SPIRIT IN MATTERS:  Taking a Higher View of Life on Earth
By Dianne Eppler Adams

Vol. 1, No 11 – Dec 4, 2003

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
...Ours is an interconnected, interdependent, sacred world.
...All relationships – personal, communal, national, global – are equal and best approached with fairness, respect, honesty, and compassion.
...Darkness is overcome, not by avoidance, but through shining the light of awareness on it and choosing otherwise.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT...

     A good deed is its own reward

This old adage never really made sense to me until recently.  Frankly, it seemed to me that people should notice the nice things I do.  Why hadn’t I been praised for doing what I felt at the time was such a noble action?

We are accustomed to looking for a return or reward for work given.  That’s called a paycheck.  We teach our children to say “thank you” when someone serves them.  That’s good manners.  But do we stop serving them if they fail to say “thank you?”

There is a natural expectation that if you give you will receive something in exchange whether it is money, praise or a pat on the back.  But should that expectation of return determine what and when we will give?

I have come to realize that, though external reward is nice, it is the internal good feelings of having done what seemed right and meaningful that provides the fuel to continue giving.

That must have been the fuel that drove many now famous people who found little or no recognition for their accomplishments in their lifetime.  Isn’t it funny how people often have to die before they are praised for their accomplishments?

Susan B. Anthony, the tireless campaigner for women’s voting rights, I learned recently, never lived to enjoy the results of her work.  It took 75 years of struggle before the 21st Amendment was ratified.  She died before she was able to vote.  What if she had decided that her actions weren’t worth doing unless she got tangible results?

A recent movie – Pay It Forward – popularized the idea of doing random acts of kindness anonymously.  If you are living your life from the inside out (self-directed), rather than from the outside in (other dependent), you will naturally understand that… “A good deed is its own reward.”

(Your comments are always welcome at SpiritInMatters@aol.com.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Soul" is found in the quality of what I am doing---"nourishing the
soul" means making sure I attend to those things that give my life
richness and depth of meaning.

---Robert Fulghum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR DIANNE SPEAK…

2004 through Astrological Glasses – The Year Ahead
Tuesday, Dec 16, 7 PM at The Local, 201 King St, 2nd Flr, Old Town Alexandria, VA, free to members, non-members $25. Call (703) 518-8130.

What may be ahead next year?  More conflict and war?  Will the economy improve?  What about the election?  Clues will be given for us personally and as a nation to understand the currents unfolding in 2004.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION...

Iran: The Liberation Won't Come from America, but from Women
Martine Gozlan - Paris’ Marianne
http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/1685.cfm
[Dianne:  It’s been said….never underestimate the power of women.]

The Iranian regime has agreed to play the transparency game on the nuclear issue, but at the same time is increasing its pressure on Iranian society. The ayatollahs have been bolstered by American threats, but soon they’ll have to deal with a tidal wave: women demanding their rights.


A New Kind Of Poverty
Anna Quindlen - Newsweek
Monday 01 December 2003
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/120103F.shtml
[Dianne:  We need to realize that in “the land of plenty” it is no longer just the  lazy who are needy, but even full-time workers can be earning below the poverty line.]

America is a country that now sits atop the precarious latticework of myth. It is the myth that work provides rewards, that working people can support their families. It’s a myth that has become so divorced from reality that it might as well begin with the words “Once upon a time.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1.6 million New Yorkers, or the equivalent of the population of Philadelphia, suffer from “food insecurity,” which is a fancy way of saying they don’t have enough to eat.


All is One
Video clip from The Foundation for Global Community
http://www.globalcommunity.org/index_yo.html
[Dianne:  You’ve got to see this one! It's a hoot!]


Food as Corporate WMD
November 27, 2003 Celebrating Thanksgiving 2003
By AL KREBS, The Agribusiness Examiner
http://www.counterpunch.org/krebs11272003.html
[Dianne:  Food quality is my greatest concern – what grade of fuel is powering our body?]

Food, next to life itself, has become our greatest common denominator. Its availability, quality, price, its reflection of the culture it feeds and its moral and religious significance make it quite literally history's "staff of life."
Today, in the never-ending worldwide struggle to determine who will control its production, quality and accessibility, food is no longer viewed first and foremost as a sustainer of life. Rather, to those who seek to command and control our food supply it has become instead a major source of corporate cash flow, economic leverage, a form of currency, a tool of international politics, an instrument of power --- a weapon!


Checkpoint Entertainer
Nawaf Amer - Jerusalem’s Al-Quds.
http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/1682.cfm
[Dianne:  Wonderful story…read whole article of how laughter can lighten even the worst of circumstances!]

The old woman held her stomach, helpless with laughter, despite the fact that she was ill and had been standing at the checkpoint for hours. Her fit was brought on by Mohammed Faqih, a Bethlehem resident who travels around the West Bank and impersonates Arab, Israeli, and world leaders to entertain people waiting to cross checkpoints.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."

---Thomas Jefferson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you enjoy this newsletter, pass it on to others so they can enjoy it as well. To subscribe, send an email to sim-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
©2003 Spirit in Matters: Taking a Higher View of Life on Earth.   All rights reserved.  Permission is granted for reproduction or redistribution of the complete e-newsletter issue only, provided this statement is included.