Reyes Gibbs Blog

I got caught!!!!

The fear of Big Brother never really bothered me.  I figured that if I didn't do anything wrong, say anything wrong, shoplifted, etc.  Big Brother should watch to see if people are doing bad things!  But....  The other day I got in the mail, a picture of me, making a rolling stop turning right on a red light!  translated - I ran a red light.   14 mph!!!!!  These cameras are very good!  The shot of me behind the wheel was very good, I sshould have been smiling!  My license plate was very clear, one could read the numbers very well! my first ticket in 35 years!!!!!

Okay so back to the Big Brother.  I was wrong!!!  I got caught!!!  I should have been smiling!!!  So Big Brother worked, caught the gulity!!!   Know of any good comedy traffic schools!

100 Questions for American Citizenship

In the The New York Timesthis morning is the 100 question test to become an American Citizen.   See how you do.  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/washington/28citizen.html?th&emc=th If you don't want to read the article here is the link to the test.http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/100q.pdf.  I wonder what the test results would be if we gave these questions to all those who were born here.   How about an exit exam for high school?   Have fun!

The Catepillars are falling!!!

I am at Asilomar, Pacific Grove for a study retreat.  And I am really studying.  Maybe I'll see the ocean tomorrow.   It just so happens that it is the season of the Oak Moth.   Here's why I know.   When we first got here, caterpillars, little ones, were falling from the trees.   They are about a half-inch long and about as wide as a pencil lead.   Nothing dangerous about them but its freaky to go out walking and having these worm-like things fall on your head and clothes.   So they tell us that these caterpillar drop to the ground grow bigger and yes uglier and then caccoon and then the oak moth.   I know God loves diversity and all that but these little caterpillars are annoying and ugly and I don't want to see the moths!!!  I know you are curious so here are some pictures I took this afternoon, some are a bit blurry because they don't stay still as they are swinging in the wind, here's one on a rope and the ones on the bench have been on the ground a few days and now are getting bigger and darker.  YUCK!!!
                           
    

Materialism!! Leaving Cars where you crash them!!!

The problem isn't materialism as such. Rather it is the underlying assumption that full satisfaction can arise from gratifying the senses alone. Unlike animals whose quest for happiness is restricted to survival and to the immediate gratification of sensory desires, we human beings have the capacity to experience happiness at a deeper level which, when achieved, can overwhelm unhappy experiences.  -His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Whoever that bear was that left his Lamborghini on the side of the road after he crashed it, must hae more cars somewhere else.    Or I suppose that the bear was too something to figure out that one does not leave one's litter on the road.

The Dalai Lama says that materialism is not the problem as such but our question to satisfy our senses.  Our overwhelming need for instant gratification in our relationslhips, jobs, careers and play stresses and exhausts us!!! Still, hHow does one crash a car, leave it, and doesn't expect to be called on it?  So I am sure there is talk that he left because he didn't want to be tested for drugs and alcohol.   For whatever reason, which sense did the lamborghini satisfy?

This is a mother's lament.   Didn't anyone tell the bear to pick up after himself when he makes a mess? 

Make Good Choices!

Whenever I dropped my children off at school I told them, "I love you and make good choices!"   And now that they are all grown up (at least they are all over 21) I am a proud momma that can say they made lots of mistakes but a huge number of life affirming good choices!   Perhaps it was the unspoken word that most parents and adults use, "consequences!" that I rarely used, I implied bad consequences for bad choices and my children got the message.

Which brings me to the Hilton child.  Poor girl, three days in jail and she gets a medical condition and off to house arrest.  Somehow this doesn't seem fair, but God never promised fair!   God did say  that the purpose of humanity is to seek God's justice, show God's mercy and share God's love.   Okay, this young woman needs to know that God loves her but she has to face consequences when she breaks the law and makes bad choices.    She was shown mercy when the judge told her she couldn't drive and then a bad choice - she drove!!! Maybe she just failed science/physics for every action there is a reaction!!!! This recent move out of jail perpetuates the reality of our society that the rich and famous get richer and better know receive the breaks and the unknown and poor becomem invisible and poorer and of course they can rot in jail! 

In a former high school I worked in, we brought parents to court if their children were habitual truant making them responsible for their children's behavior.  Perhaps we should do this for celebrities, even though over 21, they are continually making bad choices. Where are their parents? or their mega corporations that support their habits and lifestyles.    I suppose that if the Hilton Corporation was going to lose money over Paris' behavior they definitely would be expedient about finding an appropriate remedy to appease the law and  the justice seeking community.  But alas, money wins!!

Let's make sure she stays home with her ankle bracelet, no tV, no computer,  no telephone, no friends, nothiing that would remind her that life is good!!! OOPs!  that's when I grounded my children!   Maybe my children  were right, I was unfair, unreasonable  and mean!!!!  Thanks be to God!!!

Another Wall!!!!

In the New York Times this morning, "U.S. Erects Baghdad Wall to keep Sects Apart," by Edward Wong and David S. Cloud.   What?   Another wall!   This is supposedly a stragegy to keep the Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods apart to stop the violence between them.  Here are some quotes from that article.

