Category Archives: Inspiration

Transitions

8
Posted by on in Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 5, 2021, Phoenix- She took her last breath, ten years ago this morning. She was still warm to the touch, as I walked to the side of her bed, having arrived three minutes too late for a real-time goodbye. Yet, when I had awakened, an hour before, in our home of eight years, the bedroom we had shared was filled with a very heavy energy, the likes of which I have not experienced before or since. At the hospice site, our son and I were greeted by an upwardly swirling of dust, on an otherwise still morning.

Today, I returned to the gravesite I have visited so many times, this past decade. This time, I sat for the better part of an hour, praying and meditating. There was a couple looking for a loved one’s grave, which turned out to be on the other side of the cemetery. Otherwise, I was in solitude with the spirit of my spouse of twenty-nine years.

Penny has long since transitioned to a better place. I am still in transition to being a better person. In this past ten years, I have broken trust three times, been called out for it, almost immediately and learned to do better. I have had my integrity, with regards to how I view women, called into question and after initially taking umbrage at the criticism, done a deep dive into exactly how change was in order. It has been well worth the soul search. While I am still peripatetic at my core, being part of a community is more essential to me, than it had been in years past.

I had a groundswell of support, during the five months after Penny’s transition. It was ironic that some of those who were warm with their words, immediately afterward, were later so vicious in their attacks. They have long since vanished from my life. Family members are there, when I need them, and I, when they need me, Mostly, though, the contacts are short and sweet-and their lives don’t intertwine with mine so much any more. It is partly physical distance; partly the fullness of each others’ lives-and it may well change, as time goes on and disease abates. It is my core of friends, who also ebb and flow with their presence, who keep me honest and forging onward.

Today ends one decade of living transition and begins another. I wonder, as to how it might feel to be an octogenarian, in 2031. In the meantime, there is much on which to work and life from which to learn.

Madame Curie

2
Posted by on in collaborating, Education, Inspiration, Striving

March 4, 2021- In all the annals of the accomplishments of women in the scientific community, Marie Sklodowska Curie, (1867-1934), stands tall-as both the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize and in two fields, yet: Physics (shared with her husband, Pierre, and Henri Becquerel) and Chemistry. The Physics Prize stemmed from the trio’s work in the field of radioactivity, which is a term coined by Marie. The Chemistry Prize came in 1911, for her discovery of the elements Polonium and Radium, using her own techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes. Madame Curie established the Curie Institute in Paris (1920) and in Warsaw (1932). She would eventually die from the effects of exposure to radiation, in 1934, at the age of 66.

Marie’s father, Wladyslaw Sklodowski, was a gifted educator in mathematics and physics-and imparted a love of those subjects to his five children, especially to Marie and her older sister, Bronislawa. He insisted that his daughters get a solid university education. Madame Curie took this knowledge to a higher level, but never lost her gentility and modesty. She remains a beacon to all, men and women alike, who find themselves drawn to the Physical Sciences.

Dance The Moon

0
Posted by on in Inspiration, Personal Values, Poetry, Spiritual, Striving

March 3, 2021-

Dance the Moon, my diligent friend. Your work is, and will be, reaping grand rewards. You have a magnificent mind, with heart to match and a drive that will bring sustenance to many.

Dance Mars, my solitary chum. We may walk many miles together, amongst the red rocks. You will heal many, also, through careful measure of l that which brings salubrity.

Dance Venus, oh sad, yet resilient blessing to my soul. I hear your heart’s every palpitation, and know that the warmth of your heart will sustain you, through all grief.

Dance the stars, my eternally best beloved. Dance, sing, and guide us who stayed behind. We have many who look to us in wonder, and can not afford to skip a beat.

Women’s Inventiveness

0
Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

March 2, 2021- Mother always chortled at the notion that women were anything less than inventive. She essentially told us, “Anyone who thinks, for a minute, that a person can raise children without being the paragon of inventiveness, is nuts.

March is Women’s History Month, so I’d like to note the hugeness of this topic underscores the fact that men, by themselves, can only do a percentage of what needs doing, in moving the human race forward. Here are the stories of two women who invented objects that are today seen as ordinary, but which made a huge difference in everyone’s life.

Margaret E. Knight (1838-1914) was the inventor of the machine that produced the flat-bottomed paper bag, of lid-removing pliers, of a safety device for mechanical looms, of a numbering machine, of a window frame and sash, and of several devices related to the operation of rotary engines. Ms. Knight never married, regarding her inventions as her children. The flat-bottomed paper bag, alone, saved people from the carpal tunnel that resulted from dealing with envelope-style paper bags, day after day. The safety guard for mechanical looms, her earliest invention (at age 12), undoubtedly saved many people from being stabbed by sharp looming threaders and industrial-sized needles which could otherwise be jarred loose and become projectiles.

