“quiet din”

“quiet din”

5-15-2017 174 words

I've traveled many long roads on my way to get to today,

and one thing I've learned in fighting this fretful fray,

There is only one speed on this highway of strife,

'full forward' is the only true speed in our life,

the main problem is when I think it's all about me,

I forget to listen to the bark of each sacred tree,

and cast my eyes to my short future to see where I've been,

and forgive myself for all the ways I've sown sorrow and sin,

but nothing is perfect, we do what we can,

to share our small joys around the flat frying pan,

and when we allow ourselves to reflect in the glass,

and take some small credit and come to terms with our ass,

and do what we will to appreciate the big gift,

and never allow our fair spirit to far drift,

and think we have the answer to the mystery we are in,

but thank Creator for each minute spent in this “quiet din”.

What is the All American Partie ?

Platform of the All American Partie - a Short List
     - A Utopian Platform of totally idealistic, unrealistic, and sensible goals.

1.  We are all in it together.

2.  There is no time left to argue, fuss, or fight.

3.  We must get Busy and hang together or as Ben Franklin said,
           "If we do not hang together, we will surely hang separately."

4.  We have too many enemies abroad to keep fighting amongst ourselves.
           If we do not pull our heads out of the sand, Russia and China will make
           sure there is no USA to bother them about human rights.

5.  If we do not hammer out some working agreements among all segments
      of our society, we will not have a country left, or right.

6.  What is great about this Nation is We Celebrate our Differences and We
         agree that everyone has a right to worship their own religion and to
         celebrate the Creator.

7.   Nothing stands between you and the Creator or between you and your
          choice of religious belief.

8.   The Founding Fathers wisely chose to keep government and religion
          separate, but that does not mean we cannot respect and even celebrate
          all  faith traditions.

9.   There is only one Human race on the planet.    In the USA we have proved
           we can all stand together for family values, religious values, and
            human  rights as embodied in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

10.  Without a belief in anything sacred or holy about life, no nation can stand.
          A house divided against itself also cannot stand.

11.  Sexual orientation is a person's private business, but for children to
          develop  normally, they should have a mother and a father, as is
          evidenced  by the rest of the living creatures on the planet.

12.  Stop the war on Drugs and unclog the court system.  All drugs should be
         available to people who desire them.  If they cannot use them
         responsibly,   shame on them.  The drug cartels will fade away once
         deprived of all the inflated profits they now make and use to undermine
         society.

13.  Insure our watersheds are not fowled or polluted with fertilizers, oil, or
         chemicals.

14.  We need to get to renewables as quickly as possible, before we fowl our
          own nest any further, become embroiled in any other wars over oil, or
          raise the mean temperatures any higher.  Global climate change is real.

15.   Our real enemies are not terrorists, but our ancient fears of the unknown.  
           Civilization is based on integrity and trust.  Without cooperation and
           community, the human race itself will not survive.

16.   Nuclear power and other forms of concentrated and toxic power
           sources are not worth the inherent risks involved.  Nuclear plants and
           radioactive materials need to be decommissioned and removed as
           they reach the end of their useful life..

17.   If most of these goals are not embraced willingly, we are setting ourselves
           up for a totalitarian and Global new world order whose rule will be
           worse than anything we have now. 

18.   All biodegradables should be processed and plowed back into the soil,
             not put in our waterways.  ( see #13 )  Trees and cover crops need
             to be planted as widely as possible to retain the soil we have, retain
             moisture, and help to protect waterways.

19.    A nationwide system of municipal servers to provide secure public wifi
              coverage  throughout the country needs to be implemented, just as
             REA in the 1930's was used to install  electricity for most if not all
             Americans.   Public transit should be similarly equipped with wifi.

20.    Americans of all stripes, colors, and beliefs need to look at                  
              America......          and then look at the rest of the world, and decide
              whether to try to prefect this Union or to move to somewhere else.

Hanging by a Thread

Hanging by a Thread              5-11-2017         771 small words

                        or I keep putting it out there, but no one's picking it up

Oh, My Brothers, Oh My Sisters, How much we take for granted !

What a foolish creature is Man ! To see only with our eyes

the surface of our world and think we know this reality,

because we can touch it and measure it,

because we can feel the hard and soft texture of it,

and we can feel the weight of the physical objects around us,

as we go about our day….always thinking what we see and can prove,

is the sum total of reality, 

BUT what we do not see and what our very sensitive senses cannot detect is actually the greater part:

the dark matter of our souls, the intangible truth of what we feel,

the part of ourselves that we cannot measure or quantify,

because it is the Spirit of Life; 

and there is no test that can put a number on Your divine Spirit,

and there is no laboratory which can measure your desire or your yearning,

for those who vainly think that Science can provide the only answers we need,

 please take another look, and please tell me what was in your Mother's heart when she birthed you,

when she lovingly caressed and calmed your cries, when only her touch would soothe your raging need to know you were loved and safe,

and this loud, sharp world of cold thought could be softened

by the the precious gift, the benediction of knowing care was involved.

