SACRED CITIZENSHIP ~ oneness, respect & love

Stephen Dinan's recently published book, Sacred America, Sacred World - fulfilling our mission in service to all, promises to be a welcome respite for anyone buffeted by the 2016 presidential campaign, a singularly bizarre experience whatever your political stripe may be.  

I've just made it through the foreword, written by the incomparable Marianne Williamson, which has me eager for the rest of the book, which will include "questioning the limitations as well as the highest principles of both the right and the left." 

All the rest of Marianne's foreword leaves me filled with anticipation for what will come.  All but that thought about sacred citizenship. If there is one thing that seems emblematic of today's right ~  not the alt-, but the semi-traditional !~ is its deeply rooted sense of American exceptionalism, which seems contrary to any sense of "oneness," certainly across nationalities.  Consider that statement within the alt-right (white nationalists) & just forget it altogether.
 

How does "oneness" agree with Americans who long for the return to gays staying discreetly closeted, who want transgender children to use the bathrooms that match up with their original sexual designation, who see all African-Americans as poor drug-addled violent?  Who want to benefit from the labor of illegal immigrants at the same time they want to send them packing back south of the border?  

How does "respect" come into play with people who seek to stay firmly within their own racial or religious "kind," criticizing shunning condemning those who are different from their own beliefs traditions culture?

And "love" - it feels like so many people have even forgotten the meaning of the word.  Across all ethnic, cultural & even religious groups, hate seems more readily expressed than love understanding compassion.

Like Stephen Dinan & Marianne Williamson, I will pray & work actively toward a new thought & political system that will be hallmarked with "sacred citizenship" based on & embodying oneness, respect, love.  Five days ago, I would have scoffed at those words, at that hope.  But I've learned that a miracle embraced believed lived can turn into reality.  

Maybe it's not that the hope is impossible in today's political environment, but that it is the very thing needed to turn the current insanity back to balance health wholeness -  and holiness. 

What I learned from doing the Front Room kitty littler.

A pro has the right tools already with her when she checks to see if a task needs doing, an amateur checks unprepared, empty handed.

permission to be STUPID

And unprepared.  Free to START without overthinking.  Begin first, research later.

From the moment I watched The Legend of Bagger Vance, I was hooked on the bits & pieces of wake-up wisdom flitting throughout the film.  When I discovered that Steven Pressfield - The War of Art - had written the book, knew it was a must read.  The film inspired, the book blew me AWAY.  There are times it truly feels hallucinogenic, in the sense that Timothy Leary advocated "magical mushrooms" for expanding consciousness & awareness. 

The slim volume was a transformational book, building on all the lessons learned over 64 years, providing a culmination of all the AH HA moments of my life.  A serious CLICK of my mind's safe, unlocking the awe.  Instead of rereading the treasure, I followed my instincts - they've proven trustworthy - and immediately dipped into  Do The Work, which blew me away with its "Yeah, baby!" shares.

One of the core things it gave me permission to be was STUDIP, to start before being prepared, for jumping in & letting lose. 

This is not new knowledge.  This is insight perception wisdom that I've known from the cradle, writ large.  It is homecoming.

What I learned from 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 Cairnwood Village brunches

My heart fluttered with excitement on discovering Crate & Barrel’s 9x13” Bake & Store Casserole.  Oh joy!  I can make my own version of mac & cheese, a hash brown breakfast casserole, Company Chicken plus Artichoke & Spinach Lagasne, fully prep them, seal them with their lids & let ‘em rest in the fridge for up to two days, then either bake ‘em & reheat in a microwave or do the deed at the time of the event.

Then, my practical side took over.  Wait – seems blissful & each lidded casserole is an affordable $14.99, BUT…  If I use two 9x13” aluminum pans there’s no clean up – just dump the empty baking dish in the trash.  BUT… that’s environmentally unsound.  BUT… balance the recyclable aluminum against the water needed to wash each dish.  BUT…

That, it turns out, is the #1 thing I’ve learned from doing 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 brunches for our local senior residence – it often takes a lot of questions, which I only learned through experience, to arrive at a well-planned, well-executed, well-received party where everyone (including yours truly & my O Best Beloved) has a good time.

Wow – what a great recipe for Pizza Casserole!  Wait – how much prep work is involved?  Do the comments reflect a dish that is basically tasty or exceptional?  What’s the cost?  In this case, the answer was – baked ziti would make people just as satisfied at ½ the labor & ¼ the cost.

Do the entrees, nibbles & desserts include options that are suitable for gluten-free & or dairy-free folks?  (Interesting – this isn’t an issue for my older friends.  Go figure?

Do the four casseroles include at least one gluten-free option, one dairy-free?  If there are two recipes featuring a marinara sauce, can we flip it to an Alfredo?  (In the case of the Artichoke & Spinach Lasagne, it’s even better!)  Are they all easy to serve?  (The WHY behind the same casserole being made with bowtie pasta instead of lasagna noodles.)  Do I make the chili from scratch or gussy up canned?  (Jury is out.)  Do I serve with Jennifer’s homemade bread of my version of Cheddar Bay Biscuits?  (both)  Do I try a vegan Triple Corn Chowder or just throw caution to the winds & go with the super rich version?  (Go full throttle.) 

The one thing that was a given was making the Company Chicken Casserole with faux chicken, making it MOCKingbird Company Casserole, perfect for the fall season’s production of – you guessed it – To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Do I make the Apple Pie Spread or go with the brick of cream cheese slathered with Cross & Blackwell’s Major Grey Chutney?  (The latter – just as YUM & way easier.)  Sliced apples with a dip?  My signature crackers or stick with store bought?  (The former – they’re really easy & fun to bake, can customize the seasons AND can bake them in the shape of a bird& leaves, both suitable for the show.)  Do I take the time to make Lemon Meringue Tartlettes or stick to purchased cream puffs?  (Easy answer – cream puffs.)

Lucy Van Pelt once told Charlie Brown that the secret to success isn’t knowing the right answers, but asking the right questions.  That’s what I learned from my 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 brunches – to recognize a good question, to catch on where there is a possible alternative waiting to be considered.  That was part of my learning process that had been neglected over the years.  It was the surprising bonus of doing the same thing (cast parties) over & over, of doing a lot of the same thing over a relatively short period of time (the brunches.)

People ask why I tackle the parties, which most others avoid like the plague, and invest so much time & my own resources & $$ into the brunches.  I get out of doing them far more than I put in.

Beginning with learning to ask the right questions at the right time.