Words from the Heart

Many people ask how do I stay positive in times of utter despair. I have several tricks, but one that has yet to fail me is to spend time in my garden looking at the beautiful flowers. I know many don't have gardens or access to them, so here is a photo journal of my time in the garden today.  Enjoy! All Photos:  (c) 2017 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas

Public Domain through Google images: https://goo.gl/images/fBtskB I was asked why I am attending the Sister March in Greenfield today, the day of the Women's March on Washington.  Why???? I am marching to honor all the fearless and fierce women who came before me.  Women from my own family who survived the tyranny of hate in countries far from here. Women from my own family that survived poverty and pain.   Women from my own family who stood for suffrage, so that I might vote.   Women in my own family who climbed Martin's mountain hand in hand with other Women - Women of color - so that their children and their children's children could live together in freedom and equality.  I am marching for my daughters and my granchildren because we are still not totally free and equality is still not found everywhere. I march for all the Women around the world that have been abused, oppressed, hated and tormented.  The Women of the world for whom fear beco...

A friend just posted a request on Facebook that I feel is worth discussing.  He asked that people refrain from posting horrific pictures of abuse, war and other horrors because these images as well as words used in the discriptions can trigger serious symptoms in people who have suffered from PTSD. I agree.  Why do we need to, for lack of a better word, terrorize others with such images or abusive, hateful language?  To be honest, I have blocked people who constantly show such horror on social media.   My belief is we reap what we sow.  Therefore, let's sow seeds of love, understanding and acceptance.   My dear, dear teacher/writer friend, Maryam Dilakian Passley wrote on her blog what she called the, Resistance Anthem .  I would like to share it with you all: May everything I write this year be an act of rebellion.  May my pen draw its ink from an ocean rising in fierce waves of collective resistance.  May these wave...

Photo:  Public Domain After a lifetime of writing musical poetry, Bob Dylan has been recognized for his contribution to the Literature of the World by the Nobel Prize committee.  I am so happy!   There are some critics that argue that Dylan does not deserve this most honored award.  These naysayers mainly complain that what he wrote isn't any better than other songwriters.  What they don't get is that the other songwriters' works were not the anthems for generations of freedom fighters, peacemakers and social activists from around the world.   BBC demonstrated just how poetic Dylan's songs are by posting a r ecording of several of their famous actors reading the words of the songs we have come to know so well.  The poetry is more than obvious.  The fact that the words Dylan wrote inspired people to seek peace, seek change, seek connection is the foundation for why the Nobel committee honored him. For me, Dylan's words , his son...

  By Solis-Cohen, Myer [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons Card companies would like to have us think that Mother's Day is simply a day to remember women who gave birth.  However, if we look at the history of what was once called Mothers' Work Day , Mothering Day or Mother's Day for Peace , we learn that this day was a call for all women to join together and change the world.   Poet, activist and woman, Julia Ward Howe is credited with the proclamation that brought women together: "Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!" Howe's call is still as powerful today, as it was in 1870.  Back then, she was calling for women to work towards peace in the world. Today, the call might be for peace, for an end to poverty, for aid to immigrants and refugees. No where in the proclamation by Howe does she call for families to spend money on women.  According to The National Retai...

Quite a few years back, I realized that making resolutions for New Year's was often a futile and humiliating process.  After all, most people never make it past the first month of the new year, let alone all twelve, before failing.  Once I realized this, I set about changing. A resolution should be something that A. is easy to accomplish, B. brings you as much satisfaction as it does anyone else and C. add to your life (and to the betterment of the world).  In the past few years, I have found gratitude daily, looked for beauty in each day, discovered moments of joy, etc. Rather than getting to the end of another year feeling like a failure, I have come to the end of the year feeling such wonder, gratitude and joy!   Joy was the word I chose last year.  At first, it took a bit of imagination and creativity to find joy-filled moments, but before long, my daily list was endless!  Yes, and that includes the difficult days.  Let me explain! Take for...

Long ago, I learned to listen and reflect on the words I said.  At the time, my teacher was speaking about saying prayer mindfully, instead of rattling off words in an unconscious stream.  This was a lesson that stayed with me through the years, not only for prayer, but also for speech, in general.  When we are mindful of the words we are using, then we are more capable of saying exactly what we mean. To illustrate, let us look at the words to the Serenity Prayer written by the theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr . An acquaintance once mentioned that they loved this prayer.  I asked why.  They were unable to articulate what it was about the prayer that resonated with them.  Many people know this prayer by heart; however, they have never reflected on the exact meaning of the words. The prayer is:   God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. ...

Photo Credit: " Peace dove ". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons . I have often written about the importance of Peace, but I am realizing that sometimes our words are simply not enough to make change.  We must act.  Let me give you an example. If a person stands at the edge of the sea, sees someone drowning and yells, "Swim," he or she will not make a big difference in whether or not that person drowns.  But, if he or she finds something to throw to that person to hang onto or swims out to rescue them or gets in a boat, rowing out to pull them to safety, his or her actions can make a difference. Simply saying, "We should be peaceful," no longer is enough.  We must act to stop the hegemony of this world.  We must write to our congress people and our leaders, demanding that they stop supporting the oppressors.  We must, in our day to day actions, show others how to live peacefully. So, what does this look like?  Let me...

As a teen, the song by John Lennon - Imagine - touched something deep within.  I believed, as many others do, that we can create a world where " all the people (are) Living life in peace..."  But, it takes work and it also takes courage to stand up against the ridiculous, the oppressive and the norm. So, when I read the story about the 73-year old vet who was fired from Cracker Barrel because he gave some tartar sauce and a corn muffin to a homeless man, I wondered...I imagined how else this could have been handled. According to the news reports, this was not the first time Joe Koblenzer "violated" company policy.  So, let's imagine that when he first saw a needy person and offered them something from the kitchen the manager, instead of writing him up, sat and discussed the situation.  What if, the manager said,"Gee, Joe, I see you really want to help the homeless people we have here in Venice.  Is there something we can present to the corporate ...

  The recent controversy over the Coca-Cola commercial in which people across this diverse country sang, America the Beautiful , in their native languages has spurred me to write.  As an educator and as an ordained minister, I feel called to point a few things out. First, the attitude that if you live in America then you should speak the language of the country is a bit skewed.  "America" is vast, consisting of North, Central and South.  The "native" language of this vast land is Native American in its various dialects.  Quite honestly, I only know a handful of people who speak Native American. I come by this knowledge through the privilege of an education in Boston schools, which at the time I went to them were not considered to be the cream of academia.  However, I had amazingly dedicated teachers who informed my awareness that we - those of European roots - were not "native" to this land we call The United States. To be honest, I think the fact ...