And not knowing care makes us terror filled, and nervous, and puts us out of synch with the music,  the harmony that underlies all things, 

the invisible part of the electro-magnetic spectrum of Divine energy

that was planted long ago and hard-wired in our circuitry to feel love,

and to want to feel love, and yes to give love and kindness, and let our

sisters and brothers know, we are with them in our Spirits, 

in our desire to join in a greater truth, to bond covalently with life,

in the true connection that joins all of us back to our dark origins,

at the beginning of our Time on Planet Earth, back beyond the capacity

of our memories to remember because it is too long ago, 
and there are no memory banks large enough to store all that data, 
except for short memories stored in our long DNA, twisted and folded and wound round our cells,

the cells of our lives scribed by an intention beyond our conscious thought,

and only in our dreams, the ultimate realm of our most real feelings and knowings, 
do we weave our Technicolor desires into a cohesive whole and make sense of our primeval knowledge that there is a lighted world beyond our everyday perceptions;   what is real is what we feel,  
but what is real is also the priceless gift that we are imbued with Spirit as well as flesh, and maybe-

Spirit is the greater part, 
because you cannot separate out the Word from the story, the intention from your tale, and your story, your tale is woven with the story of all life and you are not separate from all the life which flows around you, 

One Life, One Spirit, one dream as light as a mote of dust,

the nuclear density infinitely small and infinitely large, 

and by any real measurement of Man, ultimately immeasurable by our senses, 
by whatever we can detect on the surface,
 and only palpable to our sense of wonder when we stop analyzing the Gift, 
 stop cutting it into ever smaller pieces, 
and announcing with our paltry rationality, we have 'discovered' a new particle of matter, 
which will explain our true heritage, 
and will explain our true Origin, 
and will explain the quantity of Time in the Universe, 
and all the time we miss the important thing: 
we are here to love each other and care for the precious and priceless gift given to us, to revere the Spirit of something without a name, to hold it in awe, 
and to 'see' “It”, not as material and prove-able, but as weighty as the mass of the darkest black hole, everything part of a longing to connect with the greater part, the greater truth:

we are joined in a mystery and on a spiritual journey, and how we treat each other while we have the opportunity to touch and feel the physical is a test of our true wisdom, and tells the story of how we weave the thread of our meaning.

What We Need

What We Need 5-6-17 183 words

I do not need your anger, I do not need your blame,

I do not need accusations intended to drive me totally insane,

I already have my demons alive and living well

inside all my worst fears in my personal living hell

all the hurts held so tight inside my little childlike brain,

carried from the distant times when monsters ruled the Cane,

carried from an ancient place farther than the farthest shore,

as surely as Adam left the garden to go back nevermore,

who can measure my memories buried so deep in my twisted dna,

or whether I have to flee or fight, to live another day,

all my stored up terror from eluding all my foes,

all my rage and violence that ended with brutal blows,

so save me from your ceaseless scowl and all of your disdain,

try to find a quieter place free from fear and pain,

where we can find some sweetness and remember why we're here,

where we can remember all the reasons we once found our love so dear.

how not to be Soulful and Black

To the Desperate Young Man Who Stole My Tools

at the Westchester parking lot on Wednesday afternoon, Feb 8^th

Or how not to be Soulful and Black

So many things that I could say to you, my young killa, but then,

you would not know what I was talking about,

first of all, me being some random white worker, with a 'police lives matter'

sticker in my window, and I have not found a “Black lives matter” sticker yet,

and you being a self-described black 'man',

I know you are black because you used the phone you also stole from me,

to go on Youtube and watch videos only a young black man would watch,

and I can see the tracks of your tears and the tracks of your fears,

and I feel bad for you because you have already put yourself in a jail

of your own making….

And when you are caught someday and put in a real jail,

you will still be blaming others for what you have created in your own mind,

And you would not know or care that I marched after King showed us the light,

and traveled my own dark path on the way

to loving each person for who they were, and not what color their skin was, and more importantly, loving myself.

And you would not know a lot of things because you are young and I am old,

And I have maybe made more mistakes than you have already,

and have forgotten more than you will ever know about a lot of things,

And I know exactly what it is like, to feel desperate and alone and fearful,

-all mistakes in my thinking,

but I do not know what it is to be black, but I have had a taste,

but the big difference between us now is:

my heart and mind and spirit are free and you are holding yourself in chains,

the chains of your confusion, your fears, and your anger-

for all the reasons we all have-

because there is plenty of blame to go around and no one is perfect,

and Man's world is very far from perfect, and it is hard to see past our pain,

and I have broken those chains for myself and I do not spend a minute of my life and my precious time on God's Green Earth feeling angry and hostile,

or feeling afraid, for all of us are the same and we all pull our pants on one leg at a time and we all share the same fate and yes the same journey,

and we will all go to the same place after this life.

And you know nothing of this and spend your time being angry,

and thinking of all the ways you can get over,

and avenge yourself for the injustices and the confusion of Man's world,

and being young, you are full of the thoughts of your mind,

and know nothing of seeing life with your heart,

and seeing the good in yourself and in others around you,

and you do not see the golden gift of life that the Creator has given you,

and you hold no gratitude in your spirit

for your spirit is darker than your skin and you are a 'black' man without Soul,

and you do not yet see we are brothers from different mothers,

and all of us spring from the Creator and get to chose how we will live,

either in fear and desperation, or in hope and peace.

