Peace

Yesterday the news of the Israeli "preemptive strike" on Syria shook me.

This morning started with a barrage of tweets calling for Peace.

At Church today, the call for Peace was in the reading, the homily and some of the songs. The Mass ended with the Prayer of St. Francis: "Make me a channel of your Peace."

I truly believe that Peace is what God wants for us. If only we desired it for each other more. We have the tools within us. It is only our egos that stand in the way.

Only when we reach out to each other without weapons in our hands, that we will create a world that's quite grand.

May Peace come to our heart.

May Peace come to our home.

May we always remember,

We are NEVER alone.

~ESA

Home for the Holiday

It is sad when there are so many dividing lines in the world. When I stumble across the ones in my own life, I sit back and wonder why they are even there. As I have just mentioned to someone on Twitter, while I was raised Christian, I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood. So wishing others a Happy Hanukkah did not seem wrong to me at all... until I was accused of possibly trying to convert them to Christianity.

*Sigh*

The home where I was raised had a Mezuzah beside the door, like every other house in my neighborhood. It was there when we first moved in. When my dad explained what was inside, it reminded me of the words I read in our Old Testament. No biggie - same writing / same God.

While we were one of three families with tree and Christmas lights, in a neighborhood of over 300, I wondered why we didn't have a Menorah glowing in our front window like all the rest. It was explained that we were Christian, not Jewish. That was the first dividing line.

Around our Easter celebration, I actually looked forward to matzo in the supermarket - I used to nibble them row-by-row as a child for a snack. There was also my neighbor's famous matzo ball soup when we sat down to the Passover Seder with them, unless it fell on Easter, at which point we had family gatherings for our holiday that day. Another fine dividing line.

In December, there were many craft and holiday flea markets held selling goods. My mom was a shop-a-holic. So after-school we were dragged to many different places to attend these events. They were many in the local temples, one at our Catholic school in the gym, and one in a parish hall from a Mormon Church. While I and my siblings towed behind my mother from table to table at these events, I had plenty of time to examine the stuff that hung from the walls. I can't read Hebrew, nor could I then. So I asked my mother about the writing in symbols that looked closer to Chinese in my young eyes than the Greco-Roman letters in which I read/write. She explained they were Hebrew and that is what the Jewish teachings were written in. We don't speak or read it because we were not Jewish. Another dividing line.

When I was still in grade school (where I attended Catholic school from grades 1-8), I received my Confirmation. Friends of ours attended it, even though they were not Christian. We also attended their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs too. In fact, several of our class trips in the later grades were to the temple to learn about Judaism. While I heard rumors that the Hebrew grade school did the same as part of a cooperative program with our Church, the majority of the kids in our area attended public school. They found our ceremonies strange and bizarre while we had some vague notion of what theirs were about. After all, Jesus, the focus of our own religious education, had celebrated Jewish holidays and practiced Jewish customs. But my neighbors understood little about our customs and holidays. Another dividing line.

High school wasn't fun for me; I attended an all-girl Catholic Academy. But unlike grade school, I had to take two school buses. I was picked up by the local high-school bus, that rounded up ALL the high-school children in the area - public, Catholic and Hebrew schools. The majority of the public school kids were Jewish. While there was more than one Catholic high school kids in my town attended, overall, in our neighborhood, we made up less than 10% and had to wear these atrocious uniforms. I believe the Hebrew school had uniforms or a dress-code too, but they were not as glaringly obvious as the plaid skirts, ties and school color blazers and sweaters with the school emblems on them. A very obvious dividing line.

