Tuesday, May 22, 2012
SCARY TOASTERS
Because of my current and disturbing living situation, I went on Amazon to search for a simple, two-slice toaster. Appalled is the best description of my reaction as I scrolled through page after page of toaster options. Choice is a nice thing, but there is a point at which choice surpasses any definition of conspicuous consumption and in my humble view approaches near-criminal waste of resources, producing and offering items of such lame and limited value that I now just want to toast my bread with a fork and a Bic lighter.
Allow me to digress briefly: I have a perfectly lovely toaster. I have no idea how to get to it. Along with my printer, my crock pot, some favorite undies and my iron, it is ‘lost’ in the secret and forbidden realm of my huge storage unit that holds all my favorite worldly goods except for the few items I have with me as I ‘camp out’ in my former home. I promise, once I again have adequate housing, I will continue to make use of any items I have been circumstantially forced to acquire and if they prove unnecessary, I will re-home them. Allow me to once again go on record that I am all for minimalizing my accoutrements and simplifying my life… at least to a point that still maximizes my physical comfort and ability to work and function effectively.
Anyway, I know, from personal experience and years of observation, just exactly what TOO MUCH looks like.
In this case, before I could stand it no longer, I scrolled through fifty-one pages of toaster offerings at twenty-four toasters per page. I counted 197 items that were simply ‘toaster related’ such as toast tongs, toaster covers, pans for toaster ovens, etc. Leaving a grand total of one-thousand-twenty-seven toasters and toaster ovens offered. Granted there were duplications. Yet, did you know that you can spend anywhere between $18.00 and $900.00 for a toaster. Not only are there two and four-slice toasters, but there are conveyer toasters, bagel toasters (some are floor models I mean they are the size of a stove and stand on the floor) and there are some that scorch the imprint of Hello Kitty, Jesus Christ, and your favorite football team logo onto your bread.
I said to myself, “damn! They’ve got toasters for everything. Someday they will make a toaster that sings to you and pours your coffee too, heh heh”
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, but they already do! There are toasters with built-in radios. There are toasters that cook your hot dogs, toasters that cook your eggs and toasters that actually combine a coffee maker into their make-up.
All I want is a couple slices of ordinary dark toast without being yelled at for changing the toaster setting from 2 to 7 and a congenial living situation.
So, having given up, I really cannot tell you what the bottom line is as far as toaster offerings goes, but I feel, somehow, deep inside where my values and discretion keep each other company, that 1097 types of toasters including designer toast and designer toasters is really a bit much.
I’m afraid to do a search for hand mixers. I gave my big counter-top Kitchen Aid to my sister who bakes a lot and with a sore wrist, I think I need one of those old hand mixers. Wish me luck.
Monday, March 5, 2012
FROM TOO MUCH TO ENOUGH: AN ON-GOING TALE OF A YARD SALE
From Too Much to Enough: An On-Going Tale
Had another episode of the ongoing Yard Sale today.
All this stuff has become such a burden in the following ways:
Too much mass
Too much space filled and required
Too much weight
Too much quantity
Too much attention required
Too many diversions
Too many insecurities revealed
And now, the blessing is the release of those many things which no longer, or never have served my higher purpose, or any necessary purpose whatsoever.
Beautiful gifts, charming and poignant antique treasures, cute little schotchkes (sp), outgrown, never used, emblems of unfulfilled dreams, collections of fear-based stockpiles, hauled to Tennessee from Florida, never used and filling space , creating dams and blockages…
It is with discomfort and some angst I am letting go of these many things, for so much less than their fair market value. Some very nice people are getting some very, very good deals on some very nice things.
After years of putting on yard sales in South Florida, dealing with certain immigrants walking off with armloads of clothes for a buck, just to get rid of them, not to mention yard sale shop lifters (can you believe it!?!?!) I was really annoyed by someone today who tried to pull some of the same tricks. A box of craft items was listed at a dollar. What does she do? She crams double handfuls of additional items into the box, demanding it all for fifty cents, then stacking up nine pair of jeans, pants and a skirt priced ridiculously low at a buck a piece, and a beautiful new semi-formal dress priced at 7.50 in a big pile and demanded the whole thing for five dollars. I was adamant. She got snotty and I chased her off. I will not be taken advantage of any longer. Enough is enough.
Putting these things back into the flow has the advantage of unblocking blocked energy and assuring that all that which is needed will have the opportunity to arrive.
But I have the responsibility to respect these things and assure that they are placed into the flow in a respectful manner and not dumped carelessly and without fair recompense.
Allowing oneself to be cheated is far different from donating things to a charity which is also a valid way of placing things back in the flow.
In other words, I have recognized my responsibility for the things I have acquired to receive fair exchange, and thus avoid denigrating their intrinsic value.
This is a form of transformation. I am transforming myself from a messy borderline hoarder to a person with a handle on simplicity, and with only those things that are useful and bring me a sense of joyfulness.
This is quite a difficult dragon to slay: one with much tenacity. But I truly understand that once you have identified a demon, it is more easily slain.
More to sell in a week or so, because enough is enough and too much is too much.
Had another episode of the ongoing Yard Sale today.
All this stuff has become such a burden in the following ways:
Too much mass
Too much space filled and required
Too much weight
Too much quantity
Too much attention required
Too many diversions
Too many insecurities revealed
And now, the blessing is the release of those many things which no longer, or never have served my higher purpose, or any necessary purpose whatsoever.
Beautiful gifts, charming and poignant antique treasures, cute little schotchkes (sp), outgrown, never used, emblems of unfulfilled dreams, collections of fear-based stockpiles, hauled to Tennessee from Florida, never used and filling space , creating dams and blockages…
It is with discomfort and some angst I am letting go of these many things, for so much less than their fair market value. Some very nice people are getting some very, very good deals on some very nice things.
After years of putting on yard sales in South Florida, dealing with certain immigrants walking off with armloads of clothes for a buck, just to get rid of them, not to mention yard sale shop lifters (can you believe it!?!?!) I was really annoyed by someone today who tried to pull some of the same tricks. A box of craft items was listed at a dollar. What does she do? She crams double handfuls of additional items into the box, demanding it all for fifty cents, then stacking up nine pair of jeans, pants and a skirt priced ridiculously low at a buck a piece, and a beautiful new semi-formal dress priced at 7.50 in a big pile and demanded the whole thing for five dollars. I was adamant. She got snotty and I chased her off. I will not be taken advantage of any longer. Enough is enough.
Putting these things back into the flow has the advantage of unblocking blocked energy and assuring that all that which is needed will have the opportunity to arrive.
But I have the responsibility to respect these things and assure that they are placed into the flow in a respectful manner and not dumped carelessly and without fair recompense.
Allowing oneself to be cheated is far different from donating things to a charity which is also a valid way of placing things back in the flow.
In other words, I have recognized my responsibility for the things I have acquired to receive fair exchange, and thus avoid denigrating their intrinsic value.
This is a form of transformation. I am transforming myself from a messy borderline hoarder to a person with a handle on simplicity, and with only those things that are useful and bring me a sense of joyfulness.
This is quite a difficult dragon to slay: one with much tenacity. But I truly understand that once you have identified a demon, it is more easily slain.
More to sell in a week or so, because enough is enough and too much is too much.
LACK vs ENOUGH
LACK vs ENOUGH
Enough is all we need. The right amount of anything is a blessing. Whereas too much of something quickly becomes a burden, perhaps overtly, perhaps subtly, but a burden nonetheless.
