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I try not to wait until Sunday to write this newsletter. I
generally try to have most of it done by Wednesday,
but the past week was a little crazy, so I am sitting out
on the deck enjoying this incredible weather since we
don't have too much of it left. At least until the Packer
game comes on!
With the election and the
economy and our everyday concerns about spouse
and children and parents, it's hard to keep on track
and remember the important things. For example, I
was at an all
day conference yesterday. When I got home,
everything was fine. But I got up this morning, after
sleeping in, to find out there was no milk in the house,
which meant no coffee. That made me very cranky!
So I went to my local King Sooper, figuring I could get
coffee at Starbucks, a rare treat, and do the grocery
shopping. I was not happy to discover a water pipe
had broken and Starbucks could not give me a cup of
coffee either! So then I was even less happy! Silly
thing to get upset about.
So to put things in
perspecitve, especially for me, here is some
Advice from an Owl
- Stay Focused - that's a tough one these days!
- Be "Hoo" You Are
- Trust in a Wise Friend
- Live Off the Land
- Glide Through the Dark Times - sound advice
- Be Observant
- Life's a Hoot - always remember to enjoy the little
things!
And now that I have had coffee, I
am a
happy girl. I hope that you have plenty of milk for the
week.
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Freedom of Speech.
But with responsibility
The Constitution of the United States, especially the
Bill of Rights, is without a doubt one of the greatest
documents ever written. It guarantees many of our
most basic rights. The First Amendment
guarantees the following:
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Religion
- Right to Peaceably Assemble
- And The Right to Petition for grievances
However, I believe it is important to be
responsible with your words, even though we do have
the right to say whatever we please. So I am
distressed with
Sarah Palin's comments about Barak Obama "paling
around with terrorists" and the Republican Party's
Robo
calls about this issue, one of with I received. William
Ayers was indeed part of the Weather Underground in
the 1960's. Ayers left the Weather Underground and
was never charged with a crime. He is now a
professor at the University of Illinois and involved in
community organization. In this country one of our
basic
rights is the right to be considered innocent until
proven guilty. William Ayers was never convicted of a
crime, so
therefore is innocent, so therefore is not a terrorist.
Unless we want to go back to the McCarthy era, where
accusation made you guilty.
But what has
bothered me most is the lack of responsibility in
making such an accusation. Is it that Palin and the
Republican Party do not understand that racism is still
alive and well in this country; that there are people
who are mentally unstable enough to act on these
accusations and make an attempt on Obama's life?
At McCain rallys cries of "Kill Obama" have been
heard. What if someone acted on these cries? What
would that say about us as a nation?
Some
people are also under the assumption that Obama is
a Muslim. He is not, he belongs to the same
Christian denomination as I do. But then again, some
are saying that Obama is not the "right" kind of
Christian, so neither am I, I guess.
But
what if Obama was a Muslim? The First Amendment
allows freedom of religion, it does not mean the
United States is a Christian Nation. Someday, there
will be a African-American president, someday there
will be a woman president and someday there will be
a Muslim president. Will there be the same false
accusations against these candidates 10 or 20 years
from now? I hope not. I hope we grow-up as a nation
before then
and accept responsibility for the words we speak.
Wouldn't that make it a wonderful world?
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The Stock Market.
Resist the fear
If you wonder what it is like to be bi-polar, look at the
stock market; manic one day, depressed the next. I
find myself watching the numbers everyday to see
what is happening. But I have stopped being upset by
what happens each day.
The ups and downs
of the stock market have to do with fear. Why are we
so afraid? I can understand if you are retired or near
retired that you are worried. I fall into that category,
too. We have lost half of our assessts, but it's only
real when it's in your hand, otherwise it is on paper.
But there are still many safeguards in place to
prevent a total collapse of the market, such as
happened in 1929. True, there has been a lot
deregulation, but the most important safeguards are
still in place. Over time, the stock market continues to
go up. Perhaps at little more slowly and cautiously
now.
If you listen to financial experts, most of
them say the stock market has been overvalued for
several years and this is an adjustment. If you follow
Suze Orman, she believes the market will bottom out
at
about 8,000. Jim Jubak says the market will continue
to be volatile, so hold on! But it will go back up.
But the point is that
things will eventually get better, it's just a question of
hanging on until then. So do what you have to do to
make it though. Be careful how you spend your
money,
or even invest. I now own a tiny amount of
ConocoPhillips and General Electric; me and Warren
Buffet.
But don't let fear control you, you control the fear. Look
at your blessings, your health, your family and your
friends. With those things, you can get through
anything, including this financial crisis.
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I Have A Dream.
A lesson in visioning
Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a conference
with Dr. Joan Borysenko on spiritual guidance. That
conference will provide much for this newsletter.
During the conference, for the first time, I saw the
whole "I Have A Dream"
speech by Dr. Martin Luther King. I was almost nine
years old at the time Dr. King gave the speech. I never
saw the whole speech until yesterday, but thanks to
YouTube, it's possible. I was impressed by a number
of things.
First of all, Dr. King was speaking at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. I was
amazed at the number of people who marched that
day, both Black and White. Dr. King invoked the fact
that President Lincoln signed the Emancipation
Proclamation in 1863, saying that they were standing
in "the symbolic shadow" of the man who freed the
Negro from slavery. He stated the facts that people of
color were still marginalized, still on "islands of
poverty", and that the Constitution and the Declaration
promised freedom to all men. He went on to say
that "now is the time" for justice.
Secondly, I
was amaze at how clearly Dr. King stated what he saw
as injustice. But he did it without anger, bitterness or
hatred. He was very clear that violence was not the
way to achieve equality. And that we, whether black or
white, are together as a nation and what affects one
group affects the other.
Dr. King spoke about
what was not acceptable; that in the South, there were
still signs that said Whites only, that Blacks were not
allowed to vote in Mississippi and that Blacks were not
allowed in some hotels.
Then Dr. King spoke
about his vision, the dreams that he had. It was so
clear as he spoke, that he dreamed of equality for all,
of brotherhood for all, that people would not be
judged by the color of their skin but the content of their
character, that Whites and Blacks would join together
in unity. Sadly, Dr. King did not live to see his some of
his vision become reality. How far we have come as a
nation in 45 years! And how far we have to go.
The whole point of this is to help us achieve
our dreams and goals. This is what I learned:
- Know the facts of my situation and state them
clearly
- State the facts without anger or bitterness
- Know what my dream is
- Be very clear stating my dream
Only then will I be able to achieve, because I
know exactly what I want. It's like being in school. It's
very clear what you have to do to graduate, what
courses you have to take, what grades are required
and
even what paperwork you have to fill out to graduate.
So I'm going to be as clear about my dreams as Dr.
King was about his. And I hope I live to see my
dreams become reality.
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Grace and Peace,
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