2012 Resolutions

I have to say, I LOVE New Year's resolutions!  I know a lot of people who don't like them and never make them, but I really like the idea of starting fresh.  It gives me hope and energy to think that this year will be different.  Even if  I don't keep them, I think it's worth making them.

My New Year's Resolutions of 2012:

1.  I will walk for 30 minutes every morning.

2.  I will switch to a mainly plant-based diet, following this food pyramid.  (I saw 2 documentaries that have led to this one:  "Forks over Knives" and "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".  Check them out.)

3.  I will have fresh juice or a green smoothie at least once a day.

4.  I will write to my Bosnian sister on the first of each month.  (I sponsor a Bosnian woman through Women for women.  I always send the money, but I'm ashamed to say I rarely write like I'm supposed to.)

5.  I will be the best mother I can possibly be.

6.  I will spend more time and energy on people, and less time and energy on things.

I also LOVE to read other people's resolutions (so I can steal the good ones).  What are yours?

His Name is Khan, and he is NOT a Terrorist

My Name is Khan
All Americans should watch this movie.  Really.  I saw it this weekend and loved it.  Shahrukh Khan plays a character that has Asberger's Sydrome who falls in love with a single mom, Mandira.  Their love is unconventional, but very sweet.  The focus is the love story, but there is the back-drop of 9/11 which happens in the middle of the film  and changes their lives forever.  Many of us have never considered that innocent Muslims who live in America were also victims of 9/11.

Watching this movie has made me more sensitive to some unpleasant things that are going on currently.  Two stand out to me:  (I already had these thoughts before seeing the movie--it just made me think more about them.) 

1.  People are freaking out and trying to prevent a mosque from being built down the street from the ground zero.  Not AT ground zero, mind you; but down the street.  (Also, there is another mosque that already exists that is even closer to the site which nobody mentions.)

2.  Right-wing media idiots are trying to organize "parties" where people burn copies of the Qur'an.

Reasons why we should not prevent a mosque from being built at that site in NY:

1.  It's not AT Ground zero.  It's down the street.

2.  It will not be for "the enemy".  This mosque will be built for AMERICANS who have the misfortune of having the same religion as some very bad men.

3.  This idea that Islam is synonymous with terrorism is dangerous thinking and just isn't true. I have heard people say that Islam is a violent religion and it's something in the religion that promotes bombings, etc.  Well, what about the Northern Irish terrorists who bombed London all those years?  We never said "ooh.  Let's prevent a church from being built anywhere near any of the bomb sites", did we?  Also, Timothy McVeigh was Christian.  Did we knock down churches in the area?  What about all the Catholic priests who molest boys?  Is there something in Catholicism that promotes that?  Of course not!  There are bad people in the world, and they can be of any religion.  Also, no matter what the religion, there are people who will use the ideology to justify bad behavior.  Let's not condemn whole religions here.  Especially in the land that was founded on freedom of religion!

4.  Let us not forget that there were innocent Muslims who died in the Twin Towers along with everyone else.

5.  Yes, the Muslims have "jihad".  Well, Christians have "crusades".  Isn't that pretty much the same thing?  Killing people who don't conform to your beliefs?  The crusades were really bloody, horrible battles.  All done by Christians in a far away land.  The people of that land still associate the word "crusade" with some awful, awful events.

6.  I know Christians today who think it's okay to break the "thou shalt not kill" commandment to go abroad and kill Muslims.  We can go over an kill them, yet they cannot have a peaceful place of worship?  Doesn't this strike you as insane?

7.  Whatever happened to "turn the other cheek" and "love thine enemy"? 


Reasons why we should not have mass public burnings of the Qur'an:

1.  First of all, what would it accomplish?  Really!

2.  We didn't burn bibles everytime an IRA bombing occured in London; nor did we burn bibles when over the Oklahoma City bombing.  Why start burning books now?  I think this whole thing is racism in disguise.

3.  It's only going to make the bad guys hate us even more.  (and by "bad guys" I mean Islamic terrorists.  Not ALL muslims!)

My Mug Says.....

I thought I'd share the saying that is written on my favorite coffee cup.  Reading this in the morning makes me feel peaceful and happy and sets me up nicely for the day.  The mug is various shades of blue and it says:

"May the sun bring you new energy by day, 
May be moon softly restore you by night, 
May the rain wash away your worries, 
May the breeze blow new strength into your being, 
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life."


--Apache blessing

Isn't that nice?

Sometimes, you can go back. (Temporarily)

This past weekend was really cool for me because I got to hang out with some old college buddies of mine.  You know the saying, "you can never go back"?  Well, sometimes you can!  Several people came in from all over to attend a special alumni weekend at my university.  It really was just like old times.  Hanging out with the same people in the same places made the time just melt away.  Now, I'm back in the real world and am wondering if I dreamt it all.

This got me wondering:  Why do we like to have reunions so much?  I mean, we all have current friends we hang out with, right?  ...and one would presume that we've developed past our old colleagues and have become different people than we were then.  Those old people won't know the "new" us.  Why have college and/or high school reunions?  I have to say, I also recently hung out with some old high school buddies too and had a fabulous time.  Why is it so fun?

I think it's because when we see these people, we feel grounded.  We met them at a time when we were still developing and were dreaming of what we would become in the future.  The possibilities were endless.  As we age, our possibilities seem to shrink and reality sets in.  Seeing your school colleagues makes you feel like you have possibility in your life again.

It's also fun to see what people you knew way back when are doing now.  When I find out how successful some of my colleagues are, it makes me feel like that too is possible for me.  Minds open, possibilities present themselves, new thoughts form.  
Plus, I adored those people back then and I adore them now and it was just plain FUN to see them again!  :-)

You don't have to go far to enter a totally different world.

I was struck today about how close you can be to a place, yet so far.  At one of the schools where I teach, I can literally see the acupuncture place that I go to from the window of my classroom.  How can utter peace and relaxation be just a stone's throw away from a place that is so....not?  By just going a block down the road, you can be in a totally new world.  Crazy, if you think about it. 

Also, I was thinking today that I really love teaching kids.  Sure, I could probably make more money doing something else, but I really get to see the good in what I do.  My students can make me laugh, can make me furious, or sometimes can make me very proud and happy.  With kids, you never know what the day might bring.  You might get thrown up on, get yelled at, cried on for no apparent reason, or sometimes they might floor you by doing something fantastic that you never saw them do before.  Things can turn in an instant.  This makes me feel alive.