Words. Abbreviated. Language. Corrupted.

     Obamacare.  "Ronnie Ree gun."  Pro-life.  Pro-abortion.  Romney-care.

     I am not a fan of  any of these words.  Corruption of words.  These four phrases are not political statements of my beliefs.  Not at all.

     Abbreviation of words.  Corruption of language.

    I value health care.  I am not opposed to Obama's health care programs.  "Obamacare" obliterates the reasons--the objections--people who use the phrase have.  Romney-care is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction--an attention-getting word created specifically to express objection.

     Obstruction of justice.  Obamacare.  No, I don't mean "Obamacare" program is an obstruction of justice.  Obstruction of justice?  The term "Obamacare" obstructs the ability to revisit areas, which may be problematic in the execution of the statutes.  If Senators, and/or Representatives want to propose any provisions to correct unintended consequences of the program, their efforts are hindered by the emotionally-explosive term, "Obamacare."  O falls into the same pitfalls as does "Obamacare."

     Abbreviation of language.  Corruption of words.

   "Ronnie Ree' gun."  My elders have referred to President Ronald Reagan as, "Ronnie Ree' gun."  Contrary to the pronunciation the President preferred during his political career, "Ronald Ray' gun."  My sense  is that he may have used the previous pronunciation during his movie career.  If that is true, that does not forgive a "Ronnie Ree' gun." moniker being ascribed.  Those who know me know that I am not a Ronald Reagan-apologist.  I abhor name-calling.

     I do not feel particularly effective in affirming my convictions.  I pray my convictions will be heard without full benefit of my clearly-expressed thoughts and words.

    Abbreviation of words.  Corruption of language.

    Pro-life.  Pro-abortion.  Pro-choice.  Anti-choice.

    Abbreviation of words.  Corruption of language.  

   I intend no discussion of the issue of abortion.  Many people on both sides of the issue are far better advocates than I could ever be, or aspire, if I were so inclined.

    Life.  Abortion.  Choice.  Respect.

    Broad scope.  Vast intent.

    I treasure life.  Abortion has never visited my door.  I cannot speak from experience, or invest my precious energies in fighting for or against an issue with which I have no experience.  My life has given me a well-spring of experience to which I feel called to advocate.  I revere life.  I value choice.  I have made many choices, which are at the core of my past, current, and future life.  I have deep respect for each human being I have met, know, love, and  will  never know.

    Yet, I cannot distill my beliefs, simplify my convictions into nicknames, and slogans.  My convictions exceed the tight spaces afforded by abbreviated language.  My beliefs deserve more deliberation than nicknames, and abbreviated language afford. 

   Whatever the word, the language, or cause may be, may we abide by the treasure of life, the chalice from which our choice is poured, and the revere what respect deserves.   This is my prayer.

Catholic Church Reform: What Is It?

     Catholic Church reform.  What is it?  What should it be?  Who decides?  Who should decide?
     What is it?
     Hot button issues come to mind.  Women's ordination.  Married clergy. Liturgy--lay involvement.  Liturgy--inclusive language.
     These are valid, worthy issues central to Catholic Church reform.  Yet, in defining what it should be, dangers need to be identified--dangers to effecting reform.
     Herd mentality.  Rote support of hot button issues.  Rote support of advocates, who can speak the loudest.
     I write cognizant of time's luxury, which long-term disability affords me.  I write cognizant of my time's responsibility--God's time to me.  I must not squander that precious time--that precious responsibility.  Were I to squander, I would aggravate the problems--the issues--I sought to address.
     Who decides?
     "Church Hierarchy!" is the rallying cry of church reform campaigns.  Yet, hierarchy, to some degree, is necessary for the advancement of any organization's issues.  In the extreme, anarchy is hierarchy's adversary.  Effective Catholic Church reform lies somewhere in the middle.
     Catholic Church Reform.  Who decides?
     I know my place.  I make no submissive cry to avoid responsibility.  No.  I know my place.  I have been asked to help clarify issues.  Research.  Write drafts of recommendations.  Listen.  Heed direction of individuals who will make recommendations based in part upon my research.  Revise. Rewrite.  Submit.  Listen.
     I have tremendous respect for the knowledge, experience, convictions, and beliefs of the individuals I will work with.  I pray that I will nurture and maintain that same level of respect of and for each individual I meet.
    I pray that I will seek a broad understanding of the people, issues, organizations, and perspectives within the catholic church.  I pray not to imprison myself within the popular positions on hot button issues just to do so.  Already I sense myself doing just that.
   Catholic Church Reform.  What is it?
   It is not for me to define in isolation.  For now, I shall act as a squirrel might.  I shall gather nuts--food for thought--for the work ahead--nuts that may sustain me.  Websites.  Blogs.  Publications.  These are but three of the nuts I gather for the exciting, daunting, scary, exhilarating, unknown journey ahead me--ahead of us.

