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Fwd: TOC LoveLetters Xmas
by Sarah H Buss 14 Dec '13

14 Dec '13

Colleagues, If you would like to receive Love Letters to a Mirage in the Desert for a Xmas gift or to sustain your quiet time after, ORDER NOW. Phone Book People 512/472-5050 800/853-9757 Table of Contents is attached. Sarah Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: > From: "Sherrell, Terry" <Terry.Sherrell(a)1touchpoint.com> > Date: December 5, 2013 at 6:52:08 PM CST > To: Sarah Buss <sbuss(a)austin.rr.com> > Subject: TOC >

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] words to 'Those who wait on the Lord'.
by Evelyn Philbrook 13 Dec '13

13 Dec '13

P. 412 of the songbook: THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, Help us, Lord, help us, Lord, in Thy way. Those who love the Mystery . . . Those who live the risen life . . . Those who serve the suffering world . . . Those who die on the march . . . ** Grace and Peace, Evelyn Kurihara Philbrook On 12/12/13, 7:12 AM, jsanders(a)bconnex.net wrote: > Trish, ask me if I could remember the words to the song, Those Who Wait on > the Lord. See her request below. > > Can someone please fill in some of the verses? > > Jan Sanders > > From Trish: There is a song that Tom liked that we are trying to get the > words to. We seem to have other versions but not the one I'm looking for. > > It goes like this: > > Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up > on wings as angels, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and > not faint. Help us, Lord, help us Lord in thy way. > > Then other verses start with phrases like "those who die on the march. . . > " etc. > > I'm sure you recall how we used to sing that in old EI days. > > Thanks and love, Trish > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] words to 'Those who wait on the Lord'.
by Evelyn Philbrook 13 Dec '13

13 Dec '13

P. 412 of the songbook: THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, Help us, Lord, help us, Lord, in Thy way. Those who love the Mystery . . . Those who live the risen life . . . Those who serve the suffering world . . . Those who die on the march . . . ** Grace and Peace, Evelyn Kurihara Philbrook On 12/12/13, 7:12 AM, jsanders(a)bconnex.net wrote: > Trish, ask me if I could remember the words to the song, Those Who Wait on > the Lord. See her request below. > > Can someone please fill in some of the verses? > > Jan Sanders > > From Trish: There is a song that Tom liked that we are trying to get the > words to. We seem to have other versions but not the one I'm looking for. > > It goes like this: > > Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up > on wings as angels, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and > not faint. Help us, Lord, help us Lord in thy way. > > Then other verses start with phrases like "those who die on the march. . . > " etc. > > I'm sure you recall how we used to sing that in old EI days. > > Thanks and love, Trish > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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2014 Directory Delivery late
by Jayandem2＠aol.com 13 Dec '13

13 Dec '13

Dear Colleagues: I imagine if you ordered a copy of the 2014 Directory, you are wondering what has happened to it. We moved over the Thanksgiving week, and with all the preparations, selling our home and buying another one, my computer was down,etc, etc. I am almost ready to take it to the printer, so hopefully you will have it by Christmas. I'm sorry for the delay. For the 15+ years I've been doing this, you got it by the end of November, if you ordered when I first put out the call. By the way, after 13 years at our home in Bradenton, Florida, we moved about 13 miles northeast to Ellenton, Florida. We are now living in Richwood Meadows, a 55+ community of single family homes, and I'm really happy to be in a place where there is a real sense of community, where people are so friendly and helpful. (Remember I was one of the ones who really enjoyed living in "Kemper"!) -- But no elevator to run.... Our new address is 46 Meadow Circle - Ellenton, FL 34222. Our new phone number is (941) 417-7120 Hope you get your Directory soon. Grace and Peace, Mike Tippett

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Re: [Oe List ...] Jaime for Monday
by wangzhimu2031＠aol.com 13 Dec '13

