Morning Has Broken / Our Adventure Trip Was Fun / Photos Are Here!

“Knowing what is real,
Can never be compared
To what may be.“
– Wm. C. Anderson

Every day is an opportunity for the Celebration of Life.

My Dear Friends,
Our children are alive,
And they are truly celebrating life.
What you are observing in the actions,
In the motion of your child,
Is called JOY.

Ian and Jack prepare for our new adventure. Little do they know just how exciting it will be.

And if you have forgotten what it is,
Calm yourself down,
Have another cup of coffee,
And just observe your child at play.
And remember, you and they,
Need do ABSOLUTELY nothing to be joyful.
You are born with joy in your heart.
And joy still resides within.

Just observe your child at play.

.
.
.
‘I shut my eyes
in order to see.’
                  – Paul Gamarin

Now, take three deep breaths,
More may be required if you are my age.
Close your eyes
And think back to a time
When joy filled your heart.

‘My eyes make pictures,
when they are shut.’
– Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The child you were is the child you are.

“Love will abide, take things in its stride. Sounds like good advice.”   – Rod McKuen

Yes, you can remember.
It may take longer now that you are older.
Do not think about the people
That caused you to be so miserable.
They do not know what they do.
Forgive them, and stay away from them,
Do not think about money,
The stress of your job,
Or troubling misadventures,
They may have created the person you are.
Just think about you as a child,
How happy you were,
How joyful you could be.

You are born with joy in your heart.

“To be joyful is the basic nature of life.
Joy is the spiritual dimension of happiness,
in which one begins to understand
one’s intrinsic value and place in the universe.
Accepting joy is a decision
To “go with the flow,”
To be grateful to be alive.”
                     – Osho

Just think – how joyful you could be.

Our children are alive, and they are truly celebrating life.

Keep your eyes closed.
And know that the child you were
Is the child you are,
The child you can be again.
Joy has been living in the basement of your heart.
And as long as you are alive,
It will always reside within,
Impatiently waiting for you,
Longing to be free,
Desperate to be the driving force
In your life again,
Longing to dance you
To end of Love.

“It’s the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.”
              – Bette Midler

It is the morning of your life.

So what are you waiting for?
Forgive everyone of everything.
Become a child of God again.
Joy is one heartbeat away,
It lies on the other side of opening your eyes.
It is and always has been
The dream afraid of waking,
In the dark awaiting the dawn,
In the silence before the song.

‘Many eyes go through the meadow,
but few see the flowers in it.’
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The motion of your child, Is called JOY.

Now open your eyes,
They have been closed in many ways
Far too long.
Open your heart and sing your song.
Look around you,
It is the morning of your life.
And like the beautiful and loved Christian hymn,
Morning Has Broken,
gently reminds us:

       God’s recreation of the new day.

Morning has broken like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing,
Praise for the morning,
Praise for them springing fresh from the world.

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dew fall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight,
Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day.

Yes, Morning has broken
Of the new day.
Songwriter: Mark Stevens

     Success has a price!

Happy to be in the moment.

        In love with life.

Recently, I quietly observed a child
Literally dancing, by himself, thinking he was all alone.
I have seen such joy in the actions of a child many times.
With his hands in the air, he was almost in a trance,
Being magically transformed into a life-force
Fascinated by the essence of being, of existence,
Of being in love with life.

It was a beautiful moment to again realize
That someone on this Earth was so joyful, so blissful,
So very, very happy at simply being,
Being in the here and now of being alive.
I cannot describe the joy it brought to my heart.
For a few moments, I too, was celebrating existence,
Happy to be in the moment.

  Joy still resides within.

Much of what we construe to be
Overly active children at play,
Is simply a beautiful
Celebration of Life.

We enjoyed the swimming pool.

We may think this is a matter of perspective, point of view.
No.
It is ontologically significant.
It is a matter of knowing what is REAL.

We toured the National Museum of the Pacific War.

It is disturbing to me, and many of you,
To discover so little understanding
About our children.
Those that are highly active
Are NOT in need of harmful and addictive,
Cancer causing chemical substances, like Ritalin,
To make them appear compliant, docile and almost comatose.
Why would you want to pour some chemical substance,
That you know next to absolutely nothing about,
On the Fire of their precious Life?

Lady Diana is looking for new experiences including the sinking of an enemy ship.

