“Every person’s life is worth a movie”

Good morning, friends. Last weekend I attended a film festival premiere for a movie I believe everyone should see; not because I think it’s going to win an Oscar or because it has famous people in it. If the Oscar is awarded it will be because these story tellers managed to convey real people, who changed history, in ways that make viewers want to do the same. And as for the famous people in it... folks like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are portrayed, not as super heroes, but as men and women with their own fears and foibles. 

The name of the movie is “Freedom Riders” and I feel blessed that, along with the excellent director, Stanley Nelson, I was also introduced to the author, the producer, and one of the original Freedom Riders. You might wonder, "What has this to do with Amazon Sage?" As you may rcall, it is Amazon Sage who sees the suffering in the world and reaches out to people through her dream-travels. This past Saturday night was no exception. As she traveled to current places of greatest need; she listened to the hearts and minds of other brave folks who struggle for the rights of all people. 

For most, their journey to freedom is not so eloquently presented and their wounds are not always so visible. Like young Yasmine, in Egypt; or Autumn Two Bulls on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. They too suffer in their efforts to rid the world of the poisons of discrimination and hatred. How ironic that people of other nations are becoming more out spoken than ever --with some even looking at what is happening in Egypt as reminiscent of MLK’s nonviolence -- even as men in our own blessed country spew their venom over the airwaves. Look around, listen, read, then act from your most loving heart. Every person’s life is worth a story. 

What will yours be?  

“Alcohol isn’t the only dangerous drink kids are using!”

Good morning, friends. Did you know that energy drinks are packing more than a punch for many kids? According to an article in World News, “Energy drinks are under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for children and teens....” The medical journal Pediatrics reports that the potential harms include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even sudden death.  Wow! Who would’ve thought something so easy for kids to get would be so dangerous!

Amazon Sage travelled to the home of a 16 year old who was consuming energy drinks in order to finish an important project for school. Not paying attention to how much she was drinking, she had no idea that her life was in danger. Suddenly, her whole body froze up and straightened out like a corpse. As she lost consciousness she fell over with such force that she struck her head on a chair and began to bleed. Then she began to violently shake. Had it not been for Amazon Sage calling 911, this girl might have died on the spot.

Sometimes, by speaking out, it is our closest friends’ lives we may be saving or even our own. So spread the word about these products before anybody else has to die.  We already know how stupid it is to drink alcohol. Now, add energy drinks to the list. They are not fun. They are not cool. They are not a cheap high. They can contort your body into really horrible positions and they can kill you! Clearly, adults don’t always know how dangerous these things are. “Really?” Lol! Wake up everybody, time to save the world.

“Frozen to death in their own home”

Yesterday, one of my FaceBook friend wrote these words,  “My cousins froze to death last night.” I could scarcely believe what I was reading yet I knew it was true. I wondered, "How could this happen in our country? We have always prided ourselves on being one of the wealthiest and most humanitarian places in the world. How could this happen?” The words kept repeating in my mind. Is it because these people are Native American? Is it because they could not afford to pay their electric bill? Is that what a life is worth these days? The cost of an unpaid bill?"

As I drifted off to sleep, these concerns swirled around me, beckoning Amazon Sage to explore the circumstances in which this tragedy occured. What she discovered is that this sad state of affairs has been going on for a very long time, but unfortunately, most Americans are unaware of or maybe immunized against, the real living conditions of  our Native brothers and sisters. What compounds the problem is the misperception of those who might care, that our first Americans have it made, with casino money flowing in. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There are over 500 officially recognized tribes existing in the USA, but less than half have casinos. Of those with casinos, only a handful of them are on land close enough to population centers to make them profitable. In the tribal world of 2011, there is rampant poverty, serious health concerns, and youth suicide. With what was once called Indian Territory located in some of the worst land imaginable, eking out a living has always beed hard. Add to this our recent harsh weather and you can begin to see the problem. 

