So how do we deal with this thing called War?

Ok, first off, I do acknowledge that war is sometimes unavoidable, as much as I hate to say that. Hopefully one day in the future, this sad fact will no longer be true... And I do recognize the bravery of the soldiers who fight for peace and protection of one's homeland and the sacred human rights of all individuals, this is a very patriotic and honorable act and I see it as such.

However, what if I was to suggest that you can be just as patriotic, honorable, and courageous fighting for peace (and for your country) off the battlefield? Many interpersonal conflicts arise out of a lack of true understanding, education, and appreciation of the 'other'. What if your actions, interfaith dialogue, intercultural dialogue, and interest in bettering the human condition on all sides (not just your own), what if these things prevented a war in the first place? Even if just one war, in just one region of the globe; for good -- like evil-- has a way of multiplying rapidly. Even in Israel and the Palestinian territories, for example, the majority of 'regular' Israelis and Palestinians just want peace. Period.

If serving one's country on the battlefield is honorable, how much more so preempting the need for loss of life in the first place? And this can only be achieved by bettering the human condition and making lives better on both sides. Fighting for the hearts of both your own people and the civilian opposition, for what we have in common is far more than the few little things that make us different.

Now, if only more military leaders and right wing activists would hold my view. Hmmm...perhaps if I sent them a basket of cheese and wine, with an envelope saying "Please open me when you're feeling sufficiently happy". My ideas would be inside, of course ;) Or perhaps I should rent them a Big Bounce. How can you be upset or angry on a Big Bounce? Better yet, I should get the leaders from both sides of a conflict together for a Bouncy talk/"play date" or an afternoon at Disney World, and they'd end up laughing so much they'd shake hands afterwards and work out their differences. I wish...may it be soon, in our time!

Billie Joe the Pug's First Encounter With a 2 Pieces of Cereal-filled Egg Carton

Oh boy, oh boy, I hear the box!
A box, any box, who cares, it's food!
FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! FOOD!!!
Maybe I should sit.
Where's the food?
There it maybe sit food sit ok ok,
I sit, I - food - sit.
Hurry up, bring my food,
Smells so good, where is it, what IS that?
Food, food, scary white thing!
Should I...go closer...maybe one step...two,
oh dear G-d, it has no fear, unmoving scoundrel!
Must jump back!

Stealing my food! I'll just hide--
Over here-- near the big hairless dogs...who smell funny.
At least they have food.
Maybe they give me more food,
What's that sound, food?
She speaks...food?
Yawn...food?
The big one farted...food?
I'll wait, a little more, a little more,
AHA!!!! I heard it,
Ground, food, WHERE? THERE! YUMMMMMMMMM...
Ah, what next?
Hmm...food? ;)

Happy Thanksgiving & random things to think about

In case anyone gets bored over the holidays, here's some stuff to think about. Maybe during one of those long shopping sprees, when you're trying to find your breath underneath a Mango Mandarin scented shopper who just ran you over and then decided to sit on top of you, you can ponder these unknowns. Not that I'm condoning violence, just trying to be realistic here :P Anyway, just think about this:

* Why are stoplights green, red, and yellow (and isn't that yellow more like orange anyway)? Why does green mean ok, let's go, and red means, whoah, stop there mister? Maybe somebody a while back just had their heart broken and decided to nurture a grudge against poor ole red. Or, maybe red represents blood and war and green promotes peace and the Earth and pro-environment stuff. Hmmm, noble ideals, but perhaps there's a better way to promote this noble green concept than on a stoplight, in the middle of a highway, directing gas-guzzling traffic...

* Why are cars and trucks always smiling? Don't believe me? Haha, just go outside-- yes, RIGHT NOW, i don't care if you're working or busy, you deserve a break-- and have a look at your own car. I'll bet you he's (or she's) smiling back at you :) Makes you feel so much better when that lovely smiling car behind you decides to ride two inches from your bumper, or decides to zoom pass you in a no pass zone. At least the car smiled first...but wait, maybe that smile was just haughty, or sneaky, or this is getting way too complicated!!!

Ha, well I just amused myself this morning, so I hope I at least got a smile out of you guys as well. And Happy Thanksgiving =)

Flying...i did and you can too ;-)

Don't worry guys, I want to write something really positive to counter that last post. So I'm gonna jump right into it. If you have something really important or powerful that you're dealing with or that's bothering you, it is WAAAY better to get it out of your system...in some way (nonviolent preferred!...unless you're hitting a blow up doll of good ole George W...and for all the Republicans out there, just substitute a different name, i understand we all have our differences). Talking to someone is ideal, but only when you're ready. Sometimes, it might indeed be better not to deal with something until a time comes when you feel you can handle it. Other times, it is better to deal with it right away...only you can make that decision, don't let others make it for you.

