More Than Self

a few nights ago my wife and i watched the "debate" between president biden and the "other guy," as president biden calls him.  we were disturbed by the president's seeming frailty.  his voice was failing.  he had some difficulties stating his case.  he stumbled over words.  his eyes often looked weak and unfocused.  for the first time, we saw him as an old person.  he seemed ill and shouldn't have been on the stage.

we were more disturbed by trump's constant stream of lies.  he spoke of a country that we don't see around us, describing the usa as a failed nation, filled with crime and poverty.  certainly we have our share of both, but we see a prosperous nation, where most people are happy and living fulfilling lives.  we took issue with his constant belittling of the immigrants coming to our southern border, whom he characterized as thugs, criminals, rapists, and insane.  while we don't condone their attempts to enter the country illegally, we understand that they do this to make better lives for themselves and their families.  all the hispanic immigrants we know are hardworking, kind people who are willing to take on the most menial jobs and constantly seek to improve themselves and provide for their children.  trump's characterization of these immigrants is unjustified and flows from his racist beliefs.  he wants to use them as pawns in a cruel political game that shouldn't be tolerated in a free society.

we took issue with almost every feature of this unfortunate event.  the moderators treated trump with a deference he didn't deserve.  they didn't challenge his many lies and his refusal to answer the questions put to him.  the format didn't allow ample time for intelligent responses from the two candidates.  how can complex questions be answered in a two-minute time slot?  how can countless lies be refuted in a one-minute response?  the "debate" didn't seem to be designed to inform the watchers nor to allow the single honest candidate to be at his best.

the talk by some pundits and politicos of replacing president biden as the nominee of the democratic party is deeply disturbing.  he has already been chosen by voters in state primaries leading up to the democratic convention.  he has a proven record of accomplishment during his first term.  he brings the wisdom of a lifetime of public service to the office.  he has earned the nomination, and i believe that in the end this poor debate performance will be a blip in the campaign for his re-election and that the american people will see him and his opponent for what they are:  one, an honest, wise, and sincere public servant; the other, a liar, criminal, and racist whose only interest in enriching himself and feeding his ego.

may we choose wisely when we vote.  may we not be taken in by the bravado of a television personality and failed businessman.  may we choose lovingkindness over a veneer of bluster and lies.  shalom.

Let Me Sow Love

our daughter has been here visiting for a week.  we see her a couple of times a year:  once in the summer while she is on her summer break from teaching and again at christmas when she and her husband come to spend a few days with us.  occasionally we will visit them in their home, but we hate to cause extra work for them because they need their weekends to rest from their demanding jobs and take care of chores around their homes.

i am always impressed with her patience and kindness when she comes to see us.  she helps around the house and does all she can to relieve us from our work while she's here.  when things don't go her way, she takes life in stride, letting go of the inevitable stresses of life.  when our nephew, her first cousin, came for a visit during her stay, she was patient with him, even though he's hard to be with for any length of time.  his conversation is mostly about his health issues, and he shares all the details of his frequent doctor visits and the pains and limitations he faces that are caused by poor choices he made earlier in life.  as he talked, she sympathized with him.  she never appeared to be weary of his unending talk about himself.  this is the sort of person she is, and we love her for it.

as i saw her off at the airport this morning, i thought of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful daughter.  may we do all we can to instill a sense of kindness and concern in others.  may we recognize the good in those around us.  may we believe that the basic human impulse is kindness, recognizing that hatred and prejudice are learned rather than innate characteristics.  shalom.

And the Tears Will Clear

as i write this morning, our gray tabby cat, bossy, has disappeared.  we inadvertently left our garage doors open overnight, and when i went out to feed our two cats, bossy was not there to greet me as she usually does.  bossy is blind and has cancer.  i fear that she wandered outside the garage and became disoriented.  if that is the case, she wouldn't be able to find her way back.  i've walked around the house calling her and driven around the neighborhood looking for her to no avail.

later this morning i'll go to all the houses nearby to alert our neighbors of bossy's disappearance.  perhaps she will turn up.  she is such a sweet cat and never tires of being petted.  she loves her morning and evening meals.  she's been with us for at least twelve years, having appeared in the yard of our former home one day, a frightened and abandoned kitten.  she made her home under our guest house in the backyard and refused to come out unless coaxed by food.  little by little, she became accustomed to us and her new home, eventually joining our other cats for her meals outside our back door.  she never strayed from our yard and spent most of her time lounging on our deck.  since her blindness, she has stayed in our garage unless we carry her out to our back deck when we sit in the evenings.

it's now later in the day, and bossy has been found!  while i was over talking to one of our neighbors about her, our daughter, who's visiting us for a week, walked across the street calling her.  there is a pasture filled with tall grass there.  it is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, and bossy was lying the grass just on the other side of the fence.  when she heard our daughter, she began to cry.  fortunately, our daughter heard her and located her.  she picked bossy up and brought her back to our home amidst much rejoicing.  she was none the worse for her adventure and happily took her place on the cool concrete floor of the garage to rest.

being lost is an experience that most of us have known from time to time.  we are so relieved when we find our way back or someone rescues us.  may we be grateful for those who care enough to seek us when we are lost.  may we understand the causes of losing our way.  may we take responsibility for others, helping them find a way back.  may we recognize the value of home and those who care for us.  shalom.

