I was running really late this morning...and I had to hustle to my auction! As I walked out the door I heard the squaking and cawing of a large group of crows--this was not usual for our neighborhood--these were big (sorry, ugly, nasty looking guys). I looked for the source of all this commotion and spotted a beautiful fawn-colored pigeon in the grass. I though he might be injured and I could perhaps save him from the circling crows. As I carefully walked towards him, he rose up with his dead mate grasped tightly. My heart became at once heavy. How dare we humans think that we are the only species that truly loves. How arrogant, narcissistic.

We are called to love and connect--all existence loves or shrivels. I am so grateful for this sweet reminder.

I didn't buy anything at auction--after my gift of seeing true love and faithfulness--it all seemed like fluff.

Blessings for the day.

Mary & Jones & Cole

GRIEF--COURAGE

As a nation our grief is immeasurable; our sadness, personal and collective. Lives lost, others in tatters.

Whether the Boston bombings were an act of international terrorism or the act of a home-based radical group makes no difference.

What we do know is that these individuals are  cowards.

The choices that we have as individuals in how we respond to this tragedy can be as varied as the spokes of a bicycle wheel. There are choices that we can make that will make us stronger as individuals and as a nation. I choose to walk fearless; I choose to have compassion for the victims and give to their support; I choose to talk about the unity of all mankind; I choose not to blame a particular ethnic or religious entity; I choose that an act of cowardice will never determine who I am or become; I choose to believe in the goodness of man; I choose to believe that all humanity is one; I choose to forgive my brother; I choose to connect with those that I might have previously rejected; I choose love in the face of fear; I choose hope in the face of darkness; I choose to  reject the assumption that further restrictions on The  Bill of Rights and human rights is a valid response; I choose prayer in the face of despair.

I am not in any way minimizing what has happened. I lived in a terrorist ridden environment for three years--we were under threat on a daily basis--these were the choices that I made every day. 

We are as safe as we can possibly be, there is no possible way to avoid tragedy--we make a daily assumption that we are safe so that we can function and conduct our lives. Most of the time our assumptions prove to be true. 

Let us continue to make that assumption. We are safe and strong and a nation faced with many challenges. Let us grieve and give thanks for what we have been given. Let us become better participants in the governance of this country-- with our eyes wide open with strength and courage.

Mary

SADNESS--a Call for Respect

I have been silent the past week or so. This silence seems to overtake me every year right around September 11. I try not to focus on my internal emptiness, but maybe I should. I really am not aware of my self-imposed isolation until this period of grief has passed. 

This year, with the killings of the US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens and 3 other diplomatic officers, my sadness has turned to anger. Not at the Libyan people. But rather at my own people. How insensitive and arrogant can we be?

I was raised in Mexico and spent most of my young adult life in Europe--Northern Spain in the Basque Country. I love the Pais Vasco, I love the people and the way of life. That said, the period of time that we lived there was the epicenter of the Basque Terrorist Movement (ETA). And our project was one of the main targets of ETA. (Subject for a book)

We learned to be very careful and sensitive to the Basque sentiments and to guard our speech. 

Our diplomats are in similar situations throughout the world. It was unconscionable (sp?) for any individual, especially an American, to post a video mocking Allah and the Muslim religion. To put our fellow citizens in such danger during the period surrounding September  11 shows the lack of respect for other humans that is so rampant in the world today.

But to have a Presidential candidate take this tragedy to an entirely new level and politicize it for his personal benefit ---I am speechless.

What happened to our diplomats was an international tragedy and not a moment in time to be politicized. 

As a nation we need to learn the meaning of respect in all of its different manifestations.

Mary