13 Dec '13

Thanks, Lynda. The timing was the surprise since the room I negotiated for the next 17 years won't be turned over and ready for interior construction until June or July, which means, occupancy in October. The livin' is not as easy in Dong Bei's winter as it is in the summer, but leavin' our current hovel can only be an upgrade. It is the visa thing that will take more effort. We give Chinese a hard time when they apply to come to the US; the Foreign Affairs boys are just reciprocating. Meanwhile, here's Tuesday's reflections (Jann will love the forest): The nutty gnats and I A Belgian colleague handed me a paper cup with floating branches of South African spider plant last year. Married to a local Anshan teacher about an hour's drive west of Shenyang, he has since given up a weekend commute. An infant boy now occupies his one-child family quota in urban China. When he handed me the plant, he said it did not require much maintenance, and its spread is prolific. Well, my apartment is now referred to as the "forest". Even my classroom ledges were robust with green leaves to process the carbon dioxide from resident homo sapiens while adding oxygen to the atmosphere. There is just one unexpected consequence: gnats. They thrive on the potted plants. It is winter at the moment with the indoor plants sitting just above the radiators, so the gnats are warm and snug. I visited the local garden store to seek advice on how to manage the growing gnat population and I was handed an aerosol with pictures of a frog lounging on lotus flower. I was told I could de-bug my environment with it. Upon closer look at the chemical content of the air spray, I decided that the frogs would just have to coexist with the gnats! (The gnats are evidently winning since I had not seen a frog around lately.) As to my coexistence with the nuts of the world, that's another story. When the boys with the star stripes indulge their PS-4 and Xbox finger habits, they command sleek Mirages, F-16s, stealth jets and long-range B-52s. When Zhongguo delineated its air defense identification zone, the Pentagon boys and the Nippon/SoKor co-players decided to test Beijing's response by not complying. The Air Defiance Zone was thus established, gloated over by the western Press for the absence of a visible Chinese response. The charge is that China unilaterally changed the Air Defense parameters in East China Sea, foreshadowing what it will do to assert a similar zone in the contested South China Sea. Spare us some historical musing. First, the air defense zone the U.S. and its allies insist is being violated is the one the U.S. handed to Japan to prepare the Ryukyu Islands turnover confiscated after WWII. The Diaoyu-Senkaku-Pinnacle islands is part of Taiwan's geography, at one time a U.S. weather station (read, listening station) included in the turnover for Japan's administrative control. In 1970, weak China lodged a UN protest claiming historical sovereignty over the three rock outcroppings. As is true in every continental shelf, the prospect of fossil fuel in the area is highly probable. Further south, the black gold underneath South China Sea was confirmed in 1964; that's when oil companies in the Philippines and bordering nations started carving out areas of access close to the shores they were situated. The French had the Paracels and Uncle Sam eyed western outcroppings off Palawan where crude at "East Texas oil bonanza" was found in '75. China's Nansha (Spratleys) suddenly woke up to numerous belligerent neighbors. Fast forward to 2013. China's economy is flourishing and though it only has a Riga refurbished tub for a Navy carrier, it now displays air muscle. The naughty nutty boys abroad do not tire in irritating the Sino naughty nutty boys by supporting disruptive movements in old Chairman Mao's borders. Xizang (Tibet) and Xinjiang (Uyghurs) are recent sites of de-stabilizing acts, and any hydrofoil and catamaran can frolic in the South and East China Seas. Nippon, Hanggul, and the U.S. wants access to the area, pump oil, and keep their platforms and derricks, too. US VP Biden visited China recently, putting the onus of responsibility on his host to watch "their disruptive Defense Zone behavior". This, after Nippon surprisingly nationalized Diaoyu/Senkaku/Pinnacle, after PM Shinzo Abe rattled this samurai reminiscent of militant arrogance in Manchuria, and after the US Navy ignored objections to constructing a Subic/Guantanamo-like naval base in Korea's Jeju Do. PM Li Keqiang reminded his guest that Zhongguo is doing everything by the book. On the other hand, the Penguin (UK registry, worldwide operations) world map 2012 edition has the South China Sea now replaced with Luzon Sea!!! Boy, when did that happen. I am sure the defensive nutty boys of Beijing did not miss the stealthy move! The world trades on China's Renminbi power. China is smart to set rules within its delineated borders. China's energy policy moves towards alternative sources away from burning coal and oil that presently dominates its electricity plants. Besides, oil exploration technology is a western monopoly. The aviation academy in SAU trains pilots to fly EVs in its arsenal of futuric aircrafts, the Ruixiang. The two-seater propeller plane is not designed to carry instruments of mass destruction. Like electric vehicles, it plugs into an outlet every 40 minutes of flying. World War III is not going to be launched on this technological innovation. I live with the gnats. They annoy at night when they are attracted to the table lamp but they have as much right to occupy the air space as I do. I don't mind. It's the nutty boys with their oil obsessions that worry me. -----Original Message----- From: Lynda Cock <llc860(a)triad.rr.com> To: wangzhimu2031 <wangzhimu2031(a)aol.com> Sent: Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:21 am Subject: RE: [Oe List ...] Jaime for Monday

