The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world
and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom
turn all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Being Perfected in Love
Here is one of my dad's favorite singers, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
singing one of my favorite songs, Schumann's "Widmung."
This is in loving memory of my beautiful dad, though imperfect
in love, he loved all the same. "Perfect love casts out all fear."
Dedication
You my soul, you my heart,
you my bliss, o you my pain,
you the world in which I live;
you my heaven, in which I float,
o you my grave, into which
I eternally cast my grief.
You are rest, you are peace,
you are bestowed upon me from heaven.
That you love me makes me worthy of you;
your gaze transfigures me;
you raise me lovingly above myself,
my good spirit, my better self!
Poem by Friedrich Ruckert
singing one of my favorite songs, Schumann's "Widmung."
This is in loving memory of my beautiful dad, though imperfect
in love, he loved all the same. "Perfect love casts out all fear."
Dedication
You my soul, you my heart,
you my bliss, o you my pain,
you the world in which I live;
you my heaven, in which I float,
o you my grave, into which
I eternally cast my grief.
You are rest, you are peace,
you are bestowed upon me from heaven.
That you love me makes me worthy of you;
your gaze transfigures me;
you raise me lovingly above myself,
my good spirit, my better self!
Poem by Friedrich Ruckert
Being Understood
The beauty and wonder of life is getting to know others and understanding various background and beliefs. Recently, on another blog a blogger writes about her Muslim faith after marrying a Pakistani (my beautiful niece is half Pakistani) and converting from Christianity. I made several theological and historical points, along with some points relating to feminism and faith which is the crux of her posts.
I have obviously offended her and she has written publicly that I sought to Lord my faith over hers. If anyone knows me, they know that this simply could not be true. Yes, my faith is strong, but I do not Lord mine over yours nor denigrate the belief of others. Oh, dear God, this is so not me. After her last comment, I have tried to apologize for offending her, but have not been given the chance to do so publicly as her comments are moderated.
What is for certain is that anytime religion is written of we should always be prepared to receive different opinions. I include faith in all that I do and I freely accept other points of view. (I do not moderate my comments.) She has dismissed my comments publicly as judgmental and essentially said that I was seeking to denigrate her faith. Ugh!
What a pity indeed. One of my dearest friends is of no faith. He is an atheist. We have known each other for 20 years; another is Muslim and we have been friends for 15 years. I am always sorry when my words have hurt others, especially with regards to faith, not to mention that I would hate for others to think that I would be so insensitive. My letter of apology has not been published there.
My heart is somewhat saddened. She appears to be angry, perhaps even hurt with the struggle of conversion. By this I mean, the constant scrutiny of others because of her conversion. When you comment on blogs, you really do not know that person nor their experiences. I shall be more careful indeed, perhaps only commenting when others have at least identified themselves.
My intentions were never to offend. The reality is that various faiths are represented in my family (my maternal great grandfather is Jewish) and as I have said I have many very close personal friends who are of other faiths or no faith. I am fully aware that I will not always be understood or treated fairly, but when the heart speaks one thing and you are perceived in another way, it is a bit disconcerting.
My greatest desire is to love and be long suffering, many times I am successful; others times I am not. But I arise with same intention daily, of being better than I have been the day before. Tomorrow, I shall arise in a different place. I forge forever forward. But tonight I shall deal with the fact that my words have offended perhaps a tender one who appears to be lovely indeed.
May God continue to bless her and hers. She seems to be on a greater path of self-discovery.
Is there a greater path?
I have obviously offended her and she has written publicly that I sought to Lord my faith over hers. If anyone knows me, they know that this simply could not be true. Yes, my faith is strong, but I do not Lord mine over yours nor denigrate the belief of others. Oh, dear God, this is so not me. After her last comment, I have tried to apologize for offending her, but have not been given the chance to do so publicly as her comments are moderated.
What is for certain is that anytime religion is written of we should always be prepared to receive different opinions. I include faith in all that I do and I freely accept other points of view. (I do not moderate my comments.) She has dismissed my comments publicly as judgmental and essentially said that I was seeking to denigrate her faith. Ugh!
What a pity indeed. One of my dearest friends is of no faith. He is an atheist. We have known each other for 20 years; another is Muslim and we have been friends for 15 years. I am always sorry when my words have hurt others, especially with regards to faith, not to mention that I would hate for others to think that I would be so insensitive. My letter of apology has not been published there.
My heart is somewhat saddened. She appears to be angry, perhaps even hurt with the struggle of conversion. By this I mean, the constant scrutiny of others because of her conversion. When you comment on blogs, you really do not know that person nor their experiences. I shall be more careful indeed, perhaps only commenting when others have at least identified themselves.
My intentions were never to offend. The reality is that various faiths are represented in my family (my maternal great grandfather is Jewish) and as I have said I have many very close personal friends who are of other faiths or no faith. I am fully aware that I will not always be understood or treated fairly, but when the heart speaks one thing and you are perceived in another way, it is a bit disconcerting.
