Tag Archives: shelter simulation

The Road to Diamond, Day 107: Shelter

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 15, 2025- It started off in less than stellar fashion. As I went to put my backpack in the rear of a co-worker’s Jeep, the coffee cup I had set on the median caddy toppled over. Fortunately, the liquid was easily drained off the rear splash pad. Then, his door netting got caught on a grommet of my boot, and it took a bit of teamwork to get the net loose,without damaging it.

The shelter simulation started off slowly, like most of what I do. A few people showed up late and it took a fair amount of digging through the back of the Red Cross trailer, to find two large and fairly essential items. We did well, though, just by staying the course, and as our chief supervisor said, not acting like headless chickens. We did well on all but one scenario, and that one was more a matter of fatigue-towards the end of the exercise, and is not something either of us involved would repeat, in real time.

I relaxed alone at Home Base, after the day was finished. After a nap, I reflected on the way in which Home Base is itself a shelter. I watched the rest of “Long Bright River”, noting the ways in which people provide shelter for one another: Siblings, colleagues, kindred souls living on the street, parents and children. I saw the ways in which people can make good choices and strengthen community. I saw the ways in which people can make bad choices and drive wedges between themselves and those they otherwise love.

I have chosen the concept of shelter as my love language of sorts, and will be involved in it, one way or another, for the rest of my lucid life. The simulation only reflected how strongly I feel about this being a birthright of every human being, of every sentient being. Let it ever be thus.

Here’s a version of “Gimme Shelter” that you may not have heard, from 1970.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gimme+shelter+merry+clayton&client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=cd29d8d78246c2c7&channel=entpr&udm=7&biw=1280&bih=639&ei=7GDWZ9nMOvbckPIP-trpkA0&oq=gimme+shelter-Merry&gs_lp=EhZnd3Mtd2l6LW1vZGVsZXNzLXZpZGVvIhNnaW1tZSBzaGVsdGVyLU1lcnJ5KgIIADIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeSJVGUPgNWP0zcAF4AJABAJgBa6AB0wSqAQM2LjG4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgegAsMEwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDNi4xoAeLKg&sclient=gws-wiz-modeless-video#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:46afeb7c,vid:AHvXhWJ0oHU,st:0

The Road to Diamond, Day 98: Dribs and Drabs Again

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

March 6, 2025- There was about an inch of snow that fell here, this morning. Dribs and drabs, and gone by noon. There is a better chance of accumulation tomorrow, so we’ll see. I stopped by a coffee shop that offers a hang-out for teens, just to see what it looks like. School was in session, so there was a lone young man staffing the counter and there were a couple of ladies running the office. Three workmen were doing repairs on a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). I got a cup of joe to go and moved along, saving the coffee for later and getting lunch at a downtown bagel shop that has several nice sandwich options. It was a good day for lox and cream cheese, with capers.

The Red Cross monthly meeting provided all the information I needed, in order to set up and run a shelter simulation-a week from Saturday. My team is poised and ready, and we will finalize the preparations next Friday. As for my acting as Sheltering Lead for this area, that will be decided next Friday, also.

I sat in on the Prescott Indivisible chapter meeting this evening. It focused on civics- helping those in attendance brush up on state government. This is something that everyone ought to know, so it was time well spent. There was not a whole lot of counterproductive bickering about personalities, which was gratifying. I see that the Governor of California has come out as opposing boys playing in girls’ sports. Personally, I think there are probably enough transgender athletes that they could compete against one another. On the other hand, there are times where girls take part in traditionally “boys-only” sports, like baseball and tackle football, so I think such matters need to be weighed carefully-on a case by case basis.

I ended the day by proofreading a paper by a Baha’i student from Indonesia, who I had met whilst in the Philippines, last month. It focused on an ecumenical ceremony hosted by some Buddhists, using traditional Javanese spiritual practices. I found the whole premise quite enlightening. It is called Ruwatan and is a means for fostering respect for diversity.

Sometimes, a day full of dribs and drabs works out quite well.