Sunday Musings - January 31, 2021

We in the United States are 11 days into the administration of President Biden.  We are 1/12th of the way through 2021. In this country and many others many struggle to find a balance between establishing a friendlier, survivable marriage with the environment and the needs of those who are not only in need of a decent paying job but who are attached to the belief that they should be able to retain their current fossil fuel related jobs.  We are attempting to balance the need to greatly lessen the power of covid-19 and its variants and the right many feel to not get the vaccine when it is available as well as the right to not wear a mask. We are also in the midst of revisiting the definition of when human life begins; of the extent to which resources such as food and health care should be shared; and whether we want to continue to treat addiction and other mental illness as an equal opportunity illness or to more firmly hold on to our attachment to the delusion that all but a very humans have free will which operates by some divine intervention rather than being determined by the science of all the factors which determine the neurology of the brain which in turn determine the decisions we make.

We also continue to be in the midst or a life and death wrestling match between those who are so passionately attached to some of their beliefs that they are willing to forge ahead with a take no prisoners approach to protecting the so called rights of the few, often at the expense of the many. 

How we, as a nation and as a universe, resolve these and related issues will determine the future of not only the United States and of all countries but of the planet. Many of us humans seem to want to hold on to a belief that we are somehow so close to our version of the divine that we can ignore the fact that we are not in charge.

On this last day of January 2021 I am convinced that we are but a minuscule part of the whole.  We are so amazing that we can build machines which allow us to poorly mimic the ability of many birds to fly long distances;  have the ability to create temporary costumes to mimic the brilliant but often very practical costumes of our fellow creatures; and can temporarily extend the average life span until some organism so small we cannot see it with the naked eye elects to begin a pandemic which in the United States alone has, in the space of a year, killed off more people than we have usually managed to kill off with our war machines.  

On this last day of January 2021 we must, as a species, again ask the purpose of this very brief life journey.  Philosophers and theologians have been asking this question for as long as we have been able to articulate it; as long as we have had the luxury or the misfortune of moving beyond the illusion of mere survival.  The question is an important one but one which defies the self-satisfying and seemingly eloquent answers of many.  Philosophers and theologians forget that their primary role is to articulate the questions; not to provide answers.   Some simple servant teachers such as Jesus, the Buddha and  a few others knew our purpose was no more complicated than the so called simplest of our “fellow” planet travelers.  It is perhaps to take care of each other; to give to each other even when that means the giving of ourselves; to love and let go; to be present with a great deal of joy and laughter; to accept that all is only for this moment; to raise our young and to let them go; to groom each other; to be with and to separate. 


Written January 31, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org

Joy

Drew Lanham an ornithologist, poet, author and professor was the conversation guest of Krista Tippett on the podcast On Being January 28, 2021.  As always, I encourage the reader to listen to or read the transcript of this conversation. 

Dr. Lanham brings the rich history of living close to the earth in the South; the earth which holds the pain, songs, joy, struggles and, yes, the history of his ancestors and the universe.  As an ornithologist he is especially aware of the role birds play in fertilizing the earth which not only holds our history but continues to form it.  From the moment we are born we make deposits in Mother Earth which then feeds the plants and all the insects which feeds us and the birds which then travel from our home to distant places where they will feed and make more deposits.

It is not surprising that we are at our best with each other when we live close to the earth which holds our ancestors as well as our future.  It is easy to get disconnected from Mother Earth living in our concrete and steel perches or the cloistered space of our paved and isolating suburban homes.

During these often seemingly dark days of disconnect and the forced isolation the birds continue to call us to gather, although perhaps few for us live close enough to the earth to experience the close relationship Dr. Lanham and other birders have to this glue.

