Thursday, December 28, 2017

A little bit of Tara Brach in my life

A little bit of Tara by my side
A little bit of Tara is all I need
A little bit of Tara is what I see
A little bit of Tara in the sun
A little bit of Tara all night long*

This is one of Tara Brach's talks that I like to listen to over and over again. It is about relating to ourselves and rest of the world, which is all connected. Each times I listen to it something she says impacts me in a new way.

Maybe as you contemplate what your next year might look like, you might appreciate listening to this talk and others of hers. Language alert: She uses words and discusses concepts that are not often used in common conversation: homecoming, compassion, kindness, making space, Buddah, mindfulness, refuge.



Bonus for me: One of her stories, it comes toward the end, is about a photojournalist and brushes up against the power of photography. Yea!

Thank you, Tara Brach. You've been a friend to me.
May you be happy. May you be safe. May you be prosperous.
May you stay curious, creative and courageous.

*Tip of the hat to Lou Bega, Damaso Perez Prado and Zippy Davids for having written such a fun song and my apology to them for me having my way with their Mambo #5.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Happy Christmas, Holiday, Challah Day?

by Laura Enright

I think people should wish each other whatever the heck they want.

I grew up Catholic, so Merry Christmas is often second nature for me to say, even though I left Christianity long ago.

The more I started working with the public, the more I changed to Happy Holidays. Why? Because I'm not going to assume what religion the person I'm waiting on is (I have many friends who are of various faiths, including Pagans who were the group that originally booked this time of year in the calendar as a sacred time of worship). To me, it's courteous. Whatever you celebrate, may it be a good one.

We can all enjoy this time of year even if it's only to relish in the notion of New Year's and a new start to things. You know why retailers may stress the Happy Holidays angle with nondenominational decorations and all? Because they're trying to sell to an audience wider than Christians. It's purely capitalistic. You know why kids in public schools attend holiday parties as opposed to Christmas parties? Cause it's public school.

No one is denying a person a manger on the lawn or an angel choir in the window. I still hear songs like "Oh Holy Night" and "Joy to the World" played over store loud speakers (often sung by divas trying way too hard to impress). Someone wishes me "Merry Christmas" I'll return in kind.

Hell, every year Christmas mass is televised (you don't see a solstice ritual on TV--unless someone's using it as a demonic plot point). You don't even have to pay extra for it.

No one is keeping Christians from celebrating their holy day. It's just that the seasonal pool has been opened for everyone to enjoy and there are those Christians who resent that. So they've manufactured this phony "war on Christmas".

Which says more about them then it does about those simply trying to include everyone by wishing people "Happy Holidays!"
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In response to me posting a video from a Jesuit, and someone else posting one by a Jew, which both discuss the "proper" greeting for this time of year, Laura replied with the above. Watch the videos. They will surely give you additional food for thought about the meaning of the season and how we treat each other.
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I don't think I've met Laura Enright in real life...yet. Rumor has it she was born in Chicago, went to Maine South High School and continues to lurk around Park Ridge. Her first book, "Chicago's Most Wanted: The Top Ten Book of Murderous Mobsters, Midway Monsters and Windy City Oddities" was published in 2005. She followed this up in 2010 with "Vampire's Most Wanted: The Top Ten Book of Bloodthirsty Biters, Stake-wielding Slayers and Other Undead Oddities". "To Touch the Sun," the first book in her Chicago Vampire Series, was released in February, 2014, followed up by "Ujaali". Then in 2016 her dragon novel "Court of the Five Tribes" came out. Supposedly she's won all sorts of awards and prizes, but doesn't want to brag, because she is at heart a humble and unassuming person despite quite possibly being the greatest writer that has ever lived.