- It's butt-numbingly cold here in Milwaukee. Weather.com just showed us at a whopping 6 degrees with 30mph winds. Which, it computes, means it feels like it's -17 degrees. So we're freezing our gazoingles off. We also got completely bombed with snow. We got a foot of the stuff on Friday, and ever since those dang winds keep blowing it everywhere. The snow drifts are actually quite cool sometimes - you should see the sculptures on our deck through our glass doors. It's like sand dunes only with snow. But on to more pleasant and heartwarming news...(hey, if your ass has to be cold, your heart should at least be warm...)
- Who's a big boy? Who is? Who IS??! Ben is now 1 year old! Where did the time go? I can't remember life without him. He's just such a lovable, happy, well-adjusted little guy. I think what surprises me even more than how fast it's gone is how much I just love his company. His new thing is to crawl very rapidly, slapping his hands and knees down with great enthusiasm, as he chases the cats down the hall with loud sighs/laughs that sound like wheezing. Of course this does not exactly motivate the cats to stay and wait for him to catch them, especially since his primary way of experiencing tactile things is to grab with his fists. He's also switching from formula over to whole milk. This is great for the budget, but not so great for whoever has to clean up a milk barf. Nothing like bilious, sour barf, right? Makes mommy want to join right in.
- My parents gave Ben this great car toy for his birthday that makes all these loud car sounds, honks, makes engine and siren sounds, and vibrates loudly. Ben is scared shitless of it. Poor little guy. David and I were trying our best, quite unsuccessfully, not to laugh as we were comforting him. I bet he'll love it when he's 2 or 3. Ben is the only grandson on both sides and I'm sure my parents were just so glad to be able to buy boy stuff (the princess crap gets old, I'm told).
- We did a whole mess of holiday concerts in the greater Milwaukee area. True, it's mindnumbingly tedious to play a zillion renditions of the Emporer Waltzes, the Robert Russell Bennet "Selections from the Sound of Music", and the Christmas Singalong that feels like it's 20 minutes long with the horns playing nonstop (mouthpiece through the back of the head, anyone?). But these concerts are some of the most important ones we do, because many of the people at the places we go - retirement homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities - would not be able to travel out to see us. To witness the sheer joy and transformation on these people's faces got me so emotional it was difficult to play, especially at the children's hospital where they televised the concert because so many of the children couldn't leave their rooms they were so sick. Just thinking about that makes me tear up like a blubbering idiot. Now that's the true meaning of the holiday season.
- I have become seriously addicted to listening to trance and dance music on my iPod. Is that so wrong? I know the good Zen masters say you should really be fully present for whatever boring or odious chore you have to do (washing the dishes is Thich Nhat Hanh's favorite example), but I find it goes so much faster if I do it with the good ol' little Nano pumpin' through my ear buds. I guess I'm not a very good Zenmaster. I recommend "Rock (Radio Mix)" by M.Y.C, "Sunrise (Radio Edit)" by Angel City, and "Clear Blue Water (Radio Edit)" by OceanLab. All three songs give the best rush! I can be completely exhausted and put this stuff on and get an instant surge of energy. It's total ear caffeine.
- Which is good, because I have gone completely off of actual caffeine except for an occasional mug of green tea, which doesn't even have as much as black tea, which doesn't have as much as coffee. And I've also figured out why so much decaf coffee tastes like complete ass! It's because most of it is chemically processed to remove the caffeine. If you get the water processed stuff, which is so much better for you anyway (who needs a chemical shit storm going on in their body, anyway?!), it actually tastes quite yummy and doesn't give you the jitters (or the shits, which regular coffee often does to me - one of the many reasons I gave it up).
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Sunday, December 21, 2008
News from the wild upper-midwest tundra
Wow. Where did the time go? I'll give you the cliff notes version of what's been going on in the Hamlin-Lewellen hemisphere...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Brilliant article by Steinem on Palin
Wrong Woman, Wrong Message
By Gloria Steinem
Sept. 4th, 2008 LA Times
Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.
But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need.
Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.
Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."
She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.
So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.
McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act.
Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.
I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.
So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.
Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.
Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.
And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.
This could be huge.
