I must share this story with all of you....
When my father died last October,he had a military funeral(WWII veteran). There as a twenty one gun salute. One of the honor guards asked if we would like the shell casings from the 21 gun salute. I accepted 5 of them..one for me, one for each of my sons(2) and one for each of my grandchildren(2).
I have carried all five of them in a small mesh purse that is attached to my key ring. I touch it often and remember my Dad.
Well, over the new year my youngest son and I travelled to Peru. On the return home we went through the security checkpoints. We made it all of the way to the final checkpoint before we entered the international boarding section. The security guard took my purse out of the xray machine and proceeded to go through it. I belive they were looking for my nail file. They were taking nail files from everyone that night! On the airplane I sat in the aisle seat and was given a metal fork and knife to eat my meal with---far more dangerous than empty shell casings!
As the security agent went through my purse, she noticed the shell casings. She said I could not have them and took them from me. I was asked to sign a form and then they took the shell casings and the form away. I was upset (naturally) and insisted that they give me a copy of the form I signed and that them put the shell casings in a special place where they would not be lost. I told them that I would have my Embassy pick them up. Indeed, after about two hours they located the form and retreived the shell casings and I watched them put them in a special office area.
They would not let me send them through in checked luggage, nor give them to the pilot or stewardesses or let me mail them to myself. Now remember these are empty shell casings. There is no charge in them, there is not powder and they do not have a cap. The worse I could do is throw them at the flight crew.
When I got home I sent a fax to the US Embassy in Peru, the President of the USA, my two senators and my representative, asking for my help. I included the facts, a picture of my father and picture of his headstone. I received inquires from all of the offices. But I finally received a phone call from the office of Representative Jim Ramstad. They told me they had the shell casings at the Peruvian Embassy and that they were on their way to the USA!!!! The Peruvian Ambassdor is a friend of Representative Ramstad's... I didn't know that!!!!!!!
Well, I sent the Peruvian Ambassdor flowers a couple of weeks ago as a thank you. This weekend I received the shell casings in the mail. The Peruvian Embassy had placed them in a velvet box. Inside the top of the box is the Peruvian shield imprinted in gold. And they gently folded cardstock to frame the shell casings so that the shell casings would be nestled in the box without being knocked around. I also received a wonderful letter from the Peruvian Ambassador stating that a private company (sound like here?) was handling security at the Lima airport and that between the Ambassador, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Peruvian National Police they retreived the shell casings because they understood the sentimental value they have for me.
I want to share this story because I want to encourage you all to stand up for your rights. If I had not, I would not have those shell casings. I want to remind you that there are wondeful, caring people in government. I want you to know the gentleness and beauty of the Peruvian people and I want you to know that legislators do care... we are so caught up in the negative... you must believe... they are good people and they do care... they reflect us... now be a mirror back at them and show them the good of life and believe in them and they will believe in us. I have said to many people that we get the government we deserve...and I am thankful that I deserved to have the shell casings returned to me and that I have had the opportunity to be reminded of the many good people who do serve because we have cast our votes.
Now, some of you may wonder... Jim Ramstad and the Peruvian Ambassador have worked together on a mission that an organization here in Minnesota, Operation Smile, does. This is a group of dentists that travel the world and perform dental surgery for people, especially children. They do work in Peru. Representative Ramstad is a Republican.
Thanks for listening and please KEEP believing in the good of ALL people!
Blessings,
Karen Johnson
The place where I am sitting has great strength, I am in a thatched buidling that is set up from the Sucusari River. This small stream joins the Napo River and eventually they merge with other streams to birth the Amazon River. And then the Amazon River flows about 2300 miles to the east to become one with the Atlantic Ocean. And this is only a human name given to one part of the great waters that cover almost 3/4 of our earth.
Surrounding me are palm trees-they number in variety more that you can imagine-- and ficus trees; trees with philodendron tendrils dripping from their branches; trees with their roots exposed-appearing to be ready to walk across a clearing; bamboo growing straight and tall; trees growing up to and hanging over the edge of the river.
