It happened again last night. Sometime between two and four o'clock in the morning. That is when we are in reactive eye movement sleep (REM) We are between two worlds. When our conscious minds don't destroy our choices, all that could be, we find each other.
He is younger than I and we don't care about that. We care about our ideas, our hearts. We can't seem to find each other in our waking hours.
"Hi, is it really you?"
His smile was warm and kind and generous. Sitting at the top of the landing, he is waiting for me.
"It's been too long," he says.
"This time, I am not going to let you go."
I fight awakening. Don't dare open my eyes for it may all go away. Like it did the last time. For some reason, my brain wants but can not sequence this. I absolutely do not know when I last saw him. Somewhere in the twilight. The netherworld.
He's wearing a white shirt, dark pants.I know he is a dentist, teaching in an academic institution. I don't know how I even know that. But I do.
Morning came again too soon. I couldn't find him last night.
Maybe tonight.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Adventure In Doing Nothing
Ever wondered why we are called human beings? Because we are meant to 'be' and not to 'do.' Children can often be found sitting on a stoop. Doing absolutely nothing. They bend over and discover an ant making its way across the concrete. That very act of observing fills them up. They aren't bored, they are 'be'ing.
The back steps were such a place. I would sit there for such a long time, observing the woods behind our home. The woods was where I spent the bulk of my time growing up. Often alone. It always felt safe there. It hasn't changed much in the years, either. I'm still drawn to the woods.
Then there was the flagstone pool my Dad built in our backyard. There was nothing more refreshing than taking a dip in it. It was a small pool, but felt large in my world back then. No major thoughts, just lots of 'be'ing. I'm still drawn to water.
There is a purity that can be found in 'be'ing. There is no place to go because you are already there.
Then there was the flagstone pool my Dad built in our backyard. There was nothing more refreshing than taking a dip in it. It was a small pool, but felt large in my world back then. No major thoughts, just lots of 'be'ing. I'm still drawn to water.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
What's Happening...North Carolina?!
It's been a year since I left my beloved state. The oceans, piedmont and mountains are more stunning than they have a right to be. People flock there because of the diversity of the land. An awesome place with awesome people.
The events of the past year have made a lot of people in North Carolina unhappy. The Democrats blame the Republicans. The Republicans blame the Democrats. The Republicans are now in power. This writer doesn't believe it is a partisan issue. It is an issue of ideology, responsibility and honesty. There is a lot of corruption going on and this includes all sides. So partisans, you do not have my support. I will support a new design that reflects the growth and development of the people. Not those in 'power.'
Few really 'get it.' Make it a partisan issue and you will continue to divide the people. It is immature thinking for an immature populace.
A recent New York Times Editorial said, "North Carolina was once considered a beacon of farsightedness in the South, an exception in a region of poor education, intolerance and tightfistedness. In a few short months, Republicans have begun to dismantle a reputation that took years to build."
I am sick and tired of the partisanness going on. Everywhere, not just North Carolina. It takes two. It took two to get this far. Apart. It was not always this way. It will take two to move closer together.
You ask why more people are not continuing the civil disobedience in Raleigh? We are not meant to be obedient. This is not the kingdom of the serf and lord. This is supposed to be a democracy. For way too long you have bought what those in power want you to believe. Lots has been held from you.
It is time to wake-up, create a society you can live with. Liberty. Government was never designed to fix everything. It wasn't designed for the corporation. It was designed for the people but all that has changed.
Be the change. I do not know one North Carolinian who has protested in Raleigh on Moral Mondays. I know lots who complain about it. It takes warm bodies to be counted to force a change. But first, you have to decide what your platform is. And friends, this platform isn't, won't work. It will ensure more of the same.
If you really want liberty, then go get it. Until then, quit whining.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html
The events of the past year have made a lot of people in North Carolina unhappy. The Democrats blame the Republicans. The Republicans blame the Democrats. The Republicans are now in power. This writer doesn't believe it is a partisan issue. It is an issue of ideology, responsibility and honesty. There is a lot of corruption going on and this includes all sides. So partisans, you do not have my support. I will support a new design that reflects the growth and development of the people. Not those in 'power.'
Few really 'get it.' Make it a partisan issue and you will continue to divide the people. It is immature thinking for an immature populace.
