Life More Abundant

It rained a lot this morning
But the skies had cleared by the time I came outside.
The radio weatherman reported that the showers were gone for the day;
That the sun was out and – Watch out! Be careful! –
The winds would be picking up as the day went on.

I made my way to my bench in my park
And sat down to do my neck exercises
(With Fred Hammond playing in my earphones).
Now picture. My bench is at the edge of a concrete clearing
Among many tall and beautiful trees in my park.
When I look straight up (think neck exercise), I see
A big circle of blue sky surrounded by the tip-tops of trees.
When I look more forward at the tops of the trees
Across the clearing and in front of me, I see
More of the trees
Against a moving backdrop of white clouds
Quickly drifting across the quietly blue sky.
Then, suddenly, the wind picks up!
And the trees begin to sway and rustle and flicker and dance.

People, I can do nothing short of BASK!
Oh, the PRESENCE!!
In that clearing, looking up at beautiful sky
As trees bend over me in what seem like
Protective postures, I know that
“This is the day that the Lord hath made”
For ME!

How. Fun. Was. That!!!!!

Serena

As a fairly avid tennis fan, I was offered condolences on yesterday as I settled in for a full day of tennis and encountered yet another rain delay. I smiled at the sentiment, but had no problem finding something else to do. Today, however, condolences are more in order. I am ailing – as the Serena Williams / Kim Clijsters U.S. Open semi-final match debacle settles into my consciousness.

It is not what happened that is making be ail. What happened was no more than an incident that took place between two, three, four, five or six people -- depending on how one looks at things. The 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 people involved acted out their individual minds, beliefs, hearts and spirits – the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. They did it before tens of thousands of people and in front of cameras that immediately conveyed their images to millions more people. But it was only the 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 people who were actually involved who created the incident, and I know better than to expect people to behave any differently from whom and what they are.

No, the thing that hurts me is that in tennis’ many public discussions, commentary and analysis that are sure to ensue, no one will defend Serena although her position and behavior was AT LEAST as defensible as any and all of the positions and behaviors of the other 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 other persons involved.

No one in the booth or locker room will say, “I cannot imagine being called for a foot fault – mistakenly or otherwise -- in a semi-final match at deuce! That is unheard of in our sport! Had it happened to me, I would have been very, very upset as well. So yes, I can understand what happened with Serena whether I can condone her reaction or not.”

None of the commentators will consider the difference between Serena’s penalty and the penalties (or lack thereof) handed down to the many professional tennis players who have verbally abused referees (much less linespeople) as a matter of course. Neither John McEnroe nor anyone else will be heard on air saying, “I regularly behaved far worse, provoked by far less! Had I been called for a foot fault at a point in a semi-final as she was, I cannot imagine what I might have done or said! With all of my misbehavior, I was never penalized to the extent of losing a match! I would have been apoplectic! So yes, I can understand Serena’s reaction whether I can condone it at this point in my career or not.”

Comments and discussions such as the above may certainly be taking place in private and/or off the air. But the sport – the corporate sport of American tennis, its spokespersons, and much of its rank and file – will not express any such opinions publicly. The few within the ranks who might wish to do so will consider the (legal, financial, and peer) pressures involved – and try to be content with more private and personal conversations.

The party line will be:
“Of the two to six people involved, all behaved within the limits of lawful, acceptable and understandable behavior. Only Serena must be held accountable for any missteps here. Only Serena can be held responsible for this unfortunate incident.”

No producer, journalist or columnist will wonder aloud how often these “unfortunate incidents” – obscure rules, incorrect line calls, botched scores and bumps – revolve around Serena and/or Venus Williams. None of them will share any musings about how these sisters, who have brought untold numbers of fans and literally, billions of dollars to the sport would be feted if they were white Americans instead of Black ones.

