Unconditional Love

The only genuine love worthy
of the name is unconditional.

~John Powell

It occurred to me some time ago that I would not be a parent if I did not have children. Or similarly, that a teacher could not be a teacher without students. To lead in any sense of the word, leaders must have followers. This sounds like a simple statement of fact. But, in fact, it is a concept missed by many--including me for many years.

Speaking of parenting specifically: it is not enough to make the declaratory statement "I am parent" without the child going along with it at at some level. Thus, parenting is in a sense a pact with a child to accept leadership given until proven otherwise, just as one accepts any other leader. It is NOT a god-given fact that a child must follow his parents lead, if that lead is faulty.

The role of parenting is learning by instinct and weighing the child's reactions to parental behavior. Thus, a "sharing" of information is set up between parent and child--and BOTH learn in the life-long process. New parents have very little to give a child besides love and nurturing. Both parent and child grow up together, each learning valuable lessons in the process. Watch any interaction between parent and child and look at the molding of the parent by the child that is taking place.

Parent and child teach one another about the give and take of relationships, negotiation, emotional and physical safety as well as selfless giving. It is about learning to just plain get along when getting along is not at the top of the list. Certainly, the demands of a household such as cooking, cleaning and laundry create a practical learning environment for parent and child. For the parent, it is how to get it all done with a busy work schedule; for the child it is just to learn how.

A healthy respect for the child in its role as parental teacher is key to understanding the many universal lessons of parenting. Those of us who are parents can thank our children for their patience, love and acceptance of less than exemplary behavior on our part as we grew up under their tutelage. Children can thank their parents some day for the same.

Of Note: I recently came across this piece I wrote back in January, 2004 and thought of sharing it today. This little tike is one of my grandsons on Thanksgiving Day exploring the fallen leaves in great-grandma's backyard. Auntie Marie did the honors of snapping the shot.

Today's Weather Report: Morning brought a light dusting of snow. The flakes were big and fell slowly in a swirling pattern, as if they could not decide which way to turn next. That did not last long, however, and the sun popped out unexpectedly to shine its warm rays upon the white scene.

Seeds of Today

All the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today.

Indian Proverb

Of Note: Many of the quotes used on this blog come from www.gratefulness.org which emails an inspiring passage each and every day to anyone who signs up. Sometimes they are so-so, but often they are spot on. A few times I've even had a theme in mind for the day and the quote that comes across matches perfectly. We can thank my talented sister, Marie, for this mesmerizing photo of a day lily taken in the spring or early summer. Gosh, that seems so long ago now.

Today's Weather Report: Two to three inches of snow are predicted to fall shortly. It has been quite overcast all day. No sun fingers today for sure. The new/used plow is ready to go thanks to a friend who came over after a small electrical fire in the plow's headlight wires scared the be-jebbers out of us on Thursday. Today a group of guys made venison sausage with a little help from the clean-up department, me. Clean-up can take as long as the project itself. But today it went lickety-split with several folks pitching in to help.

Watch For Change Snippet: This month marks the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nation's 1700 word Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was passed by the General Assembly in December 1948. According to National Geographic magazine, the unprecedented document "envisioned a world that respected the dignity of every human being. In the bloody wake of World War II, the declaration was hope writ large and helped make human rights an accepted barometer of a government's legitimacy." Examples of its articles include the first and most basic which proclaims that all human beings are born free. Article 18 states succinctly that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. And Article 28.1 promises that everyone has a right to education. Simple statements to make, a difficult reality to see through. The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying "The declarations words are inspiring. The challenge is enforcement." Enforcement is most likely an interim problem. Some day, maybe sooner than we expect, all nations will be led by those who govern based on these divine principles with seed planted 60 years ago by the UN General Assembly. That reality might not seem possible now but neither did the Internet 15 years ago.

Without Accepting It

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able
to entertain a thought without accepting it.

~Aristotle

Of Note: Arthur C. Clarke was quite a guy. Best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, this visionary was not only a prolific science fiction writer, he also was a great thinker, who was fascinated with the myriad possibilities of space exploration and believed that "any sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic." Clarke originally trained in physics before turning to writing full-time. Always ahead of the pack, Clarke's writings included references to communications satellites and computers way before they were in use and, of course, space travel for which he was famous. Mystical references peppered his writing. In his March obituary, TIME magazine commented that his tales "often came back to the theme of humankind gaining enlightenment from contact with alien life. He believed E.T.s would send a sign, noting last year, 'We have no way of guessing when. . .I hope sooner than later.' " The dream was apparently not fulfilled before he died at the age of 90. I say apparently because, even if sent, the signal might not have been recognized yet. That is a far-reaching thought Arthur Clarke himself might have entertained.