Dr. Lanham’s DNA carries the history of his slave descending grandmother; the history of her humming which mingles with the songs of the birds.  His grandmother’s humming would have carried the history of the secrets hidden in music of the spiritual.   It is not a far stretch to think that the songs of the birds alsio carry those voices.  Although the songs of his grandmother carried the pain of enslavement, it also carried the victory.  Dr. Lanham says, “Joy is justice we give ourselves.”  Once again I am reminded of all those who have refused to be destroyed by oppression.  Recently I wrote of all the strong women and men who joined President Biden at his recent inauguration, many of who were the descendants of slaves; all of whom thrived in spite of racism, sexism, homophobia and all manner of the worst kind of pain we have and continue to inflict on each other.  Although none of them can escape the reality of ongoing oppression - even the storming of the U. S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 - all of these strong men and women have elected to claim the justice of joy.

Joy does not negate pain.  Perhaps, at times, we are hesitant to openly share the joy for fear others will have an excuse to ignore the pain they cause.  Yet, we know that the experience of joy has been tempered with our pain. Listen to the spiritual.  Hmmmmm... Listen to the song of the birds.  Listen! 

Perhaps the strength for joy can only come from feeding off the earth which has been fertilized by the birds which carry the ancestors far and near.   Join me in listening to the humming of all the  gathering grandmothers.

Written January 30, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org

Two sided or one sided

Often when I hit print on my computer it asks if I want to print single sided or two sided.   When possible I print two sided.  That saves paper which saves trees which saves or helps to retain a balance in the environment.  Of course, there are always two sides to the printed page even if one of them is blank.

Some wise teachers have suggested that there are two sides to every issue.  I think that this is true although we have to careful that we are correctly identifying the issues or the sides.  For example, a friend of mine was recently talking to an immigrant who perceived the sometimes-violent Black Lives Matter protests the same as the violent attempt to take over the seat of the United Congress at the capitol building on January 6. 2021.   My friend disagreed with the immigrant.  To him the actions of the Black Lives Matter participants was a loud cry against the injustice of racism, especially the racism which has always been present in law enforcement in this country. Racism is a scientifically proven fact in these United States which persist despite false promises and/or outright denials since the inception of the country.  Parents of black children, specially black boys, worry that their sons will not live to be an adult or will be thrown in jail for long periods when their white counterparts either escape being sent to jail or have much shorter sentences.  Discrimination and oppression continues to exist on every rung of every ladder no matter how gold plated a few ladders are.

The attempt to take over the United States legislature was, on the other hand,  a reaction born out of the internalization of lies by a group of largely white people whose self-esteem is dependent on being better or more deserving then those with whom they disagree.  Often their self-esteem is built on the belief of the superiority of their race and/or the god of their understanding; of their belief that winning at any cost is pleasing to their god.  Anyone who disagrees with them is displeasing to the god of their understanding and, thus, deserves to be violently attacked

In the case of Black Lives Matter, the violence was a byproduct of their frustration while in the case of those who attacked those at the U. S. Capitol, the violence was the goal.  In the case of the BLM individuals violence was a cry to be treated as equals.  In the case of those who stormed the U. S. Capital the violence was at attempt to destroy those who disagreed with them.

In both cases the violence arose out of the lies of the crumbling textbooks which have presented a version of the United States built on a version of history which many so-called Christians and those of other religious backgrounds wanted to align with what they believed would fool the god of their understanding and which therefore would ensure entrance to the hall of those celebrated for a well lived life or the halls of the afterlife otherwise known as heaven

Ironically, in both cases the desire is to be recognized as people of worth assured of rewards in this life and/or in the next one.  One is built on a foundation held up on the backs of the enslaved and the other on the pain of the burden imposed on them to hold up the people standing on top of them. 

Obviously, there are wonderful exceptions to those who have fallen victim to one of these stories.  The recent inauguration of President Biden bore witness to powerful men and women who never fully internalized the lies.  Amanda Gorman, Michelle Obama, Sonia Sotomayor, Kamala Harris, Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and a host of others strong, proud individuals have no need for violence and, yet understand the pain of those who are violent.  They are pursuing a path forward which is inclusive and not at the expense of others.