_____
Gloria Steinem is an author, feminist organizer and co-founder of the Women's Media Center. She supported Hillary Clinton and is now supporting Barack Obama.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Nursing cover retailers are WACK!!
So there are these really great inventions called nursing covers. They're basically a swatch of good-quality fabric that ties around your neck so you can feel more comfortable adjusting yourself in public while nursing. I personally wanted one because the logistics of getting comfortably set up to nurse Ben while trying to remain modest were, to say the least, challenging.
There are some things I just don't get, though.
One of the companies that makes these things is - are you ready for this? - actually called Hooter Hiders. I'm not making this s#!t up. Go to their site if you don't believe me. I think there's another one called "Milky Juggs".
???!!! Umm, helloooo? You're not marketing these things to beer-drinking straight men in bars, people. These are women, mothers, with taste, with bodies they actively use and have used for nurturing and creating life. How do you stay in business?!!
Not only are some of the names problematic, but they erroneously market "hip, chic" styles. Most of the fabrics look like color and pattern arguments: paisleys and plaid painfully combined, reds and pinks in serious conflict with eachother, polka dots in ridiculous 70's colors. Maybe I'm boring, but can we just have a navy blue one? Maybe a nice black with stripes? Why does it have to look like a bagpiper had a fight with a drag queen near a sewing machine?
When I decided I wanted one, since Ben is getting bigger and thus easier to hold to nurse without a nursing pillow, I refused to buy the Hooter Hider - or the "Milky Juggs" one, either, thank you very much - for obvious reasons.
So I ordered a nice one from this site.
The thing is, when I got it in the mail, there was a Bible verse sticker on the back. I thought it was odd, and said, "what the hell?" and dismissed it. But then I opened up the cellophane (which I have to admit was beautifully and neatly folded, with a bow around it) and one of those Jesus pamphlets fell out. It was cleverly folded in with the fabric, concealed in the cellophane package.
All religious ideologies aside, I thought this was inappropriate and unprofessional. I mean, is a personal business really the platform for evangelism? I don't go inserting Buddhist and Unitarian paraphernalia into my resumes or CD's, but then those religions are non-proselytizing.
But I digress.
So I was ready to send it back to them, or at the very least send their pamphlet back with a nice note saying, "I'm sorry, this got into my package by mistake...." ....but....
It's a really, really nice nursing cover - 300 thread count, excellently sewn and constructed. It came quickly and correctly addressed, and I love it. As taken aback as I was by the religious in-your-faceness, I checked the "about" section of their website, and they're very upfront about their convictions. I had to give them that. I had missed it when I had initially placed the order, but at least they weren't trying to be sneaky about it. They're at least honest.
For some reason, this made all the difference for me, that it wasn't an ambush - just an expression of their well-meaning beliefs. I thought about the motives of the women who sent it - they're Southern Baptists - and knew in my heart that they didn't mean any harm. I don't share their ideology, but that's certainly not something to get one's panties in a wad about. And they donate 20% of their profits to humanitarian relief efforts, which is really nice.
And now I have a really, really nice nursing cover, made of nice fabric that, while it might not be my first fashion choice, at least does not make the statement "I am blind, and therefore cannot assume responsibility for this atrocious pattern" or "Help! I've fallen into a 70's color scheme and I can't get up!"
Heretically speaking, I have to say I got a tremendous kick out of the Jesus pamphlet. It was a "Love Letter from God", which was a whole bunch of Bible verses strung together in what could not have been larger than 4 point font. To my delight, it included hysterical phrases like "He's the Father you've always wanted!" and was signed, "Your Dad, the Almighty". I don't know why, but that made me chortle.
Oh, this is rich!! I found an online version!! I love the sparkly things in the background near Jesus's face. Classic!!
Yes, I know straight where I'm going - I've already put in my reservation for a luxury handbasket. And that's okay. I'm more aligned with Ghandi and Buddha anyway, and according to the rules, they'll be there waiting for me. :)
There are some things I just don't get, though.
One of the companies that makes these things is - are you ready for this? - actually called Hooter Hiders. I'm not making this s#!t up. Go to their site if you don't believe me. I think there's another one called "Milky Juggs".
