tamarjacobson

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King Jr. in, Letter From a Birmingham Jail.

Thank goodness for Rachel Maddow and her strong voice …

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

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From CCIE this morning:

On January 27, historian, professor, lecturer, playwright, and filmmaker, Howard Zinn, passed away. In his autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, Zinn made these remarks about being hopeful:

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based
on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but
also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.  What we choose to
emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see
only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we
remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people
have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at
least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a
different direction.

"And if we do act, in however small a
way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future
is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think
human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is
itself a marvelous victory."

A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Round and round and round

I remember the time my young teenage son decided to make his own school lunch. For a week or so I had been feeling worthless, empty, and blue. And then one morning I wandered into the kitchen, and as I watched my son making his school lunch, I realized what my sadness all that week had been about. Yes indeed! My baby did not need me any more, and Lord knows the one way I could show that I was needed was, at the very least, through feeding him! It was one more necessary loss. One more loss of control – loss of influence. I remember breathing a sigh of relief as I realized what my feelings of emptiness were about.

This morning I woke out of a long nightmarish dream, where I was unable to fix a problem, and wherever I went it was either the wrong place, or people closed their doors to me. The frustration and angst was palpable. Suddenly, I shook myself awake, sat straight up in my bed, and stared into the still dark of the very early morning. Strangely I felt clearer – less heavy – less empty, than I had been feeling for quite a few days. I busied myself with pouring coffee, checking emails, bank statements, feeding the cat, cleaning her litter – on and on. And then … as I was pouring my second cup of coffee, the memory of my son making his own school lunch so many years ago popped into my mind as vividly as if it were right now.

For now, twenty years later, he has chosen not to need me again. In his gentle way, he has become assertive and strong with me, pushing me back and away. Something he obviously needs and wants to do for himself in this stage in his life. For days, no weeks, maybe even months, my brain and heart have been crying out: "Hey! I can fix your problems. I know how. All you have to do is … my way … " 

But he has decided to go it alone. My frustration and angst has been palpable. The feelings of loss have been excruciating. But, finally, this morning, I think I get it! As I write this, I am starting to breathe a sigh of relief, because, perhaps, I am beginning to understand – I mean, really understand – what my feelings of emptiness are about. 

I think this is what it means … to let go …

Update:

Friends comment about this post on Facebook:

Jan:

BRILLIANT, my treasure! Now you have SPACE to stand back and see what you have launched on the world: a STAR! A serious, funny, brilliant STAR! CLLLLLLLEVER you! As you know stars only shine when they have a lot of sky aorund them …

Aeron: