Doing Becomes Finding Out

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

February 11, 2018, Prescott-

Thursday afternoon, as I was leaving work, I stopped backing out, on instinct, as a black SUV blew past me, in my blind spot.  The driver of a red pick-up, who was a few car lengths behind the SUV, then began to mock me and, following me close behind, pulled into the strip of driveway to my right.  He was laughing, and shaking his head, as I made room for him to pull around and find that…there was only room for one vehicle to turn at a time, whether right or left!  He couldn’t have been a regular student or staff member; we all know this to be true. Grimacing, the hot shot waved “Thank you”, and made his turn.

Friday afternoon, I drove home from work and found my street was closed, a SWAT vehicle was in our driveway, with a half-dozen police cars and at least a dozen armed officers standing in position.  One of the neighbours had committed a felony and was taken into custody.  It was a matter of his having beaten his lady friend and allegedly threatening responding officers with a deadly weapon. (I did not see any of this, but I trust that it happened, as reported. )  I drove around the corner, and waited at the next block up, talking with other neighbours, until the operation was completed.  Do the crime, and the time awaits.

Last night, I went over to a “Paint Jam”, at Wild Iris Coffee Shop.  I was given a canvas, a palette, three brushes, some rinse water and a mixing plate.  Realizing I had forgotten to bring a sketching pencil, my free-style painting commenced.  It ended up, as a little girl who was observing remarked, being “a very funny painting.”  My mind, after the fact, recalled several basic truths about the art of painting:  Backdrop gets done first; remember how to blend primary colours;  never, ever, forget a sketching pencil.  A photo, to copy, is also a nice thing to have.  Such are the consequences of not having painted a scene since sixth grade- 56 years ago.  I am keeping the painted canvas, in a place known only to me, as a token of humility.

Do, and you will find out.

Purposeful

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Posted by on in collaborating, Personal goals, Striving

February 8, 2018, Prescott-

My course in Affiliate Marketing is intended to help develop those skills that have been sitting inside me, for a lifetime.

My not having tapped them, earlier, due to a loathing of materialism, seems misplaced now.

I still loathe excess, mind you, but I see a certain amount of prosperity as a means to service.  It’s still not about me, but about what might be done with what I might earn.

There is some darkness to get through, before the dawn, yet I have a handle on it, and know to fiercely discern between what actually serves my fellow humans, and what is merely greed, masked as “the Greater Good”.

This is a marvelous learning process.  I am going to succeed.

Whiplash

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Posted by on in Uncategorized

February 7, 2018, Prescott-

Many woke up, Tuesday morning,

feeling like their bank accounts

had been whipsawed.

I am used to

the “Up is Down”

“Black is White”

philosophy of stockbrokers,

pundits and other

assorted baboons.

For another reason,

entirely,

I felt that my back

needed a serious treat,

as did my right shoulder.

The wrong kind of exercise

at my workplace,

in the adaptive P.E. class,

led me to make

a Planet Fitness session

a priority.

This morning,

everything feels much better.

Complexities

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Striving

February 5, 2018, Prescott-

I like simplicity.

It eludes me, though.

This is a temporary state.

Day job is fairly straightforward.

DA is complex.

That is a temporary state, also.

Learning curves are that way.

Much complexity stems from

multiple parties and

organizations being involved.

A bank is involved,

and banks need time.

I suppose this is why

the Japanese take

two weeks,

to decide important matters,

or so I’m told.

Building a community

is complex.

Everyone’s input,

time and space,

need to be honoured.

Building friendships

is complex.

I want to make things simple.

So, I choose not to overthink.

I will be glad for Saturday,

and a day on a trail.

The Onion’s Wake

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Posted by on in distraction issues, impediments, Social, Striving

February 3, 2018, Prescott-

(This is a very short story, prompted by this past week’s back and forth between the Federal government and Wall Street, and the ongoing roiling about sexual harassment.)

Seth woke at his usual time, on Friday.  He had just been told of a huge gift, from his father.  In times past, he’d have been ecstatic.  Seth had always been a sucker, for what his parents and family deemed “good news”.  He was never one to look for the cloud, behind every silver lining.

This gift, however, seemed different.  He had been getting lots of presents, recently, but had done nothing to earn them.  It was starting to wear on his psyche.  You see, Seth had always been one to roll up his sleeves, use his own ingenuity and forge ahead, at a modest pace.  Usually, this meant intense periods of activity, followed by rest, which was most often understood by his family.

