Global Community
Everyone knows how much I love Karen. At least they should given the fact I plaster it all over Facebook and nearly all of my many blogs. I do. I love her. She is life and breath and hope and happiness and joy and light and peace. And those things, my friends, do not even begin to encompass what she is to me. Suffice it to say she is big love. We have big love. Still.
Today I read that Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional. This is a lovely thing. Wonderful. And hopefully it is just the beginning of what will be a wave of equal rights and civil liberties running rampant across this country and throughout the world. This is my hope.
I know there are some people who believe with everything they are that gay marriage is evil. But seriously people, what’s it to you? If you believe in God, and this is the reason for your objection, read scripture and you will find passages saying things like judge lest ye be judged and do unto others and love your fellow man as yourself. If you believe God won’t approve, then let God decide. That’s how it’s supposed to work. You aren’t God. Just sayin’.
I don’t believe I’m going to be judged. I believe in love. I believe in hope and happiness. I believe my love is no less important than yours. I believe that if Karen and I were allowed to marry legally this would not undermine what you consider to be traditional marriage. I don’t care who you marry, as long as it doesn’t hurt either party involved, and I expect that I should have the same rights as you.
I’ve found the someone I will spend the rest of my life with. I’m lucky. And someday soon I will be able to legally marry her in any and every state in this country. I believe this to be true. Today’s ruling gets us back on the right road. We’re going to get there. Slowly, maybe, but we will get there. And when we do Karen and I will stand up in front of friends and family and say I do. Just like we did privately 8 years ago on that beach in Hawaii. Someday soon…
This is an amazing story about beauty, perception, art, and what we see, or don’t see, as we go about our daily lives. Do you stop and notice, enjoy, live in the moment with something beautiful or do you walk past without a glance, without a thought for what’s happening right in front of you. What would you do?
Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I was looking up quotes by him and was so inspired. Here we are, so many years after that tragic day, and his words still ring true. Whether you agree with him or not, and really how could you not when all he really cared about, talked about, was striving for, and preached about were the principles of doing the right thing, equality for all, peace between nations and our fellow men and women, and love. Love being the chief message. Love instead of hate, peace instead of war, freedom instead of constraint and imprisonment, solving problems via understanding and communication instead of through violence. A spectacular man.
Here are some of my most favorite of the quotes I found…
At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other. ― Martin Luther King Jr.
This Is Your Life
Life philosophy according to Tam… We are all, everyone of us spinning on this little orb, people who live, experience joy, have pain, grieve, celebrate, and love. We are all the same… want the same things (happiness, our kids to be safe, to live the best lives we can, to laugh, to love)… not matter where we live. Borders and boundaries are just physical structures. Ethnicity is just genetic. Religion is faith. Sexual orientation is meaningless. Spirit, the human spirit, is boundless. People everywhere go to work, love their kids, deal with tragedy, pet their dogs or cats or birds or rabbits, want a place to call home, live with their own flaws, and want to be with the people they care about as much as they can. Everyone, everywhere, wants a good life. We are all living every day the best we know how. We are all, everywhere, one. Period. The end.
Can’t wait to see this…
Karen and I saw an interview with this guy and think this documentary could be amazing. His name is Tom Shadyac and he used to be a well known and very successful director of Hollywood films. You’ve probably heard of his films… Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, etc. He had loads of money, homes, cars, and was living the Hollywood dream. Then he got into a mountain biking accident, nearly died, and re-thought his life. That lead to him giving up all the homes for a double wide mobile home, bicycling everywhere he can, and thinking about his impact on the planet and his fellow man. He changed his life and then made a documentary. Check out this preview on YouTube….
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
Cut off the length you need for a bracelet, start loading it up with beads, tie it on the wrist, tah dah… bracelet.
Glass Ceiling
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
There was actually some blue sky out there during the day on Halloween… go figure.
Check Out The Shoes
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
These guys play at the Children’s Fair every year. Their music isn’t CD worthy, but they play with gusto. Forget all that… get a load of their shoes. Fantastic.
The Uncle
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
I spent Halloween, from 10-4 anyway, working at a children’s fair. Michael Curry, the amazing puppet guy from the Lion King and Olympics fame) had a display at the fair. His workshop is out near where we live. Pretty cool eh? Anyway… the fair is cool. I’ve worked there every year, save one, of the tens years I’ve been in my job. It’s a great thing. Love seeing all the kids and all the adults working the fair giving to the kids of the community. Our phrase to remember? “You can have one big bead, and as many little beads as you like.”
It’s Halloween and the little ghosts and goblins are out in force today. If you feed th candy it keeps them from going on the attack… A helpful hint to all.
taken with the iphone camera
Nike Wall of Names
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
Our friend’s name was on this wall. Took us a while to find it, but finally, there it was. Pretty cool.
Nike Women’s Marathon
Originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl
One of the reasons we went to San Francisco, and what really started our trip planning process in the first place, was that one of our friends had been picked, by lottery, to walk in the Nike Women’s Marathon. 13 miles… impressive. We went to Union Square with her so she could pick up her race stuff. What a crazy scene that was. Tons of people wandering around, in lines, getting free samples of chocolate and some strangely cardboard like cereal. Quite the zoo-ish atmosphere.
Not exactly what the average person imagines when they think of high school students. And yet…. All the people playing in this orchestra are high school students from around Venezuela.
I just watched an amazing video on the TED website. If you haven’t been there, haven’t checked it out, I recommend you do so. There are talks on everything from creativity to innovative technologies to the power of a photography to the latest scientific discoveries. It’s fascinating stuff. Stuff for the mind and soul. This is one of those talks…
Flame On, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
The entrance to the luau.
Fire Dancer, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Stand back!
Decoration, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Some nice decoration at the luau.
Oak Knoll, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.
Wine with your cookies?
