Bird Droppings September 17, 2025
Why are we not seeking peace?

“In this week of great destruction, we must each choose what road we are to walk and live. The road of destruction is war; it has always been so. The road of creation is deeper and more complicated; it has always involved forgiveness, love, light, prayer, and spirit. In these new millennia, we have a chance to change the way we see other beings to one of connectedness and unity. We have a chance to let go of the ancient ways of war and conflict, of who is right, of being better of senseless killing. This week has thrown us back on the old model of the last millennia.” Michael Samuels, M.D., Mary Rockwood Lane, PhD, Path of the Feather

Nearly fifteen years ago, I was in class and meetings most of the past two weeks, going from 6:00 AM till 10:00 pm, and started back the next week, with classes two days a week for the rest of the summer. During one moment between classes and meetings, I happened to be sitting in at an Ingles Store in North Georgia, which happened to have a Starbucks. A young gentleman walked by with two peace symbols tattooed on his calf. It caught my attention and got me thinking back to several summers previous, when I was driving up to this same spot to visit the Foxfire Museum. I watched seven people marching for peace in the small town of Clayton, Georgia. The paragraph I started with is a few lines from a Navajo prophecy edited by Dr. Samuels and Rockwood. In my own searching, reading, and writing, so often the contrast between peace and war comes up, as do so many dualities in our world.

“The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, ‘I was wrong’.” Sydney J. Harris

For many, Sydney J. Harris is simply an old forgotten columnist from bygone days when people happened to actually read hard copies. I frequently use quotes from his essays and columns. His words are powerful, and I thank a dear friend from nearly thirteen years ago for showing me his work. Often, I find articles he wrote from the sixties and seventies, and I wonder why I missed them then. I am reminded often that it was not the time, as I refer to my Jungian philosophy and orientation. All the pieces were not in place at that time for me to understand and recognize what he was saying. In my emails and communications, I often see misunderstandings and ignorance, including myself. I recall a friend writing from his heart, and others only could criticize and or turn away and not understand, so often not even reading the words.

“The two words ‘information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is given out; communication is getting through.” Sydney J. Harris

“An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.” Sydney J. Harris

Sitting here most mornings, it is so easy to formulate solutions and fantasize a world free from strife and turmoil, and as I write this morning, sitting at my kitchen table, having read the current news, talk of new deployments to Venezuela and Chattanooga as hinted at by the Defense Department, and my heart sinks. But then I walk away from my computer and wonder what it is we are trying to do in the world. Tomorrow morning, a big sale at one of the local department stores, with the early bird sale, masses of humanity will line up to get the best deals, and gasoline will still be artificially high so our wonderful gas company’s profits can continue to bolster or hinder the economy, depending on whose view you take.

I often wonder who came up with thinking like that. In any other business, sooner or later, someone would see the ridiculous. It has been nearly twenty years since Exxon, just about every quarter, had the highest profits ever in one headline, and on another, gasoline was at its highest ever over $6.00 a gallon adjusted for inflation; such an interesting parallel we seem to miss. A good point, however, is that at least someone is thinking about the high court decisions made this week, and as our Supreme Court judges lean very conservative, a poll was taken as to what type of judge should replace any who should step down. Most now want a moderate; there are still a few wanting conservatives, and only about a quarter want a liberal. Somewhere, there was an extra three percent. I am assuming they were undecided.

“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” Sydney J. Harris

We should be discussing ethics in our government if that is still allowed. I am wondering if social media will be printing a rule book for what can be said and what cannot be said.  I am sitting at home and doing some writing and reading for graduate classes again.  We each need to look at our pathway and see which direction we are going. Looking back at the first quote, are we choosing the path of destruction or of creation, as the Navajo say? My dear friends, please keep all in harm’s way on your minds and in your hearts, and always give thanks, namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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