A Universalist Catholic

     I am a Universalist Catholic.  Being raised as a Universalist informs my Catholic being.
     In 29 years, my understanding of being Catholic has evolved.  Raised as a Universalist, more commonly referred to as a Unitarian, my basic orientation was different than it is now--not in opposition, but different.
     Catholic means universal.  For many years, I was timid in admitting, "I am a Catholic."  That proclamation was ladened with many stereotypes.  To say, "I am a Universalist Catholic," sounded as a contradiction of terms.  It is not.
     Just now, I am able to articulate a distinction that has been elusive to me.  By external terminology, the name Universalist-Unitarian Fellowship identifies the religion.  
    Faith is a term anthetical to many Universalists, or Unitarians.  I was raised to believe that intellect and faith were mutually exclusive.  I continue to discover how faith is informed by the intellect, and how the intellect is informed by faith.
     I did not know any Unitarian individuals by name.  Yet, I had a sense of a distinction between the two.  I am willing to be challenged as to my claims.  Yet, I resent attempts to engage in "gotcha" discourse in which  my knowledge is challenged as a means of discrediting me.  The first is possible.  The first is enlightening.  The first is engagement that broadens everyone involved. "Gotcha discourse" begins when someone asks what you know about a given person, term, or basic tenet central to faith and religion without any interest in broadening anyone's understanding.
    Being raised in the Universalist tradition, I was raised to believe that there is good to be found in all world religions--in all traditions.  Although I identify myself as Christian, and Catholic now, my belief that there is good to be found in all world religions--in all traditions--is strong.  It is alive and well within who I am, and how I pray I live in communion with family, and friends.
    Although I never knew an individual who identified themselves as Unitarians, I had a militant sense of what it meant to be a Unitarian.  Part of that sense was in the context of the time--the end of the 1960s in the midst of the Vietnam War.  I do not know if there was a Unitarian church in my area that was engaged in a vociferous protest of the Vietnam War.  The sentiment was certainly the same in the Universalist church community in which I was raised.  The distinction I sense may be Uni tarian versus trinitarian.  There was no way to intellectualize the Holy Spirit.  The notion of Holy Ghost was still alive and well casting white shadows over any understanding that may have existed.
   My return to my Universalist roots is inspired by a change in pastors, where I belong.  My approach to any announcement was cautious patience.  I wanted to wait until I met, and worshipped with the priest before making pronouncements about those in leadership, who are responsible for the naming.
   I am encouraged by what I have read and heard.  I do not want any excitement I feel cloud my experience of his preaching--of his pastoral care.  I want a keen ear, and an open heart to greet him--to greet how we come together in communion.
    Much has changed in 29 years.
    I entered the Catholic Church with clear values, and instructions.  Be intellectual.  Obey my admonitions.  "Don't keep your mind outside the door of the church."  "Know the meanings of the words you utter them."
   Twenty-nine years later, different values guide me.  I have not abandoned my intellect.
   I am guided by different voices.  Although the voices have no human faces visible to me, the message is clear.
  Don't let your mind consume awe--swallow wonder.
  Treasure each moment.
  Life is a gift.
  For better or for worse, life is a lesson to be learned--answers to be lived.

