A strong Brotherhood

A strong brotherhood exists among firemen in the world. On September 11th, the nation came together to support one another. A documentary, "Brothers on Holy Ground", illustrated that on that day, firemen did not go to work but to do what they loved to do. They acted selflessly as guardian angels to provide comfort as they walked alongside others in their fight of their lives so they would not be alone as they faced death. And they provided countless opportunities to guide those who were confused or needed reassurance in their getting to safety. I am thankful for those firefighters for them being in the stairwells of the towers in that my cousin Bruce made it out of the 51st floor because they were on hand.
It is hard to find that compassion on a daily basis in the workplace since accounting issues rarely have the life or death issues behind it. But I am challenged not just to go to work to do my job but just to "have to go to be me and affect those around me." Self sacrifice was evident that day. A fraternity of brothers existed that extend to families to this day in how the loving touch impacts us all. so thanks to the 343 that gave their lives on the holy ground of Ground Zero.

The Victory Chimes

Windjammers on the coast of Maine are a familiar sight during the summer. My parents and I watched the parade of windjammers from McCown Point in Boothbay Harbor one summer day with my Aunt Marion. She is very slender with a head full of silvery hair and deep furrows in her brow and wiry sunglasses on her head.
When we watched the parade of tall masted sailing boats, we ate a picnic lunch on the lawn. There were green picnic tables that lined the lawn. We ordered our hotdogs, onion rings, fries and slaw and iced tea from the Dusty Red Hot Dog stand. While my Aunt Marion was about to eat her hot dog, a pesky sea gull swooped down and grabbed her dog from the bun and took off with it. "Oh my, that gull got my hot dog" she said in disdain.
'those folks from boothbay Hrbor, you know. "
During this festival, many sailors got ready to board their boats to watch the festival from the sea. This is a version of a street parade in most towns-only this one is from the water. The port was teeming with the movement of sailors getting their boats ready for the day's sail.
When we watched from McCown point, we saw the ships from a distance going by with the sails fully-furled and passing by.
Several years later, my parents and I were on our motor boat, the Rascal W. and we saw the Victory Chimes from the water. We looked up and were awed at her majesty. We watched the crew unfurl the sails and get her ready to head out to sea for her next portion of her journey. The Victory Chimes rested upon the waters of the Harbor and the waves from the movement of the boats could be heard gently jostling against the boat.
Approximately, 10 years later, My Dad and Brother Randy and I took a four day cruise aboard the Victory Chimes in Penobscot Bay in Maine. Boarding an historic boat that I saw from several vantage points was exciting. On the boat, the floors were lined with small slats and the walls were lined with historic posters detailing the various ports which were visited and other maritime trivia.

Taking ones stand

Fifty years ago this December 5th, a young black woman, Rosa Parks changed the history of this nation. She refused to cowtow to the establishment of discrimination. Going against the stream in society's cultures and customs is not easy. It creates friction and dissent. But a great revolution started for the negro society that day when Rosa listened to her God given conscience to not give in and to fight for the right of equality.
What helped her in the mass movement that began as the Montgomery bus boycott was the strength of her supporters such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This young preacher was at the centerr of the civil rights movement advocating peace and non-violence. The cooperation of the community gathered around Rosa and her dream. Just as Rev. King had the same dream that he gave at the steps of the Washington Monument, he helped fuel and encourage a movement that brought about change -living a faith in action.
Imagine 2000 years ago today when the man from Nazarteth, Jesus, spoke similar words. He gave his Sermon on the Mount as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 5:9 : Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. In matthew 5: 12, Jesus states Rejoice for your reward is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So matter where you are in life, remember to stand up or sit down in unconventional territory, one can indeed change the world whether one is on the bus or on a Mount.

Launching ones dream

I watched the movie, October Sky, the one about the dreams of Homer and his friends who had a love for rocketry. Many in his family persuaded him to go into his father's profession in the coal mines, but he followed the dream that was driven by his gift of science and invention.
Breaking out of the mold of expectations brought our society closer to putting man into space.
Sure, risks were involved in the ridicule of others, but the end result was that his family was brought closer together so that ones precious dream could be realized. So when you look into the sky and see a trail of jet exhaust, remember the dreams held by four friends that came true.

