Say it Now

I wasn’t going to write about my Uncle Ed’s passing. Sounded trite and a tad too emotional. But, serendipitous events—Karmatic coincidences—often direct my path, and today’s email (PLEASE see below) was a lightning rod of clear compulsion to share my experience.

We had last rites for Uncle Ed yesterday in the mountain Hamlet of Hazard, his old Kentucky home. On a splendidly gorgeous day, the verdant green mountains in vivid contrast to crystal blue skies, the long lines of townspeople paying their last respects was a testament to the great spirit that fueled his now still body.

The mountains have always held a heavenly aura for me, so they are a most fitting stage for a funeral. This was especially apparent at his final resting place on the top of the mountain, his son-in-law’s mausoleum overlooking the cascading crests of mountain upon mountain, what this fall will become a true Purple Mountain Majesty.

I was lucky. Since Christmas we knew Uncle Ed was going to die within 6 months. Nothing more to be done with the cancer, he was sent home to spend his remaining days with family and friends.

Thus, I got to visit him in April. And it was great! Though sick and weak, he was on fire—remembering this event, laughing about that, lecturing about another. Family, politics, history and religion, with my cousin, Eddie, and Aunt Mary--a real saint of a woman (I’d say that about both my parents’ sisters)--we had a rousing time.

The month before I had sent a birthday card with a narrative of my memories of Uncle Ed, and what he meant to me. He always remembered my birthday, for I was born the very day his father died.

I tell you this for as I was witnessing the celebration of Uncle Ed’s life, even though tearful for many family and friends, there was a definite sense of “when a person leaves this life, THIS is the way it should be.” Time to plan, time to show and receive the love, the care, that’s ever present, but too often hidden beneath perceived urgencies.

Just the day before a tragic motorcycle accident killed a young teen. They said a thousand mourned together in that same chapel, yet with a much different heart. Doubtless how many yearned to once more hug that child, to share a kindly word, a bad joke, something—anything—to show the connectedness they had assumed would last a lifetime.

So it is with this thought that, while I still have breath, I tell you that I care about you and am saying a prayer for you. Those who I know I will specifically note, but those fellow travelers who may read this on my blogsite, are no less included.

I hope to tell you what you each mean to me in person, but until then…thank you for being a part of my life.

Yours, Richard aka the “dog”, “doghair”, “tricky dicky” (YUK!), Peacecow

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THIS IS THE EXCERPT FROM A “MOUNTAINWINGS” EMAIL I received today. A DOUBLE COINCIDENCE because I usually just delete them!!

If you have something nice to say to someone, say it.Say it now. Say it while both of you are on this earth.You never know what effect your kind words will have, and youmay not get a chance to have your words spoken once you leave.We all need encouragement, all of us.Words that you speak and actions that you perform often live onlong after you have left this earth.

The Greater Public Interest and Societal Responsibility

The Greater Public Interest: the goal is to bring the most benefit to the most people possible. All policies, laws and regulations should have the Greater Public Interest as the foremost consideration. All lesser concerns are subservient to the Greater Public Interest.

Personal Responsibility: Personal Responsibility defined as acting in a manner that furthers that person’s own interests, while at minimum respecting, but more appropriately, FURTHERING the interests of the greater public interest as well. In an ideal world EVERY individual acting with the highest degree of Personal Responsibility will create the maximum benefit to the Greater Public Interest. This utopia creates the perfect state of Freedom, as each person can trust that other people are as concerned for his/her benefit as they are their own. Institutions, corporations, organizations, all can operate in the free market as each are run by people guided by the dictates of Personal Responsibility, thus contributing to the Greater Public Interest.

Human Nature: is that real phenomena that negates the chance for the utopia described above. Human Nature is imbued with such negative emotions as fear, greed, and envy, hate and pride that all counteract and reduce Personal Responsibility. It is Human Nature that requires the creation of governments, laws, and regulations. Negatively perhaps, as a way to minimize the destructive aspects of human nature, humanity developed cultural norms, mores and traditions most commonly expressed in the many religions.

Human Evolution: Each human is different, both innately and circumstantially. Each is born with a varied degree of strengths and weaknesses, physically, mentally, emotionally and in an equally varied combination of circumstances. Further, this difference originated nearly from the beginning of humanity’s existence. Over thousands of generations, this multitude of human characteristics has become manifested in today’s current state where there are rich, poor, strong, weak, educated, ignorant, principled, amoral, etc. Groups of humans—SOCIETIES—have also evolved, brought to a higher GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS, by individuals further along that evolutionary path. The elimination of slavery, lead by abolitionists, is one example of societal evolution. The higher the evolution, the higher the incidence of Personal Responsibility, and the higher the benefit to the Greater Public Interest.

SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY: This is the collective manifestation of the highest attained state of individual evolution, i.e. the societal embodiment of the IDEAL Personal Responsibility as defined above. This Societal Responsibility is embodied in governments consisting of individuals who represent all the citizens, the public. Such representatives, being human, likewise embody those varied degree of characteristics listed above, which hinders the attainment of the highest attained state of evolution. This results in less Personal Responsibility and a lower degree of actions in the Greater Public Interest.

Our divided society and weakened democracy is due to the failure of having elected officials who better embody the attributes of Personal Responsibility so that they act in total regard to the Greater Public Interest.

Respectfully, Rfd