For the Clear Morning Light

"i am grateful" is easy to say, but it's not so easy to live a life filled with gratitude.  each day i ask that i become more grateful for all that life has given me.  yet, i don't embrace the sense of gratefulness that my many blessings should kindle in me.  today i want to enumerate some of those gifts and to express my gratitude for them.

i am healthy.  i have the pains that come with my body's years of use, but i am still mobile.  i may be a little slower, may have to rest more often, and may pay the price when i overdo it.  still, i can do pretty much anything i want to do.  for this i'm grateful.

i have a wonderful partner, terrific children, a beautiful granddaughter, and many friends.  my life is filled with people who love me and are loved in return.  for this i'm grateful.

i want for nothing.  i have a lovely, spacious home.  everywhere i look in my home, there are beautiful things.  i don't have to worry about my financial well-being.  i have all the resources i need and then some.  for this i'm grateful.

i don't have worries about my safety.  there is little crime where i live.  while i don't always agree with the policies of my town's government, our city services function well.  those in elected office are conscientious in making those who live here secure.  for this i'm grateful

i live in a country where i have many freedoms:  freedom of and from religion, freedom to express my opinions without fear, freedom to vote as i think best, and freedom to read what i want.  for this i'm grateful.

i've lived a long, happy life.  my vocation was rewarding.  i have few regrets and more than my share of joy.  i continue to engage in my love for music and to share that love with others.  for this i'm grateful.

all in all, life is good.  may each of us look back on a life well-lived and rejoice that we have much to celebrate.  may we give thanks for the many blessings life has afforded us.  may we take time each day to practice gratitude.  shalom.

You Left A Row Half Done

the past week has been incredibly busy for my wife and i.  we yearn for time to be at home without one obligation after another.  much of this is because we aren't good at saying no.  after almost eighty years on this planet, we should have learned our limitations!  the next few days don't look any better.  as we look ahead, we say to ourselves, "if only we can get through the next four days, we can stop and catch our breath."

most of us are guilty of living lives of "if only" much of the time.  life happens as we live it.  we need to learn that this journey is what life is.  we don't have to get past our responsibilities to begin living.  those responsibilities are our lives.  they are experiences that give life meaning, not something to get past so we can start living.  may we relax into the busyness of life.  may we recognize the value of what we do.  may we carve out time for stopping to smell the roses and realize that those times are as important as the times of work and helping others.  may we make helping and caring for ourselves as important a priority as caring for others.  shalom.

Love Makes Life Worthwhile

i just completed a series of physical therapy sessions.  these exercises are intended to help strengthen my neck and upper back so that i can correct years of poor posture that have led to a loss of flexibility in my neck and an inability to stand erect.  some of my problems are the result of inherited spinal problems but most result from laziness.

my physical therapist is a kind man who is sincerely concerned for my well-being.  he is adept at being both understanding and demanding.  i can tell that i have improved with his guidance and hope that i will be consistent in continuing the exercises he taught me.  i've watched as he's worked with other clients and can see why there is improvement in those with whom he works.  i am amazed that he is able to do this work all day every day and maintain his attitude of concern and helpfulness with so many people.

as i reflect on my therapist's approach to those he treats, i am inspired to be more like him.  i want to see each person as someone who is deserving of love and concern, just as i am.  may we treasure our uniqueness while seeing the common traits we all share, realizing that we are more alike than we are different.  may we see that each person is worthy of lovingkindness and respect.  may we emulate those who show us the best ways to live our lives.  shalom.

Let the Earth Be Glad

my wife and i have been on a long trip to visit some of the national parks in utah.  we drove over 4,000 miles across several states going there and returning.  we saw some amazing natural wonders and marveled at the world's beauty.  though we had read and been told how beautiful bryce canyon and zion national parks were, words can't describe their majesty.  we would liked to have visited the two other national parks in utah that we haven't seen, but time and energy prevented us from going to capitol reef and canyonlands.  maybe another trip will take us to those two parks someday.

one of the things that always strikes me when i visit utah is the pervasive influence of the lds church.  in talking with residents of the state, we were often asked if we were member of "the church."  utahans are invariably congenial and outgoing, but i'm always left with the sense that their interactions with others is motivated by a missionary zeal to convert non-lds visitors to their vision of the truth.  

when we spent a day at the temple square in salt lake city early in our trip, we were invited to take a tour of the lds conference center there.  since we had some time to kill between two concerts we wanted to attend in the temple area, we accepted the invitation for a tour.  we expected to learn something of the history of the building and some interesting facts about it.  instead two young women, one from mexico and one from taiwan, spent a couple of hours showing us some rather bad paintings of the purported history of the western hemisphere that are described in the book of mormon and some other lds-influenced artwork.  we heard glowing reports of the conferences held in the huge meeting hall and the history of their and their families' conversions to the mormon religion.  while they were invariably amiable and eager, we didn't feel that they cared about us as people but rather that they viewed us as "fresh meat" for conversion.

perhaps i'm being unfair at drawing conclusions about others based on limited interaction with them.  maybe the lds adherents we encountered were what they appeared to be:  outgoing individuals who were truly interested in us as human beings.  because of the missionary emphasis of the lds church, i may be overly suspicious of all members of that faith.  at any rate, we enjoyed our time in utah.  the beautiful concert by the tabernacle choir in temple square was a wonderful experience.  provo, orem, and salt lake city were stunning with the mountains surrounding them and spring blossoms everywhere.  the majesty of bryce canyon and zion national parks is indescribable.

may each of us have the opportunity to experience such natural wonders.  may we not be quick to judge others based on preconceived notions.  may our love overcome our prejudices.  shalom.