On the Road Again

we are on our trip to canada, so there won't be any posts for the next couple of weeks.  i hope to get back to writing by may 30.  may all be filled with lovingkindness and compassion, may all be well, may all be peaceful and at ease, and may all be happy.  shalom. 

No Matter What May Be the Test

my wife and i will be leaving on a two-week trip to canada in a few days.  this morning i woke up early, and my mind was racing with details that need to be seen to before we leave.  all this past week, i've been trying to figure out how and what i need to pack.  now i'm thinking about all the paperwork and organizing our belongings to get through the airport.  it's difficult to focus on any one thing because so many things must be done.  perhaps my best solution for being able to concentrate on one thing at a time is to make a list so that i can tick things off as they're accomplished.  

i don't usually have this much difficulty keeping my mind calm and focused.  i'm wondering why this particular trip is presenting so many problems for my busy mind.  perhaps, it's because of the hassle that air travel has become.  if we were traveling by car or by train, many of the petty annoyances of planning would disappear, but the trip would take much longer and be more expensive.  i suppose this is a trade-off to give us more time to see the things in canada we want to see, since the time getting there and back is reduced by several days.

one thing i'm trying to do as i deal with the hassles of preparing for getting through the airports and onto the planes is accepting the way i feel with honesty and without self-recrimination.  why shouldn't i feel stressed by the demands of complying with security regulations and the possibility that flights will be delayed or cancelled and connections missed?  all i can do is my best to be prepared and accept that airline schedules are beyond my control.  the fact that anxieties are creeping into my mind is natural under the circumstances.  these worries are not failures but part of the fabric of travel in post-911, post-pandemic times, and i haven't failed if i experience them.

may each of us accept what we feel without condemning ourselves.  may we step back, seeing our worries and stresses for what they are:  part of the normal course of being human.  may we remember that there are thousands of travelers who are going through the same thing as they prepare for trips of all sorts.  in the midst of suffering, may we find peace and acceptance.  shalom.

Through All the Tumult and the Strife

many of us in the usa thought that the election of barack obama as president signaled an end to a racist past.  when donald trump was elected, we knew that was not the case.  with trump's election, those who had bristled at the idea of a black president were given warrant to publicly voice their hatred of those who were different from the white, male, heterosexual, evangelical majority.  the gains that had been made for lbgtq americans were attacked.  the concept of systemic rascism was decried as being a divisive view that should be made illegal.  controversial books were to be removed from library shelves lest young minds be contaminated.  guns were embraced as a necessary instrument of protection against what was seen as an unruly mob of largely young protestors who were standing up for the ideals of equality and respect for all people, regardless of skin color, gender identity, or ethnicity.

we're confronted now with two radically different philosophies of what america should be.  there are many who intend to use the power of government to prevent discussion of ideas they find troubling, to destroy public education, to establish a society in which those who are poor are kept that way and where those who have much acquire even more.  in almost half our states, those who espouse this view control state government and are using their power to insure continued control, even when a majority of their residents are opposed to this way of thinking.

on the other hand, there are those who believe that we must turn away from our ugly past when people of color were suppressed and relegated to menial jobs and substandard housing and embrace an open society, where freedom of expression and opportunity flourish.  this vision of america invites open discussion of the evils of the past, believing that we must understand and confront the systemic racism that is ingrained in our society and even in our founding documents.  in this view, we must come to terms with the brutality of slavery and make amends for it, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.  we cannot ignore history, lest we condemn ourselves to repeat it.  government, according to this way of thinking, is an agency for the betterment of all people, not a force to maintain an unhealthy status quo.

may we embrace the latter philosophy of governance.  may we understand the good and the bad in our history, bending its arc toward greater freedom, inclusiveness, and kindness.  may we not suppress that which we do not understand and that which makes us uncomfortable.  may we promote the pursuit of happiness for every person.  shalom.