Looking Inward

There are a lot of exciting changes, mostly for the better, happening around the world. These events can be stimulating for the vicarious observer in ways that can distract from self-evaluation. Even being a part of such events can be a challenge as there is a strong proclivity towards seeing oneself in light of circumstances, not in the purity of self. Should the movement your actions aspire toward take hold or not should not affect the way you are, nor understand yourself.

Let us take time to clear our minds of the distractions and allow us to just be.

The Vision Thing

I finished Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins, for the first time last night. It felt like verse pounded into prose, the flowing of one idea to the next, self-referencing with ease. I'm impressed by the combination of myth and science, of explaining or describing half and leaving the rest unanswered and vague.

A friend said yesterday she was trying to determine what she values so she can plan for a future that reflects her will. "Our values are constantly changing," was my reply. I think this is a good motivation to both not take things, and that includes ourselves, too seriously, and to have initiative in resolving our projects before we change.

Democracy: An Arabian Value

For those in the West with little exposure to Muslims may look at terrorism and the lands that the U.S. has meddled in since Vietnam and think followers of Islam to be especially violent. It might be easy to come to erroneous conclusions when one doesn't have a living memory of colonial rule. However, what we have seen in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and recently in Tunisia and Egypt, is a peaceful demand for an equal voice and an equality of opportunity.

Meanwhile, the United States, with institutional and economic superiority, chooses time and again to use violence, even against fellow democracies. It is unclear if the citizens of the U.S. are hypocrites or terminally negligent, but right they are not.