Soldiers in the Adhamiya district of northern Baghdad, a Sunni Arab stronghold, began construction of the wall last week and expect to finish it within a month. Iraqi Army soldiers would then control movement through a few checkpoints. The wall has already drawn intense criticism from residents of the neighborhood, who say that it will increase sectarian tensions and that it is part of a plan by the Shiite-led Iraqi government to box in the minority Sunnis.

A doctor in Adhamiya, Abu Hassan, said the wall would transform the residents into caged animals.

“It’s unbelievable that they treat us in such an inhumane manner,” he said in a telephone interview. “They’re trying to isolate us from other parts of Baghdad. The hatred will be much greater between the two sects.”

The American military said in a written statement that “the wall is one of the centerpieces of a new strategy by coalition and Iraqi forces to break the cycle of sectarian violence.”

"One of the centerpieces," a wall?   A centerpiece for me means something that adds or helps me focus on a table or event.   So I suppose that everytime a Shiite or a Sunni sees the wall, it will add to their frustration, hate, anxiety, and sense of hopelessness.   

In diversity training and anti-racism workshops, the desmanteling of walls is the beginning of understanding and appreciation for the other.     Now we have a "fence" at our borders, a wall in the Gaza, Gated communities to keep out those who don't belong, faiths that determine who belongs, individuals who build walls that there is no hope for escape from pain, loneliness, illness... If we can't work to break down walls, how can peace, reconciliation and wholeness come about? 

This is the  hard question.   It is much easer to build a wall.  We all do it!  It is too difficult  to deal with the systemic issues of war, violence, and dysfunctional decisonmaking.   We could start individually with ourselves.   When I speak to folks on relational matters and ask, "Have you shared this with your partner?"  The answer is "No, because he/she wouldn't understand" or "No, he/she should have known better."  The building of walls to protect our own minds, hearts and souls is commonplace so why should countries be any different.     The only way I know to tear down these walls is to commmunicate and work really hard at appreciating and understanding the other.  This really sound like too much work!   So it's probably better we build a wall!   

I pray that those who build walls in their own lives, in neighborhoods, communities, and countries remember that God requires them to "seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God."
Pray with me!

What does one say?

The last few days have been filled with "what ifs?," grieving, mourning, and anger.   I can't watch the television anymore and I avoid the front page.  I am oversaturated with the "news" and the media's spin on all of this.    There aren't the right words to say or share.   At Bible Study last night , we put prayers in our prayer box that is placed in our tower in the sanctuary.   We did this as a response to a story from Anne Lamott's new book, Grace Eventually entitled "Wailing Wall."     As we wrote out the prayers, we lifted up the names of people in our congregaton and the events surrounding us.  Kind of letting go and letting God! It may seem hokey but for me it helped.   In times of tragedies, we have all kinds of mixed feelings.  In the wake of the Virginia Tech deaths, I am at loss for words.   So I write the prayer down and let God. I was asked, "what do you say when tragedy strikes?"   The Moderator of the National Korean Presbyterian Council, Rev. Choi of Alameda Korean Presbyterian Church sent a letter to the President of Virginia Tech sharing the condolences and heartache of the council because the shooter was Korean.    A copy of the letter is on Bruce's Blog @ reyes-chow.com.    With that letter, he sent the following note,

Would you join the NKPC’s executive committee to call a vigil service or prayer meeting in your church on Wed. evening or even during the Sunday worship service to remember the victims and to pray for the healing?  It is heart breaking that the person who killed the students is our fellow Korean who apparently had emotional problem during his young life.  It also presents a great challenge for our believing community to reach out young people who are lost.  This is a wake-up call for the whole Korean community.

When I got the letter, I wanted to scream!  It's not a wake up call for the "whole Korean Community."  It is  a wake up call in a series of wake up calls for this nation!!!   We obsess over tragedies that happen in numbers, depending on who it is and why!   Yes, the shooter was Asian.   I am praying that this incident does not stereotype all Asians as having the propensity for this type of violence.   People are sick!  All colors, sizes and shapes!  The shooter was mentally ill.  The embarrasment and apologies should come from our governments, politicians, and others who believe that mental illness is not serious enough to back with dollars, facilities, personnel, and a strong network of resources to meet the needs of those suffering form the myriad of mental illnesses.    We will spend billions to fight terrorists here and abroad.   Our actions to "protect" our nation has cuased thousands of deaths, our own and those of whom we try to protect.   Just yesterday, 200 Iraq Shiites were killed!  Is this another "wake up call" for us!   Flags are half-mast, I haven't heard of a major death other than Virigina Tech so I am assuming they are at half-mast for the lives lost.  Shouldn't we fly them half-mast when a solider dies because he or she followed the orders of our Commander-in-Chief? If we did the flag would be half-mast for years.  Mental illness and violence is a bad combination.  But it will continue.  Violence will continue to pervade our culture and society and until we stop using violence to supposedly spread "democracy and peace." Mental Illness is a sickness and until we as a nation recognize the need for more resources the tragedies will continue.     This Sunday Bethel will have a prayer vigil during worship for lives lost in violence and prayers that one day we will WAKE UP!!!