Preconceptions

     Have you ever challenged your preconceptions, when you hear yourself speaking out against the views of someone?  When you hear of geographic places you have never traveled, are you aware of your preconceptions regarding the place, and the people who live there?
     I pride myself on being an open-minded person.  I pride myself on being sensitive to other people, and deliberate in my thought--not rash in making conclusions. At the same time, I would like to think I am a humble person.  How is that for a contradiction in terms--prideful, and humble.   I was about to say that I am not proud of being prideful:)  I guess that means a friend was right.  You are not "Perfect Patty," you are human.
    OK.  I offer these thoughts as a  pretext by which to understand my offering today.
    I have been writing this blog since September 2010.  Initially, people reading my blog were from the United States.  No one from other countries was reading my blog.  I was excited that anyone was reading my thoughts. However, as time passed, I became greedy.  I harbored grandiose expectations of reaching people from other countries in the world.  I didn't have a particular country in mind, I just wanted for my ideas to travel beyond the borders of the United States.  My expectations have never been to rally supporters for a particular political, or religious ideology.  My life is guided by political, and religious principles, yet, winning converts to my personal beliefs for the sake of winning over the largest number of converts was never my goal.
    As time progressed, I did break the barrier, if you will, of the American borders.  I started to recognize preconceptions I had, when I learned of the different countries my blog reached via online search engines.
    I feel very fortunate regarding exposure to people of other countries.  As a child, our family participated in a foreign exchange program through which social workers from nations throughout the world visited social service agencies in the Twin Cities.  Over the years, we hosted a man from Denmark, a man from Italy, a South Korea, and a woman from Austria.  Travel was a passion.  I have postcards from other family members, who traveled to England, France, Poland, and the Soviet Union.  I have enjoyed seeing Austria, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and very brief moments in Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.  I say that not to brag.  Rather, I say that to portray the subtle foundation upon which I imagine my preconceptions are based.
   Upon learning that my blog had been read in Denmark, images of Knut--our Danish exchange participant--came to mind.  Upon learning my blog had reached Russia, I was transported back to family postcards, and phone calls from the Soviet Union.  You get the idea.  My preconceptions were rooted in associations with Russia, and experiences in European countries.
    Since September, 2010, I have wondered about South America.  My blog entries had been read by at least one person in Europe, in Russia, in New Zealand, and in Africa.  The South Pole exceeds my aspirations.  Yet, no one from South America.
    Today, someone did--someone from Peru.  [Be assured, I know nothing more than countries, tallies of hits within those countries, and the time when  someone in the world read my blog.  So there is no reason to be concerned about privacy.]
     Touching Peru--someone within Peru--led me to question my preconceptions regarding Peru.  My only personal association with South America was a family member's Caribbean cruise that touched Venezuela.  But, I knew little of South America.
    My sense of South America, of what people in South America were like, as though a single profile could be, is based upon coverage regarding South America, and South American people.  I am being very deliberate about saying South American people, because, I thought I was being open-minded by drawing one single profile.
   Given that, let me offer fleeting impressions.  Rio de Janeiro.  Mardi Gras.  2016 Olympics.  Venezuela.  1973.  OPEC.  Oil.  Colombia. Drug trafficking.  Brazil.  Brasilia. Modern society.  Chile.  Andes Mountains.  Rescued miners.  Paraguay, Uruguay.   Nothing.  I know they exist. But, nothing.   What other countries in South America have I forgotten.  A Google search.  Bolivia.  Coffee.  Ecuador.  You've got me.  French Guiana.  Guyana.  I was thinking Africa.  But, I was confusing Guiana, and Guyana with the African nation of Guinea.
    Peru.  Mountains.  Remote villages.  Farmers.
    I am not proclaiming that my impressions are accurate.  That is just the point.  Am I open to the notion--am I willing to admit--that my preconceptions may be inaccurate?  Am I open to--interested in--challenging my preconceptions?  Am I interested in correcting gross inaccuracies in my preconceptions?
    I am not saying that it is humanly possible to disspel all preconceptions we have.  Preconceptions are an essential starting point in our daily lives.  We need to have some basis to take any actions in our daily lives.  But, the danger of preconceptions in our lives--in our world--is when we are not willing to challenge our preconceptions, and correct inaccurate preconceptions that we become aware of.
    I pray that when I am inaccurate in preconceptions, that the individual who becomes aware of those inaccuracies will call me on it, and correct my understandings, so that I may live with greater integrity.  I invite you to submit yourself to that same standard.  But, I respect you more than to make complying with that standard as a litmus test for my respect of you.

