An Analogy

I was at the photocopy center at Staples attempting to create liner notes for my 1st annual compilation CD, when I stumbled upon the ways in which the workings of our US government are akin to a tricky photocopying job.
So I wanted to copy an item of non-standard size, it needed to end up on 2 side in a certain orientation (this is very difficult to explain without diagrams). I figured that there must be a simple way to tell the copier what I was trying to do and then sit back and watch! But no! I finally broke down and asked the woman at the counter for help, figuring she was more intimate with the machinery. She seemed to assume it was simple as I had, but she repeatedly thought she had succeeded and showed me her handiwork, only to find one side was upside down, etc. Soon she was as confused as I. So she enlisted the help of a coworker and he showed the machine who was boss. He seemed to hold the same vision I did for how the project needed to turn out and with only a couple of glitches, he finally accomplished the mission and I went to have my way with the copies at the fancy paper cutter.
So why is this like the government? Well I think a lot of us have always thought that our country is all about freedom and power for the common man. However, in recent years, I feel, as many do, disillusioned. It is not as simple as casting your vote and doing what you want. There is this whole hidden working, changing anything seems pretty hopeless and the ideals on which the country was founded have been twisted beyond recognition. We feel we should just plug our wishes for goodness and truth into the system and sit back and watch it play out. But, like photocopying, if we are invested in the product, we have to be vigilantly involved in the process and hold fast to our vision of the outcome.

I am aware that I have, literally, a couple of devotees and to them I apologize a) for my long absence and b)that this is not my most inspired material. It was a thought that occurred to me and needed to be formed and sent into the world; mission accomplished.

Drooping Wings

I feel like I alighted on a branch, which has served me well, but lately either it has grown weak with age or I have grown too much for it to continue to hold me. That's alright because things wear out and we outgrow them, but I can't see the next branch or I can't reach it or something. It leaves me feeling desperate, grabbing at just any branch, knowing if I can just let go of the need for security, my wings will catch an upward current of air, and yet my panic just doesn't abate.
I had a horrid day at work. I work for very little money at a job that is very emotionally demanding. The only reason to do such a thing is if it brings you joy. Not only does it not bring me joy at the moment, it seems to be drinking the joy right out of the well I have been filling throughout my life. Much of my frustration lies in the fact that I am from another planet. Where I work there are several of my fellow aliens, but we serve an earthling population and we are not always understood although our motives are incredibly noble, thoughtful, and benevolent. Today I overheard two of my colleagues talking. One wanted to know what she could do to help her young child who seemed to fall apart in tears at the smallest things, like spilled water. The other said, he is mourning the loss of summer and you can reassure him that it will come again by giving him flower teas, by spreading honey on everything he eats, by rubbing his hands with a lotion scented with summer flowers. Most people would think this was at best airy-fairy nonsense and at worst, lunacy. But it's how it is on my planet. Summer's passing is a real grief. Babies cross a rainbow bridge to find their parents. Angels feed on our courageous deeds. An understanding of the rivers and the oceans begins with the first raindrops that ever touch our skin. There is so much joy in the way I see the world and it hurts so much when I am scorned for it.