So I write these words to express what is in my heart,

because that is my secret to being free in my spirit and not wasting my time,

or allowing my mind or emotions to cloud what is real in life:

and I can buy more tools and work my trade with pride, and

you will still have no real pride in your right to be on the planet,

with two good legs and two good hands to get what you want,

to be a part of something bigger than just about what 'you' want,

and the only thing that is soulful and black about you is your skin.

And I pray you will wake up and take your rightful place in God's world,

and feel some real pride in your power to chose what is right,

and not be caught up in the old game of small-minded men,

of thinking of getting even and how you can 'get over' on those

keeping you down, when the only person really keeping you down is you.

Prayer of Pride

Prayer of Pride    - or -      Coming into Birth

440 words

have I not wrestled mightily with You, Oh Lord, Oh Great Spirit,

in my pride of my strength, thinking that I could demonstrate to You,

how strong I am, and how earnestly I have searched for Your Truth,

what I forgot was:

You already know what You have created,

You were always with me, guiding me to Your Path,

silently guiding me in Your gentle ways, teasing me forward,

And I forgot You have written me in Your golden book of Life,

You called forth my name singing Your constant Song of Love,

And You watched over me as I was born, just as You blessed my Mother,

and gave her Your calm wisdom,

and her eyes were open as she birthed me as the sun came up,

and I was her first born and it happened on a Sunday and I was holy….

because it is a miracle that life is reborn from generation to generation,

just part of Your Constant Miracle to renew us, for we are Your Melody,

we are a part of the symphony of all Life You have brought forth,

on this great and tiny world, each part a note of music,

a time signature in an unending tune,

a golden gong resonating through the silence of space,

a small and great shout of joy as You celebrate Spirit being aware of itself,

being aware that only Your Spirit animates this Universe,

Your breath in our bodies, Your sacred water and blood coursing through us,

now rushing now gathering in sacred places, but always in motion, never still

as You swirl Your currents of Air and Fire and Earth and Water around us,

and through us, anointing us and bathing us with Your Glory,

carrying us buoyantly suspended in Your rollicking Sea of Spirit and Longing

a wave of divine energy breaking on the shore, cresting and falling,

gathering strength and spending itself over and over,

until with our final crashing breath, we return to Your dark matrix,

return again to the invisible part of the electro-magnetic spectrum,

Your Infinite Energy pulsing through the orbits of planets and stars,

dying and being born in the dark and light dance of Your Constant Creation,

and all this I sense, being born into a world of warmth and light,

a world of noise and tumult, a journey traveled by feel and touch,

like a blind man, the tactile world bends to the pressure of my strong hands,

and also to the pressure of my longing to be joined with You, Lord.

HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN AFFLICTED WORLD – part 1

HOW TO SURVIVE IN AN AFFLICTED WORLD – part 1

or

How to Cause your enemies the maximum difficulty

There is one sure way to maintain your focus and to cause consternation among your foes. That way is to not let them ruffle your feathers.

For you see, that is part of their plan. They want to keep you in a perpetual state of upset, and they derive 'great' satisfaction from seeing you disturbed.

One Republican stated he was drinking 'the cup of tears' of the liberals and progressives with 'great' relish.

When you really understand their game plan is to distract you and try to force you to be reactive to all the false flags they throw up, you can avoid falling into their snare. It is a cynical and calculated game they are playing because they are stuck in a sick narrative. They are playing a mean game and a mean- spirited one. They just want to wear you out. Don't let them do that.

The more upset you become, the less able you are to use all of your focus and attention to work against the forces of division, the forces of greed and self-interest, the forces of hate and intolerance, and the age-old technique of divide and conquer.

If you want to maintain your maximum effectiveness, and your peace of mind, which allows you to utilize 100% of your capabilities, do not allow

yourself to be distracted or worn out or your spirit to be troubled.

Whether it is the mighty poobah who is now 'our' President or small and dangerous demagogues like the calculating Putin of KGB and Russian notoriety, the techniques are always the same. Lies, damned lies, and statistics are all used to good effect.

I have also read that their technique is like “throwing a dead cat on the table”. It effectively short-circuits any attempt at sincere dialogue.

They figure to exhaust you with the minutia of their supposed upsets, but keep in mind, it is all part of a hidden agenda to wear you out, distract you from the big picture, and spoil the calmness of your focus.

In “the art of the deal”, Trump writes, “I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after” and “when you go into a negotiation, you must begin from a position of unassailable strength. “

In the negotiations for the Menie Estate in Scotland, Trump wore Tom Griffin down by making one outlandish demand after another and bargaining hard on even the most trivial issues of disagreement. He never quit fighting.

- taken from Dan McAdams long article - “The Mind of Donald Trump” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/toc/2016/06/

So, in the face of this belligerence and deliberate aggression, how do you maintain your focus and the calmness of your spirit? I would suggest that this is a huge opportunity to refine your core beliefs. Trump and his minions have provided a huge gift to the rest of us. Everything is now on the table.