Bette Nesmith Graham (1924-1980) was the inventor of Liquid Paper, the first commercially successful correctional fluid. Her idea came from the remembrance that artists routinely paint over their mistakes, usually with white paint. Adapting this technique to the common business office, she managed to market correctional fluid, first for typewritten error correction, then for mistakes made using pen and ink. Liquid Paper remains useful in the latter instance, even in these days of largely computerized printing. Fun Fact: Bette Nesmith Graham was the mother of the musician Michael Nesmith, who performed as a member of The Monkees, a 1960s pop music group.

There are ever more far-reaching fruits coming from the human mind, which can never truly be compartmentalized according to physical gender, much less to the circumstances of one’s birth. I will continue, throughout March, to underscore the value of recognizing women’s contributions to our heritage.

Season’s Change

4
Posted by on in Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 27, 2021-

Often, around these parts, the approach of March brings somewhat warmer temperatures. This year, while the days are mostly comfortable-almost shirtsleeve weather, there is a cold tinge when the sun goes down. Maybe I am just too used to the warming phenomenon, of the past three decades, but I am feeling a throwback to the four seasons of my childhood- in which winter lasted until April and summer came in mid-June. Conversely, wearing a Halloween mask meant sweating profusely, even after dark.

The two times a year that I would get sick, and have to stay in bed for a day or so, were October into November and right about now. Bed rest and hot tea with honey and lemon did the trick, and it was back to business, the following day. This year, I had a half day of ennui and feel that tomorrow will be a lot more on an even keel. The hardest part is not being up to interacting with my friends, in a coherent way. Brain fog always accompanies change-of-seasonitis. So it was, earlier today.

I can only be grateful for the genes I was given, and the community that surrounds me-offering regular exercise options, wellness care and solid, caring friendships-for which I am honoured to reciprocate.

A Few More Random Thoughts

2
Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 24, 2021- Today was a day for accompanying a friend around Lynx Lake, which both of us found enjoyable. The lake’s water table is down, as we might expect-given our long dry spell of last year, but the water birds are already coming back- noisy ducks and showy cormorants.

I picked up two of Isabel Wilkerson’s books: “The Warmth of Other Suns”, about the African-American migration out of the South, starting in the 1930s and “Caste”, about the role of that system in the stratifcation of American society-and the true connection between that stratification and Nazism. These ought to be very insightful. I don’t see an immediate tie between “Trumpsim”, which is largely personality-based and Fascism, which has systemic goals-but there are people who subscribe to both-just as there are doctrinaire people, who also are personality-driven, on the other end of the political spectrum.

I have meditated on the mercurial nature of several people in my circle, at present. Having gotten past feeling a personal affront, when those who have been uniformly pleasant over the past several months, suddenly turn icy, I can sense that the sameness of the pandemic-driven regimen is getting to too many people, just a tad too soon. I can also sense that we are getting a handle on the disease- the “variants” aside.

Finally, just an observation: Those who act out of fear are less the problem than those who stoke that fear-and privately mimic their followers. Yes, there are people egging the masses on, who take Lenin’s view of “useful idiots.” They are the true problematics.

Memorabilia

2
Posted by on in collaborating, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 23, 2021- To start, the group of us sat in the Jury Convocation Room for 1 1/2 hours. At that point, the judge himself came in and told us that the case had been resolved without trial, and we were free to leave. He noted that the very presence of 38 juror candidates had created the energy for a pre-trial resolution. I can believe it.

The other notable event that happened in my life today was that the Title I literacy project, in which I had agreed to participate from late March to the third of May, was abruptly canceled. When changes like this happen, it usually means that my time needs to be open-ended. There is much to be done, on several fronts, so I can see that there are several options.

On the way back to Prescott from Camp Verde, I listened to an account by a young Australian woman, who has a high level of Autobiographical Memory, of her life from birth. She has vivid recollections of coming out of the womb, of learning her first words and of deciding to walk, at the relatively late age of eighteen months. I had heard of this woman, and of her ability to state with specificity what happened on any given day in her life. Hearing her speak of such events, in detail, was a marvel.

I pondered afterward, as to what her detailed descriptions could mean for language-learning, for systematic self-education and for counteracting memory loss-especially in senior citizens affected by dementia. She apparently has had the same hopes, and is working with advocates for dementia patients, with a view towards regenerating the type of neural transmissions that have made her extraordinary abilities continue into young adulthood.

Brain Research, particularly with regard to long-term memory, and its role in learning, is still in its relative infancy. I have so many questions about my own memory of things that occurred as early as my second year. Others in my family, and people I knew in childhood, have stated their own vivid memories of early years-as well as much that has happened since.

