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LightHearted Musings - I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends
Posted by Dr. Molly Roberts on October 31st, 2008
I get by with a little help from my friends.
–The Beatles
I woke up this morning with a dream still in my head. I was outside of the house I lived in when I was a teenager, and the police were there to evict me from the house. I looked down the street and saw that just about every other house had a sign in front of it, some saying “For Auction” and others saying “For Sale”. Clearly, the whole neighborhood was going under. I started talking with the police officer, waxing nostalgic about what a great neighborhood it had been, where we had a neighborhood watch and everyone looked out for each other, where no child or elderly person felt alone.
I told him, though, that the fear of loss had pulled the neighborhood apart, and everyone started looking out for themselves. Once we had all done that, the houses fell to the auction block one by one until the whole neighborhood was swallowed up. There I was in my dream, watching my own home being taken away from me, and mourning the loss of the neighborhood more than my house.
When I woke up, it was this Beatle’s lyric that kept ringing over and over in my head, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” What a great line, and one we so clearly need to pay attention to in these perilous times. If we don’t come together as a community of friends, we’re going to go down as a gaggle of individuals. This is true on just about every level of our existence right now, as families, as workmates, as communities, as a nation and as a planet.
One of the many reasons I dearly want Barack Obama to win this election is that I think he gets this Beatles line. When I hear him talk about his opponent, he starts the conversation with how much he respects the man, how he is a war hero who has given great service to his country. Then he calmly discusses how their views are different. Senator Obama talks about how the problems of our country and our world won’t be solved by one party or one country dominating the others, that we all need to come together in community to hash out our differences and find some middle ground.
Senator McCain has spent his time creating divisions, spreading rumor and innuendo to create questions about his opponent’s character. He has fostered an us vs. them mentality that will have ripples long after the election is old news. Though I am a lifelong Democrat, I have liked Senator McCain in the past and have even voted for him on numerous occasions, so I’ve been sorely disappointed to see that he is not the man needed for these times.
Our collective neighborhood needs a lot of shoring up, and we now have a choice. We can be the hero, the villain or the victim in our own life story, and to have the happy ending we want, we have got to both help each other and ask for help from others. We need to show loving kindness, no matter what political party we come from, no matter what our income bracket is, no matter what our skin color is, no matter what language we speak or what country we come from, what religion we espouse or what gender we choose to love, and yes, no matter who becomes our next President. We need to be the men and women whom future generations will marvel at, because we stepped up to the plate of our times and came through it together, as a community of loving souls.
I want my dream to stay right there, in my head where my fears can have a safe outlet. What I want for my reality is so much more. All of you who read this are my community, and with these words, I hope you are feeling the hug of love and fellowship that I am sending you. If you do, then please, pass the love on.
Dr. Molly
I was a bit surprised to see that you would turn your “musings” into a political rant. I had previously found some of the musings offered to provide food for thought. I don’t believe that I am interested in continuing as a subscriber.
Comment by Carol June — November 3, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
Hi Carol,
I was saddened to see your response to this Musing, and it was certainly not my intention to turn people off or to create more partisanship.
In fact, I felt like my comments were in response to the partisanship that is already surrounding us on all sides. What I want most for us as a country is to come together in fellowship, and I was simply voicing my opinion as to which of the two candidates seems to have the most potential to meet that goal.
I have lived in Arizona for more than half my life now, and as I said, I have consistently voted for Senator McCain in the past. My comments were not a knee-jerk Democrat-vs-Republican response but simply a plea for us to make fellowship and working together a priority. No matter who becomes our next President, we will sink or swim only if we find a way to see our common humanity as more important than our party affiliation.
Carol, I do hope you stick around, and I will leave it to you to decide if you have received enough benefit from these LightHearted Musings to overlook one post that was not to your liking. I do want to say, though, that these Musings are very personal and come from my heart, and with that, there may occasionally be ones that your own heart may not be in resonance with. As always, I welcome both your heart and your voice to the conversation.
