Reflections on Life - November 2017

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE - November 2017

REFLECTIONS ON HOME IN COLUMBIA

The ponds’ waters, visible through our bedside windows, are now dark black, appearing deeper than we know them to be.  Particularly in the early light of day, every branch and even small twigs on the surrounding maples are reflected as clearly as in a professional photo.  In the first light of day, now about 6:30am, the rising sun, still shining from below the horizon illuminate the few yellow leaves remaining.  Their deep yellow/orange hue adds a special unworldliness to the ponds’ water.  These tree reflections are dominated by one tall evergreen. More than occasionally we can clearly see surface reflections of contrails, sometimes a parallel pair or more, from jets making their way south. During these early-morning observations, Ophelia and Virginia Wolfe sometimes come to mind, though my view is of the dark waters of a pond, not a river, and although deep thoughts accompany it, they are not tragic.  Rather they serve as an awareness of insights revealing themselves to my consciousness.  One Sunday morning this month before the sun had begun to show on the horizon I sat in the faint light of Lloyd’s office adjacent to our bedroom.  There arose in me, uninvited and peaceful, a very clear and gentle awareness that Lloyd and I, our family, and all of our friends will someday die.

As I wrote in my October Reflections on China, it took Lloyd and me a long time to get back to “normal” after returning home.  It took ten days or so longer than past return flights from New Zealand, India, Africa, and Brazil for example.  I would describe it as remaining in a foggy state of somewhat “otherworldliness,” as if through some spiritual connection that impeded my getting back to the regular “schedule” of my largely unscheduled life.  After all, since leaving 30+ years in public office, “unscheduled” has been one of my primary goals. Not until Thanksgiving Day were we fully back in sync, and for that we were thankful indeed.

REFLECTIONS ON ZACH

The Zaching Against Cancer Foundation, which Zach himself founded about four years ago after learning his brain cancer had returned, held its annual 2K/5K/10K race last weekend.  More than a thousand participants ran this year.  Each year, the atmosphere clearly gets more celebratory of Zach’s life.  Virtually everyone present - kids, friends from high school and college, young adults and not-so-young, like Lloyd and me - has his or her own unique story of how Zach continues to show up every day as an inspiration in each and every one of their lives. 

 

REFLECTIONS ON BALTIMORE, MY HOME TOWN

The Baltimore Sun                  November 3, 2017

“Baltimore passes the 300-homicide mark”

This tragic distinction for our neighboring city took place just before local activists launched a cease-fire.

The Baltimore Sun                    November 30, 2017

“’Baltimore Rising’ tells chaotic tale of injustice”

This documentary is directed by Sonja Sohn who played a leading role in David Simon’s acclaimed series about inner city Baltimore, “The Wire.”  She interviews residents of the Penn North neighborhood where Freddie Gray, a young Baltimore man, received injuries that proved to be fatal during a ride in a police van. Lloyd and I missed the first episode of this HBO series.  We intend to go back and watch it and then the rest of the series.

Since I last wrote of Baltimore-born author Ta-Nehisi Coates who has written about Edmondson Villlage, the Baltimore Route 40 neighborhood of my childhood, is receiving increasing fame for his latest book “We were Eight Years in Power:  An American Tragedy.”  The Washington Post’s Carlos Lozada in his column last week entitled “My Memorable Books of 2017” writes “At this point, any book by Ta-Nehisi Coates is an instant best seller and borderline cultural phenomenon.” It feels so good to see a Baltimore-born and bred author receive such acclaim.

REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC POLICY—LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

County of Howard

Although the Baltimore Sun article below is about Baltimore City’s granting of a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) for Port Covington and the resultant significant increase in debt for the city, we in Howard County can get some idea of the results of the $90 million TIF Howard County has given to Howard Hughes Corporation for the continuing development of Downtown Columbia

The Baltimore Sun                             November 12, 2017

“Debt will grow on TIF projects”

State of Maryland

The Baltimore Sun                            November 28, 2017

“Justices decline challenge to Md. Assault weapons ban”

Some good news.  I recall clearly the vote on this assault weapons ban legislation during the 2013 legislative session.  The gun lobby was the strongest I observed during my 20 years in the Maryland legislature.

United States

CNN has been running a very instructive 30-second TV ad sponsored by the network itself and entitled, “This is an Apple”. Lloyd and I first saw it in our stateroom on the ferry that carried us down the Yangtze River several weeks ago.

It portrays a lone apple shown against a blank background with an over-voice saying:

            “This is an apple.

Some people might try to tell you that it is a banana. 

They might scream banana, banana, banana, over and over again.

They might even put BANANA in caps.

You might even start to believe it is a banana, but it’s not.

This is an apple.”

