Elizabeth Edwards: May you rest with the angels

Elizabeth Edwards has passed from complications of breast cancer. This is the post that she left on her Facebook page yesterday:

"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces -- my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel towards everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

Farewell to a beautiful soul, a brilliant mind and a person of courage. Rest with the angels.

Arsenic and Old Faith

Well here we are, contending with the discovery of a new life form on our very own planet. Totally alien, it has existed right under our noses in a lake in California....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/02/nasa-new-life-arsenic-bacteria_n_791094.html?ref=email_share

It resembles nothing else on the planet. It doesn't relate to anything in our experience. What do we suppose is the purpose of this humble bacteria (assuming there has to be a purpose)? Has it been quietly waiting for millennia for the end of us all to start it's own slow, tortured evolution to dominance?

Oh what will those "Fundamentalists" say as they consider this little glitch in their twisted cosmology? Imagine this as a new life-form waiting in the wings to come forth. Starting from square one, we are annihilated and replaced by this lowly eccentric bacteria. Perhaps we have fallen that far from "God's Grace". Imagine the shock of the "Born Agains". Arsenic and Old Faith.

And the bafflement of the scientists. The rules are broken again. I find it amazing to think our views of the universe are so egocentric that we believe they must apply throughout the vast reaches of space. How funny we are and how pathetic. What incredible egos.

What surprises me is that it was so hard to accept the idea that life could be based on other elements. Why not? The problem with our scientific community is that it rigidly adheres to that which is known (at the present time) and then presumes that laws based on our limited knowledge manifest themselves throughout the universe.

Well, guess what? This is obviously not a universe that is egocentric to earth. When you think about that it is almost laughable. And here is this stuff, right on our planet. It won't be long before they start tearing this apart to save face.

Arsenic, no less.

One wonders what else may be here right under our noses. What do we refuse to acknowledge--or cannot be capable of recognizing? Perhaps many anomalous events interpreted as "paranormal" are perfectly natural occurrences that are difficult for us to interpret because we are experiencing an alternate life form.

Food for thought.