The issues is one side and two sided. There are two sides but one has to reach deep to find the etiology of the pain and, thus, the etiology of the violence. 

If we are to rise above or out of the violence we must clean our internals houses until we reach the sacred part which has a similar starting point.   This may seem like a tall and seemingly impossible order but it is, none the less, the starting point for reconciliation.

Written January 28, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org

​The Tooth Fairy is real
 
At some young age many of us quit believing in the tooth fairy. I keep thinking that at nearly 81 I will soon be old enough to let go of what some would claim is a very immature belief.   Yet, every day I am reminded of the saying in many 12-step program, “Don’t give up before the miracle.”
 
No matter what new skill or dance of life one is learning one must begin with what Soren Kierkegaard called “the leap of faith”.   Whether one is learning a new technical language or other language, a new piece of music on any instrument including the voice or a new way of thinking, if one sticks with it the Eureka moment arrives.  Sitting down to play a new piece of music one stumbles through the notes. It is not music.  For days or longer one might sit down to play and one hears a series of, at best, roughly connected notes.  Then one day one sits down to play and music magically fills the air.  
 
A few minutes ago, I got a note from a man I had seen many years ago for counseling.   At that time, he masked his fear with blaming anger.  He now reports that he has been in recovery for addiction for one year and wrote to make amends for his behavior with me.  He and his wife are in couples counseling and he is active in the AA program. A seeming miracle.  Something clicked and he was able to accept and practice a new dance with himself, his wife and others.
 
Earlier this morning I was listening to a Fresh Air interview between host Dave Davies, Dennis Ross, President Clinton’s point man in the negotiations with Palestinian and Israeli leaders and filmmaker Dror Moreh about the new documentary “The Human Factor”.  It is well worth a listen and I am eager to see the film. One of the antidotes Mr. Ross shared was regarding a time when President Clinton spoke  to the  representatives of  Palestine and Israel.  He was personally dealing with the fact that the story of his addictive sexual behavior had just been made public.  He got up to speak at the meeting and instead of reading the prepared speech began with talking about the fact that he had just talked with children whose fathers has been killed by Palestinians and then talked to children who fathers had been killed by the Israeli’s.  President Clinton said, “Neither side has a monopoly on pain or virtue.”  Mr. Ross reports many of these seasoned diplomats at the meeting then wept.  A miracle of sentiment touched the truth of shared humanness sparked by a man forced to publicly face his own humanness.
 
Mr. Moreh also  made the film “The Gatekeepers” in which he separately interviews former heads of  security of Israel and, as such, those responsible for military actions against the Palestinians.  This is another powerful film in which each of these men come to some of the same conclusions about the limits of the use of military force; how it quickly becomes about winning and not justice (my memory and interpretation).  All come to realize that we must come together to share as humans who basically want the same thing (again my memory and my interpretation). 
 
Even though the epiphany for many of us may seem, as Grandma Fannie might say, a day late and a dollar short, it is possible if we have the courage. the patience and  trust the tooth fairy will visit; we will discover that we can together play a symphony which overpowers the noise of fear, labels and hatred.
 
Written January 27, 2021
Jimmy F. Pickett
coachpickett.org
 
 
 

​Sunday Musings – January 24, 2022
We are blessed
 
My friend J texted me earlier saying simply, “We are blessed.”  I might add that we are blessed to know and feel that we are blessed.   One can certainly be blessed and not feel very blessed,  One can convince oneself that like Job in the Old Testament one is being punished, mistreated or misunderstood.   There are many in this country who sincerely believe they are living in a country where their beliefs and, thus, they themselves are not respected.  There are those whose lives seem to channel that of Job; lives filled with hardship and injustice.
 
