November 2004 | From the Editor
Music to my Ears
Do you ever feel inundated by media? Sometimes I start to feel overloaded. And then, every weekday morning, the hand of God reaches into my car to remind me to take a break. There’s a section of my morning commute where radio reception is quite poor. Invariably at this point in my drive, I’m listening to Amy Goodman or Sonali Kolhatkar deeply engaged in a profound conversation on KPFK (Pacifica Radio, 90.1). I’m scribbling notes or a URL, hanging on every word, when intermittent strains of melodious classical music begin to disrupt the program. The guest describing violence in a Third World country or the latest travesty of the Patriot Act is overridden by Handel or Beethoven. Goodman’s weighty alto cuts in and out, the music creates staccato interruptions of soaring string instruments, until finally I resign myself and turn it off.
We’re all exhausted from listening to the last six months of war and campaigning, so here’s the antidote: Stop listening and start moving. As I’m writing this, I don’t know if you and/or I will be thrilled or devastated on November 2, but in either case, there will be plenty to do in our community. Not sure where to start? Check out our guidelines.
If you’re interested in what our larger community is doing on other parts of the continent, you might want to take a look at our parent company Web site, recently redesigned to be a continually updated clearing house that offers the best work from all five Dragonfly magazines across North America.
Our WLT Web site has also been redesigned and in addition to being easier to use, you now can find the entire magazine here, making it much easier for you to bring our editorials to the attention of far-flung friends and family. Please let us know how you like our new Web home!
And while you’re there, we would really appreciate your taking a few minutes to answer our online reader survey. If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed the shift in our editorial content over the last year or so. Do you like it? Do you hate it? If you answered our survey last year, how responsive do you think we have been? By responding to this survey, you’ll have an opportunity to help us continue to move our magazine in the directions that interest you, our loyal readers. We’re giving a pair of tickets to Blue Dove, a new musical about the path to personal power, as reflected in the life of J. Krishnamurti, to the first 40 people who fill out our online survey.
The holidays are approaching and WLT is joining forces with the SOVA food bank to try to assist some of the 1.4 million of our near neighbors who are in danger of going hungry every day. Of course there are many ways to help others, but if you’d like to learn more about SOVA, read this.
Many people also go without health care. There are 6.5 million Californians without any health insurance whatsoever, and for those who have health insurance, it is getting costlier all the time. In 2001, the average cost for individual coverage was $2,650. By 2003, the cost was $3,383. When I hear about practitioners in the community responding to this dire situation, it makes my heart sing. WLT readers know the value of alternative healing modalities, and those taking advantage of the Community Healing Project and other similar services are thrilled to find options that won’t take the food off their tables. Western medicine is a wonderful thing, but never underestimate the potential of alternative healing.
Prayer is also powerful, and I’m going to use this opportunity to make a rare, personal request. A very close relative, mother of an 11-year old, is in a coma following a severe automobile accident. We cannot know what the universe has in mind for us, but if you feel inspired to send a prayer or blessing, I would be grateful.
From my heart, Abigail Lewis
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