Nov. 2nd remembered

"No msatter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesnt know it. --- The Alchemist

It was sorta ironic opening the Washington Post websitetoday to find the following:

One year ago today was one of the best and worst days of my life.

1. The emotional images from Rosa Parks memorial service, stories of her life and courage to speak up for civil rights, using her faith as the backbone for her courageous actions.

And then in contrast:

2. The Methodist Church court ruling to defrock Beth Stroud because she is in a lesbian relationship: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/31/AR2005103100971.html

3. Alito Leans Right Where O'Connor Swung Left

It seems to me the messages, actions and wordsof Rosa Parks along with all of the other civil rights leaders of her time are remembered but only in context.This is truly disappointing. I wish that all ofuswould be able to see the connecting between the injustice that Rosa Park worked for and the injustice that we face these days in our own nation.

My time here has reaffirmed for me my mission and vision for peace and justice and looking at both items in the face of great obstacles in my own life and in the institutions that are hard to change. I took some time yesterday to read more about the life of Rosa Parks-- most of which was reminders of February dedication of African American History Month, but I learned some things that I didnt know about her. One quote that really seem to sum up her life to me was this:

"I am leaving this legacy to all of you: to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision the people will perish and without courage and inspriation dreams will die-- dream of freedom and dream of peace." --1988

I recently read The Alchemist, which if you haven't picked up (or havent read it for awhile) you should. It is an easy read, but chalk full of great life messages. I have attempted to read it a few times and I think my soul was ready for it now because it hit me in a place that very few books go. Funny enough the very first few pages are the ones that really grabbed me:

"What is personal calling. It is God's blessing-- is it the path that God chose for you here on Earth."

There are 4 obstacles in achieving personal calling:

1. We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But is still there.

2. Love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.

3. Fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse " oh well I didn't really want it anyway" Are defeats necessary? Well necessary or not, they happen. When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and get up eight times.

4. The fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives. Oscar Wilde said "each man kills the thing he loves." And its true. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. I have known a lot of people who when their personal calling was within their grasp, went on to commit a series of stupid mistakes and never reached their goal--- when it was only a step away. But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.

I think that today I am reflecting on all of these obstacles as well as my own emotional obstacles. One year ago today was one of the best and worst days of my life. A year and a half ago I choose to move to Ohio to be in the trenches of a campaign that for me was beyond the candidates but more about the apathy for the care of the nation and world. I was sick of missed opportunites by our leaders to make real change and sick of the direction that our leaders were taking us. Politcal reform is difficult and change always has its roots in the people that support them. It seemed obvious to work with the group of people that see the world in less black and white terms and to remove a bad leader. 7 months of emotional and physical sweat went into getting young people out to vote for Kerry. Election day was one of the best days of my life. Seeing my personal vision of masses of young people voting was just amazing. The lines despite the cold dreary rainy weather and the endless good news from the field. The night of Novemeber 2nd will forever be remembered as a blur of emotional exhaustion. As all the results came in it seemed impossible to comprehend how we lost. Watching Kerry's consession speech was numbingly painful.

Today I am working through all of the obstacles ahead of me but I truly feel the 3rd obstacle---- recovering from defeats. There will be many more I am sure and I can see now the mistakes that I had made even just last year and and last month, but I like the simple message that as long as you fall you can pick yourself up.

I know that history works in cycles, so I know that todays news is a hard blow for many of us. But I hope that each day we can pick ourselves up and work for our vision, for our "personal calling" whatever that might be.

Keep up the good work!

Much love on this day of reflection

Peace, Rose

"Folowing your dreams is like learning a foreign language; you will make mistakes but you will get there in the end. ---- Paulo Coelho