extolled Trump. Mark and I were so dumbfounded, we were at a loss for words. The man was clearly disappointed with our lack of response, and we were disappointed that he used this non-political holiday to promote his Us and Them politics. 

Obviously, this man enjoyed the feeling of comradery in his neighborhood. His mistake was believing that everyone in the neighborhood shares his opinions and his inclination to make fun of people with whom he disagrees. I hope that our lack of response helped him to realize his blunder. Thinking about him makes me realize that many people who enjoy being part of a larger family just need to enlarge their circle further in order to help create the peaceful world most of us long for. 

Now, when the veil between the divine and material worlds is thin, it is an opportune time to pray that humanity learns to overlook its differences. Let us pray that all people realize: nobody is better than anyone else, and being in line with divine will means loving all of our neighbors, no matter what they believe, what they look like, or who they vote for. 




Monday, August 7, 2023

For the Love of Cats and Birds

 


      If you love cats, if you love birds, or if you love both, you should make sure your cat watches the birds in your yard from an inside window!  Your cat will live longer if you keep it inside. 5.4 million cats are hit by cars every year in the US, and 97% of those cats die from their injuries. One recent Sunday I was driving to church when I saw a woman standing guard over a cat lying in the middle of the road. I stopped to see if the woman needed assistance, thinking that the cat might need a trip to the vet. Its eyes were open, but it lay motionless. With tears in her eyes, the woman told me the neighbors would soon be burying their beloved pet.

    Many years ago I owned a black and white cat named Margie who taught me the pros and cons of letting cats roam around the neighborhood.  Because she spent a lot of time outside I didn't have to provide a kitty litter box for her. (It didn't occur to me that she was probably using the neighbors' gardens to do her business, but that would be a con if I'd thought about it.) I didn't have to provide a scratching post for her either, because she sharpened her claws on the tree trunks in our yard. She used those sharp claws to torture the baby bunnies and birds that I sometimes found half-dead on our doorstep. That was one of the downsides. The other downside came after three years of life with Margie when she failed to return home. Whether she had been hit by a car or catnapped by someone who needed a good mouser, I will never know. 

    If you love birds you probably know how important it is to keep your cats in the house.  In the lower 48 states of the United States alone, cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals every year.  Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction. 

    I understand the love of cats. There is nothing else like having a soft, warm, furry kitty purring in your lap. But I love birds, too! For the sake of birds, other small animals, and the longevity of your own dear cat - please keep it in the house if you don't already. (And let's keep our cats and birds off the Rainbow Bridge as long as possible!)


For more on this topic see: For the Love of Birds


Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Waving the World Flag



    Today is Independence Day in the United States of America where I live. This year we decided not to hang the American flag because we have come to realize that the holiday is a celebration of a war, - a war that led to many more wars, including those waged against the native inhabitants of this land. While King George had been guilty of many crimes, the upper class colonists were not free of guilt, resorting to lies in order to convince the colonists to revolt.* It is also interesting to note that other British colonies, including Canada, gained their rights and independence without a war. 

    I have learned about the not-so-glorious side of the Revolutionary War on pages 30-31 of the book, War is a Lie by David Swanson. This one quote from these pages is an eye-opener: "Punishment for infractions in the Continental Army was 100 lashes. When George Washington, the richest man in America, was unable to convince Congress to raise the legal limit to 500 lashes, he considered using hard labor as a punishment instead, but dropped that idea because the hard labor would have been indistinguishable from regular service in the Continental Army. Soldiers also deserted because they needed food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and money. They signed up for pay, were not paid, and endangered their families' wellbeing by remaining in the Army unpaid."** 

    On Independence Day Americans celebrate our freedoms. In recent years I have noticed how many people use these freedoms as an excuse to be self-centered and irresponsible. Yes, in this country we are free to collect weapons of mass destruction, kill each other, spread  disease, and deny others their rights to health, happiness, and prosperity. Another reason not to hang the American flag.

    Since we have decided not to fly the American flag, I wondered if there was a world flag that would better symbolize my identity as citizen of the world. I found the beautiful world flag pictured above, the blue dot symbolizing the earth that all of humanity shares. The semi-transparent background enables us to see our own world or home through the flag, as well as our common home, the blue planet in the center. 

    I found this flag on the website: 1worldflag.com. Some of the impetus for this flag comes from the images of our world as seen from space. As I read on the website: "Only a few national borders are visible from space, like the border between South Korea and North Korea at night. . . .  But most borders are not visible, and other aspects such as fanatical religious, national or ethnic beliefs are likewise hard to grasp by looking at Earth as a whole. New world maps are drawn by climate change and rising sea levels, which do not distinguish between social classes, nor care about carving out borders. The fact that no single nation-state alone can cope with the global risk of climate change creates a new understanding that the principle of independence and autonomy is an obstacle to the survival of the human race."

    Many will call me unpatriotic for stating that I can no longer celebrate Independence Day, and they will be right. As a world citizen, I believe that patriotism and nationalism are dangerous to the survival of the world that I love more than any one part of God's creation. 

*Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, 3rd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999, p. 328 

**Robert Fantina, Desertion and the American Soldier: 1776-2006, New York: Algora Publishing, 2006


Wednesday, June 28, 2023

THINK PEACE

 

    The other day I was driving from one grocery store to another - because Aldi products are less expensive and they carry the best dark chocolate, and because Piggly Wiggly carries things that Aldi doesn't have, like Tahini and milk in glass bottles - when I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front on me reading THINK PEACE. Immediately I felt more peaceful than I had all day. The message reminded me that there are other people in the world who want peace and believe that it's possible if people would think in terms of peace and be at peace within themselves. 

    As I turned the corner from Geneva Street to Borg Road I was still thinking about peace and how mind-boggling it is that in the twenty-first century humankind still engages in war and other modes of violence. (When will start living up to the KIND part of the word, "humankind?") 

    Thinking some more, I can almost excuse the acts of violence that are perpetuated by individuals who have not yet evolved to an understanding that we are all One, and that when we hurt another human being we are actually hurting ourselves and all of the creation to which we are connected. But war! War is conducted by the governments of supposedly civilized countries. When will our leaders realize there is nothing civilized or excusable about warfare?

    As long as people believe that war is an acceptable form of "diplomacy," it will continue. The admonition to THINK PEACE is paramount. We must think in terms of peace if we are to have peace in this world. Think peace and BE peaceful. When enough people wake up to the fact that humankind can only survive when peace prevails, it will happen. 

    What a great reminder that bumper sticker is. I am grateful to the driver who spreads this message of goodwill and hope everywhere he goes.


You may also like: Envisioning a Peaceful World



Tuesday, May 16, 2023

The Homegrown National Park

   


   
    All across the country gardeners are building bridges by creating a Homegrown National Park with native plants, organic lawns, and gardens that focus on habitat for wildlife, birds and pollinators. The concept of the Homegrown National Park is the brainchild of Dr. Doug Tallamy who says: We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc, that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised.

    The goal of the Homegrown National Park is for homeowners to create 20 million acres of native plantings in the U.S. This represents approximately ½ of the green lawns of privately-owned properties. This may seem like an impossible goal, but the park has been growing in leaps and bounds over recent years, and I am proud to add my quarter of an acre to this growing park. No effort is too small!

    Before moving to Wisconsin from rural New York three and a half years ago, I gardened merely for the beauty of the plants and flowers I loved. I was tired of fighting with the invasives, deer, and squirrels, and decided that I wouldn't bother gardening in my "old age." Then we arrived at our new home where the weedy lawn was graced by huge maples, elm trees, and black walnuts, but no gardens at all. I decided I would add just a few flowers and ferns here and there . . . .

    I joined a couple of Wisconsin garden groups on Facebook, and that's where I learned about the value of native plants. I realized then that my gardenless property offered me the opportunity to start fresh with a new way of gardening and my enthusiasm was renewed. I read Doug Tallamy's book, Nature's Best Hope and joined the Kettle Moraine chapter of Wild Ones. And then I got to work!


    This area next to our driveway had been taken over by Buckthorn, an invasive shrub that displaces native species all over Wisconsin. Mark and I removed it and let the native violets take over. I have planted several other native species here, including Penstemon, Columbine, Switchgrass, and several varieties of milkweed.

    Our first spring in Delavan, before I learned about native plants, I planted a few of my old favorites, like this Japanese painted fern. It was the one thing I thought I would put under this black walnut tree among the Creeping Charlie and other weeds.


    As my ambition grew I gradually planted more things under the tree. The garden space grew as I added native shade plants including Columbine, Celandine poppy, Solomon's Seal, Painted goldenrod, Short's asters, Bottlebrush grass, Blue-eyed Mary, and more. This is what it looks like as of May 2023.


    Another area where I've been planting shade natives started with the fence that Mark built, a statue that I call Kwan Yin, and several huge rocks that Mark and I moved from behind the garage. Here are the before and after photos.


    The native plants surrounding Kwan Yin include woodland phlox, foam flower, Virginia waterleaf (which grows wild all over the lawn), Solomon's Seal, Jacob's ladder, Virgin's Bower on the trellis, and goldenrod and asters for fall nectar sources.
    
    These are just two of the five native plant gardens in our backyard. If you wish to see more, let me know in the comments.

    Last summer Mark and I added a garden bed to the front yard. He does the hardscaping and I do the landscaping. In the spring of 2020 I planted some non-natives in the front yard - before I decided to become a part of the Homegrown National Park. Here are photos of the 2020 garden and the 2023 garden.



    The front yard garden now includes native Long-beaked sedge, Jacob's ladder, Prairie alum root, Celandine poppy, Trillium, Violets, and a hydrangea shrub. Soon to be added will be Bradbury's Monarda.

    Last year our property was visited by two members of the Geneva Lake Conservancy who awarded me the certificate that now stands in this garden. It states that this is an environmentally friendly landscape because of its numerous native plants, non-use of chemicals, bird baths and nesting boxes.


    If you would like to become a part of the Homegrown National Park I recommend that you check out their website and also the native plant finder on the National Wildlife Federation website.