???!!! Umm, helloooo? You're not marketing these things to beer-drinking straight men in bars, people. These are women, mothers, with taste, with bodies they actively use and have used for nurturing and creating life. How do you stay in business?!!
Not only are some of the names problematic, but they erroneously market "hip, chic" styles. Most of the fabrics look like color and pattern arguments: paisleys and plaid painfully combined, reds and pinks in serious conflict with eachother, polka dots in ridiculous 70's colors. Maybe I'm boring, but can we just have a navy blue one? Maybe a nice black with stripes? Why does it have to look like a bagpiper had a fight with a drag queen near a sewing machine?
When I decided I wanted one, since Ben is getting bigger and thus easier to hold to nurse without a nursing pillow, I refused to buy the Hooter Hider - or the "Milky Juggs" one, either, thank you very much - for obvious reasons.
So I ordered a nice one from this site.
The thing is, when I got it in the mail, there was a Bible verse sticker on the back. I thought it was odd, and said, "what the hell?" and dismissed it. But then I opened up the cellophane (which I have to admit was beautifully and neatly folded, with a bow around it) and one of those Jesus pamphlets fell out. It was cleverly folded in with the fabric, concealed in the cellophane package.
All religious ideologies aside, I thought this was inappropriate and unprofessional. I mean, is a personal business really the platform for evangelism? I don't go inserting Buddhist and Unitarian paraphernalia into my resumes or CD's, but then those religions are non-proselytizing.
But I digress.
So I was ready to send it back to them, or at the very least send their pamphlet back with a nice note saying, "I'm sorry, this got into my package by mistake...." ....but....
It's a really, really nice nursing cover - 300 thread count, excellently sewn and constructed. It came quickly and correctly addressed, and I love it. As taken aback as I was by the religious in-your-faceness, I checked the "about" section of their website, and they're very upfront about their convictions. I had to give them that. I had missed it when I had initially placed the order, but at least they weren't trying to be sneaky about it. They're at least honest.
For some reason, this made all the difference for me, that it wasn't an ambush - just an expression of their well-meaning beliefs. I thought about the motives of the women who sent it - they're Southern Baptists - and knew in my heart that they didn't mean any harm. I don't share their ideology, but that's certainly not something to get one's panties in a wad about. And they donate 20% of their profits to humanitarian relief efforts, which is really nice.
And now I have a really, really nice nursing cover, made of nice fabric that, while it might not be my first fashion choice, at least does not make the statement "I am blind, and therefore cannot assume responsibility for this atrocious pattern" or "Help! I've fallen into a 70's color scheme and I can't get up!"
Heretically speaking, I have to say I got a tremendous kick out of the Jesus pamphlet. It was a "Love Letter from God", which was a whole bunch of Bible verses strung together in what could not have been larger than 4 point font. To my delight, it included hysterical phrases like "He's the Father you've always wanted!" and was signed, "Your Dad, the Almighty". I don't know why, but that made me chortle.
Oh, this is rich!! I found an online version!! I love the sparkly things in the background near Jesus's face. Classic!!
Yes, I know straight where I'm going - I've already put in my reservation for a luxury handbasket. And that's okay. I'm more aligned with Ghandi and Buddha anyway, and according to the rules, they'll be there waiting for me. :)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Reading my way out of a diaper bag
All those naysayers who said my life as I knew it would end when I had a child can go kiss a moose. I still make time for the things I want to do, but I've actually become more efficient because I have less time to waste. This is good for me, since most of the things I used to waste time doing weren't really all that interesting or good for me anyway.
The writer's strike helped me phase out my "active TV watching" - that is, the shows I'd make time to watch or tape when they were new, as opposed to just flipping through channels. And two of the three shows I was actively watching were phased out anyway (the Bionic Woman and Crossing Jordan). When the few shows I was still remotely involved in finally started back up with their new material, I just wasn't interested anymore. Reading is so much better for my mind, and much less annoying - I am not nearly as tolerant of ads as I once was, especially now that I'm reading more and am accustomed to uninterrupted entertainment and mental engagement. True, there's always the mute button, but then I'm bored and looking for something to do.