The smells are rich. They are smells of pungent flowers scenting to attract bees and hummingbirds so they can join in the continuation of life by pollinating the colorful flowers. Smells of decay. The decay of fallen leaves, branches, flowers, trees and insect and animal carcasses. The rich odor created as life dies, decays and returns to the earth to be a source of life again.
The sounds are many. The thunder has passed. But the rain is still falling. The birds are speaking and singing. Frogs are "b-r--rumping" in the distance. If I listen very closely, if I can overcome the sound of my own blood being pumped by my heart, I can hear the pulse of the Earth. It is difficult and sometimes I am not sure if I am hearing the Earth or my own heart---I only know that if I take the "h" in heart --the object that keeps me alive----and put it at the end of the same word, then I have connected my heart to the earth. Heart becomes earth.
I come to this place for many reasons. I am still/quiet here. I am still in the midst of the ongoing, ever present cycle of life in the jungle. My heart slows naturally to the heartbeat of the earth. I can listen amongst the ever-present sounds and hear the Earth sing.
About 100 feet away I can see the raindrops create rings as they break the surface tension of the water in the Sucusari River. Every set of rings spreads outward touching, changing, re-directing, re-enforcing and re-aligning the patterns and movements of the others.
Behind me I can hear the creaking of the platform. There is no one else here with me. No, I am mistaken. The jaguar has just growled lowly behind me. I can feel the breath of the sloth as she moves up the pole next to me. The anteater's nose has just touched my leg. Across my toe I can feel the eight legs of the hairy tarantula. In the stream before me, the pink dolphins and piranha swim together.
Quietly, the paye' (shaman) moves to my back. I can feel his worn, gentle life-giving hands on my shoulders. I do not turn. He begins his gentle chant "aa-yay-aa-ee-a-aa-yay-aa-ee-a, aa-yay-yah-yay-ee-aa, aa-yay-yah-yay-ee-aa". He has a bundle of chambira plam leaves that he uses to brush away the heavy, negative feelings surrounding me. He sings while he removes the many burdens of the last months. When he finishes we are together in silence.
I am startled when he speaks-his voice has no sound-only vibration-those vibrations are gathered by my ears and heart.
"You, the Peacewalkers, ripple, gather, flow, nourish, change and create the world of movement; of birth and death; of give and take; of balance of heart/earth. We thank you."
After the paye' left, I walked into my room. On top of the mosquito netting covering the bed, sits a black beetle. His body as about the size of a fifty cent piece. When I walk into the room, he turns toward me...rises up on its back legs and "speaks" to me...his words are "Tell them it is not too late. There is still time."
My youngest son just woke me from a very deep sleep. He is 17. He came into my room and told me he just had the worse, scariest dream ever. He dreamed that the world was coming to an end and that there is a group of us that can prevent it. He told me he never felt so unable to control the energy...he was holding a large ball of energy and he was trying to throw it at the world to save it. He was termbling, shaking...he was as close to me as he could get. He laid his head on my shoulder because he felt that it was the only way to feel anchored... being close to me, the woman who gave birth to him.
He is now sleeping peacefully again. I am awake. Spirit has been speaking to my soul for days and I cannot be silent anymore. Let me share with you what Spirit has shown me.
I recently lost four very dear people through death. My favorite Aunt, favorite Uncle and my Dad's best friend who was like an uncle to me, and, my Dad. They all left this life within the last six months. During this time of deep, profound loss for me, two groups, that I called my communities, failed me. They did not come to comfort me...they did not offer condolences...they did not offer to fix a meal for us...they did not respond to my need as a community should.
So, I lost four very dear people in 2005 and I lost the illusion of community also. One was a spiritual community and the other an occupational community. It has been hard. I felt abandoned, left, uncared for, desparate for someone to hold me and let me cry, alone..................
