Vote

Tradition on this Blog has it that all Photos come from this Little Farm. I shall make this Entry an Exception, although the substance of it relates to why we are here and what we do on this Little Farm.

Melanie, Rachel and I headed to Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's presentation in Columbia last evening. We joined 40,000 others, so I read in the Columbia newspaper web site. That's a lot of people. The crowd was so big and so vast we didn't see anyone that we knew. Yet, just perhaps, we knew them all.

For the most part, the Evening was peaceful, gentle, serene. People from all Colors, many Cultural Traditions, and across a Spectrum of Ages joined in what I would call a Historic Marker of our Time. Melanie and Rachel noted that many were Moved to Tears.

As I look at the U.S. Elections of 2008, I see a clash of Paradigms. The Old Paradigm, which is falling away, kept Politics and Decisionmaking in the Hands of the Privileged and All Powerful Elite. For a very long time, it has been held exclusively by Males and in ways that elevated certain aspects of Male Mind and Male Thought. This ideology had its roots in Euro-centric thought, which just happened to be the domain of Whites.

As was typical of this Patriarchal Tradition, decisions were handled in a "Power Over" and never a "Power Through" approach. Domination and Force were viewed as legitimate ways to resolve disputes. The Winning Side took all. Those who did not win, were cast aside, their voices silenced and their access to the plate diminished. Selfishness, Grabbing for Power, and Greed became Banners proudly lifted high.

The fallout of such an Ideology lies in increasing shambles and ruins all around us. One can see this in the Faltering Economy but worse yet in the Fractured Webs of our Human Communities, large and small. We Humans with our Superior Brains and our Heightened Senses of our Self Importance are entrenched in fortifications of fear. Surely Humans have been meant to attain far more.

Things are changing in 2008. What I saw last night was a Presidential Candidate who brings Lights of Hope back to the People, to each of us. This approach brings a much needed shift in Paradigms and something for which we all deeply yearn. We each hold the Promise of World Change in the actions we take on our Daily Walks, through our Caring For and Honoring Ourselves and Each Other.

Those simple underpinnings are indeed the very foundation for our work on this Farm. Looking across this Nation and around the World, many others are choosing Simple Lifeways which bring Integrity, Power of Being, and Peace back to home.

Thinking back upon this night, we initially did not see Barack Obama. Of course, the Big Screen suspended from a Boom gave us a glimpse. We wanted more. However, we initially could not even figure out where he was from our position somewhere midway in the Back of the Crowd.

At that point, Our Beloved Rachel allowed Melanie to sit upon her Strong Shoulders. With that gracious and spontaneous sharing, Rachel and Melanie headed off into the throng of People to catch a glimpse. Rachel's simple act of sharing somehow enabled the 3 of us to see. In that moment when Melanie could see, she looked back and just smiled. Melanie did see Barack, but he was a little bit more than a Speck. The Picture she took showed a Flood of Spotlights and Camera Flashes bringing the Light back, at long last, to Each of Us. In that Sea of Humanity on that night, we were all Specks. As we move toward the Greater Good, we become a Sea of Much Needed Change.

Whatever your Political Persuasion, get out and Vote. See you at the Polls on Tuesday.

Regardless of Outcomes, Let Us Dedicate Our Lives and Sacred Breath Toward Becoming, at Long Last, All We Humans Are Meant To Be.