Lots of Random Stuff

I wanted to write about bliss, President Obama, and my birthmark.  I have a feeling it will all come together in some odd way, so bear with me please...

This weekend I spent time with the baby niece.  If it is even possible, I love this child in a way that scares me.  Yesterday I got to watch her for a couple of hours by myself, and I had a moment of what I determined was pure bliss.  She had been fussy which meant she was tired so I was trying to figure out how to get her to go to sleep.  In yoga the previous week, the teacher mentioned how the sound that comes from saying "Ommm" is very calming and relaxing to the body.  So as we made our way from one part of the house to another, I just hummed Ommm to her and she fell asleep in less than a minute.  I settled onto the sofa and continued to hum Ommm until I also nodded off.  It was probably less than a twenty minute nap, but I was startled by the air conditioner and woke up to discover that my little darling was just as content as she could be.  It was the best feeling in the world and I think that whenever I feel depressed or overwhelmed or anxious, I am going to remember that moment in time when I felt so at peace and grateful for the blessing that I was holding in my arms.

To President Obama, I have been worried about you.  I think you need to find that same place at some point very soon or else this job is going to kill you.  These people are hell-bent on destroying you and I am afraid that you are allowing them to get to you.  Since I kind of get you and understand why you are having issues right now, my advice is to dispatch the detached Mr. Spock demeanor for something far more effective...try Captain Jean Luc Picard instead.  As much as I like Spock, he was a terrible leader (remember the "Galileo Seven" episode when Spock served as the CO of the away team?), so you need a better role model.  I know Biden does a great Leonard McKoy impression, but no, Star Trek: TNG is much better.

But in all seriousness, Mr. President, please get to the point where your moves are not dictated by the need to appease Fox News and their audience.  These people did not and never will give you any credit, so can you give the country the Administration that they voted for?  Meaning, can you be the Obama that we believe you are?  I know that Democrats are never satisfied, but that should not deter you.  I am going to attempt a sports analogy here--the mid terms are in five weeks and we need a leader who can take the ball down the field.  Run, Mr. President, even if they sack you, take the hit and try again until there is no more time left on the clock. 

As for my birthmark, I saw this photo of a woman whose birthmark resembles mine in pretty startling ways:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/15/who-is-the-ultimate-game-_2_n_678753.html#s125970

She is beautiful.  Not because of her birthmark, but in spite of it.  That might seem like a horrible thing to say, but it is an acknowledgment of what I have come to embrace about my own birthmark.  A few weeks ago I called it freakish because I had a bad experience with a homeless man on the street whom I felt was picking on me (on the basis that the birthmark makes me an easy target for riducule).  I was upset and had a temporary relapse to the self-pity that once haunted me about my outward appearance.  Seeing this woman, I can only imagine that our stories are similar, that she also was taunted about her birthmark.  We are not freaks...we are chosen.

How all of this ties together...bliss can be found in a moment.  I need to find that moment more often.  I have been all worked up this entire month about my imperfections, but in that one moment with my niece, I found peace.  I then put my troubles in perspective and look on President Obama.  I have issues...he has problems.  I hope that he can find a moment of bliss that will center him so that he can resolve to face each subsequent day.  Oya, the woman whose face is like mine is considered a game-changer.  I don't know what other challenges she faced before this very moment, but I know what she had to endure with respect to that beautiful strange face.  She is a warrior.  President Obama, you are not what your critics say you are--you are what you say you are.  Back to my nerdy TNG references, Captain Picard faced annihilation by the Borg and was assimilated--yet he triumphed in the end.  President Obama, YES you can.

Ayanna, yes you can too.