At this time, we seem to lack wisdom and maintain a bit too much in the way of greed. I see this manifesting as overindulgence in entertainment, poor quality food and beverages, and a tendency to cling to government handouts like a baby at a tit. The debt crisis is a prime example. Nearly everyone has too much debt. We sure have a lot of stuff though, don't we?
Sometimes we wake up and realize this and shed our burdens in a manner that blesses ourselves and others. Sometimes, if we have refused to awaken, we are forced to give up things through some type of occurrence outside of our own control.
And then we cry, we blame, we get angry, we feel victimized, until, at some point, we notice that we feel lighter, freer, and more flexible.
Is America coming to that point? Are we, as a nation, being faced with the time to choose? Do we choose to give up that which no longer serves our immediate notions of comfort, greed and laziness so that we can reclaim our freedom that so many have fought and died for?
I certainly hope so. Let us pray for America. Veterans Day is coming in about two weeks. Let us show our gratitude to our Military Veterans and active duty personnel. But that is not all I refer to. Everyday is the time to be grateful and express gratitude. And remember our Source with love and gratitude. Summary: More love, more gratitude and willingness to let go for the sake of freedom.
Be Well
Victoria
Enough is all we need. The right amount of anything is a blessing. Whereas too much of something quickly becomes a burden, perhaps overtly, perhaps subtly, but a burden nonetheless.
At this time, we seem to lack wisdom and maintain a bit too much in the way of greed. I see this manifesting as overindulgence in entertainment, poor quality food and beverages, and a tendency to cling to government handouts like a baby at a tit. The debt crisis is a prime example. Nearly everyone has too much debt. We sure have a lot of stuff though, don't we?
Sometimes we wake up and realize this and shed our burdens in a manner that blesses ourselves and others. Sometimes, if we have refused to awaken, we are forced to give up things through some type of occurrence outside of our own control.
And then we cry, we blame, we get angry, we feel victimized, until, at some point, we notice that we feel lighter, freer, and more flexible.
Is America coming to that point? Are we, as a nation, being faced with the time to choose? Do we choose to give up that which no longer serves our immediate notions of comfort, greed and laziness so that we can reclaim our freedom that so many have fought and died for?
I certainly hope so. Let us pray for America. Veterans Day is coming in about two weeks. Let us show our gratitude to our Military Veterans and active duty personnel. But that is not all I refer to. Everyday is the time to be grateful and express gratitude. And remember our Source with love and gratitude. Summary: More love, more gratitude and willingness to let go for the sake of freedom.
Be Well
Victoria
LOVE ENOUGH
Thursday, July 21, 2011
LOVE ENOUGH
With bazillions of egos wrestling for space, recognition, prominence and dominance in the world, one wonders if there is any hope at all for resolution to all our world of troubles.
A woman I know introduced me last year to a system called Infinite Love and Gratitude. It is a complex and multi-dimensional system for healing body, mind and spirit. It has to do with kinesiology and diagnosis, removing blocks and working with assorted alternative healing modalities.
Bottom line though, is Love and Gratitude.
Jesus loved enough to cover the whole worlds ills. Everywhere he looked and touched, healings occurred. He chose not to save his mortal self in order to show us the way of salvation.
In each instance when He fed the multitudes, He first gave thanks, and then divided the few loaves and fishes into baskets full for the many people and followers attending His teachings. His gratitude was the acknowledgment of God's infinite love and supply for all of creation, without limits.
His last words in the Garden were words of deepest commitment to God, of giving up His sense of self for the greater good.
His last words on the cross were words of welcoming His spirit home to God, from Whom He knew he had never been truly separated. He was the Wayshower.
Through his wonderful and often misunderstood words in the Sermon on the Mount, He gives us the guidance we all need for blessed living.
Misinterpretations of His words through many translations and through changes in the way some words are defined have caused some lack of acceptance toward some of those precious teachings.
See Matthew 5:1-48
In verse 3, the 'poor in spirit' actually referred to the ego. Those who have softened their ego, or have controlled or conquered its self-righteousness are truly blessed.
Verse 4 refers to those who mourn, saying they are blessed because they shall be comforted. When we encounter a dark night of the soul, we mourn for whatever loss, be it mental, physical, emotional or spiritual we have experienced or are experiencing. The blessing comes from the passage through the dark with the realization that we indeed are comforted by the eternal support and love of God for us as His created being.
Verse 5 is a big one. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus, in the Aramaic language He spoke, used a word that meant MODERATE, not weak, as we define meek today. Blessed are the moderate, for they shall inherit the earth. All of creation belongs to the MODERATE good steward who cares for and honors creation. He who does not give in to knee-jerk reactions and hyperbole, is he who survives to tell the tale.
Verse 6. Like Solomon, asking of God an understanding heart, the ability to be discerning and fair, Jesus tells us that seeking to be our best and most loving selves, in God's likeness, is self-fulfilling. And believe me, it is a daily quest, not a one-time seminar from which you come away with certification!
Verse 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Karma. We draw into our experience what we most exhibit.
. We could talk about Job here, but that is another whole discussion.
Verse 8 tells us that the pure in heart shall see God. Pure in heart refers to those who are true to the principles of this teaching.
In verse 9, we are told that the peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the children of God. What is a peacemaker. We wonder a lot about that very thing today. In brief, again, it is one who follows these teachings in His Sermon and in the Golden Rule. There may be another whole discourse on that coming up in a few weeks.
Verses 10 through 16 cover, essentially, one topic, and it feels not very encouraging. Who wants to be persecuted for righteousness sake or for any other purpose, Kingdom of Heaven not withstanding! Let's say a high school kid is ridiculed by classmates because he refuses to do a drug. Well, ultimately, he will be rewarded for his stance, and they will pay some karmic penalty. Taking a stand for principle is what America is supposed to be all about. It is our justification for the wars we get into. Sometimes it is a measly excuse to cover that which is based upon greed rather than principle. Our government seems to be ruled by Pharisees and Sadducees! But the majority of our military respond out of devotion and love for country and their oath to uphold their assigned mission. In our world, righteousness is not always easily discernable. Certainly it is contingent upon motive. Honor, valor, self-sacrifice, faithfulness, and holding one's ground for the highest good are the attributes of righteousness. The comfort of knowing one had done their best and done the right thing is a deep and abiding comfort and is accompanied by an assurance that God is honored by your best efforts and rewards with all that comfort which enfolds your heart and mind and purifies your emotions. That is the peace of knowing that all is in Divine and perfect order.
Perhaps we shall take up the rest of the verses another time.
Be blessed
Love, Victoria
LOVE ENOUGH
With bazillions of egos wrestling for space, recognition, prominence and dominance in the world, one wonders if there is any hope at all for resolution to all our world of troubles.
A woman I know introduced me last year to a system called Infinite Love and Gratitude. It is a complex and multi-dimensional system for healing body, mind and spirit. It has to do with kinesiology and diagnosis, removing blocks and working with assorted alternative healing modalities.
Bottom line though, is Love and Gratitude.
Jesus loved enough to cover the whole worlds ills. Everywhere he looked and touched, healings occurred. He chose not to save his mortal self in order to show us the way of salvation.
In each instance when He fed the multitudes, He first gave thanks, and then divided the few loaves and fishes into baskets full for the many people and followers attending His teachings. His gratitude was the acknowledgment of God's infinite love and supply for all of creation, without limits.
His last words in the Garden were words of deepest commitment to God, of giving up His sense of self for the greater good.
His last words on the cross were words of welcoming His spirit home to God, from Whom He knew he had never been truly separated. He was the Wayshower.
Through his wonderful and often misunderstood words in the Sermon on the Mount, He gives us the guidance we all need for blessed living.
