And so the year ends. The ground will go fallow, the leaves will fall, the things that sleep when it gets cold* will take to their hidey-holes – the part of the world that circles around our calendar will take its rest.
If the spring and summer are times for loud building, work and singing, chirp and moving, then the winter is for quiet building - docking one’s proverbial ship for cleaning and repairs. Our bodies have to go inside, and our consciousness turns inward, too. It’s a time for assessing our internal stores and damages and doing what we can to make ourselves “sea-worthy”.
Hopefully when spring comes we will emerge to a bright and brave new world. One where our national leaders have begun to actually care about their jobs and the citizens who depend on them; one where our soldiers will be coming home to have their bodies and minds healed by a loving and grateful government. We will awake from our hibernation with renewed concern for our neighbors and our environment – and ourselves, and we will show our joy by sharing this good feeling with everyone who didn’t get a winter’s rest. We will love our enemies until they can’t hurt us anymore, we will take what we have that is surplus and give it without hesitation. We will care for the children and elderly and animals of other families, we will take more notice of the world around us in order to enrich our souls more deeply and have a better understanding of others.
All these things are so easy. Things we should all be doing already, every minute of the day, right? And all we need is a winter’s rest to think and find these things within ourselves to change the world. I don’t think the Goddess gives us money or possessions of any kind. I’m not sure that She gives us any more strength or beauty or grace than we’re born with or can find on our own. But the one thing that She – or He, or the Universe - DOES give us is CHANCES. A new one every day, every second. Opportunity abounds in this Universe. Change and chances are the one thing that we all believe in, no matter what we call God.
I wish you all good and productive winter’s rest. Let your body slow down, let your soul quicken. May your chances all find you. It’s up to us to make the world a better place. These men who are “running” it will run it into the ground.
It’s up to us.
Much love,
-Sam

*like GIRLS

Debate is raging across the country, friends against friends, families divided, the whole country divided. It is war on every scale. People speak of taking up arms, people speak of armageddon, people speak of slavery and freedom. The one thing I have yet to hear is someone who says that they just don't care. There's at least that, because in my opinion, that's what got us here in the first place.
As much as we'd like to believe that next Tuesday is going to change the world, no matter what happens, we will still have to deal with the horrible mess that greedy, angry men have gotten us into. Theirs and ours, we are all guilty. There is no clearly defined "good side" and "bad side" in this. There are just the innocent and the instigators. The people with money and the poor. The sheep and the wolves - and you know which one you are.
I thought all along that I was being tough here and not mincing words, but I realize how hard I've been trying not to really offend anyone, to allow others their own feelings and consider the (very slim) possibility that I am wrong, and just speaking from my tender heart. And then I read what Jen said in her live journal, in response to another friend's passionate defense of the current administration and it's war [*shudder*].
He quoted some of the popular propaganda (and it's ALL propaganda, both sides), and expressed his opinion that we should be supporting our soldiers (YES.) and this terrible travesty of a "freedom fight". The only thing I commented on (yes, I mostly held my tongue) was his claim that our soldiers morale is good and I said that soldiers told me otherwise (of course he and others claim that morale is bad because we treasonous citizens oppose the war and NOT because they are being shot at and blown up and having their lives taken away so that a very few men can get a lot richer - NOT the soldiers, FOR SURE, mind you...) and mainly kept my other opinions to myself because this is out LJ group, and it is unkind and unwise to stir up cauldrons there. Ask America.
Jen, however, was brave enough to say something else, that being 1. exactly what is on her mind, and 2. What I believe is the stone cold truth. I am honored to quote her here:

"I normally don't reply to things like this but I was laying in bed mulling this over and had to put my two cents in. War is a political tool and in today's world is just like capital punishment. We can't DAMN decide if we want to do it or not. Wars are not justified by the bad guys. You can spin facts anyway you want. America fights the easy fights (Grenada, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran) If it was really about human rights or right and wrong we would have taken on China years ago. It is about $$$. And $$ is not worth losing ONE DAMN LIFE over. When Republicans are in office, Democrats are programmed to nay say. When Democrats are in office, Republicans are programmed to nay say. I am in the same socioeconomic place I was at birth. I am not any better off no matter who is in office. So unless we really want to take up arms NOTHING is going to change. And it is not our political system that needs overhauling Democracy is a damn great idea. It's our economic system that needs overhauling capitalism sucks. Capitalism breeds poverty, Capitalism breeds haves and have-nots, which in turn breeds dissent, which keeps us busy with bullshit while no one asks the simple questions like is anyone hungry, cold, tired, scared. Let's fix that first. Capitalism runs this nation and this war is making $$$. End of story. My two cents?
In this country we don't train warriors, we train soldiers. Soldiers are fodder taught to take orders and go where pointed. Only Delta Squad, Special Ops, Seals and such receive any real training as warriors. They are taught to take the fight where it belongs: the enemy. Not someone else's backyard. America is a punk gang doing drive bys on someone else's turf and they will eventually bring it back to us. And most of the nation will be surprised. Sad, fucking sad. "
-the lovely lass (lj handle).

YEAH! WOO! SPEAK IT SISTER-GIRL! AAAAA-MEN!!!!!!!!!

If you like, you can read the threads of this at livejournal.com, geek patrol, friends; and you can also read my own geekcentric live journal there. I'm queenpie.
Thank you again Jen, for saying what I wouldn't.
-sam