Memorial Day Reflections

It is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not. Let’s take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is an act that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.
 

Please do not wish "Happy Memorial Day" – it ain’t, it is rather a day of reflection. Of course it may be nothing for you other than the weekend to relax, and that is fine too.
 
You might find it meaningful to stop and say a prayer at one cemetery or the other, it is merely symbolic, and you don’t have to make an effort, just pull over on the road side of any cemetery and reflect on life for a few minutes.

 You don’t have to be religious to say a prayer – a prayer is merely “wishing goodness” to others. You may see it or not, we are all interconnected and the joy comes from seeing everyone connected is in harmony and peace. The idea of this prayer may be selfish, as we find ourselves some serenity.

If you could, please pray for our men and women who gave up their lives to defend our freedom and safety that we cherish. There is a joy that accrues to you by expressing gratitude.

My Grandfather had advised me to visit a cemetery or attend a funeral of a stranger to pay respects, and he added, for every wedding you attend, match it with attending a funeral or visiting a cemetery, he believed, it will straighten us out as humans, and I found that profound and enriching to the soul.

Of course, you pray for the beloved ones every day, but this is a special day, the national day of remembrance and it would be nice, if we as a nation pray for the well being of all.

I will take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for me, and those who cared for others whether I knew them or not.

There is a beautiful all inclusive prayer that most Muslims say almost every day – the gist of which is ; Dear God forgive me, forgive my parents, my relatives, my friends, my community,  those who are alive, and those who aren’t. By the way when we seek forgiveness, we are suggesting to ourselves to find relief from all the burdens we carry in our day to day life and cherish a few peaceful moments. May we all be at peace, Amen!

Mike Ghouse is a motivational speaker and all his info is at www.MikeGhouse.net

My Memorial Day

It was good visiting Dadski Everett Blauvelt’s spot at the Dallas Forth Worth National cemetery in Grand Prairie located at Barium D71.  This morning widow Lili Blauvelt, daughter and son in law Mary and Mike Keifer and I made the trip to the National Cemetery at Grand Prairie.

It was a peaceful place! I needed to visit him, he was the one who got me here in the United States and I owe him gratitude and I wanted to say thank you to him every time. The Mike part of my name was his choice. He was a great fatherly figure to me for 35 years, i.e., more than half of my life.  He is no more but I hear his voice and his smile.  

Indeed, one of the greatest things about American Culture is the amount of reverence given to the final resting place, particularly the veterans. The Veterans cemeteries I have been to are in hills and valleys – it’s a place of serenity, heaven on the earth for our veterans.


We shared a short prayer together, and I felt a sense completing the life transaction,  and it was a closure for Mary and Lili, I am glad we went, and it was the same with me. Michael (Mary’s husband, he is also Mike, but to differentiate I will refer to him as Michael, that’s how Sean Hannity does to me to differentiate from his son) is a good support to Mary, and a good husband through the period Dadski was in Nursing home and finally through the hospice care.

I believe I am blessed with similar sensitivity as Michael. We both are quite and sensitive to the needs of the loved ones, today he was quite and supportive of Mary, he let Mary be Mary and attended to her when needed. I admire that quality in a man.

 I had my own quite Muslim prayers for Dadski ( Link). After the visit, we went to witness the commemoration for the next two and half hours. It was a good relief after the prayers at Dadski’s spot. I guess the Veterans have a way to make life easy for the loved ones.

I ran into Larry Duncan, President of the Dallas County. He and I have been together in many places, he has attended several of the events I organize.  It was a joy to see the dedication of the Boy Scouts – they were everywhere on the grounds passing water bottles. It was really a good thing to see those kids. I know it when my kids were in boy and girl scouts. It was good to see a Sikh child as a part of the boy scouts as well.

My next stop was the Muslim Cemetery in Denton to pray for my late wife Najma and her father. Most Muslims visit cemeteries at least twice a year on two festivals, and pray for every one, the living and the dead. There is nothing special about the cemetery, but just a peaceful thoughtful place I choose to visit, it could be any place and from anywhere.

