Four Swans

Four swans flew by my home yesterday as I glanced at the valley below. Shining bright they were in the variegated light of the sun through passing clouds.

They were eye level to me. My home sits on a high ridge above the watery route over which they were flying. No spring leaves had yet emerged to disturb my view. Their long and slender necks undulated in a synchronized movement to the up and down motion of their wings; the first and last the same as the two in the middle; all as one. It was like a cresting ocean wave in flight.

What a gift of sight. What a gift of flight. It was a white reflective light of feathered grace. Quiet wings flapped one behind the other. No honking sound like Canada geese as they fly in formation to some field of rest and forage. It was a short silent moment that only stretched from eye to eye, and they were gone. Simple. Sublime. Superb. Sane.

I put on some soft and flowing music for me to replay their passage in my mind. Gifts from nature are often fleeting and profound. When they are presented to us rejoice in the gift and the reminder that appreciation is a path to wonder.

Corporate Executive 101

Corporate Executive 101 If any large corporation, a multi-trillion dollar organization, an employer of millions, with historical bylaws and traditions had a CEO, who fired most of those he hired within the first year or so of when he got the job, would there not be outrage from the board of directors to oust an incompetent executive? If we, the citizens, 324 million of us, are the stockholders in the big business of America and 530 members of Congress are the board of directors, and nothing is done isn't the value of our stock threatened? Granted some hires need to be let go, but so many? Do they have to be publicly humiliated first? If so many accusers say the same thing are they all liars? Are Campaign promises sacred? Is our loyalty to a man or our constitution? So many questions...so little action. Remember Lord Acton? I think he was right. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Repeal the 2nd Amendment?

We often call ourselves a “nation of laws.” What it means officially, is that we collectively agree to follow specific sets of rules for our society to function reasonably, honorably and routinely in life and through a mercantile exchange.

Under this banner, we do not say that all laws are perfect, absolute or immutable. What is right and just for one generation, may not be so for the next, or the next, for attitudes, requirements, conditions and values change.

Just yesterday in an Op-Ed for the New York Times former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens suggested the March for Our Lives movement should add repealing the Second Amendment in their demands.

I can imagine what the NRA will say about that.

The founding fathers did provide a framework wherein changes through the will of the people are to be made peacefully by a representative democracy, applying the art of compromise and compassion. We are the only nation on Earth that has made the legal process an art form and who calls that art, the practice of law.

What we might choose to do now is to simplify the understanding and the administration of law so that timely adjudication does not get bound up in a complicated bureaucratic system, and political fighting. Change always does, and that takes time and patience.

Big Deal! Expelling Diplomats

The expelling of alleged diplomats as a punishment to Russia is wimpy and non-productive. If you want to punish the Bear, you go for the money. Hurt the pocketbooks of the Oligarchy and countries economy, not expel the diplomates.

The fallacy is in calling the expelled individuals, diplomats. Diplomates work on diplomacy to soothe and solve conflicting issues between countries, cultures, and causes. Most of those expelled were unabashedly spies. They were trained to get information from unsuspecting Americans about business, technology, deployments and science developments that might advantage Russia.

It's a nit off a nat in the world of punishments.

Saturday's Marches

Never, have I ever been more enthralled watching the Saturday marches in support of gun limitations from the small and large cities of America. The poignant and profound words, the poised presentations, and the collective energy of the young were infectious in the call for change.

The old energy, however, sees it as youthful naïveté. A political pundit on a particular alleged news channel with three letters in its name down-played the massive demonstration as youthful enthusiasm that won’t last. Shame on Rick Santorum and the Trump News Channel. They are blind to the power, the force, the energy of this youthful movement.

I hope you listened to the internal truths of each youthful speech from the mall in Washington. There was elegance. There was profundity.  There was emotional and convincing oratory that I haven’t heard since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the Lincoln Memorial so many decades ago for another cause.

Those of you are are reading Facebook chastisements of the kids, their parents and their cause, beware of external influences, AKA, those who would divide our democracy. Be cognizant too of those who love our country, but cannot see its future beyond the ownership of an assault weapon. Compassion, not conflict is appropriate.

Watch out Congress. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE YOUNG.

Accept Responsibility

To me, the question is not when those who voted for Trump will realize that he is inimical to American values, but why they have not shouted to the proverbial rooftops during his first year as president. The signs are there. The actions are evidence. The global worry is everywhere. The foundations of what is right are being eroded, and the world will suffer.

I know, I know you think I'm a liberal, a Democrat, a Trump hater, choose any label you want, but that is not accurate. I have supported Republican causes as I have argued Democrat causes. I always look for the greater good, the common-person advantage and the value added to our citizenry and our Democracy.

