Happy Fourth of July!......A serious reflection.....For once.

I spoke to my daughter this morning.

Not that it would normally be any big deal but she is not here.

Not around the corner, or around the block, or even a train ride away.

She is abroad.

In Africa to be precise.

But through the miracle of technology we pushed a few buttons on the tiny telephone and voile’.

There she was.

Her melodic voice threading through the African brush and the airwaves to squeal, “Happy Fourth of July!”

It made me smile.

She is on a mission, both spiritually and professionally to help some of the rural communities in South Africa become more independent. 

To accomplish this she is living in a remote village with a host family and their children.

She spends long days mentoring and teaching others.

Long days of working, walking, talking and living within this remote microcosm of humanity.

Her conversation with us did not last long because of the cost of calling and the time limitations of the day but her first order of business was to introduce us to two members of her “family”.

“Papa Elvis” and “Mama Sisanda”.
“Papa Elvis”, (as in Presley), was the first to get on the line and he busted out a hearty, “Hello!” and assured me in broken English that, “Your daughter is very safe with me.”

This of course choked me up a little because as a Mom, no matter how old your children are, you always worry about their safety.

I told him thank you and that I hoped she was behaving herself.

I am sure he did not understand all that I said, but I heard him chuckle across the miles.

Then I was introduced to “Mama Sisanda”    

My daughter presented her to me by saying, “She’s just like you Mama, she loves to dance and sings while she works!” 

“I am teaching her, I’ll Fly Away!”

Intake of breath.

And through the phone line, crackling across thousands of miles, a familiar refrain.

“Some glad morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away.”

“To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.”

I was transported.

Back through time.

To a wooden church pew.

Ceiling fans lazily spinning above my head on a hot Summers day.

Munching on a saltine to keep me quiet because I was just a child.

Gazing at my beloved, now departed Mama.

Her voice raised in praise.

Eyes closed.

Singing this beautiful hymn in the spirit and the understanding.

I of course, began to weep.

Silently the tears began to flow down my cheeks and yet this woman, this “Mama” to my daughter for even a few months, never stopped her song.

She was unaware if I was listening or even enjoying her melody, she was rejoicing!

My daughter said, “Isn’t that beautiful?’

“I choked back the tears and tried to sound normal, “That is fantastic!”

She exclaimed, “I downloaded the words on the Internet and gave them to her!”

“I remembered that this was Grandmas favorite song and I love it too!”

“It’s perfect”, I said.  “Tell her she is a beautiful singer!”

How amazing that this hymn, this anthem to transformation, would have touched my daughters’ soul so deeply that she would want to share it with this stranger in this exotic land.

So incredible that her “GG” gave her a spiritual gift that she will carry in her heart forever.

I was overwhelmed by all of the different emotions and managed to keep a smile in my voice so she wouldn’t be sad and mistakenly think she had upset me.

As it was, when we finished our brief conversation and I hung up the phone, I was at peace.

It struck me at that moment, on this Fourth of July, when we all celebrate the freedom that we hold so dear, that here, as well as in all corners of the world, freedom must also be in your mind.

That this woman who many would consider poor and impoverished, had the one thing that we all should have, no matter our station or monetary situation or lot in life.

Hope.

Hope for her family.

Hope for peace.

Hope for a relationship with a power higher than herself, whether it be God or Buddha or the Universe.

She was happy!

And she SANG and DANCED while she did her daily chores.

She took care of her family and her home and her greatest blessings were the simplest blessings.

Their safety, their health and their happiness.

So that is my wish for us all on this spectacular day of celebration.

That we all realize that no matter what happens in life,

We should always have hope.

Within ourselves.

For each other.

For our children.

For our nation.

For our planet.

For after all, we are the creators of our own future.

The choice of living in misery or living in happiness is always up to you.

Take a lesson from "Mama Sisanda".

Choose Joy!

……..I’m just sayin’