We ALL were dropped off at the public school. Then the public school kids went inside (or at least had to be inside by the first bell). The rest of us stood outside as our second bus would travel from town-to-town picking up the kids for our respective high school. While this may have made sense to some administrator, it was torture for us. We had to wear clothes that distinguished us as "separate" from the others, and we were major targets for bullies, teasing and bad-mouthing both on the bus and at the public high school. Why? Because we were not Jewish. They outnumbered us; we were supposed to always forgive, so they assumed there would be no retaliation as well. We had no other way to get to our school; we had to share the ride on "their" bus. At the public school, we had to stay put while they had the opportunity to walk away when they wanted to. They would ask: Why were we living in the neighborhood anyway? It was a JEWISH neighborhood! Christians were not welcome. Even the local "Y" was a YMHA, not a YMCA.

Why were we there? My father worked hard for a living, went to night school to get a law degree and then worked long hours in "the city" (New York City) to earn a good enough living to have a big house in a nice neighborhood for his family. There was no application indicating what religious affiliation we had to have to buy the house. That would be illegal - this is America, home of religious freedom. Right? The other Christians we knew had homes half the size or smaller. Why could we not live in that neighborhood in a big house for a big family?

In the years to follow, I observed further divisions. It was OK to have friends across that religious line. It may even be acceptable to date across the dividing line, if someone better is not available. But one would never assume it's OK to marry across the dividing line... "Think of the kids; they would be confused," was an argument I heard many times - from both sides of the fence. Yet it's the same God...

*Sigh* That was three to four DECADES ago: over a generation.

I don't hold grudges; I am called not to. What was in the past stays in the past - as it should! Hate and division only begets hate, war and violence. None of which I want.

Times have changed, thankfully for the better. In my lifetime, I have seen a growing acceptance across many lines - race, religious and sexual preferences being predominant. There has become a stronger division in political and income lines in these past few years, though. My heart longs to see these reversed too...

I followed my mom back to Long Island Monday, as we are visiting with friends and family here this week as part of our holiday travel. On the way we stopped at the local strip mall to pick up a few items. In the large window before me, the local florist had a winter-scape display with a large menorah predominantly at the center with the correct number of candles aglow. Tuesday at the bowling alley as we were heading out the door, I spied the manager turning the bulb to "light" the last candle as sunset dimmed an already rainy afternoon. I am still a Christian and will always be, but these sights made me feel like "home for the holiday" more than I can express, as much as the scent of a freshly decorated Christmas tree.

We are all brothers and sisters in this world. One race, one humanity. Why do we keep dividing ourselves?

-ESA

Shredding the Bride's Gown

Today I read yet another statement from a religious group who claimed to know how to identify a false religion. Then they proceeded to list all that differed from their particular flavor. That alone stirred something very deep within me that wants to weep and rave and shout all at once!

The enemy doesn't have to fight against those who stand for God. We fight each other and the enemy just stands on the sidelines LAUGHING at us!!! Why can no one see this????

Why do so many continue to stand up and claim that their belief is the one true belief and all that follows another are doomed? Can they not see that by claiming this they expose one of the REAL ways they fail?

Those that are true to the calling:

• Teach that we should reach out to one another in Love - ALL people, including those who do not believe as we believe and even those who hate and persecute us.

• Do not ostracize, do not play favorites, do not hold themselves or their religion above others.

• Encourage people to reach out and help one another, to work collectively toward a greater good, to be the example.

• Do not do any work, good deed or act for their own benefit or the benefit of their group, but understands that ideally one performs this unseen or as unknown as possible and lets the good of that stand on its own with no name attached.

• Does not threaten, bully, scare, or use terror tactics, but reaches out with an open hand and an open heart, unafraid to listen to another to see how many more similarities there exists than differences ~ to connect the bridges, not build the walls.
  

• Does not count how many people they convert or teaches its followers to associate ONLY with those that believe as they do; that "groupthink" is how many are lead astray collectively.
  

Please, stop the fighting, both inter-denominational and inter-religious. A force divided can not stand as strong. Humanity was granted a very special gift that together we can do far more than the sum of our individual efforts.

Can you not see, what our fighting is doing? We are failing to realize that gift - that potential! And in the meantime we, ourselves, are bringing about our own defeat.