Some 40 years after the drug was first marketed,
carcinogenicity tests were conducted by
The National Toxicology Program,
The results of which were published in 1995.
Adult mice were fed Ritalin over a two-year period
At dosages close to those prescribed to children.
The mice developed a statistically significant incidence
Of liver abnormalities and tumors,
Including highly aggressive rare cancers
Known as hepatoblastomas.

How do I know Riley is going to make a great Daddy?

These findings are particularly disturbing
As the tests were conducted on adult,
Rather than young mice which would be expected
To be much more sensitive to carcinogenic effects.
The National Toxicology Program concluded that Ritalin
Is a “possible human carcinogen,”
The Food and Drug Administration admitted
That these findings signal “carcinogenic potential,”.
Well, the F. D. A. did
Keep Thalidomide off the market in this country.

Mrs. A has what is called, “High Expectations”!

Another study at the University of Texas Medical Branch
At Galveston found that every one of a dozen children
Treated for attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder
With methylphenidate (RITALIN)
Experienced a threefold increase
In levels of chromosome abnormalities –
Occurrences associated with increased risks of cancer.

“Do the levels of chromosome abnormalities go back to normal?”
“We don’t know.”
Said Randa A. El-Zein, M.D., Ph.D.,
Assistant professor of epidemiology
At M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. read more

Hang in there, it’s not going to get easier!

There is also suggestive evidence that Ritalin
Induces genetic damage in the blood cells
Of Ritalin-treated children.
A study published in Biological Psychiatry 
(Biol Psychiatry 60:1121�1130, 2006. Wang L., et al.)
Suggests that exposure of Ritalin in youth
May later disrupt development of brain cells.

There are ALSO concerns regarding
The higher rates of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,
As well as increased severity of these disorders in individuals
with a history of stimulant use for ADHD in childhood.

           Thalidomide resulted in horrendous and heartbreaking results. Be careful what you take and what you give to your precious children.

Folks, are you getting the picture?
Well, just type Ritalin and Cancer
Into a search engine.
Be prepared to get physically ill,
As you discover that MILLIONS
Of our precious children have been recklessly
Exposed to this horrible substance.

It reminds me of the Thalidomide tragedy,
(Photos above and below)
a drug first marketed
As an over-the-counter sedative:
It came to be used by pregnant women
In many countries during the late 1950s and early 1960s
To get a good night’s rest and
As a treatment for morning sickness. read more

Yes, Mother slept very well, and never got another good night’s sleep after the baby was born.

I cannot even begin to tell you of the horrendous and heartbreaking results of taking this best selling sleeping pill.
see more here

My dear friends,
If you possess a substance prescribed for your precious child
in order to change what is really normal behavior,
I beg you to return it to the pharmacist.

We toured the Nation Museum of the Pacific War.

Hand it back to that person and ask him or her
If they would be willing to take this drug long term.
The look you see on their face should have been
Yours,
When you refused to purchase it.
Now, ask that person to dispose of it properly,
In your presence,
So that it is not sold to some other uninformed parent.
And ask him or her to give you your money back.
This step is very important
Because MONEY is the driving force
Behind pushing these dangerous substances
(just as it was for the sale of Thalidomide).

I just thought I would drop in and see how you are doing.

Common Side Effects of Ritalin include:
Addiction
Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
Decreased appetite
Headache
Stomach ache
Nausea
Dizziness
Heart palpitations

Other Serious Side Effects Include:
Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children
Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures
Eyesight changes or blurred vision

These nameless students are in the Cave Without a Name.

Other Side Effects include (Hey, the list just goes on, and on):
High blood pressure
Rapid pulse rate (and other heart problems)
Tolerance (constant need to raise the dose)
Feelings of suspicion and paranoia
Visual hallucinations (seeing things that are not there,
probably including having a future!)
Depression
Cocaine craving
Dermatoses (infected or diseased skin)
Urinary tract infection
Infection or viral infection
Elevated ALT enzyme levels in the blood
(signaling liver damage) read more

Next time we will try something difficult!

ADVENTURE TRIP

We had a great time.
Our sincere gratitude to Gina Moreland
for planning this awesome, adventuresome trip.
Thank you again!

And my gratitude to Alexander Anderson for his,
as ever, kind assistance.

And my appreciation to Bruce Rodgers
For helping in so many ways.