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Jaime for Monday
by wangzhimu2031＠aol.com 12 Dec '13

12 Dec '13

Happy New Year came early in my hovel. Have a month to scramble. Here's a Monday write-up for the Saipan Tribune. Mature wine uncorked:a retirement monologue It was midweek in our pentateuchal reflection on Madiba’s eventfulcompletion of a vivaciously celebrated life, and while writing of what Ithought it must be to embody in one’s being the challenge of the times toeffect radical change on the question of what it means to be human, the lawoffice of Shenyang Aerospace University's International Education College droppeda bomb we had anticipated but did not think it was going to come so soon and sosuddenly. I am now in the middle of a very radical and rapid change. One of the teachers from New York who spent half of hisadult life in Hawaii is fond of saying, “as long as Jaime is here, I am safe”. Liaoning province in China who owns and runsour University, has an existing rule in the books not to employ any foreignerover 65. They had been ignoring that forthe last three years in our case, but this year, as the reform ethos around thewhole country gets pushed, public entities are urged to operate strictly by thebook. My colleague is a year my junior;I chimed 68 last August. I am, ironically, a casualty of a policy that Isupport. Implementing existing rules,published or unfamiliar, is not one of China’s forte, and it would be nice forthat to change. There are many goodrules and statutes in the books that we wish were implemented even if it isjust the highly publicized ones like the one that forbids honking of motor vehiclehorns in campus, or minding once vehicular speed when driving around schoolroadways. In a country where the retirement age of 55 for women and 60for men qualifies for superannuation, it finds the age of 65 a rather matureone. The rule not to hire above 65 haseven got tighter. It is now down tow 60,the same as the locals. The rule is thereto enable elders to spend more time with grandchildren, and voluntaryinterests. “We took your case all the way up to the ProvincialCommittee, with even the College Dean making an appearance and impassioned appealon your behalf,” the attorney ruefully intoned, “to no favorable consequence,for the Foreign Affairs is adamant that a rule is a rule, and unless it isamended or changed, it must be applied universally across the board.” This came about while the school was applying for my workingvisa, after the school and I already signed next year’s contract, after thefaculty liaison officer already bought and let me utilize a round-trip air ticketI normally use during the Spring break at the end of my contract year but I usedto visit my mother in the hospital in October, and after the financial officeralready designated and set aside my salary for the next contract year. Also, I do not feel, think, or act retired, and given theillusory youth of my Asian physique, I do not even look retire-able. But formallyretiring is what I ended up doing, not only to save “face” from the appearanceof being refused employment but also to keep the school from looking like theyignored a rule and is now compelled to enforce it! It is the season when the authentically possible isincarnate and birthed (my Christmas story), so the question I need to answeris, what does the situation require, and do I have a role still to play in it? By the attorney’s account, the schoolofficials who went up to bat for me did so on the gathered information thatstudents were pleased with our classroom management and are learning from ourpedagogy. Unfortunately, that does notcount when faced with the power of bureaucratic resolve. Individual cases do not merit exceptions to arule, a principle I do not normally disagree with, but have been known toignore in practice. Now, is this worth writing about, and is the faithful readers’patience worth taxing? Probablynot. For what we write out loud would berelevant were my issue with retirement be like those of my fellow elders in theCommonwealth who had recently been impinged upon on their bank balances by lessthan 25 percent of normal. Ours issimply recognizing that, perhaps, it is time to cease wading our brittle bonesthrough the winter snow to get to a classroom. The SVES principal at the time I left PSS to deal with my cervicalpain suggested that I consider medical retirement. I looked into it (thanks Kinai). The CNMI was already in default in its shareto my retirement credit so I took my contributions to pay for medicalattention, and also let PSS call my withdrawal from service. I did apply to return but a colleague at HRwas candid enough to blurt out: "Jaime, in our tight situation, we canhire two and a half entry levels for what we have to pay you." Right now, I hang on to my father’s words. “Retirement,” he once wisely said, “is simplyreplacing the old tires with new ones.” So we are technically retiring from the employed rolls of teachers atthe University, but we are gearing up with new tires ready to bolt into theproductive frame! Given the state of our health (still good!), we willendeavor to face the question: what is required in the world of effectivepedagogy, and do I still have anything to contribute into it? When I have an answer, I will let you know. Jaime Vergara wangzhimu2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Celebrate the life of Tom Broesma
by jsanders＠bconnex.net 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

