and after 10+ years i saw things differently (me!) sandra, tvgp
the prerequisite reading:
and then, prerequisite driving:
from San Jose to San Leandro on 880
from San Leandro to Livermore on 580
from Livermore to San Jose on 680
from Half Moon Bay to San Jose on 92 and then... lovely, lovely, spacious, 280 with rolling hills on either side for as far as the eye can see.
***
i grew up on Peterman in Hayward, with 880 in my backyard.. it is narrow, squishy, crowded, soundwalls, heavy traffic, industrial
880/AKA "the Nimitz" and i recently watched a movie with the namesake, Admiral Nimitz, but that would be too much of a digression..
580 seemed such an improvement over 880 for space and view
680 seemed such an improvement over even 580 for space and rolling hills view.. in the spring! breathtaking glorious green -but quite laden with traffic
280! i did not even know such a spacious highway existed in California! and to see, along the drive, not sound walls, or industry, or graffiti or businesses, or development of any kind, but just..
nature. hills, trees, cows, birds
i could hardly believe my eyes.. and i found myself silently whispering to God.. i hope they leave this area just the way it is! and NEVER develop any buildings on it... amen Jesus!
and then i flashed back on the pre-requisite reading -the 'apartments on the freeway' skit my daughter kicked into when we watched the city council meeting.. how that is one of my all time proud mom moments.. how hard she made me laugh.. to learn how quick her mind operated/understood things..
and at that time, the year 2011, the only way i received the information, was to see it as an ugly
superiority, bigotry, biased, elitist attitude against people living in apartments! and i have myself lived in a variety of different apartment complexes
i did not at the time appreciate -at all- whatsoever, the value on the eye, and soul and spirit, of being surrounded in undeveloped -natural, beautiful landscapes. untouched by cement, buildings/businesses, complexes, cell towers
now, since that time.. there are in fact, many apartments, AKA: high density housing, which can be easily seen from 580 in Pleasanton -especially between Stoneridge and Sunol; and to my knowledge, no one has been injured, traumatized or hospitalized from the experience
but for the record.. i do now also appreciate and understand the value of undeveloped landscapes; nature, and we need to make room for both. And I am not bothered by the addition of apartments viewable along 580 in Pleasanton; at all.
And at the same time.. each time we drive on 280 toward or returning from Half Moon Bay
"Dear Jesus... I pray we can preserve what we have here... forever! It is so beautiful.. amen."
***
and we need to make room, space, and anticipate even.. people's ability to change.
currently in our culture, it is practically a trend, to search through decades worth of what a given person has said, thoughts, shared..
and hold them accountable -punish them even, for things thought/said, years and years ago.
none of us, when we are in jr. high, or 'middle' school, should be held accountable or punished or fired or publicly shamed for things we said or did in elementary school
none of us, when we are in high school, should be held accountable or punished or fired or publicly shamed for things we said or did in middle school;
none of us, when we are in college, should be held accountable or punished or fired or publicly shamed for things we said or did in high school;
none of us, when we are launched into the working world, with families, raising children, etc., should be held accountable or punished or fired or publicly shamed for things we said or did in college
-save of course, illegal, violent, arrest-worthy crimes..
but for the most part.. we need to make room for people to EVOLVE.. each year of life experience, exposure to more people, circumstances, blessings, curses, views, perspectives, movies, books, conversations...
each year we LEARN and GROW and EVOLVE.. this is a PROCESS
we do not show up on the planet fully formed, open minded, understanding, compassionate, all knowing, flexible, faultless, perfect, politically correct, mature, sound, wise, humble, powerful, certain, fearless, flawless
it takes...
DECADES
and if i may speak here AGAIN about fruits of the spirit
among them.. 'kindness, gentleness'
so if someone HAS many years ago, said something, or done something, now described on some movie ratings as 'culturally outdated'
-the OPPOSITE of fruits of the spirit is what seems popular now, to respond in very mean & harsh ways; extreme
but with kindness, gentleness.. we can educate and help people evolve.
and yes, there are cases where people get STUCK.. and you can see an immature, uneducated, unevolved, narrow minded thing a person said/did -and see no growth
over 5, 6 decades they have not changed, or even considered a new or different perspective
they are without self assessment skills and lack personal growth motivation
but look for patterns not isolated events; see things in context of their time & culture; make room for people to evolve..
-one of the many attributes of our great nation and constitution is freedom of speech; and if we punish, shame, humiliate, fire any/all speech which does not agree with our own; we do not have freedom of speech..
freedom of speech is as important to the citizens of the United States of America as wisdom is described in the Bible to followers of Jesus Christ.
suggested reading: all scripture describing the value of wisdom
more later.. hallelujah & amen!
posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 1:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home