Category Archives: Community

The Road to Diamond, Day 181: Bright and Shiny Surprises

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 28, 2025- I had not been to Olde World Bakery, at the edge of downtown, in over a year. Seeing that there was a new sign, Gypsy’s Bakery, I decided to have a late lunch there. It looked like little had changed, in the food department, and my favourite spinach and cheese croissant was still there. The servers, though, particularly Ana, were effervescent and kindly attentive. There was less of the “serve yourself” format of the previous management, and more of a connection with the patrons. The Gen Z greeting “Welcome in” was in full swing. The new owner, who took over last year, greeted three of us who came in at the same time, then went back to her baking duties. Ana brought everything to each table, checking back with everyone to make sure we were satisfied with the fare. Another bright and shiny surprise was the menu of cold beverages, delicious fruit and tea blends that promise relief, on many a hot summer afternoon.

The energy of youth is always a delight, when put to either the betterment of society or the mirthful relief of tense or harshly oppressive situations. There is always an undertone of “Who am I, in the scheme of things?”, but that is just part of establishing emergence from the chrysalis of adolescence. Gen Alpha uses terms like “Rizz” (charisma) and “Aura Farming” to refer to one’s level of interpersonal skills. Previous generations have used “cool”, “groovy”, “tight” and “heavy” to indicate a person’s level of social acceptability. While the social dictionary of those who are aware keeps growing, the essential search for meaning in life remains the same.

After visiting a fellow Legionnaire in a rehab facility, I headed over to a friend’s house to pick up an order of sunscreen. As she guided me around the grounds of her forever home, I marveled at the sheer volume of work and organizing that she has done, virtually alone, over the past two years. There is much that remains, and I can help with some of this, yet her sense of purpose has undergone an immense boost, with the solo effort. There is relatively scant difference between what a man can accomplish and what a woman can do, using the same skills. Yes, we are “built differently”, in some respects; yet I see only finesse and strength in what any person who sets the mind to doing something actually achieves.

The year is a month shy of being half over. I am inclined to envision more bright and shiny surprises-not from those in power, but from those who are empowered, at the ground level.

The Road to Diamond, Day 180: The Self in Protected Mode

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 27, 2025- The words came, tersely, out of the mouths of two dining companions: “The (others) are just evil.” This is a fill-in-the blanks statement, all too common these days. In this instance, and in a good many others, the castigation has come as the result of feeling that a force somehow greater than oneself is invested in controlling everyone. The other is viewed as mining data, particularly financial information. Thus, the self goes into fight mode. The solution is seen as keeping information private-use cash, not credit, debit or phone-based transfer. That works for a while-until the very entities which one sees as saviours start to do the same thing. Data mining is, it turns out, the latest outlet for filthy lucre-along with the other cyber-mining: Cryptocurrency.
These two know no ideology, because they have no moral base. The sole foundation of cyber-mining is to amass financial wealth. That data mining will eventually become the grounds for investigation, both criminal and civil, is on the mental back-burners of those who think it merely depends on who’s doing the mining. ‘Gathering of personal information by ultraconservatives can’t hurt’, goes the reasoning, ‘because they hold to the same tried and true dicta that have held this nation together, for so long.’ On the other hand, ‘Gathering of personal information by progressives can’t hurt, because they will uncover nefarious plots by the Far Right to shrink the citizenship base’

There are morally sound people, all across the political spectrum. Donald Trump’s 2017 comment about “good people on both sides” was not altogether wrong, though it was horribly ill-timed. I have friends who honestly believe that a Ten Commandments-based society would result in the end of civil unrest. I have others who hold that a multitude of religious viewpoints, and non-religious ideas, are likely to make for a stronger society.

Each group, in turn, is joined by extremists and unsettled people, whose shrieking, verbal bomb-throwing and acts of violence distend the shape of those in their groups who are actual voices of reason-and who have no desire to actively silence opposing voices. The disquiet soul who wantonly murdered two employees of the Israeli government, last week, is no better than the Klansman who killed the peaceful protestor in Charlottesville, in 2017.

