I admire Hillary Clinton and have deep respect for her intelligence, courage and her years of service to this nation.  But Barack Obama has the intangibles on his side in this primary.  He has the vision we can all share - a vision of a new system where party politics don't matter - where America is one and where the world is one.  He invites us to become the change we seek - not just to beat up on Republicans - for being so greedy and putting an incompetent in the White House - but to move forward together.
 
Please don't equate spirituality with passivity.  Stand up for your visions and your hopes for a better future.  Say "Yes We Can!!!"  Gandhi was the most courageous, outrageous and stubborn of humans.  Yet, he held an unyielding vision of peace and freedom.  That is what we need today. 

Let's not just bring our soldiers in Iraq "OM."  Let's bring them HOME.  Let's not sit in our inner peace and let the world fall apart.  Let's dare to get involved in the world again.  Open your heart and listen to the leader who inspires you to be the best person you can be.  Now is the time to unleash our love and feel our power - sending it out into the world where it can make a difference.  Yes, We Can!

Peace,

Earon

There is a strong focus in this community on feel-good insights that leave our hearts soaring in a tranquil space, and much of this does resonate with me.  I love the poetic soul in flight, but also value its grounding in the real world.  Living a life of sercice and mindfulness requires some vision and idealism, but life is still a dance between the various facets of our nature and the world around us.  We are primitive animals with amazing imaginations and, at times, computer-like precision.  Yet, we are so challenged in modulating our inquiries and bringing attention towards vital problems on a grand scale. 

We appear incapable of living sustainably on this planet, and yet spend so much time trying to convince ourselves that everything can be okay, that we might fail to implement the efforts required for that reality to manifest.  We seek balance, but our inertia steers us towards complacency and mediocrity.  We are amazing creatures, but we make the mistake of taking our divinity too seriously - a danger for any race of gods.

Those of us living in America are so complacent, it amazes me.  We are stealing the resources of the developing world every second, as we feel badly about that, but we do little about it - because that might require a change in our lifestyles, perhaps.  We tolerate an incompetent in the White house and are content to allow him in office for 8 years, when he should have been impeached after starting an inappropriate, unnecessary war.  We are so patient in waiting for the political pendulum to swing back, but without a solid understanding of how the entire course of the pendulum may have changed.  We think that it is our kindness and compassion that are causing dissatisfaction with the current administration - and yet it is our fear of conflict and our complacency which have allowed it to wreak havoc.

Marriane Williamson's quote about how we most fear our power and our success is profound wisdom which we recognize.  However, we sit here in our fear, unwilling to get involved with the political struggles going on - so afraid of our power that we can barely get ourselves to vote - let alone live lives of the courage we admire in Gandhi.  We want to "become the change we seek" by meditating and feeling tranquil in the face of our rampant consumerist stampeeds, pleased that we purchase less cheap plastic crap than our neighbors, or a more energy efficient vehicle.  Change takes more than that.  It takes the courage of Gandhi - not just flowing robes and high-sounding speech - but a flexing of our political muscles.  We dare not stand up with our power and demand a government that is responsible and competent and doesn't manipulate its citizens and  deliver us to the corporate gods of consumerism and neo-colonialism.

There are leaders who are seeking to create change and shift the momentum of America from its multinational-corporate-military-industrial-fundamentalist complex towards an economy in which the average person can have dignity and a productive job.  I'm going to be spending more time as a citizen of this nation and, more importantly, this planet.  Please find ways in your own lives, in your own communities, to stand up for our values and manifest our visions through involvement and living in our power - rather than relying upon the law of attraction to somehow turn demented old men like Cheney and Rumsfeld into giggling schoolgirls.  Sometimes, the "secret " is being an informed electorate and claiming our power - not falling prey to manipulative marketing schemes with pie-in-the-sky materialistic promises that make us docile and unwilling to stand up for our values.

Is this wisdom?  Or foolishness?  I don't know.  What do you think?  I'm not advocating extremism or violence, but some shifting of the balance over to political action and organizing.  Sometimes, wisdom means standing up for your values - not sitting out elections and being passive - even if the latter is the most comfortable and easy path.

Peace,

Earon

 

Faith Comes, In Daily Life

by Earon S. Davis

Faith comes, in daily life,

from the embrace of a loved one,

the sound of laughter,

a song sung for no reason,

a spectacular sunset,

or an ordinary sunset shared with a beloved.

Faith comes, in daily life,

from a deep breath,

a hot shower or a crisp dip in the pool.

It comes from a mediocre meal when you are famished,

A comfortable seat at the end of a long day,

or from the bus, cab or car that finally arrives to pick you up.

Faith comes, in daily life,

from the outstretched arms of a friend,

the sharing of an idea with lofty intentions,

the rain which ends a drought, a simple rainbow,

a soaring hawk, a grateful smile,

or the touch that helps us feel like we belong.

Faith comes, in daily life,

when we notice we've woken up

and have a new day of life.

It comes from all around us, including religion,

but does not come from a god or a church or a book.

It comes from life, from our human nature,

our connection with the people,

other beings and the world around us.

Faith comes, in daily life,

and can not be stored or hoarded,

not in a book, even if memorized chapter and verse,

but must be renewed daily,

with the fresh air of open hearts and minds.

If you wish to see how faith comes, in daily life,

open your heart and mind to the beauty of life,

and sit quietly, patiently

to experience what it is to be fully alive, fully human.

When the heart is open, faith comes,

and inside faith is the greatest courage of all,

the faith to live and to love.