cartoon: Shiny Happy People Contagious!

Have you ever been in a gathering where this is pronounced and you’re not feeling that way at all? It is impossible to expect a every last person in the community to feel the same and manifest the same emotions. But the pressure to conform to the ideal is usually enormous in community settings. The art of nurturing communities that are authentic, expressive and honest can in turn create communities that are multi-faceted, diverse, interesting and humane. I am certain that such communities can exist. Not just with different emotions, expressions and faces, but with differing opinions, beliefs and lifestyles. This is what I work for.

On another note, please excuse my lack of daily written posts lately. My son Jesse, who just turned 20, has been in the hospital since Saturday. He had a root-canal done last week. They believe that developed an infection that took over his whole body and he became septic. Plus he has such intense pain in his whole gastric region that he can’t even swallow his own saliva. He’s very sick and nobody has any answers. It is a very intense time as we wait for the mystery to be solved and for him to return home safe and sound.