Today's Weather Report: This day is cloudy with temps in the low thirties. Light is streaking across the sky and looks like long, electric fingers. Maybe Mr. Clarke is saying hello from the other side. Marie is saying hello with her photo of a whimsical tree fairy taken at a East Texas nursery.

Watch For Change Snippet: Some start their global work young. Andrea Riccardi was one of those. He knew in high school that the world needed prayer and the poor needed help. To him it was a simple problem that required a simple solution. So, in 1968 he formed a group in Rome to pray and help the poor. Since then his influence has spead much farther than the Italian capital and his group, the Community of Sant'Egidio, has grown to 70,000 volunteers in 73 countries. While their original mission is at the forefront, the successful organization has also been called upon to negotiate peace in war-torn areas such as the Middle East, the Balkans, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Riccardi's technique is as simple as his original vision. He sees "peacemaking not as a bargaining but as a conversion, transforming the person who was your enemy into a mere political opponent." This visionary goes on to say that it "hardly makes for an alliance, but it gets the adversaries talking--and that can keep them from shooting." Recent successes include persuading a Ugandan warlord to come out of the bush for trial in a regional court. Asked why this thug would surrender, Riccardi could only venture a guess: "Our lack of vested interest gives us moral authority." Or could it be the halo shining from his head?

ONE BY ONE

If you can just appreciate each thing,

ONE BY ONE,

then you will have pure gratitude.

Even though you observe just ONE flower,
that ONE flower includes everything.

~Shunryu Suzuki Roshi


Of Note: And then we return to the fact that everything is ONE. A simple concept really. Meditation on the matter might prove illuminating.

Today's Weather Report: Now to the mundane details of outside conditions from the lofty thoughts of the Mind. The situation in India colors the day for sure. Here the sun is bright and shining, sunglasses weather. I'll be out in it shortly for a little work here and there.

Watch For Change Snippet: In the future, printed books will be replaced by digital. Folks may still collect the hide-bound versions and occasionally consult them for old-times sake. But for the most part, people will rely on either their computers or reading devices such as Amazon's Kindle reader to access this genre. Currently, digital books capture only 1% of the market most likely because the number of digital books is limited. However, visionary companies are tackling this situation, and the number could grow exponentially within a short time. For example, Random House announced last week that it was making thousands of additional books available in digital format. The innovations will carry the company from 8,000 to 15,000. What I would call an interim innovation is demonstrated at the Website www.swaptree.com where books, CDs, DVDs and video games can be swapped with folks nationwide at no charge but for shipping. And the site even provides the shipping label with postage if desired. What a person has gets shipped to who wants it. The person in turn receive the item he or she wants. Apparently, elaborate algorithms make it all go-around. I tried it myself and have two swaps going just to see how it works. So far, so good.

Peace Can Only Last

Peace can only last where
human rights are respected,
where the people are fed and
where individuals and
nations are free.

~14th Dalai Lama

Of Note: India, the adopted home of the the exiled Tibetan leader, has been hit by an as yet unnamed terrorist group in a series of bombs and other violent raids over the last two days. The 10 attacks were coordinated at 15 minute intervals. Watching it long distance was like watching a war movie. The thugs began the attacks by indiscriminately opening fire at one of the busiest train station in the world and moved on from there. Americans, Brits and Jews were the apparent targets, but these guys had poor aim for many others were killed. Countries around the world have decried the violent acts. Our hearts go out to the nation of India and all its people at this time.

Even in the face of such murderous behavior, however, I'm fairly certain the Dalai Lama would not change his attitude of non-violence and goodwill toward all. He would most likely concur with the Masters, who have promised that "goodwill is man's first attempt to express the love of God. Its results on earth will be peace . . . Goodwill really practiced among groups in any nation and among the nations can revolutionize the world." In a mere two sentences, these Elders go on to outline the problems preventing this from happening and the result: "The key to humanity's trouble has been to take and not give, to accept and not share, to grasp and not to distribute. War is the dire penalty which mankind has had to pay for this great sin of separateness." Though painful to watch, the exiled Buddhist leader knows that humanity will learn the lessons given time and that peace and goodwill will prevail in the end. He also knows, however, that it is up to a united humanity to decide the time frame, be it long or short.

Today's Weather Report: Snow greeted us this morning, just a light dusting as it turned out. Thanksgiving dinner found us at the house of my daughter's new in-laws in the next town over. Just the elders sat around chowing down smoked turkey and all the fixings thinking of the newlyweds in Florida enjoying their first holiday together. We will all be together again at Christmas with the kids joining the festivities. Thanks to Marie for this close-up photo of colorful Texas berries--perfect for this Thanksgiving post.

