Beginnings

Something isn't right; something's missing.  Gotta find that niche, that small space of the world where she fits.  She has to find her 'thing,' the it that keeps her going.  What is life without meaning?  Without stuff to fill all of the white noise?  It's cold and empty.  I never had any direction, except to the next best wave.  Or what appeared to be best, better.  Perhaps that is life, but it makes for difficulty.  No soft pillow to seek solace, and shoulders to cry on are only so available.  It's time to be a big girl and learn what it truly means to live.  Right...begin.

Boat Show?

Tonight we scaled the scene of a 'boat show,' a show of boats, large ones, overly large - this usually emphasizes an inadequacy on the part of the owner.  True?  I think maybe.  It was an interesting experience that affirms ones beliefs in how disgusting consumerist society can be, as they flop around, drunk, not watching as they walk and ogle over female bodies and, yes, big boats.  One in particular struck me, as it had a kind of hatch - sort of futuristic even - so that you could be completely enclosed, so as not to get wet.  Is it just me or does this defeat the purpose of being on the water?  I feel that I would have some desire to get wet...I don't know.  I further didn't understand because it would not completely submerge - dare I call the folks who would ride in one of these pansies?  Or perhaps that is more a compliment and they deserve a different name - like plain stupid and wasteful?  So much space, so much energy and time wasted on this event.  It's unfortunate that this is a small representation (I fear growing larger) of human cultures.  That's right, not just American culture anymore as many other nations seek to partake in the consumption game.  Everybody wants things and more things, as if that will fill the gaping holes.  When did human beings stop trying to be a part of nature?  When did they stop awing at the moon - the heavens if you will - or admiring a fresh sprig of flowers in Spring, enjoying good conversation and the energy of those around them, when did we stray so far from our inner beings?

One of my favorite quotes is actually from a Disney song...it pops into my head often, it is "there must be more than this provincial life."  For those of you not familiar, this is from The Beauty and the Beast, sung by the character Belle.  Though the word used provincial is not exactly what I would go with, the feeling seems very similar.  A feeling of frustration and longing for something more.  Yes, I am happy in my life, that I am happy to be close to those I love, and I do cherish the relationships I have, but when I really observe the horrors and ignorance of humans, it makes me sad; it makes me long for a better place - a world of life energy and openness, free of petty emotions, restrictions that hold us back from being....better.  Of course, I have my own petty instances.  We're only human right?  Can we strive for more?  Can you, reader, whomever you may be, make that effort to more than human, to be a representation of love and acceptance?  I think we need more of this.  I'm certainly not practicing this as I scowl at women who wear too much make-up, plastic faces and breasts, morphing their appearances, for what?  Pity comes to mind, not in the negative sense, but more-so because that is what people like this deserve; it seems they are not comfortable within themselves so they 'dress up' and hide behind a mask.  Yet, I quote a Disney song....(sigh).

So, I've been trying to do more of what they call military style showers to conserve water: soak, soap, rinse.  Simple right?  It's actually not horrible, unless I suppose you wanted to shave some body part.  It is one of several small attempts I make at being more friendly to Earth, if that's possible.  It also saves me a lot of time in the mornings.  I recommend a try.  There are so many people that do so much more.  I applaud you all, especially you who don't shave, or shower rarely, those who live on the streets in cardboard boxes - you're probably as green as they come - people who yellow mellow, people who compost, people who grow (and sometimes smoke it ;) I applaud you all for your efforts.  You're very kind.  On that note, it's time for sleep, another day, another chance.  Sweet dreaming friends. 

