Moving on....

I am moving my blogging activities to a new site with a particular focus:

Love. 


Not the squishy feel-good kind of love, but the Love that opens eyes and hearts, that acknowledges that we are all in this together, and that we no longer have the luxury of hating other people.

Please come visit: http://APlaceof.Love

Peace.

When did hate become and American value?

I am quite bothered by the recent hateful rhetoric coming out of the presidential primary campaign.

The people who are voting for politician who spout hateful rhetoric is truly frightening, and I do not wan to react out of fear.

How do we avoid going to that fearful place? How do we avoid starting to fear those who seem to want bad things to happen to people just because of their skin color or national origin?

This requires a strong response from a loving place.

How can we decide to love, and then find the strength to live and respond from that place of love?

It must start with gratitude for our lives, and a recognition that we must come together to survive as a species. Community needs to move beyond competition to a place of togetherness.

I hope we can find a way.

Peace....

Starting anew

So I've not blogged a lot here, and did do some blogging for a while elsewhere (now shut down).

Recent events are prompting some reassessment, and I will likely repost a few thoughts here.

We cannot continue like we are. There have been several recent setbacks in the arc of the universe bending toward justice. We must find a way to respond from a place of love.

What can one person's ideas do? What will make a difference?


Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. 

- Margaret Mead

Is "safety" an illusion?

They went to a violent (not blaming the victims!) movie, to see a hero Batman, and then "all hell broke loose."  It wasn't hell, but a "shy, well-mannered" "normal kid" named James Holmes opening fire on the moviegoers.

What could have motivated him to do something so terrible?

How can we reach out to people like James and help them?

I don't go to many movies, and would never go see something like Batman, but I wonder how I will feel the next time I do go.

Will we ever feel safe again?




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What does love lead to?

Consummate philosopher and Jedi Knight Yoda knows the destructive power of hate.

Would love avoid this?

Can love dispel fear? At least some??

I find that it does.

Even with John Boehner :-)

Does Hasan forebode more hate?

What has long been speculated is now confirmed. Major Nidal Malik Hasan's shooting rampage is now officially a terrorist act. I'm not defending his actions, but I fear "guilt by association" will lead to further "guilt by nationality" or "guilt by religious practice." This could be insidious and serve to further divisions within the United States.

Major Hasan was a troubled soul. There were signs that he was troubled. Were we too complacent? Would more suspicion be warranted? 

How can we protect ourselves without becoming like those we are trying to protect ourselves from?

Love shapes perspective

Love changes how we see others, how we see our selves.

Love shapes how we view relationships.

Hatred has the same effect in the opposite direction.

 How much good you are able to see in another is connected to your commitment of love toward them.

Yes, commitment of love - the commitment comes first, and warm fuzzy loving feelings come later if the commitment is sincere.

Obama presidency will not fix all race problems...

I worked hard for Obama to be elected. I got involved in GerogiaForObama.org in February of 2007 and helped out with the Meetups in Macon and in the Atlanta area.

So it is with great sadness and not nearly enough surprise that I now hear of hateful actions by people upset that Obama was elected.

Read the article linked above and heed MLK's words below. Pray about how such hate resides in human hearts. Pray for strength to grow the love in all our hearts. I know I have a ways to go myself....


Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate,
violence multiplies violence,
and toughness multiplies toughness
in a descending spiral of destruction....
The chain reaction of evil --
hate begetting hate,
wars producing more wars --
must be broken,
or we shall be plunged
into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Strength To Love, 1963

There's a light at the end of the tunnel - Barack Obama

We had a great Meetup for Barack Obama at the Rookery last night. About 60 people came, which was way more than we expected.

Some folks came down from Atlanta and brought almost enough materials, buttons and bumper stickers - I *think* we cleaned them out!

I think we have a real chance to get this guy elected. I had sworn off politics until I heard him speak at the 2004 convention, and decided to support him if he ever had greater ambitions. So here's my chance!

I will be organizing and blogging over at GeorgiaForObama.org - come visit!

The Beginning

Where to start? At the beginning.