Category Archives: distraction issues

The Road to Diamond, Day 155: Ahead of Self

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

May 2, 2025- The proactive young lady cleaned the empty table and put the glasses on the counter, next to where I was sitting at the bar. I thought nothing of it, until another patron asked “Who took my wine?” I showed him the 1/4 full goblet and water glass, which he gratefully took back and finished imbibing. Nothing further was said, on the floor. I am sure the server/busser was gently admonished by the floor manager, but there was no embarrassment involved.

We all have probably gotten ahead of self, at one time or another. Ambition, pressure to produce-or to perform, the drive to out do the competition or just an overactive work ethic can lead to the cart racing past the horse. We have seen how this has worked, variously to the advantage, or more frequently to the detriment, of large corporations, government agencies or hybrids of the two (like DOGE).

It starts, though, with the individual. How one learns from overkill largely determines the longevity of a career or the implosion of same. One can be a quick study and avoid the pitfalls of hyper-ambition and a false sense of superiority. One can also be a stubborn, arrogant fool, succeeding for a while, but then letting self-concept be the cart that flies past its draft animal, careening in the wrong direction. In the latter instance, the fool can sometimes recover, with the passage of time and a use being found for his/her skills allowing for a second chance-or even a third.

It all depends on how open a person is to learning from mistakes.

The Road to Diamond, Day 150: Hard Lessons

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

April 27, 2025- It was reported this morning that a Chilean man, involved in the theft of luxury goods, had been arrested in connection with a theft from a government official, last weekend. The thief apparently got more than was bargained, with some of the items taken making it easy for him to be tracked down and captured.

This is frequently the way that such heists end-and games of cat and mouse only favour the perpetrator when his/her caper is “sponsored” by someone else who is in power or in whose favour s(he) stands. There are few thieves and grifters who are favoured by the leadership team now in power. Those who might be hiding behind the leaders are likely to find themselves facing justice, “thrown under the bus”, if you will, and sooner rather than later. The central concern of any elected official, or appointed officer for that matter, is to keep on with the stated mission. That means staying in office, and keeping the power to accomplish said mission.

There has long been a catalog of tales that tie those in power, in almost every country, to that nation’s underworld-and every country has a criminal element. It’s not just the rich and powerful, either, who have a soft spot for rogues. Folk tales celebrate thieves and ruffians. Robin Hood was among the earliest, followed over the centuries by Dick Turpin, and the Slovak, Juro Janosik. There was Claude Duval, the Gentleman Bandit of Normandy, who charmed the ladies even as he robbed their coaches. Americans are of two minds about Butch Cassidy, Jesse James, “Billy the Kid” Bonney, Bonnie and Clyde Barrow, and Al Capone. There are many who style themselves as “The Teflon Don”.

Maybe this is all a matter of us coming to terms with our own lower nature. There is something about sticking it to the rich and powerful that seems to appeal to those who see themselves as struggling. Here’s the deal, though. We invariably get back what we dish out. In the eyes of the Divine, is there really much difference between people who are wealthy and those who are destitute? It seems more a matter of who is deserving of merit and who is deserving of a hard lesson. None of us can make that judgment, as individuals or even as ad hoc groups.

Having been a victim of thieves, who were later caught and punished, my sympathy in this case goes to the government official. I can only hope that, as I have been since that loss, seven years ago, she is more careful about safeguarding that which is hers alone.

The Road to Diamond, Day 149: A Slight Mismatch

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

April 26, 2025- Four of us gave a concerted effort, in trying to put a tent inside a bag, at the end of the school district fundraiser. Realizing that the bag was too small, we found the equipment manager, who remembered how easy it was to put a smaller tent into another bag, earlier in the day. Mismatch!! Two of us took the smaller tent out and put the larger tent in the big bag. Then came small tent reunited with small bag.

Many of us go through mismatches in life-usually, as with the tents, a combination of feeling hurried, thinking there is no alternative and thinking “I know I can make this work!” So, jobs don’t get done quite as well as they might; relationships founder and end up either broken or stale; programs are left to grow sclerotic and useless. A handy equipment manager can’t always come to the rescue.

So, it becomes a matter of proactivity. Plan, one must; plan, we must. As I consider what lies ahead, calling on those who are on my team-for Baha’i community activities, for Red Cross events and responses to emergencies; for get-togethers during my time back East, seeking rightness of fit is a big item. It has been a fairly good run, these past several years, with few mismatches. Much of that was from what I learned in marriage-“Consultation is finding out”, was Penny’s mantra. It still serves me well.