Tending the fire that inflames these violent people are the ideologues-the Stephen Millers on one side and the coterie of far-left university professors on the other, who are no better than those involved in cyber mining. Some may actually be in league with the others, as the whole idea is the amassing of power. It would not surprise me in the least, were it to be discovered that extremists are being essentially funded by cyber-crimes, including crypto schemes. Data mining, in turn, may become the basis for extortion and blackmail.

So, what is the most secure means of getting oneself in protected mode? I would say, “Start by thinking for yourself.” Then, look at all angles. Cash can be king, on many occasions. Secure use of credit and debit cards is largely possible. So, surprisingly, is phone app payment. The latter three can’t be done in full view of other people’s phone cameras or other data-gathering devices, so I recommend noting if skimming devices might be present, as well as blocking overhead or sideways views of a transaction.

Nothing is 100% foolproof, in a one-step ahead world, but reducing risk is always worth the effort.

The Road to Diamond, Day 179: The Last Full Measure

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Historical, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 26, 2025- As close to 150 people listened, Dale Enlow, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, recited President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, in the latter half of yesterday’s Memorial Day commemoration at Prescott National Cemetery. With his recognition of the ultimate sacrifice paid by those who fought on behalf of the unity of our nation, Mr. Lincoln also called upon those present, and those of us yet to be born, to give our all towards both preserving, and extending, the concept of freedom: “It is rather
for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

There will always be differing views of what freedom means, who gets to enjoy it-even as to who deserves it. These can stem from one’s view of what is sacred, of just how much a person ought to share with others, even from one’s view of what constitutes humanity.

Yet, the arc of history, overall, bends towards a more inclusive society. However much it may move forward in fits and starts; however often a temporary backtracking or retrenchment may result in a loss of human rights, often out of fear that one’s position in the world will become lost, if others are given an equal share; however widespread that fear becomes the basis for a communal or national decision-making, the human race is destined to evolve towards an inclusivity borne of the maturity of the species.

That principle explains the eventual victory of each and every movement towards national freedom, since 1781; of each civil rights movement, across the globe, since 1921; of each cautionary tale that has come from revanchism, since the European royalists of the mid-19th Century were removed from power. We have yet to achieve a balance between individual initiative and group-focused identity, and thus will continue to witness a battle of wills between progressives and conservatives. The preservation of the work ethic, however, does not depend on playing a zero sum game of exclusion. Likewise, the expansion of opportunity to the marginalized does not require a reinvention of the wheel. As a wise speaker noted, at last week’s seminar on psychological well-being, everyone-whether right or left, is looking towards safety and security.

Our last full measure of devotion surely takes in the well-being of everyone in our midst.

Click to access Transcript-of-the-Gettysburg-Address.pdf

The Road to Diamond, Day 178: “Like Everybody Else”

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 25, 2025- As I explained that, unless there is a lot of background noise, I can hear people speaking in a normal tone of voice quite well, one of the others at breakfast objected: “Why do you not have hearing aids, like everybody else here?” While I could use a wax cleaning, the fact remains that I don’t have a sustained hearing loss, as yet.

There have been frequent times in my life, when well-intentioned people have urged: “Fit in!” I have, as the years have gone by, pretty much struck a balance between those aspects of conformity that have made sense to me and following my own path. Doing things a certain way, simply because that is what “everybody else” is doing, does not inherently make sense. First of all, no one knows “everybody else”. Each of us knows only a small segment of a given community, and can only claim to have a cursory knowledge of what the rest are doing. Secondly, we know even less of what others do, behind closed doors and drawn shades.

I have basically chosen the road map offered by my parents and other trusted elders, in charting my course and passing along guidance to my son-and the grandchild(ren), when they come. He, and they, in turn, will use their own judgment in adapting to changing circumstances. Conformity only makes sense, when circumstances are the same -as in “driving on the right hand side of the road (except when in countries where it is customary to drive on the left), showing courtesy to those one meets, or bathing/grooming each day,for the sake of health.