Yet another reason I'm not actively seeking out and watching the shows I had been into - CSI, Law & Order, Women's Murder Club? I just can't do the violence and death and suffering implicit in them anymore. It sounds corny, and this is not in any way intended as a judgment against anyone who loves crime drama (I still like reading it, which is somehow different), but now that I'm a mother - now that I've created, nurtured, and borne another human life, with my own body - I just can't deal with death in the same way I used to. I really think that there's something animal that gets triggered in us as a species that's built in to ensure survival, because I can tell you it was immediate and instant once I held Ben for the first time. Now, my empathy for the mothers in the shows is raging out of control, as are the maternal instincts that want to protect every single child on earth from suffering and harm. Stuff from those shows gets into my head, and I start thinking, "Oh my god...what if that happens to Ben? I have to go check on him right now..." and then the insanity begins. I won't do that to myself anymore. It's just too disturbing at this point.
I suppose I could find a new genre of TV watching - say, comedy, or sitcoms. But I am so sick of the same crappy formula. Man is an idiot. Man is also fat pig, and is slob. Man somehow is married to gorgeous, thin, tolerant, supermodel wife. Man, amazingly (given that he is fat, messy, and stupid) takes supermodel wife - who also functions as his full time maid, chef, and clothing consultant - completely for granted. Man treats wife like cave man and is about as communicative. Wife is frustrated with man.
And these situations are portrayed as funny?! ARRRRGH!! I find them trite, unevolved, and, truth be told, quite depressing. If anyone has any suggestions as to good comedy that isn't completely lost in the 50's with regard to gender roles, I'd welcome them. I'm not going all anti-TV prudish; David and I still love watching The Simpsons and Seinfeld together, but that's about it. And at least when I watch things with him, I have someone to talk to or snuggle during the ads. :)
And so, I turn with renewed appreciation to my fiction and non-fiction bibliofriends. I finished Dean Koontz's The Husband, which was a riveting thriller with whiplash-inducing plot twists that were absolutely spinetingling. My brother turned me on to Koontz, who I am delighted to report is a phenomenal writer. Not only does he spin a mean tale, but his imagery and word painting are just so real you feel like you're there. I love a writer who can suck you right into the book like that.
I then picked up Zadie Smith's On Beauty. My friend Jen had turned me on to Zadie a while ago with her debut novel White Teeth, which was very good, but I think On Beauty was even better. Both novels delved deeply and intricately into culture/nationality/race/class clashes, but perhaps because Beauty was set in America and the characters were more believable and sympathetic, I enjoyed it on a deeper level than Teeth.
Recently I have begun Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. While I don't necessarily identify with the author's beliefs or practices, so far I am finding it an enlightening and entertaining glimpse into someone else's spiritual and personal growth journey. Gilbert is hilarious, heartbreaking, insighful, and sometimes annoying (her comedy seems forced and a bit over the top sometimes). But I am having fun reading it so far.
For the Buddhist study and meditation group at my church, we are reading Traleg Kyabgon's The Essence of Buddhism. This is a very good book, but it sometimes keeps the kid gloves on when dealing with difficult issues. I was so annoyed when I read the chapter on karma and rebirth, both of which are probably the top two stickiest subjects Buddhists have to reconcile in their faith. After much turgid definition and explanation, at the very end of the chapter tat addresses both concepts, Kyabgon writes: "...even if rebirth does not exist, we have not lost anything by believing in it, because leading a moral life makes us into better human beings, endowing this life with meaning and significance." I laughed out loud; so what was the whole point of that chapter, then?
Paul Norton of the Milwaukee Mindfulness Center gave a fabulous seminar on Buddhism and meditation at my church at the beginning of April. It was just fantastic. He explained both subjects easily in less than 2 minutes. On karma, he explained that if you do good things and live well, good things will definitely happen but they will be internal, not external. He also said that the literal definition of reincarnation (as in a soul is plucked from one body and then reinserted into another body) is implausible, but rebirth on a figurative level - that we are reborn in every moment, with every breath - is indeed very real. I found his explanations infinitely more helpful than the book. :)
For the Sacred Poetry class, also given at my church, we're reading a lot of Rumi, a Sufi poet who has written some absolutely beautiful (and difficult) poems. We're also reading Mary Oliver's Thirst, which has some of the most deeply poignant and exquisite poems I have ever read. They are so musical in their construction; each one is like a song.
