Well, things promise to get pretty nutty here in Denver. There is going to be a purported 50,000 plus march on the capital so downtown will be effectively shut down. So far, I've not had any problem whatsoever receiving my goods and services (so far, I've purchased gas, coffee, and taken my car to the shop), so I've not experienced a total shut down of the city, as promised. But that is only my experience. I have made a friend at my son's preschool of one of the grandfather's of the students. He is a gentleman of about 70-ish who immigrated from Mexico in his youth. We have some interesting conversations. He is of course pro immigration (legally or otherwise) and amnesty. He likes the fact that I can converse in fairly decent Spanish. And he is very very nice and we respect and genuinely like one another. It simply reminds me that on the individual level we truly do want to get along and love one another--it is only when collectives and group think take over our individual consciousness, that fear and destruction can take root. I am thinking of the Desiderata that my father lovingly sent me years ago and that hangs by my bed to remind me of certain things. I went to a Unity Church (metaphysical) yesterday and as I sat in the midst of that beautiful, peaceful place with people of all different nationalities, races, colors, creeds, sexual preferences, ways to approach the Divine, I thought to myself--this, in reality is the embodiment of all those goofy, fake pictures the WTBTS likes to put in their magazines of paradise. People (Beings of Light) coming together for higher consciousness. This is reality. *sigh* I simply hope nobody brings a gun. It would be very bad. Love and Light,
~Brigid
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him Her (sic) to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.