What Do I Know This Week?

Current Status...Friday night I needed two doses of entertainment to shake off the dreariness of the week's financial news: a movie and an episode of Band of Brothers. Today I spent the morning with a dear friend, the kind who listens closely and brings you up with her deep questions and empathy, sees fear for what it is: an imposter, an imaginary creature that can disappear in the light of apprehension.

Lately I'm thinking...that all this plays out in our inner and outer worlds. The Wall St. "panic" is just that. Contagious adrenalin rush. An addiction to excitement, good or bad. Yin and yang belong in closer balance, as equal partners. That's our "fix."

This is really interesting...I learned this week that while I thought I could still camoflage myself, still disappear at will, the cosmic joke's on me: What's inside is outside, whether I know it or not. People pick up much more from my being -- eyes, smile, body language, actions, mood, gifts, expressions -- than my words. Even extensive camo can be a big clue to authentic identity. I'm outed. No going back. And, no need to fear it, since it's a done deal. (Here I am, blogging on the Web.)

Soapbox: Eight years ago, John McCain was still a man of substance. But during the disgraceful G.W. Bush years, McCain sold his soul to Win at All Costs and The Ends Justify the Means: bogus causes. Now we see the straw man flailing in desperation, flinging mud pies, or allowing Sarah to sling them. All this talk of terrorists and Muslims: Such silliness. Obviously, the potential for calm, focused leadership is with Obama. Choose hope, not fear.