IMAGINE

Living in a small town in the middle of the prairie it is easy to feel safe and secure from immediate physical danger. The other day however I was struck by an analyst’s comment that “one should never be complacent about social responsibility”. Regardless of where you fall in your personal or political beliefs it is vital to ensure that we don’t take our freedoms for granted because it is remarkable how quickly they can disappear.

I remember feeling shocked that the world effectively allowed Russia to take over the Crimea shortly after the Olympics and then take over the Ukraine. Where was the pushback? I had questions about the world’s outcry over the religious warfare in Romania while no one had interfered with the violence in Ireland. It seemed to me that there was a lot of cherry-picking going on with respect what democratic rights the “world” would defend and which they would step away from. The most outrageous and little-known infraction on democracy happened in the USA for a full century where all African Americans could not vote in their own country until 1964. How did that happen, and how could Americans (including African Americans) go out and fight for democracy in other parts of the world when they didn’t have those rights for 100% of their own people?

Fighting isn’t the answer, leading by example is the answer and there are countries who truly exemplify real democracy. I feel very happy to be able to say that Canada is one of those countries and despite me not being a Liberal, or even a fan of Justin Trudeau, I must commend him on his stand on a variety of issues and concerns that have significant consequences. His government’s objections to Saudi Arabia’s initial tyranny over women’s rights in that country caused a lot of pushback and it was very disappointing that other countries did not support Canada’s position (which, as we know, was the proper one).

We cannot be complacent about status quos in “democratic countries” because at any moment those principles can be overturned by an autocratic leader. Just look at Hungary as a terrible example of what can go wrong.

Be alert.

Holy, holy, holy

After such serious blogs the last few days let’s talk about something nice.  While things can and are tough around the world there is always hearth and home to make things nice.  We Danes like to hygge (comfy, cosy) as much as possible.  My aunt Jonna was the Queen of Hygge.  By simply putting a candle on a coffee table (which she had added a runner or table cloth) she would set out coffee cups (on saucers), little dishes for cake, and then serve a dainty sandwich or bun and some little cakes.  Always simple but served with panache.  And we would chat, giggle, guffaw, laugh for an hour or two.  It was the chat and the laughter that kept us happy but her first setting the stage made it oh so perfect.

In Canada we tend to have mugs of coffee, a donut or Danish and skip the candles so the hygge is not always quite so perfect, but our family is good on the chat, the louder conversations (oh yeah, we can be Vikings) but we can also give a good belly laugh and sly chuckles.  Something we are good at is laughing at ourselves and also poking a finger at each other’s weak spot (mostly in a nice way). 

My girlfriends and I can hang out and be cosy with a cup of tea or coffee, a little nibble of this and that and Whole Lot of Conversation.  We can hit hot topics, politics, personal case history, books, you name it we can enjoy ourselves so much it’s hard to say goodbye.  That’s another kind of hygge.

Mom and I can hang out while we watch our soapie dopies, Mom will knit and I will lounge (yep, the chemo affects my hands and my eyes so I cannot really do any embroidery like I used to do).  We hold each other’s hand and say I love you, watch a show, have our dinner while we watch Corrie Street, and enjoy being together. 

We can be still and meditate and simply find comfort in our quiet little life.  We bless each other at night and wish good health, good night. 

I hope everyone in my life can be as fortunate as me in my loving family, friends, colleagues, medical staff and so much more.  

My cup runneth over. 

 

Understanding God

In the midst of my bible reading venture I also read several complimentary books throughout the year.  These included “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, “Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers” by S.E. Frost, Jr., “The Heart of Christianity” by Marcus J. Borg, “How to Know God” by Deepak Chopra and “What God Said” by Neal Donald Walsh.  I was mostly profoundly affected by Deepak Chopra’s thoughtful book on understanding God by understanding one’s brain seconded by Borg’s “The Heart of Christianity”.  Both books endorsed humanity seeking spiritual enlightenment without the need to become Fundemental.  Their findings aligned in many ways, most particularly with people’s need to understand that there is something “more”.  We have a desire to believe that there is meaning to our lives and this has developed into religious or spiritual seeking.

Deepak’s book is subtitled “The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries” and yet the book itself is based on science as well as the spiritual.  He writes about the seven stages of God which in essence is the evolution of humans as well as personal development.  It was a fascinating read that gives a person not only hope for themselves but also for mankind.  If Einstein could believe in the universe as a thinking entity, a god, then who are we to doubt?  I highly recommend this book to get a deeper understanding of the workings of your mind, heart and soul.  Lovely, lovely book.

As a Christian, nominal or fundamental, I also recommend “The Heart of Christianity”.  Borg writes about how many people have difficult with religion as it has developed today, feeling that it has no meaning for them anymore.  If you feel almost embarrassed to want to be religious or Christian and yet still feel a desire to seek out spiritual comfort this is a book for you.  He talks about the emerging paradigm, what is most central to an authentic Christianity and Christian life today.  I thought it was very well written and I wished I could find a church with that open type of religious thought.