Fortunately, we can help. Alert friends and family who probably don’t know that there is a problem and tell them our forefathers still exist...  and they need all of our help... just as much as Haiti or Libya. Write to your legislators and to President Obama. Let everybody know that you support their efforts to improve conditions on Indian reservations. In the United States of America, in 2011, nobody should be freezing to death. 

“Find your Passion and Live Life!”

Good morning, friends. Two videos came through my FB page recently that vividly illustrate the lives of ordinary people. Both represent the lives of millions. Both are about what humans do everyday to stay alive. But beyond that, they couldn’t be more different. They remind me of a recent commercial that has only two words:”This or that?”  As I was falling asleep, I couldn’t get these images out of my mind. My doppleganger took it from there. (FYI,  a doppleganger is an aspect of ourselves that we ordinarily do not exhibit.) My doppleganger is Amazon Sage.

As I dreamed, Amazon Sage took me to places in the world most of us have never heard of.  She saw the human spirit at its finest... even when faced with unbelievable hardship. These were not the faces of people following large scale natural disasters. These were the faces and bodies of people doing what must be done in order to survive and take care of those they love. A friend remarked that these people were all poor and if compared by a western yardstick of material wealth, that could be said. 

However, these were not the faces of people who are desperate, suffering, or disadvantaged -- although they certainly have those experiences. These people’s faces reflect something few wealthy westerners understand; fierce passion and pride at accomplishing what must be done to continue to exist. It is sad that the closest many in this country ever get to feeling this is through a vacuous worship of sport teams or the fire-fed anger at those who are different. So which will it be, my friends? This?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3e9rc1PueI&NR=1 

or That?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HiUMlOz4UQ&feature=player_embedded

“Shaken in Christ’s Church”

Good morning. Last night as we slept soundly in our beds, people on the other side of the globe were jolted from their day with the words “Earthquake!” A 6.3 shaker struck Christchurch, New Zealand, sending people clamoring into the streets in search of safety. Numbers of people buried under rubble are still unknown and families cry out for their lost ones. Unbeknownst to me, Amazon Sage was already on the job at the first ominous sound of the earth’s parting. There, she gathered with friends of friends, offering comfort in the bedlam, causing my sweet dream of fluff to vanish in an instant. 

It’s an amazing thing to witness an earthquake, even a tiny one. I know, having lived on the west coast of the USA for a number of years. Once while in Washington State, I was sitting on the bed talking with a friend when it began to wiggle. It was as if someone were purposefully shaking it and that is exactly what I thought. Gently, I chastised the person sitting next to me. However, when I turned and saw her expression of shock, I knew then, “We’re in an earthquake!” In that moment, one would hope that our first reaction would be to follow the instructions we have so often heard; get outside or at least in a doorway. In truth, it took almost a minute before the surprise lifted enough for us to take action.

Another time, in another place, I awoke to rough room vibrations and was nervous until I realized it was only the washing machine doing it’s vibratory dance with someone’s uneven load of clothes. I chuckled the next morning as I shared the “fake earthquake” with my housemates. Funny thing is, they weren’t laughing. It seems we had no washing machine in the house. There have always been natural disasters and to the extent we are able, people try to prepare for them.Way back in the 1950s, school kids even practiced “duck and cover” when the threat of a nuclear attack was a grave possibility. In Kansas, kids were taught to go down into a cellar to avoid the destructive path of a tornado, while in Florida, kids learned to remove fly-away items from their yard in advance of a hurricane. 

So here’s today’s question: “In your own life, what do you need to prepare for in the event of an emergency?”

“Absent but not gone...”

Good morning, friends. A few nights ago a TV cop show had an episode in which a young boy returned home after a sleep-over to discover everything gone; all the furniture, dishes, clothing, and not the least of which was his parents. Police were called only after a neighbor complained that the kid was beating on the walls with his baseball bat. Later, on the local news, the episode was followed up with a story of a real kid whose parents abandoned him this way.  What’s wrong with this picture?

