...don�t try to figure out my experience � there�s no method to my madness...

THE INVITATION

Oriah Mountain Dreamer,

Indian Elder

It doesn�t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for

And if you dare to dream of meeting your heart�s longing.

It doesn�t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool

For love

For your dream

For the adventure of being alive.

It doesn�t interest me what planets are squaring

Your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the center

Of your own sorrow

If you have been opened by life�s betrayals

Or have become shriveled and closed

From fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain

Mine or your own

Without moving to hide it

Or fade it

Or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy

Mine or your own

If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you

To the tips of your fingers and toes

Without cautioning us

To be careful

To be realistic

To remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn�t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another

To be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal

And not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

And therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

Even when it is not pretty every day..

And if you can source your own life

From its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure

Yours and mine

And still stand on the edge of the lake

And shout to the silver of the full moon,

�Yes.�

It doesn�t interest me to know where you live

Or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after a night

Of grief and despair

Weary and bruised to the bone

To do what needs to be done

To feed the children.

It doesn�t interest me who you know

Or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

In the center of the fire with me

And not shrink back.

It doesn�t interest me where or what or with whom

You have studied.

I want to know what sustains you

From the inside

When all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself

And if you truly like the company you keep

In the empty moments.

"An Interesting Read" - 2005-03-28, 3:45 p.m.

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Okay, I can't stand this man but i got this by email from my cousin, read it and thought it made a whole lot of sense. I live in a very military-saturated area, so this subject is pretty big. Anyone's thoughts are welcomed.

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the
entitlement mentality of this country If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.


If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own U.S. Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system.

If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

"When do we finally do something about this?"

-Blessings

<< then << // >> now >>

In memory - 2006-09-06
Okay,... so I'm a little pissed off. - 2006-07-04
Miracles Happen - 2006-04-23
With exceedingly great joy..... - 2006-02-27
I just had to share.... - 2006-02-20

all content copyright its-a-newday 2005

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