The Right to Be Silly

Bill won an award for this picture.
What do you think. . .utterly adorable? I think so too.

Who is Bill? He is my colleague at LWR, director of the Central American Regional Office. I was suppose to go there last October but ended up retrieving a lost liver instead. Maybe later I'll be able to join Bill and the coffee farm families in the mountains of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Wanna come with me? We're taking a group next January, harvest season, as we do every year. Let me know if you're interested. Seriously. The farmers are waiting for you. And Bill's artistry will further delight you.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this. When I asked Bill if I could use it he said, "Mi picture es Su picture." So, there you go! Nice job, Bill. Thank you.

From Bill about the pic: "The right to indulge in pure, unrestrained expressions of joy, fun and elation, forgetting for a moment the challenges of everyday life ... the child in the picture is the daughter of a member of a Women's Natural Medicine and Plant Collective located in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. With the help of Lutheran World Relief and its local NGO partner CIPRES work with the women so they can improve their incomes and better the health of their communities and families. With limited support, the women have been successful in generating an average of $500 a week through the sales of their natural medicines and herbal products."

(Matagalpa is also where Cafe Nica from the LWR Coffee Project is grown.)

Sigh. Wow. Beautiful. Now do you believe me when I say that this planet is all full of good?

So today to curb my adrenalin I took a yoga class at Corepower Yoga. OK, consider my energy properly humbled as my quivering arms and legs tried their very best to twist on those super awkward positions, though the muscled teacher was very nice and patient. As I worked to strike a somewhat non-shaky yet confident Warrior pose, my eyes fixed out the window and across town to the very highrise where my office is. This is not in Manhattan, I remembered. Everything is in easy walking distance in downtown Minneapolis. Sigh. Wow. Beautiful.

I've been thinking more about this idea of surgically removing anguish and tension. Quite a notion, right? The opposite of transplant. Oh and guess what, I finally found a picture of the one who removed my cancer, anguish, and tension. Here he is, the one and only Dr. Sanan who I see tomorrow. Only this picture doesn't even begin to show you his charm. Even Bob would attest to that.

Thanks for coming over. I hope you can enjoy some silliness soon.

With love, T