Colors of the Wind

"In your veins, and in mine, there is only one blood, the same life that animates us all! Since one unique mother begat us all, where did we learn to divide ourselves?" Kabir

Two of the most colorful seasons are spring and autumn. In the spring you get the blossoms on the trees in preparation of the fruit. Many of the ground covers start as flowers and then turn green for summer. In the autumn the leaves turn the most glorious colors before we enter the slumber of winter. We have nature at its most beautiful. All of the seasons have their own beauty but spring and autumn are my two favorites.

One of my favorite television shows is Heroes. It is no secret that I am a huge science fiction/fantasy fan. I grew up on it and it is still my favorite today. In a way Heroes has a link to the original Star Trek and not just because George Takei appeared in both. Both shows have a multi-racial cast but neither show plays the race card. The people are all united in a common cause and work together without race becoming an issue. In Star Trek they were united in exploring space. In Heroes they all have special powers that they are learning to deal with and are either united in trying to stop the explosion or in promoting the explosion.

The fan favorite in Heroes is Masi Oka who happens to be Japanese. Masi comes from the science fiction/fantasy fan community and we are thrilled to have one of our own make it big. George Takei, who plays his father in Heroes, is also a fan favorite because he is very accessible to his fans and is a genuinely nice person. He was always one of my favorite guests to work with.

Today's quote asks a very important question, how did we come to divide ourselves? At what point did we forget that we are all members of the human race and start quantifying who we are?

Who we are is a sum of many parts. Our ethnic and religious backgrounds are part of our makeup and influence how we perceive ourselves in the context of this world we live in. It is also a part of how others perceive us. I am primarily Irish Catholic and I have experienced prejudice towards both my ethnic and religious background. Those experiences have shaped how I perceive the world today. Bono said on the Charlie Rose Show that he gets his drive to help others from "good old Catholic guilt."

Pride in your heritage is not a bad thing. You should be proud of who you are and where you came from. It is important however to remember that we are also part of a larger whole. We are a member of the human race and no matter what our color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, political persuasion, etc. we are all the same under the skin. The late Carl Sagan said we are all made of "star stuff."

One of my favorite songs is Colors of the Wind. As the song says:

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

The picture is called Circle of Life and we are all a part of that circle.

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