Two things: First, I sent a gift card to my niece for her birthday last month. I never found out if she received it, but then again, she's not very good with thank-yous. So I finally remembered to ask her about it. She said she never got it. So now I'm vexed that someone must have stolen it. I told my sister about it and she said their mailman makes mistakes all the time, and probably delivered it to their neighbors. Now why wouldn't the neighbors give it to them? Anyway, I hope whoever took it needed it more than my niece did.
Second: I went to the Pequot Museum yesterday. As I was walking back to the parking lot, there was a family, or a group consisting of a man, two women and one child. The man walked ahead so I have no beef with him. It was the other woman who didn't even make way for me, although there was plenty of room on the sidewalk. She brushed against me and I had to step out towards the grass. Of course, I heard them speaking another language, probably Eastern European. Or perhaps French. I don't know. My prejudices come out at times like these. She never even looked back or apologized, kept talking and walking. Moments like these make me want to go hide in a cave.
"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."---Tyron Edwards, theologian
I read this today, the supposed Doomsday, that "there is no value in holding on to that which brings you no pleasure, no joy. The longer you stay in a 'funk', the more 'funk' sort of things will come your way. Don't make a habit of holding on to that which you don't need, that which might bring you down. Catch and release, throw it back."
I wish everyone well.
"I take the first step and life meets me in wonderfully unexpected ways." And yes, the photo has nothing to do with anything. It's just too darn cute.
I bonded with a Belgian woman at the laundromat today after she noticed I had a plastic DSW Shoe Warehouse bag. She had 3 bags with her. Anyway, she struck up a conversation with me. I couldn't place her French accent, so I just kept talking to her. Found out she's from Belgium, so that just made me think about Hercule Poirot the whole time. She told me she still has a sister there who she visits every couple of years. The sister lives in a street where every 3 AM, she wakes up to the smell of waffles from one side of the street, and the smell of chocolate from the other side. Now that's a fantastic way to start the day. Although 3 AM is a tad early. Although I wouldn't mind being lulled back to sleep by the aroma of chocolate and waffles.
The kicker was she mistook me for a twenty year old, gray hair and all. Merci! Unless of course she was just being polite.
"It is not a question of analyzing yourself. It is a question of seeing yourself."---Yogaswami
"I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught."---Georgia O'Keefe
"We are what we think. All that we are arises. With our thoughts, we make our world"---Buddha
"I believe the key to happiness is someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." -Elvis Presley
"You don't need to figure anything out. You don't need to see how it all fits together. All you need is to practice directing your attention to the life you want."---Cheri Huber
good health,
long life,
prosperity,
happiness and peace.
...Om, shanti, shanti, shanti.
Kundalini yoga master - Vethathiri Maharishi
To my Mom, my sisters, and all the other Mamas, honorary mothers, and aunts out there.
I remember when my friends' kids were very young. I'd be chatting with the parent then they'd hand off the phone to the toddler. I never knew quite what to say. Half the time I had no clue what the kid was babbling about anyway. It was always an uncomfortable moment. Guess what? It doesn't get easier.
One of my closest friends in high school called me up today because her teenage daughter needed to interview someone from New York for a school project. I called her up after I finished filling out the questionnaire, then came the inevitable "Here, talk to Tita." Of course the poor girl could only squeak out a "thank you" to this person she's never met. I feel her pain.
through the universal questions of life
bring you to a new moment of awareness.
May it be an enlightening one.
...May you find embedded in the past,
like all the students of life before you,
the answers you are seeking now.
May they awaken that in you which is
deeper than fact,
truer than fiction,
full of faith.
May you come to know
that in every human event
is a particle of the Divine
to which we turn for meaning here,
to which we tend for fullness of life hereafter.
- Sr. Joan Chittister - Benedictine Sisters of Erie
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiples hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."---Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy National Day of Prayer!
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ'd!
Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.
(John Newton)
Bill Maher: Somali pirates, Qaddafi's son, now Bin Laden---do not F&$^ with Obama. He's Gangsta!
Now I'm in a moral quandary. Like the rest of the nation, I was happy to hear that evil Usama was dead. I thought again of the awesomeness of those Navy SEALs. I cracked up at one of The Onion's pretend headlines: Violent Death of Human Being Terrific News for Once. But it does feel very strange to be happy about another person's demise. I read about Mark Twain's quote: "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." I'm sure images of Americans celebrating will further fan the flames of anti-Americanism among Muslim extremists.
Perhaps the Catholic Church said it best: "Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before God and man, and hopes and pledges that every event is not an opportunity for a further growth of hatred, but of peace."
The Sphere from the fallen Twin Towers and Eternal Flame memorial to 9-11 victims in Battery Park. I cannot begin to imagine what the families of the victims are feeling now. I started tearing up just watching President Obama's announcement, and then the local news coverage. I hope Bin Laden got the Paradise he was hoping for. Or NOT.