So much has changed, though, in my seventy four years, to say nothing of son’s nearly 37 years-or the short lives of my grand nephews and nieces. There are bound to be further changes, and even some of those will be temporary. It is the basics, those behaviours based on love, that will endure and be the foundation for a useful conformity. For those, we can hopefully count on “everybody else”.

The Road to Diamond, Day 177: The Thick and Thin of It

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 24, 2025- At Bellemont Baha’i School today:

In the midst of a pile of pine needles, my co-worker found a bright, shining earring. It seems to me that one of the campers last year did lose one, so that is probably the beginning of its reunion with its owner.

At lunchtime, part of the conversation was relative to the thinness and thickness of various piles that were raked up and ready for bagging. By 3:30, virtually all the piles were bagged and ready for next week’s removal to a dump site. Fourteen of us produced 85 bags of needles. That is no “thin” effort!

The connection between our little group and the growing Bellemont forest community is also getting thicker. Our closest neighbour, an ordained minister, has taken it upon himself to provide security for the camp, when no one is around. He also did an extraordinary amount of clean-up work-and over the past thee days. He will finish up the rest tomorrow. A good part of this is because he feels the spiritual energy of the camp.

Commitments can be thick or thin. I have, in the least popular of my posts, addressed the matter of home bases. My commitments to places in general, however, matter less than those I have to people in my life. There ought be no one “thrown under the bus”, as it were. So, while the “thickest” of my commitments are to my Faith, little family, beloved (who is halfway around the world), and community of residence, appeals for help from someone elsewhere also matter. My only caveat is that I have enough time and energy to meet that appeal.

That brings me to a broader place, with regard to commitments: My own are based on helping meet the actual needs of my loved ones, and not in feathering my own nest. Those in government, and elsewhere in public life, be they Right, Left or in the Center, whose every-other decision is based on self-enrichment are going to be found out, if that hasn’t happened already. Those whose public service is genuinely focused on the common good, be they Right, Left or in the Center, deserve our gratitude and support.

Be discerning, with regard to commitments, whether your own or those others have made to you.

The Road to Diamond, Day 176: Equanimity

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 23, 2025- Today was a day of celebration for us Baha’is, as on this day, 182 years ago, al-Bab revealed Himself as the Forerunner of a Messenger Who would unite the human race. This all may sound abstract, but one need only read the Baha’i teachings for self, and determine whether they are truth or not. https://www.bahai.org/

What has always appealed to me about this Faith is that everyone on Earth matters, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, gender or social group. Everyone is seen as essentially a spiritual being and as long as that spiritual essence is recognized, a person will grow in the sight of the Divine.

I have been led to be discerning, regarding both social and spiritual matters. In both cases, I see myself not as in any way superior or inferior to others, but regard the needs of each of us as equally valid with those of others. That leads me to take a long view of certain developments. A recent example is the funding of veterans’ health care. There are many military veterans who are disabled and deserve full medical care from our government. Others, like myself, are in relatively robust health and don’t require as much.

The present government is re-assessing each veteran’s case, and from what I can see, in a surprisingly efficient and judicious manner. There is a reasonable question as to over-reduction of staff, given that there are so many veterans in legitimate need. That imbalance, between recognized need and the desire to save money, will bottom out soon. Many healthy veterans, myself included, would take supplementary insurance, if it means that our medically needy comrades in arms can get more help. The assessors, though, have a duty as well-to not permanently cut off those who have suffered injury or disease as a result of their military service.

Equanimity, a foul word to some, is nonetheless an essential word-whether one believes in “everyone for self” or in common care for one another.

The Road to Diamond, Day 175: Connecting, Havening, but No Othering

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 22, 2025- The road to resiliency is whatever length one makes it. Such was the first message at this afternoon’s COPE (Connection/Compassion,Optimism, Perspective, Emotional Intelligence) seminar, at Granite Mountain Unitarian/Universalist Church.

