Mountain Lion, part 1

Wandering up the path lightly and quickly, I paused at the fork to discern which way to turn. I chose left. Twenty feet down that path, around a slight blind curve, I came to an abrupt halt. Poised in the middle of the path, looking over the edge and into the vale below, stood a beautiful mountain lion.

Most of the pages referring to the totemic meaning of Mountain Lion mention two in particular that resonate with my soul: Using leadership power wisely and without ego; Balancing power, intention, strength.

Wise leadership power.... 

As usual, I find that the strengths of the totem are what is newly formed and still raw and untamed within me. I know that I have power; I know that I am capable of being a leader. I've avoided, dodged and evaded it. Now, perhaps, I am ready to step into it in a new way.

The image of that mountain lion, standing so incredibly still and solid ~ and close! ~ is etched in my brain forever. A friend observed that my totems are always in their most alive and proudly powerful position. So what is the message of a quietly standing mountain lion?

More to come.....

Section of Inaugural Address, part 2

"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else, under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.
Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.
Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.
That is our generation's task, to make these works, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American.."

The repetition the phrasing "Our journey is not complete until...." is reminiscent of another person who gave a repetitively worded speech:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

Dr. King, of course, had the cadence the preacher that he was. President Obama had his own hope-infused cadence. They both used the repetitive pattern to reinforce the importance each placed on this section of his speech. Dr. King spoke of a dream he had, a dream that President Obama's presidency visually fulfills. President Obama also speaks to the future ~ perhaps one he will attain, or perhaps one he will pass on to a future generation for completion.

I share their hopes.

Section of Inaugural Address, part 1

"We the people declare today that the most evident of truth that all of us are created equal -- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."

What struck me first in this was his reference to Seneca Falls. I wonder how many people know the import of that city? How many have any idea what started there? Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the women and men who attended that convention composed a Declaration of Sentiments which was unanimously accepted. This is part of it:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the firms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled.

In my humble and unsolicited opinion, we need a return to this kind of language and the comprehension of the words used in this declaration which is based on the Declaration of Independence. Of course, this one was declaring and asserting its own kind of Independence.

Quote from the Inaugural Address given today

"We the people declare today that the most evident of truth that all of us are created equal -- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began, for our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.
Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else, under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.
Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.
Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.
Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.
That is our generation's task, to make these works, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American..
Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life. It does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow the same precise path to happiness.
Progress does not compel us to settle century's long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time."

Section of the 2nd Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama

January 21, 2013

Denial, a human trait

Why do we insist on denying our actions even when we are caught with our hands in the cookie jar, so to speak?

We are currently watching an athletic legend ~ or two ~ crumble in front of our eyes. Lance Armstrong, seven time winner of the Tour de France, has admitted he wanted to win at all costs. He not only participated in doping himself, he apparently led others to do so as well.

As people chat about this over and over and over around me, what I hear is most disturbing to them is not the doping, it was his denial of it. He was accused of doping years ago and denied doing it. No proof was found ~ and he apparently continued the practice. More accusations and more denials followed. The general public is outraged, though some more vocally than others. Yet again, the doping charge is not at the core of the issue; the years of denial are.

In recent years, many athletes have fallen into disgrace because of doping ~ enhancing their chances to win big by using performance-enhancing means. None under scrutiny as long as Armstrong. So doping itself is less the issue.

Why do we automatically deny? What is it within our psyche that keeps us from admitting, "I did it. You caught me. I'm sorry."? It is something deep. Every child caught with his or her hand in the cookie jar says, "No, Mommy, I'm not taking a cookie before dinner." Every youth who gets the first dent in the family car exclaims, "Wow! Where did that come from?"

In the American mythos, we have a story (which, deep down, we know isn't true) about the Father of our Nation, George Washington, saying, "I cannot tell a lie, I cut down the cherry tree." Why would we need that kind of myth if it wasn't a general characteristic of humans to deny?

I have no answer to this.... Denial is a human trait, yet we want those in the limelight, our athletes, politicians, ministers, entertainers, etc., to have either no need to deny or the superhuman capacity to admit fault.

Jerusalem Snow

Today I found pictures of snow in Israel... it hasn't snowed in decades. Below is a picture of the Old City walls in Jerusalem with snow on the hillside. Despite the modern road and towers, the walls are still imposing.

(photo credit: Yishai Cohen)

Psalm 122: 6 -8:
           Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
            "May those who love you be secure.
           May there be peace within your walls
            and security within your citadels."
           For the sake of my family and friends,
            I will say, "Peace be within you."

In the snow, with those walls seeming so fortified and impenetrable, Jerusalem seems safe and at peace. Yet we all know it's not. It's history is of turmoil and strife, battles within and without those very walls.

In September 2000, with hundreds of riot police and a handful of other politicians, Ariel Sharon strutted onto the Temple Mount area where the al-Aqsa Mosque stands. As he left, a riot broke out and several people on both sides were injured. Sharon stated: "The Temple Mount is in our hands and will remain in our hands. It is the holiest site in Judaism and it is the right of every Jew to visit the Temple Mount."
When later accused of provoking the Palestinians with his visit, his response was: "What provocation is there when Jews come to visit the place with a message of peace: I am sorry about the injured, but it is the right of Jews in Israel to visit the Temple Mount."
He spoke that as though he truly didn't know there would be trouble.... then why did he go with all those riot police in tow?

Today, this picture of a peaceful winter day belies the turmoil that bubbles just below the surface in Jerusalem. Like any bubbling pot, it often splashes over the edge, scalding any who stand too close. Palestinians and Israelis still battle.

As the psalmist says, "May there be peace within you." That peace needs work ~ talk, face to face and repetitive. It needs someone to step up with hand outstretched and say, Enough. Perhaps, soon, such a leader will emerge. May it be so.

Another beginning.....

As I shared in a retreat via phone this afternoon, this card was on my altar. It has several elements that speak to me ~~ for now, since it is today's interpretation, today's beginning I want to speak, I will mention one: the pen. That pen signifies my desire, drive, calling to write, to put into words what shows up in my life on a regular basis.

Earlier today, as I was speaking with an acquaintance at Starbucks, I mentioned the depth and breadth of my religious studies. Simply mentioned that it was there. Once the words were out of my mouth, I wondered why I'd said it. That's something about which I rarely speak except to those closest to me, those to whom I choose to reveal that facet of my soul. Yet today, the words formed themselves in my mouth and spewed themselves out, then dared me to deny them. Ha! Like that's even possible!