Friendship

Friendship is not what we offer when the sun is shining, the money is flowing, health is vibrant, and life is good. Those times shared are merely sharing the good times. Real friendship shows itself when your friend needs counsel, is in trouble, needs some advice, needs a shoulder to lean on or maybe to cry on. Our friendship is most crucial during those times. Everything else is just convenience and proximity.

The lack of friendship, the prevalence of fair-weatheredness, is what disappoints me most about Anthony Weiner’s scandal. It’s as if Dems haven’t learned how to be real friends. Oh, not everybody, but far too many.  We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers and we're our reality checks and that requires our courage in honesty.  And it's sometimes inconvenient or uncomfortable.

Too many people we all know, also, don’t know what to say during a difficult moment so they say nothing at all. If I don’t know what to say when my friend needs my ear or some comfort, I will say just that. But I will try to be there with them during the difficult moments because sometimes all we need is to know someone is there and they care. That’s powerful and sometimes that's enough. 

It's good not to be a supernova

"It’s hard to find fault with eagerness. It seems like such a good thing – people motivated and eager to work, take on a project, change their lives, change the world.

"But not too far down the road, eagerness shows its ugly side. People become so committed to their cause or work that they become missionaries. They want everyone to work on this particular issue, or do this diet, or follow this plan that will change your life.

"People also can let their commitment to being of service grow into exaggerated heroism. They’re willing to take on any problem you give them. They keep looking for the next great cause. They seem unstoppable in their motivation and energy. “Bring it on!” is their life slogan.

"Such people are like supernovas – great clouds of fiery, burning gasses that appear powerful and beautiful but are actually already dead. They’ve exhausted their energy, blown themselves up, and what we’re observing in the night sky is just their gaseous remains.

"Eagerness is a good start, but its propensity for unfettered growth requires vigilance. Like a parasite, it tends to kill off its host.

"It’s not a bad thing when our eagerness fades and we find ourselves just doing the work, bored at times, motivated at others, working day by day on little tasks, hoping that some of what we’re doing is useful, but not really sure.

"It’s good not to be a supernova."   ~Margaret J. Wheatley “Perserverence”

Sophie Anderson's "Take the Fair Face of Woman..."

"Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Beautiful Things"  Sophie Anderson

This is politics in 2011?

I'm kind of pissed right now. The press is at this moment breathlessly awaiting Anthony Weiner's press conference for his resignation and they're talking solmenly about what a tragedy this is, the fall and failure of a bright, promising political figure, and they're the ones who caused the fall. Not the old "it's the media" meme, but if they didn't contribute to the end of his career and his representation of his neighbors duly elected by them, then they fed and watered the beast of rampant puritanicalism (new word?) that is so prevalent in our country.

And feed us pablum and we buy it and eat it up.

I have never seen a better congressional speech than several of Rep. Weiner's rantings except for Ted Kennedy's, of which there are many, but yet and still, we have to get rid of Rep. Weiner because of sex, and John Edwards because of sex, and nearly Clinton because of sex.

And I mean, it's NOT like we haven't suffered from a dearth of wise and honest leaders and representatives of our country for the past ten years or anything like that!!! It's perfectly fine to cast aside the smart, brilliant, commited ones because they engage in personal sexual shenanigans.

Sometimes I hate this country...  Sometimes I despair for it.  Sometimes I love it, but mostly it's discouraging how our politics run.  I do find encouragement in knowing the brilliant and vivacious Rachel Maddow agrees with me.  Quite a point of pride.