King

"I told him to hold out as a King would his staff". DylanGrace said to her Papa in the Kaiser Hospital last month.
 "Look out to your kingdom" ! 

 Photo and text by DylanGrace Voorhees March 2016

Migrant Catastrophe

My Mom and a long-time friend of our family, Susanna, greeted DylanGrace and I at the Düsseldorf Airport. We made our way to my Mom's house which was filled with good food, candles and warmth. Susanna brought a dinner of fresh ciabatta breads and an assortment of Swiss and Italian cheeses, tomatoes, olives and green grapes. As we sat around the table and discussed intently the German/European migration crisis and with an open world map between tea cups, we pointed out to DylanGrace where all the migrants and refugees were coming from and why. 

Susanna has been working for weeks in the arrival tents as a German teacher, a dinner preparer and as an usher for mime performers and greeting ceremonies. Children were arriving with naked bottoms and urine soaked shoes caked in feces as their families walked mostly through mud for weeks. All their clothes were stripped and burned in bond fires right behind the "welcome tents" and they were freshly clothed and fed. 

The other day German music (Schlager) was playing for entertainment until one Iranian man walked up to the juke box and plugged in his I-Phone filled with Arabic, One thousand and One Night oriental festive music and immediately groups of men and woman from countries like Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Albania, Morocco, and Iraq rose from their seats, clicked their pinky fingers together and lifted their arms in waves up and down as they flew with coordinated dance feet in circles round and round. The German volunteers whose eyes were filled with tears were asked to join their song and dance.

Susanna’s believes so many are coming now because of the the advent of the I-phone. Along with Twitter, WhatsUp and the like, many countries are now made familiar and the refugees crave the European and western life styles (as you told me all along).  Their lives back in their home countries consisted of fear, oppression, poverty and were unacceptable. They are change seekers who through civil wars and guerrilla warfare lost everything. They are forced to run but feel helpless to change or topple the strongholds of their own governments. They are regular people searching for a life of prosperity, education, and a better future for their children. 

Military intervention is always wrong (Okay, it worked one time against Hitler; that is good but it has never ever worked again). The governments think that they only have one option, the military one, and that one makes money, lots of money. Lots and lots of money and IT IS all about the money. They are in complete denial about what IS (as in To Be ) and how ISIS operates. ISIS will be overjoyed to force soldiers with boots on the ground, their highest wish and joy and the reason for the brutal beheadings. Their mouths start watering with the prospects of slaughtering a French or an English human being and it gets their heart-rates going even higher with happiness to encounter an American with his/her boots on the ground so they can kill them brutally. 

Here are three proposals I learned for finishing and drying out this terror group:

1) Prevention here in our countries. 

2) Help Turkey to close the smuggler holes at the border and protect the areas where smugglers and ISIS supporters can slip undetected to and fro which would also stop the illegal oil.

3) The introduction of Syria’s underprivileged and forgotten minorities into the political process and decision making. They were politically forgotten so they had NO choice BUT to join ISIS. We need to win them back to dry out ISIS. We need to dry ISIS out financially by stopping all monies, all weapons, and punishing sharply ALL supporters and all joiners and helpers.

4) Here in Germany we have five Million Muslims (only three thousand are violent). We need to bring these 4 million 997,000 thousand into our discussions and political decisions. The 5 million Muslims living in Germany are also hated by ISIS because they are NOT radical enough.

This is my offering to peace in the Middle East. 

Martina Konietzny

 written December 7, 2015 Published February 18, 2016

Dharma Daughter

The radiant light seems to be poisonous. Cancer in the ones around you can cause bad-tempered conceptions. Fondly I think of having the Dharma work from the inside out. 

When DylanGrace woke up the other day she was obsessed with putting on her friendship necklace. She was fumbling and trying and finally walked in front of the mirror to see why she could not get it on. She asked me to help and I just got frustrated as we needed to go and the breakfast was not touched yet. I thought how hungry she would be if she would not eat it now. I told her to come and we needed to go. The backpack was packed, the homework was done, the breakfast was not eaten, the car had no flat tire and we needed to leave as she was still trying to get the necklace around her neck. I encouraged her to eat her yogurt with raspberries. What a luxury and how spoiled we all are and do we realize most people live in a food desert even in California around the Pacific-Crest -Trail ! 

We stopped by the kitchen table where one of our guests, a Pacific-Trail-Through-Hiker had laid out his map for DylanGrace to see that he, in fact, had walked 2648 miles from the Southern Terminus at Campo to the Northern Terminus at the US Canadian border  near Manning Park, Canada over the last six months since April 27 and he just arrived back on Oct 20th. I asked him about his biggest challenges. 