 

350

Hello folks,

I have some depressing news.  Global warming is a reality.  Oh wait, this isn't news.  There have been warnings for years and, yep, now we're there.  According to my source (reading parts of the book Eaarth by Bill McKibben) we are hoping for 350 parts per million as our atmospheric level of carbon.  If we can be at this level (which we are currently well over - much closer to 400 ppm) than we can sustain life as we know it!  Yippee!  According to McKibben, and his plethora of science experts that he cites, there is no going back.  Unfortunately, I fear there is no stopping it either.  I mean, there is, I just don't see it happening anytime soon, or ever, for that matter.  The cycle - the one that we humans have pushed to such a rapid pace - is  in motion, like an upside down ride that won't move back into the right side up position, the blood rushing to our heads, numbness in our toes until we finally just pass out.  And I suppose that will be how it continues; humans throughout the world passing out from hunger, thirst and shear heat exhaustion, never again to be awakened.  And what would be the point if there are not enough life sustaining supplies to go around?  I read these thoughts and I want to curl up in a ball in a corner and cry myself into a state of numbness.  But what would be the point of that?  It doesn't solve anything and only leaves me even more miserable.

McKibben offers a glimmer of hope with his 350 movement.  A hope that I don't feel I share at this point.  Even more so, with the current political climate it seems that people are still more concerned with destroying one another; which seems absurd since the planet will do it for us in another 50 or less years.  Unless we can deter this, and I think we could if we tried.  I think many more of us could adapt to the coming changes, perhaps we could help get to the 'magical' number 350.  So I will share this thought with all of you and return to my life when it is finished.  I will continue to drive my same old car, go to work, pay my bills, try to consume less, conserve more (like drinkable water), and wait.  I will wait to cease, which I guess is what we do anyways right?  We do our things that seem so important, cloud our thoughts with daily tasks - essentially meaningless - and just wait for the end, hoping that we have a beautiful funeral with lots of people, hope for a better other side.  Well, all I really want is for this to be the better side, for the right now to be that beautiful place, to love and enjoy right now, understanding the costs of my actions.  I want to try and be a better human being, but I fear it isn't enough - and what's that saying?  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?  Is this where I'm at?  Do I dare give up in a search for beauty and meaning in life and succumb to consumerist society?  Damn I hope not.  Goodnight and good morning to all.  I hope your day brings peace and joy; cherish our time here on planet Earth and with those you love.  Embrace what is now, because it won't be there forever.  But this is what we humans must learn, that change happens, we must always accept what is, in the ideals of Eckhart Tolle, an excellent spiritual guide.  I think he is right, and I think I will go do this.  Cheers.

On terrorism and peace

We cannot continue like this.  According to news that has recently gone viral, the police or other officials have killed one suspect and are hunting down another in the Boston Marathon bombings.  Okay, so then what?  We have distinguished these individuals from so many others around the world who murder people for causes, for war, for peace, etc. by calling them terrorists.  When are we going to open up to the idea that people who kill other people are nothing but murderers, first and foremost.  Secondly, they are children, parents, brothers and sisters, and we should be wondering what went wrong in their lives, how did they get to this point?  How do we stop this from happening again?  I don't believe we can stop so called 'terrorist attacks' with more occupation, more control and violence.  It has to be a humanist effort.  We have to want to stop hurting each other.  This even comes down to our international politics.  Why do we continue to allow these men (and women) play their war games?  The citizens of every nation, every continent, should stand together and say no.  No more violence against our children, our families.  We will no longer buy your products, support your terrorism high governments.  And for any of those that believe it will all be okay either way, because you know you're going to a good place after you die - I don't think so.  There is no way of knowing this, and if you really wanna die so bad, then take care of yourself and allow us that are still here on planet Earth, those of us that still have a will to live, to make this life better, to be at peace.  Religions have distorted our perceptions of life and death, advertising/consumerism has warped our brains to Buy! Buy! Buy! at whatever the cost; can we really call ourselves human beings and continue down this path of destruction?  No.

For those of you intimately affected by the Boston bombings, I'm sorry for your losses and your pain.  For those of you around the world in similar and worse circumstances, my heart goes out to you.  I believe you all will be in a better place than this - the innocent victims of human atrocity.  I plead with the rest of you to wake up to the truth and do something about it.  Though I don't have much of a reader group today, someday I might.  When that day comes, I hope you all listen, absorb these words and really try. 