                                                FACTS FIRST

Ten thousand words couldn’t say it better.  Clearly deserving of a Nobel Prize in Literature.  Look for “This is an apple” on U-Tube.

REFLECTIONS ON OUR PLANET BEYOND THE UNITED STATES

Haiti

The Baltimore Sun                               November 22, 2017             

”Change in Haitians’ status is urged”

I attempted to synopsize this article and can find no way to do so.  Every sentence contributes so significantly to the human tragedy that will be wrought if the U.S. administration moves forward with its announced plan to allow the temporary protection status of many Haitians, including those in Maryland to expire.  Columbia now has a Sister City Agreement with Haiti. I can see so clearly my dear friend, Father Richard Frechette living in Haiti for many years now working with local children in the hospital and schools he has established there.

GERMANY

The Washington Post                                           November 25, 2017

“Germany’s center-left party may throw a lifeline to chancellor”

I have written often in these Reflections of my deep admiration and gratitude to Chancellor Angela Merkel for her courage, skill, and determination. The lack of a conclusive result in German election last September makes her work all the more difficult. For me, she stands out as the virtual leader of the free world.

CHINA

The Washington Post                                               November 25, 2017

“In China, rule by fear and force”

Our (potential) sister city group was in Beijing just a few days before the commencement of the 19^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China where the new doctrine of “Xi Jinping Thought” was unveiled.

I don’t believe any of us who travelled to China in a visit to explore the possibility of establishing a new Columbia, MD sister city relationship had a clue, to put it mildly, about the extent to which we were visiting at such a pivotal time in the history of this huge nation.

The Washington Post                                               November 2, 2017

“Chinese universities rush to study Xi’s doctrine”               

“Critics see dogma eroding academic freedom”

“Renmin University of China (in Beijing) was the first to announce a research center dedicated to “Xi Jinping Thought.”

The Washington Post                                               November 10, 2017

“Trump’s China visit ends without incident or clear sense of long-term impact”

                                                                                              

Well, the lack of a “clear sense of long-term impact” is not surprising.

REFLECTIONS ON OUR UNIVERSE

When my mom, Helen Monnett Gilner, an avid reader who never graduated from high school, was well into her eighth decade, one of her favorite authors was a contemplative though previously worldly monk, Thomas Merton. In the 10+ years that I have been meditating, his writings have become one of the major influences in my spiritual life, right up there with Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn and Jack Kornfield.

“To be alone by being part of the universe – fitting in completely to an environment of woods and silence and peace.  Everything you do becomes a unity and a prayer.  Unity within and without.”                    Thomas Merton

In her 80’s my mom was living in an apartment in West Baltimore with my older sister, Martha.  About 20 years prior, I had shared that same apartment with her. I would often take lunch for us to share while Martha was working as the head of a soup kitchen in downtown Baltimore. One day very near the winter solstice, my birthday, I arrived very late for ”lunch” at almost 5pm.  My mom, who knew I was going to arrive late, was sitting in her favorite rocking chair in the living room near a sliding glass door that opened onto a small deck with a table and two chairs. Looking out this door, she had not yet turned on any lights in her apartment, though it was getting quite dark.  I commented that it was the first time I had seen her in this posture at this time of day.  The reply my mom made to me remains beautifully emblazoned in my mind.  “When I sit here at this time of day, I stay as quiet as I possibly can – both inside and out – and (her voice lowered to a hush) – I feel like I almost know something.”

That beautiful rocking chair with its label - MFG. by Hartwig & Kemp, Baltimore, Maryland - now gets heavy-duty use from both Lloyd and me in our family room.

So why write about this experience with my mom in the “Our Universe” section of “Reflections on Life”?  Surely some if not most of you have read of scientific research of mind-brain correspondence.  One current belief, if not fact, appears to be that “psychological states such as thoughts and feelings are real.  Brain states are real.”  (LF Barrett – researchgate.net)

So my quite unscientific mind goes to the question “how do I know that my mom’s words “I feel like I almost know something” are not out there in the universe, possibly connecting with Zach and my sister, Martha, and …………?

Now a “real” scientific article from washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science

The Washington Post                              November 10, 2017

“The strangest supernova’: A star that keeps exploding – and surviving”

By Sarah Kaplan

I can’t help but wonder what were the spiritual elements of time as described below.

“Some 500 million light-years away, in a galaxy so distant it looks like little more than a smudge, a star exploded five times over the course of nearly two years, spewing the contents of 50 Jupiters and emitting as much energy as 10 quintillion suns.  This isn’t even the first time this star has gone supernova:  Astronomers believe this same body was seen exploding 60 years ago.”

Can anyone tell me how much a “quintillion” is?

“Pools of sorrow, waves of joy

Are drifting through my open mind

Possessing and caressing me

Across the Universe

~Lennon and McCartney

Be well and love life.