Zoomer Chronicles: A Privilege

     Only two weeks have passed since my wheelchair was delivered, and I started to learn how to use it.  FDX-MCG is not an intuitive, or catchy name.  So, for now I will call my chair Zoomer.
     Mind you, I have NEVER driven any vehicle in my 51 years.  OK, OK, I have driven countless people crazy without even trying:)  That is second nature to me:)  But, this,  this whole driving business  is brand new to me.  Intellectually, I knew that there would be a learning curve, but, I couldn't imagine what that learning curve would be.
    Today I set out intent on going to the grocery store.  That is familiar territory.  Then, I thought I would board my Zoomer, and head down to the Y to go swimming.  Those are simple tasks that require no thought to do in your life, right?  Well...
     People ARE very willing to help.  I was very apprehensive that people would be standoffish and condescending.  I do try to warn people that I am just learning, so they do not endanger their lives while they are helping me.  I have not experienced any standoffishness, or condescension.
     This learning experience makes me wonder how long it takes to learn how to drive.  I have enormous respect for how well so many people I know drive.  I have not appreciated it fully until now.  As deep as my appreciation is, I will never forget riding with my uncle during the wintertime in Minnesota.  My uncle did not turn around a curve wide enough.  The result?  We took part of a snow bank with us.  No one was hurt.  My uncle was not at all ruffled by what he had done:)  But, most people I know, and have ridden with are excellent drivers.
     Driving is a privilege.  It is allowing me to get out to live a fuller life than I have lived recently.  How fast do we ZOOM to get to our destination?  Do we appreciate its privilege?  Do we see what we pass along our journey?  May we see the sights along the way.  May we mark those places along the way to return to, in order to live more fully--breathe more deeply.  May we take home with us--make resident in our beings--the people, sights, and experiences on our journey.

Pride's Distraction

    Who are your friends?
    I do not mean names.  No.  Are the individuals you associate with important to you because they have the same ideas as you do?  In order to be your friend, what is the threshold that they must meet in terms of agreement on political issues, religious beliefs, faith, values?
    Go to your inbox, your contacts list, your written or digital, and your Facebook "friends."  How did you meet each person?  What common beliefs, and/or associations did you share that drew you  together?  Were you colleagues?  Did you worship in the same community? Are you related by blood, or marriage?  Are you childhood friends?  Did you meet in some other way?
    I pride myself on being an open-minded person.  I avoid identifying anyone as having a simple faith, a simplistic view of the world.  I avoid identifying anyone on the basis of their political beliefs.  Or, so I thought.
    Someone told me that she has different friends for different purposes, or for different reasons.  Her friends were objects that she used.  Quite to the contrary.  My friend acknowledges the diverse gifts of each individual--each friend--who blesses her life.
   This week, I was reminded of the trap of the pride I claim.  I try to be in constant conversation with internal challenges that whisper for my attention.   Yet, clearly I have fallen short.
   Humility reintroduced herself to me this week.  She did not confront me.
   Humility simply tapped me on the shoulder in the form of surprise.  I thought I was open to different perspectives in other people, my surprise to the acceptance of my own explorations challenged the integrity of my thoughts.
   I am delighted by my surprise.  I pray that my surprise may humble me.  May humility dispel any distraction prideful expression of openness may cause.

