And the World Stood Still

our daughter spent the past several days with us.  her stay reminded us of the wonderful person she has grown to be.  she is thoughtful, always ready to help us in whatever way she can.  her sense of humor has lightened our days.  her visit has filled us with joy.  on her final day with us, she gave her mother a gift that we had spotted in a gift shop that we visited together.  because the item she gave my wife was a little pricey, my wife wouldn't buy it, so my wife was thrilled when she opened the box our daughter handed her and saw the lovely gift.  this parting gift reminded us of what a sensitive person our daughter is.

as i reflect back on her visit, i wonder what we did as she was growing up that helped her become such a loving person.  i wish that we could take credit for her kindness and compassion, but i know that many factors combined to make her who she is.  as a small child, she was very obedient.  she only had to be told "no" once to stop her from doing something we disapproved of.  she was a happy child and easy to manage.  in her teenage years, though, she was rebellious.  we wondered if she would make it to adulthood.  she was determined to have things her own way, and we struggled to understand what drove her to be the way she was.  

by the time she had made it through her first two years of college, during which she lived a couple of hours away from us, she had matured into an adult with whom we could reason and come to terms.  seeing that it was a struggle for her to pay her living expenses in the college she had insisted on attending, which had no dormitories and where she had no financial aid of any kind, she decided to return home to complete her degree.  after she graduated from high school, we had tried to talk her into attending other schools where scholarships would have been available to her and where we could have paid all the cost of her education but she refused to listen to us, determined to attend the more expensive college, where our limited resources could only pay for her tuition and books and where she would have to work to pay the rest of her living expenses.  after she moved back home, she easily completed her studies and worked part-time to earn spending money.  her teenage rebellion over, she went to work as a teacher, fell in love with a young man, and married.

she and her husband struggled financially.  he had only a part-time job which he held onto in the hopes that it would lead to a more lucrative full-time job with the same company.  she worked a second job and, within a couple of years, they were able to buy a small home.  marital difficulties arose, and her husband left to take a job in a large metropolitan area about two hours away.  our daughter considered divorce, but she was determined to make the marriage work.  they reconciled, and she moved to be with her husband.  after working at a clerical job for a year, she went back to work as a teacher.   they continued to work on their marriage, and, with our help, they were able to buy a nice home in a quiet neighborhood.

as the years have gone by, they discovered how much they cared for one another and now are very happy together.  she is looking forward to early retirement from her teaching job at the end of the next school year, because teaching has become very stressful.  her husband has a non-teaching job with another school district that allows him the same holidays that she has.  we delight in the joy they have found with one another.  her kindness and compassion have helped her husband become a more caring, attentive person, so their marriage is one that brings both of them much joy.

i suppose nothing could be more satisfying than to see your child become a wonderful adult who is happy and who shares her happiness with others.  may she and her husband continue to grow in love for each other.  may all of us find the companionship with another human that completes us.  may we grow in lovingkindness and compassion each day and may we share those blessings with others.  shalom.

Music Fills Your Heart

for the past couple of weeks i've written about doom and gloom.  this week i want to write about joy.  despite my fears for the immediate future, i am a happy person.  every day i wake up surrounded by life's blessings.  i live in a comfortable home with a loving wife who is my best friend.  i have kind, caring children.  i have friends and relatives i enjoy.  i eat delicious food and can afford to travel wherever i want to go.  my health is generally good, though i am feeling some of the aches that come with aging.  my life is a good one, and i love it.

one of my greatest joys is music.  i have the opportunity to make music for others several sundays each month playing for a local congregation that seems to enjoy the music i provide for them.  each time i sit down to practice or to play a church service, i am transported to a world of beauty.  it is wonderful to take part in the creative process with some of the greatest composers in history.  this is the unique aspect of music.  when one plays music composed by another, there is a mutual sharing of the material.  without the player, the notes are static on the page.  the music only comes to life when the printed music is realized by a live player or players.  just as in a play where actors bring the playwright's words to life, a musical performer brings the creation of the composer to life and participates with the composer in making the music and sharing it with others.

beautiful, thoughtful music speaks to the mind and heart in a way that nothing else can.  as i listen to music, my mind is freed from the mundane necessities of life, and i am transported into the mind of another who may have lived far from me in a different time period and who spoke a different language, yet the language of music is common to us both.  when i am a part of making the music, the composer and i communicate not only with one another but with any who are listening.  there is a sharing of experience across time and space that is nothing short of miraculous.

may i continue to find the joy that music brings.  may i long to share that joy with others.  may music bridge gaps that are otherwise impossible to cross.  may we put aside our differences as we find common ground in the beauty of music.  may we make and listen to music that inspires the best in us, increasing our capacity for lovingkindness, compassion, tolerance, and mutual understanding.  shalom.