When my friend J and I share that we feel blessed we are not talking about material goods although we have more than our share.  We are not talking about physical health although we may have more of that than the average person our age. We are not  talking about the absence of discomfort or concern.  We are talking about the fact that most of the time we are able to  face life on life’s terms which means we face and deal with discomfort or even pain without being so wrapped in it that we cannot experience light.  We  know that there are many individuals who are unable to see light when tragedy visits.  Some have no peripheral vision.  They can only see the center of the storm.  It is not that they are unwilling to see with a wider lens.  Their brain is unable to  do so.  We know, for example, that those who live with clinical depression experience life as static, without any color other than black,  and having always been black.  Then there are those who experience the world as either all dark or all light. For them there is never both light and darkness.  When someone experiences the world through these lenses the past and the future are seen only through the current lens of light or darkness.
 
Even at the darkest moments my friend J and I know that there is light or there will soon be light   We also know that we are not chosen to experience light because we are more deserving, better than, have worked harder or are special in any other way.   When we say we are blessed we are acknowledging that we have a responsibility to use the energy of our blessings to lovingly care for others; to use our particular talents to do what may seem like more than our share.
 
In the New Testament, (Luke 12:48) it says, “For unto whomever much is given, of him much is required.”   John F Kennedy worded it:  “For of those to whom much is given much is required.”
 
What we able to give back may be as simple as the gift of the unidentified young man in uniform who knelt at the grave of Beau Biden while Beau’s father delivered his presidential inaugural address.
 
Often the act of bearing witness to the pain of others without joining their dark or even violent, angry reality is the post powerful way to share a blessing. 
 
On this first Sunday of a new chapter in the history of the United States, we who are blessed may need to bear witness to the pain of those whose  experience and view of the world is grounded in the ugly hatred of racism, sexism and other symptoms of fear.  We may struggle in exploring a way to bear witness which is not feeding the hatred but is also not so delusional as to appear to feed the myth that responding to hate with more hate and violence is going to bring peace.
 
We who are blessed to see light where others see darkness would do well to share the light with as much quiet humility and gratitude as did the person in uniform kneeling at the grave of Beau Biden.  We who are blessed must share the courage of Amanda Gorman, the wise, strong poet.
 
Witten January 24 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
 
 
 
 
 

"​The proof is in the pudding.”
 
I am sure that many of us grew up hearing our grandmother or some other wise person repeat some version of the  proverb, “The proof is in the pudding.”   Certainly, I heard this from Grandma Fannie but also  versions of it from parents, other wise relatives, and teachers.  
 
The original proverb was “The proof is in the  eating.”  Pudding then referred to a kind of sausage which was an intestine of some animal filled with minced meat and other things.  That kind of food could be problematic.
 
If one watches the news or has followed the events of the recent past it would appear that we are a deeply divided country.  The magic of social medial or other instant ways of exchanging opinions has made it easy to fuel the discourse of difference.  The storming of the United States Capital; the feeding of racist views; the policies of hate; and many other actions have amplified the fact that many in the United States and elsewhere have opinions which seem to sharply divide them/us.
 
I am reminded of some surveys in the early days of the AIDs epidemic. Aids was thought to be a gay plague,  There was a movement to reinstitute laws making homosexual activity illegal.  There was even a movement to round homosexuals up and create a state which kept the evil of homosexuality in that space.   Some of the national polls and surveys indicated many would vote, if given the chance, in favor of those repressive laws.   Yet, when adult homosexual children with aids came home  - often to die – communities gathered to love and support the individuals and the families.  “The proof was in the pudding.” 
 
When parents, Grandma Fannie or others checked my homework or  the progress of some farm task, they were not interested in what I said but in the result.  Was I learning?  Was the chicken house clean?  Had I done a good job of hoeing the garden?  Did I hold the bucking bar steady?
 
When Israeli’s and Palestinians meet as neighbors around the kitchen table they find they are more similar than different.  When there is a community emergency or crisis such as a flood, fire or a need for food  often many people are there to help.  They are not concerned with political party, race, gender or sexual orientation ,but what they can do to help.
 
I have often noted that those whose political views seem the polar oppositive; those who might support what I perceive as a very mean and discriminatory approaches to governing are the first one to appear when someone is in need.
 