Misinterpretations of His words through many translations and through changes in the way some words are defined have caused some lack of acceptance toward some of those precious teachings.
See Matthew 5:1-48
In verse 3, the 'poor in spirit' actually referred to the ego. Those who have softened their ego, or have controlled or conquered its self-righteousness are truly blessed.
Verse 4 refers to those who mourn, saying they are blessed because they shall be comforted. When we encounter a dark night of the soul, we mourn for whatever loss, be it mental, physical, emotional or spiritual we have experienced or are experiencing. The blessing comes from the passage through the dark with the realization that we indeed are comforted by the eternal support and love of God for us as His created being.
Verse 5 is a big one. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus, in the Aramaic language He spoke, used a word that meant MODERATE, not weak, as we define meek today. Blessed are the moderate, for they shall inherit the earth. All of creation belongs to the MODERATE good steward who cares for and honors creation. He who does not give in to knee-jerk reactions and hyperbole, is he who survives to tell the tale.
Verse 6. Like Solomon, asking of God an understanding heart, the ability to be discerning and fair, Jesus tells us that seeking to be our best and most loving selves, in God's likeness, is self-fulfilling. And believe me, it is a daily quest, not a one-time seminar from which you come away with certification!
Verse 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Karma. We draw into our experience what we most exhibit.
. We could talk about Job here, but that is another whole discussion.
Verse 8 tells us that the pure in heart shall see God. Pure in heart refers to those who are true to the principles of this teaching.
In verse 9, we are told that the peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the children of God. What is a peacemaker. We wonder a lot about that very thing today. In brief, again, it is one who follows these teachings in His Sermon and in the Golden Rule. There may be another whole discourse on that coming up in a few weeks.
Verses 10 through 16 cover, essentially, one topic, and it feels not very encouraging. Who wants to be persecuted for righteousness sake or for any other purpose, Kingdom of Heaven not withstanding! Let's say a high school kid is ridiculed by classmates because he refuses to do a drug. Well, ultimately, he will be rewarded for his stance, and they will pay some karmic penalty. Taking a stand for principle is what America is supposed to be all about. It is our justification for the wars we get into. Sometimes it is a measly excuse to cover that which is based upon greed rather than principle. Our government seems to be ruled by Pharisees and Sadducees! But the majority of our military respond out of devotion and love for country and their oath to uphold their assigned mission. In our world, righteousness is not always easily discernable. Certainly it is contingent upon motive. Honor, valor, self-sacrifice, faithfulness, and holding one's ground for the highest good are the attributes of righteousness. The comfort of knowing one had done their best and done the right thing is a deep and abiding comfort and is accompanied by an assurance that God is honored by your best efforts and rewards with all that comfort which enfolds your heart and mind and purifies your emotions. That is the peace of knowing that all is in Divine and perfect order.
Perhaps we shall take up the rest of the verses another time.
Be blessed
Love, Victoria
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY
Here is a horror story for you:
Once upon a time… no strike that! Every day at work, some customer (passenger) shakes his head over the intrusions of TSA into his/her rights of person. Then the person next to them (sadly but predictably this is usually a woman) pops up and says something like, “Oh but it makes me feel so much safer!” or “Anything to make us safe.”
Well, personally I am horrified and disgusted by the frequent willingness to give away our rights to privacy of person and the willingness of so many to complacently accept illegal search and seizure.
Complicit in this fiasco is the continual insistence of business to require so many of their employees to fly daily and weekly when such wonderful technology as conference calling and Skype, to name only the two I am acquainted with exist and are available to all. Using these forms of communication would have the end result of lowering costs to the end user and lowering the income of the airlines and airports, thus encouraging them to fire TSA and provide privatized security relying on bomb and drug sniffing dogs and their military or retired military handlers. It is a proposition that would be a save-save and win-win deal all around.
These passengers who allow themselves to ‘feel safer’ by being groped by sulky low-lifes in blue uniform shirts with shiny TSA badges and by exposing themselves to excessive radiation and snickers of contempt or oogles of lust need to wake up!
Realize that:
1. Inherently, hurtling the human body through the air at 30,000 feet at hundreds of miles per hour in a large aluminum shell is not safe.
2. Walking down the street is not ‘safe.’
3. Getting out of bed is not safe. Neither is staying in bed.
4. Eating in a restaurant is not safe.
The best heritage any of us have ever received is our Bill of Rights. Do not give it away to the bureaucrats. Don’t give it back to the government. Do not sacrifice it for a warm and fuzzy false sense of security. Arm yourself with wisdom, with awareness. Learn to use your gut instincts and your other senses. That is what your Creator gave to you and what you are intended to use to help ensure your survival.
If you are willing to give away your rights, go somewhere else to do it. When you do it here, you jeopardize my rights and I will not stand for that. Enough!
The problem-solving intent of my blogs continues. I prefer not to moan about a problem. Complaining solves nothing. Too many complainers exist already. (Listen to talk radio sometime) Although this post is a complaint, it, as you can see, has come to you with a built in solution, and that is what we like to focus on: Solutions.
Coddled Americans are so complacent because we are so spoiled by all of our many advantages and so insulated by our politically correct and over-stimulated and over-entertained lives, that we do not know how to take responsibility for ourselves. We do not know how to be aware. We do not know how to live.
Join the boycott of the airlines and airports until this is resolved. Stop flying. Start driving when you want to travel. Take a cruise ship to another land. Take a train if you can find one. Skype. Conference call. And look at other electronic means of communication. Skype is one of the most accessible and most remarkable around and so easy to use. SKYPE!
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY
Here is a horror story for you:
Once upon a time… no strike that! Every day at work, some customer (passenger) shakes his head over the intrusions of TSA into his/her rights of person. Then the person next to them (sadly but predictably this is usually a woman) pops up and says something like, “Oh but it makes me feel so much safer!” or “Anything to make us safe.”
Well, personally I am horrified and disgusted by the frequent willingness to give away our rights to privacy of person and the willingness of so many to complacently accept illegal search and seizure.
Complicit in this fiasco is the continual insistence of business to require so many of their employees to fly daily and weekly when such wonderful technology as conference calling and Skype, to name only the two I am acquainted with exist and are available to all. Using these forms of communication would have the end result of lowering costs to the end user and lowering the income of the airlines and airports, thus encouraging them to fire TSA and provide privatized security relying on bomb and drug sniffing dogs and their military or retired military handlers. It is a proposition that would be a save-save and win-win deal all around.
These passengers who allow themselves to ‘feel safer’ by being groped by sulky low-lifes in blue uniform shirts with shiny TSA badges and by exposing themselves to excessive radiation and snickers of contempt or oogles of lust need to wake up!
Realize that:
1. Inherently, hurtling the human body through the air at 30,000 feet at hundreds of miles per hour in a large aluminum shell is not safe.
2. Walking down the street is not ‘safe.’
3. Getting out of bed is not safe. Neither is staying in bed.
4. Eating in a restaurant is not safe.
The best heritage any of us have ever received is our Bill of Rights. Do not give it away to the bureaucrats. Don’t give it back to the government. Do not sacrifice it for a warm and fuzzy false sense of security. Arm yourself with wisdom, with awareness. Learn to use your gut instincts and your other senses. That is what your Creator gave to you and what you are intended to use to help ensure your survival.
If you are willing to give away your rights, go somewhere else to do it. When you do it here, you jeopardize my rights and I will not stand for that. Enough!
The problem-solving intent of my blogs continues. I prefer not to moan about a problem. Complaining solves nothing. Too many complainers exist already. (Listen to talk radio sometime) Although this post is a complaint, it, as you can see, has come to you with a built in solution, and that is what we like to focus on: Solutions.
