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As we each grow and evolve in any one particular arena, it carries over to all others. My life has become richer. Life is rich with its possibilities. Whatever others may feel, take the chance on yourself. My Dearest New York Cousins: Where can I possibly begin to thank you for making me so very proud to be an American? I watched in horror the tragedy as it unfolded on Tuesday from my home in Anaconda, Montana. I also observed in total respect and appreciation the acts of heroism, kindness, valor, and stamina portrayed by every New Yorker in view. What a remarkable breed of people you are! Visiting your magnificent city in my youth, I felt awe at the colorful ethnicity of your metropolis. I met a fascinatingly unique cab driver who, I was sure, learned his evasive driving maneuvers in war-torn Europe during the blitzkriegs. Transferring from the taxi of a non-fluently English speaking driver to that of my Broncs-dialected “missile pilot,” I sped over curbs, barely missing pedestrians and vendors with the continually flowing narrative of expletives from my chauffeur. This somewhat rough-and-tumble off-work construction-employee handily raced me to the airport for my much-needed flight and treated me as the somewhat shell-shocked Southern lady I was. It was a grand parting gesture and trademark stamp from your fair city. You are a people of passion and deep sense of community commitment. While watching a group of men from one of your union locals march determinedly toward the U.S. World Trade Center to volunteer in any capacity for search and rescue, I felt my heart respond to this utterly selfless act of heroism. “A life saved is one more returned,” was their cry of engagement. I know this to be but one of thousands of instances where you exhibited the best of what we as Americans represent. Your firefighters, police, public officials, and everyday citizens rose to the catastrophe and proved your most memorable place in our prayers. You, each and every one of you, are our illustrious warriors today. Television media coverage allowed all of us throughout the country to observe the definition of courage in action. With the nightmare unfolding in dreadful wartime fashion, not a single participant in this horrendous drama faltered in achieving and demonstrating the admirable qualities of your mettle and moral strength. Neither acts of insanity nor reprehensible outflows of non-directed emotion occurred. You were bloodied, but you held your heads high and continued in the face of unbearable conflict to give your all, to give your best. I can only hope that my fellow Montanans and I – a little more laid back in nature than you, our New York cousins - can rally to our role as Americans as brilliantly and magnificently as you have so boldly demonstrated. Thank you for reminding us of the true nature of America. Our creeds and mission statements are more than words; they embody a way of life and a profound faith in our land, our people, and our future possibilities. You make us remember that we as Americans possess well springs of energy and spirit. We all aspire to join the “Round Table of Honor.” You, our cousins, have attained the first seats of today’s knights in Camelot. You are the survivors of this first battle in what is to come and you have shown us dignity, fortitude, humanity and determinism amid monumental strife. Our thoughts and prayers go to you in your losses and grief, for we share these with you. The phrase “thank you” can barely touch the periphery of our heartfelt emotions. You, our New York cousins, provide us with the treasure of enlightenment, for we once again unite in our patriotism. God Bless. The movie, “Dark City,” shows a slightly different take on Ursula Le Guin’s The Turn of the Lathe. The protagonist in Le Guin’s book is suffering – when he sleeps, he dreams. Upon awakening, the world has been newly created from the dream – his nighttime vision. The main character agonizes over the sense of a lack of control as his ethical values are revealed within the script of his dreamscape. For example, when he mentally deals with racial issues, the dream creation envisions a world of “gray”, no colors. His mind eliminates the grounds for bias. The hero grows into self-awareness and understanding as he seeks to assess the evolutions of his creations, answer his quest for the rationale of an ever-changing world, and attack his own fears. These concerns diminish with each new realization discovered within his makeup. The hero in The Turn of the Lathe begins to take responsibility for his personal strengths and desires through directed dreaming. The antagonist in the plot is a manipulative psychologist whose attempts to aid our lead player become entangled in his own demands for harnessing power and physical manifestation. As the main character gains awareness and grows in his own consciousness, so does his compassion toward the power-hungry doctor. In a fascinating twist, the hero discovers that his psyche is the ONLY psyche – his alone remains after a total holocaust...there is no world, as we know it. It lies in smoldering, lifeless destruction. As this being’s sense of ethics evolves, he even tries to protect the tunnel-visioned psychologist from discovering the truth: all things and people exist only through the creations of our hero. No identities prevail outside his own. “Dark City” develops with another young man, also the protagonist, who awakens during a memory and personality transplant to become aware of the bizarre manipulations of beings wreaking havoc with the entire population of a test tube city. Their purpose is to learn of the human species’ reactions so that