H is for Home

I arrived home from the Holy Lands almost two weeks ago. The time zone change and jet lag thing really wasn't that bad either direction. Both times we were flying through the night, so even dozing, if not sleeping, on the plane allowed for staying awake until a normal bedtime in the new time zone. By the second night in either location I was feeling oriented with meals and sleep cycles.

Coming home was harder on my stomach. Two weeks as a pilgrim in the Middle East was a good detoxifying process for my digestive system and mental habits around food and beverage. It was two weeks filled with maximum water consumption, mostly fruits and vegetables, moderate amounts of chicken, beef, and lamb, zero alcohol, and very few sweets. That diet combined with a large amount of HOT weather hiking, a lot of walking, and a healthy sleep schedule truly did this body good.

So part of my re-entry has been to intentionally cling to some of those disciplines rather than immediately sliding into my less healthy habits of my home. It's been a struggle, but I'm adjusting.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about how my heart and brain have been transformed by my pilgrimage. I learned so much about history, culture, religion, politics, and spirituality. It truly is difficult to wrap my brain about it all, and to discern what I'm called to do with the knowledge and passion within me.

Knowing that my readers are a mixed audience of non-spiritual folks and religious practitioners, I think I will continue to keep most of my reflections to myself. I am happy to share with each of you on a more personal level if invited. I have decided that I will get on my political soap box. So either brace yourself for a lecture on global citizenship, or cease reading at this point so I don't make you feel angry or guilty. If you choose to read on anyway, please remember that this is my passion and my hope. But also remember that I carry guilt about what follows, too. My response is to do better and invite others to consider the same.

It has struck me that in general the USA's electorate is apathetic and uninformed. Often we are misinformed if we actually believe all the propaganda spewed in political and campaign advertising. I have learned that our media, the "free" press, that we Americans cling to so fiercely, is still a far more biased press than that which we might suspect or even admit. I didn't accept this statement when it was spoken to me at first. Then I began the research for myself.

If you read an Associated Press story filed by the same writer in a paper published in Israel, compared with the same story in the BBC, and then in the US, you will read three different slants. Editors mess with the story to offer the point of view they want to promote with their publication. If you don't read papers, then take time to compare CNN as aired on the BBC compared with the US version. We citizens of the Global Superpower are being fed, not all the facts, but scrubbed news. I don't know about you, but that simply pisses me off.

The other point I would like to make is that, in general, we take our right to vote for granted. The first time I traveled to Europe in October of 1985 the US became embroiled in the Achille Lauro incident in the Mediterranean Sea. The US Department of State sent travel advisories all over the world encouraging US citizens to guard our passports with great caution, and to pass ourselves off as Canadian so as not to attract the unwanted attention of Palestinian terrorists. It was fascinating to hear what citizens of other nations thought of Americans. Some admired our power, our military, and our freedom. Others despised our arrogance, our pushiness, and our disregard for our affect on the rest of the world.

It has been said that when the USA sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold.

Having traveled to Palestine /Israel 25 years after my first international travel experience I was struck by the similarities. I have always maintained that humans don't evolve very quickly. But you would think that in this global age of instant news we would at least be better at getting along with, rather than bossing around others. The discontent in the Middle East is fueled by millions of US dollars pumped into that region annually to prop up an Israeli military out of loyalty to an historical ally, and as a result of a an extremely powerful and lucrative congressional lobby in the good old USA.

It isn't your average Israeli or Jew that's the problem. It isn't your average Arab or Palestinian that's the problem. It isn't the average US citizen that's the problem, regardless of who the President is or isn't. It's that we all collectively tolerate fundamental extremism within our respective borders, be it religious or military or both, and we forget that most human beings simply desire peace, food, dignity, shelter, respect, clothing, and safety.

