Grace W. Rogers

“But at the end of the day, I would hope people are doing things out of love, not hate.” Eric Reid as quoted by Time, June 15, 2020, pg 56.

I also want to thank General Mattis for his courage having recognized that there is a time when loyalty to a higher value overrides loyalty to an authority when that authority’s actions are consistent with abuse of power and a violation of his/her oath of office. Kudos, and Kudos to your peers who share this courage.

I see hope on the horizon.

Mother Theresa’s perspective on life and worth came from a strong moral core and is needed right now, needed in a form to permeate every heart: “If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole World would be clean.” These solid words, as Anjali Andrea Alban has shared, contain the next action step: walk your broom to a neighbor’s house.

Overheard on NPR 04/16/20 around 8:58 p.m. — and I’ll use a single quotation designation as I may have made a slight accidental error in transcription — ‘Maybe that’s the point of dis-information, to make it so people can’t have meaningful conversations with each other.’ Oh! How I treasure those who can and do engage in conversations about topics I may have a different opinion about — the ancient process of learning in action.

National Geographic’s May 2017 article entitled “Whose Moors Are They: The future of Scotland’s signature landscape is murky amid debates over class, culture, and nature” on page 111 included a thought dating back to Aristotle wherein the presence of virtue in us is indicated by how we use property. No doubt he, at minimum, meant the sustainable and non-invasive use of land for the enhancement of the greatest number of living things.

A birthday shout-out to Dr. Maya Angelou, a true beacon of humanity’s essence informing her ability to extend unconditional love and tolerance to all, while standing loud and firm against injustice and duplicity.  Today is her birth’s 92^nd anniversary, and there are two ways in particular to be active in her honor.  The first is for students, especially high school students, to read and respond to her poem “Still I Rise” in one of three ways: Read it, write about what it means to them, or complete an act of kindness. Then post, including a video if desired, on #DRAngelouGift.  Then, make giving an act of kindness a daily practice.  Happy Birthday Dr. Angelou.

From page 69: “A good government does need a head to see the way forward. It also needs a heart to make it feel, and a spine to keep it upright..” My understanding of this last means the courage to lead with moral integrity, such as when one takes an oath one does not break that oath.

I have changed my focus to reflecting on articles I have read in such publications as The New Yorker, Literary Journals, or books. The reason? Too many in “leadership” positions have seemingly abandoned universal values of honesty and integrity.

Outside my nurturing kitchen window a bird feeder gently rocks in the morning breezes. It is outlined by a dream-catcher affixed to the glass. Two species are busily bobbing at the seeds, each seemingly intent on their individual missions while respectfully leaving its fellow avian in peace. Two species. Inches apart. They could be fighting over resources. They are not. They are sharing. Why can’t we?

The Solstice has passed and the redwood needles, in earlier times bright with food-producing green, are browning as they ready themselves for passage. Soon they will fall, or be blown by breezes, to join terrestrial soil; and just beyond the branches on which they rest tiny tips are readying themselves for spring sunshine to burst their buds into bright green lemony harbingers of renewal.

National Geographic, April 2017, page 63 reflecting on the role of the non-biological  on our biological lives: Adults in 2015 spent approximately ten hours a day with their eyes focused on a screen. If our day splits roughly, with eight hours each, between sleep, work and other, where does that leave family, love, helping to make the world a better place, appreciating nature, or sitting down with a friend or co-worker and having a conversation?