~ Liz

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE - OCTOBER 2017

REFLECTIONS ON HOME IN COLUMBIA

Lloyd and I spent only one week at home in Columbia during the month of October.  The remainder of the month we spent in China where we had been invited to join a Columbia Association Sister Cities visit to that nation.  We returned home two days ago.

Having gone to bed quite late the night before, I awoke at home yesterday morning to see a lone pine branch silhouetted clearly against the blue sky outside the window beside my bed.  We simply loved our visit to China, literally “soaking up” its beauty, traditions, and wisdom, and are so grateful that we agreed to participate, We stayed mainly in high-rise hotels in the cities.  Rarely did we see the sun during the day or stars or moon at night.  That simple gracefully bent pine branch appeared yesterday morning as one of the most beautiful sights I had ever beheld.

Upon returning home, we found he ground surrounding our townhome covered with leaves - red, yellow, orange - that had been green on the trees when we left on our journey.Some are still holding on to the tree limbs, their yellow color catching the sun’s rays on this beautiful autumn day in Columbia, Some squirrels continue to scamper around storing up food in their nests to get them through the upcoming cold months.

Yesterday I prepared our clay flowerpots for winter.  About twenty of them are  lined up against the walls on our four decks, their saucers inverted and placed over the soil for wintering.  I love this annual preparation.  Although this autumn pot ritual is not as joyful as its spring companion of readying these same pots for planting, there is an accompanying peacefulness and an awareness of I know not precisely what.

The bustling streets of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong momentarily appear as a distant memory, though in reality only two days past.  We are at home.  Back home in Columbia.

REFLECTIONS ON ZACH

Many times have I written about my calling Zach to mind when I am dealing with something difficult or sad in my life.  Lloyd always gives me a slightly wry smile when I tell him about my doing this and the beautiful results that occur.  Well, during our three weeks in China I visited with Zach a few times and found his usual love and peace available to me.  Then one day, Lloyd informed me that he had misplaced out passports in preparation for moving on to another city the next morning.  I confess to not paying much attention to him, feeling certain they would show up.  Clearly I have become quite “spoiled” by his taking care of all our travel logistics. In the morning I awoke to a jubilant Lloyd smiling broadly and holding up the passports for me to see as I awoke.  Then, as if he had said it countless times before, he told me “I connected with Zach.”  At first I thought he was kidding.  Then I realized he was not kidding at all.  He said, “I just didn’t know what to do, so I contacted Zach and he took care of it.”  Who am I to question that?

REFLECTIONS ON BALTIMORE, MY HOME TOWN

The Baltimore Sun          October 3, 2017

“The Bronx example”

The Bronx has all the same problems as Baltimore – except murders

Having been born and raised in Baltimore, as were both of my parents, I love this city and am anything but a “Baltimore basher”.  Furthermore, I cannot imagine being in the role of mayor of my beloved birthplace.   And yet, reading the difference between murder rates in the two cities referenced in the subject news article is astounding.

***

“Revival in Station East, rowhouse by rowhouse”

Neighborhood nonprofit is rebuilding and selling 41 houses

The Baltimore Sun          October 28, 2017

“Ted Rouse, the son of Columbia developer James W. Rouse, was attracted to the plan and invested $250,000 through his company, Healthy Planet LLC, in a partnership with the nonprofit neighborhood coalition.  ‘I saw an opportunity to do neighborhood transformation,’ he said.”

Father and son. This apple certainly didn’t fall very far from the tree.

REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC POLICY—LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

County of Howard

“The Washington Post”                October 2, 2017

‘A bit of good news for local reporting’

”The real crisis in American journalism is at the local and metro level,”

I believe our own Howard County, including Columbia, is a strong and clear example of this dangerous phenomenon, and I cannot see a way through it can improve, and it simply must.

State of Maryland

“The Washington Post”                       October 2, 2017

“States taking the lead on curbing drug costs”

…and Maryland is one of the leading states. “Maryland’s measure goes further,

treating price gouging as a civil offense …” Thank you to our Maryland legislators and particularly to our Attorney General, Brian Frosh.

The Baltimore Sun                             October 6, 2017

“The bay undergoes the acid test”

“One finding: As oceans around the world absorb carbon dioxide and acidify, the changes are likely to come faster to the nation’s largest estuary.”   That reference is to our own Maryland estuary, the Chesapeake Bay.  We each have a deep responsibility to pay attention and act accordingly, even if it is not popular in some circles.

United States

I am so deeply grateful to Maryland’s U.S. Senators Cardin and VanHollen and Howard County’s Congressmen, Elijah Cummings and John Sarbanes not only for their diligent hard work to preserve our democratic government but also for the dignity and integrity with which they do this most difficult and serious work.

