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Comment from Malcolm at 07:47 on 12_21_05

About 8 years ago I wrote a poem about the MTA. With a strikein progress it seems appropriate now.

THE MTA

The Head of the MTA went home
In a limousine last night
I guess he didn't hear about
That really awful, gruesome fight.

It happened on a subway train
Somewhere uptown, I heard
Two guys got mad, the heat was bad
and the passengers all got scared.

Frustration level was high, for some
had been waiting a long time for the train.
It's the cuts of staff and investment
Are the 70's with us once again?

The Head of the MTA was eating dinner
In his dining room at 8.00
While a man was stabbed and his wallet nabbed
For the R train came just too late.

Yet the, guards and crew do the best they can
Without support from the staff at the top
Who care more for their perks, and pension plans
As ridership continues to drop

The bottom line is scrutinized
But the passenger's plight ignored
Books get balanced to the penny
as the A train is stuck at the Boulevard

Does the Head of the MTA really care now
for the system that gave him his chance?
Or is it one of their ploys? "Jobs for the Boys."
As they lead riders a merry dance.

Imagine, if the Head of the MTA rode the subway
at 11.00 o'clock at night?
Would he sit with me, and talk with me
Or might it give him too much of a fright

I challenge the people at the top of the system
To remember those riding the train
for the subway gives people their freedom
So don't treat them with arrogant disdain.

© Malcolm F. Davidson 5/97

Comment from Malcolm at 09:17 on 12_12_05

Cynthia and I went to see the new movie "Syriana" over the weekend. It was a searing indictment of the "West" and the machinations of the "State". I highly recommend it to anyone who remotely cares about our future.

It affected Cynthia tremendously and it'll take a few days for her to recover her Balance. I've always been aware of the Shadow, but to be reminded of it in such a grand manner was offputting. The question I keep asking myself is this; "Does the system make people corrupt, or do people make the system corrupt?"

It takes courage to walk a different path than our fellow human, is this the reason we comply witht the status quo. So much pain a too few people want to change.

I met a wonderful poet the other day at a meeting of some folks interested in supporting "Peace" initiatives in this country. For many of us realize that there has to be another way to resolve conflict and difference.

The holiday season is upon us, and for the first time in my entire life, I feel as if I have everything I need. I am truly contented materially, and have no need for any gifts whatsoever. How do we keep the economy afloat and, at the same time, encourage people to consume less?

Comment from Malcolm at 20:54 on 11_30_05

Wednesday Evening: Sometimes my poetry speaks for me and other words are superfluous.

Autumn Darkness

The Day is ending as darkness creeps ever earlier over the bleakness
Black soil, bereft of nature’s bounty, waits anxiously for the ice to form
Magical striations, crystalline clutching the detritus of the last harvest
Trees shiver as the cold rain dribbles off the branches shorn of their leaves
Landing on the moist earth soaking in the wetness

Clouds, heaving with their saturated cargo, march across the angry sky
The sun, nowhere in sight, struggles to be heard above the drenching
I peer out through the rivulets on the window meandering down the glass
Hoping to see a break in the grey

Imperceptibly, as the clock moves forward toward night
The clouds lighten and constancy reigns for a brief moment
Rain has stopped

I hear a bird calling, I’m not drowned yet, and again, furtively
Are these storms a portent

What will this Winter bring?


Malcolm F. Davidson © 11/30/2005

Comment from Malcolm at 10:18 on 11_17_05

Thursday morning; I just completed the beginning of a new month for Cynthia. Looking for a job, helping the web site and taking care of the cars etc has made for a busy week.

When I think of the innate kindness of people at the grassroots and then the absurd behaviour of otheres higher up the food chain I feel despair, hope and frustration all mixed into one. An interesting emotional soup! One example of kindness has played out close to home. I'm a rugby player, although my schedule has made it difficult to find the time recently. ANyway one of our team has failed kidneys and needed a replacement. One of his fellow players after being matched offered up one of his.

I was very moved, and rugby players being who they are had a last Supper of "steak and kidney" as a celebration of this individuals sacrifice.

There are so many individual efforts of love and kindness, yet the airwaves are filled more with the dark side than the light. As Cynthia often has to remind me, "if it leads it bleeds".

I do not know the donor that well, but he is up there on my list. How do we take that kindness and compassion for another and expand it dramatically?

Comment from malcolm at 10:19 on 11_08_05

There was a lull in SPAM but it seems to be back with a vengance these days. If I took up all the offers I receive my penis would be round my knees by now.

I also got an email from one of those scammers sking for help in accessing $8 million. I know some people fall for those bogus offers. Is it just greed or are there other factors at play here?

Many of the emails that end up in the Bulk/trash folder are promising the earth, or better. Bigger this, faster that, and send me the money! I'm tired off getting Viagra ads. The brain is the biggest sex organ in the body and I ingest Viagra for that. What might you ask is Viagra for Big head as opposed to the little?

The Wisdom Wheel has brought structure, meaning and purpose into my life. It's placed everything into perspective and has given me a wonderful sense of my place in the Universe. I feel more contented, and yes maybe Viagra could help me, but I don't feel the need. My relationship with my wife is good and so our sex life doesn't need help from the outside.

The Wisdom Wheel has helped bring Balance into my life, so I make sure I get enought exercise and I don't watch excessive amounts of TV. Too much makes me feel empty, and even two hours a night can seem like too much.

Sitting Circle and sharing with others resonates with me far more than a night of mindless chatter on the box.

