"I am leaving this legacy to all of you to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfilment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace." -Rosa Parks, 1988

Monday Monday

Well my CD player just died. It bites but I suppose I was due to by a new one. I grew up with the generation that believed you kept something until you wrung every last bit of usage ot of it. You don't buy new things at the first sign of wear-you tape and mend them.

What is odd is that I have the Brothers Johnson song "Right On Time" running through my head. It's almost as if because I can't hear it on the CD player, my brain is making up for the absence.

I found out probably more about Trujillo than I think I cared to know. Always nice to start the day finding out that a man had 20,000 people massacred based on a test-a shibboleth.
(That is the new word for the day, kiddies.)

"Moronica" has been the word for the past two months, along with "Moronus" (Moronica rendered in the masculine).

Wikipedia can be addicting. I have been known to start reading about the item that I was suppose to research and then I will go onto something else and then I will feel the need to edit the passage because the original article is either too painful to read because of the grammar errors or because I just am a better speller.

If I had 24 more hours, I would probably make more contributions to wikipedia. I was informed that there is a need for "African American" information when I heavily corrected and added source material to a submission about a 19th century writer named Harriet Adams Wilson.

Ikigai

the Rev. Fredric John Muir
October 26, 1997
http://www.uuca-md.org/sermons/ikigai.html

Some years ago, I shared a story about ikigai. I didn’t realize at the time that this is what it was about, but many of you did. There were several strong reactions to it, as one might expect - it’s a rather provocative story. This is how it goes:


A woman in a coma was dying. She suddenly had a feeling that she was taken up to heaven and stood before the Judgment Seat.
"Who are you?" a Voice said to her.
"I’m the wife of the mayor," she replied."I did not ask whose wife you are but who you are.""I’m the mother of four children.""I did not ask whose mother you are, but who you are.""I’m a school teacher.""I did not ask what your profession is but who you are."
And so it went. No matter what she replied, she did not seem to give a satisfactory answer to the question, "Who are you?"
"I’m a Christian.""I did not ask what your religion is but who you are.""I’m the one who went to church every day and always helped the poor and needy.""I did not ask what you did but who you are."
She evidently failed the examination, for she was sent back to earth. When she recovered from her illness, she was determined to find out who she was. And that made all the difference.
The Voice is asking the woman to name her ikigai but when she does, the Voice replies that that’s not the meaning of her life - ikigai - tell me again, what is it that defines who you are, that gives your life meaning, that makes your life worth living. Similar to the story, Mathews concludes: "One who lives for work will soon enough retire, or get laid off; one’s lover may leave; children will grow up and be gone; one’s dreams may fade; God may disappear. One will eventually die, and what will it all mean then?" (6)


So what is it that makes life worth living? What is your ikigai? Is it work? Lover? Family? God? Friends? Is it an avocation? I’ll guess that many of you will answer "Yes," yes to some, many, all or more of these. And that’s not a cheap answer, it’s not dodging the question. Our lives are very full, for many there are multiple sources of meaning, value and fulfillment - and those change too. And when it comes to religious faith, isn’t Unitarian Universalism the embodiment of just this philosophy - the recognition and acceptance that there is not a single religious Truth, but Truths.

Of much greater value for me than naming a single something that defines life value and meaning - my ikigai - of more importance for me is nurturing and sustaining an attitude and faith that embraces the promise of living everyday, that takes delight in the ongoingness of living, seeking its interdependencies, similar to what both Buckminister Fuller and his relative Margaret Fuller were doing. A transcendentalist Unitarian and close friend to Emerson, Margaret, like Buckminister, didn’t live for a meaning to life, but for meanings to life.

My Samurai Code

Honor: You are an honorable person who is firm with
his/her beliefs and treats others as you are
treated. People would consider you humble at
times and very respectful, and someone to
definitely respect back.

Which Characteristic From the Samurai Code Matches You Best? (You may find out your best trait)
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I got nothin' agin'

There has been no sun for upwards of a week, which is fine by me except that I hate the rain.

And as if I have not said it enough, "She's Lost Control" by Joy Division is the best song ever. Especially if you have been drinking Full Throttle.

And Fyvush Finkel is the best name ever.

I got nothin'

Yep. That sums it up.