Our flight back from Hong Kong was on Air Canada. I was surprised at how many Canadians with whom I spoke were familiar with Elijah and very positive about his public service.

REFLECTIONS ON OUR PLANET BEYOND THE UNITED STATES

The Columbia Association is considering adding another sister city in China to its existing four in France, Spain, Ghana, and Haiti. Having been involved in the formation of the agreements with Tema in Ghana, and Cap-Hatian in Haiti, Lloyd and I were invited to join an exploratory visit to China.  Departing in early October, Beijing was the first city we visited in China.  Upon landing I was aware of our proximity to North Korea, just 400 miles away.

China - many people, extremely dense cities with severe air pollution, magnificent mountains and rivers, deep and revered heritage, rich cultural practices,

During our two week stay, in addition to Beijing, we visited Xi’an, Liyang, our potential sister city, Suzhou, Wuzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai with the contingent from the Columbia Association, We had known most of the twenty people prior to the trip.  We were so fortunate to travel with such an engaged and interesting group devoted to improving Columbia’s relationships around the world.

I could fill endless pages about the Chinese people, their customs and history, their foods, the magnificent scenery, arts and crafts, government, For purposes of this monthly newsletter, I will focus on major impressions that came home with me.

Smiling people, moving busily and swiftly through the streets of the cities, shopping for food and household goods, often with one or two beautiful children in tow or in arms.

A few days after our arrival in Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party held its 19^th National Congress in this city. It was a fascinating time to be there.  Throughout the next two weeks we were often able to get CNN coverage of this gathering of.  The mood was very upbeat and the conference impeccably organized.  We had no idea we would be in the country for this major government event when we signed up to visit Columbia’s intended next sister city.  Days later, a welcoming dinner was held for us in Liyang.  I was seated next to the head of the Communist party for the area.  We spoke at length with the assistance of a translator covering numerous topics, the benefits of meditation among them.

 

Today’s Washington Post contains a major feature article on China’s President Xi’s plans for his nation’s leadership role in Asia.  In our U.S. President’s future visit to meet with President Xi in the near future, we can only hope that he will be equally well prepared.

POST article

Two days before our Columbia group ended its travels, Lloyd and I flew to Chongqing to catch a three-night ferry down the Yangtze, our first cruise boat experience ever.  On boarding the ship’s steward pulled us aside and said he wanted to reassign our quarters.  Having reserved an average space, we ended up in one of the two largest spaces on board at the rear of the top deck.  Through large windows at the rear and side of the ferry, we had a perfect view. The mountains along the river were magnificent.  River trade was in full force with many commercial boats carrying cargo of overseas shipping containers and rocks and sand as well as other raw materials.  We also took a guided tour of the magnificent Three Gorges Dam.

We then moved on to Hong Kong for a few days.  There the crowds walking on the streets surpassed any I had seen in any other place in the world.  We crossed by small ferries between sections of this magnificent city.

Throughout China, people were very warm and welcoming to us.  A beautiful experience.

Flying back to Toronto from Hong Kong took 14 hours nonstop, breaking our record set five years ago on a flight home from New Zealand.  We are fortunate to still travel quite at ease.

*******

“The Washington Post”                   October 5, 2017

“Earth has entered a new era, Smithsonian book warns”

“As never before, People are becoming urban dwellers.

A new publication “Living in the Anthropocene” contains more than 30 essays by experts in disparate fields affected by climate change.

Coincidentally this review leads with an example in China, the community of Shenzhen.  When John Kres, a veteran Smithsonian Institution scientist …recalls that when he encountered the southeast Chinese community decades ago, “it was a village of 30,000 people and today has 15 million inhabitants.”

We did not visit that particular Chinese city, though we did visit Beijing and Shanghai in which the population exceeded 20 million.

“The Baltimore Sun”                    October 1, 2017

“Critters crossed ocean on (Japan’s) tsunami debris”

…and from one of China’s neighboring nations

REFLECTIONS ON OUR UNIVERSE

We are reveling in the stars at night.  During our three weeks in China we saw none.

***

The Washington Post                                    October 4, 2017

“3 Americans win Nobel Prize in physics”

Professors are part if LIGO team that detected gravitational waves

“Albert Einstein predicted in his 1915 general theory of relativity that distortions in gravity would travel through space-time like a shock wave.  It took nearly a century to confirm that these distortions exist.”

Another Einstein quotation that has hung on my home office wall for many years:

 “I want to know god’s thoughts.  The rest is details.”

It helps me to remain peaceful when I recall these words as I go about my days, particularly in these turbulent times.

“Pools of sorrow, waves of joy

Are drifting through my open mind

Possessing and caressing me

Across the Universe

~Lennon and McCartney

Be well and love life.

~ Liz