Gene's Blog

Lets talk tennis

So you are thinking, what? Has he lost his mind? No, not quite. This comes about because of a conversation I overheard and an article I read and an event I witnessed. The conversation was about how a young girl of 7, Maria Sharapova, comes to this country to study, tennis. How she got to the head of the line, so to speak, in front of thousands of students who wanted to come to this country for an education. The article I read was about her desire to compete for Russia in the Fed Cup, which as I understand it is some sort of international competition, like the Davis cup on the men’s side, like the Solheim cup in golf for women and the Ryder cup for men. Perhaps also the world cup in soccer would qualify, certainly the Olympics.

This is a girl who has lived in this country, I suppose on some sort of permanent visa, who speaks English better than many native born American’s and who is getting very rich, giving back yes, endorsing various products and living a pretty glamorous life, now that her hard work has paid off. The event I witnessed was her winning the Australian Open tennis tournament, then thanking the Serbian fans of her opponent, and mentioning the Russian fans that were there too, but never once mentioning the country she grew up in, that gave her the opportunity to “be all that she could be”. I thought that odd. And a little ungrateful.

Many foreign tennis players have come to this country to train, most have then gone back to their homelands, but Maria still lives here. Children die every day all around the world, children whose lives would be changed forever were they allowed entrance to this country. But we don’t let them in. We let celebrities and athletes go to the head of the line. Why is that? Why are “stars” in whatever field or sport valued more than a dying child from the Sudan? Do we have a national set of priorities or do we not?

I’ve heard the point made that people that live away from their country (immigrants if you may), tend to love their country more than the ones that actually live there. I agree, and it is that very point, that created the conditions that allowed 19 young foreign nationals to come freely into this country and create 9/11. I don’t think we are going to get past this, ever, until we understand that there is no one piece of ground on this planet more “sacred” than another. That there is no one “way” better than another. That we are all one people, living on one planet, sharing time and space on a glorious trip through a lifetime in the flesh. When we lose the idea of celebrity, of star, of king or queen, or indeed, ANY sort of privilege that places one above another, we will be on our way towards becoming a civilization worthy of admission to the universal community of loving souls. We’ll come back to this when we talk about God’s statement at the end of book 1 in which He says earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, helped, protected along our way. That isn’t over. More help is needed and it will come, some from within, some from without. But it will come.

I think that life here begins, or should, regardless the circumstances or place of birth, with gratitude for the opportunity to have this experience, to re-member Who We Really Are and to live that dream out. If what God says in books 1 and 2 is true, then we all have our chance to be all of it, poet, pauper, piper and king. It is my misfortune, perhaps, to be born into the frame of reference in which George W. Bush is king, giggle. We shall yet see how that comes out. If, the premise is accepted, if it is so that each has every opportunity to play every role, then that is the most completely fair system I have ever imagined. Because in this, our reality, that can’t be, for not all are born with equal talents, abilities, equal physical or mental attributes, and so, for me, the playing field is not level. But if the truth is greater than I can imagine, if the truth is that we all can be Maria Sharapova or Babe Ruth or Franklin Roosevelt and have the opportunity to experience all of life from every angle and every perspective, well, then that DOES level the playing field, does it not? Whether we re-member that here or not. Some of us do. That is how the idea gets into the lexicon and the lexicography. I guess, then, it is safe to say, it’ll all work out in the end, lol. But I still, as does young Ms. Sharapova, yearn for home, for it is only from there that I will ever know what I must know, feel what I must feel, understand completely what I demand to understand completely. And it takes a lifetime to get there. So. Is it better to burn out or just fade away? Yet to be seen. And most certainly to be continued, giggle, much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way,
Choose to be a Bringer of the Light. :^) gene