On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 1, Christmas Day, December 25 – A Partridge in a Pear Tree: The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . .” (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 2, December 26 – Two Turtle Doves: The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 3, December 27 – Three French Hens: The Three Theological Virtues:  1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 4, December 28 – Four Calling Birds: The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God’s reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 5, December 29 – Five Gold Rings: The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch:  1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity’s sinful failure and God’s response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 6, December 30 – Six Geese A-laying: The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 7, December 31 – Seven Swans A-swimming: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 8, January 1
Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2. those who mourn, 3. the meek, 4. those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5. the merciful, 6. the pure in heart, 7. the peacemakers, 8. those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 9, January 2 – Nine Ladies Dancing: The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1. love, 2. joy, 3. peace, 4. patience, 5. kindness, 6. generosity, 7. faithfulness, 8. gentleness, and 9. self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 10, January 3 – Ten Lords A-leaping: The ten commandments: 1. You shall have no other gods before me; 2. Do not make an idol; 3. Do not take God’s name in vain; 4. Remember the Sabbath Day; 5. Honor your father and mother; 6. Do not murder; 7. Do not commit adultery; 8. Do not steal; 9. Do not bear false witness; 10. Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 11, January 4 – Eleven Pipers Piping: The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1. Simon Peter, 2. Andrew, 3. James, 4. John, 5. Philip, 6. Bartholomew, 7. Matthew, 8. Thomas, 9. James bar Alphaeus, 10. Simon the Zealot, 11. Judas bar James.  (Luke 6:14-16).  The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 12, January 5 – Twelve Drummers Drumming: The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed: 1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7. I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8. the holy catholic Church, 9. the communion of saints, 10. the forgiveness of sins, 11. the resurrection of the body, 12. and life everlasting.

I really don’t care about right or wrong when it comes to faith, more I wonder about absence or presence of faith.

Emmenuel Teney might have expressed best how I feel right now “As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.”

Maybe faith is more like a river than a path, where you need barefeet dipped into the icy torrent before you take that first step. Certainly faith must be comfortable, something you can slip on and wear like a pair of worn moccasins. But it also needs to be the comfortable presence you never want to take off.

Victor Hugo was a cynic and yet I like what he had to say when he said “A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing.”

Life is indeed a journey, and it is the getting there that makes life most interesting.

- Kwee

I noodled this up this afternoon.

A larger version is available by request (email me!).

Sun Bear was born in 1929 on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. He was founder and Medicine Chief of the Bear Tribe Medicine Society. As a young boy he began having visions which portended his development as a medicine man and teacher. He studied with his uncles – who were medicine men – and continued throughout his life to learn from his dreams and visions as well as from Native teachers.

I was introduced to the teachings of Sun Bear by my teacher, Proud Woman, especially the concept of ‘Rainbow Warriors’ – the we are all called to protect Mother Earth no matter what the colour of our skin.

Megwich Proud Woman!

Megwich Sun Bear!

Ho!

- Kwee

It started easily enough, a planned trip to Hanover to pick up a couple of computers and then home while MamaIndi started painting the J.G.’s bedroom.

Just before I left I heard the news – Jack Layton, leader of the Opposition in Canada, had passed away overnight, aged 61.

To anyone outside Canada this would hardly be a world shattering event, but here we have just been through a national election where Mr. Layton had brought his party, on his back literally, out of the wilderness to form the opposition. Kind of like if the Democrats had only 3 seats in Congress before Barack Obama ran.

Layton was a populist, the kind of person you could respect on the issues and know that if you invited him to dinner he would want to help wash up afterwards.

So today, across Canada, there is a lot of collective pain as people come to grips with this shocking news. Even knowing of the unbelievable medical issues he has been carrying for the last few months and knowing that he is no longer in pain does little to dampen the sense of loss.

It was a day when I had to look up into the clouds with misty eyes and ask Sky Father, “What were you thinking? – we NEED this man!”.

Good people die. It happens. We hate it. We grieve and get angry. Sky Father knows that, just as Jack did when he penned his last letter to Canadians.

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,
Jack Layton”

We may be angry but it is our beliefs that will sustain us, even if they collide with life from time to time.

Brightest Blessings and Peaceful Journey, Jack!

Kwee

A young friend has shown an interest in Astrology but couldn’t make sense of the Sign and House system so we wrote up a simple ‘button board’ with the information about the major celestial bodies and their properties in each Sign or House.

The button board can be used in a number of different ways I suppose… – as a teaching tool, a quick reminder, possibly even for the PHP inclined it could be incorporated into some other program that makes you a scabillion bucks, even if you scammed it off a site dedicated to simply helping others.

I hope not… or at least if you do take the time to at least help someone else out along the way. Karma is an amazing thing…

Let us know if you find it helpful!

- Kwee

But I hope to be here more often.

In the meantime your comments are appreciated – Thanks!

Kwee

I am left with so many thoughts I never had the chance, or took the chance, to share. But I am sure Proud Woman knew and knows.

I has been many years since we sat at the ‘big table’ and shared a coffee, a cigarette, many laughs and her unique insight into life, but I know that she is still watching, probably laughing and smiling at my klutz nature.

And through the silent tears today I can take that with me moving forward.

Kwee

* * * * *

Time like chocolate – each gooey, sticky bite
lasts mere seconds and then is gone.

Wisdom like mustard – each unique idea
bringing new meaning as we eat.

Life like sunrise – the early splash
takes our breath and promises more.