For the past year, Seth had been at it, full tilt.  He had enjoyed the adulation this brought and it propelled him to even more feats of energetic achievement.   On the sidelines, however, were stories of mistreatment of his sisters, his girl cousins and several of their friends.  Father devalued the women, several of his favourite uncles, and a few of the aunts, discounted their stories.  One of the loudest voices of disavowal came from an uncle who had himself been brawling with Father, all the while insisting that he, himself, was one of the best friends the women would ever have.  Yesterday, this uncle unleashed a broadside at one of the ladies” friends, calling her a liar, after she had said something derogatory about a grand-uncle, who was a well-known lecher.  To him, this grand-uncle had been a “paragon of virtue”, meek and mild, never ever causing harm.  The friend knew differently, and was deeply scarred by her encounters with grand-uncle.

All this led Seth to snap.  Having the women feel good about themselves was essential to the work that Seth had been doing.  After the morning’s gift arrived, Seth put it in a box of his own, and sent it, and several other gifts of the past year, back to their senders.  Father, incredulous, fumed that that none of his gifts were appreciated and that this ungrateful wretch of a son would be more closely supervised by his brothers.

Seth shrugged and, like Atlas before him, pondered whether he might shrug some more- and return still more gifts, while taking a good long rest.

Deja Vu?

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Striving

February 2, 2018, Prescott-

Today being Groundhog Day, the film with Bill Murray as a somewhat sisyphean character, forced to repeat his experiences over and over, comes to mind.

Yesterday, I reached a point in my current study of business, where I was reminded, somewhat sharply, of what happened when I overreached, nine years ago.  A good night’s sleep, however, underscores the differences between then and now.  To make a long story short, my spirit guides are not struggling with their own issues anymore, and I get a much more positive, “can do” message, from them and from my life coaching team.

I have mentioned that this year seems to be one of giant steps.  There have been a few already, and more are coming.  I will be more specific, later today and as things happen.  Work awaits, though, so I wish all a fine Friday!

Kerfuffles

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

January 31, 2018, Prescott-

Yesterday seemed to have been a bad energy day, for several people.  On the way in to work, I pulled into a convenience market and one of my tires blew.  I was able to get the Elantra to the shop I use and the problem was fixed, in short order.  I got into work, with 5 minutes to spare, before program started.

There was a silver lining:  Whilst in the shop waiting area,I got two activities done, which would otherwise have been problematic, had I tried to do them at work.  For much of the day, a student was fussing and fuming, later apologizing for the misbehaviour.  With our students, these apologies are meaningful, because they have to think long and hard about what they are doing.

The biggest headache for me, though, was the temporary loss of this blog site.  It would have been an extreme nuisance to me, to have lost all of my dear followers and to not be able to access the diversity of opinion, which makes the Reader such an enjoyable and informative part of my day.  Make no mistake, I may disagree with several of you, on certain points, but investigating truth for myself is an integral part of my belief system, and each of us, no matter how outlandish our claims, does have a kernel of truth on our side.

So, as I gaze at the blood red moon, with my blog site back in order, I look forward to this day of putting January to bed.

Fire

16
Posted by on in collaborating, Poetry, Striving

January 29, 2018, Prescott-

What is the quality I value most in you,

dear friend?

Why, it’s the one quality

that time and tide can

never extinguish:

The fire in your heart,

that is reflected in your eyes,

and in all you do!

Stay the course,

warrior princess.

You have long to go.

I’m honoured

by your presence.

 

Sunshine Blogger Award

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Personal Values

January 27, 2018, Prescott-

I have been nominated for two awards, since establishing Sagittarian Seeker. One, is a Liebster Award, on which I will comment tomorrow, after a long wait.  The other is a Sunshine Blogger Award, bestowed upon me by the estimable Madekesiworld.  So, without further ado, here are my answers to his questions!

1. Which country do you come from?

The United States of America

2. What’s your national language?

English

3. What’s your country’s staple food?

Potatoes and corn

4. Apart from blogging, what else do you do?

I work with autistic teens and young adults; I study a financial planning course; I hike; I practice the Baha’i Faith; I read; I socialize with people in coffee houses; I exercise at Planet Fitness;

5. Would you get married to someone outside your race?

There is only the human race, but yes-most definitely.

6. Do you watch football? If yes, what’s your favorite team?

Once in a blue moon.  The Patriots, because my late uncle had a financial interest in them and besides, I am a New Englander-even in diaspora.