So what are YOU reading these days? You can post a comment anonymously, you know, without having to create a Blogger account...
The writer's strike helped me phase out my "active TV watching" - that is, the shows I'd make time to watch or tape when they were new, as opposed to just flipping through channels. And two of the three shows I was actively watching were phased out anyway (the Bionic Woman and Crossing Jordan). When the few shows I was still remotely involved in finally started back up with their new material, I just wasn't interested anymore. Reading is so much better for my mind, and much less annoying - I am not nearly as tolerant of ads as I once was, especially now that I'm reading more and am accustomed to uninterrupted entertainment and mental engagement. True, there's always the mute button, but then I'm bored and looking for something to do.
Yet another reason I'm not actively seeking out and watching the shows I had been into - CSI, Law & Order, Women's Murder Club? I just can't do the violence and death and suffering implicit in them anymore. It sounds corny, and this is not in any way intended as a judgment against anyone who loves crime drama (I still like reading it, which is somehow different), but now that I'm a mother - now that I've created, nurtured, and borne another human life, with my own body - I just can't deal with death in the same way I used to. I really think that there's something animal that gets triggered in us as a species that's built in to ensure survival, because I can tell you it was immediate and instant once I held Ben for the first time. Now, my empathy for the mothers in the shows is raging out of control, as are the maternal instincts that want to protect every single child on earth from suffering and harm. Stuff from those shows gets into my head, and I start thinking, "Oh my god...what if that happens to Ben? I have to go check on him right now..." and then the insanity begins. I won't do that to myself anymore. It's just too disturbing at this point.
I suppose I could find a new genre of TV watching - say, comedy, or sitcoms. But I am so sick of the same crappy formula. Man is an idiot. Man is also fat pig, and is slob. Man somehow is married to gorgeous, thin, tolerant, supermodel wife. Man, amazingly (given that he is fat, messy, and stupid) takes supermodel wife - who also functions as his full time maid, chef, and clothing consultant - completely for granted. Man treats wife like cave man and is about as communicative. Wife is frustrated with man.
And these situations are portrayed as funny?! ARRRRGH!! I find them trite, unevolved, and, truth be told, quite depressing. If anyone has any suggestions as to good comedy that isn't completely lost in the 50's with regard to gender roles, I'd welcome them. I'm not going all anti-TV prudish; David and I still love watching The Simpsons and Seinfeld together, but that's about it. And at least when I watch things with him, I have someone to talk to or snuggle during the ads. :)
And so, I turn with renewed appreciation to my fiction and non-fiction bibliofriends. I finished Dean Koontz's The Husband, which was a riveting thriller with whiplash-inducing plot twists that were absolutely spinetingling. My brother turned me on to Koontz, who I am delighted to report is a phenomenal writer. Not only does he spin a mean tale, but his imagery and word painting are just so real you feel like you're there. I love a writer who can suck you right into the book like that.
I then picked up Zadie Smith's On Beauty. My friend Jen had turned me on to Zadie a while ago with her debut novel White Teeth, which was very good, but I think On Beauty was even better. Both novels delved deeply and intricately into culture/nationality/race/class clashes, but perhaps because Beauty was set in America and the characters were more believable and sympathetic, I enjoyed it on a deeper level than Teeth.
Recently I have begun Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. While I don't necessarily identify with the author's beliefs or practices, so far I am finding it an enlightening and entertaining glimpse into someone else's spiritual and personal growth journey. Gilbert is hilarious, heartbreaking, insighful, and sometimes annoying (her comedy seems forced and a bit over the top sometimes). But I am having fun reading it so far.
For the Buddhist study and meditation group at my church, we are reading Traleg Kyabgon's The Essence of Buddhism. This is a very good book, but it sometimes keeps the kid gloves on when dealing with difficult issues. I was so annoyed when I read the chapter on karma and rebirth, both of which are probably the top two stickiest subjects Buddhists have to reconcile in their faith. After much turgid definition and explanation, at the very end of the chapter tat addresses both concepts, Kyabgon writes: "...even if rebirth does not exist, we have not lost anything by believing in it, because leading a moral life makes us into better human beings, endowing this life with meaning and significance." I laughed out loud; so what was the whole point of that chapter, then?
