| :-\ I'm sorry to hear he's passed. But I have to say that he illustrates something that's been kind of eating at me for a couple years now, the language of war that permeates our culture. He doesn't look like a child who was wasting his time fighting a disease, but like one who was living his life with a disease. I'm sure he hoped a cure or at least supportive, life-extending therapies would be discovered in time to help him and his mom and other folks with the same condition, but he doesn't look and never came across as though he spent a lot of time or energy *fighting* it. I guess it bugs me a little to hear it put that way all the time (everything's a war or battle these days). Mattie had such a sweet, gentle, loving spirit, it feels almost like it dishonors him to think of him feeling ill toward his disease, especially when it was part of what allowed him to reach so many. We've got the war on drugs, the war on terror (*war* on a state of emotion :-|), wars on cancers and other diseases of all kinds, we battle our weight, signs of aging, for and against various causes, we never go gently or gracefully anymore as it's apparently ignoble to ever 'go down' without a fight. (Funnily enough, since that's *exactly* what Jesus chose to do that was *so* noble, to take his punishment with dignity and without complaint or struggle, and it's most often those who follow him {not those who walk with him as a friend and companion, but those who profess to believe in him as savior} who use this language and take these fighting attitudes.) (Not *only* Christians, but they're on the forefront of many, even most battles one way or another.) How does one fight a disease anyway? Seems like a battle-oriented mindset will only serve to perpetuate ill feelings which would only exacerbate the general disease. I dunno. It's kind of nit-picky I know, but y'all know how I feel about words, how they define our worlds and are one of the first steps in manifestation. Seems like describing everything in terms of war would bring about... well, pretty much what we've got in the world - division, strife, contention and a general state of embattlement. It's part of what makes it so hard for some to see what Bush is doing and what our military is doing (which, by the way, is no surprise to anyone who's been around it for any length of time) as the ugly, selfish behaviors they are, is that we've glorified the ideal of battle for so long now that all they have to do is make the 'other side' seem sufficiently evil and it becomes obvious that what we're doing is right. Folks around here are saying now that, "... we oughta just nuke [the Iraqis]." No regard there for the fact that the majority of people who'd die would be civilians trying to live ordinary, everyday lives just like the majority of people here, they're women, children, old folks, babies, men who have nothing to do with any military effort except where they've become so desperate that they feel they must do *something* and just despondent enough to strap on a bomb and hope their action helps to wake us up to what we're doing. It's sick. But these are the same people who say they'd kill other people for minor offenses, never considering what a really strong statement that is. I mean, we rejoice at the idea of killing *germs*, which is not only stupid since germs are a necessary part of our world and nothing to be afraid of in moderation but such an asinine thing to get puffed up about considering that germs are tiny, essentially defenseless creatures. It's like people thinking they're all that when they throw a rock at a cat and hit it or when they're mean enough to a dog to make it the meanest one at the cage matches. (Dog fighting rings are broken up here with some regularity, and that's a sick, sick thing.) What kind of people take pride in those acts? The same kind of people who think they're cool when they walk into a town with a machine gun and open fire, ripping apart everything in sight including any available human being, defenseless or not, just because they live in a country that we, in our American pride and supposed moral and intellectual superiority, have decided is inherently evil. Of course, it seems to be going unnoticed that germs, tiny and essentially defenseless as they appear to be, are doing a fine job of not only surviving but becoming stronger and more effective. If we choose to continue on such a path we'll find, I think, that the same is true of the people we consider so inconsequential that their lives don't matter. Or, perhaps, we'll actually manage to eradicate all the pesky nations and germs we hate so much, and then we'll be left with just ourselves to fight. I don't believe for one second that those who commit and perpetuate these acts will be satisfied until every opposing view is eradicated, but I do believe that diverse perspectives are stronger than singular visions so I'm convinced that at some point we who choose to seek harmony rather than unity will be the ones left standing. But I'm sorry to hear Mattie's passed. Thanks for the update, Julie. Much love Peace ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 4:10 PM Subject: [moonpyre] Mattie Stepanek :-(
Mattie Stepanek, Poet and Advocate, Dies at 13 By STEPHEN MANNING, AP ANNAPOLIS, Md. (June 22) - Mattie Stepanek, the child poet whose inspirational verse made him a best-selling writer and a prominent advocate for muscular dystrophy, died Tuesday from complications of the disease. He was 13. Mattie died at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, the hospital said. "Mattie was something special, something very special," Muscular Dystrophy Association National Chairman Jerry Lewis said in a statement. "His example made people want to reach for the best within themselves. It was easy to forget how sick he was because his megawatt personality just made you want to smile. Mattie had dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy, a genetic disease that impaired almost all of his body's major functions, such as heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and digestion, and caused muscle weakness. His mother, Jeni, 44, has the adult-onset form of the disease, and his three older siblings died of it in early childhood. Mattie began writing poetry at age 3 to cope with the death of a brother. In 2001, a small Virginia publisher issued a slim volume of his poems, called "Heartsongs." Within weeks, the book reached the top of The New York Times best-seller list, the MDA said. He wrote four other books: "Journey Through Heartsongs," "Hope Through Heartsongs," "Celebrate Through Heartsongs" and "Loving Through Heartsongs." Mattie's poems brought him admirers including Oprah Winfrey and former President Carter and made him one of the best-selling poets in recent years. 06/22/04 18:33 EDT
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Posted by Peace to Moments Of Awareness at 6/23/2004 05:39:03 PM
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