they might add soul to their collective mentality. In their unemotionally analytical search, only the outcome matters and no care or consequence exists for the lives that have been shifted countless times, as pawns controlled by their puppet masters. Some intervention of fate shines a cognizance of the aliens’ skill of “tuning” upon the hero. He ascertains their ability to change physical reality through mind focus coupled with alien technology. A “doctor”in this scenario also plays a role. This man was forced to eliminate his own past memories in exchange for retaining his medical/psychological expertise; his talents to be utilized by the aliens to nightly reconstitute the drama of human interaction as personalities are switched in the human participants of the grotesque experiment. The physician recognizes the power of the central figure and chooses to aid him. The knowledge given to the hero by the doctor in the form of an injection memory transplant allows this unusual warrior to gain understanding and then mastery over the “tuning” phenomenon. “Dark City’s” healer is not driven to obtain power as his counterpart in The Turn of the Lathe. He hopes for man’s salvation in the unveiling awareness of the hero. The core figure of this tale, like Le Guin’s, feels compassion for the lives affected and begins a journey of mental action to make life better and more colorfully fulfilling for the inhabitants of “Dark City.” He draws in reality the elusive location called “Shell Beach” which has served as a pivotal point of defining memories for the community. All inhabitants exhibited knowledge of such a place, but none could offer any distinct idea of the actual route to its location. Our man of courageous character decides to make “life” on this bizarre plane within the cosmos as bright with promise as the sun, which he alone allows to shine upon this newly developing landscape. Enlightenment begins. The ethical standards of both heroes are derived from the best of humanity within us. These two emissaries of humankind understand the responsibility of having a soul. Each takes a stand for creating life in its fullest sense. Home is more than a place where the heart resides; it is the safe haven physically embodying one's sense of beauty and freedom. "Home" is an extension of one's soul with its organizational clutter or order. I am thankful this Thanksgiving for my 20-acre homestead in the Bull Mountains with the majestic pine trees, magnificently star-filled skies, the serenity of the country unaffected by city lights, the sweet smells of hay tinged by wood-stove smoke, and the awesome sense of mother nature's presence and continuity. The center of the home for holiday tradition is the kitchen filled with bustling activity around a table adorned by delicately detailed fine China. The aroma of sizzling turkey and baking sweet potato pie wafts throughout the house. The joyous spirits of family together and pets happy to be included in the social whirl float like music on the air currents. Home exists as the pivot with converging memories, traditions, and emotions. It proves invigorating to come together for this moment in time, renewing strengths and "touching base" in love. Tomorrow we will look outward to our daily activities once again; but today we will savor a walk down the dusty drive lined by horses at the fence and cats playing on the lawn. It's as if we see the here and now for the first time. “I am still not as adept at "hearing" God as I hope to be. Work, family life, paying the bills, and even seeking romance often overshadow my link with Him. That is one of the major imports of such a book as yours. One can keep it handy - on the nightstand, in the kitchen, or on the living room coffee table. This, too, will be a reminder to "listen." When I have switched off the two-way line, I lose my direction for most beneficial and subjective creativity. Since listening in this fashion, God can more easily get my attention. To answer your question, it can be just as hard in this new connection to God as before in some ways. The major difference, of course, is that He contacts me in my own ways of relating to Him. I feel such grace and a sense of non-judgment. It gives me a sense of well being that I am not alone. Life is more full now, but not necessarily easier.... I have crossed various stages of closeness to God, and then have drifted away from Him. Perhaps this is the plight of living in this existence. Katharine, you taught me this particular method of talking to God and listening and its wonderful! When I talk to Him, the love is so intense it makes me humbled and accepted. There are no secrets or regrets that He fails to acknowledge. There is no need to hide, no reason to offer excuses. Once a person discards any thoughts that this writing and then listening for God's response is nonsense, it grows easier with each try. The most difficult part is putting aside our own beliefs in "how to pray," essentially. God is and has always been available to us at any moment. We just need to make the decision to communicate. Language is truly His domain. The understanding of ideas and concepts is the beginning of creating the reality of our choosing. This is not easy for us mortals...we hold so very many assorted and opposing views that they frequently conflict with each other. Emmet Fox talks about scientific prayer. The method of writing and listening for a response serves as a great example. The major connection taking place here is the linking of our souls to the conscious awareness of God! One may go beyond the writing in this non-structured praying, but I always return. The print makes me sit up and pay attention - to myself and to what I am