Paul Norton of the Milwaukee Mindfulness Center gave a fabulous seminar on Buddhism and meditation at my church at the beginning of April. It was just fantastic. He explained both subjects easily in less than 2 minutes. On karma, he explained that if you do good things and live well, good things will definitely happen but they will be internal, not external. He also said that the literal definition of reincarnation (as in a soul is plucked from one body and then reinserted into another body) is implausible, but rebirth on a figurative level - that we are reborn in every moment, with every breath - is indeed very real. I found his explanations infinitely more helpful than the book. :)
For the Sacred Poetry class, also given at my church, we're reading a lot of Rumi, a Sufi poet who has written some absolutely beautiful (and difficult) poems. We're also reading Mary Oliver's Thirst, which has some of the most deeply poignant and exquisite poems I have ever read. They are so musical in their construction; each one is like a song.
So what are YOU reading these days? You can post a comment anonymously, you know, without having to create a Blogger account...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Black Liberation Theology
I remember back when I was freelancing in NE Ohio, playing Principal Horn with the Akron Symphony. We did this annual outreach benefit concert that was an outrageous success every year. It was called "Gospel Meets Symphony." I remember being completely blown away by the incredible power of the energy onstage.
I was raised Methodist in a wonderful church in Cincinnati. It was a great church to grow up in, and I'll always be thankful for my roots there. As I've grown spiritually through the years, I've delved into many versions of Christianity: UCC, Presbyterian, non-denominational fundamentalist (yes, it's true!) and Pentecostal, in reverse order. After much angst-filled soul searching, I happily came home to the Unitarians - a place that embraces and freely welcomes anything and everything.
Okay, so, back to the Gospel concert. I remember being there on that stage, feeling the pulse and vibrancy of the 300+ voice gospel choir, witnessing the unfettered joy of its members as they cried out and sang with spinetingling resonance. The choir's irrepressable joy, the gorgeously rich jazz chords from the Steinway grand, the unmistakeable texture added by the Hammond organ, the rhythmic explosion of the drum set (played by a ridiculously hot brother who I had a mini-crush on), and the synergy of the whole 85 piece orchestra - what a synthesis of talent. It was overwhelmingly powerful.
I remember being so blown away by this particular version of Christianity, very unlike many of the others I had experienced. The emotions weren't based on fear (believe or you'll go to hell), guilt (you're a sinner, so you'd better be grateful for Jesus's ransom), superiority (God only accepts Christians into heaven, so obviously it's the best religion), or intolerance (of homosexuality, feminism, interracism, sexuality in general, etc.).
The focus was very simple, and very different. The message was about healing, of defying convention and expressing your joy and energy and letting it all out unselfconsciously. About finding strength in the midst of oppression. Of sadness, of trials and tribulations, of immense suffering, slavery and bondage. These are issues which much of the black community knows all too intimately. When you consider that it's been less than 60 years since the shameful Jim Crow laws were in effect - that there are still human beings walking this earth who remember legalized segregation - it makes logical sense that this group would still be feeling the impact of such treatment. I cringe whenever I hear my white peers say things like, "why should they get special treatment?" How about retributive treatment? Affirmative action can't logically be "special" or seen as an "advantage over" another race unless everyone has, at the very least, adequate resources, educative opportunities, well-funded schools, low-crime living environments, and role models to burgeon aspirations for better lives. How can you achieve it if you can't even envision it?
I remember feeling so incredibly lucky to be on that stage, with all of these new people, experiencing all of these new (to me) feelings and approaches to religion. I learned by listening to this great story on Terry Gross's Fresh Air (NPR) that such a Christianity that focuses on empowerment, reversing oppression, and finding strength in the midst of intense difficulty is called Black Liberation Theology.
Now that is a cause I can get behind.
