What a strange week! Bad moods and better moods, thunderstorms at 6:00 a.m. as well as late in the afternoons (that's when we usually have them). A hateful guy who at 88 years of age decided to shoot someone at the Holocaust Museum, proving that wisdom does not automatically come with age, and that we can - if we want - hang on to anger, bitterness and hatefulness to the very end of life. We can be vicious and destructive to the day we die. How sad.
My old friend Gordon died quite suddenly (and gracefully - see the sidebar) this week. Though he had his moments of anger, etc. - like all humans - Gordon decided long ago to be loving and open minded, something he carried with him all the way to his final bike ride.
I want to formally thank everyone who commented on yesterday's post-within-a-post. Y'all gave me a lot to think about, including the idea that brutal, traumatic experiences, such as a visit to the Holocaust Museum, can be, for some people, healing. Though this was not my experience, I believe it must be true for some, maybe for many. Not for me, but it's not unusual to figure out that my ideas are way outside the mainstream. So be it. Thank you!
It's Friday so this strange week is winding down. Thank God for the passage of time. This week, too, has passed. Onwards and upwards.
27 comments:
Beautiful and creative images,Reya. I wonder what happens to make people so angry that they will shoot anyone? It's like a mentally disconnecting rage...the entire ability to connect compassionately to others is gone. Did you know that the many who killed my mother and her partner was in his late 60's? He was enraged too. How he could shoot Mom, a woman he had know for 30 years is a mystery. <3
Raising my coffee cup in a toast for uplifting, inspiring days next week!
That does sound like a strange week. It is inspiring that you have put it in the past and are now just looking forward to next week. :)
I am so sorry for your loss and fully wish you could spend this coming week with Tovah, me, et. al.
Tovah makes me laugh so hard I fall off my bed--her being here will be such a blessing in this 'unsettled' time.
Love you so!
So sad to lose a good friend
but this is the PERFECT way to go
active til the end
and not worrying about stupid tests and so on.
A blessed ending.
Hopes for a peaceful weekend.
May next week bring sunnier skies...and bravo to Gordan, for a life well lived.
Good, looking forward to change and casting off bad stuff.
Have a nice weekend.
I'm sorry you lost your friend Gordon, but his sounds like the best way to die.
It was a rough week, wasn't it? Incredible highs and lows, confusion - you name it.
Wishing you (and all of us) a more pleasant ride over the weekend, Reya.
Your self-photograph really seems to capture the topsy-turviness and emotional waves of your week. I'm not sure what the plaid pants mean! (An unconventional outlook?)
Take care, dear Reya.
The plaid pants are an indication of how dorky I am.
Let's hope that next week will bring only joy into your world Reya.
Blessings, Star
My condolences on your loss, Reya - but I concur with you and the others who have said that Gordon lived his life well, and fully, right to the end. I couldn't ask more for myself or those I love.
Your remark about age and wisdom is exactly what Dave and I were saying last night -- this guy proves that getting older doesn't necessarily mean getting wiser!
Here's to a better week to come! (And hopefully less rainy. Whew!)
You always give us something to ponder, so it's fitting that the dialog-within-comments piece happened.
Reya,
So sorry about the loss of your friend, Gordon.
I didn't comment on the musuem, but I see both sides of the issue and I think it would be difficult for me to see some of what is there.
Hate can do awful things to people and apparently heavy rage does not go away with age.
I just watched a very inspirational interview of Elie Wiesel by Charlie Rose from last Monday. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10370
I also loved what Elie had to say about Obama...and Elie's views on racial issues not long ago in our country and his outlook for the future.
Yes, it has definitely been a sobering week, and a reminder that hate is still alive and kicking in America.
As you know, I was in your great city a couple weeks ago, and made a visit to the Holocaust Museum. Very moving. I could feel the sadness of the spirits all around.
Here's hoping the weekend is a bit on the lighter side.
http://www.madtexter.com/2009/06/washington-day-deux.html
The photo of the two clay pots by the brick wall is simply beautiful.
The shooting yesterday was shocking; I read the comments about the museum under your post yesterday. I have to admit that I also find those sort of displays simply too much to handle, but I don't know really what that means in the bigger picture. It can open up a real abyss in the heart sometimes to consider the degree of inhumanity that takes place in the world at all times.
Sorry to learn about your friend, tho he did die as many of us would wish to. Here's to better days ahead.
John I love the way you think and the way in which you are able to find language to say exactly what I'm thinking/feeling. Thanks.
TGIF!!
You captured my week so well in that first photo!
Sarah Lulu - You, too? Yikes.
Ah, a life well-lived. Inspirational in life and death - thank you for sharing about Gordon.
I visited Dachau when I was 19 and backpacking Europe with my good friend. It was a mind numbing day there and I was in tears half the time. My girlfriend, who is Jewish, was more accepting. I was glad I went but I have often wondered if I would ever visit the Holocaust Museum. I don't know. I do think everyone should have the experience once.
It has been a strange week - on so many levels. You have felt the impact of the shooting more than I have - again, on several levels.
Perhaps the passing of Gordon has brought you back to your own reality...and , yes, you will move forward.
Onward !!
How does someone at 88 decide to execute that kind of an act? Was he hoping for an officer assisted suicide? Was he living in the past? The dementia of a demented act?
I am amazed that he was healthy and strong enough to make the rampage. I guess you can't always tell the crazies just by looking at them.
If I have a choice, I'm choosing to leave this planet like Gordon.
Ronda, me too!
I had read the sidebar about Gordon and wanted to remember his quote about not rusting but when I went back to see it just now it was gone. Can you reprint it so I can write it down?
I think he had a good outlook and living until you are 79 is not so horrible. Like you wrote in one of your posts (I read them all on my new BlackBerry and can't remember which post said what - I'm not yet comfortable commenting from the BB) when it is time to slip away, it is time. It does not mean that we held life as anything less than precious but 'passing' into another dimension or whatever it is does not seem as daunting an adventure as I once thought.
I've have had three dogs that were terribly frightened by thunder storms, and it's so terrible, feeling helpless to do anything for them. In my area in particular, whenever there are fireworks shows, the blasts can be heard at my house. That used to terrify my dogs as well.
Now, though, neither the Jack Russells or the lab are afraid of storms, which is nice because I love to listen to thunder storms.
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