The Road to Diamond, Day 148: Silken Affirmations

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 25, 2025- The wind was a bit brisk this morning, as a group of us prepared a fund-raising pavilion, on behalf of Prescott’s school district. Zip ties and clips became the saving graces, keeping the necessary signage in place. A few road barriers blew down and were promptly put back up. Keeping vehicles out of the area is important, both for the many pavilions and for the safety of those whose annual event is the impetus for this fund-raiser. Hundreds of mountain bike riders have converged on Prescott, for the annual Whiskey Off-Road bicycle marathon.

I had several small tasks to do, before going to the pavilion site, to help set up the tables and secure the tents. I learned, a few years back, to just go and do errands, rather than overthink and end up making a mess of things. Self-confidence came hard in my life, but it’s here now, and is not going away. The reward to self was another delicious French omelet at Bear and Dragon.

I got confirmations on two service posts, this week: Again serving as Corresponding Secretary for the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Prescott. After a meeting this morning, I was also asked to serve as Sheltering Coordinator for the Northern Arizona Chapter of the Red Cross. Much of my hands on work, for both positions, will be done during the summer months. Many other aspects of the duties may be done remotely. The Red Cross Disaster Response Coordinator for the Chapter further said that there is no reason to cancel any travels, next month or later in the year. I will continue to be faithful in making an effort to connect with people here, via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, or by phone, when the need arises.

There have been little hiccups, the past few days, but taking things slowly and carefully correcting matters have kept the missteps from having much effect. Life this week has been full of silken affirmations.

The Road to Diamond, Day 146: Integrity

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

April 23, 2025- When I was in Graduate School, I was ill during one of the classes that was having a chapter exam. The next class meeting,the professor gave me the exam to do at home. As my textbook was at the ready, I briefly considered making it an open-book test. I couldn’t follow through, as this was a Master’s Program, after all, and “masters” don’t cheat. While the professor initially was suspicious as I submitted the exam, at the next class meeting, my grade reflected my decision to take the exam properly, and the matter was considered moot.

I am presently reading a book entitled “Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science”, by Michael Brooks. Here, the author details the shenanigans of scientists both famed and obscure. There are numerous examples given, of titans such as Einstein and Newton, and lesser lights, like the hapless Robert Millikan (who claimed credit for discovering the electron’s charge), having fudged data, to make their findings jibe with reality.

In life, there is no hard and fast rule that each and every instance of one’s chosen work is going to go as one pleases. In my years as a counselor, I did a lot of good for many troubled young people, and a few adults. I also failed some people, usually those whose issues were more quotidian, and didn’t fit the “troubled” or “at risk” mode. Both types of people will remember what happened, and will have judged me differently. It makes no sense to inflate one set of work results and sweep the others under the carpet. Integrity requires that I own both. Besides, my work as a teacher and school administrator was more checkered. I have to own that, too.

Integrity, the state of how one acts when no one is looking, has a serious claim to be restored to public service, in fact to be restored to all walks of life. There ought to be confidence in those whose mantra is “The statistics say”, or “Data tells us”. Right now, that confidence is often unmerited.

The Road to Diamond, Day 92: Plotting Course

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

February 28, 2025- Just before waking, this morning, I dreamed that I was climbing up a ladder made of tree branches. At a certain point, a key rung in the ladder snapped off. Unable to safely continue up the ladder, I got off and followed a dirt path, that wound around towards my home. I was walking contentedly along the path and came upon two groups of youths who were tussling and wrestling, in front of a primitive lean-to, thatched roofed house. I felt composed and detached from what was going on, and kept walking-at which point I woke up.

I now feel somewhat composed and detached, regarding the current back and forth between liberals and conservatives in our nation. I know that I am not willing to kowtow to anyone who seeks to impose their will, in an ad hoc or ex-oficio manner. I have noticed people on both sides, “yelling” online-typing responses in capital letters and cursing at people they deem to be not meeting their expectations. That is the mark of a desperate soul, expressing fear of the “other side”. I have also seen people on both sides expressing their opinions in a calm, but firm, tone of voice, not yelling-but not giving way, either.

I covered a few small classes today, with little to do other than take roll and remind one or two people to not use their cell phones during class. While the students were working on their Chrome Book lessons, I read some initial chapters of a book on the German Army, 1933-45. It was instructive to find that Adolf Hitler did not, initially, take the full reins of control over the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) and that he initially trusted the commanders to build up their own fighting force, even pushing aside his paramilitary force, the SS. He seized control, of course, around 1938, and the result was the horror that the world experienced, until 1945.