Coddled Americans are so complacent because we are so spoiled by all of our many advantages and so insulated by our politically correct and over-stimulated and over-entertained lives, that we do not know how to take responsibility for ourselves. We do not know how to be aware. We do not know how to live.
Join the boycott of the airlines and airports until this is resolved. Stop flying. Start driving when you want to travel. Take a cruise ship to another land. Take a train if you can find one. Skype. Conference call. And look at other electronic means of communication. Skype is one of the most accessible and most remarkable around and so easy to use. SKYPE!
SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS
Thursday, December 16, 2010
SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS
Here is another place in our civilization where Enough Is Enough:
The traditions of Christmas, many of which were inherited from the Pagan Winter Festivals, and many of which were spawned through the literature of Charles Dickens are, in my eyes, sufficient.
Coca Cola cans, Playboy Bunnies, department store logos, bows and wrapping paper, snowmen, a red-nosed reindeer, the Charlie Brown gang and the Grinch are among the many pointless icons that symbolize nothing more than excessive commercialism. Clement Moore did us a great disservice in turning Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas into Santa Clause. It is a cute story, but out of it, Madison Avenue created a whole litany of excuses to encourage more and more excessive spending each December.
The self-imposed stress of trying to live up to media images of the perfect Christmas result often times in illness and depression not to mention disappointment and the proliferation of greed in this and the next generation.
Bah Humbug is what this all sounds like, huh? Well, sorry.
Even though Jesus was actually born in either February or March, the Catholic Church chose December as the time we would all commemorate His advent. This was their attempt to obliterate Saturnalia and other mid-December festivals that long-pre-dated their influence. So be it.
What we actually now have is a month full of celebrations that includes Hanukah, Christmas, Mid-Winter Solstice/Longest Night, Yule and the new invention we know as Kwanzaa. I suspect there are others that I have not bothered to research.
I wonder if each day of life might be a celebration. celebrate the gifts each day offers from sunrise to sunset, from moon dark to moon full. Special times to honor and commemorate various sacred events might well be times of joyous celebration and of quiet contemplation, but I do not think that massive commercialism is a very sacred way to celebrate anything, except perhaps excessiveness, which many have made a way of life. It's enough, for me, to make note of the day, and if possible, enjoy a convivial meal or a special prayer or meditation to commemorate with gratitude the sacredness and special-ness of the given holiday.
I bid you glad tidings of great joy
Love, Victoria
SYMBOLS OF CHRISTMAS
Here is another place in our civilization where Enough Is Enough:
The traditions of Christmas, many of which were inherited from the Pagan Winter Festivals, and many of which were spawned through the literature of Charles Dickens are, in my eyes, sufficient.
Coca Cola cans, Playboy Bunnies, department store logos, bows and wrapping paper, snowmen, a red-nosed reindeer, the Charlie Brown gang and the Grinch are among the many pointless icons that symbolize nothing more than excessive commercialism. Clement Moore did us a great disservice in turning Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas into Santa Clause. It is a cute story, but out of it, Madison Avenue created a whole litany of excuses to encourage more and more excessive spending each December.
The self-imposed stress of trying to live up to media images of the perfect Christmas result often times in illness and depression not to mention disappointment and the proliferation of greed in this and the next generation.
Bah Humbug is what this all sounds like, huh? Well, sorry.
Even though Jesus was actually born in either February or March, the Catholic Church chose December as the time we would all commemorate His advent. This was their attempt to obliterate Saturnalia and other mid-December festivals that long-pre-dated their influence. So be it.
What we actually now have is a month full of celebrations that includes Hanukah, Christmas, Mid-Winter Solstice/Longest Night, Yule and the new invention we know as Kwanzaa. I suspect there are others that I have not bothered to research.
I wonder if each day of life might be a celebration. celebrate the gifts each day offers from sunrise to sunset, from moon dark to moon full. Special times to honor and commemorate various sacred events might well be times of joyous celebration and of quiet contemplation, but I do not think that massive commercialism is a very sacred way to celebrate anything, except perhaps excessiveness, which many have made a way of life. It's enough, for me, to make note of the day, and if possible, enjoy a convivial meal or a special prayer or meditation to commemorate with gratitude the sacredness and special-ness of the given holiday.
I bid you glad tidings of great joy
Love, Victoria
CHRISTMAS... ENOUGH ALREADY!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
CHRISTMAS
Where does it begin? Where does it end?
Enough already!
Decorations begin going up in commercial establishments along with the Halloween decor. Ads, commercials and billboards begin proclaiming the need to buy-buy-buy in order to have Christmas. Thanks to Clement Moore, we now seem to view Christmas as a time to celebrate commercialism more than anything else.
I hear on the radio that most families (average) spend $2,500.00 per year on gifts at Christmas time. Since (according to the media) most families currently do not have that much disposable extra cash, it must be money they don't have: Whip out the credit cards!
Well, I don't. That means someone else spends more to make up for what I am not spending.
To me it is a time to reflect on all that we are endowed with by our Creator and to express gratitude for the gifts that are rained upon us which we seldom recognize or appreciate.
It is enough that we sing actual Christmas Carols (Not Santa or Jack Frost songs)It is enough that we share a meal with friends and family.
I have always noticed a tendency for people (even within my family there was a time) to attempt to outdo themselves each year for the holiday and gift-giving celebrations.
If I can find a nice Episcopal church or something along those more traditional lines, I may attempt to visit the Christmas Eve service, just to embue myself with the feelings of the elegant ceremony and solemn joyfullness and the beautiful music. (Let's hope. This is Nashville, where everything is guitar and twang)
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Hmmm. I got the Frankincense and Myrrh covered with my essential oils. The gold I suppose a few of the gold-colored dollar coins suffice? Visa gift cards? Well, I'm not giving physical gifts this year. I am giving my loving blessings to all of those upon whom my thoughts rest and best wishes to all.
Love and Blessings
Victoria
CHRISTMAS
Where does it begin? Where does it end?
Enough already!
Decorations begin going up in commercial establishments along with the Halloween decor. Ads, commercials and billboards begin proclaiming the need to buy-buy-buy in order to have Christmas. Thanks to Clement Moore, we now seem to view Christmas as a time to celebrate commercialism more than anything else.
I hear on the radio that most families (average) spend $2,500.00 per year on gifts at Christmas time. Since (according to the media) most families currently do not have that much disposable extra cash, it must be money they don't have: Whip out the credit cards!
Well, I don't. That means someone else spends more to make up for what I am not spending.
To me it is a time to reflect on all that we are endowed with by our Creator and to express gratitude for the gifts that are rained upon us which we seldom recognize or appreciate.
It is enough that we sing actual Christmas Carols (Not Santa or Jack Frost songs)It is enough that we share a meal with friends and family.
I have always noticed a tendency for people (even within my family there was a time) to attempt to outdo themselves each year for the holiday and gift-giving celebrations.
If I can find a nice Episcopal church or something along those more traditional lines, I may attempt to visit the Christmas Eve service, just to embue myself with the feelings of the elegant ceremony and solemn joyfullness and the beautiful music. (Let's hope. This is Nashville, where everything is guitar and twang)
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Hmmm. I got the Frankincense and Myrrh covered with my essential oils. The gold I suppose a few of the gold-colored dollar coins suffice? Visa gift cards? Well, I'm not giving physical gifts this year. I am giving my loving blessings to all of those upon whom my thoughts rest and best wishes to all.
Love and Blessings
Victoria
CHANGE ENOUGH?