Watch For Change Snippet: Bombs are still a problem in Germany even 60 years after the big war ended. Surveying for new construction sites there includes ordnance checks, which over the years has uncovered many live 500 pounders and other aged but still deadly munitions. Worldwide, this detritus of war continues to maim and kill innocent people. It is thus refreshing to find that diplomats from around the globe met in May and decided that the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs should be banned. While this does not cover all munitions like the bombs in Germany, it may be a start to ending humanity's utilization of these specific barbaric killing devices, whose purpose is to kill civilians both during and after a conflict. The signing conference sponsored by the United Nations is set for December 2 - 4.

One Elementary Truth

Concerning all acts of initiative and creation,
there is one elementary truth -
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Of Note: God must have been in a humorous mood when creating this unique plant. I call it a pitcher plant and it is like nothing I've ever seen before in the northwoods. Look how it captures the rainwater in its leaves and reflects the trees above. In droughty times, the plant is withered and brown. When the rains come, it perks up again and provides this showy display in lime green and maroon. The gangly flower above sprouts about a foot tall around June and lasts the whole summer. To find out more about wildflowers and view some gorgeous photos, check out www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers, an award winning Website presented by the Botany Program of the US Forestry Service.

Today's Weather Report: Ah, the sun is out again. Must mean December is close at hand. Whew, we almost made it through the gloomiest month of the year. It's in the low 30's today--perfect for a walk outside with just a light jacket. Local hunters were over for a lunch of soup and beer. Light on the beer if they continued to hunt, heavy on the beer if not.

Watch For Change Snippet: Computers are wonderful tools and provide unlimited access to knowledge. One can spend hours in search of information. I remember only ten years ago short lists of good Websites that were circulated like treasures. Now, we need Google or Yahoo to even scratch the surface. One creative Website to watch is www.worldmapper.org. Scientific American describes it as providing "digitally modified maps depicting regions of the world not by their physical size but by their demographic importance on subjects ranging from population to how many toys we import to who's eating their vegetables." You have to see these maps to believe them. In some the United States resembles a huge balloon (imported toys, for example) and in others it is barely visible (population 2000 years ago.) The initial set of 366 maps, which can be freely viewed and printed, is now complete. If a computer is not handy, a newly published atlas is also available. As we consider how resources are to be distributed in the future, this mapping concept could be invaluable. Future generations looking at this data may be astonished at the patterns tolerated by their ancestors.

The Best Form of Therapy

LOVE RECEIVED AND LOVE GIVEN
COMPRISE THE BEST FORM OF THERAPY.

Gordon Allport


Of Note: This is one of my five cats, Gipper, contemplating his next move. We got him from the local humane society the day President Reagan died--thus, his name. I'm not a real animal lover, but cats have shown me what peace can come from the simple act of petting. They love the petting, we love the soft touch and purring that ensues. Because of this mutual exchange, nursing homes have long kept pets as therapy for the residents. Many of them have left beloved animals behind and, even in brains that cannot remember what day it is, the comfort of that soft touch remains. Sometimes it is the only memory that does.

Today's Weather Report: Cloudy and sunny. Sunny and cloudy. It can't make up its mind outside. Awhile ago, the snow tumbled down in giant waves whipped by the wind. Then the sun said, "Enough of that! We want some time here." This human just watches the show in wonder. I forgot to mention earlier in the month that the lake is now frozen tight, a process that finalized on or around the 15th. We won't see the water again until April.

Watch For Change Snippet: Many forms of loving exchange exist, of course, even between nations. Some might cynically remark that aid is given just for what a nation can get. But more broadly and imaginatively, aid might be envisioned as love given from one country to another. The 81-year old chief of the Japan International Cooperation Agency seems to hold this attitude. Sadako Ogata previously ran the UN's High Commission for Refugees from 1991 to 2000 and in that capacity helped many countries through a multitude of humanitarian crises. This octogenarian could have retired comfortably but chose instead to lead her country's aid agency. She believes it is now time to formalize Japan's aid to Iraq. Ogata is quoted as saying: "We've been helping Iraq during the conflict in an indirect way because of concerns that the security situation would expose our civilian workers to danger. Now the situation is stabilizing, so it's best that we go in." This elder added: "About half of our staff have master's degrees, and they have a variety of academic backgrounds ranging from international relations to business, law, economics and engineering. I also expect them to have a commitment to serve people and developing countries." This could be viewed as love in action and eventually such love will change the world.