And thanks to Riley Smelley
for your many efforts at assisting us.

And thank you students and parents,
One and all,
For the many acts of
Kindness and patience and compassion.

You are all deeply Loved and sincerely appreciated.

In The Soil of the Last Goodbye / Adventure Trip This Week

When you are young and in need of Love,
The time you spend with someone who cares,
Who Loves you,
Who makes you feel
That you have worth and dignity,
That you are cherished above all things
In Heaven and on Earth,
That life can be vibrant and alive
With Love,
Is of more value
Than life itself.

Today, in this our time,
The self-esteem of many children
Is dangerously below the horizon
Of what they can see for tomorrow.
It is so low,
That wherever some children may go,
The direction of their life
Simply does not matter.
You may think that is an embroidery
Of what is truth,
But, my friends, it is not.

Look around you.
Drug and alcohol addiction and suicide rates
Are unbelievably high
And climbing.

All the time a child is left feeling all alone, a human Heart cries.

In Loving Memory of Chrissie Carrigan November 14, 1986 – December 6, 2001

Our children do not need to tell you
They need Love.
In the felt absence of those
Who have already abandoned all hope
And taken their own lives,
Their silence has stoned us.
For nothing is as deafening
As the destruction
Of a precious Human Heart
That beats within.

In Loving Memory of Jared Benjamin High Sept. 23, 1985 – Sept. 29, 1998

In Loving Memory of Michelle Woody January 7, 1985 – April 23, 2002

In Loving Memory of Joshua Thompson, January 14, 1983 – November 6, 2002.

Your death may,
One day,
Be found in your child’s heart.
For Love lives where it may.

And if not in your eyes,
If not in your heart,
Love will find a home
Very, very deep
Within the recesses of a mind
Left terribly all alone,
Buried in the soil of your
Last Goodbye.

Yes, my friends,
Love will live, somewhere, anywhere,
Even in a hell on earth,
Until it finally dies.

 

In Loving Memory of Brandon Monrose-Rousseau January 30,1989-October 2, 2000

All the time a child
Is left feeling all alone,
A human heart cries.
And with the last drop
Of the very last tear,
My friends,
It dies.

  I think of
Don Mclean’s beautiful
And prophetic song,
And I Love You So,
It speaks to all of us
And reminds us
How Loveless
Life can be.

Nothing is as deafening as the destruction of a precious Human Heart

  “People ask me how,
How I lived till now.
I tell them I don’t know.
I guess they understand
How lonely life has been.
Yes, I know how lonely life can be.
The shadows follow me
And the night won’t set me free.”

As a child searches for any meaning in this life,
For any reason to continue,
The smallest kindness
Is reflected in every thought,
Remembering every act
Of caring and compassion.

And so,
Don’s haunting and philosophical
Song of Life concludes:

“And you love me too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I’m happy that you do
The book of life is brief
And once a page is read
All but love is dead.”

Children are, my friends,
In a very real way,
Desperate for Love.

You may never fully realize
What the warmth of your smile,
Your act of caring and compassion
Means to a child Desperate for Love.

But such love as possesses
The deep yearning of the young,
Now, and forever,
Can sparkle through the darkening recesses
Of the mind and the heart,
As the past unfolds
Into the hopes and dreams
Of tomorrow.

The light of our lives
Can dance upon the waters,
With beauty beyond what you can behold.
Such is the love our lives can bestow,
That nevermore can we be made blind.
In such love,
God breathes Everlasting Life,
Which shall not be sacrificed
Upon the altar of time.

The smallest kindness Is reflected in every thought.

As songwriter and singer
John Denver
So beautifully and poetically
Shared with us in
“Looking for Space“:

“On the road of experience
trying to find my own way,
Sometimes I wish that I could fly away.
When I think that I’m moving
then suddenly things stand still,
I’m afraid because I think they always will.

And I’m looking for space
and to find out who I am
And I’m looking to know and understand.
Its a sweet, sweet dream,
sometimes I’m almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle,
sometimes I’m deep in despair.

All alone in the universe,
sometimes that’s how it seems
I get lost in the sadness and the screams.”

In Loving Memory of Mitch Beavers September 10, 1984 – August 7, 2001

 

In Loving Memory of thousands of our precious children.