Friday, November 12, 2010
CHANGE ENOUGH?
A Few Brief Thoughts Tonight On Change
Seems we have had about enough 'change' lately. We bought the package and now that we have opened it, we realize maybe we should have gone for a little something different. The 'change' seems to have been from bad to worse. So ENOUGH already!
What are we going to do about it? Well, most of us have decided to complain more and email more and have wound up with a generic form of 'hope'-lessness that borders on mass-acedia.
We, as the heirs to a vast and grand scheme called America, have begun to let the plan slip through our fingers.
There could be a great many responses to this dilemma. The many 'knee-jerk' responses, although they seem proactive, may not be well-thought-out.
I remain mostly baffled although I get occasional glimpses of new pathways for us to explore.
Although I do it too, I am tired of complaining. I have said I want action. My concern is what type of action would be best for us, for our nation and for the planet.
Enough negativity is being bantered back and forth and all of this does nothing but keep us all mired in this murky state of duality, separation and divisiveness. I know that some of us pray. I also know that some of us who pray, self-righteously tell our Creator what He/She should do about our situation. Stop that. Deity does have a sense of humor, but you are wasting your efforts. Who knows best? Me? You? I don't think any of us has the correct fix in mind at this time. I just know for certain that what is needed change-wise is a change of heart, an emptying of self-righteous willfulness and some open-minded and openhearted loving-kindness.
Our lack of awareness of the sacredness of our nation’s founding intentions and the documentations that provide that assurance, our disregard of our inherent responsibility to “hold these Truths to be self-evident,” and our abandonment of the sacred has opened the doorway for these protracted and ever-worsening conditions to develop.
Remembering that our national foundation, though imperfect because human, was indeed predicated on the firm and unshakable understanding that we are here because we were put here for the very reason to improve and overcome the ills that sent our ancestors to these shores will be the beginning of our nation’s renewal.
So, has there been enough change? More than enough in the wrong direction. Now we need a change of heart.
Let us commit ourselves to finding the sacred within each of us and projecting it into the world. See the sacred in every rock and tree and animal. See the handiwork of Divinity in the Grand Plan that we are an integral part of. See the sacred in every person you meet, even if you must look beyond violence, filth and ignorance. Sometimes it is buried very deep, but it is there. Let’s get to digging!
Peace Be With You
Vic
CHANGE ENOUGH?
A Few Brief Thoughts Tonight On Change
Seems we have had about enough 'change' lately. We bought the package and now that we have opened it, we realize maybe we should have gone for a little something different. The 'change' seems to have been from bad to worse. So ENOUGH already!
What are we going to do about it? Well, most of us have decided to complain more and email more and have wound up with a generic form of 'hope'-lessness that borders on mass-acedia.
We, as the heirs to a vast and grand scheme called America, have begun to let the plan slip through our fingers.
There could be a great many responses to this dilemma. The many 'knee-jerk' responses, although they seem proactive, may not be well-thought-out.
I remain mostly baffled although I get occasional glimpses of new pathways for us to explore.
Although I do it too, I am tired of complaining. I have said I want action. My concern is what type of action would be best for us, for our nation and for the planet.
Enough negativity is being bantered back and forth and all of this does nothing but keep us all mired in this murky state of duality, separation and divisiveness. I know that some of us pray. I also know that some of us who pray, self-righteously tell our Creator what He/She should do about our situation. Stop that. Deity does have a sense of humor, but you are wasting your efforts. Who knows best? Me? You? I don't think any of us has the correct fix in mind at this time. I just know for certain that what is needed change-wise is a change of heart, an emptying of self-righteous willfulness and some open-minded and openhearted loving-kindness.
Our lack of awareness of the sacredness of our nation’s founding intentions and the documentations that provide that assurance, our disregard of our inherent responsibility to “hold these Truths to be self-evident,” and our abandonment of the sacred has opened the doorway for these protracted and ever-worsening conditions to develop.
Remembering that our national foundation, though imperfect because human, was indeed predicated on the firm and unshakable understanding that we are here because we were put here for the very reason to improve and overcome the ills that sent our ancestors to these shores will be the beginning of our nation’s renewal.
So, has there been enough change? More than enough in the wrong direction. Now we need a change of heart.
Let us commit ourselves to finding the sacred within each of us and projecting it into the world. See the sacred in every rock and tree and animal. See the handiwork of Divinity in the Grand Plan that we are an integral part of. See the sacred in every person you meet, even if you must look beyond violence, filth and ignorance. Sometimes it is buried very deep, but it is there. Let’s get to digging!
Peace Be With You
Vic
THE SAUCEPAN SAGA
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Saucepan Saga
The Tale of the Saucepan
So, I have some lovely new friends, who recently took me to a party at Outback Steakhouse in Hermitage, Tennessee. One of them had a birthday that evening and we had a most enjoyable time. I may have gotten a bit rowdy, not having been out much since moving here from Florida. And yet, I’m done with blushing about my behavior. We were not asked to leave so how bad could it have been? I think I just spent a bit too much time ‘soap-boxing.’
So, where the steakhouse is located, I noticed a Panera Bread café. A few days later, jonesing for bagels, I wended my way back over the dam and found the location (with some guidance over the phone from one of the guys) and bought a several-weeks supply of sesame bagels. Yum. Bagels are few and far between here in Tennessee. Apparently the locals prefer cornbread and grits. To each his own.
So, I got my bagels and, learned that a Publix was nearby. Realizing it would save me a few miles in the other direction,, I chose to stop in there.
So, I got to Publix, and noticed a Ross at the other end of the large plaza. Justifying a side trip by claiming to myself that Munchie could use another food dish, I went in and found nothing suitable for him, but was enchanted by a small blue enamel saucepan that I really did not need. But hey! It was only four bucks! (See side bar picture. It sells on the internet for 6.95 plus shipping.)
So as I checked out, there came an announcement…”will the owner of a dark blue Tahoe with the license plates … come to the customer courtesy counter?” I was already there! Paying for my illicit saucepan. (It really is cute.) So, info was exchanged and I left to survey the damage.
Bottom line, the witnesses got the tag number, the cops caught the perp (pushing 90 years old and performs this none-too clever hit and run) She confesses, and now I’m driving a roller skate while Midnight is having the driver's side replaced courtesy of her insurance company.
The two lessons I learned from this little incident: 1. Do not park anywhere near a handicapped spot because you have no way of knowing what type of handicap a driver might have who pulls in or out next to you. 2. Do not shop where you do not need to in order to buy something you clearly do not need. Although I have used said saucepan a couple of times (mainly to justify its existence here) I do already possess an ample supply of saucepans. I had ENOUGH and now I have TOO MANY, which is how this article is in keeping with the overall point of this blog. Note to self: Learn to leave well ENOUGH alone!
Be well
V.
Disclaimer: I do not mean to imply that all handicapped drivers are irresponsible, only that like anyone else, some may not be on top of their game and therefore we each need to be alert and cognizant of our surroundings when we drive and when we park. I feel sort of sorry for the old lady. She committed a crime and may lose her driving privileges. Does anyone care to comment?
The Saucepan Saga
The Tale of the Saucepan
So, I have some lovely new friends, who recently took me to a party at Outback Steakhouse in Hermitage, Tennessee. One of them had a birthday that evening and we had a most enjoyable time. I may have gotten a bit rowdy, not having been out much since moving here from Florida. And yet, I’m done with blushing about my behavior. We were not asked to leave so how bad could it have been? I think I just spent a bit too much time ‘soap-boxing.’