We win when we maintain the bulwark of our beliefs, when we stay humble, and when we look for Greatness only in what has always provided inspiration to humans: a belief in the sacredness of life, a belief there is a holiness to this world which is beyond price and beyond the efforts of would-be tyrants to sully. We are great when we bow our heads and admit there is something far greater than ourselves, by whatever name you give it. Some call it the Creator, some call it God; by whatever you deem to be holy and beyond “deals”, place your faith there. Look to the fact you are an integral part of this 'Holiness', you have an absolute right to be here, you are part of the life of this planet, and the perfection of the natural world. Allow your spirit to remain in your 'quiet place' of peace and acceptance, and your heart to find solace in gratitude and awe of the real beauty that surrounds you constantly.

This is the only way to defeat the forces of darkness and chaos. You defeat

evil when you chose 'the good', and keep your focus on what is real and true.

The Usefulness of a Cup is in it's Emptiness

The Usefulness of a Cup is in it's Emptiness or stealing a march on the zen Buddhists

                                            Jan 5^th, 2016 400 little words

There's many a slip between cup and lip, you may have heard it said,

what we forget is no one gets the final word even after we make our bed,

we forget the simple facts of life because we fail to see,

we cannot match what the Creator made when the world first came to be,

we want to think that we can do what God has already done,

- create a world of full of life and wonder and power it with the sun,

we think we are way more clever than the plan that is already made,

but it is only our own arrogance that keeps us down in the shade,

in this world not of our making, in this life that thrives under God's sky,

we are blissfully ignorant of all our gifts and the many reasons why,

we were tasked to fly love's banner, and to keep the water pure,

and we deny the truth of all we know preferring just to endure,

all the ways we delude ourselves and buy the company line,

that if we listen to our smug leaders, everything will surely be fine,

but in our hearts we know the truth, that none of us have all the answers,

we need to listen to our sisters and to know we are just the dancers,

in the parade that started long ago beyond the reach of what we comprehend,

there is a melody in our heads and hearts that carries all we intend,

and wraps us up in a finer fabric than our logic can unfurl,

though we live oblivious to the gift and dumb to the seashore's pearl,

there's always more than we can do or that the livelong day allows,

our reach always exceeds our grasp after our words and our wows,

whatever we think, it's more than that, and yet be our spirits nimble,

the sum total of all we know would not fill a tiny thimble,

fingertips can feel to grip the handle of a cup,

take care to exercise all your senses when you often sup,

thank the Good Lord and pray our Creator will still take us back

after we get more humble and include a place for all we often lack.

Ode to Scouts or celebrating a simple Boy Scout canoe trip

Ode to the Boy Scouts of America

originally written 3rd of August, 2016 to commemorate a camping and canoe
trip made by a local Virginia Boy Scout Troop (159) to New York State
 "May God Bless Our Uncommon Journey"









Star made, earth born, we fly this cosmos unadorned,
eyes glassed, peering for clues, checking signposts we have used,
adrift but tethered to this silky sea, wordless, and still on one knee,
we kneel and bow before the flow, at chiming silence, and what little we
know,

Everything ends and begins again, and circles ring a fertile glen,
petals fall and bicycle around, with heavenly aura this earth abounds,
our bodies cast in a mold of clay, our forms glow with a gold array
what precious life surrounds our niche, no matter how our frames exist,

free of time, tide, and chainemail too, even if there's zika or the flu,
we fly a flag, a banner held high, a liquid longing to be green and blew,
by brisk breezes blowing cloud oer earth, until we find our proper berth,
we ride the throne of all we feel, once we taste that hearty greul,

of wandering unfettered, save some gear, a bit of line, but free of fear,
of what is wild, unwired, and true, flowing craft propelled by how we hew,
our watery paradise of delight, buzzing life, unseen spirits join our might,
hail to all blithe spirits and brave scouts, eager for their uncaged bouts,

with a Creation not made by Man, unsullied by motor's din or ethernet wan,
so take some pleasure among the geese, on this fine earth and lake's placid
peace,
there is more to life than we can pan, especially if you're trying to tan,
and season your soul with God's great spice, and trying to paddle j-strokes
real nice.

So I doff my little cap off my five cent buffalo head,
and thank God for scouts with more sense than dread,
who know that Creation is meant to be seen and felt,
and look for what is precious in pool and velvet veldt.

praying for the Sun

Praying for the Sun     or    Twenty Four Degrees of Christmas

As I awaken, very late for me, to a still and sunny day
I have to bless my wonder at daylight's golden ray
for sunlight streams into my home and along my forestwood
though I have done didiley to expect this rare sunshiny good

yesterday's silver somber gray has changed again once more
and I forget how low I felt when my chin was on the floor,
and I forget that light and cloud often weigh so heavy on my heart
tied as I am to this velvet life full of pricks and dart

but my craft is tethered tight and calm to my narrow little quay
and surely I've no right to think this light shines free from pay
for I have played the game of life not always as I should
so do I owe something for another sunny chance in this merry neighborhood?