Dylan still needed to fasten her necklace around her neck. I said it would not work as the clasp was broken and she denied it and the guest told us about the preciousness of water and the Trail Angels. I wanted to find out about the Trail Angels...I wanted to BECOME a Trail Angel, now in this moment. I did not want to have my daughter tell me one more time about a necklace she needed to close and could not get closed because yesterday she cut something off it. I told her that it broke and she denied that and said she cut something off it before and it still closed but now it did not close and I wanted to talk more about the Pacific Crest Trail.  Does my daughter ever realize how fortunate she is to have the opportunity to talk to a Pacific-Crest-Trail-Through-Hiker for breakfast? She did not even take the opportunity. He started his hike at the Mexican border and stuck his hand through the fence where there were two holes and he photographed it.

We finally sat in the car and Dylan wanted me to call her school, to let them know that we would be late because of the necklace that would not close. We were leaving at 7:33 AM and we had never left that late before. The necklace was still not around her neck and I had visions of tearing it from her and throwing the whole darn thing out the window.  I said just because it worked yesterday it still might not work today and if she liked I could bring it to a jeweler and have it fixed. But, no, she needed it on her neck NOW, not later. NOW!  I stayed calm thinking of turning the situation into a Dharma moment and manifesting the Dharma into my Daughter and I suggested that if one tries one version and it does not work one has to try to find another solution and try it from a different angle. The same way of trying will only give you the same outcome so I suggested she carry the necklace in her pocket. That idea did not work, so suggested why not try to make a knot, but no, no knot was desired.  Why could she not wrap some clear tape around the two ends of the necklace? That idea resonated with her and she said: "Can you help me?" We arrived at school, the breakfast not eaten,  but miraculously there was clear tape on my dashboard. WHY I will never know!  I wrapped one piece around one end of the necklace at 8:03 AM and I wrapped another piece around the other end and she hid the tape behind her nape under her long, blond, very cared-for hair.   I pleaded for her to take two bites of her breakfast and she did and she left and closed the door and hiked up the hill to her German Class as I hung my head into the steering wheel and cried, radiant light all around me.

Cancer is Nature's Way

It was already 9:48 PM last night and the lentils were trying to get soft.  I still had to sauté the veggies, onions, garlic, carrots and celery and add in the spices of basil and oregano.  The last load of laundry needed to be hung out on the line and a stack of dry clothes needed to be folded. The kitchen floor was getting soggy and I was having a secret love affair with my brand-new VITAMIX blender as I was trying desperately to recall recipes in my head tasty enough to be liked by a cowboy. Muscle building is on his menu today. He rides the bike and lifts weights, but dismissed my idea of my boot-camp trainer.

It was getting late and I was running out of steam and the dishes were piling high. The VITAMIX was so loud!  Yesterday garlic was okay to mix with avocado, spinach, kale (not too much kale just one or two leaves) and beets and fresh carrot juice (made with a juicer on the side), FlaxSeed oil to bind the beta-carotene and celery and cucumber all mixed with HempMilk. Did I already have the Plant Protein in it ? When Michael came by I gave him a glass of my concoction only to have him cough and scream that it was too harsh for his throat. I quickly gave him water and tried anew, left out the garlic... strange, yesterday the garlic was still smooth enough. Now I mixed in beets and did I remember the spirulina ? I usually can tell by the color but the beets took total advantage of their powerful color spectrum. Okay, more spirulina couldn't hurt yet if a dash too much, Michael would not like it and dismiss it. 

Quickly to bed, with seven hours of sleep not enough, but I got to squeeze by. Darn, if I just would't have cut the top of my left index finger, things would be easier.  Almost tore my ankle apart outside while hanging laundry and my toe almost was smashed with a 200 pound weight but it did not happen. Oh, is there still light in my daughters room at 10:33 PM! Yes, when I came in to ask she was writing the first amendment into her journal.  Why at 10:33 PM ??? I will never know. Her Dad usually makes sure that her SMART-phone is gone from 8:30 - 9:30 PM, then she can have it for the last hour, but needs to bring it to his night stand before 10:30 PM. He was deep asleep probably right around 9:50 PM. Good for him! 

I inherited yet another job. This morning 6:10 AM I was preparing two plain Strauss fat Yogurts, with  a few drops of maple syrup and cut up goji berries, chia seeds, fresh organic strawberries and pears (pears delicious and juicy), Brazil nuts and almonds all washed down with a hearty spinach omelet with a bit of cheese. My daughter was happy. She ate it all, in bed. Now quickly to make her lunch for school and bring the breakfast tray to her Dad and remind him to also eat ten organic blueberries. Fruit in the morning and veggies in the afternoon. I think cancer is NATURES way to WHIP you into shape. I did not know that alcohol is linked to throat cancer. Now a bit of Eric Satie Gnossienne 1-Alessio Nanni on the piano, I mimic him so. I want his hands to touch my piano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOTpQpoHHaw

Michael's Path to Health

Three weeks ago the father of my teenager was diagnosed with Stage II throat cancer and has started radiation treatment October 8- ending November 25th. This man had been destined to die as soon as we met back in 1987 when we fell in love head over heals. With the diagnosis came the realization that in his own words: " I have lived thirty-three years longer than I deserved". Now despite it all I am moving quickly through the five Kübler Ross stages of grief ( I used it even though I know it is only for the ones who have actually died). I skipped the first one "denial", and went immediately to "anger" since Michael was another classic Kaiser misdiagnosis, (they sent him home for two years with Tums for acid-reflex),  then omitted bargaining and depression and arrived in no time at acceptance. They delayed starting radiation treatments because he was too trim and too fit and we needed to fatten him up since he might not be able to eat nor swallow once his throat was irritated by the treatments.  Also, we decided to repaint,  redecorate, and feng-shui his room and tossed everything he did not need or want out. We just finished yesterday by hanging art works and his room is now more "manly" and simply gorgeous. His life style choices finally caught up with him and when he mentioned how hard it is not to smoke I had visions of smothering him with a pillow while he sleeps to just get it over with. This man is an incurable BAD-ASS. The tumor is the size of a peanut sitting precariously at the edge of his tongue way back and very close to his vocal cords. A Dictaphone was purchased in the hope that he would speak his life story.

Homeless with Heart and a Heart for Homeless

Today I was with extra time. My fourteen year old teenager cocooning in her room, snuggled cozily with journals, Math-sheets, I-phone and computer. Her Mom only needed for a few minutes every few hours. So all day I knocked on her door, called out "Laundry Service" (huge stack of freshly dried and folded clothes balancing on my arms), or with a tray of desired foods and water, calling out "Room Service", other times equipped with a vacuum etc, etc. After a while we both screamed with laughter.

 Still there was lots more "ME" time. More time to think, read, practice the piano and plan my next adventure. And there was time contemplating Rilke's idea of loving the expanse between two lovers, where each partner appoints the other as guardian of each others solitude, thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. (Letter to a Young poet). I love that. I love his poetry, - always have.

On other days my daughter is unstoppable, she adores to go outside where we live. Our, neighborhood, now so very cool, still has old metal buildings and forlorn parking lots, often with junk strewn about, which she uses for her art projects. Our surroundings often reminds me of SOHO, NY in the seventies.

We are far away from these magical woods where we found just the other day amazing fungi specimens: Leccinum Manzanitae (Manzanita Bolete), the red headed wonders are indeed edible. The small orange one glistening on pine needles is called (Which’s Hat) Ramaria Araiospora and the White Coral sp (non species identified) are not edible.

My teenager sees nothing wrong to walk in her shorts and crop tops with dangling digital movie camera on her side down the allies and onto the bigger streets famous for their characters straight out of Dickens' classic, Oliver Twist. Here we find the characters of his novel still alive, filled with venom and hatred, Bill Sikes and Fagin and Monk, conniving career criminals, pimps and murderers.

Presumably having nothing to loose I decided to put everything I learned since 2009 (i.e. First Aid Wilderness Certificate, KravMagna Self-Defense student, desert speed-trekker and runner, living in a gentrified neighborhood where street-smart is a survival technique), into ONE huge package and walked into the trenches, the borrows, the underworld, in hopes that I could clean up the streets for my daughter to walk on.

 Equipped with a basket of socks, hats, a cooler full of apples, mandarines, pita bread, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter and strawberry jam, hot tea and water, empty containers, water, wax paper and a knife (for spreading.)

I started my contact by: "Hi, my name is Martina, how are you? Do you need anything?

The first person I approached was Mark, he was pushing a huge cart. He needed nothing, had money and even candy. He goes occasionally to a Motel to clean up and get a good-night sleep. He seemed very save to me since I know that they would not run behind me if I had to bolt away. The cart, is everything they have, they do not abandon it easily. He had been on the streets for ten years and he was most enchanted of how friendly people treated him over the years. He works as a recycler and has not used any assistance from the government, even though he had paid into it all his life. Due to using drugs prior to his homelessness, he lost his job and soon was on the street. He is on a long list for housing, yet the list is indeed very LONG.

The second person I talked to was Robin, on the streets for just two days. She did not want to share what happened and did not need anything.

The third person was Jeff. He made the mistake of taking someone into his house two years ago to sleep on his sofa. That person turned out to be assaulting him during the night while Jeff was asleep.

He almost broke his thumb so Jeff called the police and the police ended up taking him, Jeff, to 850 Bryant and booked him falsely, for three months, into the county jail for assault. In the meantime his house received an eviction notice on the door and of course he lost his job. He listened carefully to the list of foods I had and he answered, if you don't mind I will eat it all. I gave him my number so if he thinks of anything else he needs he can call anytime.

Now I just saw that Barbara Brust wrote back. She started the web site   www.HomelessLivesMatterBerkeley.org .

Black Madonna And Her Healing Powers

I kneeled in front of the Black Madonna high in the Monserat Mountains by Barcelona, Spain.

My knee pain is gone.