So, where the steakhouse is located, I noticed a Panera Bread café. A few days later, jonesing for bagels, I wended my way back over the dam and found the location (with some guidance over the phone from one of the guys) and bought a several-weeks supply of sesame bagels. Yum. Bagels are few and far between here in Tennessee. Apparently the locals prefer cornbread and grits. To each his own.
So, I got my bagels and, learned that a Publix was nearby. Realizing it would save me a few miles in the other direction,, I chose to stop in there.
So, I got to Publix, and noticed a Ross at the other end of the large plaza. Justifying a side trip by claiming to myself that Munchie could use another food dish, I went in and found nothing suitable for him, but was enchanted by a small blue enamel saucepan that I really did not need. But hey! It was only four bucks! (See side bar picture. It sells on the internet for 6.95 plus shipping.)
So as I checked out, there came an announcement…”will the owner of a dark blue Tahoe with the license plates … come to the customer courtesy counter?” I was already there! Paying for my illicit saucepan. (It really is cute.) So, info was exchanged and I left to survey the damage.
Bottom line, the witnesses got the tag number, the cops caught the perp (pushing 90 years old and performs this none-too clever hit and run) She confesses, and now I’m driving a roller skate while Midnight is having the driver's side replaced courtesy of her insurance company.
The two lessons I learned from this little incident: 1. Do not park anywhere near a handicapped spot because you have no way of knowing what type of handicap a driver might have who pulls in or out next to you. 2. Do not shop where you do not need to in order to buy something you clearly do not need. Although I have used said saucepan a couple of times (mainly to justify its existence here) I do already possess an ample supply of saucepans. I had ENOUGH and now I have TOO MANY, which is how this article is in keeping with the overall point of this blog. Note to self: Learn to leave well ENOUGH alone!
Be well
V.
Disclaimer: I do not mean to imply that all handicapped drivers are irresponsible, only that like anyone else, some may not be on top of their game and therefore we each need to be alert and cognizant of our surroundings when we drive and when we park. I feel sort of sorry for the old lady. She committed a crime and may lose her driving privileges. Does anyone care to comment?
WHAT IS ENOUGH TO TRANSFORM?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Enough to Transform
What Is Enough to Transform?
Demanding that you believe as I do is silly. It’s like demanding that you wear my skin. Sorry. It just does not work. One may as well try to demand that one snowflake be identical to every other. Unique is a beautiful quality of infinitude.
Proselytizing and brainwashing, threatening and warring with others over differences of belief in God and culture are the very things that have held mankind and our planet back from whatever nirvana awaits.
When people learn to listen to others without obsession they will be that much closer to being able to really listen to the Creator, who is constantly pouring forth upon all of us messages of love, truth, health, abundance, soul and life itself.
Years of spiritual and metaphysical study, ordination, certification as this or that; an interesting accumulation of tools and books, potions, rituals and formulae, and it all boils down to this: Transformation comes from within. That was the meaning of the quest in Coelho’s masterpiece novel, The Alchemist. And that will always be the ultimate answer. It is in relationship both to Great Spirit and to other beings that we determine who and what we are. The things we learn give us fuel for growth but at the end of the day, it is time to look deeply within, to our Higher Selves to find our answers.
Crises of faith and loss of trust are big stumbling blocks for the seeker, and yet, they are the rudiments of a healing crisis that leads to breakthroughs into that higher plain of consciousness that is the desired place: the Summum Bonum.
We are here to find ourselves, our place in the cosmos and to re-discover our relationship to the Creator. There are many paths to this goal. As many paths as there are seekers.
Some would argue that point. The fundamentalist Christian formula is one that absolves many of the trouble of free thought. So does the Hindu prayer wheel, the Mecca-focused prayers of the twice-daily Islamic faithful, and on and on. Each major religion has within it many subcategories of sects or denominations that claim, of course, to have the One True Answer. For those who truly are inclined that way, so be it. They have found a path that works for them. At least sort of.
Masaru Emoto speaks of the clearing, cleansing effects of love on water.1 Yeshua turned a fish or two and a loaf of bread into enough fish sandwiches to feed the multitudes in His audience.2* In His conversations with Glenda Green, she asked him how he did that. In essence and to paraphrase, He said ‘if you love enough, there are no limits.’3
So transforming our thoughts is the key to transforming our lives which is the key to transforming our society which is the key to healing our world.
Whatever the situation, find a way to apply love to it and then keep loving. And while you are loving, express your true thanks. Your gratitude is sort of like the flip side of the coin to love. Every coin has two sides. If it didn’t it would not be a coin and would not even exist. Together, the front and the back make up an item of worth, of value that has an impact.
Love is both a noun and a verb, we need to recognize this and surround ourselves with its awareness. Be it, feel it and do it.
Gratitude is a welling up in the heart of recognition of, appreciation for and acknowledgement of blessings and opportunities that arrive at our doorstep or fall into our laps, or that come through any multitude of channels. A sunset, a letter, a shiny stone or crystal, a new friend, a call from an old one, a coin on the pavement, an expected healing, and actualized healing, a package, or anything that may brighten your day. It is your sacred responsibility to receive, acknowledge and express thanks for these many gifts and miracles both mighty and miniscule.
Watch for this: upcoming in these blogs, there will soon be a link for an alternative medicine site all about Love and Gratitude.
1.The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto ISBN 97815827011417
2.The Bible, Matthew 14: 14-21
3. Love Without End: Jesus Speaks by Glenda Green p 44.
* I have taken a slight liberty with this and made his miracle into sandwiches to contemporize it. No harm, no foul. I believe He would be amused.
Enough to Transform
What Is Enough to Transform?
Demanding that you believe as I do is silly. It’s like demanding that you wear my skin. Sorry. It just does not work. One may as well try to demand that one snowflake be identical to every other. Unique is a beautiful quality of infinitude.
Proselytizing and brainwashing, threatening and warring with others over differences of belief in God and culture are the very things that have held mankind and our planet back from whatever nirvana awaits.
When people learn to listen to others without obsession they will be that much closer to being able to really listen to the Creator, who is constantly pouring forth upon all of us messages of love, truth, health, abundance, soul and life itself.
Years of spiritual and metaphysical study, ordination, certification as this or that; an interesting accumulation of tools and books, potions, rituals and formulae, and it all boils down to this: Transformation comes from within. That was the meaning of the quest in Coelho’s masterpiece novel, The Alchemist. And that will always be the ultimate answer. It is in relationship both to Great Spirit and to other beings that we determine who and what we are. The things we learn give us fuel for growth but at the end of the day, it is time to look deeply within, to our Higher Selves to find our answers.
Crises of faith and loss of trust are big stumbling blocks for the seeker, and yet, they are the rudiments of a healing crisis that leads to breakthroughs into that higher plain of consciousness that is the desired place: the Summum Bonum.
We are here to find ourselves, our place in the cosmos and to re-discover our relationship to the Creator. There are many paths to this goal. As many paths as there are seekers.
Some would argue that point. The fundamentalist Christian formula is one that absolves many of the trouble of free thought. So does the Hindu prayer wheel, the Mecca-focused prayers of the twice-daily Islamic faithful, and on and on. Each major religion has within it many subcategories of sects or denominations that claim, of course, to have the One True Answer. For those who truly are inclined that way, so be it. They have found a path that works for them. At least sort of.
Masaru Emoto speaks of the clearing, cleansing effects of love on water.1 Yeshua turned a fish or two and a loaf of bread into enough fish sandwiches to feed the multitudes in His audience.2* In His conversations with Glenda Green, she asked him how he did that. In essence and to paraphrase, He said ‘if you love enough, there are no limits.’3
So transforming our thoughts is the key to transforming our lives which is the key to transforming our society which is the key to healing our world.