midwinter cold grips the air and clings to metal and pot
and chills my rabbit frame as if my lucky foot was coldly caught
in a vise-like trap of all my sins and fears and the reasons not to love
but for no reason I survive and feel a grace from both below and from above

even though how far I've flown and lived till now I know little more than naught
I've ridden life's great silent currents not knowing that I useless fought
perhaps cool and errant zephyrs have carried me as a soaring dove
but all the while a deeper drift held me soft as a velvet glove,

my mutiny on all the bounty of my little ship of state
belies the peace I feel in my heart even though I do not really rate
and there is no joy in thinking I have the means to make my case
and somehow there are explanations for all the meanings of the race

but at last allowing wonder to range free from all debate
giving in to silent thanks and a wordless twist of fate
and now the air is warming with a brightness hard to face
and it is so very difficult to accept I deserve a little bit of grace

so I say a little prayer to our sun for the little that I feel and know
soon shrouds of white billows will wrap me with a winter snow
and my bright disposition will soon take flight before dawn's gray
but let my happy visage remember and take pleasure from this day.

A Global Christmas Prayer for Peace in Our Lifetime or All I want for Christmas

A Global Christmas Prayer for Peace in Our Lifetime           or         All I want for Christmas

Lord, thank You for this ordinary day, which is anything but ordinary; 

but I cannot live everyday in the exulted consciousness and knowledge of You and everything You have given us already. 

I can only live in my prosaic mind.   My small human mind is only capable of human thoughts and I am foolish and arrogant to think I can think Godly thoughts and know Your plan.    And it is silly of me to think and to use words to try to express Your Spirit. 

So I am left to my own rough and pock-marked character; even though, with Your divine help, I can remain constant, it is always my own uneven personality which needs to remain vigilant. 

It is a work in progress, forged by the choices I chose to make everyday.   For in choosing to walk in Your Light, along Your lighted path, I gain a measure of peace. When I harbor no mean thoughts toward my brothers and sisters and I judge not their souls or my own, but always seek to see You at work in all of us, I gain a longer vista. 

I gain an acceptance of a greater truth; we were not designed to hurt and to kill each other.   That is only what we do in our ignorance and denial of the real truth.   And for some the real truth is beyond them, or above them, or below them, or just does not cross their radar because they are too intent on their personal agenda and do not have the heart yet to see how You have woven us all together in Your matrix of life. 

 And when we hurt each other, these are only the disconnects of man's world which is always breaking the fabric of Your Perfect World. 

It is true we were once part of Your Garden of Eden and we chose to use only our minds to see what is all around us.  We extol our own rationality, but what is that but the wisdom You have already planted in our hearts.  Your divine wisdom is the only glue which maintains us.  Your infinite Love is the only force which drives all the creative forces of the world.

When we bend to Your will, and see ourselves in context, when we see ourselves as part of the miracle of life on this third Rock, we gain the emotional and spiritual maturity to know the real truth: 

       "We are all joined in one common journey; we are all part of Your parade of life."  

 And You sent Jesus and Many others to tell us of this.  But we remain ignorant because we chose not to see the real truth.  The real truth that would set us free of our preoccupation with ourselves and also set us free of the delusion that we rule the Planet and must enslave one another, like turtles climbing on top of turtles. 

   For those thoughts and that thinking is the thinking of man's mind and man's fears.

And while it is true we must compete and seek to perfect ourselves, that does not mean we must mistreat one another or treat each other unfairly.  Only when we uphold our uncommon dignity which we derive from You, Lord, can we be free.  Only when each is given an opportunity to seek You freely, and to express their heartfelt appreciation of Your Gift of Life and Your Gift of Creation, do we gain a proper place to stand. 

In the meaning of our Christian heritage in North America, in the meaning of all the diverse people of all faiths who have joined with us here to celebrate our freedom to worship You in whatever way holds meaning for them, and in the meaning of our First Nation's people celebrating You as the Great Spirit which joins everything,

I pray to all that is holy and sacred about our existence on this speck of rock and water and earth and fire and air;

for all of us to wake up and see the truth of our brotherhood, and to see You, Lord, as the only arbiter of our fate.    Amen

May all of you find peace in the celebration of Christmas and the holy infant, Jesus, so tender and so mild.  God bless all of you.

America is Only an Idea

America is Only an Idea or Chasing a Dream

345 words 12-1-2016

we live on the cusp of a wave of human hope

the rolling lip of monumental energy welling up,

from a source deep under what is visible to our eyes,

and the crest of this silent force assumes a sinewy shape,

containing an undeniable strength and resiliency we recognize,

and call our own without regard to it's true nature,

and we live fully formed on this moving edge,

but without the x-ray vision of a superhero or a simple soul,

we forget that the monumental energy is not exactly us,

but a natural and super-natural magnetism beyond our imagination,

and because we have no words and no ability and no way to name it,

we invent a million ways to give shape to what we cannot describe;

we start communities and churches and organizations trying to symbolize

the ineffable and indescribable and utterly impalpable gift,

we have been given:

to live, to witness, to share, to connect,

to touch the vibrant part of the living energy we are a part of,

but cannot put our finger on or find a way to wrap our minds around,

because we are only a small part and our vista is truly limited,

regardless and thoughtless and clueless we wander over the interior landscape

of our fearful and desolate imaginations, bereft of a Sense,

that we belong here, inextricably rooted,

tied to a golden miracle by a million silken strands,

woven seamlessly joining us to everything there is,

and to the ultimate secret and silent source of the Big Om,

the big breath we all breathe,

the yearning we share with each other to find God,

and have a communion with what is sacred and holy,

in our spiritual and most sensual intercourse with each other.