Belittlement. Respect for Life.

     Once again, this afternoon, belittlement reared its ugly head, or so it felt.  I try to live with respect for different religious perspectives than my own--there is good to be found in all world religions.  I try to resist temptation--the temptation to be defensive--to say, "don't you know me well enough to know the serious reflection I bring to living a life of faith?"
     Ironically, a discussion of "respect for life,"--mutual sadness that the breadth of the term does not seem to be a part of its use--led to the derivation of the story of Maundy Thursday, and the actual events of the story.
Our agreement regarding the narrow use of "respect for life" in some discussions was missed.  A precious opportunity was missed.
    Taking biblical stories literally, or symbolically became a "gotcha" moment.  My antenna went up.  "Quick, an attempt of entrapment is forthcoming."
    I succumb to defensiveness.  "Many Catholics take a broader view.  Not every Catholic view 'respect for life' narrowly."  A defensive volley was lobbed back at me--reference to those who do have "a simple faith--a simplistic Catholic view."
    I grieve.  I mourn.  Three people of integrity.  Trapped in different ages of the same Church.  Pushed away...Drawn into...a Universal Church.  Different faces.  The same heart.
    There is good to be found in all faith traditions.  "Affirm, defend and promote the supreme worth and dignity of every human [being].  I mourn.  All three are members of the Universal church.
     "Support the free and disciplined search for truth..."  Though packaged differently, at the core, Universalist, and Catholic search for truth with the same depth of commitment.
     There are differences--important differences.  I mourn.  Yet, in my mourning, I question--do important differences preclude unity?  Do important differences preclude a unified pursuit for truth made the stronger by the diverse perspectives of the same truth?  Do the important differences preclude embracing the truth in Paul's words to the Corinthians?
    "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Effective Communication??? How???

     Two examples of communication in two very different contexts lead me to a question.  "What must exist before effective communication can exist?"
     I live in the United States.  Although there is no established national language, which everyone here must speak.  In the immigration debate, some have advocated the establishment of a national language.  The premise of their position is, if everyone spoke the same language--English--in the United States, then we would be one step closer to achieving national unity.
     In Europe, smaller geographical sizes of nations demand that residents in each country be fluent in more than their native language.  Such fluency requires learning different words, different grammatical structures of the different languages being learned.
     It is simplistic to say that there is no conflict between European nations.  Government structures, political systems, different cultural, and faith traditions well may contribute to civil unrest, and discord.  Yet, having to learn another language calls for flexibility, and understanding.  These two well may serve as cornerstones of effective communication.
     The health care debate, and now the budget debate in the U.S. Congress have raised the discord among our elected officials.  I was raised with a very positive attitude--positive role models--toward elected officials.  For the most part, I have not been cynical regarding politics.  Yet, the closer I find the issues cutting to the core of my daily needs--my potential daily needs--I seek a higher level of public discourse than I hear.
     My intent in writing this blog is not to espouse a specific political position.  There are plenty of individuals who fill that need.  All that any individual needs to do is to enter the issue of interest to them in their favorite search engine, along with the word "blog," in order to find an individual, who writes a blog regarding politics.
      How does my discussion of the U.S. congressional debates relate to effective communication?  It is this.  The members of the U.S. Congress all speak English--Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, as well as liberals, and conservatives.  Yet, although the congressional representatives' speech, and writing, are governed by the same words, and the same grammatical structures, they do not communicate effectively.
     Recent miscommunication, and complete lack of communication with individuals involved in securing my wheelchair lead me to question the role of indifference.  How do we lower our voices, open our ears, open our minds?  How do we open ourselves to the notion that despite our different human experiences, and life circumstances, our commonalities are greater than our differences?  How do we transform our fears of difference into a richer, stronger bond of effective communication?