Connection and compassion are illustrated by acts of support, structural language (terms of endearment and understanding) and meaningful/joyful experiences. Public gatherings can be the forefront of the latter, but it is small, intimate encounters that make up the bulk of these. Consistency in supportive language is crucial-from affirmations of affection to words of gratitude. The facilitators, a married couple, offered their ingrained habit of thanking one another continuously-avoiding any tendency to take one another for granted. Finally, “me” is consistently replaced by “we”.

Optimism is signaled by confidence that comes from having met past challenges and a sense that we are building upon those successes. These can be small or great achievements. Self-regulation (breathing, healthy diet, regular exercise, proper rest) is a basic indicator of optimism. So are the practices of incorporating uplifting experiences,a positive forward outlook and a basic trust in a Higher Power. Havening is the process of self-soothing. Besides deep breathing, placing one’s right hand over the heart and left hand on the solar plexus is an example of havening, Another example is slowly passing one hand over the other.

Unity of internal and external perspectives is beneficial. The understanding that everything is temporary, whether positive or negative, encourages savouring the moment, an ethic of carpe diem, accepting that a painful day is no more permanent than a pleasurable one. One may choose to view a challenge as a portal, or see it as a hole. A broad perspective will let one view everything as sacred-whether it be a blessing or a hard lesson.

Emotional intelligence is marked by recognizing, naming and managing own emotions and recognizing those of others. Using emotional intelligence to address three basic human needs (Safety, satisfaction and connection) entails recognition that there is, in reality, no “others” but that we are all extensions of one another, in that regard. The “other side”, of conventional political and social mythology, has the same basic needs as those with whom one more comfortably associates. The key to social cohesion, then, starts with assisting one another, in getting those needs met.

The “rugged individualism” of the libertarian or conservative can meet the needs of some, while the “social contract” of the progressive or liberal can address the needs of a wider segment of society. The key to both lies in avoiding dogmatic adherence to one set of principles or methods of achievement.

In a time of uncertainty and challenge, resiliency is what will guarantee that our communities, and their members, survive and thrive anew.

The Road to Diamond, Day 174: Heaviness

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 21, 2025- One by one, the four people with whom I met on a Zoom call, this afternoon, described the heaviness of their situations. Much had to do with the circumstances of their domiciles. Some concerned the presence of unruly or insensitive people in their lives.

I have had my share of heaviness, in the past. The 2000s and the first year or so, of the 2010s, were full of lead balloons. It prepared me to be here for other people’s heaviness, just as those who suffered in the Twentieth Century were able to help me get through the intensity and loss of my own time of travail.

The message I was able to offer, after hearing my friends describe their traumas, was one of hope. Much has gone on in this life, and still more is coming to pass, as this seminal year progresses. After I described the past two months since I last met with these friends, and mused about what the rest of 2025 might bring, the friends’ spirits were lifted, and they began to make plans of their own.

Therein lies the main value in sharing positive experiences. Those listening are given to inspiration, so long as there is no hook to their misery. The people on this call are not inclined to enjoy suffering. Neither are the Red Cross colleagues with whom I met earlier in the day, nor my fellow members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Prescott, who I joined for an online meeting tonight. Certainly, my beloved friend whose birthday was today is no wet blanket, either.

As it happened, today also saw a new set of window blinds installed, to take the place of those that gave me fits last night and Sportage got a wash, a thorough vacuuming and full maintenance, after seeing me safely to the East Coast and back.

Even momentary darkness is followed by light.

The Road to Diamond, Day 173: Home Lands

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 20, 2025- Coming down the mountain from Strawberry Junction to Camp Verde, my main concern was putting my energy into the safety of the large load of logs being hauled in front of me, and staying in the slow line, regardless of my wanting to get back to Prescott. The truck was fine, even when an antsy driver behind us pulled his pick-up and drove around the line, crossing double yellow lines, when he spotted a minute or two. There is one in every crowd.