Take care,
Dr. Molly
Comment by Dr. Molly Roberts — November 3, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
Interesting how people can have different responses. I was just coming here to comment how this was the first Musing that I felt your heart expressing something that was important to you that I really resonated with and worth reading. What makes America what it is, is being able to express our truth and hopefully our humanity.
Blessings,
Leah
Comment by Leah — November 3, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
Hi all,
I received a lovely letter from Carol, the person who wrote the comment above. She expressed herself well, and I appreciate her letting me know that my last post was outside of her comfort zone for what she considered a LightHearted Musing. She had been unpleasantly surprised by the political leaning of this particular post and felt I should have stayed in the realm of higher concepts. I won’t copy her letter here out of respect for her privacy, but I did want to share my response in case any of you had a similar reaction. Here’s what I wrote back to her:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hi Carol,
I can see your point, and I apologize for giving you a feeling of being targeted. It felt like the elephant (or should I say donkey?) in the room. I was aware that keeping only to a discussion of those higher concepts can sometimes actually get in the way of making the necessary changes here on the ground. I must admit that I was worried about offending people (like you) with this post, but I was also concerned that my silence was turning into an act of condoning behavior that was not just impolite but downright dangerous for our country. I don’t know about your take on things, but to me, this feels like a major turning point in our nation’s history, and how we set the tone for our interactions with each other is going to be more important than it has ever been.
Higher thoughts need to be the impetus for higher action if we are to find the kinder and gentler world we all long for. Even Gandhi had to step into the trenches periodically in order to get people moving toward the changes that were needed in his nation. Gandhi insisted on nonviolence, and it seems important to hold our leaders to similar high standards of behavior and civility. They are the ones who drive the forces of our national and international conversation, and these times are too perilous for our leaders to be manufacturing dissent and anger simply to get elected. The election ends today, but the anger that has been fomented will linger on, and that was what was so disturbing to me.
I do get your point, though, and I really hope this email doesn’t feel like another rant. You are right that my Musing could have been perceived as a blindsiding for those who are not as bothered by Senator McCain’s behavior or who see his campaign’s tactics as separate from how he would lead the nation. It sounds from your letter that you are indeed planning on leaving the LightHearted Musings list, and I regret that we won’t have your intelligent and reasonable voice here. I do wish you well, and I appreciate the kind way that you responded to my letter.
Take care,
Molly
Comment by Dr. Molly Roberts — November 4, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
Last night in his concession speech, I saw the John McCain that I remember, the man I had been waiting for during this long campaign. He was gracious and kind in his remarks, and he emphasized the importance of us putting aside our differences and coming together in community. Last night, I saw a great leader, and I was very touched by his comments. I wish him only the best as he moves forward in both his career and his life. My deepest hope is that we each tap into the wisdom of his words and come together as one beautiful and great nation. Namaste!
Comment by Dr. Molly Roberts — November 5, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
I too felt that way about McCain once upon a time. I was really moved by his magnanimous speech. It is time for all of us to sieze this window of opportunity to work together. I see too much separation and too much division… even within the metaphysical community. We all have to learn new ways. New ways of thinking and acting. I see that we all need to adopt an attitude of serving one another and the country rather than what we can get for out own personal gain. The me me me and I want mentality must go. I have witnessed so many so quick to judge and or feel offended instead of actually communicating and working toward resolve with one another in the world, in organizations, and within the community. I think we must be painstaking to really listen to what all people have to say not just like minded others. By the same token, I don’t think we should jump on others for expressing their thoughts and feelings I don’t think it is ok to shut people down who are talking politics. Politics are a very integral part of who we are, especially right now in our world. If we are to become light workers, healers, or just a people who want a new way of being we must travel among all walks of life and be a beacon of light and love. There is wisdom in looking at both sides of anything. I do believe that in McCains heart of hearts and Obama’s as well, there is a desire to work together and stop the anger and hate. I feel sad that Carol was angered by your innocent remarks, and saddened that she wasn’t able to dialogue more to come to resolve.
Be Peace in and out!!!!
E
Comment by Erin — November 6, 2008 @ 5:35 pm