Technology,and the pace of events, has quickened in the past 80 years, so it is unlikely that we will see any leader bide time and leave matters to chance. The course of human events, moreover, will proceed at a rapid clip, in some ways, and whipsaw back and forth, in other areas. This is why it is best to keep an open mind on many issues, and not assume that those expressing points of view other than one’s own are somehow to be taken sharply to task and fiercely set straight. We do ourselves an injustice by plotting our own courses using a route of fear and trepidation.

The Road to Diamond, Day 90: Water is Preferred

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 26, 2025- Back in 1978, over 900 people died at the Jonestown Compound, Guyana, many after drinking a cyanide-laced punch. It was administered at the instruction of cult leader Jim Jones, who himself committed suicide, after watching his followers die en masse. This horror gave rise to the expression “drinking the Kool-aid”, in reference to a sizable group of people accepting a leader’s propaganda, without question. It has been directed at Leftists by Rightists, and vice versa. It is itself reflective of unquestioning loyalty-to an opposing leader.

Every household needs deep cleaning, at least once or twice a year. The larger the house, the deeper the cleaning that would seem to be in order. In the case of large operations, it means review of procedures and of staff performance. It cannot, however, be done in a willy-nilly manner.

No concerted governmental action that is done, within the bounds of law, is ever totally off-base. To wit: Over 100 employees of our national intelligence services have been dismissed, after having been found to have engaged in illicit messaging. That this behaviour puts our nation’s security at risk is quite obvious to the average citizen-and thus justifies a reasonable and systematic review of agency and department staff performance. That review is being directed by a seasoned military commander, who is now a civilian. So far, the review looks to be quite fair and unbiased. As a law-abiding citizen, I trust that this review and the resulting corrective actions, will be emulated by all those department heads who claim to be interested in rooting out corruption.

Just so we’re clear, I prefer water and nothing stronger than coffee, in any case. Be discerning.

The Road to Diamond, Day 89: Gift Bags

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

February 25, 2025- We ran out of razors and toothpaste first. Toothbrushes and shampoo were the last things left. Even so, 50 bags of toiletries were assembled by seven people, this afternoon. It’ll be a small contribution towards lessening the want and uncertainty that faces the homeless/unhoused community, each day of the week, in a great many cities and towns, across the nation and the globe.

Prescott and vicinity have a fair share of people with no permanent residence. There are various meal programs in several churches, in both Prescott and Prescott Valley. Shelters are available in both towns. Food banks tend to those who are worst off among the populace.

The situation may get worse, before righting itself, as the national governmental focus is on giving support to an entrepreneurial class, believing that this will ensure investment in the well-being of the less fortunate. There could be some of that, but if the last such effort (2017) is any indication, most of the money sent back to the wealthiest citizens by Congress will be invested in the things that make those citizens’ lives ever more comfortable.

So, we gather items for gift bags, support thrift stores and staff serving lines at soup kitchens and other feeding stations, around the planet. We alternately discourage people from begging, while imposing means testing as a way to separate the “worthy” from the grifter. The ranks of the unemployed may rise, due to the shake-out now going on at the Federal level. Will entrepreneurship rise to the challenge, and set a private enterprise hiring boom in motion?

It will take far more than gift bags and food pantries to get through this current set of challenges. Stay tuned.

The Road to Diamond,Day 86: Weaponized

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

February 22, 2025- “YOU are at fault for HIM making a mess of things”, yelled the distraught woman at the well-dressed, composed vendor, who had simply said she wanted to make the best of the next four years. The ranter was furious about the wholesale cutbacks in Federal agencies’ staffs and was seemingly looking for the low hanging fruit to target . The word weaponize was thrown at the hapless vendor.

“Weaponize” is yet another word that has become thoroughly worn out. Right and Left toss the word at one another with fair abandon. So, it seems relevant to look at what the word actually means. From Oxford, we learn that: weaponized /ˈwepəˌnīzd/ is an adjective: weaponized; adjective: weaponised exploited for the purpose of attacking a person or group, or for spreading discord.”our courts have been used as a tool for weaponized litigation” ; adapted for use as a weapon.”a weaponized robot”.

There being seemingly nothing that can’t be put to use for hurting one’s perceived enemies, it’s a wonder anything is left standing! The reality is that such hyperbole is intended, like so much else in the land of over-the-top, for shock value. We, the people, are no longer shocked. Nothing comes to pass that is so unexpected as to leave very many folks speechless. Even Elon Musk’s announcement that the entire Federal work force must prove to him that they are worthy of continued employment is drawing yawns from a good many. Any would-be dictator in this country will likely experience being ignored by the masses, after about a month in power.