This message was on Trish Broesma facebook. I noticed there was not an announce here so I am posting. We celebrate the full and joyful life of Tom. This morning upon waking we discovered that my ex-husband Tom ("wasband" as he called it, me the "fife") made his final transition peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours. He has been living here with me, our daughter and two grandchildren for the past 5 months. It has been a beautiful time where he helped care for the grandchildren and was in a wonderfully peaceful and happy time of his life. We are all torn with sorrow right now, but at the same time so grateful that we have experienced these happy past few months with him. In the past few days and months he has talked of moving on with his work, speaking to us of how peaceful and content he felt about that. Our sons are arriving in the coming days and we will have a memorial service next weekend or in the days after that. If you live locally and would like to know when we have set a particular time, please contact me via email. This morning upon waking we discovered that my ex-husband Tom ("wasband" as he called it, me the "fife") made his final transition peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours. He has been living here with me, our daughter and two grandchildren for the past 5 months. It has been a beautiful time where he helped care for the grandchildren and was in a wonderfully peaceful and happy time of his life. We are all torn with sorrow right now, but at the same time so grateful that we have experienced these happy past few months with him. In the past few days and months he has talked of moving on with his work, speaking to us of how peaceful and content he felt about that. This photo was taken of him recently with little Gweni who turned two years old a couple of weeks ago. It shows that happiness just perfectly. Our sons are arriving in the coming days and we will have a memorial service next weekend or in the days after that. If you live locally and would like to know when we have set a particular time, please contact me via email.

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Free Mandela for Friday
by wangzhimu2031＠aol.com 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

