Celebration

Friends,


As much as I am tempted to write about Trump’s mental demise and my accompanying angst over the election, perhaps we all need a temporary break from politics just now. Instead I am in a celebratory mode. I want to share a couple of examples of recent accomplishments worth celebrating that exemplify what is right and good in the world, and I invite you to add your own examples to my list. Share them with me and others it you wish.

Last night, for example, I attended and celebrated a book launch of a new novel by my friend Christina Baldwin entitled The Beekeeper’s Question. I just received a copy last evening, so I haven’t even begun to read it, but Christina’s introductory readings were captivating, and I can’t wait to read it during these next couple of weeks. It promises to be about the intriguing topics of "love and honey, war and reckoning.” I believe the truth-telling and the beauty of arts, in whatever form, are exactly what is needed to fortify our hearts, minds and souls during these stressful liminal times, and I am dearly grateful for the life-affirming inspiration and creativity of the artists who share their gifts with the world.

I was also very pleased this week that the Nobel Peace prize went to the grassroots organization Nihon Hidankyo founded by survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs, also  known as the Hibakusha. Members of the organization have dedicated their lives to provide a personal witness to plead that atomic weapons will never be used again. I can’t begin to imagine the suffering and trauma their lives represent, and I honor their courage to speak their truth and their hopes. May their accounts of the devastation of atomic warfare and the recognition they have received remind us again about how important it is for all of us to oppose the preparation for nuclear weapons and support the destruction of the current ones.

I also celebrated the 100 birthday of President Jimmy Carter. At a time when we often question the ethics and trustworthiness of our national leadership, Jimmy Carter is a model of esteemed leadership through his persistent commitment to serving peace and human need, and we honor his long life. It is a delight to learn he was able to achieve his wish to vote for Kamala Harris. 

On a personal note, our family this week celebrated that our son, Zach Hunter, received a lifetime achievement award at an international medical conference in Prague for genomic work in identifying the hidden gene that caused the disease of Waldonstroms Macroglobulinemia. Some twenty years ago the disease was a fatal, painful form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but with the identification of the gene, successful therapies are now available that have sustained the lives of those who have survived the disease. In addition to celebrating Zach’s research, we celebrate all who so diligently provide crucial medical research. In a time when people either don’t understand or don’t honor the role of science and medical research in our lives, it is good to remember that most if not all of us reading this blog owe their health and survival to this work.

And these past couple of weeks have been special opportunities to appreciate and celebrate the wonders of spectacular nature. Many of us enjoyed the unusual accompaniment of the shimmering beauty of the aurora borealis northern lights, a partial eclipse, and a radiant, full Harvest Moon that lit up our night world. What a joy to pause and give thanks for the grace of such simple yet exquisite gifts of nature in our lives. 

And, finally, this past week I was able to have a medical test that confirmed that I am now cancer free from my bladder cancer. Celebration is not quite the right word although, of course, it does actually apply. I am more comfortable with the words profoundly relieved and grateful.

Yes, the reality that so much in the world haunts and troubles our souls.. But what a loss, what a forfeit, it is not to also recognize and celebrate all that is good and true and beautiful in our lives. So we give thanks and celebrate life even as our hearts are also broken by the suffering in the world. 

Peace,
Tom