Immigration Poem from August 2012

Here is a short poem I wrote last year - just to get the ball rolling.....


Immigration began in 1492
When Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He brought disease and syphilis
Though his journey, at first, was a miss;

He’d set his sails for India
But landed, alas, on Cuba.

It took some time, his ships to reach,
The coastal shores of the Americas, hence he’d breeched.

Unto their land, the Europeans came,
Into their women, it was a game

For them, such fertile land was a treat,
For the natives, however, not so sweet.

As time went on, their number rose
The Natives time, though, came to a close.

Many now have died and gone away
Onto their land, designated, they will stay

And though remorse is felt amongst us
We continue to punish those who want to be us;

A little sympathy, a chance at life,
That’s all they ask, so why the hell do we still fight? 

A fresh start

Here's to a new blog.  I will make an effort to this more often.  This might be beneficial to myself and others.  Perhaps someone will share in my ideas, insights, feelings.  So, as of late I have been reading more about the climate-change and civil liberties crisis.  There are a lot things in this world I would love to comment on - and at times recommend alternatives.  I read a lot, but also observe, trying to gain from my own experiences.  Climate change is obviously a reality; it is something that human beings could alter - either for better or worse - and our choices will determine whether we survive or not.  For anyone who argues that this is a cycle and therefore we should not be concerned with our CO2 emissions, well, hats off to you for enjoying so much ignorance.  But I can't live like that, and fortunately for our children and grandchildren, they won't have too for long because, as of yet, we cannot survive the boiling temperatures that would occur in a global warming cycle. 

I hope to share a lot of my studies with others.  I will periodically post links to other content and share persons names that I find and recommend for further review/inquiry.  In particular, today I finished some text by Vandava Shiva, an exquisite writer, but more importantly a very sensible human.  For a course we are reading sections of her work Soil Not Oil, the Introduction and Chapter 4.  She offers some insight into alternatives for industrial farming and hence, oil consumption; local, diverse farming, truly organic forms of farming over industrial, monocultures.  Further that more people within a community should learn to cultivate their land rather than just drive over it everyday, poor more concrete, build more structures, trash it with candy wrappers and beer cans, and all the other horrific things that we do to land.  As of right now, I am plugged in to an outlet so that my computer does not die - and as to not ruin my battery - I have chosen to leave the battery out.  I am using fossil fuels to use electricity to power my very unneeded machine.  Though I could argue that this machine brought me an education, at times food and clothing, these things mean nothing in terms of survival.  But, I am also able to learn and share knowledge of things that hopefully will eventually save the human race from extinction - at the very least provide mild entertainment and intrigue for those that read this, for the time being. 

Realizing that I use Facebook so often to share, I thought I would take it to the next level and write a 'formal' blog; hopefully to reach a more extensive audience.  I am only on a journey as all of you are, seeking truth, life and any beauty that is possible in this gaudy existence.  I hope this blog will allow us to share some of that journey - perhaps to enlightenment or at least a better understanding of ourselves, each other and our environment.  We must realize that we are nature, that we can be more attuned with it.  We don't always have to control everything, instead we can just be, move with life in a kind of fluid motion.  My father always tells us to catch a wave, ride the waves of life and just see what happens.  Perhaps this is a culturally mindset we could all adopt as humans.  Perhaps it would help subside some of the angst that causes our fear of losing control.  Is that what drives our politically leaders?  Fear?  Maybe we can all work together to answer that and any other questions that might arise.  Hopefully this takes off a successful blog site- not financial, not for personal gain - but rather a successful piece of work that brings something beautiful to the world.  I'm hoping to write more and hear from others.  I hope this blog could be a great place for sharing ideas, feelings, what have you.  For as long as the Internet is available, as long as we use computers, as long as Blogger is still a functioning website, I will continue to blog, to share.  That's all for now, back to real life.