We are still using only a small part of our intelliegence.

Yes, and No

2
Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

February 20, 2021-

One of my co-workers, yesterday, made the curious remark that everyone, from the age of two onward, is responsible for their actions. Yes, and no. A child needs to be taught right from wrong, from the time that receptive language can be processed. It is well to teach the child to not make excuses for one’s actions, also from the time he or she can act independently. However, to the extent that a child is dependent on parents or other adults, he or she is not entirely responsible for what happens in his/her life. This same person made the statement that the recently-retired president, a poster child for plausible denial, was a great leader. I will leave that statement to bathe in its own irony.

It is said that large amounts of money are needed, in order to bring this nation to full recovery from the pandemic-induced economic doldrums. Yes, and no. There are several groups deserving of cash infusions-among them: Workers being, or so to be, displaced by downsizing in the fossil fuel industry; workers suffering workforce cutbacks in the restaurant, hospitality and transportation industries; landlords facing economic hardship, due to the inability of renters to pay their monthly due; renters unable to pay their monthly due, owing to having been out of work; any combination of the above. There are also those, presently due to receive another stimulus check, who are not in as dire straits as the people mentioned above. (Disclosure: I am one of those in the latter group.) While we all could find a ready use for a stimulus check, at some point- and sooner, rather than later, the needs of the nation as a whole have to come first.

One of the codiciles in the American Recovery Plan is a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Yes, and no. Those at the bottom rung of the economic ladder deserve a living wage. It should be enough to allow the worker to pay a reasonable monthly rent and have enough left over, after bills are paid, to set aside savings (in fact, to follow Dave Ramsey’s advice, and “pay self first”, by setting the savings aside before paying any bills.) and to enjoy a reasonable quality of life. Such a Federal minimum wage should not, however, be buried in a fiscal stimulus package, which is supposed to be a one-off. It is worthy of being legislated and signed into law, in its own right. That such an occurrence is at all in doubt is the fault, not of the progressives who advocate it, but of the obstructionists who see their own greed stampede being interrupted.

Finally, at least for this post, there are those who call for education to be privatized. Yes, but mostly no. As a matter of fact, fiscal accountability, discipline and transparency, as many agents of the Internal Revenue Service could attest, is in woefully short supply, across all walks of life. I had to build these skills the hard way; yet many, using sleight of hand and kicking their debt cans down the road, have yet to build them at all. This applies to virtually all school systems, where adminstrative costs (including money spent on the services of Big Testing) siphon a huge chunk of the children’s money. Taxpayers, who provide the lion’s share of the funds available, rightfully expect that their assessments go to the legitimate learning of their children, grandchildren and neighbours. To the extent that charter schools can be the impetus for system-wide transparency and rectitude, long may they be part of the education scene. There is, however, no reason, save territoriality and a laconic mentality, that a public school district cannot do as much, if not more, for the good of our children than a private, or semi-private, institution,

Most coins have two sides, and some are cubes- or polyhedrons.

The True Rewards

4
Posted by on in children, collaborating, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

February 19, 2021-

So many times, on a job that pans out over several days, there are twists and turns, taking me to as many as five task-sites in the span of a day. That sort of regimen makes the work interesting and impacts several children, in a meaningful way.

Today, I completed four days in a medium-sized elementary school, mostly working with younger special needs students, one-on-one. For the most part, the work involved helping one or two students with routine academic tasks and increasing their sense of well-being. These children appreciated the efforts and were uniformly pleasant people, with whom to work.

Two others, who had been out the first three days, came back today-making for a full classroom. These two students, both mute and somewhat unsettled, somehow were comforted by my presence- and were far more amenable to following my cues and gestures than those of the regular staff.

Silent communication often allows for more bonding -especially when a troubled person senses that another inherently understands his or her essential difficulties. The two students essentially latched onto me, with little spoken communication on my part. Just seeing them focus on following rules, and want to gravitate towards my direction, was a reward equally as meaningful as the achievements of their classmates.

This may well be the last work I do with elementary level behaviorally-challenged students-as the project with which I have agreed to help, for 1 1/2 months, this spring, is primarily a literacy enhancement effort. I appreciate that my presence is valued, by educators and students, and will take their support with me, for the rest of my days. This is the true reward of being in the arena of service to children.

Two Birds on a Winter Morning

2
Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 16, 2021-

As I was doing my devotions, this morning,

two of the ravens

who live in our neighbourhood

were perched atop a telephone pole.

They repeatedly touched beaks

and snuggled for about three minutes,

then touched beaks a few more times,

and snuggled for another few minutes.

This was the sweetest thing

between animals,

that I’ve seen in some time.

It just goes to show,

there’s no lack of love

in the world.