This world of ours. It sure can be a mixed bag. From the very highest highs, to the very lowest lows. From the Redwood Forest….. to the gulf stream waters… I’ll tell you.
Yes, this world. It is so full of goodness and beauty. Blessings abound. Some of my favorite things are too many to count sometimes. I am thankful for the authentically kind, and loving people in my life. The champions of the good. The protectors of the white light. The everyday heroes. I know a LOT of them. I do. My partner is one of them. Friends. Family. That makes… lucky me.
I am lucky to know a lot of things… wide and far. From snappy health to playdough in those little tubs. From very good dogs to comics, like The Far Side. From chicken & noodles to juggling balls. Oh… we could dance all night.
And the list of “Blessings” depends on the person, I suppose. We all have different likes. We all have different heart songs.
But, with all the good… there is also a lot of bad. I seem to be noticing a lot of the bad lately.
I have a personal set of morals. Of values. Beliefs. One of my strongest convictions is that “All People Are Created Equal.” Thankfully, I live in the United States, and this is in the first line of our Declaration of Independence. So in theory, this lines up nicely for me.
Unfortunately, not all people share my standards of life. Some people believe they are better than others… because of their race, or religion, or sexual orientation. I simply don’t understand this. It just doesn’t compute.
The reason I started this line of thought was a “Social Media” thing. My Cousin John Kronenberger, posted a “fun thing” about how many tattoos and piercings and marriages you have… and such. You know… one of those Facebook Quizzes. Sort of.
I responded with my totals. Tattoo: One.
I didn’t get it until 4 months ago… or so. It is a little Red Dot. Why you ask? Well…. there is a lot that goes into the point that I finally got it. I even asked some friends on vacation to get one with me. To commemorate our trip. But I’ve never told anyone WHY I wanted that little red dot. Until now.
It stems from a time when I was pretty young, and we went someplace… like an amusement park. We found one of those really big maps… with all the attractions of the park… laid right out before us. The map seemed four times my size… and it was packed with so many things. I just remember feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the map. … … which meant the park was EVEN bigger. The family chattered and pointed and talked about what to do, and go, and see…. it was all busy and big. And then my Dad leaned over and said…. “You see that little red dot. That’s you. It says… “You Are Here.”
I am here.
I am here.
Those are words I must ALWAYS remember… NEVER to forget.
And I will remind you of those same words too. About me. And about you.
They apply to us all. We are all here. We ALL matter. WE the PEOPLE. Each one of us ARE HERE. That’s my tattoo. My little red dot.
My love to you all.
Oh…. and…..please remember….. I am here.
“It takes no compromise to give people their rights…it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.” —Harvey Milk