Am in a scrambling mode so I am posting this a day ahead of schedule. As to the newness of my situation, more on that Monday. Jaime -----Original Message----- From: Jaime Vergara <pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com> To: editor <editor(a)saipantribune.com> Sent: Wed, Dec 11, 2013 1:19 pm Subject: Free Mandela for Friday JayVee, I just came from the University lawyer's office and while I am airing radical change in my pentateuchal reflection on Madiba, it appears that a newness of my situation has come knocking at my door. More on this later. Here is the fifth and last installment on the Madiba saga. Jaime Free Mandela We beginchronologically. Madiba comes from theXhoza clan and becomes a lawyer. Hemorphs into a firebrand of the African National Congress and gets sentenced tolife in prison for crimes committed by the ANC of which Nelson Mandela was thehead. In his trial in 1964, hesaid: “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought againstblack domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free societyin which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. Itis an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is anideal for which I am prepared to die.” Theinternational community, in response to the apartheid policies of South Africa,and in light of legal civil rights advances in the United States, pressured SA todivest itself from its white supremacist bias. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Mon, speaking at Mandela's funeral, talkedof the sanctions imposed on South Africa. The handwriting was on the wall when the enigmatic F. W. de Klerkaffected the recognition of the ANC, and released Nelson Mandela from 27 yearsin jail. Warmly called F.W.,de Klerk traced early India ancestry and a descent from a Khoikhoi interpreter(Hottentots to Europeans), most recently of Austrian lineage. He presided over the dissolution of theapartheid policy, and served as Deputy President to Nelson Mandela when thelatter was elected president. Both menwere awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. They were adversarial partners full of caustic remarks about and againsteach other. Still, they moved a nation intonew times. On BBC early2010, F.W. said: "When Mandela goes it will be a moment when all SouthAfricans put away their political differences, will take hands, and will togetherhonor maybe the biggest known South African that has ever lived." The day after the Madiba's death, he intoned:"He was a great unifier and a very, very special man in this regard beyondeverything else he did. This emphasis onreconciliation was his biggest legacy." The freeing ofMandela was also the freeing of de Klerk, perhaps, one freer than the other,but nonetheless, both freed. This isinstructive to all the proud and fledgling democracies, Councils, Legislatures,Plenums, Diets, Presidiums, Parliaments and Congresses of the realm. The program of freedom is not an ideologicalbattle but a pragmatic one, the incarnation of visualized possibility made fleshin actual time and space on persons and peoples. The dramaticchanges of imaginal metaphors required were unmistakable to Mandela. When de Klerk decided to release him fromprison, F.W. wanted it done immediately where Nelson would be flown toJohannesburg and set free. Madiba refused. He needed 10 days for the ANC to prepare forhis changed status. This was anaudacious refusal of a jailbird being released on pressure from thejailer. They settled for a week, withtime for Nelson to walk out of prison on his own magnanimous style andforgiving humility, paving the road towards unimaginable reconciliation in aculture mired in the scars of divisiveness and discord. Mandela did not walk out to freedom; Mandelawas already free when he walked out of his prison door! Barack HusseinObama, half Kenyan, the first Afro-American President of a country that alsohad its history of racial segregation, sat in the stands at the Soweto memorialservice, a living example of one influenced by Mandela's political expressionof his freedom. Gandhi used"salt" to rally South Asia against the British Empire; MLK Jr. got mileageout of having a dream, a concrete one for himself, his children, and America,to be free, at last! Mandela took sportsto mellow the Afrikaners' resistance to change and calm the reflexive lust forretribution from oppressed parties. In the 2009movie Invictus, Matt Damon plays theSpringboks rugby team captain Francois Pienaar, and Morgan Freeman, Mandela,the beleaguered first black President of a nation only a year old in office challengedby rampant poverty and crime. He noticedhis black constituency cheered for the opposing team when South Africa playedEngland. Mandela refused to be defeated. On the way to hosting the 1995 World Cup, Mandela and Pienaar got thehome crowd on its side, and triumphed over their traditional rivals, the AllBlacks of New Zealand, in the cup's final. The movie is a great Francois-in-Wonderland story. It also happens to be true. Freeman commentson Mandela's death: "as we remember his triumphs, let us, in his memory,not just reflect on how far we've come, but on how far we have to go. Madibamay no longer be with us, but his journey continues on with me and with all ofus." Free Mandelahappened even before our picayune efforts to get him out of prison wassuccessful. F.W. get the Statesman awardshe deserves, but Mandela has the open field of the fresh air of freedom all tohis own. He walks and flies with angels,to use an earlier metaphor. Morgan Freemanis quite to the point. As we bid theXhoza bushman adieu, it is not hisfreedom that is at stake. Ours is. Madiba is dead! Long live the human instinct to be free! Jaime Vergara pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Passing of Rose Anne's grandson
by Lynda Cock 10 Dec '13