Whatever the situation, find a way to apply love to it and then keep loving. And while you are loving, express your true thanks. Your gratitude is sort of like the flip side of the coin to love. Every coin has two sides. If it didn’t it would not be a coin and would not even exist. Together, the front and the back make up an item of worth, of value that has an impact.
Love is both a noun and a verb, we need to recognize this and surround ourselves with its awareness. Be it, feel it and do it.
Gratitude is a welling up in the heart of recognition of, appreciation for and acknowledgement of blessings and opportunities that arrive at our doorstep or fall into our laps, or that come through any multitude of channels. A sunset, a letter, a shiny stone or crystal, a new friend, a call from an old one, a coin on the pavement, an expected healing, and actualized healing, a package, or anything that may brighten your day. It is your sacred responsibility to receive, acknowledge and express thanks for these many gifts and miracles both mighty and miniscule.
Watch for this: upcoming in these blogs, there will soon be a link for an alternative medicine site all about Love and Gratitude.
1.The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto ISBN 97815827011417
2.The Bible, Matthew 14: 14-21
3. Love Without End: Jesus Speaks by Glenda Green p 44.
* I have taken a slight liberty with this and made his miracle into sandwiches to contemporize it. No harm, no foul. I believe He would be amused.
POWER IS IN ENOUGH
Monday, October 11, 2010
Power Is In Enough
The word 'enough' describes all we need of anything. We do not need more, we should not have less. The amount that is 'enough' is the amount that is perfect.
My wonderful dinner at the Outback a few nights ago was perfect. I allowed myself to know when to stop. I had enough and was not uncomfortably stuffed afterward. In fact, I felt quite grand. I brought home enough ribeye, garlic mashed potatoes and spinach artichoke dip for another full meal, plus enough meat to make a sandwich for lunch.
Once, I did not know what was enough. My years on the farm in Iowa, working with Dad, lots of fresh air and hard labor encouraged a very hearty appetite. the cafeteria at Drake had four lines. One on each side of the building. My roomie and I often hit up two or more lines for any given meal. Not that any of us were overweight, but looking back, I see a tendency toward gluttony developing. We did not know what enough was all about, and so we wanted more.
Over the years, restaurants began the insidious practice of 'supersizing' everything.
The more we are served, the more we eat. In Europe, I am told, portions are quite small, particularly in France. French restaurants here in the U.S., at least in my experience, also serve small portions. I do not believe I would starve to death if I ate portions of that diminuitive size.
There is a lot more to the concept of 'enough' than merely how it relates to food.
Knowing when to stop anything is to exert power over it.
Excess can often lead to destructive behaviors. Hoarding is an example, and can lead to serious consequences. Obsessions, overspending and debt are symptoms of the inability to discern 'enough.'
The lessons taught in school were not enough when it comes to personal finance and making a life for oneself out in the real world after graduation. Being released into society without any knowledge of personal finance is a bit like releasing a goldfish into the ocean. First of all, goldfish don't get on well in salt water. Secondly, they are not equipped to deal with the inumerable predators they will encounter, Thirdly, they do not know how to obtain food without that little shaker sprinkling into their home each day. Instead of finding Nemo, we all have to founder about, trying to find ourselves, our livelihood, and our path in life.
Enough does not imply poverty, abstinence or lack. Instead, it describes the boundaries wherein lies our comfort, our peace, our most beneficial activity and relationships. Within 'enough' lies our wholeness, our wellness, and joy. This is power.
Be well,
Victoria
Power Is In Enough
The word 'enough' describes all we need of anything. We do not need more, we should not have less. The amount that is 'enough' is the amount that is perfect.
My wonderful dinner at the Outback a few nights ago was perfect. I allowed myself to know when to stop. I had enough and was not uncomfortably stuffed afterward. In fact, I felt quite grand. I brought home enough ribeye, garlic mashed potatoes and spinach artichoke dip for another full meal, plus enough meat to make a sandwich for lunch.
Once, I did not know what was enough. My years on the farm in Iowa, working with Dad, lots of fresh air and hard labor encouraged a very hearty appetite. the cafeteria at Drake had four lines. One on each side of the building. My roomie and I often hit up two or more lines for any given meal. Not that any of us were overweight, but looking back, I see a tendency toward gluttony developing. We did not know what enough was all about, and so we wanted more.
Over the years, restaurants began the insidious practice of 'supersizing' everything.
The more we are served, the more we eat. In Europe, I am told, portions are quite small, particularly in France. French restaurants here in the U.S., at least in my experience, also serve small portions. I do not believe I would starve to death if I ate portions of that diminuitive size.
There is a lot more to the concept of 'enough' than merely how it relates to food.
Knowing when to stop anything is to exert power over it.
Excess can often lead to destructive behaviors. Hoarding is an example, and can lead to serious consequences. Obsessions, overspending and debt are symptoms of the inability to discern 'enough.'
The lessons taught in school were not enough when it comes to personal finance and making a life for oneself out in the real world after graduation. Being released into society without any knowledge of personal finance is a bit like releasing a goldfish into the ocean. First of all, goldfish don't get on well in salt water. Secondly, they are not equipped to deal with the inumerable predators they will encounter, Thirdly, they do not know how to obtain food without that little shaker sprinkling into their home each day. Instead of finding Nemo, we all have to founder about, trying to find ourselves, our livelihood, and our path in life.
Enough does not imply poverty, abstinence or lack. Instead, it describes the boundaries wherein lies our comfort, our peace, our most beneficial activity and relationships. Within 'enough' lies our wholeness, our wellness, and joy. This is power.
Be well,
Victoria
Friday, April 29, 2011
Too Much Broadcasting
Too Much Broadcasting and not enough news!
That statement may be too simplistic and misleading.
Let me clarify:
1. Too much attention is paid by the media to bad news. And where it isn't bad enough to suit them, they exaggerate, and they beat the listener over the head with their hot stories until numbness sets in, along with hopelessness, despair and complacency.
2. Not enough good news. It's out there. You know it, and I know it. I want to hear it on the news. However, the media wants no more than an occasional 'human interest piece' to punctuate their ongoing series of tragedies.
3. There is very little real news broadcast. Why is that? They prefer stories they can spin to suit their advertisers or the power brokers who own them.
Where I work, a network I do not like is broadcast 24/7 with no ability to change the station. It is loud. It is intrusive. It makes it difficult to help clients, and it is demoralizing. Bottom line: it is Orwellian.
Corporations make decisions based only upon money. Where is the heart?
If a corporation is granted the status of a legal entity under the law, then it has an obligation to have heart, like a real entity.
What can we do about that? At home I use the off switch. Yet more than that is needed.
Control your own thoughts and don't let them think for you!
Be Well
V.
That statement may be too simplistic and misleading.
Let me clarify:
1. Too much attention is paid by the media to bad news. And where it isn't bad enough to suit them, they exaggerate, and they beat the listener over the head with their hot stories until numbness sets in, along with hopelessness, despair and complacency.
2. Not enough good news. It's out there. You know it, and I know it. I want to hear it on the news. However, the media wants no more than an occasional 'human interest piece' to punctuate their ongoing series of tragedies.
3. There is very little real news broadcast. Why is that? They prefer stories they can spin to suit their advertisers or the power brokers who own them.
Where I work, a network I do not like is broadcast 24/7 with no ability to change the station. It is loud. It is intrusive. It makes it difficult to help clients, and it is demoralizing. Bottom line: it is Orwellian.