Even in Congress when someone has an ill family member or colleague the community gathers with words of comfort and offers of practical help.
 
As we in the United States begin a new chapter perhaps we could focus on the goals we have in common.  If we disagree about how to achieve those goals we can keep returning to the shared goals.  We seem to often to demonize each other or the method  of achieving a goal.
 
Certainly, racism is ugly and not acceptable.   Yet perhaps we could see the fear beneath the racism and explore other ways of assuaging that fear.  We may disagree about the source of the fear, but we can all identify with fear. 
 
I am not suggesting that we can easily retrain ourselves to focus on the “proof in the eating”, but I am suggesting that all of us want to feel safe, loved, and respected.   Those of us who think the only way to achieve these goals is at the expense of others need to be shown another more effective way which honors our common goals and humanity.  The proof is in the eating.
 
Written January 22, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
 
 
 

​Waving Flags wipe the tears
(Waving flags filled the space of the national mall.)
 
January 20, presidential inauguration day, United States 2021
 
All gather at the National Cathedral to pray.
 
The outgoing president leaves not mentioning the pain
 
of his desperate need to have daddy say, “Well done.”
 
Kamala Harris is sworn in – Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomeyer officiating.
 
Jennifer Lopez sings This Land was Made for You and Me and America.
 
Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath to President Biden
 
The new president calls for unity.
 
Lady Gaga sings The National Anthem
 
Garth Brooks sings Amazing Grace
 
No matter that many think his energy is best used for hate.
 
Amanda Gorman -young, black, proud, strong, female - delivers her inaugural poem acknowledging “A nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished.”
 
All greet the Obamas
 
Kamala Harris escorts the Pence’s
 
Presidents Biden, Bush, Clinton, Obama and Vice President Harris lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
 
A show of unity and reverence
 
Tears cleanse.
 
Tears receive redemption.
 
Tears carry the sails of hope.
 
Tears carry our strength.
 
Amazing Grace
 
How sweet the sound
 
That saved a wretch like me.
 
Amazing Grace
 
Waving flags wipe the tears.
 
Written January 20, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

​ Core Values and the body politic
 
I have previously written on core values, but I periodically feel a need to revisit them:
 

• To examine the extent to which I am making decisions based on core values.
• To attempt to understand how those whose lives seems to reflect the same core values as mine, seem to sharply disagree about the factors which need to underlie the decisions of the body politic.

 
First, my core values:
 

• Do my best to show up with unconditional love and not judgement.
• Accept that all my actions (including the action of inactions) affect, at some level, the entire universe.
• Always have a reverence for life.
• Refuse to personalize the behavior of others.
• Refuse to presume one can walk in the shoes of another.
• Forgive self and others easily and quickly – do not judge
• Practice humility and accountability in all my actions.
• Have a reverence and appreciation for all of life while, at the same, respect the cycle of life.
• Respect the limits of what we label as free will; respect all the factors which affect which neurons fire and how they fire in the human brain.
• Respect the opinions of others while not patronizing them by downplaying the disagreements
• Humbly and strongly speak out against what I perceive as injustice with goal of correcting but not punishing.

 
The challenge is to ascertain if these core values can be practically applied to our function as a body politic.  As a body politic we are going to have serious disagreements about such issues as when life begins.  Does it begin at the moment that the sperm and the egg are introduced to each other?  Is violent force ever justified? Should the actions of another nation always be viewed from a historical vantage point?  How do we balance the needs of the overall economy with the immediate needs of people to have what they need to survive?  Should my core values have the weight of moral imperatives? Should the greatest good for the greatest number be our overall guide in make decisions?  Is it ever okay to sacrifice some for the good of all?
 