A recent New York Times Editorial said, "North Carolina was once considered a beacon of farsightedness in the South, an exception in a region of poor education, intolerance and tightfistedness. In a few short months, Republicans have begun to dismantle a reputation that took years to build."
I am sick and tired of the partisanness going on. Everywhere, not just North Carolina. It takes two. It took two to get this far. Apart. It was not always this way. It will take two to move closer together.
You ask why more people are not continuing the civil disobedience in Raleigh? We are not meant to be obedient. This is not the kingdom of the serf and lord. This is supposed to be a democracy. For way too long you have bought what those in power want you to believe. Lots has been held from you.
It is time to wake-up, create a society you can live with. Liberty. Government was never designed to fix everything. It wasn't designed for the corporation. It was designed for the people but all that has changed.
Be the change. I do not know one North Carolinian who has protested in Raleigh on Moral Mondays. I know lots who complain about it. It takes warm bodies to be counted to force a change. But first, you have to decide what your platform is. And friends, this platform isn't, won't work. It will ensure more of the same.
If you really want liberty, then go get it. Until then, quit whining.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
One Year
Where will winter find me? We'll have to wait and see.
Friday, July 5, 2013
The East, a film
I highly recommend this film. That is, if you have the courage to hear what is really going on in your world.
"THE
EAST, a suspenseful and provocative espionage thriller from acclaimed
writer-director Zal Batmanglij and writer-actress Brit Marling, stars
Marling as former FBI agent Sarah Moss. Moss is starting a new career at
Hiller Brood, an elite private intelligence firm that ruthlessly
protects the interests of its A-list corporate clientele. Handpicked for
a plum assignment by the company's head honcho, Sharon (Patricia
Clarkson), Sarah goes deep undercover to infiltrate The East, an elusive
anarchist collective seeking revenge against major corporations guilty
of covering up criminal activity. Determined, highly trained and
resourceful, Sarah soon ingratiates herself with the group, overcoming
their initial suspicions and joining them on their next action or "jam."
But living closely with the intensely committed members of The East,
Sarah finds herself torn between her two worlds as she starts to connect
with anarchist Benji (Alexander Skarsgård) and the rest of the
collective, and awakens to the moral contradictions of her personal
life."
Dancing Water
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Contrary To Popular Myth...
re: Home / DisclosureBlog / The Real Meaning of the Fourth of July
Contrary
to popular myth, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence
were not great Americans. Instead, they were great Englishmen. In fact,
they were as much English citizens as Americans today are American
citizens. It’s easy to forget that the revolutionaries in 1776 were
people who took up arms against their own government.
By: Jacob G. Hornberger
So how is it that these men are considered patriots? Well, the truth is that their government didn’t consider them patriots at all. Their government considered them to be bad guys — traitors, all of whom deserved to be hanged for treason.
Most of us consider the signers of the Declaration of Independence to be patriots because of their courage in taking a stand against the wrongdoing and tyranny of their own government, even risking their lives in the process.
Yet not even the patriotism and courage of these English citizens constitutes the foremost significance of the Fourth of July, any more than the military victory over their government’s forces at Yorktown does.
Instead, the real significance of the Fourth of July lies in the expression of what is undoubtedly the most revolutionary political declaration in history: that man’s rights are inherent, God-given, and natural and, thus, do not come from government.
Throughout history, people have believed that their rights come from government. Such being the case, people haven’t objected whenever government officials infringed upon their rights. Since rights were considered to be government-bestowed privileges, the thinking went, why shouldn’t government officials have the power to regulate or suspend such privileges at will?
The Declaration of Independence upended that age-old notion of rights. All men — not just Americans — have been endowed by God and nature, not government, with fundamental and unalienable rights. Governments are called into existence by the people — and exist at their pleasure — for one purpose: to protect the exercise of these inherent rights.
What happens if a government that people have established becomes a destroyer, rather than a protector, of their rights? The Declaration provides the answer: It is the right of the people to alter or even abolish their government and establish new government whose purpose is the protection, not the destruction, of people’s rights and freedoms.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights must be construed in light of that revolutionary statement of rights in the Declaration of Independence. The American people used the Constitution to bring the federal government into existence but also, simultaneously, they used that document to limit the government’s powers to those expressly enumerated in the Constitution. With the Constitution, people limited the powers of their own government in a formal, structured way, with the aim of protecting their rights and freedoms from being infringed upon by that same government.
