Words from the Heart

In all my training as an educator, writer and minister, I have been taught to use comparisons, metaphor, simile and analogy to help people to see the similarities between things, people or situations. A recent comparison of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. left me speechless. I sat trying to figure out why the person responsible would even imagine that his comparison would hold water. Rev. King was an activist, community leader, minister, peacemaker, ally, champion of those who were ignored by the rich and powerful. His words inspired a nation to open their hearts and minds to do what was right. His actions were of a man of the people, not just the rich and famous, but the elderly, the children, the poor. If I was going to compare anyone to Rev. King, I would choose someone like Omaha elder and veteran, Nathan Phillips, who stood in the face of hate and continued to drum and sing in protest.  Or, I would pick the men and women of Team Rubicon*, who leav...

Photo Credit: (c) 2018 LMRNeas   In the year of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, an unprecedented 102 women were sworn into the United States Congress, yesterday.  Not only was the number a first for the history of the US, but other firsts included the first Native American women, the first Muslim women, the first Black women from two New England states and the first Hispanic woman. Why is this so important, not just to the US but the world?   I am not a political science major by any stretch of the imagination. My expertise lies within the realm of literature, poetry, spirituality and healing. That said, I believe that the importance of this huge shift is that it is signaling a shift in the mindset of this tiny blue planet back to our maternal origins.    Humanity, at one time, was maternal. Women, because they brought life into the world, were honored, listened to, respected. Then, there was a s...