asking of God. The hardest point is to learn to be focused on what one truly wishes. That is why the writing is so effective; one can let the thoughts and words flow as the ideas grow clearer. I now know how to return to that special place of renewed contact. I wish I could tell you that I am now looking at nameplates with "saint" emblazoned, but I am still human and I continue to fall down when bloodied by life's occurrences. The impact of learning this technique looms as "a viable path" to find my way in the twilight, if not abject darkness. I suspect there will always be concerns and ethical dilemmas, which may displace the active thought of God in our every day dealings. Sooner or later, as with all paradoxes, we sense an urge to reunite with our Creator...to be better...and to know Him and his plans for us. Fox says that vague dissatisfaction reminds us that we are still seeking our calling and the path God intended for us. Writing to hear God allows us to be "just plain us." HE IS LISTENING. God is doing much more than that ... He wants to talk DIRECTLY to us! We are such an odd group of people. It is usually considered fanaticsim to link so closely with our Creator. My take is that He doesn't want a drastic change in us. We make the universe better by working in our little space - ourselves. We operate from us outward and He, I suspect, is utterly thrilled by our strides. God gave us each the ability to create in our own realm. As with our own children, our efforts, I would surmise, bring Him joy.” Once where there existed perceived perfection in the object of my affections, now there is humanity with built-in weaknesses. Celebrating the close of the old year on New Year's Eve, we toasted with sweet, red wine. The subdued, flowery-scented bouquet was not a promise of comfortable togetherness so much as the calm affinity of individual companions. Like the understated flavor of fermented grapes, the wine echoed the vibratory level of the now extant relationship - one without passion. It generated a pleasant warmth throughout the body. The television's brightly lighted screen with all the colors of the rainbow in sequined costumes and filled with cheerful celebrities and musicians hailed the night's parties reverberating rhythmically with music from the Commodores, K.C. & the Sunshine Band, and Dick Clark's ever present personality, albeit a bit tipsy by midnight. The clear night was crisp and cold to clear the year's slate and we shared the companionship of my daughters as the famous Time Square ball began to drop, heralding the first moments of the new year. No skyrockets bursting in air, but a contentment of self-awareness and feeling this to be OK. As the wine glasses are drained, I see it is a fresh year - one of new choices. In her shared experiences and wisdom of balancing the body, mind, and spirit, Dr. Hay devotes herself to reminding us of our personal power and the ability within each to contribute to our own healing processes. “What we are choosing to think and say, today, this moment, will create tomorrow and the next day, and the next week, and the next month, and the next year, etc.” Appropriately sized as a pocket reference, this counselor and teacher’s work lists a myriad of body ailments/diseases and the emotions creating their physical effects. Thoughts generate physical conditions and Louise Hay provides a point of focus for her readers to stretch beyond the illness to the originating mental cause. The affirmations suggested to eliminate old thought patterns overflow with a love for all life and the warmth of compassion. Trusting in self-approval, joy, peace, love, and the care of a Divine Power, the reader may locate the listed disease, check the mental cause, and ask himself “What could be the thoughts in me that created this?” The next steps are to willingly release the pattern of consciousness, repeat the new thought pattern, and finally assume that the healing process has begun. “The smallest beginning will make a difference.” “Straight Talk,” the movie starring Dolly Parton as a warm, vibrant, and very human communicator possessing humor and the gift of appreciating all people, could easily serve as the personal theme for this openly charming and talented individual. It is rare to find the move from country singer to international celebrity made so comfortably. Ms. Parton gained television notoriety with Porter Wagoner in 1967 and their duets became a hit. Portraying the “dumb blonde,” which was the title of the song bringing her to Wagoner’s attention, she is far from such and her business savvy and marketing skills took her from the country music superstar of the mid-seventies to add pop music in the ‘80’s, excursions into film, a 100-million-dollar company called “Dolly Parton Enterprises,” and an entertainment music theme park, Dollywood. This became so popular that it was largely responsible for the closing of its chief rival, Opryland. She has striven from poverty to become one of the most famous and wealthy country music stars in the world. Her trademark presence with the flamboyant platinum blonde wigs, vivid makeup, petite physique, and well-endowed appearance work prominently into her humorous on-stage remarks. The fame of her most notable film, “9 to 5,” and her classic music hits, “Coat of Many Colors,” “Jolene,” ”Kentucky Gambler,” and “I Will Always Love You,” all have moved to overshadowed her true presence as a loving country girl at her core. The latter hit sold over 4 million copies in 1992 when performed by Whitney Houston. Dolly markedly contributed in bringing country music to a wide international audience with her excellence as a singer/songwriter and personal presence. Her music has