Love like fire – smoky cloying steam
opens our pores bonding us to all.

Friendship like eagles – soars across distance
past, present, future in one glance.

Thoughts like horizons – seeing beyond
and in between we make visions real.

Loss like icicles – too many phones
not dialed or answered.

These are what I remember – unspoken but shared,
we become better people.

Today Proud Woman soars, leaving behind the pain, blessing us with many memories and even more smiles through the tears.

and my thanks…

Man Who Touches The Sky

I have been fleshing out the Library, trying to add more information people have asked for – with my friend Murchadha in mind actually.

Murchadha is ‘interested’ in the shamanic path, although more on an intellectual level than on a spritual one – I can relate and quite understand, being somewhat of a logical beast myself. Murchadha is also a devout Catholic and blessed with a simple understanding of his faith – something we all strive for!

In shamanism we are blessed with helping spirits from all realms and elements. But what of other religions?

In Chritianity there are Angels, a plethora of angels for just about every need and occasion (does this sound like Dodems?). I must admit more than a passing interest in Angels and Saints for many years, starting with a St. Christopher medal given to me by a relative back when I travelled a lot for baseball (but that is a whole other story).

Anyway, to make a long story short, I have been gleaning the web for angel information and have started a glossary of Angels. Look for it in the Library and as always your input and comments are much appreciated.

Brightest Blessings and Megwich!

Kwee

62 years ago a young black man named Jackie Robinson first donned his #42 uniform and took to the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers – the first crossing of the base path a shot heard round the world for equality in sports! Today Major League players will don his $42 on their uniforms in honour of this courageous man, and the courage of those who would say ‘Dammit, the BEST man for the job, regardless of rage, colour, creed, orientation – whatever!”

20 years ago today a much more sombre event occurred in Beijing when a 73 year old career Communist bureaucrat named Hu Yaobang died of a heart attack during a politburo meeting. And who was this man Hu Yaobang?

Perhaps one of the most forward thinking minds in China, he championed change and empowering the people of China to take control of their own lives. Almost heretical at the time, he was villified by the powers that be, and it was only after great pressure was brought to bear that he was afforded a state funeral. Did I say career bureaucrat? I underestimated the man I think – he was the 6th General Secretary of the Communist Party and beloved by the new generation of Chinese people.

A week after his death 50,000 young people congregated for his funeral and to present a petition for change to Li Peng. Unfortunately the demonstration turned violent as police and army troops over-reacted.

And where did that occur? A large public area in Beijing known as Tiananmen Square.

Makes you pause for a minute…

Kwee

The time indeed are trying these days, and I have to admit as much as I try to be a soulical person rather than going with the ebb and flow of life, there are times when, like the vulture, I really want to just ‘go out and kill something!”

is it bad to say that? Is ‘bad’ the right word i wonder? Am I losing touch with the values that I have always believed in simply because I am surrounded by people who have spent their life floating about this beautiful blue marble and cannot comprehend more than the latest selection at Itunes or whether it was a good thing to trade Wade Belak to Florida last year?

I am in danger of becoming cynical, not a good thing for me, who has tried, at least, to believe in people and that at the end of the day they will act in an honourable manner that respects themselves and those they deal with in their lives. Am I that naive to believe in the good of people? Am I naive to think that people care for more than what is right in front of their faces?

World events can be incredibly depressing these days – soldiers dying in Afghanistan (and Iraq), greedy banks bringing down whole economies then stepping up to the till to get a handout from the government, good people being financially and personally destroyed by the whisper of innuendo from those who really don’t have a clue what the truth is.

Today was perhaps one of the worst in my life since arriving here in Ontario – for several reasons that I won’t go into other than to say disappointment in my fellow man was a large part of what transpired. By about 1:30 this afternoon I had a splitting headache and my sinuses were like footballs. So I thought to myself perhaps a wee nap in the afternoon would be what I needed, simply as a way to reorient myself in a more positive direction.

I laid down, tossed, turned, stared at the ceiling, seethed to myself for a bit, rolled over again and had a wee bit of a nap, but it didn’t really help. So I got up, grumpily, and slipping on my shoes headed for the kitchen to grab a coffee. Passing my youngest son’s room I saw that he was still fast asleep, cherubic and tucked under layers of quilts and duvets – completely oblivious to the world with a somewhat impish grin on his face.

I had to smile in spite of myself.

Sam has had a hard road in life, even if he is only 4. Before he was born his mom was in a car accident that caused in utero issues that left him 5 pounds at birth and in an air ambulance headed for Children’s Hospital. Since then his development has taken a much different path than his peers. While they were prattling away to anyone who would listen he was sitting intently staring into a glass jar trying to figure out how to get the blocks out of the inside. He is quite brilliant that way, but in the ways we usually measure children he has had some major problems achieving his goals. But it has made him unique, from his love of Simon Says, to his curious speech of huge polysyllabic words mixed with gibberish, to his obsession with puzzles and Thomas the Tank Engine.

But he is working through his trying times, some days no steps forward, some days giant leaps that put him years ahead of his peers. And every day when I get him out of bed the first thing he does is to smile at me and give me a hug.

Yes, these are the times that try our souls. But perhaps the times try us as a lesson in seeing what is really important to us. People here in our small town look at me somewhat askance when I mention that the tough economic times are just chock full of opportunity, and yet I am as guilty as anyone at not seeing the opportunity in my son’s eyes.

Thank you son for taking away my headache.

Kwee