Please stop
Open our eyes
Open our ears

-ESA

Tribulation

I've debated about whether or not I should write what I have. But some days you just have to follow what's in your heart, roll the dice and face what comes from doing so.

Tribulation is a subject on many minds and in many articles, movies and books of late. I'll try to be brief as possible on the subject (brevity is not my forte, so please bear with me. :D).

WHAT
Tribulation is considered by many as the "end times" or "end of the world". While it may be "the end of the world as we know it" as one song goes, the Tribulation is essentially a period of change -- as brutal as puberty can be -- but not the end of the world. It’s the end of one period and the start of another. Any change is turbulent. But the next era will be something of Peace and Wonder...

HOW
Pick a subject from a long list: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, strong/violent storms, tsunami's, cyclones, war, famine, pestilence / pandemic, meteor strike, volcanoes, cats and dogs living together... You can find any of these in places ranging from the bible to Blockbuster video, from the neighbors to the nightly news. So I need say no more here.

WHY
What I would like to point out is that it doesn't matter so much what happens, but how humanity responds to what happens. Humanity will grow / change once pushed to our limits. What if that push is on a much larger scale than an individual, family, company or community? What if we're pushed on a global scale? How BIG would that change be?

The other question is what would that change be? My belief is that if we looked to our own needs and developed a bunker mentality, this will only lead to isolation and a "get them before they get us" attitude that could spell the fall of humanity. :(

Or, we could reach out to each other – from next-door neighbors to others in communities around the world. It's been proven that the combined efforts of human beings bring greater results than the sum of individual efforts. What would happen if we expanded our efforts, joining hands with those around the world? What kind of change would that bring?

WHO
There's been much debate about Rapture as a means of escape from Tribulation. But from what I've researched, my conclusion is that if there is an escape clause somewhere, it's certainly NOT at the before Tribulation. There are six of seven seals broken before the 144,000 are sealed in Revelation. So that means there are some events that will happen before that point. In one of the Gospels, Christ mentions that, even though it's going to be a time of grave horrors, "it will be shortened due to the elect." That makes me think the elect will still be around on this mudball at the time or why would it matter...

For myself, suffice to say that I'd rather prepare my heart to go through Tribulation and meet Christ face-to-face on the other side with my head held high rather than saying "I believe" because it will give me a ticket out of the horrors.

WHERE
I believe we shall see many horrors, but not necessarily all in one place (unless the sun blows up then all points above are null and void (save the paragraph above, of course)). Considering we saw a 7.1 earthquake off Honduras today instead of LA, and nuclear war seems nearer in the Korean peninsula than the Middle East, anything is possible.



Let's see, we have Who, What, Where and How... what's missing...? Of course, the first question everyone asks...

WHEN
I don't know. I don't WANT to know. I'm a person that will fixate on a date and needlessly waste the time I have. I'll take it day-by-day, living like it's my last moments instead. In doing so, does it really matter when?

Also, something else came to mind on the subject. Clocks and calendars are man's creation to mark time – not God's. All said and done, it's in God's hands, no matter what we do, say or predict. But God does not see time as humanity does.

I believe the true timing of "when" is similar to one of those little puzzle games where you have to line up the holes to get the ball to drop through. In other words, a series of people and events must line up just right for things to happen. If a person is not there or something does not quite happen in "just the right way" or in the proper sequence, the ball is still "trapped" and the major events are delayed. There have been hypotheses that the "end times" may have happened already. But I believe these were the times when things started to line up but then something changed – perhaps a change in policy or way people handled the situation before them.

But when the time does fall into place and the BIG event happens, it will be a bumpy ride. But at the end is something and Someone wonderful. I think that's worth going through what may come our way.

WHAT CAN WE DO
The answer is also found in the good book: pray. Christ instructed people to pray that it does not happen in the winter (at a time when local food is short, shelter is desperately needed and transport is difficult). I don't hear many people preaching that one. Repent, yes. Believe, certainly. But pray that the end times don't come in winter? No. Why? It makes a LOT of sense to me. That's why it's in my prayers.