My commitment in this transformation I am experiencing is to be an informed, issue-oriented voter who will remember that my vote isn't just about me and what I want as a Minnesotan living in the USA. I will do my best to remember my new friends in the Middle East, especially the Arab/Palestinian/Christian/Episcopal ones, and will vote as a Global Citizen. My relative comfort, safety, and affluence demand that I be an informed and responsible voter, not a narcissistic and uninformed one.

Would you consider joining me?

P.S. Obama is NOT a Muslim.

P.P.S. Not that it really matters anyway!

(Photos from top to bottom: Sunrise over the Dead Sea, Bedouin Camel in Judean Desert, Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Faithful Muslims at the Mosque)

P is for Pilgrimage

Saturday morning I depart for Part I of my three part journey to The Holy Lands.

Yes, I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to Israel/Palestine with a group of young pilgrims of The Episcopal Church for two weeks. There will be a total of 45 of traveling in the footsteps of Jesus, mostly by bus. . . .

But it's hot and we only have two weeks, so I am thankful for the bus and airplanes that Jesus didn't have at his disposal. Anyway, Part I is a morning flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I will be collected by my good friend and colleague, Abi. We'll have lunch with our pal Mary Cat and then head to Kanuga Camp and Conference Center, trip organizer and sponsor. There we will meet all kinds of friends and colleagues to engage our final trip preparation and orientation. We will worship together and begin Part II of the journey as we go back to Charlotte and fly to Philadelphia. Part III is a long over-night flight from Philly to Tel-Aviv. We land in Israel Monday morning - there is an eight hour time difference from my home zone of CDT.

I AM SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

As with all long trips and tours we have a plan that is subject to change. Our hopeful plan of pilgrimage includes the following locations, not necessarily in the order listed:

• Jerusalem - staying at St. George's College Guest House - tour Damascus Gate
• Mt. Scopus, Mount of Olives, City of David, King Hezekiah's Tunnel, Pool of Siloam
• Old City - Shrine of the Book (Dead Sea Scrolls), Rampart
• Bethlehem - Church of the Nativity (Oldest Church of Christendom), Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Peace Center to meet with Palestinian Youth

• Western Wall, Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne's Church
• Ramallah - St. Andrew's Guest House
• Village of Ein Arik - Palestinian Cultural Learning, Orthodox Church (Icons) Ancient Cisterns
• Judean Desert - Old Roman Road, Monastery of the Temptation
• Jordan Valley - Jericho, Nazareth, Mary's Well, Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation and Latin Church of the Annunciation (traditional sites of Angel Gabriel visiting Mary)
• Shefa Amr - Sepphoris/Zippori
• Jordan River - Gamla, Golan Heights
• Sea of Galilee - Church of the Multiplication (Feeding of the Five Thousand), Capernum (Synagogue), Mt. Beatitutde and Mt. Eremos, Kibbutz Ginnossar
• Masada (Herod's Palace)
• Qumran (where Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), Dead Sea
• Bethany - church overlooking Lazarus, Martha and Mary's house
• Palm Sunday Road to Garden of Gethsemane
• Stations of the Cross from Emmaus - Via Dolorosa
• Home

I encourage those of you interested to Google the terms and location names above to learn more about where we get to go. I didn't create links for you because my dial-up connection would be overwhelmed trying to upload so many links when I publish this post.

I expect to be completely off the grid for these next two weeks. I will attempt to post a picture and reflection for the day if I have easy access to the Internet. I will be keeping my own journal that I may attempt to share upon my return - we'll see. One of my fellow pilgrims plans to blog the trip. She is a young adult on the staff at Kanuga. I haven't met Jessica Bodford yet, but her pre-pilgrimage posts on Into The Holy Land have been entertaining and helpful. She sounds as chatty as me, so make sure you have the time when you click over to her blog :)

Many of my readers are Christian believers, but several are not. Part of my thrill in making this pilgrimage is that we will be learning about all three Abrahamic faiths and visiting Holy sites that represent several faiths and their commonalities. There is hopefulness for peace in the Middle East if more people can find ways to respectfully acknowledge cultural and religious differences. So many horrible things have happened over the course of human history in the name of various religions. I'm thankful to have this opportunity to be on a Peaceful Pilgrimage rather than a Christian Crusade.