Through Paths Unknown

last week i wrote about the hopelessness i felt.  i am still disturbed about the prospect of a republican victory in the upcoming midterm elections.  i am troubled that the democrats in congress are not addressing the economic problems that so many face.  while people struggle to pay for the essentials of life, president biden and our party look for ways to place blame for rising prices of housing, food, and fuel rather than seeking solutions that demonstrate that government is not powerless.  indeed, there are many factors over which government has little or no control, such as the effects of the covid pandemic and our emergence from it, the logistical problems faced by suppliers of goods, the inability of oil refineries to meet the demand for gasoline, and the war in ukraine, that have combined to cause our economic woes.  

rising prices are disproportionally hurting those towards the bottom of the economic ladder.  most of us can tighten our belts a little and weather higher prices, but those who were struggling before inflation became so great had already economized as much as possible.  now they are caught by the need to make difficult choices in order to pay their bills.  all too often, the lower middle class and the poor are finding themselves choosing between health care and feeding and sheltering their families, making do with clothing that should be replaced, and buying unhealthy foods rather than more expensive nutritious food.

a few days ago, millions of us watched the first presentation by the house committee that is investigating the events of january 6, 2021.  we saw the beginnings of the case against donald trump and those around him.  it is essential that as much of the truth be made public as can be discovered.  at the same time, republican criticism of the lack of a plan for combating inflation is valid.  democrats hold the majority in both houses of congress and a democrat is the president.  it is their responsibility to address the needs of the people by finding ways to ease the pain of inflation on those least able to bear its costs.  republicans have no plan, either, and, if they take control of either or both houses of congress, their answer will be to attempt to enrich those at the top of the economic ladder while doing little for those at and near the bottom.  a republican majority in congress will be disastrous for the nation, and that is where we are headed unless democrats act quickly to demonstrate their concern for the pain many are feeling.  it will not matter how guilty trump and his minions are.  exposing their perfidy is important, but so is addressing the economic difficulties so many americans are facing.

may we awaken to the awful damage trump and trumpism have caused our nation.  may we turn from his misogyny, racism, and greed, and look to caring for one another.  may we rally to the cause of freedom based on the ideals of our founders.  may we recognize the dangers posed by christian nationalism and the followers of donald trump.  may we become a more tolerant, compassionate people, electing those who share our values.  shalom.

A Reason to Be Living

it is not often that i feel hopeless, but right now i do.  i know that this feeling will pass, but, as i think of the problems that we face, i see few solutions.  fuel and food prices have risen and continue to increase, putting a strain on the finances of many.  since democrats are the majority party in the congress and the president is a democrat, our party is blamed for this situation.  most americans know in their hearts that economic forces beyond the control of the federal government are the cause of inflation, but, when things are going badly, the party in power takes the hit at the polls.  the prospect of a republican majority in the house and senate is frightening, given that party's current state.

trump loyalists are in control of the republican party.  they are determined to carry the upcoming mid-term elections at all costs.  they continue to promote trump's big lie that president biden won the last presidential election fraudulently.  where republicans control state legislatures, they have passed laws that make it easier for them to hold onto power.  they have begun enacting state laws allowing them to intimidate voters in democrat-leaning precincts.  they have made it more difficult to vote.  they have taken control of elections away from impartial officials and given that power to the legislature.  under trump's influence, our basic right to govern by the consent of the people is gravely threatened.

those in the republican party who dare to challenge this program of harassment, voter suppression, and intimidation are ostracized and targeted for electoral defeat.  only two republicans have been willing to participate in investigating the incidents of january 6 and what went on in the days leading up to it.  other republicans have refused to participate and have joined the former president in calling it a "witch hunt."  a mentally unstable political novice has won the republican nomination for senator from georgia, a man who has been repeatedly accused of threats against women and who makes claims as outlandish as those of the former president.  the court have removed several republican candidates in michigan from the ballot for allowing fake signatures on their petitions to run for office.  a celebrity physician who has promoted phony cures for disease has become the republican senate nominee in pennsylvania.

we watch as mass killings are rampant in this country and do nothing about it.  we refuse to pass sensible laws that would keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill, violent, and immature persons.  we allow weapons whose only purpose is mass killing to be sold with few restrictions.  we have citizens walking around armed to the teeth with no laws to prevent this practice.  we listen as the gun lobby tells us that "people kill people, not guns," while we continue to tell the survivors of mass shootings and their families that "our thoughts and prayers are with them."  what good are those thoughts and prayers without actions that demonstrate our compassion?

our government is poised to take away the right of women to control their own bodies, as male-dominated legislatures pass laws that prevent women and their doctors from making private decisions about women's health issues.  as unwanted children are brought into the world, the same people who tell us that abortion is murder refuse to support the care of those children that women are forced to bear against their will or to take the necessary steps to curtail mass murders in schools.  we have allowed a right-wing-dominated supreme court to have the final say over reproductive and voting rights in this country to the detriment of democracy.

may those who believe in the ideals on which our country was founded rally to the struggle against the erosion of those ideals.  may we stop the movement to adopt laws and practices that will lead to authoritarianism.  may we reject trumpsim in favor of tolerance, diversity, and freedom.  may we again support the needs of those who have been left behind in our affluent society.  may we demonstrate true patriotism by rejecting demagoguery and misogyny and by having compassion for all our people.  shalom.