And he's coming to San Francisco next week, the evening of the day I will be volunteering in a disaster drill. November 14 is looking to be much more fun than my average Wednesday.
I'll add more to this later.
FOLLOW UP...
Okay, so the disaster drill was not inspiring (we would all be dead or super ticked off after a real biohazard) and I did not make it to see Obama. But I did get to share my views in a political opinion poll by phone, which always perks me up.
My day as a quarantined pretend concert attendee was one of several reminders I've been given lately to practice preparation and patient self-reliance. There was that earthquake a few weeks back, the largest in this area since Loma Prieta. Then I spent an evening in the emergency room last week with my mom (fear not, everyone is now okay). This last experience also served as a good reminder of the need for advocates, people in this case who know what your medical issues are. That and a current list of prescriptions. The hospital is good for immediate life threatening treatments; it is practically useless at making sure you are well.
In the end all of these remind me that I can depend on no one but myself, as there may be no one else around with greater knowledge or preparedness in the event of an emergency, whatever the scope. (Can political disaster be counted? Yes, I believe so.) No man is an island, to be sure, and we can count on others coming to our aid where possible, but first and foremost I need to make sure I am okay and I cannot--or certainly ought not--assume that the world will drop everything to see to my needs. At the same time, acting selfishly does nothing for the greater good. Being well means more than meeting my own short term desires. There's that whole karma issue of what goes around comes around. But I digress...
I will leave you with a happier thought (I hope). Thich Nhat Hanh points out that "Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be of much help to others." Taking care of yourself is about being kind to yourself, accepting and letting go. When you do that, you will be available truly to take care of others, those you love first and extending outwards. That's a nice idea, don't you think? Much nicer than being a hater and letting that be what extends out, right? :)
3 comments:
I was pro-Obama until this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0132206420070801
We've done enough arbitrary violations of international law, thank you very much.
On the other hand, I'm not totally sold on Hilary either. The coming election year is going to be painful. *sigh*
Also, if you haven't seen this site, it's an interesting cliffnotes sort of thing on politicians:
http://www.issues2000.org/default.htm
I am always frustrated by politics, but Obama appeals to me for his generally reasonable and cooperative-minded approach. He's been much clearer about a number of hotbed issues and taken many more less-easy stances than Hillary (she drives me NUTS with her fence sitting; I'm not her number 1 fan). It is ridiculous that pres candidates are expected to look "tough", and I don't like that Obama took the bait on this recently, but he is as ever, for me, an imperfect person running for president on a good platform.
Perhaps Rory is still working on his campaign...
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