For my non-religious readers, both family and friends, I invite you to embrace the amazing and ancient aspects of the region in terms of cultural anthropology and human history. For my Christian companions, in addition to the aforementioned, imagine the mystery. I know that all of you will send prayers and wishes for safe travel as I will hold all of you in my prayers.

I pledge to carry each of you with me on my journey; in my heart and with my prayers.

Prayers before setting out on a pilgrimage

(I Googled and pulled this from another Episcopal Pilgrim's Blog :)

God of the guiding star, the bush that blazes

Show us your way

God of the stormy seas, the bread that nourishes

Teach us your truth

God of the still, small voice, the wind that blows where it chooses

Fill us with life

God of the elements, of our inward and outward journeys

Set our feet on your road today.

May God bless us with a safe journey

May the angels and saints travel with us

May we live this day with justice and joy.

Amen.

D is for Dimethylpolysiloxane

I was having a perfectly lovely evening enjoying my gardens . . . . a little random weeding amongst the petunias and oregano here, some watering of the pinks and mums there . . . .

I harvested some delicious Kentucky Blue Pole Beans, a zucchini, three Cayenne peppers, yellow and red carrots, and one ripe tomato from the vegetable garden. I peeked at an ear of sweet corn and am hopeful that I can enjoy one meal of homegrown sweet corn before I leave for the Holy Lands for two weeks.

The sunset was gorgeous, and at this time of year peaks through the western woods on our property, right past the old goat shed and just behind the beans and sunflowers. Mosquitoes weren't too bad . . .

So I came inside, pleased and proud of my modestly green thumb, plotting for tomorrow night in the hopes that I can convene a family dinner. I started digging around in the freezer to see what might complement the fresh veggies I anticipate preparing tomorrow night when I tripped across the whole chicken in a bag (Gold'n Plump, Bake It Easy, Seasoned Whole Chicken). I was compelled to read the ingredients list. Last time we ate one of these I didn't feel so well after the fact, and I attributed my digestive distress to the likelihood that the processed chicken probably contained MSG (Monosodiumglutamate).

Background information (TMI WARNING - skip this paragraph if you'd rather not hear about it): I am not allergic to MSG, but my central nervous system rejects MSG and Aspartame. I have a pretty immediate puke or diarrhea response to high levels of either of these common ingredients in processed foods. Thus my preference for non-diet soft drinks. Unfortunately, I also have the same response to raw raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, kiwi fruit, mangoes, and acai berries. There is a spectrum of response; suffice it to say that I have come to an understanding that when any of these ingredients are present, especially in volume, they may cause my central nervous system to go on full TOXIN ALERT and purge the contents as efficiently as possible.

SO, as I read the ingredient list, which seemed ridiculously complex for a whole chicken, I tripped across a new word; Dimethylpolysiloxane.

"What the hell is that?" I wondered aloud. My husband had never heard of it. You know what I did.

Google, help! As I read the WikiEntry (linked here) I learned that I've been in contact with this substance annually for years when Santa delivered Silly Putty to my stocking each Christmas. And it makes sense that it helps my friend with a Boob job, I guess. This may also explain why I've never been a fan of Chicken McNuggets. I don't know if this is the culprit, because MSG is not on the list, but I am certainly suspicious!

Does my chicken with breasts really need silicone implanted before I bake it and eat it?!?!

Good grief!

(I would have said "YUCK!" but my grandmother taught me that "a polite no thank you will do.")

I think I'll thaw a venison loin and eat something less infused with crap when I enjoy all the fresh vegetables, grown organically in my little vegetable garden.

BTW - I did squish all the cabbage worms I was able to locate on the broccoli and cabbage. But that's a story for another day!