So thank you America and God Bless the Spirit of all those seekers of brotherhood,

and seekers of community, and those who have tried to do the right thing

and hold the love of God and their brothers in their hearts.

OUR ERA OF POST TRUTH

'Post-truth' declared word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries-uncredited story –

dated Nov. 16, 2016

                                   http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37995600

Oxford Dictionaries says post-truth is thought to have been first used in 1992.
However, it says the frequency of its usage increased by 2,000% in 2016 compared with last year.

To my friends and all the rest of you very intelligent free humans:

 

We are all full of crap  and everybody's crap stinks. I have written about truth and perhaps how we find the truth. I feel this to be an important topic. Bogus news is a plague. 

There are reasons for this, as documented and discussed in the following links. (A quick scan of the links and/or the stories provides some of the details.) The basic concept is that all of us exist inside of our own 'filter bubble', our own 'echo chamber', made worse by the algorithms of google and facebook. In political terms, both left-wingers ( like me ) and right wingers, tend to gravitate to 'news' and 'content' that supports our own beliefs. This is all pretty obvious, especially to most of the savvy and sophisticated users of diaspora. Whether we want to admit it or not, is another matter.

No one is prefect and we are all subjective. At least we can start there. No one has the absolute truth, only what we perceive to make the most sense to us. Most post links and some kind of documentation to amplify their ideas. But there are a plethora of fake news sites, pseudo opinion sites, and outright 'pure' propaganda sites.

One problem with the recent US election was the 'narratives' of each political group took precedence over what could be defined as relatively objective truth, if such a thing exists. I would maintain it does; if you look deep enough and hard enough and if you are willing to grapple with the ambiguities of life's great and small mysteries. 

You can add another fact to the equation. Language is constantly morphing as we find new expressions to describe our feelings and discard other words and expressions that do not seem relevant to our lives. Thus the relevance of the Oxford Dictionary in reporting on word usage and the emergence of new phrases.

All of this adds up to quite a quandary. 

As an aside, I find that the word choices of my 'spellcheck' seem to have become less accurate for some reason. So if you are a bad speller like me, and the spellcheck is not providing an appropriate spelling, you are in real trouble. But that is a small problem.

The bigger problem is how do we talk to one another. If you accept the purpose of social networking and the whole internet is to facilitate communication between free humans, we obviously need a way to talk to each other, in language which we can agree on, and with honesty and respect. That Is the purpose of our endeavor here, isn't it ?

1. - rise of fake news -

Uncredited story – Nov. 6, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37846860

2. - Zuckerberg plans to combat problem of Facebook fake news - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38039506

Uncredited story – dated Nov. 16, 2016



3. - How we got to POST-TRUTH -
https://www.fastcompany.com/3065580/how-we-got-to-post-truth
BY RUTH READER , a writer from Brooklyn, NY – dated Nov. 18, 2016

Why I am grateful today

Why I am grateful today:

I am grateful for the sunlight streaming in my window,

for being able to hear music and the cat's meow,

for having two legs that work and being able to walk,

I am grateful my electricity is still on though I am late on the bill,

I am grateful I am not in Aleppo,

for being on the green side of the grass,

for being able to write words with my keyboard,

I am grateful that company is coming for the holidays this week,

I am grateful for the good health of my family,

I am happy to feel the cold air and winter will dress the earth in white snow again,

I am happy that I have projects and plans ahead of me,

I am grateful for understanding how fake news works on the internet,

I am grateful that at least half of America is happy, though maybe for a little while,

I am happy for being free of pain and able to breathe air,

I am happy I do not have to be anywhere today,

I am grateful for being whole-hearted and at peace in my head,

for being in touch with my brothers,

for being out of touch with my enemies,

for being hungry,

for being.

Spirit Ride

Spirit Ride            11-2-16              333 words

You know I 'm trying, Lord, You know I care,

about my brothers and the state of all we share,

I know I do not exist alone for I see my real condition,

I am one of countless ones who live by Your volition,

You brought us here to witness, You brought us here to see,

Your golden world of precious life and all the ways to be,

Alive to this miracle of yearning in our struggle to define,

what living life means for us when we are blind to Your design,

What we do is often clueless or blinded by the Light,

of our self-delusion and denial of Your Great Web Sight,

for we see all things with our paltry minds, with our tiny brains,

we forget to see the divinity in the gift of simple rains,

we forget to see the Divinity which surrounds us day by day,

we take it all for granted or explain it all away,

as long as Earth keeps spinning and the rains fall on the ground,

we go about our modern life and never stop to hear the sound,

of the whirring humming birds and the buzzing of the bees,

the silent bark and breathing of our brother trees,

the majestic life of soil and the magic of shit made pure,

the silent sprouting of simple seed so life can simply endure,

yes, we take it all for granted that there is life on this third rock,

a life full of intention and the desire You pack into the crock,

So all of us could taste the ecstasy of holy communion with another,

and take our place in Your Holy Dance of one father and one mother,

and when we see the unholy truth of all the ways we work,

that life conspires to continue in spite of Man berserk,

do we not sometimes wonder, do we not really care,

at the end of this Spirit ride, and no longer imbibe Your Air.