No one in tennis will publicly give Serena her due as she steadily and methodically defeats all comers. She is a phenomenon, a great tennis player and, on many measures, the best female tennis player of all time. But the sport will never celebrate her that way. Her sport will never support, defend or celebrate her as it should. Her sport will never cease to criticize her even as they grudgingly give her some minimal credit for her skill, heart and victories.

As she did last evening, Serena will graciously congratulate her opponent, square her shoulders, lift her head, smile and wave to her fans, and stride off the court – alone. And those of us who know – those of us who identify – those of us not deluded or in denial or under illusions about what it is to be African-American in America – don’t feel so well this morning.

The uniqueness of snowflakes and us

It is said that each of us has a twin in the world somewhere. I daresay that is true. If we are willing to dissect ourselves, we have hundreds of "twins" -- folks with identical hands, noses, or shapes.

But I have a theory. "Wanna hear it? It goes a little something like this..."

As grains of sand -- and snowflakes -- differ from each other, I submit that the one uniqueness that every person possesses...that is beyond duplication or "twin-ness"...is PERSPECTIVE. No one -- NO ONE -- sees, hears, tastes, considers, feels, takes in, smells -- perceives -- the universe exactly as each of us does.

Now each of us may enjoy our perspective; we may share it, lend it, or broaden it. What we likely cannot do with it is compete. My perspective would be ill-used to best any competitor. We all have perspectives as we all have lungs, life and hair -- none better than any other -- no rights or wrongs, superiors or inferiors.

Now that capitalism and competition are out of the way....

For me, perspective is the very heart of education. Whenever I am blessed to truly see the world, or some part of it, through someone else's eyes -- then my own perspective is broadened. As an educator, I consider it my life's purpose to share my own perspective -- to broaden the perspectives of others. As a reader...ah, as a reader!...and as a lifelong student, I have looked at life through the eyes of literally thousands of people, past and present. The tangential knowledge alone has been more than worth twice the effort! The areas of commonality -- and difference --in perspectives have literally defined the human experience for me. The process has been the exhiliration of my life.

I think that there is a difference between education and job training. We've all had to attend school, memorize facts, regurgitate process, and earn credentials on the road to self-sufficiency. Job training. Thankfully, many of us have remained at the center of our concentric and broadening circles of understanding our "self," the universe and the multi-faceted relationship between the two. Education.

In service to the system -- and often to our own survival within the system -- job training is important and useful. But is there more to life than life within a capitalist system? Here's wishing you and yours ... education.

More Books

I have to add a postscript to my earlier comments re: Walter Mosley's The Fortunate Son. The further I got into the book, the better it got. Once I realized that the book was a parable -- then Ohhh! I get it now. Definitely worth reading.

I wasn't able to make the March meetings of the two book clubs so I missed the Walter Mosley discussion -- which I heard was lively and fun. AND I missed The Reader discussion -- which probably wasn't much. (As a matter of fact, I've opted out of that particular group because it's a social group that fails to discuss the book itself.) The April meeting of the first club was on Shadows on the Hudson by Singer. I understand that Mr. Singer is best known for his short stories and that this fat book (500+ pages) was his foray into novels. It was the story of a middle-class social community of Jews in New York just after WWII -- living, loving, cheating, and remembering against the backdrop of an ancient religion and a recent trauma. I kind of liked it.

For May, we are reading The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Cullen. After only 40 pages, I have fallen in love with this book. It was written in 2005; takes place in 1925; is not a very easy read; but it is SO worth it. I'll keep you posted.

Finally, I want to get something off my chest. You'll remember Oprah calling this author to task for the lies he told in his "autobiography" a couple years ago. I seem to recall public apologies, refunds, rescinded contracts and recalled books. I think the book was called A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.

