England's Green and Pleasant Land

I was privileged to take a journey by train through the heart of England's splendid countryside this week. There is nothing like the rolling hills and pastoral landscape this side of heaven! I have lived in the USA for more than half my life, but I will always call England my home. My cell phone plays 'God Save the Queen' every time I have an incoming call! It is in my heart and my soul. Funny really for one who in their teenage years was convinced that they had been born in the wrong country! I couldn't wait to get to America, where I believed people were real and spoke the truth about themselves and how they felt.

Of course the beauty of the land and the sense of community in the towns and villages do not make up for the reality that folk from the Old World are too deferent for words and much to shy and seemingly afraid to be themselves. It is no wonder that I was attracted to a culture that seemed to put feelings first, where people did not hesitate to say what they thought. The very brashness and self promotion that turns one off the stereotypical Texas tourist at the same time attracted one who felt that a cup of tea did not cure all the problems of life, it just deferred them; one who felt restrained from speaking the truth for fear of offending the sensibilities of others.

My duality of citizenship has given me a unique perspective on the Old and the New and the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic! It is in appreciating our oneness and interconnectedness that we best see ourselves as creatures of balance and harmony. I can be equally thrilled by a manicured English garden in Kent or the steamy French Quarter in New Orleans. By the wildness of Dartmoor or the glitter of Times Square in New York! Just as at peace on a crowded Florida beach as climbing the barren peak of Mount Snowdon in Wales. As happy to sit with my aged Uncle and Aunt over a Devonshire Cream Tea or to dance 'til dawn in an edgy Miami nightclub. Grasping the moment and living it with reckless abandon is the answer to the conflicting messages that others might use to control the experience and fullness of our lives.

I am glad that I am an Englishman and I am glad that I am an American because to be both gives me the perspective of a citizen of the world and provides the opportunity to see life from many points of view. That these worlds are different is an understatement, that they can complete each other is the value that I see. We have something to learn from every culture, not to conclude that one is right and the other wrong, but rather to see the complements so ones world view can be enlarged and expanded. If there is one lesson that I will always be grateful for it would be that the world over - and I have travelled to 44 countries in my 54 years - people all share the same desires to be known, to love and be loved and to feel part of a community. Who has the best model? None and all. By blending the spirit of each culture we can together find a way to peace on earth, English and German, American and Arab, Chinese and Israeli. We are one family, diverse and individual yet bound by our common humanity and oneness of spirit!

God Bless America and God Save the Queen!

With Love and Peace!

Geoff

There'll Always Be An England - And Other Thoughts

I am way behind with my postings. Life has been busy. After 6 months of relative calm, following my two surgeries, I have returned to life full-force! I was fortunate in the storm of this economic chaos to be rehired by my former employer at Legendary Journeys. I am grateful to him for offering to take me back even though not two months earlier he had let one quarter of his workforce go. I am back in my old department putting together the components of group packaged tours. I am happy to be there. Right now, however, I am not there - I am in England! Not on company business, but on a personal journey to support my cousin Marion as she gets married to her college beau, some forty years after they first met and then drifted apart! I was not blessed with a sister but Marion is as close to one as I could have and I am thrilled to have been given the chance to be with her for this important milestone, taking place two days before her 60th birthday. People's legendary journeys will just have to wait a couple more weeks!!

Marion and I share many things, most notably our grandparents. Special folk who made indelible marks on our characters - traits that we delight in discovering again and again. We also share England, Christianity and an unfortunate propensity to beat ourselves up, diminish our self worth and carry the guilt of the world upon our shoulders. Strange really because we were not raised Catholic or Jewish! With no desire to assign blame we take full responsibility for these flaws and I for one intend to shake these monkeys off forever. I am convinced that I have come to England for a reason this time and move forward with that belief even if I do not clearly understand what that reason might be.

If I have learned anything since I last saw my special cousin in Spain 3 years ago, a few months before the world that I had created began to crumble and break apart, it would be that I have to be honest. Honest and True. Honest about who I am, what I want, where I have been and where I hope to go. And True, to myself, my beliefs, my longings and my desires. There is nothing more self-deprecating than living ones life to another's standards. There is no question that we are called to put others before ourselves, to live to serve, to give and share from our bounty. There is great question though about letting others be the measure of our lives, allowing them to take our passion and person, and bleeding us of worth to enhance their own standing in the world. A life of service is a life of balance and openness, a life lived in the moment and a life of great happiness.

This may all sound like pie in the sky. Too Utopian and too Pollyanna. The fact of the matter is that we only seem to go around life once and this term is too short to deny ourselves the opportunity of true happiness. Life beyond the one we know is a mystery to all, regardless of religion, so waiting to live later is doing ourselves and humankind a great disservice. If we cannot be accepted, loved and embraced for exactly who and what we are then we must constrain ourselves to move on to a place where we can be. This is a second marriage for Marion and I wish for her that happiness that comes from owning who she is and not putting up with anything that might make her feel anything other than loved, worthy and free. As I look back to my own broken relationships I acknowledge that some of my choices have hurt others and for that I am sorry. I cannot, however, feel responsible for that hurt beyond admitting my fault. I cannot restore their souls - I never could. It is for those that I have injured to forgive - or not; to go on - or to remain in their pain. Those that truly love me, like my mum, my dad and my daughter still love me unconditionally, despite my failings and my treachery. They love like we say God loves! I hope that Ken (with whom I shared 13 years) and Rosalene (the mother of my daughter) can one day love like that too, because they have influenced my life beyond measure and for that I will be forever grateful and I will remain a part of them forever. I bless today for Marion and her fiance David, for today is where we really live! The past is gone and the future is yet to come. And I bless Peter, her love of 28 years, knowing that he will find peace and joy when he is able to bless her in return with the knowledge that love endures all things and survives beyond the twists and turns of human emotion!

May love, joy and peace follow you - all the days of your life!

Geoff