Government Services--Personal Energy Policy

     Having identified myself in prolific terms, it is important to examine the services, and regulations of government.  How does my profile affect my needs for, and views regarding government services, and regulations.
     I must confess that my views are rooted in deep fear.  I understand the need for debate regarding the organization of and support for Medicare that is imminent.  Knowledge of my own need for it next year leads me to put my head in the sand with cotton balls in my ears.  The forthcoming hyperbole makes me ill.
     I could be the audience to whom politicians will base their positions regarding Medicare.  I do not want to be a part of politicians' Medicare focus group.  I cannot deny my needs.  I will seek what I need, nothing more, and nothing less.  That is my contribution toward a picture of a balanced budget.  My contribution may not be financially balanced, but, it will be balanced in terms of medical necessity.  I purchase private insurance commensurate with my medical need, and financial affordability.
     With regard to Medicare--its future health--we need to take several actions independent of any legislative action.  We need to accept our own aging, and the corresponding needs we may have--needs that are quite likely, however unsavory they may be.
     I do not know how to arm myself further from the imminent hyperbole.  All I may do is to assert logic, reason, and insight, and pray that it resonates somewhere within decision-making bodies.
     I have strong views against military expenditures, as well as support for other government priorities--government investments.  Yet, in the past ten years, I have learned the essence of energy conservation.  No. Not nuclear power, oil, coal, solar power.  I speak of none.  My personal energy.  My life is ruled by a single policy personal energy conservation.  I must not take on advocacy for issues outside of my passion--issues outside of my understanding--issues beyond my individual needs.  I consider myself to be concerned about social justice issues.  Yet, I invest my personal energies in trusting other more effective--more passionate--advocates, who have the knowledge requisite for success.
    May we adopt the policy of personal energy conservation to lessen the rhetoric, increase civility, and improve the quality of decision-making with regard to such vital issues.  If we do not do so, we deserve the quality of decisions that are made, and the tenor that precedes it.  I, for one, do not think we can afford such lavish use of our precious resources.

Global Information's Starting Point

     I am fascinated by the many sources of information.  Discerning the veracity of that information intrigues me.  I was raised in a democracy.  Within that democracy, my family, friends, and culture instilled in me the belief that there are channels of government--channels within the community--to address problems.  I witnessed civil service close to home.
     Cynicism about government is not a part of my composition.  Any cynicism I might have is channeled into my votes for candidates with more positive--more constructive organizations.
     Any endorsements I give to voting against a candidate, rather than for a candidate with a more constructive view, only serve to delay resolution of the problems at hand.  Time is precious.  We may ill afford such delays.  That is not to say that decisions should be made hastily.  Quite to the contrary, decisions need to be made with due deliberation.

Where in the World Are They?

     World events--2011's current affairs--call for a new vocabulary.  Recently, a fun test was sent to me.  The test? A blank map of Africa with country borders was accompanied by a list of corresponding country names.  The object? To drag the names of the appropriate country, so as to assess geographical knowledge.
     I offer you an entertaining, insightful challenge.  Try the test for yourself.  http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html
Don't worry about being wrong.  Keep trying.  I did.  I did not get the countries correct without making mistakes.  Yet, the test heightened--heightens--my desire to be more attentive than I have been.
    Beyond current affairs that demand our attention are longer-term--more subtle--news.  The daily stock exchanges provide barometers of confidence in world affairs.  State and national monthly unemployment statistics represent additional barometers.  Barometers of what?  Outsourcing.  International trade imbalances.
     Outsourcing and trade imbalances should direct our attention to India, and China.  Cheaper labor, and the form of government.  India is a democracy.  The Republic of China is a communist state.  The Chinese government has firm control of the direction of the country's economy.  I confess to knowing less of India's economy.  I do know that significant outsourcing of computer work has been outsourced to India--keying of data into electronic form, and software   But, I don't know how or why it is that India plays the role it does.  The Philippines is another player in the outsourcing jigsaw puzzle.  The Philippines provides large U.S. corporations with a source of cheap labor to achieve data entry of print data into digital form.
   Our questions will be ever-present.  If we are to have any hope of developing an understanding of other countries, it is essential to have a foundation of primary sources upon which we may refer for information.  Whatever U.S. media is our daily white noise may alert us to pressing issues facing the world in which we live.  Yet, if we do not have reliable native sources of information, we are at the whim of U.S. media, who have bureaus in other countries.