10 Dec '13

With permission of Rose Anne, I am posting this very sad notice on our OE list and Colleague Dialogue. Some of you may have seen it on Facebook, but some of us don't see that but would want to be aware of it to share our care with this family. Contact Addresses listed below. With care and prayers, Lynda Cock ------------------ From: coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com [mailto:coevolutionacademy@juno.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:42 PM To: llc860(a)triad.rr.com Subject: For the list serve Dear Friends and Colleagues, Blase and I are so deeply heartbroken by the passing away of our precious grandson, Aaron Pena. He died Thursday or Friday, not sure. Angela Boone Kelley, my daughter found him Saturday morning in his room, thinking he was just asleep. He just had his 19th birthday on Monday, December 2. Our family is crushed by this. Aaron was/is very special. His Uncle Ben Sands said, " He was a shining star whose light was too bright for this world." Matthew Sands is also his uncle. Our colleague and close friend Debra Harris said, "Aaron had a HUGE heart. He cared very deeply about the world and other people. And (despite teenage angst) he was destined to be of lifelong service to the planet. At a young age he used to talk about the problems of the world and what needed to be done in a very comprehensive way. He was very spiritual and compassionate- yet private. A very beautiful soul and sensitive young man. We and especially our son Michael, will miss him very deeply. The world will miss the fine gifts and deep service, his capacity to give fully of himself. Namaste Aaron, your light shown too briefly on this sojourn. We bow to you. Until we meet again, Journey on in Spirit- your light still shines fully on the other side of the veil." Our friend Lee said, "We remember the gift of meeting him, touched and inspired by the strength of his sensitivity and receptivity to the unfolding spirit within him, clearly walking strongly on a radiantly rich spiritual path. Such a b...eautiful soul, gifted in many ways and with a very bright future. The future, however, is Now. Even now there is not one mis-taken step from his perspective, and it is our challenge to remain in synch with the unfolding, perfect Plan, to align our hearts with what is Real and True, and to support Aaron - as he comforts us - in a divine Plan which quite easily and understandably our hearts might initially resist. We are all spirit, all of the time, and our interconnection is eternal in the bond of Love, irrespective of whether we are wearing a body or not. We pray for all those who love Aaron, hoping that the Wonder and Vision that are now his, unimpeded, may be felt similarly reflected in our own lives, and that in Love and a confidence born of that Love, we will continue to walk our pathway Home together. " ---Lee Horseman John Boone is also his grandfather and Aaron Boone is his uncle. John's address is in the directory. Aaron's address is: 2242 Custer Lane Covington, KY 41017 He's on Facebook as is Angela and Ben and Matt. Aaron's service will be in Houston on Saturday at Santana Funeral Home. Saturday 12/14 2pm Santana Funeral Home 713-880-2828 5352 Katy Freeway. Blase Sands will be performing the service. Angela's contact info is: Angela Boone-Kelley 14907 Walters Rd. Houston, Tx 77068 email:Kelleya@sbcgloabl.net Blase and my email address is: coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com Our new address in Washington State is: 181 Delmary Rd. Chehalis, WA 98532 I'm giving these because Lynda asked me to. We are off the list serv because we have been consumed with moving and setting our new house up. Aaron was going to come and live with us here in Washington on the river. He loved eagles and I so wanted him to see the bald eagles flying down the river here. He loved Nature. I don't know what to say about flowers, etc. It's still too new and we are still very raw with grief and I don't want to ask Angela right now so If you feel like sending a card or a message or flowers do what you want - or make a donation to an ecological project - Aaron would like that. I felt a need to let you know. Many of you have already sent beautiful, loving messages on facebook and I deeply appreciate that. Much love, Rose Anne Sands ____________________________________________________________ <http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3142/52a7c320bb2e643201711st03vuc> $29 Cheap Car Insurance Cheapest US Car Insurance Rates! Lowest Rates Start At $28.99/Month UsAutoInsuranceNow.com <http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3142/52a7c320bb2e643201711st03vuc>

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A Madiba Thursday in the Saipan Tribune
by wangzhimu2031＠aol.com 10 Dec '13