Saving the Souls of the Heathens

Saving the Souls of the Heathens       Sunday 11-13-2016     299 words

My God,

the heathens are arising with the anti-christ,

they have laid in their guns and ammunition,

they have prepared a fortress in their hearts,

they have built an edifice of reasons

to excuse themselves for their fears

and make it all right to kill their brothers

and anyone who thinks differently than them

they cannot tolerate Your world of diversity, Lord

they cannot tolerate Your world of infinite colors,

they think that they have found a key to lock out the truth;

the truth that Your world is more complicated than any can imagine

and they cannot see You or themselves in Your Glorious Creation

and they cannot see how You really work Your miracle

in weaving us all together into Your rainbow of precious life.

men use the Koran and the Bible to explain why they should kill each other

and make it ok to murder children and anything which confuses them,

they create a narrative, a matrix of reasons and half-truths, to excuse

their hate-speech and racism, and to blame liberals for the sins we are all guilty of:

ignoring Your divine Creation, thinking we have a mandate to rape Mother Earth,

ignoring that we are all Your children and all pilgrims on the path,

ignoring that we all suffer when we attack and blame each other and forget

'we are all in it together',

and finally, Lord and Great Spirit of All Life, ignoring Your mandate

that we love and care for each other and see Your divine Spirit in each other's eyes.

Grant us again Your Grace, let us be humble and grateful, knowing only You

are Great, and all of us are just so many blades of grass in Your Holy Sea. Amen

THE WORLD IS NOT A MACHINE

THE WORLD IS NOT A MACHINE

The reason for the fubar, the reason for why we fuss,

can be found in old false fables, can be found deep inside of us,

we were taught by other humans, to fear and follow half digested truth,

we did not know any better, than to act and be uncouth,

we were taught to follow leaders who promised us the moon,

what we did not know and learned too late, is life's over much too soon,

we were taught to use our senses, and the evidence of our eyes,

and we forget to feel what our hearts tell us, and the wonder of the skies,

we were taught to think thin thoughts untrue, like we are very smart,

but we never learned enough about, how life is not like Art,

we never learn the simple truth to simply love life as it is,

and love ourselves in spite of flaws, and to see past all the biz,

we were taught to pile up treasure, and fear those who may rob our hoard,

when everything is shared by us, we'll no longer need our sword,

but that is for a future time, when every one has the heart,

to see that life's just a song we sing, and everyone has a part,

our froggy, croaky chorus echoes down more than we can describe,

for we have no memory of when we were all part of just one tribe,

yes, life is short, intense, and sweet, and the vision that we view,

what we think we see, we often misconstrue,

we are part of something that is more than a big machine,

if you take a moment to see the truth, you might know what I mean,

but listen not to what I tell you, listen not to what others say,

you alone possess the answers that will let you cross the bay,

you alone possess the key to unlock any door,

once you learn to let fear go, and learn what life is really for.

small prayer for peace

a small prayer for peace


Lord, God, Great Spirit, hear my prayer,

guide us, Lord, help us to see Your high road,

save us from our divisions and our disputes

as we make our way along Your proscribed Path,

Remind us of our heritage and that we believe in fairness and decency,

and the right of every individual to see You in the way that is most fitting for

each, knowing that You made us all different and we see You in different ways,

remind us that Your spark of divinity exists in each of us,

and sometimes it takes a little extra patience with our brothers

to see it from their point of view, and we do not always have the right answer.

Make me a vessel for Your Will, and give me wisdom to do my best,

and help do what I can to keep America great,

for I know we are nothing without You and You are the source

of any greatness we may aspire to.  Bring harmony to our land

and let us all work together as one people,

with liberty and justice for all.    Amen

Lies and the Internet - Who to Believe

Why is the Truth nowhere to be found ?

      It seems so hard to get to what is real in our world today.   There are so many sources of information and we are never sure what the hidden agenda is or might be of the particular site we are on.
      How can we get to the real bedrock of truth and avoid lies and mis-truths?
How can we decide who to believe?

     Well, first we look to people and organizations who already have a good reputation, a reputation of some degree of objectivity.   That is pretty hard to find.   We judge often by how much we feel the person agrees with us.
So we must ask ourselves first if we are prejudiced.   But none of us wants to admit the possibility that "we" are prejudiced.

     In the end it depends a lot on how opinionated we are or on what particular ax we have to grind.   And we have to admit Everyone has an ax to grind and no one is without prejudice.  There is no such thing as total objectivity.   We are all just humans who do not possess omnipotence.