The list of questions could be endless. Perhaps the most important moral imperative is that we recognize and respect that good people have very different opinions about how to organize and make manifest the functioning of the body politic.   I, for one, am not convinced that there is ever one correct answer or one moral answer. I am convinced that we must make some decisions since inaction is an action which can have far reaching consequences. I am also convinced that I must listen well and respect the opinions and even beliefs of others without allowing those opinions to restrict the rights of others to be treated with equal respect. At the same time, I cannot co-sign actions of the body politic which encourage or support racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism or other actions which grant rights to some at the expense of others
 
As we in the United States prepare to begin a new chapter may we be clear about the core values which we want to underlie the process of formulating polices which will guide us in the months and years to come.   I am not convinced that much of the political rhetoric which has led to this point in history demonstrated the best we have  to bring to the table. We are better than the worst of our judgmental, self-righteous, often unkind behavior.    I am better than the worst of my judgmental, self-righteous unkind behavior.
 
Written January 19, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
 

I dream a world
 
On this day we honor the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr.
 
We borrow his dreams which he borrowed from Langston Hughes 
 
who borrowed his from….
 
He dreamed of a world of a powerful non-violent dance;
 
the dance of Bigger Thomas whose epiphany was;
 
“You can’t do nothin but kill me and that ain’t nothin.”
 
I dream a world in which we do not give away our power
 
            To love
            To dream
            To Be
            To stand proud
           
 
I dream a world in which the supreme leader is Medea  (non-violent of course) who, with firm love, says we will sit together until we learn to honor the sacredness of each other.
 
I dream a world of the snowflake in the Winer Poem by Nikki Giovani which becomes a spring rain growing the flower.
 
I dream a world in which we dance the dance of faith with Maya Angelou until it becomes the singing of the caged birds.
 
I dream a world in which we free our dreams from the prisons which are padlocked with our fear..
 
I dream a world.
 
Written January 18, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
this poem was inspired by the NPR invitation to write a poem "I dream a world"

Sunday Musings – January 17, 2021
 
This is the beginning of what promises to be another historic week in the United States.  It is the most contested and emotional transfer of presidential power in the United States in our lifetime.  Sadly, the fact that the  outgoing president will not welcome the newly elected president to the White House is but a symptom of the healing that is needed in the days, months and years to come.  State Capitals and the United States Capital are being heavily guarded for fear of violent attempts to interfere with the swearing in of newly elected officials.  There continue to be accusations of rigged or stolen elections although no proof has been presented.  
 
Some in our country seem  surprised that there is a credible threat to the continuation of this experiment in democracy. Yet, it is a democracy which has systematically endorsed policies which promote the myths of justice for all.  It is a democracy which has continued to promote the lie that all have  access to boot straps by which to pull oneself up.  It is a democracy which often publicly endorses only one religion.  It is a democracy whose political leaders too often demand the environment adapt to humans rather than us humans adapting to it. 
 
As we prepare to celebrate the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr on the 18th of January and to inaugurate a new President on the 20th of January my wish for of all of us who inhabit the United State is to recommit to those ideals.   The founders of this nation - white landowning men - constructed an imperfect union; one with lofty ideals embedded in it: ideals such as “All men’ are created equal.”  They did so with limited awareness of the extent to which we citizens would be challenged to enlarge our understanding that “all men” has to mean “all people”; the acceptance of the truth that no one is free if all are not free; that there is no justice unless it applies to all; that there are limits to our rape of the environment; that the God of our understanding might be more god-like than the founders could have imagined. My wish and prayers is we commit to:
·      Being more inclusive.
·      Economic policies where all earn enough to support oneself and one’s family.
·      The resources of health care be embedded in our economic system.
·      The god of our understanding allow for the miracles of science in our approach to health care, sexuality, class, and to all areas of our divine dance with the universe.
 
We in the United States are experiencing the blessing of the reality of both the limitations of ignoring the injustices built into our system and the possibilities of correcting them; of taking a major step towards growing into the nation that our forefathers - intentionally or unintentionally.
 
This week contains all the possibilities of what is best in us humans when we accept the invitation to claim the opportunity of our spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth.  I choose to believe we can, as some have suggested, “hold each other in the cradle of loving kindness”. 
 
Written January 17, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org