Oh What A Feeling

Today I watched as Senator Barack Obama gave a speech to 200,000 people in Berlin, Germany. There has been nothing to compare to this event, and there doesn’t need to be!

Senator Obama presented himself with poise, honesty and respect. The core values of Senator Obama, his love of America, his respect for the world and all the people who inhabit it, and his respect for our planet were expressed concisely and with sincerity. He is a man of integrity and vision. I know of no one who shares my values to any greater degree than does Senator Obama.

The votes have not been cast, the conventions have not even taken place, and yet today I was given a glimpse of this country and the world that we can have when Senator Obama is President Obama. He is a man of elegance and sophistication, and yet he honors and exercises the values instilled in him as a child, and which he continued to develop as a young lawyer on the streets of Chicago. He is a man of intelligence and courage, tempered by humility.

Hamilton Fish said, “If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in a time of peace.”

Passing It On

It is often the smallest comment or look that can make a difference in someone's day! Yesterday I called at a phonebank for the "Campaign for Change" in Georgia. It was amazing! This is not something I have felt comfortable with...but I did enjoy it...WHAT does this have to do with the subject at hand? A couple of the cold calls I made reached elderly or infirmed people...I state why I was calling, and asked my questions. They answered my questions, giving me in their answers a little of their situations...and I gave them a few positive words...I smiled when I talked (and I think they picked up on that smile). In some very small way I felt that they felt better because they had answered my phone call (regardless of the purpose of my call!) In a very small way, I had passed on some kindness. Opportunity abounds for "passing it on".

And of course I have a quote:

Sometimes someone says something really small, and it just fits right into the empty place in your heart.

(from the Television show, My So-Called Life)

Freedom To Be

It’s July 4, 2008. When I think of the 4th of July, I think of freedom…when I think of freedom I think of something the minister said in his prayer for Paul when he was Baptized at the age of 2 ½ months: “May he grow up having the freedom to be himself.” Sounds like such a “given”…but in reality, it is not an easy task.
That being said, growing up to be your self is an ever evolving process. All that has gone before goes into who you are…but I think I really began to know myself after I hit middle age. Every day I try to become more of who I am…to be true to my ideals, integrity and beliefs.
There was much I missed out on in my life…and much I was privileged to enjoy…Since my 60th birthday (actually a few weeks before my 60th) I have found myself doing more “first time things”, expressing my views more honestly, reaching out to others more…and still wondering “who am I?, who do I want to be?, what do I do now?” But by asking these questions, and dedicating to be true to myself, my intuition is serving me far better than I have ever permitted it to serve me before.
Today I took part in a 4th of July parade in Dahlonega, GA. I was with a group marching in support of Barack Obama for President…a first for me for any candidate that has run in my lifetime. What fun! It wasn’t a big parade…there were no bands, or clowns…just differing groups in a parade in support of their cause, candidate, organization. Along the parade route we got some cheers and boos…FREEDOM!
My choice for candidate for President this election 2008 differs from the majority of my friends…but the more I allow myself to be “who I am”, the more I find that I can respect others for being “who they are”.
One of my “firsts” came a few weeks before my 60th birthday. I got my first ( and most likely, only!) tattoo. I designed my own tattoo…it is simple…the word (concept) NAMASTÉ as the leaves on a purple tulip. It is a constant reminder to me of the equality of all people: “The divine in me honors the divine in you.”
Freedom…how blest we are to live in a country, where if we choose, we can “become ourselves.”