The Plural of Infinity / Spring Adventure Trip / Twelfth Night Photos

Unbridled Love

          Dedicated to the memory of
          Oskar and Emilie Schindler

Oskar and Emilie saved upwards of 1,200 Jewish men, women and children from the gas chambers of Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen during the Holocaust. Today there are more than 8,000 descendents – the precious children and grandchildren.

Pure Grace

The story of their lives bears witness to a rare purity of goodness, love and compassion. Together they were truly inspiring evidence of courage and human decency during the evil of the Holocaust.

They spent millions to feed, protect and save people. It was everything they possessed and Oskar died penniless. But their existence on this Earth became something of the Eternal. Their Love transcended space and time in ways we shall never understand. Today they are remembered for real courage and rare compassion in a world of unbelievable brutality and evil. And their legacy is simple and powerful and pure. It is Love. And only Love is real.

My Dear Friends,

You, too, are a Savior.
And you are more than One,
The many of One,
The Plural of Infinity,
The Divide of None.

“Whoever saves one life,
saves the world entire.”
– the Talmud

One is the Gift
God benevolently bestowed in you.
But silent and unseen,
The Gift of your being,
Is Infinite in Virtue.
Far, far more than you think you are,
Not apparent to eye or mind,
Your Love outshines the brightest Star.

“Silent and unseen God comes,
but with infinite power and love –
with a love for you
beyond your comprehension.”
– Mother Teresa

The Savior and the Saved

You are here and everywhere,
Now and Forever,
The Savior and the Saved,
Treasure more than precious,
Forgiver and Forgiven,
An Infinite Trace
In the Sacred space
Of Heart and Mind,
Creation of Pure Grace,
Child of Perfection,
Beloved, Embraced.

Your unbridled Love
Harbors the Fleet of all Nations,
When wide the gate is open,
And One Heart
That beats for another,
Goes forth with courage to save
One,
One who is other,
And makes many of One,
Sister and Brother.

“To see a world in a grain of sand,
and heaven in a wild flower;
to hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.”
– William Blake

Sacred above all others

For you are
The Plural of Infinity,
The Divide of None,
Everlasting to Everlasting
In Love,
Sacred above all others,
Below
Or Above.

Yes,
You harbor the Fleet of all Nations,
In the Infinite Space
Of a Heart filled with Love,
And Abundant with Grace.

What a Paradise Love is

To Love and be so Loved
And never be let go,
Is to know
What a Paradise Love is,
Cradled by the warmth of Two hearts aglow.

In your heart so afraid of waking,
In Soulful yearnings yet undreamed of,
Reach for the warm Embrace of God
In the arms of One
You Love.

You harbor the fleet of all Nations.

And as two hearts beat as One,
In the Infinite endlessness You feel,
You will
Come to know,
Only Love
Is real.

.
.

“Learn to see,
and then you’ll know
there is no end
to the new worlds of our vision.”
– Carlos Castaneda

Hill Country, here we come!

It is time for our Spring Adventure Trip, and we are headed to the TAPATIO SPRINGS RESORT (read more) nestled in the heart of Hill Country on 220 acres. We will breathe in the fresh country air, get inspired by big skies, swim, ride horses and perfect our golf swing. It’s all about fun and making memories. Tapatio Springs has awe – inspiring views, and experiences we have been craving.

The itinerary is susceptible to change. Lunch and dinner will be additional expenses, but we ask all students to order from the children’s menu, which is reasonably priced.

We will gather at the school on MONDAY, May 18, between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., to load suitcases, backpacks, etc. into the vehicles making this trip (and confabulate, sign forms, reminisce about past adventures, tell jokes (please bring some good ones), etc.

Departure for the resort is at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, from the McDonald’s Restaurant, at the corner of White Settlement Road & Clifford Street. Those planning to have breakfast should arrive early.

We plan to return between 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Friday. We will call parents/guardians approximately 1-2 hours prior to our anticipated arrival. Please check with Dr. Anderson to be sure he has ALL current telephone numbers to reach you. It is CRITICAL that we be able to contact you in case of an emergency.

Our sincere gratitude to Gina Moreland for planning this wonderful experience. Thank you!

Adventure trips are an integral part of the curriculum, and
ALL students are expected to participate and join in the fun.