Last night in my dreams, Amazon Sage travelled to the bedside of the real boy whose parents abandoned him.  I can’t say she travelled to his home since his foster placement is still quite temporary and he feels anything but “at home.” His eyes stung from tears of hurt and rage. “How could my parents do this to me?” he whispers in a voice rough with emotion. “Now, I’m being treated like a criminal and I never did anything wrong in my life. If anything, I tried too hard to make their lives better after they had too much to drink or when my dad lost his job....”

She sees the clues and wants to reassure this boy that his parents are the real criminals. She wants to tell him that he’ll be okay, his life is not ruined due to their abandonment. Unfortunately, she’d be lying because what we do not know is that his parents abandoned him long before the day he returned to an empty house. We don’t need x-ray vision to see what his life may look like a few years from now, after being passed from one foster home to another; learning the hard way about the underside of life. This kid’s rage and hurt will not go away without some serious loving help. Now here’s the kicker; there are literally millions of kids at risk due to a different kind of abandonment by their parents. They may not have physically moved out, but they’ve certainly “checked out” where their kids are concerned.  

Parents who abandon their kids while still living at home will use every excuse in the book to explain away their nightly drinking, pot smoking, never-ending work day, or excessive internet use. Of course, they’ll never admit they are addicted to any of them but you know what I’m talking about. You have something important to tell them and blurt out your excitement, only to get a response that is so lame you know they are not really listening.  Maybe it’s the silently moving curser on their computer that gives them away. Maybe it’s the fixed-eyebrow raise and stupid grin that does it. Did you know that some parents don’t even pretend to listen? They don’t even issue a grunt of acknowledgement that you exist. Ouch!

You’ve heard all their excuses. Know how I know? It’s because over time, you’ve learned to use those same tired lies to fend off your little brother or sister. So hear this: Unless you stop this cycle now, your future kids will feel just as abandoned as you. So stop drawing pictures of the dark side and thinking about killing yourself. You can do something about this. Encourage, no insist, that your parents open their eyes and look around to see what they’re missing; a wonderful, smart person who’s made from their genetics! Hopefully, they’ll get it (you!) before it’s too late. Wake up, wake up, wake up....

“Serious as a heart attack”

Good morning, friends. Ever hear of the phrase “serious as a heart attack”?  I thought so. But seriously, you cannot guess what I just found out about strokes and kids! According to researchers at the 2011 American Stroke Association’s International Conference  “a stroke is to the brain what a heart attack is to the heart: part of the organ dies... [and there’s been] a marked increase in the rate of stroke in children ages five to 14.” 

Being the proverbial champion of young people and their loved ones, Amazon Sage dream-travelled to the conference to learn more. Most importantly, she wanted to know why this adult disease has started attacking children and teens? The results are disturbing. In truth, doctors don’t know exactly why, but they have some pretty good ideas and what they know does not bode well for an entire generation of kids. 

Here it is: When someone has a stroke, depending upon what part of the brain is affected, the functions controlled by that part die; they’re gone,  kaput! It could be your ability to speak, walk, or even have relationships with other people. All gone in an instant. What are the biggest culprits? Fast foods, snacks, and sitting around texting or playing computer games! Think about it. How often do you snack while you’re online? How often do you jog while you’re texting? If the answer to #1 is "a lot” and the answer to #2 is “not” then you are living in  dangerous territory. 

Besides strokes, did you know that diabetes has also  reached record high numbers in young people... not the old fashioned juvenile diabetes type, but the adult onset type that can make you blind and cause you to have your limbs amputated, one toe at a time! 

So what to do? If you do not want to ignore your social networking duties., start a new fad and help save a life... or many. The first life you save will be your own. Instead of the same old texts: “S’up?” or “OMG” and other inane comments, dare yourself to be different. See how many ways you can move your body in between texts and shoot a short video to prove you're doing it; also, munch on carrots or apples instead of fries and chips; have a wii party where everybody tries to beat their own personal best; see fried foods for what they are, killers. Be the hero you were meant to be. Amazon Sage is doing her part. Now it’s your turn.