Mother of All, Eldest of All Beings

I WILL SING OF THE
WELL-FOUNDED GAIA,
MOTHER OF ALL,
ELDEST OF ALL BEINGS.

SHE FEEDS ALL CREATURES
THAT ARE IN THE WORLD,
ALL THAT GO UPON THE
GOODLY LAND AND ALL THAT
ARE ON THE PATHS OF
THE SEA AND ALL THAT FLY:
THESE ARE FED OF HER STORE.

~Homeric Hymn
7th century BCE

Of Note: Once upon a time, feminism ruled my heart. Turns out that when I became wiser, I realized that the masculine and feminine reside in each of us. To turn against the masculine, then, was to turn against the self--and that aspect in every person on earth. Balance was required. The same thing is true for all of humanity taken as a whole. The masculine and feminine "reside" in it, and balance is required. Presently, that balance is sorely missing on this planet. We are in such an imbalanced state that equality and education for girls and women are the second and third Millennium Development Goals, right up there with eradication of hunger and poverty. How would the world look if the feminine aspect was respected globally? A researcher at the University of North Texas' peace studies institute has shown that we might have a more peaceful planet: "If a country's women had the ability to read, write and comprehend, the likelihood of that country re-entering into civil war was decreased by 75%." Education of women has also been shown to lower birth rates and begin the process to alleviate poverty. Greg Mortenson of Three Cups of Tea fame is another proponent of educating girls and women, especially in war-torn areas such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, and he is making this point one school at a time. Here is one person who is obviously in touch with both his masculine and feminine aspects and a man to emulate. For more on the groundbreaking peace work of his visionary organization, check out www.ikat.org.

Today's Weather Report: Strange weather day. After a lovely fall day yesterday which my Mom and I spent in Bayfield, Wisconsin, along the shores of Lake Superior, today was windy and chilly--though the temps were in the 50's Fahrenheit. Glad we chose yesterday for the trek north. While the fall leaves in our area are long gone, the golden and russet leaves in Bayfield still graced the trees. Every colorful tree seemed more beautiful than the next. Even though these displays are commonplace in the north, Mom took tons of pictures because she does not get to see such glory in Texas where she lives.