Tamarika: Speak to the Eagle (Update)

December 10, 2005

Speak to the Eagle (Update)

Quote of the day:

In comparison to even the local stars, our earthly polities are smaller than eyebrow mites. I stand there appropriately humbled as always, which is the point of my entering the dark after all; untended and overilluminated, one can get too big for whatever clothing may pertain. Gazing upward we are like the stars themselves, cradled in the hands of space. Pure Land Mountain

The train ride home from DC was as charming, stimulating, humorous, and intelligent as one could hope for. I was fortunate to sit next to an interesting person. Don't you love it when that happens? Well, the word interesting does not do the fellow justice. I hear Bob the therapist saying, "Interesting. Hm ... can you unpack that a little? What do you really mean?"

Let's see: He was knowledgeable, insightful, open, willing to share a dark side as well as the brightness that exuded from him with wisdom and sophistication. And he made me laugh about very serious worldly stuff. What is even more important for me is that he made me think! Challenged my brain, assumptions, stereotypes, and heart. He comes from all over the world.

As he drank his beer and I my cup of hot English tea, we talked about change: of self, the world; colonialism; the Middle East; bias; marriage; children; what is normal; what to do next; the government; our pasts; the future; getting old; being young; the thousands of invisible people of New Orleans; soul destroying education systems; we even talked about having fun or not.

At one point he said, "Speak to the Eagle." You just had to have been there. I was delighted and replied that I would have to use that in my future presentations. "Oh no!" he exclaimed, "I've become a vignette!"