I awoke at 3:30 am from a vivid dream and soon got up to document my vision. I was outdoors in a secluded area at some sort of music festival or county fair. The time period was around 1965 but I was from the future of today. In front of me as I walked by were four young men sitting down with a flat roof over their heads like in an animal pen looking out the open window brilliant yet concerned. They had become so popular that they were afraid of being recognized and for some reason they wanted my advice. I told them they were my favorite group of all time, the best ever, and that they had so much more music to make about Peace and Love. I told them that so many people need their music. They looked so grateful to know how much they meant to me and I said we need them to keep playing and not give up. That I know what happens in 2020 and their message will be needed then more than ever.
Paul jumped up and began to sing for all to hear, “It’s been a hard day’s night….” and John, George, and Ringo regained their excitement to play a cappella-style loud enough for others to hear. I awoke crying and thinking about that song which became the iconic movie trailer and feeling how much love I felt for the message of the Beatles. They influenced my life through their music and openness to follow spirituality from India. As Paul said in the 2015 video link, “It’s a lifelong gift.”
As I laid awake in contemplation of Peace and Love, I thought about my son who hugged me the night before and how we have been arguing mostly about home schooling “virtual learning” where the teachers provide the assignments, with little to no instruction, and the parents spend most of the day and evening pushing too hard to “Get It Done.” Simple writing assignments (for adults) take days for children to get a first draft. Can he really only go outside and play after all the school work is done first? No longer is there a separation between class work and homework as it has all blurred together while for six months parents are sheltering-in-place working from home and every trip outside or visit with others reminds us of the pandemic claiming the lives of 180,00 humans who have died in America (with 200,000 more “excess” deaths with cause unknown according to the CDC and New York Times) and over 822,000 or many more souls worldwide have died. On the weekends we try to set up “play dates” for him to visit friends at the park which has been difficult lately to go outside due to the the huge wildfire smoke nearby and seeing exhausted fireman, mostly young Hispanic men from Oregon, resting under shade trees in relatively cooler 95 degree heat. Today is the first day for a return to blue skies as the fire is moving towards the northwest and afternoon thundershowers raised the concern for flash floods.
After a recent disagreement, our son went in to his garage studio to listen to music and painted the Rainbow shown on the cover page. He told me that black is an important color in the rainbow too! He recently made similar paintings for Black Lives Matter, Save the Post Office and the American flag.
In 1984, after starting my first federal government job, moving from spacious University of Wyoming to crowded Washington, D.C., out of searching for relief I learned to meditate from the same Transcendental Meditation group that the Beatles followed as a way to relieve stress.
In 1988, during the primary election I got to see Reverend Jessie Jackson of the Rainbow Coalition in Albuquerque running for Democratic President. I felt amazed by his speech at the high school and how many students were going through hard, “broken” times and then cheered “Keep Hope Alive.” I went back to my government job feeling inspired and shared my enthusiasm for Jackson’s speech but my white boss, an agonizing PTSD Vietnam vet and proud National Rifle Association member, strongly did not agree. Luckily, I felt my spirit evolve through the inspiration of people from many faiths. I met Mata Amritandamayi, the Mother of Compassion, in Santa Fe in 1992 who opened my heart but I remained cautious with a skeptical “science” mind. She became and continues to be one of the greatest influences in my life. Hear her talk to the United Nations from 2012:
“When we engage others with respect, understanding and acceptance, then we will be able to communicate at the level of the heart” said Amma in her address at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations’ (UNAOC) Regional Consultations for Asia-South Pacific, being held in Shanghai. Amma, the only spiritual leader invited to the conference, gave her speech on the subject of “Coexistence and Engagement Between Cultures.”
Watch Amma as she greeted members of the U.S. Congress in July 2013 including the late John Lewis.
Our American-Asian son is a symbol of hope for world peace conceived in love after the 2008 election of President Barack Obama who inspired us with his victory speech in 2008 and his 2004 keynote speech at the DNC describing himself as the product of “a common dream born of two nations…don’t let them divide us, there is only the United States of America…the Audacity of Hope…a brighter day for America will come.”
Fortunately, for the past six months our son has not needed reminding about wearing a mask outdoors but he seems to be the only child and very few adults in the neighborhood willing to wear a mask. Unfortunately, western Colorado is a strongly Republican region and many children listen to the Commander-in-MisChief so our loving son is sadly getting accosted by other kids. Mesa County is 82% White and less than 1% Asian. As he rode his bike near our home a few days ago, three other boys without masks who attend a different middle school blocked his path and talked sassy, “Hey, we don’t want any Chinese here who don’t know how to drive a car. Why are you so stupid to eat bats?” As our son stood there they hit him in the back of his leg with a scooter, another threw a fat and cut-up snake, and as our son went a different way they threw rocks and pebbles at him hitting his back and head. Luckily, along with a mask he wore a helmet. They started to follow him but he was able to escape by being quicker on his bike.
It is very sad to see how far backwards the pendulum has swung in reaction to those filled with anger, fear and hate. As a white man over age 60 what else can I do for a country that is so divided and so desperately needs healing? All I know to do is tell it like it is and try to focus on good intentions and actions. Hear Ringo Starr on December 22, 2019 talk about Peace and Love celebrations world wide in honor of his birthday.