Irena Sendler's Legacy

I wrote about Irena Sendler in a blog post dated March 31, 2008. In yesterday morning’s New York Times, her obituary startled me into tears.

She was a genuine heroine who rescued 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. The kicker is that she didn’t consider herself a heroine. She often said, “I did what anyone would have done.”

Mrs. Sendler was one of the first of the so-called righteous gentiles honored by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem in 1965. Her government at the time did not allow her to travel to accept the award. She finally did in 1983.

Toward the end of her obituary, it says, “She is survived by her daughter, Janka, and a granddaughter.” But is she?

Isn’t she also survived by me, and you, and the children and grandchildren of those she saved? Inspiration is an amazing thing. There’s no telling what will cause a human spirit to be inspired. I wish I could assure you that I would have done what Irena did, but, truthfully, I don’t know what I would have done.

What I do know is that Irena Sendler’s long-ago actions have inspired me now. Her legacy to all of us is a legacy of willful blindness—the very best kind of blindness! What her Catholic self saw when she looked at the faces of Jewish children and their parents, were not Jews, but children and parents.

These are the faces we need to practice seeing everywhere in the world today. The children and parents where Hurricane Katrina happened. Children and parents amidst the Chinese earthquake and the Myanmar tornado. Children and parents at the grocery store and the pharmacy and in traffic and in the park.

Irena Sendler was ethnically and spiritually blind, and she leaves us an invitation to see human beings wherever we go, human beings that are more alike than different, human beings all seeking the same things in life, human beings who deserve respect for their dignity.

Irena Sendler lived what the best of any of us would do.

Election Burnout

Anyone else feeling afflicted with what my friend Paul calls TMI on the election front? I used to be an avid Chris Matthews/Keith Olbermann fan. Now I can hardly bear to watch them. I’ve had it with the mud-slinging and the gun-slinging. Let’s have the election already!

It’s not going to happen that way though. No matter how much I want it to.

I went online to research how much money has been spent in the 2008 Presidential race to date. Any guesses?

In January 2007, Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael Toner estimated that the 2008 race will be a $1 billion election.

A billion dollars. A billion.

Gee, what do you think we might have done with a billion dollars rather than spend it on persuasion?

I don’t begin to pretend to understand how elections are funded. There are complicated formulae. But I do know that I receive emails asking me to contribute to candidates, parties, and special interest groups daily. I’ve taken to adding them to my blocked senders list as I can’t seem to get them to take me off their lists by personal request.

Here’s an outrageous idea:

What if the candidates were allowed to spend one dollar per registered voter in the United States collectively?

According to the latest statistics, there are 2.8 million registered voters.

That would leave 7.2 million dollars for . . .

Health care
Job retraining and greening
Alternative energy programs
Medical research
Education initiatives

I could spend 7.2 million dollars on a ton of things outside of elections, couldn’t you?

It’s time to insist upon radical campaign finance reform.

Hurry!

Seeds X, 19

Seed: Hurry!

One of the most important things I’ve learned through living a spiritual life is that Spirit is never in a hurry. Never, never, never. Did you know that?

Think on it. Mother Nature is the prime example. Gestation, whether you’re a mayfly or a human being, happens in its own time. The sun never rises in the middle of the night. The seed always comes before the blossom.

If you are meeting a challenge in your life, and you feel that you must hurry, the best course of action is to stop, right where you are. Stop. Let go the hurry. In my experience, often when I hurry is when I make mistaken choices.

Take a cue from Mother Nature. Everything in its own time.

Be content,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at SeedsDrCorso@comcast.net and please visit my peace blog Ode Magazine.