Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.
~Maori Proverb
July 2007
The day has only barely dawned and I’ve already read several fabulous Independence Day posts. You bloggers really know how to celebrate this great (and corrupt) nation of ours! My favorite, so far, is found at 37 Days. Patricia, discusses “Interdependence Day“:
“History books focus on the people who were in power as if all change comes from those in positions of authority. The truth is that ordinary citizens created much of what we love about America…At this celebration, let’s give thanks for the ordinary and extraordinary Americans whose struggles brought about those changes. Let’s give a toast:
* To the waves of immigrants from all parts of the world who struggled to accept each other and find a place in this country.
* To the escaped slaves and their allies, particularly Quakers, evangelical Christians, and freedom-loving secularists, who built the Underground Railroad and helped countless people to freedom.
* To the African Americans and allies who went to prison, lost their livelihoods, and were savagely beaten in the struggle for civil rights.
* To the women who risked family, job security, and their own constructed identities to shift our collective consciousness about men and women and raise awareness of the effects of patriarchy.
* To all those who risk scorn and violence and often lost connection to their families to lead the struggle for the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer people.
* To those who continue to work for equal access for people with disabilities.
* To all of the innovators and artists who have brought so much beauty and usefulness into our lives.“All that we celebrate today in America involved struggles to overcome entrenched ways of thinking…. Today we celebrate the moments when the United States and the American people have acted not only from self-interest but also from genuine caring… We are proud of our country. We love its physical beauty. Many of us come from immigrant families who found refuge here when there were few other societies on the planet that would welcome our ancestors. Let us once again commit to overcoming the fear of the other and cultivating a spirit of generosity and love toward the stranger.”
I am not a patriot. I have not been able to salute the flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance for nearly a decade. Rather, I pledge daily to serve all of humanity and I don’t wrap my fervor in the banner of any particular color or pattern. I celebrate those who have been willing to fight for greater opportunities for everyone, with liberty and justice for all.
A Baha’i prayer, from a comment on John’s blog:
O God! Educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.
– `Abdu’l-Bahá
I will love the light for it shows me the way.
Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.
~Og Mandino
This weekend we watched Ratatouille. Fun. Well-written, well-crafted. Almost forgot for a moment that it WAS A MOVIE ABOUT A RAT. Almost.
The night before the movie I had a run-in with an ROUSS (Rodent of Unusual Size) on my front porch. Thinking it was just a charming little raccoon that was fiddling with the garbage bag that I’d inadvertently left on the stoop, I peeked out the trough the screen door to the see the little critter. Instead I found a fully-opened (previously knotted shut) grocery bag with a ginormous skin tail and hindquarters hanging out of it. Not a rat, it was just a few times worse: a POSSUM. Ugh.
What followed, for me, was part panic attack, part meltdown. I wish I could understand why I react the way I do to such creatures. But it was like the whole universe had suddenly gone dark and sucked me into a whole and the only thing that was in that hole with me was my nemesis Mr. ROUSS. And he was in attack mode.
I mean, I knew that the possum was on one side of that screen door and I was on the other. I knew I had my John and two kitties between me and the ROUSS. I knew that the varmint was way more interested in my trash than in me. But for about 3 minutes all of those rational thoughts were gone and all I could hardly breathe, much less be rational about the fact that on the porch, where I had been standing just a few moments before when I walked home (in the dark) from my neighbor’s home, was a RODENT. And I just wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to exit my house or live a normal life. Because RODENTS exist in this world and I would never escape from them again.
Deep breath. Sigh.
So I went to see the ratflick anyways and I was mostly okay. My breath got a little shallow when the colony exploded out of the farmhouse ceiling. But other than that the RAT-ness of the film was abstracted and cute enough for me that I was a-ok.
Hmmmmm…..but Ellycat has been spending a lot of time with me out of doors ever since.
PS: Still haven’t forgiven Pixar for naming the rat “Remy”…..
My lantana plants are such a source of joy. I have three now: purple, yellow-orange and red. I just love the ways their colors spread and change as they open their series of petals. Truly a burst of sun each time I gaze on them. :)
The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.
~John Greenleaf Whittier