I am working hard to get back into the habit of posting. I know that I am doing too many things to keep myself from thinking about the changes in my life and the world. Posting is such a good way to vent feelings and share hope.
We have been through so much and now there is another war to think about. So many people are at risk and they did nothing to deserve it. Hitler started by just hopping into Poland and then kept going. I know so little about Putin and how much his personality could influence what happens next. In WWII we learned too much about how one person’s mania can destroy so much. Let’s hope we learned enough to do what works to end it.
After several plus years of dealing with a pandemic and now war it is so easy to get depressed. We are in a fragile condition emotionally. I don’t know there are very many people who have not suffered some deprivation since covid began. Most of us are not at our best to handle a new crisis. We have not yet recovered from the last one.
However in the midst of all of it we have to trust that somehow things will change. We cannot turn away from hope. It is the lifeline that we cling to and a gift from God. Over all the catastrophes we have endured throughout history we are still here. I pray that we will be able to push away the darkness and let in the light.
Hope! Continue to hope but don’t forget to “act as if” we can change things. We cannot sit by and do nothing. Small acts of hope and love matter. Act!
Today there has apparently been a lot of conversation about the Jeep commercial on the ball game last night. This whole thing is such a mystery to me. People are taking sides and giving their opinions of what was meant and why it was done. What about just considering what was said and how the words themselves have make people think. The fact that there has been so much discussion certainly lets us know that it struck a chord whether good or bad.
Instead of just fussing about each side what would happen if those talking could think about why this brought out so many opinions and thoughts? What if real discussion could take place and questions could be asked about what could be done to change the reality of so many splits today and why everyone has taken a “my way or the highway” position. When I was in my 20’s and 30’s people were allowed to take a different position without is causing anger and vituperation. Is there any going back? Is there any way to change? I hope to God there is.
Experience is a brutal teacher but you learn. My God do you learn. C.S. Lewis
Lewis is so right. The things that teach us the most are usually uncomfortable and sometimes outright painful. We learn so much from those lessons. The things that I regret the most and remember the most have been painful lessons. They changed me. Usually for the better.
Frequently those experiences had to do with hurting other people. The result hurt me. Maybe even more than the person involved. The trick is to not make the same mistake again. The important thing is that we learn from it. It is sad when we don’t learn.
The number of covid cases here continues to rise exponentially. Yesterday there were more than 1200 new cases in Austin. That is truly frightening. I guess people are so tired of all of this that they are just going about their business and not caring about being exposed. I so look forward to the time when we can get the vaccine.
Life in the apartment is fine and cleaning is easy but I do miss the view. There is something about water flowing that soothes my soul. I keep fighting depression and homesickness and some days are fine…others not so much.
This virus and the kind of life it has brought to all of us has been and continues to be challenging. Life has changed forever and we just have to learn to adapt to the new reality. Sometimes I am glad that my parents didn’t live to see these changes. They would have been appalled by how our country has changed.
We must continue to speak out about how things should be. We can’t be silent for that is what leads to bad outcomes.
I feel as if I am living back in a third world country. When we lived in Panama we couldn’t drive across the country without fear that anything we did wrong could cause us to be arrested and jailed. The police were also the army.
Now in my own country insurrection is real. And it seems that it is possible that this was incited by our own president. I am not very political but I do believe in obeying our laws and that the best form of protest is non violent.
I guess I am not as surprised as I should be since our divisions have been sending us that way. There is no way for people to agree. I used to volunteer where we tried to teach teens and even younger that there were ways to resolve differences without violence. I guess we need to focus on teaching the same things to adults.
Today I have encountered several things that bring into focus some major issues plaguing our culture today. I think we may be beginning to see the result of changes in the precepts for raising children. As we began an era were in most families two parents were working the parents, trying to spend “quality” time with their children were lured into the idea that everything should be as perfect for them as they could make it. I am not accusing the parents. The changes in society brought this about.
Now if things aren’t perfect for that group of adults they feel deprived and entitled to more. They grew up thinking that everything would always go their way and want to insist on it in their adult years.
At the same time we began to change how children were treated in society as a whole. We fretted about feelings so that there ended up being no winners or losers. Everyone was treated “the same.” Unfortunately everyone is not the same. That is actually a good thing and learning early that things aren’t fair prepares you for what you face later in life.
Because children were the most important thing in the world they would naturally not care about others but only look at continuing to get what they expected. Others don’t matter. Many times money was used to get them what they wanted as in the case of the parents who bought their children into colleges. What did they learn from that?
We have lost values. Values are “a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.” (dictionary) Unfortunately I sense that this may be the beginning of a major change in our way of life. The decline of morals and the change of values to “me” and money is a bad trend. We have to correct this direction.
Today I was talking with my daughter and she mentioned a term that is used in business a lot to describe what competitors do. The term is FUD an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty , and Doubt. I realized how true that phrase is and how often it is used
It is certainly the way of life for the press. If they can spread FUD on a subject then they will get everyone’s attention. In today’s world it may be the only thing we hear both from the news and from politicians running for office. I don’t think that I have heard one positive ad for anyone….have you?
The Black Live Matter issue uses FUD also. In fact some proponents of that movement use it physically with violence. If enough people are afraid maybe it will work.
Today I was watching a British crime drama called Endeavour. Something was said that immediately caught my attention and I was quick to write it down and add it to my quote book. It does relate somewhat to all of this.