I arrived back at Home Base I around 3 p.m., picked up my mail and sorted out the junk from magazines and legitimate bills that still come through snail mail. The VA stuff is always among the latter. I also had to deal with a broken blind mount, for which duct-taping the blinds to the side window will allow privacy for a day or so, until I can get a new set of mounts. (I rarely have opened said blinds, in eleven years, so it must have been one of the workmen who are installing my apartment’s AC unit, who messed with the blinds.)

Home Base I is only one of my Home Lands, as readers have no doubt figured out, over the years. It is where those who believe in me the most happen to be, and I would say that this confidence in my skill sets comes from my having engaged in community activities here. My little family and others would feel the same, if I were to spend more time with them. For now, though, I am grateful for what time I do have in Home Bases II (Grapevine), III (North Shore), IV (Southeast Pennsylvania) and V( Makati). I know some of you will say “What about our area?” I appreciate all the love I get from friends, wherever I go.

What makes a place home, though, is not the mutual love and support that I get, as well as give. It is a deeper feeling, that is often hard to put into words. There is likely to be a time, in the not-too-distant future, when the Home Bases will get shifted around a bit. One scenario has me living closer to my son and daughter-in-law. Another has me in Metro Manila, or a place fairly close to it. Those situations will work themselves out, with Divine Energy in play, much as so many issues and problems have gotten resolved, especially since 2014.

For now, though, I need to give my trusty steed a wash, interior cleaning and routine maintenance, before week’s end. Tomorrow is my dearest’s birthday. I am glad to have been able to get gift and proper greetings sent. The Baha’i Spiritual Assembly and Red Cross need some time tomorrow, as well. So, too, does Bellemont, on Saturday, for a fire wise clean-up. There will be time to relax and ruminate on Sunday and Monday, being Memorial Day weekend.

The Road to Diamond, Day 172: Grapevine to Gallup

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

May 19, 2025, Gallup, NM- There was no stop at Amarillo’s Fun Zone today. I rolled through The Yellow Rose during mid-afternoon, the shoulder time between lunch and dinner, so onward to New Mexico it was.

I set out from Home Base II around 7:45, with both of the kids off to work. My task for the day was simple-get as close to Arizona as possible, without running poor Sportage ragged. As it is, we will make time for maintenance on Wednesday or Thursday, and a software update is there to remind me of this, every time I start the vehicle. The Honour System worked up to now, but AI needs something to do, so here we are.

There were warnings of high winds along my route, posted before I left Grapevine. The winds were indeed high, from Wichita Falls clear to Gallup, primarily having the effect of triggering the AI “three beeps”, every time I went one mile over the Cruise Control speed I had set, as well as lowering the gas mileage. Yes, we were all driving into the headwinds. I saw only a few accidents, though, and was party to none.

In the small settlement of Milagro, NM, there is a gas station operated by a couple, who I befriended years ago, when they were first getting started. They have hired a few locals to help out, as the husband also has a towing business. One of these, whose wife is of the New Zealand diaspora-those who left that country after the former government’s policies with regard to COVID19 proved too harsh for their liking, is also a former resident of Prescott. He had much to say about both Jacinda Ardern and the current leadership of our city. As I could barely keep the gas tank latch or my door open, for the wind, I bid him all the best in Milagro, and went about my business.

I had little trouble getting through Albuquerque, only needing to join the crawl on the west side, after a two car accident near Coors Boulevard. Two hours later, I got to Colonial Motel, the wind dying down a bit, enough for two couples to gather in the parking lot for a bit of socializing before dark and for some spirited kids to play tag at the opposite end of the lot. This is the edge of Home Country-so tomorrow, Sportage and I will head on back, get our bearings and be ready for three months of tending to what is right in front of us.

It’ll be a good thing, to catch my breath.