A Broken Body's Checklist

    I meet the dichotomy between a temple and a broken body with a history of how I have treated my life during the past 50 years.

    Before I knew to do so with any consciousness, I found strategies to accomplish with one hand the tasks the therapists designed to get me to use, and develop my right hand and arm, which has been affected mildly by cerebral palsy.  My right foot and leg would not be a party to my lifelong defiance.  They limped along bearing who she was without apology.  They did not succumb to the temptation of demanding pretty party shoes.  They did not cave in to the temptations that their head dangled in front of them.

   When told it did not seem I could do a given task, my gut response was, "Do you wanna make a bet?"

   I pushed my body to her limits.  For a lifetime, I resisted anyone who suggested I might lower my physical standards.  To have acted otherwise would have been to admit defeat.  Charlie Sheen is hardly a role model I seek to mimic.  Yet, his words, "Defeat was not an option" rang true.

    I thought that my defiance was paying the highest respect to the temple in which I was given to live.  I had simple obligations to repay--to live up to.  To a mother, who walked out of her first-grader's room to let her dress, knowing that the only way her daughter could ever live independently started with being able to dress herself independently.  Convinced she was right, she left, not to mention needing to escape the struggle before her eyes to be surmounted.  My memory is only etched in my mother's words.  Mom was--she still is--my wellspring of strength.  Seek Mom for strength.  Seek Dad for a breather from independence's demand toward a fuller life.  He was a softy.  He is afraid of my ferocity.

   My gut response--pressing my body mercilessly beyond her limits--was so ingrained in me, that when told that there might be another way to live that my alleviate the stress on my emotions--long-term disability--left me dumb-founded.  Told that I would be qualified for long-term disability with little difficulty, I was stunned.  Relieved.  Yet, the shock of being stunned was such that relief took awhile to take hold.

    How am I answering the question of, "How have I abused my body--pressed her beyond her limits?" I can create a personal checklist to be evaluated by me or others.  

     1. Tried to bear too much weight on my right ankle.

     2. Tried to keep physical pace--walking, running--with other people

     3. Tried to carry too much in my left hand, stretching the limits of my left thumb beyond what is fair, much less healthy to do.

     I am sure that I am missing many items that should be a part of my checklist.  Yet, for now, these three items rule the accommodations I must pursue.  The appointed items to add, and the appointed time to add them will come.  When?  Odd though it may sound, I must listen.  How much weight am I bearing?  What limits does my past experience convey to me?  Am I willing to listen?  Am I willing to pay the price for not listening?

     Am I the only person, who needs to make such a checklist--whose temple must be revered?  Again, it well may be that others do not need to draft such a list, yet, I wonder if it is worthy of consideration.  Is my list the same as anyone else's? No. But, do other people in my life need to respect my list, and not call me to violate it, in order to be in relationship with them?  Yes.

Justice Stephen Breyer: An Open Mind

Just now, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer expressed the essence of "an open mind."
His words excite me.  He was asked whether he has entered a case ever prejudging how he felt about a case.  He surprised Larry King, when he said that he did.
Specifically, Stephen Breyer said that to have an open mind is to "be open to changing them [your prejudgments] with argument and fact."
Breyer said that we do not come to issues with a blank slate.  We need to listen to--think about--Breyer's words when we express ourselves in speech, and in writing.  By doing so, we hold in proper esteem people in our lives--in our world.  By doing so, we have the greatest hope of effecting change in our world for the betterment of all.