The Light of Giving

"We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers."
Seneca

Our Human Light

"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive."

- Albert Einstein

Spring Babies

There must be 30 new gosslings around the pond in Liberty Park. How fun is that!

Memorial Day

"Toast to the Flag"
by John Jay Daly


Here's to the red of it -
There's not a thread of it,
No, nor a shred of it
In all the spread of it
From foot to head,
But heroes bled for it,
Faced steel and lead for it,
Precious blood shed for it,
Bathing it red!


Here's to the white of it-
Thrilled by the sight of it,
Who knows the right of it
But feels the might of it
Through day and night?
Womanhood's care for it
Made manhood dare for it,
Purity's prayer for it
Keeps it so white!


Here's to the blue of it -
Beauteous view of it,
Heavenly hue of it,
Star-spangled dew of it
Constant and true;
Diadems gleam for it,
States stand supreme for it,
Liberty's beam for it
Brightens the blue!!


Here's to the whole of it -
Stars, stripes and pole of it,
Body and soul of it,
O, and the roll of it,
Sun shining through;
Hearts in accord for it,
Swear by the sword for it,
Thanking the Lord for it,
Red, White and Blue.

More Light at the End

Hospice affirms the concept of palliative care as an intensive program that enhances comfort and promotes the quality of life for individuals and their families. When cure is no longer possible, hospice recognizes that a peaceful and comfortable death is an essential goal of health care. Hospice believes that death is an integral part of the life cycle and that intensive palliative care focuses on pain relief, comfort and enhanced quality of life as appropriate goals for the terminally ill. Hospice also recognizes the potential for growth that often exists within the dying experience for the individual and his/her family and seeks to protect and nurture this potential.

Hospice care is a Medicare benefit and not only provides care but covers essentially all the costs. Many insurance plans also have hospice benefits. Although it is a program at the end of life, it often is life enhancing and of real comfort and support for families.

Light at the End

"Death is simply a shedding of the physical body like the butterfly shedding its cocoon. It is a transition to a higher state of consciousness where you continue to perceive, to understand, to laugh, and to be able to grow." ..Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross is considered one of the most influential people and important minds of the last century. Her personal grit and determination forever changed how the world treats its dying. Her tireless efforts to assure that those who are dying be treated with compassion and dignity have now become the standard in end of life care. Dr. Ross taught the world that dying was actually about living and that our work here was to learn how to love unconditionally.

I had the privilege of hearing her speak and meeting and talking with her several times. Now that some friends and family members are nearing the end of their lives, I turned to her writings again and was comforted by her like an old friend.

Greetings President Obama

Good afternoon,

You are receiving this email because you signed up at WhiteHouse.gov. My staff and I plan to use these messages as a way to directly communicate about important issues and opportunities, and today I have some encouraging updates about health care reform.

The Vice President and I just met with leaders from the House of Representatives and received their commitment to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31.

We also have an unprecedented commitment from health care industry leaders, many of whom opposed health reform in the past. Monday, I met with some of these health care stakeholders, and they pledged to do their part to reduce the health care spending growth rate, saving more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years -- around $2,500 for each American family. Then on Tuesday, leaders from some of America's top companies came to the White House to showcase innovative ways to reduce health care costs by improving the health of their workers.

Now the House and Senate are beginning a critical debate that will determine the health of our nation's economy and its families. This process should be transparent and inclusive and its product must drive down costs, assure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and guarantee all of us a choice of doctors and plans.

Reforming health care should also involve you. Think of other people who may want to stay up to date on health care reform and other national issues and tell them to join us here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/EmailUpdates

Health care reform can't come soon enough. We spend more on health care than any country, but families continue to struggle with skyrocketing premiums and nearly 46 million are without insurance entirely. It is a priority for the American people and a pillar of the new foundation we are seeking to build for our economy.

We'll continue to keep you posted about this and other important issues.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

P.S. If you'd like to get more in-depth information about health reform and how you can participate, be sure to visit http://www.HealthReform.gov.








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Light and Filters

The universe as seen from the Hubble Telescope.

“Once we are in the habit of filtering what we want to believe through a sieve, disbelief splashes back in our face”

The Joy of Gardening

Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul. ~Linda Solegato

Choices

Archetypes provide the deep structure for human motivation and meaning. When we encounter them in art, literature, sacred texts, advertising—or in individuals or groups—they evoke deep feeling within us. These imprints, which are hardwired in our psyches, were projected outward by the ancients onto images of gods and goddesses. Plato disconnected these from religion, seeing them in philosophical terms as "elemental forms." Twentieth-century psychiatrist C.G. Jung called them "archetypes."

Technology's Light

Now Connecting......Inn at Mazatlan Cam. I go to this website at least once a day to view our condo, beach and often see one of our friends on the staff. How amazing. It doesn't beat being there but....

Happy Cinco de Mayo

The image is of our other home in Mexico where we have celebrated Cinco de Mayo only once. Although it is a national holiday, we in the USA put more emphasis on it than our Mexican friends. It celebrates the battle of Puebla.

During the French-Mexican War, a poorly supplied and outnumbered Mexican army under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeats a French army attempting to capture Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. Victory at the Battle of Puebla represented a great moral victory for the Mexican government, symbolizing the country's ability to defend its sovereignty against threat by a powerful foreign nation.

Sending light to this country and its new battle with a foreign entity, the flu.

A Legend-Happy Birthday

Pete Seeger is 90 today. His music and wit have been part of our extended family for many years. We sing his version of We Gather Together To Thank Thee Our Father before every family celebration. There was a brief discussion of going to his birthday concert in Madison Square Garden today but we decided against it. Perhaps he will be able to travel here again soon. He is invited every year to be part of the Children's Dance Theatre concert but has been able to come since 2002.

CNN interviewed him at the New Orleans Jazz Festival-

CNN: How important is it to have storytelling out there in this day in age?

Seeger: There's always a danger that you let the machine do it for you. And I think what we are going to see in the next few years, is people finding a way they can do something themselves. Whatever it is.

I put it this way: The agriculture revolution took thousands of years, the industrial revolution took hundreds of years, but the information [revolution] is only taking decades. And if you use it, use the brains God gave us, miracles are going to happen.

Creative Light

Creativity is the
joyous expression
of the soul.

It allows us to explore
unknown realms
and
co-create the reality
in which we live.

Be respectful of
and
honored by your contributions
to this world.

-Shirley McLaine

Friendship

Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest.
but about who came and never left your side. Thanks to friend Joy for this email picture!