Tonight I attended the cancer walk in honor of my beautiful mom. She has been cancer free for almost four years so these walks are a big deal to us, just like the countless other families there and at walks just like it all over the country. I always cry at these walks, emotional with the realization that I could be one of the not so lucky people there to celebrate the life of a loved one 'in memory of' them rather than 'in honor of' them.
Tonight as I watched my mom walk with all of the other survivors, holding hands with a fellow survivor, all of their faces lit up with the victory they are all so proud of, I cried. I hugged her after she'd walked the entire circle as a survivor and I cried. She chuckled in my ear and said, "It's ok baby". I know, I told her, but the thing is that it could just as easy not be ok. She just doesn't get it. I can never ever express how glad I am it's ok.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Pledge of Allegiance
I heard my 5 year old daughter earnestly recite the following while playing school today:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the Ninety States of America,
and to the puglic for Richard stands:
one Nature under God, individual,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
Priceless I tell you, just priceless!
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the Ninety States of America,
and to the puglic for Richard stands:
one Nature under God, individual,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
Priceless I tell you, just priceless!
Sunday, April 9, 2006
The Importance of Birth in Our World
I was reading a post this morning on a spiritual forum. The poster was talking about the current negative state of our world and said something interesting: war cannot be ended by war. Now, I personally am extremely supportive of our troops and of the concept of freedom. I do not say OUR freedom because we are not free anymore, anyone who thinks we are is sadly deceived. Anyway, I digress. Without debating the morality of war, I have plenty of thoughts about, or at least around, her statement I'd like to get out.
I believe what she says. War cannot be ended by war. Just like in parenting, you cannot teach a child not to hit by hitting them, aka spanking. In examining the state of the world, though, I am inclined to agree that our negativity and negative energies play a large part in the violence and negative events. But, I believe that our negative energies begin much earlier in life.
A labor assistant I used to work with loved the saying "Peace on earth begins with birth." Even though I have never had much for hokey little rhyming sayings such as that one, I happen to deeply agree with it. We talk about a world without violence and war, without crime where people's rights ar truly respected. How can we ever expect this to happen, though, when we begin so many lives with violence?
Babies across the globe are violently pulled from their mother's womb without reason. They are brought into the world by force and on days they did not choose. We schedule our babies birthdays around convenience, like we are planning a party or something. We treat our new lives as if they have no consciousness, as if they are unaware.
Now, I know there will always be situations where babies have to be born by force. I understand that fully. But, the cold, hard truth is that the majority of babies this is happening to is happening out of convenience or fear instead of necessity. I believe with everything that is in me that until babies are treated with respect not only after birth, but before and during, then our current state of affairs will not begin to turn around. Until the majority of births are gentle and the minority are not, then there will never be a different world. Imagine a world where babies are birthed by confident women in secret places without cold instruments surrounding them and even touching them. Imagine babies who aren't pulled on as they enter the world, who do not breathe blood from their entranceways being cut through surgery or episiotomies. Imagine a world where each baby is immediately held by his or her mother, to smell her and breathe her in.
I know what you're going to say. We're talking about babies, who cannot do anything for themselves. How could a baby change the world? But, babies are only babies for fleeting moments in time. These babies will grow up and be our country's leaders - our world's leaders. If we continue to teach violence and the violation of their rights at birth, how can we ever expect them not to carry this into adulthood? Peace on Earth really does begin with birth.
I believe what she says. War cannot be ended by war. Just like in parenting, you cannot teach a child not to hit by hitting them, aka spanking. In examining the state of the world, though, I am inclined to agree that our negativity and negative energies play a large part in the violence and negative events. But, I believe that our negative energies begin much earlier in life.
A labor assistant I used to work with loved the saying "Peace on earth begins with birth." Even though I have never had much for hokey little rhyming sayings such as that one, I happen to deeply agree with it. We talk about a world without violence and war, without crime where people's rights ar truly respected. How can we ever expect this to happen, though, when we begin so many lives with violence?
Babies across the globe are violently pulled from their mother's womb without reason. They are brought into the world by force and on days they did not choose. We schedule our babies birthdays around convenience, like we are planning a party or something. We treat our new lives as if they have no consciousness, as if they are unaware.
Now, I know there will always be situations where babies have to be born by force. I understand that fully. But, the cold, hard truth is that the majority of babies this is happening to is happening out of convenience or fear instead of necessity. I believe with everything that is in me that until babies are treated with respect not only after birth, but before and during, then our current state of affairs will not begin to turn around. Until the majority of births are gentle and the minority are not, then there will never be a different world. Imagine a world where babies are birthed by confident women in secret places without cold instruments surrounding them and even touching them. Imagine babies who aren't pulled on as they enter the world, who do not breathe blood from their entranceways being cut through surgery or episiotomies. Imagine a world where each baby is immediately held by his or her mother, to smell her and breathe her in.
I know what you're going to say. We're talking about babies, who cannot do anything for themselves. How could a baby change the world? But, babies are only babies for fleeting moments in time. These babies will grow up and be our country's leaders - our world's leaders. If we continue to teach violence and the violation of their rights at birth, how can we ever expect them not to carry this into adulthood? Peace on Earth really does begin with birth.
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