October 19, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

The Heart of Mother Earth

At the heart of the landscape of Mother Earth, there is a feeling of belonging. Belonging is the basic truth of our existence. We belong here. Life belongs here. At the heart of gratefulness we also find an expression of belonging. When we say “Thank you” we really are saying “We belong together.” Many people don’t want to be connected or interdependent. Many of us don’t want to be obliged.

In a healthy society that is exactly what we seek: mutual obligations. Everyone is obliged to everyone and everything else, we all belong together, we are of each other. In this awareness we are freed from self’preoccupation—and only then, emptied of self, can we be filled with thanks.

” Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise—then you will discover the fullness of your life.” —Brother David Steindl-Rast

Within this human impulse to gratitude flows the vast cycles of universal reciprocity—for everything that is taken, something has to be given in return. You can’t merely breath in, or only breath out. Death would find you. Life is not giving or taking, but it is giving and taking.

Universal Belonging

We give away our thanks to the earth

which gives us our home.

We give away our thanks to the rivers and lakes

which give away their water.

We give away our thanks to the trees

which give away fruit and nuts…

All beings on earth, the trees, the animals, the wind

and the rivers give away to one another

so all is in balance…

—Dolores La Chapelle

I will sing of the well-founded Earth,

Mother of all, eldest of all beings.

She feeds all creatures that are in the world,

all that go upon the goodly land,

all that are in the paths of the seas,

and all that fly,

all these are fed of her store.

Hail Earth, mother of the gods,

freely bestow upon me for this my song

that cheers the heart!

—Homeris Hymns XXX, adapted by Elizabeth Roberts

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Awakening

in a moment of peace

I give thanks

to the source of all peace

as I set forth

into the day

the birds sing

with new voices

and I listen

with new ears

and give thanks.

You can see forever

when the vision is clear

in this moment

each moment

I give thanks.
—Harriet Kofalk

Morning Salutation

Smokey Mountains. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2010

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Welcome!

Hello, and Welcome to My Blog

I’m the IdealisticRebel (you can call me Barbara)

Those of you who have visited the site before will notice that things look a bit different. I’ve made some changes to make it easier for people to find the content they are looking for here — basically, the blogposts that I wrote and the blogposts that I repost, because the author has something to say that I find interesting or important.

If you’re new here, then again, Welcome! You can see on my header that I post about Women’s Issues, Creativity and Spirituality and Peace.

What does that mean? It means that I post to raise awareness on Domestic Violence, the War on Women, Women’s Rights and other issues that affect women in the United States, and around the world.

I post to promote Peace and Kindness and Beauty and the notion that we are All One People.

I post to encourage people to be Creative — to nurture the Creative Spark within themselves, even in the face of the opposition or misunderstanding of those closest to us. I share the methods I have found that have helped me to be more creative, and I try to highlight the difficulties that the Creative people in the world face when opening up their hearts and souls to allow their art to flow through whatever medium they work in, so that we can all share our experiences and know that we are, none of us, alone.

I post to remind people that, whatever path you are on, we are a children of the Divine. Whatever you call that Divine, whatever method you use to connect to it, Divinity is in all of us and all religions share a commonality of basic decency, humanity and Divinity. I also try to remind everyone that the extremists of any religion, do not speak for all the people of the religion and that we, as human beings, need to treat people as people, not as stereotypes.

I try to remind people that ALL people are equal, regardless of gender, race, religion or spiritual path (or lack thereof), sexual orientation or identity, nationality, creed, color, economic status or any of the other arbitrary and political attributes we use to stereotype other human beings. There are differences in all of us that make us individuals, but basically, we are all Stardust and deserving of love and consideration from and for each other.

Whether your are a new visitor, a repeat visitor, or one of my friends and followers, you are all welcome here.

You can find my posts by clicking on the “The IdealisticRebel Says..” button on the menu on the left. You can find posts I’ve reblogged by clicking on “Rebel Recommends”.

Previous posts, which include both my blogs and things I’ve reblogged, are under the heading “Archived”.

I am also a member of the wonderful group Artists4Peace. If you would like to see the articles which I have contributed to this site, click the Artists4Peace label in the menu. To go to the Artists4Peace site itself, click the Artists4Peace icon in the sidebar.

If you want to know more about me, generally, click “About the IdealisticRebel”

Thank you for visiting and I hope you will become a part of the growing, loving community of WordPress!

October 18, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

A Temporary Inconvenience for a Permanent Improvement

Hello, everyone.

I am making some changes to my blog, which are taking a little time.

There may be some glitches in the process, but I hope to be back up and running by tomorrow night.

Keep your fingers crossed :~)

Namaste

Barbara

October 18, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

My Rooster Nature

October 18, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

The earth is but one country…

charles1958

Baha’i scriptures, from the words of Baha’ullah; in: The peace Bible; words from the great traditions.traditions. Los Angelles Kalimat Press, !986, p.115.

It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action… That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. … It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.

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October 17, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

Haiku ~ 10/17/14

The Journey led me

to the edge of my own mind

I stopped…and listened

Blessitude

Lorrie

10/17/14

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October 17, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

Jellyfishes at Monterey Aquarium (2)

October 17, 2014 by IdealisticRebel

The Sexism Behind Abuse

Many different ways have been devised for keeping women subordinated to men in patriarchal societies. Footbinding was used by the Chinese to cripple women for over a thousand years. Purdah, is the Muslim practice of secluding women from contact with men outside of the immediate family. Muslim women are to this day, are prisoners in their own homes. Clitoridectomy, the excision of the clitoris, is still practiced on millions of young, pre-puberty girls today in Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Guinea and Ethiopia.

Violence against women in the form of battering in the home and rape in and outside of the home is a major issue for societies to address and stop. Violence against women has happened so often for millennia. Yet women continue to leave in fear for their lives.

Women in Japan, Netherlands, France, Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, USA and Germany began to stand up for their human rights as women in the 1970’s. There has been much done to stop the battering but we have not ended violence against women.

As women, we demand that governments recognize the existence and extent of this problem in almost every society. We demand safety for ourselves and our children. I began work in Domestic Violence in the seventies, and here in America women continue to be killed, to face daily violence, to lose their self-respect and their hope. It is very difficult to find the courage to leave an abuser when he has twisted your actions and words to manipulate and control you.

Whether the abuser is male or female, the penalty for Domestic Violence must be increased. The perpetrator must be more severely punished.

Rape is the other type of violence against women that must be stopped. Rape has nothing to do with sex. It is constructed by a man’s need to have power and control over a woman. Men in sexist societies are surrounded by sexist views and attitudes which they use to validate their actions against women.

Male violence against towards women can not be eradicated without also eradicating the unequal power relationships between the sexes. Many sociologists feel that the traditional family need to be changed. Equality within domestic relationships is very important if we are to completely eradicate violence in families. This includes violence against children.

Spanking children is abuse. Slapping them is abuse. In addition, it teaches them that at the basic level, violence is the way to deal with problems and/or behaviors we are not comfortable with. This is why abuse is found in dysfunctional families. It is passed on from one generation to another. Children in violent homes, learn how to abuse and how to be a victim. No one should be a victim, ever.

I must also speak to teenage girls. There is nothing you can do that means your boyfriend has the right to abuse, hit, batter, slap or kick you. It is his issue and not yours. Talk to your guidance counselor or doctor or your parents.