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Saturday, August 1, 2015

October 2011 Reflections

The next few blog posts transition writings from my group updates onto the blog... and offer some nice memories of the past few years.  :)  Enjoy!  :)

excerpt from "From Jordan: Greetings and October Update"

'Greetings from Wadi Rum!

In October, the desert starts to cool down.  We experience warm, balmy days and beautiful cool nights. The best place to sit is outside under the stars.  This week, the moon is waxing full and that, of course, means another round of full moon gatherings.  It is my favorite time of the month as, each evening, I walk home without a flashlight.

I just returned from a week in the Czech Republic.  In Prague, I had the privilege of attending the re-dedication of the Woodrow Wilson Train Station.  The mutual ideals of democratic governance held by American President Wilson and the President of the first Czech Republic, Tomas G. Masaryk, great admirers of each other, served as the foundation of the first Czechoslovak Republic.  Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at the re-dedication and I was fascinated to hear her simple advice to those seeking to promote democracy on the individual level world-wide: be respectful of the differences between humans and work to serve others - without imposing your ideas on them.  Her guidance seems appropriate in life as well as in promoting good governance.  Her assertion that states should base their systems of governance on morality instead of ethnicity also offered cause for reflection, as I considered the events of the past year in Jordan and our neighbors.'