Judging others as bad, going to hell, or otherwise religiously/politically inferior does not ultimately uplift the spirit or do much good for anyone. Much of what is in the Bible doesn't really do it for me either most of the time. But focusing on Jesus's radical message, his persistence in saying it even when the majority didn't want to hear it, his persecution and suffering at the hands of those who didn't want the oppressed to be empowered, and how his message of acceptance, love, and compassion transcends even his brutal murder...that makes sense to me. That is relevant.
While I would never try to claim kinship with the experiences of African Americans (I acknowledge that I grew up with white privilege), I find the concepts of healing suffering, overcoming adversity, social justice, compassion and acceptance, and equality to be incredibly relevant and compelling. If I had to pick a church that had a specifically Christian focus, one that celebrates Black Liberation Theology might be it.
But as it stands, I'm perfectly at home with the Unitarians! ;)
I was raised Methodist in a wonderful church in Cincinnati. It was a great church to grow up in, and I'll always be thankful for my roots there. As I've grown spiritually through the years, I've delved into many versions of Christianity: UCC, Presbyterian, non-denominational fundamentalist (yes, it's true!) and Pentecostal, in reverse order. After much angst-filled soul searching, I happily came home to the Unitarians - a place that embraces and freely welcomes anything and everything.
Okay, so, back to the Gospel concert. I remember being there on that stage, feeling the pulse and vibrancy of the 300+ voice gospel choir, witnessing the unfettered joy of its members as they cried out and sang with spinetingling resonance. The choir's irrepressable joy, the gorgeously rich jazz chords from the Steinway grand, the unmistakeable texture added by the Hammond organ, the rhythmic explosion of the drum set (played by a ridiculously hot brother who I had a mini-crush on), and the synergy of the whole 85 piece orchestra - what a synthesis of talent. It was overwhelmingly powerful.
I remember being so blown away by this particular version of Christianity, very unlike many of the others I had experienced. The emotions weren't based on fear (believe or you'll go to hell), guilt (you're a sinner, so you'd better be grateful for Jesus's ransom), superiority (God only accepts Christians into heaven, so obviously it's the best religion), or intolerance (of homosexuality, feminism, interracism, sexuality in general, etc.).
The focus was very simple, and very different. The message was about healing, of defying convention and expressing your joy and energy and letting it all out unselfconsciously. About finding strength in the midst of oppression. Of sadness, of trials and tribulations, of immense suffering, slavery and bondage. These are issues which much of the black community knows all too intimately. When you consider that it's been less than 60 years since the shameful Jim Crow laws were in effect - that there are still human beings walking this earth who remember legalized segregation - it makes logical sense that this group would still be feeling the impact of such treatment. I cringe whenever I hear my white peers say things like, "why should they get special treatment?" How about retributive treatment? Affirmative action can't logically be "special" or seen as an "advantage over" another race unless everyone has, at the very least, adequate resources, educative opportunities, well-funded schools, low-crime living environments, and role models to burgeon aspirations for better lives. How can you achieve it if you can't even envision it?
I remember feeling so incredibly lucky to be on that stage, with all of these new people, experiencing all of these new (to me) feelings and approaches to religion. I learned by listening to this great story on Terry Gross's Fresh Air (NPR) that such a Christianity that focuses on empowerment, reversing oppression, and finding strength in the midst of intense difficulty is called Black Liberation Theology.
Now that is a cause I can get behind.
Judging others as bad, going to hell, or otherwise religiously/politically inferior does not ultimately uplift the spirit or do much good for anyone. Much of what is in the Bible doesn't really do it for me either most of the time. But focusing on Jesus's radical message, his persistence in saying it even when the majority didn't want to hear it, his persecution and suffering at the hands of those who didn't want the oppressed to be empowered, and how his message of acceptance, love, and compassion transcends even his brutal murder...that makes sense to me. That is relevant.
While I would never try to claim kinship with the experiences of African Americans (I acknowledge that I grew up with white privilege), I find the concepts of healing suffering, overcoming adversity, social justice, compassion and acceptance, and equality to be incredibly relevant and compelling. If I had to pick a church that had a specifically Christian focus, one that celebrates Black Liberation Theology might be it.
But as it stands, I'm perfectly at home with the Unitarians! ;)
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