Day of Rest

Smiling Dee at the overlook behind my house. :-)

Every time you
SMILE at someone,
it is an action of LOVE,
a GIFT to that person,
a BEAUTIFUL thing.
~Mother Teresa

Last Minute Gifts

The only poverty is poverty of the heart. ~Mother Teresa

I like creative and caring gifts. Years ago I learned about The Heifer Project from a woman who donated part of a cow on my behalf. Cool! It's an organization that teaches people to fish instead of handing them a fish--except fish isn't in the catalog. That's kind of ironical, innit? $10 will buy one rabbit, or you can buy the whole trio for $30. That's less than a cup a coffee a day. Well, unless it's Starbucks, but you know what I mean.

Heifer Project Poem for the Day
Goats and chicks
and geese and cows
End hunger on earth
this is how
If you're veggie
buy some bees
If you're vegan
buy some trees
Sheep and goats
llamas and pigs
all sort of choices
for Christmas gifts.

What's Your Religion?

When you see the world in black and white, everything becomes a religion.

This phrase popped into my head as I was washing dishes one day. What happens when there is only ONE way to be, think, do? You create an inflexible list of rules and regulations, not just for yourself, but for anyone you interact with. From a family member, friend, or girl behind the counter taking your order, you have predetermined your thoughts, feelings, and how you will react.

The reaction is an automatic response with no conscious decision, it happens that fast. A reaction is judgement and you decide if you agree or disagree in a spit second. And then you decide if that person is right. Or wrong. If they are right, they fit nicely into your little model of the world, whatever it is: political, religious, economic, what you put in your mouth. If not, they are banished to the World of Doesn't Matter. You dismiss not only what they are saying, but you dismiss them as a person. Judgement dehumanizes anyone who doesn't fit into the structure you have created.

The question becomes: Where are your prejudices? What unexamined opinions do you hold as TRUTH? Whether you're a political leader or opinionated family member or an intolerant coworker, this is the stuff that creates wars. Little ones, big ones. Something to ponder the next time an automatic judgement pops up, ready to spew on someone. What's your religion?