The reason is simple: Overuse of any word, phrase or practice leads to it being part of the woodwork. This is not just true of the United States. The Caesars found they had run out of useful threats, shortly after the death of Christ. Killing a Messenger of God having failed to instill as much fear in those subjects living in Spain or Britain as it did, momentarily, in Judea and Samaria, the tyrants needed to employ ever more outlandish ruses-until they ran out of ideas. Then, the Germanic tribes took over, and actually imposed rule of law-of sorts. The common folk just went about their business, as common folk are wont to do.

“Weaponize” conjures a two-edged sword, and so often, the edge that is pointed at the masses is the one that gets dull first.

The Road to Diamond, Day 85: Worn Out Phrases

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 21, 2025- “Woke” is worn out. So are “MAGA”,”DOGE”; and “Long live the king”. For that matter, “DEI” could use a vacation-as a slogan. Abraham Lincoln said “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. A country is like a house and for that matter, so is the human race.

Let’s look at the above-mentioned words and acronyms. Woke is the past tense of To Wake. It is also a term, taken from the Ebonics spoken by enslaved African-Americans and their descendants, to mean “aware of surroundings”,”paying attention”, and so on. That’s all it means and being “woke” does not, in and of itself, make one superior to all others. It just means that one is not easily fooled.

MAGA-“Make America Great Again”-catchy phrase, this-if one has been fooled into thinking that the change which this and other countries have been undergoing, in a time of global ferment, is somehow foreign to the human experience and thus should be resisted and counteracted. The United States of America has achieved several measures of greatness, precisely because of our diversity. White, male capital has needed the polyglot work force to bring its dreams into fruition. An educated work force is far more productive than a conglomerate of human oxen. This is one reason why Andrew Carnegie, no egalitarian by any means, nonetheless saw fit to relegate a hefty part of his fortune to a system of free public libraries, which became a model for such institutions the world over. The United States of America has never stopped being great. There is no “again”.

DOGE-“Department of Government Efficiency”: Here, we have taken our penchant for compartmentalizing aspects of our collective being to the next level. Efficiency, the good stewardship of what we are given, is somehow to be viewed as separate from every other element of our being. My parents, grandparents, parents-in-law- in short, everyone who survived the Depression, and before that, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Gilded Age, World War I, Influenza of 1918-must be spinning about, underground, to the extent that a 9.0 may be in the offing!

Every day of my formative years, I was told to count my dollars and cents, to know how much I earned per newspaper I delivered and to look about for further opportunities. I was taught to plan my day, each morning and to take stock of what had transpired, at day’s end. Efficiency has never been separate from any other aspect, of any enterprise that I have ever seen be successful. It falls to every entity to practice efficiency, in and of itself. We compartmentalize at our peril.

“Long live the king!”- That’s fine for Charles III or for Sultan, of Saudi Arabia. Kingship is their job. In a constitutional republic, kingship is a ludicrous proposition-even if the term is tossed out half in jest. No one man, or woman, can carry on alone. The above-mentioned monarchs know this-and thus, each has his Cabinet, his Prime Minister/Crown Prince, Parliament/Council of Elders. Only a lunatic actually believes in his own omnipotence. Shakespeare wrote King Lear, in reflecting on the reign of Henry VIII, for this very reason. No one of good will wishes death upon another person, but long life does not need to feature untrammeled obedience from one’s fellows.

DEI: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. When I was 17, I was taken aback, momentarily, by the sight of a person of colour in a small rural community in Massachusetts. Looking back, it is obvious how silly my reaction was. This planet has been a diverse community since Day One of living things. Sameness doesn’t exist in nature. It does exist in monoculture, to an extent, and we can see that monoculture ends up choking itself out of existence, in fairly short order.

Why, then, should we pursue either a forced uniformity or a contrived, artificial diversity? The former brought about the latter, true-but it is time to relegate both to the scrap heap, and let mature humans pursue their natural inclination towards diversity. This means allowing all who seek to join in a given activity or enterprise, the chance to take part. Inclusion is a natural process, not a feature of statute, to be enforced by fiat.

Equity? When my parents were raising us, my youngest brother needed things that the rest of us did not He was given what he needed, to the best of our parents’ ability to provide. I did not begrudge him this. He, in turn, was not given driving lessons, or expected to get a part-time job, in his teen years. Opening the way for a human being to meet individual or small group needs is not discrimination against all others. Helping People of Colour to overcome, in specific ways, the effects of institutionalized bias is not a travesty. It is true that none of us alive today are responsible for establishing elements of bias. Why, then, do we act like we have such vested interest in them?

DEI, as doctrine, should not even be necessary. Nor should MAGA, or DOGE, or rule by fiat. In this day, each of us is responsible for living an integrated, well-balanced life. Why, then, do we choose to compartmentalize?