I think the executive powers of the Presidency must be re-evaluated given the actions of all presidents, past, and present, who have used the presidential script to alter the law, the norm and the will of the people. The power of the presidential pen should not be able to disrupt, to deport, to disenfranchise, to demand a billion/trillion dollar wasteful wall, to input tariffs without congressional approval, or even, via Twitter, to call individuals with derogatory names.

But to the big issue facing America. Let's lay the influence responsibility where it belongs. If Russia has interfered or influenced our last presidential election then whose fault is that? It is OURS. It is yours. It is mine. We Americans have abdicated their civic responsibility to be informed for we are a lazy lot, and it's time we changed it.

It is the responsibility of every citizen to check the accuracy of what he or she learns and then believes. It's not hard to do. A few clicks here and a different source there, and enough information can be ascertained to make a fair judgment. IF YOU WATCH JUST ONE NETWORK - YOU ARE NOT INFORMED. IF YOU READ ONE NEWSPAPER, YOU ARE NOT INFORMED. IF YOU JUST DON'T CARE. YOU ARE THE PART OF THE CAUSE.

If you want the 2018 mid-terms to be fair, to be accurate, to be the collective will of an informed people, then read widely, watch widely and listen widely and then participate. That factor alone will screw any Russian or clandestine attempt to influence our votes with fake information.

Snow, Rain, Spring, Seasons and Spirituality

As an observer of the news and a participant in its disemination for over 50th years, I find it hard these days not to comment each day on the political chicanery coming out of Washington.

My sense of life that there is so much more to it than politics provides the escape to things with meaning and things that cling to the other power.

Snow is here again today. Snow is here again today…did I already say that? It seems like I’ve been either saying that or hearing that or seeing that for the last four weeks.

But alas…that is winter in the northeast and so be it.  BUT… Spring is here too.

Winter's spring is here and season's rain on the west coast where barren and burnt terrain produces powerful flows of destruction. I pray with the collective prayer that people will be safe and earth's erosion will cease.

Have you ever wondered about the spiritual and poetic significance of the seasons?

Let’s start with Spring and its snow melt and warming rains. When gentle, nothing changes, but when it’s a torrent, it is a different story.

Erosion

Water carves an open slice
in earthen crust to view.
Roots of Trees, in sacrifice,
dangling, drying, all askew.

Stand beside this suckled swath,
see nursing roots entwined,
Weaving deep a mineral path
A probing poke with stones enshrined.

A single root does no good
holding life secure to ground
Where lacing light is understood
and frees the green unbound.

Behold the bold of other roots
and the strength they give as one,
Many mingled braided shoots
Hold earth from water’s run.

There is a truth in nature’s cut,
how helping gives a strength,
Protecting from eroding rut
so life can have its length.

Erosion speaks not a word,
its language is precise.
The wisdom of the undergird,
for man, is sound advice.

Summer’s wisdom is also profound!

Garden Grace

Two blossoms yellow, proud above the green,
stand strong and know their love is seen
By all who wander and by those who gaze
into this garden of wonder, a maze.
Color binds attention and form holds grace
attracting heart and spirit to this place.
The flowers stand as one and separate too,
symbols of the noble ones, too few.
They come to see and hold this place in love,
responding to an essence from above.
The nectar is the wine the flowers hold,
toasting through the touch of zephyr’s gold.
Tell all strangers who pass here, walking by:
The fragrance of the flowers glorifies
The spirit of the earth and nurtured seed
that blossoms into beauty when we need.

The fall is a time of gathering and getting ready for the winter cold.

Firewood

Wooded light stands darkly
ready for expression.
Letting go the warmth within,
giving up possession.
How powerful is this teacher,
this lecture of the wood,
Remembering the gift of sod
and light from a tree that stood.
It only takes a spark
to change the wood to fire,
And feel the sun again
in a golden lighted pyre.
Whoever holds a match or thought,
not knowing how it ends,
Gets sulfured cries of pain;
therein truth transcends.
In life and wood see the light,
the heat and the fire,
Then live in the moment,
as love becomes your choir.

And finally, Winter comes with its harbinger "Jack."

Jack Frost

We much malign a draft of cold
slipping round a window old,
A chilling dash of winter clime
that paints a pane in ice of rime.
Without the draft and warmth within,
the crystal etch could not begin.
So let us praise the weathered sash
that lets us see a frost panache.

A Play or A Truth?

“The time is out of joint”...as Hamlet noted. He was referring to Denmark; I am referring to the America of today.

Our President congratulates Putin for winning a sham election despite that he was warned not do so.

Our Congress continues to abdicate its responsibility to curb the actions and rhetoric of a maverick president.

Austin, Texas is under siege from a serial bomber. I continue to ask about all those willing to kill the innocent. From where do you come? It can’t be from a place of peace, an ethic of love, an essence of compassion or a spiritual understanding of the value of life. In any dogma, “thou shalt not...” is sacred.