I prayed for my father and mother, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, my sister in law Tahseen, my nephew Ahmed and my friend Sharif's parents and Bhabi Sudesh Sharma, (wife of my brotherly friend - Kundan Sharma), DJ Sharma, Siraj Ahmed, and my first real friend Jameel Ahmed. Prayer is indeed good for the soul, and good way to connect with yourselves through your loved ones.

It is an all inclusive universal Muslim prayer that runs something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen."

 Dear God, I thank you for the life and the freedom you have given me and my fellow humans and I thank for all those who have sacrificed their lives for me to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

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Memorial Day - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/05/memorial-day-reflections-by-pluralist.html

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Mike Ghouse

Memorial Day Reflections by Pluralist Mike Ghouse

Please do not wish a “Happy Memorial Day” on this day; it is not a celebration to be happy about, it is rather an observance to commemorate and ponder. We observe the Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year; remembering and honoring the men and women who died while protecting and serving our country.

Why does it matter to you? The freedoms that you and I cherish or take it for granted, did not come to us on a platter and was not a given thing either, it was earned for us through the sacrifice of men and women who fought for it. It is particularly important day for all the immigrants who enjoy full civil rights and equal opportunity in America.

I am pleased to share my thoughts, hoping you would find it to be a meaningful day for you. What will I do and what can you do is as follows.

The tradition of Memorial Day observance began after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and confederate soldiers who died in the civil war. Indeed, it was the civil war that abolished slavery ( it is time to watch the movie Lincoln)  which was the stepping stone for passing the Civil rights Act of 1964 and the very cause for the immigrants to make it to America.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 states (wiki) that is “a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as "public accommodations").”

By the way I am related to General Robert E. Lee through my son and daughter’s family on their mother’s side.

Had it not for the Civil Rights Act (thanksgiving link honoring MLK), we the immigrants, from some 200 nations would not have come to the United States; we would not have been allowed either. Up until 1910, no one but a white person could own the property here in Dallas. Heck getting a decent job was out of question; my Jewish friends tell stories of not getting a decent job up until 1960. The immigrants were not allowed to marry either; the first such case happened in the last century when an Indian man married a white woman and their troubles began, and thank God, they endured the struggles, and seeded reforms in the immigration law.

Every one of us is designed to pursue happiness. Of the many things that bring serene happiness to the soul is the expression of gratitude. It is thanking the creator for the life we have, (Appaiah story) and thanking those who have laid the foundation for our happiness and freedom that we take it for granted. Thanks to our soldiers who fought in the civil war to preserve that freedom for us, and the least we can do is honor them. If you see the men and women in the uniform, tell them that you appreciate them. They deserve to hear the appreciation.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not and whether they have served in the military, police and fire or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not necessarily a noble thing or a religious thing, it is the rigth thing to do.  Indeed, it is the thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

 On the Memorial Day in 2010, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, an 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for my country's freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are gone, parents, family, friends, believers and strangers.

This year, my Dadski (father figure link) passed away. I am grateful to him for being the catalyst for me to be here in America, he has been a good friend and a father figure to me. I will be visiting the National Cemetery in Grand Prairie and place a US Flag for him.

Every cemetery I spot on the memorial day, either I will pull over on the road side or walk to the gate of the cemetery, or silently pray for them. Praying for the unknown connects you with the unselfish-self in you, giving a sense of joy that is hard to explain. Try it and see how good you feel about yourselves - visit a cemetery, eventually we all have to go there.

I will be visiting the Islamic Cemetery in Denton to pray for my late wife and through the cemetery pray for my parents, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, and my sister in law, and the known and unknown.

The Muslim prayers run something like this, “Dear God, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women, the living and the dead with your mercy. Amen."

 Dear God, I thank you for the life and the freedom you have given me and my fellow humans and I thank for all those who have sacrificed their lives for me to have this freedom to stand freely and pray here today, I salute our men and women in the uniforms for protecting and defending our freedom. Amen.

(This is my draft, disturbed by a phone call – I will fix this later today and add more soul searching items to it).


URL -  http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/05/memorial-day-reflections-by-pluralist.html

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.