Crestfallen

My community of choice would be one that lives up to (or at least conscientiously holds mindfulness about) these principles:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unfortunately, my experience is that the first principle goes out the window as soon as someone feels "wronged" in some way. Then, the inherent worth and dignity of the "OTHER" is discarded in the righteous indignation of the offended party. And nothing seems powerful enough to pull us back on course, back to mindfulness that we are all striving to live by these principles -- that this is what we have in COMMON. Only what divides us, what makes ME better than THEM, is important anymore.

I'm so disappointed. And I'm not exempt from transgressing in the same way. I want to have my wrongs righted, and when I'm whipped into this righteous indignation myself, I forget completely that the OTHER also has inherent worth and dignity.




It makes me want to live on a deserted island, sometimes. It's so much easier to be mindful, alone.

And yet, community is something I value so highly ....

Pondering imponderables.

Can these principles and human nature be reconciled? Or are they ideals unreachable by mere humans?

Food Choices: Photo Journal - Day 9

No lunch today at all. I didn't feel hungry until about 5:30 p.m., but I was crabby all day, with a headache and a bit of that congestion that makes every sound stand out as if you're wearing an amplifier that slightly distorts everything. It cleared up around 4-4:30 ... but not before I resorted to caffeine to try to alleviate the headache -- which explains why I'm still up doing this instead of going to bed where I belong. I'll pay in the morning for this indulgence.

Anyway, here's today's visual food diary, minus the caffeinated tea:

Breakfast held me all day!



No lunch, just tea. It was good: Memoir of a Geisha cherry blossom black tea from the Republic of Tea. I just should have stopped drinking it earlier in the day.

Dinner, since I was feeling crabby all day, was a crab salad. (Tee hee) You won't see the crab in the photo, but believe me, it was there, under the greens and guacamole and pico de gaillo -- and PEA sprouts! Too much crab, though. Feeling kind of "blech" now about it.



Dinner accompaniment: bread - boring.



And dessert. Just cuz.