Photos from the Anderson School production of
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
performed at Stage West Theater
and Directed by George X Rodriguez
May 4 & 5
2015

My sincere gratitude to Alexander Anderson for his kind assistance in filming and assisting with photographs and so many other needs. And my appreciation to Nick Meagher for video taping the play. Thanks to your efforts it will be made available for everyone to view soon. More still photos may be viewed next week on this weblog. And thank you Amy Oliver, kind as ever, for sharing the beautiful photos. We will continue to place these on this weblog.

 

How E’er The Tender Heart Drowns / Remembering Saffy

How e’er the tender heart drowns
In a sea of need everlasting.
How felt those surround
That never heard, nor have seen,
A beating heart bleeding,
In lonely isolation,
In desolation sown,
A singular precious seed,
Feeling others forsaking,
A Child of God,
In fear of waking.

A felt heartbeat of one,
Homeless, in such need,
A lonely heart, faintly beating.
A tired heart to be
Troubled, hungry,
Barely able on the morrow
To see.

Standing, but not tall.
Smiling, but only in memory.
Alone, all alone.
Still able to sleep, a little,
But cold, tired when awake.
So depressed
And slipping ever deeper
Into a darkening sea.
And the cost
Of each remembrance of Love,
Lost.

But truth, if told,
And not often I know,
Be bitter and cold –
‘Tis our heart bleeding,
Ours, that does not Love
Enough to Love enough,
That never does not know
It is beating,
In time with all others.
For ours is one with the other,
Hearts waking,
Feeling not truly alive,
One without the other.

Oh, Child
Of never waking dreams,
Despair not.
The Love you are seeking,
It lies beneath
The ever deepening sea
Of our neglect,
Our transgressions.
It lies below
The horizon
Of everything we see,
In our thoughts,
In our Prayers,
Our deeds,
In the eyes of another
Looking at, pleading with,
You,
His brother.

My friends, no child should be in a shelter for the homeless. Children should live in our hearts and in a home sheltered by our humanity, cradled with our compassion and provided for by our Prayers and Thanksgiving.

I must share with you that I am truly embarrassed to pass by corporate structures glittering in the bright sunlight, appearing as Cathedrals in the sky, and Cathedrals of Prayer casting ever deepening shadows over the homeless, as they pass by. How often I wonder, has the heart of this America that I Love, stopped beating?

I am proud of Alexander, Natalie and Jacob, as they struggle to create a new home for a precious Child and a Mother in need of Love, in need of a home.

My friends, if you will join us in creating this home, at the Anderson School, for a homeless Mother and Child, please let us know. Let us hear from you, as our students Nobly struggle to create a new home on our campus.

Next week I will share the story, and photographs, of our students in performances of William Shakespeare’s, “Twelfth Night” at Stage West Theater. It was a remarkable and challenging adventure. I am very proud of everyone. And I am so grateful for the Herculean efforts of our magnificent Director, George Rodriguez. And OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE goes to Dana Schultes and the wonderful staff at Stage West Theater.

Our deep appreciation to Lauryl Blossom for the tasty and uplifting snacks for everyone and to David & Amy Smelley for the fabulous, first class Lunches and many other acts of kindness. And thanks to Steve and Julie Kline for your thoughtfulness, as always.

And our appreciation to Nick Meagher and our very own Alexander Anderson for video taping the play. Thanks to your efforts it will be made available for everyone to view very soon. And still photos may be viewed next week on this weblog. Your support is more than appreciated. It was uplifting to our Spirits. We are so blessed to have such friendship.
    Thank you!

Tomorrow we will have a wonderful surprise. My friend, Carter Andrews, will instruct the Philosophy Class. He will inform us about how close we are to a global warming disaster – just six degrees!

   Saffy

Our deeply Loved Saffy has passed away.

It has been about fours years since she came to us. She was so very close to death. But Love, as it is able to do, breathed new life into her being and she breathed the light of her Love into our hearts.

She suffered from congestive heart failure the last few months. And as I carried her home in my arms, she drew her last breath.

What a precious gift she has been to so many of our children, her friends.

As we lay her down to rest, my friend, Ian, painted a beautiful stone for her while others placed flowers on her grave.

The lesson taught by such beautiful Creations reflect the profound Love found within each heart. Compassion, my friends, is learned and often from the most noble and beautiful of God’s wonderful creations.

The Light of our Love can split the darkest night. It can reveal what has been hidden in plain sight – the meaning of life.

I Pray that in the complexity and difficulty of life, you simply Love one another and let it be.