10 Dec '13

This group will remember a foundational document written by members of the Order I received as a "Prologomena of the Spirit Movement" eons ago. Some of the phrases I use in this article (without apologies since we never claimed originality for whatever we write!) are lifted out of the beginning section of that piece of literary achievement. Madiba welcomes the world It is too early to sing of the wise men who visited the infantchild of Bethlehem in the Christmas story of the season - Gaspar (Sheba),Melchor (Arabia), and Balthazar (Egypt), but we could not avoid the thought as Ilearned that Clinton, Bush, Obama and Jimmy Carter (US), Cameron, Brown, Blairand John Majors (UK), are descending into South Africa to attend Mandela'sscheduled memorial service. The first batch were dignitariespaying homage to a messianic royal (Matthew and Luke gospels are not meant tobe history), while the second batch consisted of three ex-Presidents and asitting top Executive of the only superpower of the world, the United States ofAmerica, joined by the four living Prime Ministers of Britain, and a host ofworld leaders and dignitaries around the world confident enough not to have alocal coup in their absence! Of the U.S. in the second group,they came to pay tribute to an ex-felon who was considered a terrorist until2008, who spent 27 years behind bars, but managed to keep a country from civilwar, and let the world know through his being that the value of one's skin coloris not even that deep compared to compassion and grace. A methodological side trip: thetriune mindset is an occidental Hegelian heritage of thesis, antithesis, andsynthesis. The yin-yang of the taijifocuses on the center pivot point holding the balance of the whole, while the feng shui's east-west-north-south axisis made whole by the fifth area, the wufang, the center. The essence of oriental balancing centerand harmonizing middle counts a lot. Madibastraddled the gamut of both methods, plus. In the history of South Africa thatcame into being through the imperial designs of Europe, it brought India andChina into the picture mixed in to the Bantu underpinnings, the influences of ArabicNorth Africa and the Middle East, the dominance of the Teutonic-Slavic mindset,and the rapacious fingers of corporate capitalism of London-NewYork-Tokyo-Singapore, we have the various strands that came into play in the vauntedMadiba unifying 'magic'. Massive changes racked the previouscentury. It went through two upheavalsunprecedented in scope and intensity in the history of humankind. Violent as the two World Wars were, the moreintense disturbance is in the depth of human consciousness itself. Its radicalness matches only the vastness ofits scope. For the human race ischallenged to invent anew what it means to be human. This defines the revolutionary character ofour time. Nelson Mandela is preeminently oneof our revolutionaries whose personal existence wrestled with the civilizationalconvulsion occurring. Taking the tensions of a material-centered economy andthe political strife of a multi-racial constituency, he resolved in his beingthe crisis of human identity and vocation, and transformed the revolutionarybent on destruction to the authentic old sage of the bush that only had simplegrace and common compassion to share with fellow human beings. He showed in his being a new fabric ofhumanness that began a work in progress now operating in many lives around theworld. We number with the window washersamong the servants in that entourage. Many in the world are overwhelmed tothe point of collective trauma, a failure of nerve, expressed in such outburstsas recently seen in Kiev and Bangkok, and not too long ago, in Syria. Hoping to retain the ennui of the familiar,many hang on to the illusory comfort of more sophisticated arsenals in home closets,or more statutes to bar entry of the stranger into the town's square. Many engage in frantic activism pitting groupsagainst each other for the therapy of little gains and momentary reliefs. But the malaise of our time is notrevolution itself; it is the fear-filled refusal to embrace radical change thatmaintains human economies based on sustainable survival rather than profit forthe few, that meet needs before obeisance to the altar of hyped wants. Its cousin is the denial that there is such amalaise at all. There is no escape for individualsor for humankind. We are all in thistogether. That is why a Mandela is suchglaring demonstration of what is possible. The man had the resource, the reason and the skill to be an instrumentof mass destruction, but instead, he offered the proverbial other cheek tothose who despised what he stood for, and proceeded to construct in a delicatebalancing and unifying manner the structures of care and the services ofcompassion that a world in pain sorely needed. That the United States and the UKdeign to send their preeminent leaders to join the world whose Secretary-Generals,Presidents, Prime Ministers, and reigning monarchs are attending to bid thisold grandpa adieu on his way to hisgrave, it may just start the process to forge new patterns of social relations,to create new symbols of personal meaning, to harness the deeper level of humanconsciousness, and to release new tides of creativity into the total humanprocess. Madiba's life triggered our hope. In there, we'll stay a long while. Jaime Vergara pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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