In addition, there's some common-sense stuff. The CDC and FEMA have many guidelines and has been trying to get people to read them. Prepare a grab-and-go bag. List your medications. Have the family become familiar with a fire-drill. What would you do if you know a storm is coming - stock up on batteries and essentials. That's stock-up not stockpile – there's a difference; hording is not helping unless you plan to share with the neighborhood. And a room full of supplies isn't useful if you've been evacuated from your home. Again, common sense and reasonable preparations are recommended.

Lastly, get to know those around you. If a major disaster hits, phone lines and other contact with the outside world will be cut temporarily. Even cell phones are worthless if the tower is out of power or taken down – or the switchboard overwhelmed as seen on 9/11. Face-to-face contacts will be the front line to recovery immediately after the disaster. Start now and get to know people and things will run a lot smoother if you find a friendly, familiar face rather than a stranger working beside you.

Well, I've tried to keep it short. I don't know who or how many will read this. But I hope some of the advice above will be taken going forward. Thanks for reading.

Prepare and pray
Not prey
Today

- ESA

Erasing Lines

The world as we have come to know it is a large, vast place full of wondrous variety and diversity. But sometimes the nature in human beings to classify, to list -- to pigeonhole comes out in us all. With this we draw lines - circles, boxes, squares. We separate ourselves and create a we/them dichotomy that creates alienation, segregation, separation, war, feelings of loftiness and even hatred.

There is a poem, I often quote:
They drew a circle to shut us out.
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout!

But Love and us had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took them in.
- Original by Edward Markham

In the late 1960's, humanity saw something that it never saw before, pictures of our world as seen from a vast distance: one blue-green world with white lacing; no borders marking countries, no name tags on cities. This is an image that stuck in the minds of many who had the fortune of being around in those days -- we're one world.

Then we went back to our borders, our religions, our races, our cultures, our political beliefs, our myriad ways of separating ourselves from our fellow human beings. "We are not like them," we told ourselves. "They are so different and strange." And wars continued; prejudices still thrived. And we kept telling ourselves that our little circle was the ONE TRUE circle and all others are wrong.

The "if you're not with us, you are against us" mentality still exists today as it has for thousands of years. We never really changed, even when we saw with our own eyes that we are of ONE WORLD.

Now over four decades later, people are seeing the world through different eyes once again. The internet has allowed us to step outside of our little circles and explore what exists in others. In doing so, many have come to see "Hey, we're not so different." In fact, many have reached out and befriended others around the world, regardless of country, religion or politics. They find they share common interests and some common beliefs even if they are expressed differently within the circles they were brought up in.

Language barriers that often were an overwhelming hurdle are now simply overcome as more and more online translators make communicating with others easier. People are able to hold conversations with people anywhere in this world - in real time (if they are awake at the same time) or within mere hours - with someone who doesn't speak the same language.

We still find the old adage is true: a smile is still a smile; a laugh is still a laugh; and a tear is still a tear, regardless of where we are and what language we speak.

My hope is that this is the time when many will come forth with not pencils and mark "This is ours; that is yours," but will turn that instrument of destruction around and erase those lines!

We are all human beings. We are of one world surrounded by the vastness of space. When we continue to squabble like spoiled siblings in a household, we will fail to reach our true potential. It's only when we reach out and take each others hands, erasing the lines between us, can we discover how much common ground we really have. And it's on this common ground, we can build the foundation to a better world.

Can one person do this? No. But one person can make a start, reaching out to anyone to whom (s)he contacts. In turn, those people can do the same. Little steps lead to bigger ones.

I was born in the year man first set foot on the moon and looked back upon the Earth. Before my time is done on this world, I'd like to see it reach the point when one person looks at another, all they see is a fellow human being. One who shares the common ground of living in the same world, and may have many other things in common as well.

All one needs to do is reach out and discover them.

Stop drawing lines.
Start erasing.

- ESA