Tag Archives: Black Friday

Wider and Deeper

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Posted by on in Community, Personal goals, Social, Striving

November 20, 2016, Prescott-   So much water has gone over the dam, these past few weeks.  I am glad things are slowing down, for the upcoming 3-5 day holiday.  I say this, as I have no intention of partaking in either Black Friday or Thanksgiving Day shopping.  I used to gag at the thought of the latter, until a friend on the East Coast said it was her family’s way of relaxing.  Still and all, to each their own.

I am getting close to the end of being 65.  More about that, over the weekend.  Another digression, in the way of summarizing:  I finished reading “Moral Tribes” and re-reading “To Kill A Mockingbird”, about two weeks ago.  Now, my literary focus is on “The Brothers Karamazov”, my first foray into the world of Dostoevsky, and a re-reading of “The Celestine Prophecies”, as well as my Baha’i studies.

It’s raining here, for a day or two.  I hear Massachusetts is getting snow.  We are bound to have strange swings in weather patterns, over the next 10-30 years, whether people believe in climate change or not.  If the President-elect is indeed in denial about such things, he’s lucky to have his private residence in a penthouse. Change tends to happen, whether one expects it or not.

Back to business: My focus right now is on dignity- a God-given right of every sentient being, especially of every human being.  Year ago, that mold was set for me, one evening in VietNam.  A hard-nosed, traditionalist Army sergeant happened by where I was sitting, one calm evening.  I was an unabashed progressive, back then, so our conversation (which was completely civil) focused on how each of us saw things differently- AND neither of us was hurting the other, by our view of things.  We got along very well after that.

I have drifted away from politics, since then, though fairness and acceptance of different points of view, instilled into me by my father, remain the driving forces in my dealings with others.  I can’t imagine my life, if one person, or group of human beings, doesn’t matter, equally as much as the next. Everyone I encounter needs to be treated with respect.

Throughout my life, I have spent time with different people, or visited different communities, rather than staying put in a small group. This will continue, working around the constraints of a full-time job, over the next five years. While I also like having a home base, reaching out to others is nonetheless still my wheelhouse, as those in business like to say, these days.

The circle has been wider, for some time now.  The objective now is to make it deeper.

What’s In Our Words

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

November 24, 2014, Prescott-  This is, for an educator, the shortest “work week” of the academic year.  Most schools have two days, before Thanksgiving break.  It’s also my birthday week, and this year, I turn 64 on the day after Thanksgiving.  People are given to calling that day, “Black Friday”, as its sales receipts are supposed to put retail businesses “in the black”.  A sad trend has some stores shortening, or foregoing, the Thanksgiving holiday for their employees/associates.  One retail outlet even refers to the most important family holiday of the year as “Black Thursday”.  Shameful, this.

Words matter.  I have had the tendency, much of my life, to be “in the brain, out the mouth.”  I could blame this on my autism, and it is probably what has caused this series of  faux pas.  My late wife spent the best years of her life coaching me out of this emotional trough.  Discretion and sobriety were the most valuable gifts she imparted to me, through three decades of steadfast love.  I have stumbled and bumbled on occasion, in the three years, seven months since her passing.  Good people have been hurt, and I have done myself no favours with these missteps.

The purpose of life, though, is to transcend.  We overcome pain, move out of  false comfort zones, learn new skills, make new friends and often keep the old.  In all of this, a successful effort brings one closer to the Source of all life.  I am slowly on the upward path, with my beloved spirit guide urging me on, in matters large and small.

Our words ought to represent reflection, thought, and most crucially, love.  What comes from our mouths, our pens, our keyboards can either build or shatter.  So, while it’s a fine thing to be ever honest, in our dealings with those near and far, it pays to remember that no one really wants to be shattered, knocked down or left out.  Honesty and kindness are not mutually exclusive.  Have a fine Monday, my friends.

Homefront Musings

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

November 17, 2014, Prescott- So, eleven days remain of one of the most productive years I’ve ever had.  2014 rates with 1972, 1982 and 1996, as years when I got enough things right, that the screw-ups and missteps that have sometimes threatened to define me, became mere background noise.  I won’t sum the year up, in terms of specifics, just yet.  That gets done on my birthday, which, as happens every so often, falls on Black Friday.

I don’t observe Black Friday, as I seldom visit shopping malls.  I barely observe Cyber Monday, and then, mainly to get gifts I wouldn’t dream of letting go unbought.  Most of my purchases will be from “Mom and Pop” stores, anyway:  Peregrine Books, Arcosanti Gift Shop, The Honeyman, Sam Hill Warehouse, Shannon’s Gourmet Deli.  Cerebral and muse-inspired trump the wan material.

I have been indulging a month-long Facebook campaign to post themed photos.  Today’s was “Cooking”, so I showed a quick dish:  Punjabi Curry, with Hot Portuguese Sausage.

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Most of my days, of late, have been spent either in a classroom, or trying to preserve a school in which I have worked, on several occasions, for the past three years.  It escapes me that more energy is expended in securing funds for a new jail than for keeping schools open.  I understand they are funded from different sources, but it is still the result of the same misplaced thinking.

It’s cold, by Prescott standards- went down to 14, last night.   This afternoon, I drove a homeless man around, trying to find him shelter.  He settled on a place where he felt comfortable, and could be in out of the cold at least.  I found myself in that situation only once in my life, and couch-surfed in my cousin’s living room, just for a day or so.  That was many years ago, in the dead of a Maine winter.  Fortune led me to several months with a rambunctious, but caring, blended family of adults, young and old.

Any encounter with the disadvantaged reinforces just how well I have it now.  Physically, I’m alone, but my eternal love is always watching, and sending message waves.  Financially, I’m not wealthy, but I’m out of debt and living carefully in a cash economy.   Health-wise, regular exercise, daily use of essential oils, and good sleep habits keep me going, so at nearly 64, I don’t look a day over 62!  Socially, I have a varied network of friends, both online and real-time, and have been meeting new friends constantly.  I don’t go into a friendship with expectations, so the flow is amazing in its depth and width.

Each day, whether at home or on the road, seems to bring far greater opportunities for growth than I would have expected in the darkness of 2011. Let this remain the way.