I have begged Spirit to show the meaning of all of this loss and abandonment. I have pleaded for healing in my soul....to no avail. Until the last couple of days and now this tonight...my youngest son......telling me that there is group of us that can "save the world". He came to the human who birthed and nurtured him. The person who cried with him, picked him up, cleaned him off and sent on again to learn more for these last 17years.
I now understand why I had to feel the abandonment that I have....I have felt the feelings of the children in our world. We have betrayed them. We have let them down. We have not been there for them as they have cried, pleaded and begged to be heard, held, comforted and loved.
I have felt the utter heaviness and despair that a child who is being beaten feels when he or she is not rescued....the utter heaviness and despair that a child feels when it is starving and others around the world are throwing away food...and that child is not fed. I have felt the utter heaviness and despair that children around the world that are dieing and do not get medicines feel because we insist on turning our resources toward new cars, bombs, clothing, facelifts, etc.
I have looked at US through the eyes of child who cannot believe that they have been abandoned. Shame on us. But hope is not lost...we are the source....we can save this world....we can divert our financial resources to help....but most importantly we can create a different future.
That different future will come through our words. Our creative words. The power that we hold in our language. Language begins with our thoughts...with our imaginations. We must turn from accusations of blame for the conditions of the world....we must stop blaming others...we must stop using negative words towards others...we must know that we have created this world through our thoughts and our words.....we are responsible for this world and its current condition. We cannot use negative words and thoughts toward our leaders. There is an saying that goes "Tell a man long enough that he is no good and soon he begins to believe it". We are creating our leaders through our words....if you can do nothing else....think of our leaders are they were as children....imagine the goodness and innocence they once held....see them that way...create oncce again in them those thoughts and dreams!
Hold careful your words. Hold careful your thoughts. Hold careful your imaginings. It is through those three things that we create....the time is now...we must not let the children down...we must not abandonthem...we must hold them close and assure them that we are not gone from them.......
We must take a stand.....we must imagine, think and speak healing for our children...and then act on that......demand a different world for our children. Do not abandon a child who has been beaten, do not turn your back on a child who is hungry, do not forgot a child who is sick or homeless....act...imagine it enough and it will be.....your action will take place.....you will not be able to sit alone doing little or nothing.......open your hearts to the promise of you......the promise that you hold for the children of the world.
I can sleep now.
I will hold you in my imagination through the New Year to come.....
Blessings, Karen
Greetings,
I am sitting in my office at the college because we have no electricity at home. A late summer storm swept acorss central Minnesota last night. My city, Brooklyn Park, is 70% without electricity. Large trees are down across homes, across streets and laying in yards all over the city. When my son, Stephen, and I left our apartment this morning we dsicovered the damage.
As we drove around the city and stopped to check on a few friends, the trees were crying out to us........Grandmother Earth has a message for us...
"I am beating my hands against my chest in sadness. I am working to return balance. We are all One. You are One with me; with Grandfather Sun; with the Sky; with the Stars, and with each other. With the Grandmothers and the Grandfathers. We are all One. You are all One with each other. Your sadness, your anger, your despair, your negative thoughts and words reverberate through the Universe. When you react in anger, I feel it. When you react in sadness, I feel it. When you react in despair, I feel it. When you send out negative thoughts, I must take them in and try to create a balance.....otherwise you would be overwhelmed. Those of the natural realm, the trees, the water, the animals, the birds, the soil....they have been taking in your sadness, negativity, and despair for generations...we are overwhlemed and are beating our chests, shoulders, legs and heads in sadness. We are wailing for you. Balance sometimes has to be created by going to the opposite extreme...as you have watched the water in a bathtub regain its equilibrium, when you step in and sit down. The water sloshes back and forth, from front to back until it regains its equilibrium or balance. This is why you see the storms, earthquakes, foods, droughts, etc.
We are calling on you to become centered. Seek balance in your actions, your thoughts and your words. As the need for us to work harder increases, so will the impact on you increase. Take responsibility for your actions...be mindful.....be thoughtful...be watchful for each other and us.
Speak no harm for anyone. imagine no harm on anyone. The healing is in you."