“Cruelty is like cancer. It starts with one cell and grows until the whole body is riddled with it.”
The cancer is growing egged on by FUD. What are we learning today?
Violence is good? Fear is good? Hatred toward others is good?
Compassion, love, kindness are bad? Acceptance, understanding and respect toward others is OK for some and not others?
It reminds me of a quote from Benjamin Franklin. “All men are created equal but some are more equal than others.”
This article came from a blogger that I love beautybeyondbones. Because of my funky relationship with Facebook I have had to copy and past rather than forward. I hope you find this article enlightening. It is from https://beautybeyondbones.com/2020/09/03/nyc-needs-the-police/
I don’t have to tell you about society’s current tidal wave of hatred and detest towards our men and women in blue. Battle cries to “defund the police;” publicly canceling anyone who even considers that “blue lives matter.” There is a quelling uprising against law and order, and while – sure, it may seem “woke” and a noble bandwagon to jump on, the fact of the matter is, there are serious consequences to alienating those who are there to protect and defend. And that is being seen in full scale in Manhattan, no matter how much the mainstream media may try to downplay it.
(And Mom and dad, I apologize ahead of time for the worry this post may ignite. Please know that I am being safe, taking precautions, and frankly…not doing anything stupid to get into a dangerous situation.)
My friends and I got back from Maine on Monday night at midnight. And the city was lights out. Dead. For a city that used to literally never sleep — where you could go out at any time, on any day, and see swaths of people milling around — it is alarming that Manhattan is so quiet. And why? Because half of New York has left, and those that have stayed behind are scared to go out past 10.
Outdoor restaurants close at 10 pm. Historically 24-hour CVS’s, bodegas, and diners — now all close at 10. Parks – which have never been gated up…now, locked with a chain and padlock at 10.
Why? Because it is no longer safe to be out after dark.
Perhaps you may be thinking I’m overreacting. Sure…just a typical overdramatic millennial who’s extra skiddish because she’s a young woman who lives alone. Please. I have never once felt scared in NYC. Ever. Until now.
It was such a shock to go from “Mayberry,” Maine back to Gotham. The night my friends and I got home, I got a text from one of my friends — that morning, there was an arrest made in her building. A homeless man had been living in her stairwell for MONTHS, and had been stealing packages. This was in a super nice building on the Upper West Side — arguably one of the nicest, most affluent neighborhoods in Manhattan.
A man. Living in her stairwell.
Which is particularly alarming and crazy, because she had been getting her packages delivered to my doorman building for quite some time now, because all of her packages were going missing.
Crime is up.
You may recall the incident I had just a few months ago: where a BLM radical YouTuber accosted me outside my building, and forced me to get on my knees and hail BLM while he livestreamed it. I was one of a string of young women he “vlogged” that day.
Graffiti tags are absolutely everywhere. The population of homeless people has soared, and so has their boldness. My friend was curtly confronted by a homeless man who pressured her into VENMOING HIM money, when she explained she didn’t have any cash.
My “neighborhood watch” Citizen Ap on my phone pings incessantly throughout the day and night, notifying me of crime in my current vicinity. Unsettling reminders for sure.
These are not just isolated incidents. Homicides. Robberies. Burglaries. All have skyrocketed recently. And why? Because cops are afraid to do their jobs anymore.
Why put your life on the line, when — if you act to defend yourself, it could be filmed and end up on national news where you’ll be labeled a racist, and prosecuted?
They’ve had enough. And so they’re walking off the job. In startlingly large numbers.
The NYPD has recently cited “ongoing challenges,” including an “increase in retirements” and “deep budget cuts.”
That is terrifying information. Terrifying.
In case you missed it, back in June, one billion dollars was cut from the NYC police budget. And the impact of that are now beginning to be felt.
What is going to happen to our country if law and order is not the backbone of society? Truly? What will our world become?
Now here’s the tough part. Because yes – we need to support our men and women of the badge – but it is also true that there are “bad apples” that are drawn to the allure of the police force, and the power and -sadly, weaponry- that goes along with it. But to completely throw the entire baby out with the bathwater, just because of a problematic bunch…it is wholeheartedly unwise.
Are the horrific and heartbreaking incidents of unjust police brutality that have happened in recent months absolutely unwarranted, unjust, and deserving prosecution? One hundred percent yes.
But those handful of terrible, terrible incidents do not color the vast majority of blue men and women who truly have dedicated their lives and their livelihoods to protecting and serving the community, and keeping people safe.
It is a job that I cannot imagine waking up and doing every day.
And it is a job that, yes, probably should have more training and vetting, and support, and accountability, than it currently does.
But we need to support law and order in this country. Without it, we are creating a scenario ripe for malice, and foul play, and all sorts of corruption. A scenario that we are beginning to see play out in Manhattan.
You would never think that water would be a problem but here we go again. We now have a huge water bill because apparently something happened in April that we were not aware of. At that time I was tending to my recently hospital discharged husband. (still not well) I was barely holding my own. Somewhere, unaware of us, water was left running and caused an enormous water usage. Now there is the problem of scraping up the money to pay all of this to include having plumbers come out to tell us there is no leak now.
HELP!
Just another one of life’s glitches. Just when you think the money is holding up well something hits. There are so many people hurting so much more than us. Many are out of work and have not yet received any unemployment compensation. Many businesses are having to close. Covid has brought us to our knees. I pray that things begin to improve…even if just a little and that those who need help can get what they need.
worry-less-journey 