My greatest desire is to love and be long suffering, many times I am successful; others times I am not. But I arise with same intention daily, of being better than I have been the day before. Tomorrow, I shall arise in a different place. I forge forever forward. But tonight I shall deal with the fact that my words have offended perhaps a tender one who appears to be lovely indeed.
May God continue to bless her and hers. She seems to be on a greater path of self-discovery.
Is there a greater path?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Being Dick Cheney
Why is Dick Cheney speaking out against the Barack administration that has only been in leadership for two weeks? Why is he even talking to the press now? Many believe that former President Bush and former Vice-President Cheney have caused more harm to our country than good both economically and globally.
Here is what the former Vice-President said to Politico.
"When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry."
Perhaps Dick Cheney should go to Palm Springs after so many years of service which many believe to be many years of disservice.
Here is what the former Vice-President said to Politico.
"When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry."
Perhaps Dick Cheney should go to Palm Springs after so many years of service which many believe to be many years of disservice.
Being Arianna Huffington II
Arianna said today on MSNBC that she has a plaque on her desk that reads "make new mistakes."
Brilliant!
I shall adopt this one.
Brilliant!
I shall adopt this one.
Being for a Design CEO
Every morning in my inbox I get a business quote:
"[W]hy not have a cDo? Chief Design Officer? The best reason to do so is that it Vaults the Notion to a Higher Level! Points out that it's of Paramount Importance."
--Tom Peters
In thinking of the power of design, I thought of something I noticed during the Olympics in China over the summer. We are first attracted by a product's design and then the necessity of smart efficient technology follow. But we recognize the product by its design first and we need not see a logo to identify it.
When athletes of every nationality during the Olympics were "relaxing" during down times, they wore little white earplugs attached to white wire that undoubtedly led to little sleek beautiful white devices unlike the usual black electronic ones. Could these be iPods? Did I see that apple? It didn't matter; I thought Apple.
This was unlike the headphones that the coaches wore during Super Bowl XLIII. Although the headphones prominently displayed the Motorola logo on the mic protruding from the ear, it was not attractive. The headphones were not particularly sleek or cool, but one could not help but notice the brand.
For me, the obvious did not have an incredible impact, though the Motorola logo was very much prominently placed. It almost had the reverse affect on me. I began to look at the mic negatively, though it was a basic black headset. But we don't just want basic. We want fine. There was nothing particularly cool about the headsets in color or design.
Design rules!
"[W]hy not have a cDo? Chief Design Officer? The best reason to do so is that it Vaults the Notion to a Higher Level! Points out that it's of Paramount Importance."
--Tom Peters
In thinking of the power of design, I thought of something I noticed during the Olympics in China over the summer. We are first attracted by a product's design and then the necessity of smart efficient technology follow. But we recognize the product by its design first and we need not see a logo to identify it.
When athletes of every nationality during the Olympics were "relaxing" during down times, they wore little white earplugs attached to white wire that undoubtedly led to little sleek beautiful white devices unlike the usual black electronic ones. Could these be iPods? Did I see that apple? It didn't matter; I thought Apple.
This was unlike the headphones that the coaches wore during Super Bowl XLIII. Although the headphones prominently displayed the Motorola logo on the mic protruding from the ear, it was not attractive. The headphones were not particularly sleek or cool, but one could not help but notice the brand.
For me, the obvious did not have an incredible impact, though the Motorola logo was very much prominently placed. It almost had the reverse affect on me. I began to look at the mic negatively, though it was a basic black headset. But we don't just want basic. We want fine. There was nothing particularly cool about the headsets in color or design.
Design rules!
Being a Top Talent
Will somebody please tell these clueless talking head financial "experts" who reject the President's $500,000 salary cap for those banks who receive taxpayer money to get a grip and come out of their alternative universe. Their fear is that the financial industry will not be able to draw top talent. Well, obviously these banks and board members are incapable of doing so.
Were the men who drove these banks into the ground top talent? (By the way, where were the women?) Why would bankers and board members now know how to draw top talent after receiving billions of dollars in bailout money, giving these CEOs from $3 million to $23 million dollars, plus millions in bonuses, for driving their banks into the ground?
Some say that these CEOs and board members have failed miserably. Some also say that they all should be fired and new board members selected, perhaps replaced by younger hungrier more idealist professionals with fresh ideas? $500,000 dollars is a good salary for shuffling paper. How much do doctors get for saving lives?
Were the men who drove these banks into the ground top talent? (By the way, where were the women?) Why would bankers and board members now know how to draw top talent after receiving billions of dollars in bailout money, giving these CEOs from $3 million to $23 million dollars, plus millions in bonuses, for driving their banks into the ground?
Some say that these CEOs and board members have failed miserably. Some also say that they all should be fired and new board members selected, perhaps replaced by younger hungrier more idealist professionals with fresh ideas? $500,000 dollars is a good salary for shuffling paper. How much do doctors get for saving lives?
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