The Wheel is Bowflex for the Mind and Soul. It is Cupid for the heart, and a grandmother for the body. It is strange to think that a bunch of rocks could be so powerful.

What price do we place on contentment? What price do we pay for an equitable global community?

Comment from Malcolm at 11:30 on 11_04_05

I've been thinking a lot about Rosa Parks and why she meant so much to me. I think it is because she did what I was afraid to do. "Standing up to the Authority figure", in my case my father. He was a brute of a man, who ruled through fear. Today of course I stand up to "authority" figures, (mostly they are cowards)but I had to do a lot of emotional development to get there. I feel that the gifts we can best give to our children are respect for self and others, and a set of values that transcends the "group".

No more sectarian violence, no more spousal abuse, no more racisim. Businesses that nurtured staff and the planet!

Comment from Malcolm at 09:52 on 11_04_05

Friday morning, just sent of an email to a colleague in London. She is a member of the ASAW. The Association of Spirit at Work. A worthy organization that is helping to promote a more spiritual based approach to business. By that we do not mean religion, religion would be a subset of this initiative. Religion in the corridors of power tend to corrupt rather than enlighten. Spirituality on the other hand, shows us how to Surrender and live in harmony. What price harmony in the middle east?

Anyway back to spirituality. When I consider the institutionalized hypocracy that exists on both the left and right of the political scene I realize that we need to start a new movement. SWIG "Spirituality within Government". Members would fraternize with each other, and in between their swigs of refreshment would vow to become better custodians of their countries wealth. Better stewards of the countries coffers. After a nice glass of Chateaux Neuf du Pape;

"I promise to have more Integrity and be less of a hypocrite!".

"I commit to honesty and truth telling".

"I will have respect for all nations, and won't invade you with my mates from across the pond".

"I'll take care of the old folks, and we won't steal their pensions."

"We'll Balance the budget, and stop putting so much into the military."

"Stop, now don't get too carried away, who would pay for our life style then?"

"Oops, sorry it was the wine talking!"

"You'd better have another swig, and I didn't mean SWIG."

No, it'd never work, oh well another good idea bites the dust. I suppose the best I can do is stay on the good red road myself, and show by example.

Speaking of which, there's a book just been published by author Peter Schweizer, about the hypocracy of the so called Liberal Left. I am not shocked. Arrogance, power, money and shizoid thinking are integral to any individual who gravitates to the upper echelons of business or politics. FOr someone to be different would be the exception rather than the rule. That is the way they get to the top. We have a system of Capitalism in the USA which eschews social awareness for profit, why should Michael Moore et al not profit from the system? They are an important part of a corrupt empire.

It is propped up by the media and the masses. If collectively this country wanted a better way then they would find it. Michael Moore and Nancy Pelosi are as necessary as Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove.

When people begin taking Dennis Kucinich seriously then I'll know they are serious about real change.

Rosa Parks was one of my hero's. Even as a young boy I marvelled at the news of that lady standing up (actually sitting down) for her principles. She has been honored in Washington this week. Better than being villified, however, it is easy to honor the dead, they aren't trouble any more. What about honoring something even more important than civil rights? At the core of any democratic government is the ability to have free and fair elections. The GAO has shown by their investigations that the results of last 2 elections were not an accurate reflection of the will of the people. In other words, the system of electing our politicians has been nobbled.

In my humble opinion that is the most serious of affairs, for people of all political persuasions. It eats away at the very heart of our democratic system. So today I will have a minute of silence for the breakdown of the election process and I will honor the General Accounting Office. They have replaced Rosa Parks on my list of living hero's.

Comment from Malcolm at 08:21 on 11_01_05

In a light hearted moment, at the beginning of this year (2005) I sat down and rattled off a RAP song about the Wisdom Wheel. As I was writing and reviewing each stanza I was reminded, yet again, off the power of this work and the Wisdom Wheel model.

People are desperate to make a connection that they will do anything. The Wheel builds community and encourages safe dialogue. We all need to be in Balance to give ourselves a fair shake in life. We spend billions of dollars on medications when they are only treating the symptoms, not the underlying cause of our illnesses and ailments.

Since I took up the Wisdom Wheel and also since I do sweat lodge ceremony quite often I have not been sick. I cannot remember when I last had a cold and I'm happy to report that I don't need to pop a Viagra or the equivalent. Yes, the benefits of this work cannot be measured. Folks of all ages can benefit from the Wheel in all facets of their life.

Let me give you one great example. Cynthia is writing about the "Law of Choices" at the moment. In early 2000 before I had been introduced to the Wisdom Wheel, I thought I was such a hot shit! Boy was I wrong. I was searching for relationships, in part because I didn't want to be alone, or even imagine that I might be. I helped someone out to buy a houese in the midwest (Michigan).

That decision has cost me nearly $100,000!!!! What price $5.00 a month to study the Wheel? I did not have a compass for my life's Journey, I didn't understand where I was living on the Wheel, I did not have the tools and resources to make Wise Choices.

I was out of Balance and not ready to develop my Self to be in Right Relationship with myself and all others. Hence I rushed in and played the good Samaritan. Buying houses is fraught with the potential for problems, remember just say NO!

The house finally sold yesterday and I no longer have a $1300 mortgage to pay each month. What a relief. I wonder if the woman who I helped with this hosue can appreciate what the house cost me? I think that even if she knew how much it hurt me she wouldn't care.

Part of me also feels that a Karmic debt has been paid, I feel a thousand pounds lighter and ready for the next big challenge. With the Wisdom Wheel teachings firmly internalized I feel strong, grounded and open.