Sorting the trash

When putting out my trash, I noticed a few bags of mine had been rejected--improperly sorted. Then I noticed how many other people's trash was also languishing in rejection. My town is infamous for its complicated recycling system. It's excellent for the environment on the one hand, but difficult to understand on the other. Many people just ignore it and throw everything in the non-burnables.

ONE GOOD DEED: Sort the rejected trash of my neighbors into its proper bags.

Poetry for a person in need

I love when the good deed finds you. I was sitting here wondering what in the world I could do for today's deed. While thinking, I replied to a person on an email list. When I hit "send," I realized I'd just done my deed. The person had said she was having a rough time, and asked for prayers and poems suitable from a pantheist perspective. I searched my notebooks and sent a few that might fit.

ONE GOOD DEED: Respond to person's request for inspiring pantheist poetry

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Here are the poems I sent:


Simile of the Open Queen

This Earth may be compared to a queen who declared her body's love open to all. She sent her animals to call those who had been invited to her bed, but none would come. Again, she sent her servants, saying, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my bed with green leaves, I have lined my eyes with dew, sweetened my breath with sea salt, and decorated my dark skin with sprouting things."

Then nine came to call upon the Earth. Of the nine, one neglected her while another took her roughly. A third took her weight and measure, and a fourth sang of her from afar. The fifth and sixth fought over her. The seventh cut the locks of her hair. The eighth made her lie down to be walked upon as a carpet. And the ninth made poetry and went away.

For the Earth has many callers, but few lovers. The nine left her tired, worn out, bitten, and bedraggled. Yet the servants are still spreading her promise: "Look, I have prepared my bed for all. Come. None shall I refuse."



The Earth! So Great (to the tune of Amazing Grace)

The earth! so great, so wide to roam,
That bore a bum like me!
I wandered lost, but now am home
Wherever I may be.

'Twas earth that bruised my tender feet,
And earth that humbled me,
I crawled, then ran, then took my seat
Beneath the ancient tree.

Through desert's fire and ocean's hail,
And dens of wild beasts,
I've passed and lived to tell the tale:
How green the earth can be!

And when these stony feet shall fail,
And earth embraces me,
Then other feet shall roam the pale,
And climb that ancient tree!

The earth! so great, so wide to roam,
That bore a bum like me!
I wandered lost, but now am home
Wherever I may be.



Lectio Divina Natura

The air is dark and dark and goodly so:
The more a subtle sense to open. Hush--!
A log is kicked, it fumble-tumbles slow
O'er withered leaves that crackle crisp and flush
For but a moment... then begins to blush
A spacious silence... next, a rising hum...
And last a voice as from the underbrush
Enrhythms, like to whisper something-some,
You can't quite tell, but all the world is in its drum.



Haiku Collection: Crows in Winter

When winter descends
The somber-veteraned crows
Do not fear the cold

Undisturbed by gust
Nor gale, the well-entrenched crows
Stare down the north wind

While thirsty birds wail
For winter's cruel frozen joke
The crows drink the snow

When others quiver
And curse, the crows swish and swoop
Without a shiver

Hopping and cackling
For a winter breadcrumb's joy
Like a royal feast

In dead of winter
When all else is white as bones
Still the crows are black

Perching on ice-sheets
The crows hold silent vigil
For the coming thaw

Raising awareness of charities

I posted more charities to the polytheist charity google group today. They're oldies but goodies:

Broadway Cares - mission is to utilize the unique abilities of entertainment industry to raise awareness for and fight HIV/AIDS. Efforts address both actors with HIV/AIDS and all those suffering from the disease.
Amnesty International USA - action for human rights, hope for humanity.
Save Darfur Coalition - acting to end the atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan.

ONE GOOD DEED: Raise awareness for charities through an email group.

A special thank you

Today I sent an email to one of my dad's friends. She is one of the few people in his life willing to tell the truth to his face, whether he likes it or not. With his current problems--and denial of problems--my only comfort is that he has a friend like that. We all need those friends, annoying as they may be. But some people, when they become dangers to themselves and others, really need those friends.

ONE GOOD DEED: Write a heart-felt thank you to a family friend for being straight up with my dad.

Working late

Today was the first day of a new series of English lessons for the culture club at a junior high school. The students said they wanted to learn more English, so their teacher asked me if I would do it. I said of course I would! Like most foreign English teachers in Japan I am under-utilized, and have a lot of time on my hands. So I was happy to be asked to do more. But this commitment goes beyond normal working hours, strictly volunteer. My supervisor even made it very clear to me that if I got injured during that time, I would not be covered by work insurance. That is total bumpkiss, because all the Japanese teachers work late. But that's the crazy system they have here. So long story short I said yes, and gave my first lesson today. The students and I had a blast giving directions in English to blindfolded friends who had to find their way to the "hospital" (a picture on the floor).

ONE GOOD DEED: Stay late to teach more English on a volunteer basis.

Complements to a teacher

Today I went to an elementary second grade class. I only get to visit that class five times a year, and there's something I've been meaning to say to that teacher for a while: he has excellent communication skills with his kids. Unlike so many that talk to kids like their masters, he talks to them like an older brother. He was grateful for the complement.

ONE GOOD DEED: Complement a teacher on his excellent communication skills.

Prayer following the inauguration

At This Significant Moment
(To These Five Things I Give Honor)

At this significant moment,
When frost hardens the furrows,
Granaries are all but empty,
And sons and daughters tarry beyond the hill in arms,

At this significant moment,
When the snowy field is surveyed by a new worker,
An unprecedented hand grips the plow,
And seeds of change shake in the basket,

At this significant moment,
When weight shifts anxiously from foot to foot,
Ruddy cheeks shiver,
And lips blow on knuckles like dice for good luck,

Let me in my way give honor to five things.

First, to Justice:
That wrongs past and wrongs current be set right,
That all may share fairly and equally in the harvest,
And that poor policies may be like nourishing soil for better ones,

Second, to Prudence:
That this new sower may judge wisely the stars for planting,
That we may hold no unrealistic expectations,
Nor make a savior of the man.

Third, to Fortune:
That the new crop may not bring mere change,
But that it may be change for the better,
And change for the best.

Fourth, to War:
That frenzied wrath may calm,
That enemies may be reconciled,
And that no death may be in vain.

Fifth, to Peace:
That whatever road be taken,
Our sons and daughters may follow it home one day soon,
And by the same road too may fare the safety of all the world's citizens.

At this significant moment,
As the new worker opens the door of the shed,
To these five things I give honor,
And we shall have these, the right tools for the job.

At this significant moment,
As the yoke is placed on the oxen,
To these five things I give honor,
And they will haul us through the difficult ground.

At this significant moment,
As my brow raises to the horizon,
To these five things I give honor,
And my hands know their role in the season of planting.