Citizen of the Planet

Alanis Morissette has an amazing song called "Citizen of the Planet" that's been resonating with me ever since a new and dear friend had me listen to it about eight states ago. One of the lines talks about-
-you know what? I'm not gonna do it justice. Here, you listen and tell me what you think.

......................................................
Citizen of the Planet
I start up in the North, I grow from special seed
I sprinkle in with sensibility
From French and Hungarian snow
I linger in the sprouting until my engine’s full

Then I move across the sea
To European bliss, to language of poets
As I cut the cord of home, I kiss my mother’s mother
Look to the horizon

Wide eyed, new ground
Humbled by my new surroundings

I am a citizen of the planet
My president is Kwan Yin
My frontier is on an airplane
My prisons: homes for rehabilitating

Then I fly back to my nest,
I fly back with my nuclear
But everything is different
So I wait

My yearn for home is broadened,
Patriotism expanded by callings from beyond
So I pack my things, nothing precious
All things sacred

I am a citizen of the planet
My laws are all of attraction
My punishments are consequences
Separating from source the original sin

I am a citizen of the planet
Democracy’s kids are sovereign
Where the teachers are the sages
And pedestals fill with every parent

And so the next few years are blurry,
The next decade’s a flurry of smells and tastes unknown
Threads sewn straight through this fabric
Through fields of every color, one culture to another

And I come alive and I get giddy
And I am taken and globally naturalized

I am a citizen of the planet
From simple roots through high vision
I am guarded by the angels
My body guides the direction I go in

I am a citizen of the planet
My favorite pastime edge stretching
Besotten with human condition
These ideals are borne from my deepest within

......................................................

...and they are.

Quote of the Day (Chief Seattle)

Today's post comes to us courtesy of a sticker I picked up somewhere in Georgia, in honor of bare feet on bare earth:

"Every part of this Earth is sacred to my people. The ground beneath our feet responds lovingly to our steps because it is the ashes of our ancestors. Our bare feet know the kindred touch.

When the streets of your towns and cities are quiet and you think they are empty, they still throng with the spirits that love this land. Our ancestors never forget this beautiful Earth. It is their Mother.
-Chief Seattle

Of course, there's all sorts of controversy over what Si'ahl actually said, and his speech has been rewritten more times than I can think of, but retelling history's like following an unwritten recipe - it never comes out the same way twice.