Friends, family, mentors, dogs, cats (eh, ok, maybe not ;) anyone can be a good listener and a good listener is sooooo important. We were not made to deal with life alone. And ok, enough with this deep stuff, I wanna talk about dreams. Good dreams! I had a dream the other day where I was actually flying. I was running down the streets of my neighborhood and sometimes I would jump in the air...and I would take flight. So naturally, it seemed completely real, I could fly like Superman (er, woman) and do circles and go so fast it felt effortless. And I felt like part of a neighborhood patrol, as there were others who were flying too, keeping watch and helping everyone be safe. But the best part was that I truly flew, effortlessly, throwing myself into the air and soaring like it was what I was made to do. My point here, ladies and gentlemen, and I do have one, is that anything good that happens in your dreams IS your reality. Just as much as anything good that happens in "real life" is something you've accomplished, I will now always be able to say that I have flown, me, alone, with no mechanical help or obstacles. It felt real to me and I experienced it as a real event.

Thus, it is great to embrace your dreams, especially good ones, for all they're worth...and perhaps to realize as well that reality and life itself is what we make of it. What we choose to focus on, to be, to aspire to. I can believe oh, it's just a dream, i didn't really fly, a human can never fly...or I can believe that I did in fact fly and that we are all capable of so much more than what we might deem 'realistic' or 'normal'. I choose to believe the latter.

Amidst the river of time (For a friend)

*For a friend
-- I know life is short and sometimes our time with loved ones flies away much faster than we would like, but just make the most of it. That's all you can do and the greatest gift you can give is your time and spirit and love. And remember that those who most deeply touch us leave an indelible imprint on our soul, forever, just as I once remember hearing that G-d pressed down on the world and left his own imprint. A beautiful saying, whoever could have told me that? :-)

----------------------------

We all have a past.
And a present and a future.
We all have memories, traumas, joys,
Dreams, possibilities.
Upon different paths we traverse the universe,
Our destinies sometimes intertwining with others,
Other times flying solo,
Always moving forward...

Time is the one given, a basic building block of life.
Infinite, yet finite, time defies us all.
Living in the river of time, we are sometimes unaware
Of its motion, its substance, its nature--
Until it is gone.
Or rather, until we are no longer physically a part of it.

It is often easier to see another's river than our own.
Sickness can cause their river to cloud, grow muddy, lose nutrients
And vitality.
We feel helpless and distant, our life preservers and best attempts
To save our loved ones must by nature fail...as we
Cannot enter their river, heal their liquid time, cause past events to be erased,
Past years to be relived, flowing in a different direction.

Time will best us all, in the end.
Some journeys ending sooner than others, some tragically,
Some peacefully, some triumphantly,
All with their own effect on the ocean of time.

A river never flows alone, but dances with streams, tributaries, oceans...
We cannot enter another's river, but our own time river is influenced
By those of our loved ones, sharing water, nutrients, characteristics, life...
In this way, those we are closest to live on in us, in our lives,
Our characters, our time. The nature of our own river,
Our own path, our own time is an everlasting
Tribute to the lives, time, and influence of others.

Thus death is not an end, but rather a transition,
As we live on in the lives of all those we have touched,
Just as our loved ones' essence lives on in us, forever.

Free Will

Free will is a powerful thing.
We can choose to love, we can choose to hate,
To look left or right, to eat this, to reject that,
To justify our reasons, our actions, our lives, our feelings.

But can we choose to feel?

Can I say 'I want to feel happy' and lo, behold! I am feeling happy?
Perhaps the choice lies not so much in the what but in the how...
Not what I feel, but
How I respond to it.
Not what I see, but
How I choose to perceive it.
And what I choose to do about it.

But why the human need to justify, to
Defend, to explain these choices?
As a wise person once said, our good natures are here at fault.
For were we not good,
Our wrongs would need no sugar coating.
Were we not kind,
Our injustices need no explaining away, no
Defending, no searching for approval, even
Within ourselves.

Thus we all have the choice to be
Something more than what we were,
To look deep inside and
Act on that which unites us all,
To freely choose to be what we are,
Feel what we feel, and
Do what we can to illuminate the
Darkness within ourselves and the world.

And to ask for help when we need it, for there is no shame in
Letting love in.
In fact, being lovable is a choice,
And one of the greatest gifts we have to offer.
In a closed-off world, love would never survive,
It is only through open hearts and minds that we
Connect to others, and allow them to connect to us.

Too often, we shut these doors
Out of fear, uncertainty, or self-protection.
We can and should protect ourselves --any such choice is justifiable--
But true courage involves taking chances and at times
Risking the unknown.
A loving world is not merely the sum of its people,
But rather the quality and strength of the relations
Between these people. Open hearts create
Limitless possibilities and a more beautiful, complete world...

Upon the wings of time

Talking owls, magic wolves,
Unicorns that fly in droves,
Upon the wings of time it seems
That life can be most anything.

Flying humans, swimming birds,
Tell me is it not absurd
To think the world fixed in scope
When all you need is a bit of hope?

So dream of little talking ants,
Dream of dogs that sure can dance!
Imagine floating on a star
Be assured it's not that far

If worlds can spin and time can bend
And God's creations have no end
Just know, of this one thing be sure,
To live is grand, to love is more.