7. Do you think nations should do more to manage global warming?

I believe nations, and their citizens, should do more to stem climate change.

8. Christian or Muslim? What’s the one thing you love about the other religion?

I am a Baha’i.  I believe that Divine Revelation is never final.  I love the commitment that the majority of both Christians and Muslims have to the Teachings of their respective Manifestations of God, which, contrary to public perceptions, include injunctions to practice peace.

9. Which is your favorite music genre?

Contemporary rock and folk.

 

10. Which music genre do you hate the most? Why?

Death metal, because it is so negative.

11. Who would you choose between Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jung-un?

Trump, because there is a peaceful mechanism in place, by which he can be removed from office.

So, here we are, with my questions to those, who will be named below.

  1.  Which languages, other than English, do you speak?
  2.  Which is your favourite place in the world?
  3. In that place, which is your favourite spot, in which to spend time?
  4.  Do you see life as “half empty” or as “half full”?
  5.  Do you dream in colour?
  6.  What do you regard as the greatest challenge facing mankind, today?
  7.  Do you honour, or despise, those who think differently from you?
  8.  In what are you experienced?
  9. If you could visit any place on Earth where you have never been, where would that be?  Why?
  10. Do you have a pet?  Which kind of animal is it?
  11.  What is your favourite genre of literature?

Now, here is my list of nominees.  I can only list nine, as the rest of you have your blogs off of hyperlink.

  1. Emmanuel Rockan
  2. lou rasmus
  3. braedenmichaels
  4. Shape Shifters Fitness Trainer
  5. Cathy Lynn Brooks
  6. -Eugenia
  7. CHRISTIANNAMONY
  8. thewintersdance
  9. kawsreflections

Larry Nassar

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Posted by on in children, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Striving

January 27, 2018, Prescott-

I dropped off my customary load of old newspapers, at a local charity for battered women and their children, as is routine for me, on Saturday mornings.  Next door to the thrift shop, there is a thriving donut shop, run by a young couple and their extended family.  I went in there, as is also routine, and was greeted warmly by the wife, who apologized for not having enough coffee to fill my order, but graciously gave me an extra 1/2 cup, when the brew was ready.  Shortly afterward, feeling the need for a  more substantial breakfast than a donut, I stopped in another young lady’s shop and got an open-faced bagel, with lox and cream cheese.

Both young women are gorgeous, brainy, hard-working, and very much in love with their mates.  I am there to support their dreams, and their families’ dreams, period.  In the face of the recent conviction of former sports medicine practitioner Larry Nassar, for the serial abuse of young female athletes, a few observations:

Many people have an intrinsic fear of certain among life’s features- Financial wealth, personal success, good physical health and the presence of good-looking members of the opposite gender.  I get all of this.  “I used to be among the crowd you’re in with”, to quote Bob Dylan (“Positively Fourth Street”).  Financial wealth eluded Penny and me, largely due to life happening, but also because of my own lack of financial intelligence.  I didn’t think I deserved personal success, and lo and behold- there were plenty of movers and shakers who were glad to oblige me, in that deprivation.  Physical health has been my strong suit, though the dental part of it had to be recovered, after putting my own needs on hold, during Penny’s long illness.  I was blessed with a beautiful wife, and stayed with her, long after both of us found our good looks fading- because in my family, a marriage is for life, and besides- I love her spirit, still.

Outside of my marriage, though, there was a time when I felt myself undeserving of the attentions of attractive women.  Some attribute such an attitude to misogyny.  Perhaps, but I think that criticism is way too simplistic.  No fear is about the thing that is feared.  It is about the lack of self-worth, in the beholder.  Beyond that, however, is this:  Women have always been complete human beings, with dreams and goals that are every bit as worthy as those of men.  That we men have often overlooked or discounted those dreams and goals is no fault of the dreamers.

I get that the condemned Mr. Nassar may have started off wanting to serve the population of teen women athletes.  He may even have had twinges of conscience, when he first gave in to his lower cravings.  Yet, it didn’t last.  Women who should have been able to pursue their athletic goals, without hindrance from a source that should have been trustworthy, found themselves being treated like toys.  Mr. Nassar’s reaction to their needs, and to their presence, became despicable.

I have worked with teens and young adults, pretty much continuously, since the late 1970’s.  The bottom line has ever been, honour and respect; build, not destroy.  If I inadvertently wronged anyone, to the “extent of a mustard seed”, that person got full amends.

I can only hope that the frightened, ravaged young gymnasts go on, to recover, to dream again and to live in fullness.