This was Mr. Frey's personal account of his recovery and drug rehab experiences. Did you read it? I thought it was pretty good myself. I wasn't necessarily swallowing everything hook, line and sinker. It was an AUTObiography, for goodness' sake. And for more goodness' sake -- it's the autobiography of a DRUG ADDICT! One of the very first thing ANYONE learns about substance abuse is that DRUG ADDICTS LIE. Ask any family member, friend, counselor, doctor -- anybody. DRUG ADDICTS LIE. It makes sense. The reason drug addicts are drug addicts is because they cannot deal with the version of reality they know and feel. Almost the whole point of substance abuse it to get and stay high enough so that the pain of being who you are no longer exists.

That being said, I thought the book contained enough truth to give readers rare and excellent insights into the lives, experiences and rationales of drug abusers -- and enough lies to make the author not feel like the world's biggest loser. I thought this was what almost all autobiographies (not my favorite genre) did by definition. I mean, if you were to write your own story.....? Accuracy, brutal honesty, raw self-reflection would, of course, be YOUR main messages, I'm sure. After all, (according to your autobiography,) that's just the kind of person you are. :-)

Just had to get that off my chest. If you haven't read the book, see if you can hunt down a copy and let me know what you think.

Take CARE of yourself

I pass this along without much editorial comment.
The article speaks for itself.

The headline reads, "A hurdle for health reform: patients and their doctors."

Selected quotes read:

"...we will have to accept that 'best' doesn't always mean the newest drug or the latest treatment.'

"...'If everybody...believes that prescriptions and procedures are the things we need to make us healthy and well, then it doesn't matter what kind of policy you draft or what kind of system you build. It's never going to get better.'

"The list goes on. Whether it's invasive back surgery, medical scans or expensive drugs, patients and doctors alike often refuse to believe that costly treatments aren't worth it.

"...patients routinely demand[ed] unnecessary prescriptions.

"'Doctors believe the industry propaganda that new drugs are better than old ones, and that for every ailment there is a drug.'

"'In American culture, prescriptions and procedures have become surrogates for real health care and real dialogue,..."

Have we not spoken about this before?

Don't Worry, Be Happy !!

OK, this will be relatively quick.
The headline reads, "Like the show? Maybe it was the commercials,"
and the point was that interrupted pleasure seems to be more pleasurable.

It's kind of amazing all the different things that scientists study, isn't it?

Anyway, they are finding that the human being is so adaptable that (s)he gets used to anything -- good or bad -- pretty quickly.
The quote they use is, "The first kiss is magic. The second is intimate. The third is routine."

So of course, the question they pose is, 'If you adapt so quickly to pleasurable activities, and the pleasure decreases, how do you sustain a level of happiness or ever move up on the scale?' And their answer is, "One way people do this, research suggests, is to favor novel experiences over material goodies." In other words, STUFF isn't nearly as satisfying as trying new things or having new experiences.

OBAMA !!!

Speaking of books -- I'm listening to Barack Obama reading his own book, "Dreams From My Father," on my IPod.
Now this is an experience!
There are six CDs to this book.
I listen to each one 2-3 times -- then I let it shuffle right along with my music.
I'll hear Fred Hammond, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys -- then a couple of pages from Barack.
How cool is this!

Did you see your President on TV last night?
He's a ROCK STAR!!!!
He can't get INTO the Chamber for people trying to shake his hand, hug him, touch him.
He can't begin SPEAKING for the prolonged standing OVATIONS he cannot put an end to.
He can't get OUT of the Chamber for people wanting his AUTOGRAPH on their programs!
A Rock Star!!!

And yet and still, he is our President -- our leader in so many, MANY senses of the word.
He is so admired, idolized and appreciated not for the hype -- but because he has actually given himself over -- and is determined to be -- the Real Deal.

I didn't follow the election that closely -- I knew that I would be voting for Barack Obama and that was that.
I didn't go to the Inauguration -- too many people -- and I was going to see/hear his speech on TV or computer anyway.
But now I plan my evening around televised Presidential addresses -- and pore over my weekly newspaper accounts of Presidential actions and activities.
THIS is the part that's exciting for me!

YYYYOOOOUUUU GGGGOOOO BBBBOOOOYYYYY!!!!!!