No ideology has the right to kill. Those disturbed, those illusioned and demon’s claim it falsely.

Hamlet was right.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Am I wrong?
Something is rotten in the State of America!

An interesting read

I just finished a book by Hiroyuki Itsuki called "Tariki" it reminded me of the dynamics of cultural change and the peace of Buddhist spiritual beliefs.

I remember as a kid growing up during World War two and reciting hateful rhymes against the Japanese and in particular Emperor Hirohito.

We were at war, and our fathers, mothers, and uncles were in harm's way. It was our child’s way of reflecting our parent’s feelings and dealing with the adult frustration and anger that filtered down to us kids.

The Japs, as we called them then, were the enemy. Today they are the Japanese, and we are demonstrable friends and fierce competitors.

Emperor Hirohito was 88 when he died in 1989. For 62 years he ruled from the chrysanthemum throne, and he became the longest reigning monarch of the world's oldest imperial line. He saw his homeland go from a super military power to crushing defeat, to a world economic power achieving in business what it could not do in war.

Hirohito saw his life go from being considered and treated as a living god, to a position mostly ceremonial, as is the case today with his son.

Isn’t it interesting nearly every country with which we’ve been at war is now our friend. England, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, Canada and Vietnam.

Vendictive Politics

What the Trump administration did to McCabe and Tillerson was cruel, unconscionable, mean and indicative of a guilty and tyrannical leader who has something to hide.

Mr. McCabe may have broken a sacred tenent within the FBI organization, and dismissal was recommended, but what about the past good he has done through his service. Does his family deserve to be punished? There is also the probability that the Justice Department rushed to judgment without benefit of due process. Vindictive firings are possible for both McCabe and Tillerson. The Secretary of State has publicly and privately disagreed with Trump.

Mr. Trump’s personal and business history is one of intimidation, threats, and lawsuits. It’s a fact. Look it up. Talk to those who have had business dealings with him. Little people do not have the funds to fight the rich in a lawsuit.

Conservative America, it’s not a fight against conservative principles, it’s an eroding of the principles that we all hold sacred. Dignity, integrity, truthfulness, compassion, compromise, and courtesy. Mr. Trump does not embody any of these values. Ego often obliterates the innate goodness within all of us.

The passions of intractable politics will lead democracy to the road to ruin if we do not embrace discernment. Personal passions have value. Political absolutes do not.

Nor'easter

Whenever nature explodes in an aberrational fury as it is today in the east, we quickly reestablish awe for her power and acknowledge our respect, not only for her seemingly indiscriminate manifestation of the elements but for a force we cannot control or appreciate.

In nature’s harshness, there is poetic beauty.

O northeast states in winters grasp
Delighting all who choose to know
What beauty comes from steady cold
And sifted blizzard-driven snow.

Drifted, diamond dunes of white
Cover street and tree and trail
With crystal sparks from nature's heart,
A blanket ode to season frail.

Long shadows cast by breaking dawn
Create the grays upon the bright
From standing buildings tall and straight
Peeking, poking through the white.

Cold, early hurried people trudge,
With crunchy steps on blowing way,
Their rhythmic puffs of huffing breath
Will vanish with the warmth - someday.

In all things, we can find beauty, if we look for it. The looking, however, must not diminish our compassion for those who cannot see it until their weather becomes a gentle climate. Hold on; spring is coming.

Sunday Morning Meditations

Sunday morning meditations in the living room where I rarely go.

We are in a tumultuous period of our human history. Look at what's happening in the world to validate the statement. What all of us learn from the process is that we can't control it. That frustrates some and emboldens others for there is a struggle between forces of the new and the concrete of the past. The answer may come from the carnival wheel barker who chants "round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows."

I hope we each don't have to wait until we have nothing to lose and nothing to gain before we change our thoughts and thus our minds. It seems to me the need to be right is the problem. If we let go of that, we may receive the grace of transcendence.

Enough of Sunday morning! I'm looking forward to the truculent energy of Monday morning, so I can learn again and again to let go.

Unwanted Phone Calls

There is so much going on in political Washington, that I will leave it for another time and post.

I do have a question for the readers of this blog. Has this ever happened to you?

The Phone rings. It's a number you don't recognize. You reluctantly answer, and there is a very slight pause, and then the person says, "I'm Hazel with accounts services, and I want to talk to you about your account."

By that time I usually hang up, because it's either a scam or an advertisement.

Other calls are from some police organizations, and it's always with a forceful live guy on the other end pitching help for the FOP, the PBA, the SBA, or some other benevolent fraternity. They never listen. They are insistent. If I say I give to my local law guys, they say, let me put you down for just ten dollars. By this time I'm indignant, and I hang up, not without an expletive or two.

Apparently, if you are on the "do not call list" you have to re-up every so often. I just bought a new phone system. It has a call block feature. I love it.