Why did Americans deem it desirable and necessary to limit the powers of the federal government? Because they feared the possibility that their new government would become like their former government against which they had had to take up arms. While they recognized the necessity for government — as a means to protect their rights — they also recognized that the federal government was the greatest threat to their rights. By severely limiting the powers of the federal government to those enumerated within the Constitution, the Framers intended to encase the federal government within a straitjacket.
Even that was not sufficient for the American people, however. As a condition for approving the Constitution, they demanded passage of the Bill of Rights, which emphasized two deeply held beliefs: (1) that the federal government, not some foreign entity, constitutes the greatest threat to the rights and liberties of the American people; and (2) that the enumeration of specific rights and liberties, both substantive and procedural, would better ensure their protection from federal infringement.
On the Fourth of July we celebrate the patriotism and courage of those English revolutionaries who were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in defense of the most revolutionary declaration of rights in history — that man’s rights come from God and nature, not from government.
http://awakentotheshift.com/2013/07/the-real-meaning-of-the-fourth-of-july/
The Real Meaning of the Fourth of July
July 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Contrary
to popular myth, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence
were not great Americans. Instead, they were great Englishmen. In fact,
they were as much English citizens as Americans today are American
citizens. It’s easy to forget that the revolutionaries in 1776 were
people who took up arms against their own government.By: Jacob G. Hornberger
So how is it that these men are considered patriots? Well, the truth is that their government didn’t consider them patriots at all. Their government considered them to be bad guys — traitors, all of whom deserved to be hanged for treason.
Most of us consider the signers of the Declaration of Independence to be patriots because of their courage in taking a stand against the wrongdoing and tyranny of their own government, even risking their lives in the process.
Yet not even the patriotism and courage of these English citizens constitutes the foremost significance of the Fourth of July, any more than the military victory over their government’s forces at Yorktown does.
Instead, the real significance of the Fourth of July lies in the expression of what is undoubtedly the most revolutionary political declaration in history: that man’s rights are inherent, God-given, and natural and, thus, do not come from government.
Throughout history, people have believed that their rights come from government. Such being the case, people haven’t objected whenever government officials infringed upon their rights. Since rights were considered to be government-bestowed privileges, the thinking went, why shouldn’t government officials have the power to regulate or suspend such privileges at will?
The Declaration of Independence upended that age-old notion of rights. All men — not just Americans — have been endowed by God and nature, not government, with fundamental and unalienable rights. Governments are called into existence by the people — and exist at their pleasure — for one purpose: to protect the exercise of these inherent rights.
What happens if a government that people have established becomes a destroyer, rather than a protector, of their rights? The Declaration provides the answer: It is the right of the people to alter or even abolish their government and establish new government whose purpose is the protection, not the destruction, of people’s rights and freedoms.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights must be construed in light of that revolutionary statement of rights in the Declaration of Independence. The American people used the Constitution to bring the federal government into existence but also, simultaneously, they used that document to limit the government’s powers to those expressly enumerated in the Constitution. With the Constitution, people limited the powers of their own government in a formal, structured way, with the aim of protecting their rights and freedoms from being infringed upon by that same government.
Why did Americans deem it desirable and necessary to limit the powers of the federal government? Because they feared the possibility that their new government would become like their former government against which they had had to take up arms. While they recognized the necessity for government — as a means to protect their rights — they also recognized that the federal government was the greatest threat to their rights. By severely limiting the powers of the federal government to those enumerated within the Constitution, the Framers intended to encase the federal government within a straitjacket.
Even that was not sufficient for the American people, however. As a condition for approving the Constitution, they demanded passage of the Bill of Rights, which emphasized two deeply held beliefs: (1) that the federal government, not some foreign entity, constitutes the greatest threat to the rights and liberties of the American people; and (2) that the enumeration of specific rights and liberties, both substantive and procedural, would better ensure their protection from federal infringement.
On the Fourth of July we celebrate the patriotism and courage of those English revolutionaries who were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in defense of the most revolutionary declaration of rights in history — that man’s rights come from God and nature, not from government.
http://awakentotheshift.com/2013/07/the-real-meaning-of-the-fourth-of-july/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)