Category: blogging

SoCS: Insight

We are all looking for insight from the time we starting asking (incessantly) “Why?” as toddlers.

Sometimes “why” is the proper question to ask, but, as an adult, there are times when it isn’t helpful. I find it particularly unhelpful when people ask why God/nature/fate allowed such-and-such to happen.

I think a better question is “How?” How do I help? How do I move forward? How do I learn more about this situation, circumstance, idea, or person?

Why often isn’t relevant or isn’t mine to know.

Please join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. FInd this week’s prompt and more here: http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-november-2214/

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Badge by Doobster @MindfulDigressions

One-Liner Wednesday: Aging

“Fighting aging is like the War on Drugs. It’s expensive, does more harm than good, and has been proven to never end.”
– Amy Poehler

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/19/one-liner-wednesday-analogue-or-digital/

SoCS: The Four Elements

On my newsfeed, I just saw a story about one of the First Nations equating the US House vote to approve Keystone XL as an act of war. So, I am thinking of the four elements in that context, which includes unconventional fossil fuel extraction side effects..

Water is at risk because of methane migration, the permanent removal of water from the water system, toxicity from the chemicals that are mixed into it and that enter it from underground, and pipeline leaks that damage groundwater and surface waters. Unconventional fossil fuels are very water-intensive at a time when many places are facing water shortages.

Air pollution is caused by both the extraction processes of bitumen aka tar sands oil and by the refining/processing and use of this fossil fuel. The carbon-intensity of the extraction process compounds the problems of the burning of the final product to have an outsized climate change impact.

Earth is disturbed to build the pipeline and that land needs to be kept clear of trees, buildings etc. in perpetuity. The larger earth disturbance is the tar sands area itself, which involves felling old growth forests and massive surface disruption.

Fire represents the burning of the fuel but also one of the greatest dangers of dealing with fossil fuels, the threat of explosion.

The First Nations have been leading the fight against tar sands extraction and transport, both in Canada and the US. Their spiritual connection to Mother Earth and the four elements are an example to all of us who are their allies.

This post is part of Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. Join us:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/14/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-november-1514/

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Badge by Doobster @MindfulDigressions

Share Your Blogger Profile – All Bloggers Welcome

Another opportunity from OM to meet other bloggers. This thread is to share bios. Also check out his Meet and Greet thread with many, many links to blogs for you to check out. and for you to add your blog for others to find. Thanks, OM!

One-Liner Wednesday: George Eliot quote

“It’s never too late to become what you might have been.”
– George Eliot

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/12/one-liner-wednesday-grissom/

 

SoCS: but

I am getting really tired of the word “but” because I have been hearing it so much from my mother-in-law when she is making excuses for not following the advice of her doctors and other members of her health care team.

I know I should be eating six times a day but I have never been a snacker.

I know I should leave out some of the food/dishes, etc, that I need often on the counter rather than hauling them down from high shelves but I hate clutter.

I know I shouldn’t cross my legs when I sit but I’ve been doing it for my whole life and don’t even think about it.

And on and on. There is always a “but.”

I know change is hard, but it needs to happen. We are maybe finally starting to make some progress. She has gained back a tiny bit of the weight she has lost. We now have physical and occupational therapists and a nurse visiting in her home.

We need more progress.

No if, ands, or buts…

Join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Learn more about it here:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-november-814/


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Badge by Doobster @Mindful Digressions

One-Liner Wednesday: Love is

“Love … is the honoring of others in a way that grants them the grace of their own autonomy and allows mutual discovery.”
– Anne Truitt

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/11/05/one-liner-wednesday-grammar-is-funny-like-that/

SoCS: Memory

Memory is both a blessing and a curse.

There are so many wonderful memories – of my daughters growing up, of contentment with my spouse, of the many decades of life with my parents close by, of extended family gatherings, of singing and playing music, of wonderful discussions with friends, of seeing beautiful sights, so much loveliness in the world…

But somehow the dark memories intrude, even when I attempt to push them away – the pain of seeing my daughters struggle against illness, the bewildering journey of the last six months of my father-in-law’s life, the health issues with the remaining family elders, the loss of my family’s beloved parish to an abuse of power, the ongoing tragedies of war, racism, exploitation, sexism, oppression which rely on memory to keep old grievances and what should be bygone practices alive…

What to do? Try to use the positive memories to give strength to heal the legacy of the dark memories.

Easier said than done.

This post is part of Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. The prompt is “memory”. Join us! Find out how here:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/10/31/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-november-114/

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Badge by Doobster @Mindful DIgressions

One-Liner Wed. II: Galway Kinnell

“To me, poetry is somebody standing up, so to speak, and saying, with as little concealment as possible, what it is for him or her to be on earth at this moment.”
– Galway Kinnell, American poet, who died yesterday at the age of 87

Join in with Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays!  Learn more here:  http://lindaghill.com/2014/10/29/one-liner-wednesday-eh/

One-Liner Wednesday: Voting

“Voting is a civic sacrament.”
– Father Ted Hesburgh

(Apologies for being US-centric in the timing of this, but, given that the vast majority of people reading this live in democracies, voting will be pertinent at some point in the year.)

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! http://lindaghill.com/2014/10/29/one-liner-wednesday-eh/