     If you tend to be more conservative, you trust other conservatives more.   If you are more liberal, you tend to trust the folks who describe themselves as liberal.   But in the final analysis, you can find truth on both sides of the political 
spectrum.
     My personal opinion is that God is the only source of ultimate truth and all of us see the little piece that is closest to us.   For non-believers in a deity, my atheist brothers and sisters, some of you also see great truths about our human situation.  But I would probably have many differences in how each of us see life here on this third rock from the Sun.

     All that being said, each person must arrive at some sort of equation or procedure to use to determine who is lying or has questionable motives.
People talk about due diligence, but even accessing a broad range of information often leaves us puzzled.
     In addition, we have to admit to several wild cards.   For one thing, the internet is full of websites which are anonymous, un-ascribed, and undated, with no easy way to 'vett' the source.   Actually like a site like this one.
 
     You have no way of really knowing who I am.   I could be a Russian hacker or an agent of a foreign land.  I have tried to describe where I am coming from and to be open about my own motives, but you will have to be the judge of that.
 
     But we all should acknowledge for every person trying to express their particular version of the 'Truth", there are 10 or 100 who are not really trying to be honest.   Also, there are active dis-information websites run by foreign powers like Russia and others.   They take a seed of truth and then wrap it up in their particular propaganda to spin the info to serve themselves.
     Then there are unscrupulous website owners who really do not care what the truth is. They are the "Click-baiting" sites.    They take whatever headline is trending, and then they sensationalize it to get your attention, (because we are all attracted to the most outrageous news),  and they make their money with ads and other selling, because they have traffic to their site.
     Even if you do a diligent search for more information to substantiate what you just read or seen, you will encounter tons of conflicting data.  So in the end, you are thrown back onto your own resources and your own best guesstimate.
Welcome to the world we humans in all our infinite wisdom have created.


   My best suggestion is to read everything you can, survey and surf widely, and after you have gathered a fair amount of data, from a broad variety of sources, then make up your own mind.  I guess that is the way it has always been.   It helps if you have a foundation of truth to stand on.  You have to start somewhere.   Most of us find the baseline of truth in religion, but you may also find value in scientific and empirical data.   I wish you all luck and hope that what you decide on contains some compassion for us humans and for all life on the planet.

A Patriot's Faith in the United States of America and Why we are Great

A Patriot's Faith in the United States of America and Why we are Great

    I love the United States of America.  That means different things to different
people.  Because in this place in the World,
our Differences are Celebrated.

We tolerate a lot.  We even tolerate atheists.  We hope they come to faith in God,
because that is what the United States is about, at least to some extent.
Many came here seeking religious freedom, but also political freedom.
Freedom to work, and freedom to move about the cabin at will.

Your own free will and your own personal relationship with God are what we value.   What an individual regards as holy is valued in the United States of America.  And people love it here because you are permitted to go to whatever church you like or no church at all.  Toleration is our Creed.  And no one can presume to stand between you and what you regard as True or Holy.



Now the bad stuff.  We are a political experiment.  We have done some evil on the way to where we are.  A lot.   We have some 'Splain'in to do. We have a lot of things we need to clean up.
But we have also done good.  We stood against fascism and despotism when we helped defeat the Nazi madness which seized part of the world for awhile.

And after that conflict, when we possessed the pre-eminent power of nuclear weapons, and could have dictated to the world that they must all be under our specific control, we did not seek world hegemony, but rather, tried to influence all nations to embrace a system of democratic rule.  Unfortunately, most of the world was just shaking off the bonds of colonialism and many were not ready for our particular style and flavor of a free-wheeling democratic republic.



As I say, I love the United States of America.   I love it because it is my home, my mother and father lived here, and brought me up here, and the Americans I know are some of the finest, nicest people you could ever meet in the world.

And we are generous and naive to a fault. Many of us tend to believe what people tell us.  WE trust people.  We trust people to do what they say they Will do, and to have a moral code of honor.  Because that is how we are.  And we expect others to also be moral.  Because it is the right way to be.
          Doesn't everyone know that?

But there is more depth below the surface and still waters run deep.

Where can I start?  Americans are relentlessly optimistic.  Oh, we can be pragmatic and dour, but most progress comes from foolishly hopeful people with  an idea or dream which may not entirely be rooted in reality.

In other words, we are a nation of Dreamers and Risk-takers in many ways.

We self-selected out when we came here from other lands.  Those of us who voluntarily came here, that is.
Many came here looking for a sense of community and searched for the perfect community here.  So that is a lot of dreams and a lot of dreamers right there, especially because we know there is no Perfect in man's world.

We like to think about the Pilgrims, as our first Americans, but perhaps they are not the most accurate example.
 I would like to talk about what a Real American is, but not just yet.

I would like to acknowledge the good and to admit the bad and get everything out on the table.  As long as we leave anything buried beneath our fears, it will fester and rot and continue to infect us.

Only when we look at ourselves soberly, with some degree of balance and honesty, and allow ourselves to see and to accept everything, will we have any hope of having a community and a more perfect Union.