The Life of a Child

It was Thanksgiving.

And we all enjoyed the turkey from Whole Foods

And the medrillo cranberry substitute.

Then Flor ran into the house crying.

Humberto, her father and Don of the Pueblo, ran out with her.

Something terrible had happened.

A young child was found by his Italian father

In the tank near his garden of food.

For three hours they tried to blow the breath of life

back into his blue, chilled body.

Aremis was two.

We buried him three days later on a mountain side

over looking the great altiplano of Mexico.

There were Italians, Mexicans, Americans, Swiss, South Americans,

Germans, English, Huicholes, and other Indiginos.

We were writers, painters, farmers, fathers,jewelers, cafe owners,

shopkeepers, art directors,

hotel owners, production managers, mothers, store owners, stone masons,

photographers,

goaters, carpenters,

and travelers.

We were sisters and brothers.

And we were all Mourners.

The Huichole spoke with a clear, emotional resonance.

And the Earth turned the Sun to the rim of the mountain.

And we honored the Earth, and the Sky,

And the life of a child.

From the Mountains

There are many peoples in this mountain town.

They come from all over the world.

They live here because they love the deep blue sky, the round mountains, and the deep sense of mystery that pervades every rock wall and cobblestone street. There are no gas stations within 20 miles. The aural landscape is dominated by the church with its great bells.

At dinner two nights ago, we spoke of the elections in the United States and how devastating the election has been for those outside of the US.

I spoke of the need to begin to see that the Geographic State was important 200 years ago when there was no transportation except by horse, and there was no communication except by super snail mail.

I spoke of the need to create new bonds between us.

I spoke of the opportunity we have to accomplish what we want without pouring our energy and resources into the dark hole of corporate control.

We can spend our energy and our resources more wisely.

They all understood.

And they all agreed.

Loss

This is a day of loss.

Who of us who knows this day can forget this day?

Who of us knows what we lost. What future might have been.

Who of us knows what we might have become.

When the president of the United States says:

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.

You know we have all lost.

Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" -- a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty and war itself.

And, when the President speaks of the presidency

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

Perhaps something more than the president died 41 years ago.

Maybe our Republic died with it.

And maybe that is the way is should be.

For that is the way it is.

It is time to seek a new contract with the people.

Time to speak of a new bond between us.

Time to build an earth family.

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, not in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

We must learn to turn loss into gain.

First Words

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.

The closing statement of Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Institute address, Feb 27, 1860

FEAR IS A SCARY THING

BUT HOPE IS A POWERFUL THING

AND WE MUST HAVE JUSTICE

SO IT WILL BE FAIR

AND COURAGE

IS VERY ENCOURAGING

In the Beginning

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