Christianity is not the only path to either God or spirituality but it is the one most familiar to my readers and our Western society.  I am still reading more on Buddhism, Islam and other religions so there will be another summation at the end of this year.  Now gentle readers you have something to look forward to (no cliff hanger this). 

Straight and Crooked Thinking

The title above is the name of a book I had to study in literature while attending university.  I have thought about it off and on during my life since then but never more so than this past year as the world seems to be hovering on the brink of something we thought had disappeared after 1945.  The rhetoric that Donald Trump has been spouting this year is echoed around the world but particularly in Europe partly as a consequence of many years of immigration into Europe.  Immigration coupled with the loss of manufacturing jobs in both North America and Europe is resulting in lower economic standards as well as expectations for the future for a large part of the population.  One can understand this discouragement but surely we should remember that pointing fingers at any ethnic group as the cause is a lesson we should have not only learned but been deeply ingrained into us as crooked thinking.

Using words like “nationalism”, “America First”, “making (insert country name) great again” and other phrases can and will be misconstrued to mean something more which in turn can lead to something very dangerous.  The world watched and even quietly participated in the mass destruction of a people before and during the Second World War.  No country in the world would accept Jewish refugees out of Europe in the 1930’s except for a handful of people here and there.  I bow my head in shame when I admit that even Canada and Denmark said no, two of the most generous countries in the world.

Today Europe has taken in millions of refugees from not only the Middle East but from Africa, Afghanistan and other countries including Eastern European countries.  As a consequence not only their economies have suffered by their social systems have become overburdened.  I can understand why the people of those countries are tired, upset and even angry when the systems they have contributed to with their tax dollars is now diminished and putting their retirements and children’s education at risk.  It’s easy for sly politicians to work on this dissatisfaction and so create political traction by exploiting discontent.  Just so did the Nazi party set to work in Germany.

I would as my readers to question what you read and hear over the next four years and to be sure that what you understand is not a “tickling of your ears” because of your personal circumstances.  Remember, this too shall pass.  When you come out on the other side I truly hope that it will be with Straight Thinking and no regrets.

Once again I would like to recommend the book “Every Man Dies Alone” by Hans Fallada.  My father had tried to convey to me what it was like to live in Germany when everyone feared their neighbour but it never resonated with me as strongly as the reading of this book did.  A remarkable telling by a German who experienced this in Berlin before, during and after the war.  Never should such a thing happen in Canada, please God.

Priming the Pump

As chance would have it this morning I read one of my daily messages which discussed how to deal with the so-called writer’s block.  Instead of closing one’s self away it is much better to be out and about which will trigger ideas in a way that contemplating one’s navel will never do.  It seems common sense but how easily one can hide away from common sense.

I am rapidly approaching my second anniversary in retirement and I have much to be grateful for not least of which is my general well-being.    Two weeks ago I heard that one of my former colleagues (who was still working) died peacefully in his sleep but the poor man was only 58 years old.  Whenever we hear of a sudden death we also hear a lot of statements like “it really made me think about my life” and yet not many people act upon that “thinking”.  I am profoundly grateful that I listened to my body two years ago when it told me that I could no longer endure a 14 hour day of sitting.  Spending so much time outdoors for many months of the year, walking, puttering, bending and NOT SITTING has been extremely good for me. 

So what do I know for sure?  Don’t just make lip service to motherhood statements.  Act on them.  Live, live, live until you die.  [thank you Mrs. Chancellor]

Peace Check-In

We are almost two months into the year and I thought I’d assess my status on becoming more peaceful.  In a word, slow.  In more than a few words, personally I still come out with sarcastic remarks but quickly excuse it with “just kidding” so I can say that I am more conscious of what I am saying.  It’s a very slow process to change poor habits.

On a deeper level, I am trying to balance my sense of outrage with the escalating crisis in our world.  The continued atrocities perpetrated by the terrorists around the world is truly incomprehensible to anyone with a modicum of sanity left in their soul.  I cannot fathom how there can be people like this in the world.  I try to analyse what motivates them because surely no one can have this much rage against anyone merely in the name of religion?  I cannot understand how people who have been raised in a civilized, Western country can be recruited into becoming a terrorist.  I do not understand how anyone can be so barbaric as to behead innocent people.

Coincidentally I am reading an amazing book called “Every Man Dies Alone” by Hans Fallada which was written in 1947 about regular folks living in Berlin during the war.  The author was German and lived and experienced some of these incidents.  For those who may have read “A Fine Balance” and who became so engaged with the characters in that book you will appreciate how incredible this book is when you find yourself first being outraged by the negative characters’ crimes and then as they cross paths with the Gestapo or other Nazis your sympathy becomes active for these poor wretches. 

So why do I bring this book up as I am talking about terrorists?  It’s because I am trying to understand the other side of the question but with little success.  I simply cannot understand how violence is supposed to solve any question.  It’s like quarrelling with a sibling when you are 7 years old, you may come to cuffs with her but nothing is solved until you are talking to each other again. 

Peace 101 – you don’t get it with violence.