included ballads, experiments with a little racy styles and even disco types. Born fourth of twelve children in Sevierville and raised in Locust Ridge, Tennessee at the foot hills of the Smoky Mountains, Dolly Rebecca Parton entered the world on January 19, 1946 in the family of a mother with a half-Cherokee heritage who played the guitar, and her grandfather, Reverend Jake Owens who honed his craft as a fiddler and songwriter. Her father, a farmer did not play and Dolly was often ridiculed for her poverty as the family struggled with this condition throughout her childhood. Her sister Stella also became a singer and five other siblings have worked as professional musicians. Their family music served as a center for comfort in dealing with the worries. Her unlce, Bill Owens, gave her a guitar at age seven and within three years she had become a regular on the Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour in Knoxville. “Miss Dolly” as she was called, wrote many of her own songs. Her career developed within the next two years and in 1959 she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry, recording her first hit single, “Puppy Love,” the following year. It was released by the Louisiana blues-oriented label Goldband. At fourteen she signed with Mercury Records in 1962 and her first single, “It’s Gonna Hurt,” came as a flop. The record company immediately dropped her and she continued to attend high school, playing the snare drum in her marching band. Upon graduation, Dolly moved to Nashville to live with her uncle as they both tried to sell their songs. During this time, she began singing demos. Both she and Owens found work in 1965 when Fred Foster signed him to his publishing house, Combine Music, and then Dolly to Monument Records. Dolly’s second record for the firm, “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” almost made the charts. The year 1967 ushered Dolly’s breakthrough single, “Dumb Blonde” into the awareness of country fans. Porter Wagoner hired her for his show and she began appearing on September 5, 1967. The audience still wanted Norma Jean who Ms. Parton replaced, but Wagoner insisted on Dolly’s presence and she was finally accepted. Female country stars were not readily noted in the ‘60’s so RCA who had signed Ms. Parton at Wagoner’s request booked her first release as a duet with Porter Wagoner. “The Last Thing on My Mind” reached Country’s Top Ten in 1968 and the next six years began a string of Top Ten Singles with “Just Because I’m A Woman” as the first. “Jolene” reached number one as a blockbuster in 1974. Although Dolly Parton stopped touring with Porter Wagoner after its release, she continued to appear on his show until 1976. With her departure from Wagoner her songs became more diverse and she hit true superstardom in 1977 when “Here You Come Again” became a huge crossover hit. Porter Wagoner had received a large portion of her royalties and this opened a lawsuit against him by Ms. Parton. She regained her copyrights and her commercial success continued to grow. The movie “9 to 5” gave her career a momentum that lasted through the early ‘80’s. With this film she earned an Oscar nomination and recorded the title theme. She accepted roles in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” with Burt Reynolds, “Rhinestone” with Sylvester Stallone, and “Steel Magnolias” in 1989. Her television experience included hosting a syndicated music program, “Dolly.” Her 1987 follow-up prime-time variety program with the same name on ABC did not fare as well and was cancelled after one season. Dolly’s theme park opened in 1986 as a continuing business venture. Trio, a collection of traditional country songs performed with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt was her most successful album. During this period, some of her fans felt she was spending too much time courting the mainstream and none of her singles hit the Top Ten. Collaborating with Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn in 1993 for Honky Tonk Angels where the featured songs were those of such early-country singers as Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells, it appeared her career had become revived. This turn was short lived with contemporary country entering the center stage in the early’90’s. It pushed the veteran performers out of the spotlight. Continuing to grow, she successfully tried writing and published her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business in 1994. Dolly Parton’s notices of praise include four Grammy’s and four Country Music Association awards. Dolly’s personal life remains private and signals the intense love and respect showered by her fans which genuinely exists mirrored by the star. With the hectic schedule of involvement in so many aspects of entertainment, Dolly remains dedicated to her first love, music. Through the years the Quaker faith has shunned the limitations of institutional religion and is expressed today as a focus on equality. The religious order seeks to affirm the divine potential in each, thus building community. The order’s members operate with the concept of equality needing to be implemented though social justice, as they strive to reflect God’s equal valuation of all. “Friends” support equality, regardless of race, gender, faith, class, financial status, and age. Within the period of Lucretia Mott’s life, plain speech and dress were the notable presentments of the Quaker individuals and the base of action was and remains today to overcome evil with the use of good by working to remove the roots of violence and refusing to participate in physical violence. The tenet exists that the idea of justice must not be coupled with