20:33 - 10.07.05
choices
The past week or so I've reconnected with a lot of people both from my past as a volunteer and from doing election work. It is one of the things I really enjoy about travelling transit or wandering about in the community on foot. That personal touch and connection. It is nearly impossible to sustain when all ones does is climb in a private vehicle each morning and evening, commuting back and forth to work. It could also be a bit of a precursor to Mercury retrograde activities. That darling planet reverses direction on July 22 - less than two weeks to go.
The death of some people really remind one that just one person can make a huge difference, if they act with integrity of purpose and clear intent. The one elected member of parliament who salvaged this country's political stability at the end of May died yesterday. He was one of those reluctant heroes who ran for parliament because a personal tragedy - the murder of his son - left him with no other options to address his grief and loss in an effective way. How else would some one who had the opportunity to spend a night jamming with Jimi Hendrix be persuaded to "waste" their time in the halls of what is often sterile government. Obviously for him, there was no waste and his legacy is gift that will stand Canadians in good stead for decades to come. One of the greatest gifts he may have left us though was the modelling of the life of a person living with integrity. Not one of us has an excuse to do otherwise after knowing about him.
This story about silent music appreciation certainly entertained me. Since I am very tempted somedays to dance while wearing headphones at work, I can understand the effect this would have both on the listeners and the witnesses to the "crime". However, I don't envision myself acting out the "YMCA" song any time soon - likely get me lynched, it would. I was mime singing along to Roy Orbison and Ashley MacIsaac at work on Friday, but that was because the floor was deserted. I think it was the encounter with the male who kept bothering me at the last assignment that unhinged me and escaping any damage from him sort of removed my inhibitions, I guess. Singing with Roy? Well, who doesn't know all the words to his songs. Coming from my childhood, there is an innocence and freedom to be regained by immersing myself in his music. I still remember the story about him going to the bedside of a young person in a coma and singing to him, after his Mom had mentioned in an interview that playing Mr Orbison's music had always elicited a physical response from the young man. When he sang for that young man, the boy came out of his coma. The power of music and the power of love. Never underestimate either of them, eh?
Singing with Ashley? Well remember my stories about drawing courage from the teachings of my Mom and Grandmother through our Scots heritage. Besides that, gaelic is quite gutteral and it felt good to spit out the bad taste in my mouth from that one encounter - in a musical, lady-like way of course. I know, I live in my own strange little world. But I do no harm and sometimes a lot of good, so that can't be all that bad now can it?
My oldest son came by today to use our technologies for his paperwork. After getting an update on the problems we were having with the neighbours, he looked at me and said - you know that karma will take care of that. What they send out will come back on them. Sometimes, as a parent, you are never certain if anything you try to teach gets through to your children. It was obvious my son meant what he said and believed it whole-heartedly. Teaching male children especially to turn the other cheek and to employ acts of non-violence to resolve issues in a culture and climate like ours in North America is incredibly difficult. Non-violence requires extraordinary patience and forbearance - neither of which is valued here at all. I felt as though my son had given me the greatest gift I could ask for, by just uttering those few sentences. Om mane padme hum.
The paperwork my son needed to do was for Workman's Compensation. Apparently they are going to take the wages for both his jobs in to account when they calculate his benefits. How cool is that - he's finally getting a well deserved break. We discussed more strategies for dealing with the smell from the cats. He suggested an ionizing air cleaner - creates ozone that then bonds with the phenols that are what create scent. Apparently they are used in bars and in certain agricultural activities. I did some research on them and found that the consumer reviews were mixed as were the scientific papers about the effect in house ozone levels have on lung health. What decided me was this consumer's discussion board where real people talked about their own direct experiences freely.
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