Life is Driftwood

The water rushes over the fallen log. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Constant ebbing and flowing of water. Life is a lot like that log that has fallen into the sea and is tossed and turned. In that process, it is polished and shaped to become very beautiful tables and sculptures.

Participating in the Divine

In life, there are many interactions that take place between people. The friendship and bonds that we form connect us to one another and to God.
Some friendships still have meaning even when they are separated half way across the country when shared by common memories and thoughts.
Memories are the glue that hold together our thoughts and attitudes and intentions through life.
It is always great to hear of how someone's dream of a house has become a reality and to realize that prayers are part of that foundation and mortar. As a bricklayer builds a wall, he takes the bricks and lays them atop one another. It is a sculpting process as is life. We take the elementary concepts from childhood and build those concepts into a blueprint of how to live life.
It can be hard when starting to build anything anew. That is the challenge of life. Where to begin is like trying to find where the beginning of a stream is. It can be heard from a distance and as one gets nearer to it, the water rushes over the rocks and moss. Hard to pinpoint the exact point of origin, but that is not the most important thing. It is the connectedness of the rocks, water and moss that makes this a thriving community just as with the interconnected faith community.

No Man is an Island

During our church service, the theme was on Heaven helping the homes. Our domestic landscape can use some help these days as the news is filled with stories of how family members are failing to get along as well as they could.
There has been a lot of emotional isolationism that exists where people are afraid to express their true feelings and emotions. At times, it can be easy to be a clam with his shell drawn tight being fearful to let it open. But opening the shell allows one an opportunity to share in the nutrients of the ocean just as man needs to open up to share in the healings of emotional contact. At times, it can be hard to take the risks that are needed for this to happen, but life can be that much more rewarding in the end.

Lessons learned

Today, God showed me a couple of things that I needed to learn. First, I need to give thanks to God more than I do. One of the bands in a local coffeeehouse kept singing the refrain, Thank you Lord. I forget to do that sometimes in all of the blessings that I am given daily in this life.
I tend to be preoccupied as to who I should be friends to. This reminded me of the conversation Jesus had with His disciples who wanted to be first. I must treat my friendships with humility thinking of them with high respect and not want to be first but to be a servant to them. Tough to actually do since I don't always look with His eyes or walk and work in the spirit. That is why Jesus had his disciples work in pairs when He showed them how to share the Good News. Help me Lord to be that kind of person to the world.

Nothing like teamwork

On the HBO network, I saw a documentary on Educating Peter. Peter was a third grader who had down syndrome who was integrated into the public school system.
At the start of his schooling, he was awkward in not fititng in. It was very similar to how I was at the start of my public education having come from the private school for the handicapped in New York. I became like an island where the differences became magnified to my peers in the lcassroom. I could identify with that third grader in the documentary . Yet, I turned out to be a survivor of the system.

Being awake to our spirit within

For the past three months in my church men's group, we looked at two books, Wild at Heart and Understanding the Mind of a Woman. We finalized our thoughts from these books and came to an understanding of some questions on how to live a more fulfillling life.
John Eldridge in Wild at Heart asks some key questions. One of them is: Are we living our lives as an adventure. In life's path, it can sometimes seem to be rather ordinary in how we live with our routines and daily chores. But it can be at times when we step out of our normal day that we will have an impact upon the world.
Rainbows and Northern lights don't always appear before our eyes. Adn we only get a special glimpse of them. Even though they happen randomly and some may never experience them fully, they do occur for special reasons. And these sights of nature can be of comfort and encouragement for those who go thorugh daily struggles. I am reminded of a local teen in Milford , John Tartaglia, who has to fight the daily battle of life. Here is a man who lived a normal life until an infection took over his body. Even thought it consumed his legs, it didn't consume his heart. It is a reminder that even those who have hardships can rise above them. And to have an impact on the friends that I work with in Milford and in lives around the world as a result of a sturdy determination to never give up.
In our musings of life, this battle surrounds all of us. Whether one is in traffic or in a line at a store or movie. The army that we have to fight this battle is both within us and from the friends and support networks that we have outside of us.