oppression in the use of wealth associated with power. Lucretia Mott was one of the starring figures in the 19th Century and not only in the field of Quakerism, but also as a leader in the abolitionist movement, the peace movement – whose followers were known as the “non-resistants,” the women’s movement, and in the first stirrings of the radical movement of liberal religion – the Free Religious Association. As an early Hicksite-Quaker, she took as her sole authority what she believed to be the direction chosen by the living God, the “light within.” She refused, following this guidance, to bow her head to religious or secular institutions of the day. Being a true individual, this encompassed “notions” regarding Christianity, ideas of obligations to a state which sanctioned slavery, and the relegation of women to second-class status. Mott stood as a woman of profound courage whether facing life-endangering mobs emoting their pro-slavery sentiments to being threatened with expulsion for “heresy” from the Religious Society of Friends for leaning a little too closely toward Unitarianism. >BR> As a free thinker and one willing to stand alone, she profoundly believed in the life of Christ and tossed aside the irrational and cruelty within scripture as “idolatry.” Lucretia described hers as “natural religion” which dealt with justice, love, and mercy. From a personal reflection about her youth, she described a time when her father was away on a merchantile business trip and she worked actively to help her mother in the duties required. “The exercise of women's talents in this line, as well as the general care which devolved upon them in the absence of their husbands, tended to develop their intellectual powers and strengthen them mentally and physically.” It proved a completely natural evolution for this woman of strong conviction to advocate reform. “My convictions led me to adhere to the sufficiency of the light within us, resting on truth as authority, rather than 'taking authority for truth.' The popular doctrine of human depravity never commended itself to my reason or conscience. I 'searched the Scriptures daily,' finding a construction of the text wholly different from that which was pressed upon our acceptance. The highest evidence of a sound faith being the practical life of the Christian, I have felt a far greater interest in the moral movements of our age than in any theological discussion.” Several movements engaged her attention and she approached each with a practice of her beliefs – the temperance movement, the cause of peace, the oppression of the working class, and the plight of what she felt to be the most unjustly constrained, slavery. Lucretia Mott was a woman of intensity of drive, and compassion. She was a unique character in the history of individual rights. Lucretia exerted her personality amidst the serious conditions of her time and possessed a delightful sense of humor. Using the written format to share her thoughts and the developments of the day with friends she acquired in her travels, she wrote to one such person regarding the receipt of a letter from a mutual friend in Dublin. “As the result of our travel abroad, nothing affords more unmingled pleasure, than the reception of some 3 or 4 sheets of Richard’s ‘illegible scribblings.’ The very difficulty we have in deciphering seems to heighten the gratification for we know that when we have puzzled it out, we shall be paid for the effort.” Lucretia Coffin Mott, known as an American abolitionist and feminist, was born on January 3, 1793, on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts and was educated at a Quaker boarding school near Poughkeepsie, NY. She married James Mott, a teacher there, in 1811. The Society of Friends in which she had become prominent by 1817, split into two factions in 1827, and she and her husband went with the more liberal branch led by Elias Hicks. The Motts helped to organize the American Antislavery Society and in 1840 served as delegates to an international antislavery convention in London. Because of her sex, Lucretia was excluded from the proceedings. She was outraged and questioned, “Why should women be treated differently than men?” She subsequently devoted most her time and considerable energy to securing equal rights for women. Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Women’s Rights Convention in the United States in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. At this time the “Declaration of Sentiments” put forth that “all men and women are created equal.” The push for equality and the beginning of women’s suffrage had now begun. After the convention Mott made many speeches supporting women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. She made her opposition to slavery known to the world. She and James made their home a station of the Underground Railroad after passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. James became instrumental in founding Swarthmore College in 1864 and for the remainder of her life, Lucretia traveled extensively, attending meetings and conventions on women’s rights, temperance, and the establishment of universal peace. Slavery was abolished in 1865 and Lucretia turned her attention to the rights of African Americans and all women being given the right to vote. She died at her country house, Roadside, north of Philadelphia on November 11, 1880. This quote sums her wishes for woman’s path: “Let woman go on – not asking favors, but claiming as a right the removal of all hindrances to her elevation in the scale of being – let her receive encouragement for the proper cultivation of all her powers, so that she may enter profitably into the active business of life.” |