Corporations make decisions based only upon money. Where is the heart?
If a corporation is granted the status of a legal entity under the law, then it has an obligation to have heart, like a real entity.
What can we do about that? At home I use the off switch. Yet more than that is needed.
Control your own thoughts and don't let them think for you!
Be Well
V.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Earth Changes: What are We Waiting For?
Myself included! We are all spending too much time and attention to mindless distractions such as FaceBook games (for me it's Backyard Monsters and Farmville) when at this crucial point in history, we need to eliminate distractions and work individually and collectively on solution-oriented activities.
Look just briefly at what has been going on in the past few months:
winter weather in places that usually do not experience much winter, from Great Britain to southern USA, Central and Southern Europe, and we joke about global warming. Well, yeah, that is an invention so far as our human technology goes. We will get back to that. Do not get me started there just yet.
Look at the coastal flooding and major problems in Australia and New Zealand. Look at the quakes and resultant catastrophes in Japan this week.
We are constantly bombarded by the accelerating catastrophic events that are rolling in faster and faster. Yeah, Mom Nature seems pissed. It is all part of a natural cycle of global and solar activity, but it is happening now. To us. We are here now to witness it. We do not know what events took out Lemuria and Atlantis long ago, but the things noted above are simply a few examples of the happenings we witness and live or die through now in our era.
Do we expect that on some special date in 2012 all the Earth Changes will happen at once? Well, I think a lot of people do think that. And a lot of people put a great deal of stock in the Mayan Calendar, which, I think only ends at a certain time because they disappeared before they got around to finishing it. They were a violent, bloody, cannabalisitic tribe which I have no interest in following. They did interesting things, true, but they are not here to explain themselves anymore than the Lemurians are.
Jump my case about that if you want to. I don't care. Yes, I use Lemurian Seed Crystals in my crystal work and various crystals from Atlantis as well, but I do not wish to pattern myself after an extinct people who did not survive whatever changes they encountered.
Anyway, too many distractions whether self-inflicted or from outside influences are keeping those of us with the power to heal ourselves, others and the World in our own little technological closets thumbing away on personal devices that may have been constructed simply to do just that: keep us distracted while civilization crumbles.
It's tough when our comfort zone incudes major reliance on being distracted. Waking up hurts. But we must awaken and face our work. It is a task to take one day and one step at a time.
We can heal the world.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
Look just briefly at what has been going on in the past few months:
winter weather in places that usually do not experience much winter, from Great Britain to southern USA, Central and Southern Europe, and we joke about global warming. Well, yeah, that is an invention so far as our human technology goes. We will get back to that. Do not get me started there just yet.
Look at the coastal flooding and major problems in Australia and New Zealand. Look at the quakes and resultant catastrophes in Japan this week.
We are constantly bombarded by the accelerating catastrophic events that are rolling in faster and faster. Yeah, Mom Nature seems pissed. It is all part of a natural cycle of global and solar activity, but it is happening now. To us. We are here now to witness it. We do not know what events took out Lemuria and Atlantis long ago, but the things noted above are simply a few examples of the happenings we witness and live or die through now in our era.
Do we expect that on some special date in 2012 all the Earth Changes will happen at once? Well, I think a lot of people do think that. And a lot of people put a great deal of stock in the Mayan Calendar, which, I think only ends at a certain time because they disappeared before they got around to finishing it. They were a violent, bloody, cannabalisitic tribe which I have no interest in following. They did interesting things, true, but they are not here to explain themselves anymore than the Lemurians are.
Jump my case about that if you want to. I don't care. Yes, I use Lemurian Seed Crystals in my crystal work and various crystals from Atlantis as well, but I do not wish to pattern myself after an extinct people who did not survive whatever changes they encountered.
Anyway, too many distractions whether self-inflicted or from outside influences are keeping those of us with the power to heal ourselves, others and the World in our own little technological closets thumbing away on personal devices that may have been constructed simply to do just that: keep us distracted while civilization crumbles.
It's tough when our comfort zone incudes major reliance on being distracted. Waking up hurts. But we must awaken and face our work. It is a task to take one day and one step at a time.
We can heal the world.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
Thursday, February 3, 2011
TOO MANY EXTREMES
If you look at the weather map from the National Weather Service for today, it shows typical winter time temperatures for the various regions and locales of the USA. Nothing sub-zero, just from temperate to cold: 66 in South Florida and 1 degree above zero in someplace in Oklahoma. IT"S FEBRUARY! It's expected. Yes it's cold, it's survivable and with some use of good judgement, you can stay safe and warm.
Donate some canned goods to a shelter, take in a stray dog or cat or make a little shelter for them outside, providing food and water. Be kind.
It's just another winter. It is not disproof of global warming. It is not proof of global warming.
The only (to us) odd thing about this winter's weather is the patterns of snow and cold. The reason these things seem odd to us is that our planet has a long life and we generally live less than a hundred years, so we cannot readily see the natural cycles beyond what happens on a yearly basis.
BIG HEADLINES on AOL today announce: NOW COMES THE DEEP FREEZE!
Too much hyperbole in the media. Everyone is looking for extremes and wants to be the first to announce them in big bold type with catchy phrases that are often tempting, tantalizing, suggestive, or simply misleading. Seldom are they profound.
Our culture has sunk into a miasma of individual and societal turbulence in part because of some twisted desire to always stand out and get that twenty seconds of fame.
Sadly, this is because most people have lost a secure sense of their own identity. tattoos, weird clothes, horrid behaviour, intentional disfigurement and wanton sexual proclivities are all screamiong the need for finding a personal identity different from everyone else, and in that, everyone is the same.
The Cairo riots, regardless of whether or not they are a staged astroturfing endeavor to garner support for some radical islamic takeover, show just how much in a group of people everyone can be the same without individuation. This is tribal identity run amok. This is swarm behaviour. This is humans sinking into a sub-human pit of iniquity. Mob rule is not the democracy they so inappropriately speak of. Their stated purpose is not the underlyiong factor. The factions operating in that part of the world are disturbingly radical and based on nothing more than fanatacism, fear and lack of personal identity. to identify only with a group, to lose oneself in a group is a thoroughly wasted life, and a waste of oxygen.
Moderation can be fun. I know that's not quite what the song says, and yet both are significant and appropiate modes of behaviour.
Donate some canned goods to a shelter, take in a stray dog or cat or make a little shelter for them outside, providing food and water. Be kind.
It's just another winter. It is not disproof of global warming. It is not proof of global warming.
The only (to us) odd thing about this winter's weather is the patterns of snow and cold. The reason these things seem odd to us is that our planet has a long life and we generally live less than a hundred years, so we cannot readily see the natural cycles beyond what happens on a yearly basis.
BIG HEADLINES on AOL today announce: NOW COMES THE DEEP FREEZE!
Too much hyperbole in the media. Everyone is looking for extremes and wants to be the first to announce them in big bold type with catchy phrases that are often tempting, tantalizing, suggestive, or simply misleading. Seldom are they profound.
Our culture has sunk into a miasma of individual and societal turbulence in part because of some twisted desire to always stand out and get that twenty seconds of fame.
Sadly, this is because most people have lost a secure sense of their own identity. tattoos, weird clothes, horrid behaviour, intentional disfigurement and wanton sexual proclivities are all screamiong the need for finding a personal identity different from everyone else, and in that, everyone is the same.
The Cairo riots, regardless of whether or not they are a staged astroturfing endeavor to garner support for some radical islamic takeover, show just how much in a group of people everyone can be the same without individuation. This is tribal identity run amok. This is swarm behaviour. This is humans sinking into a sub-human pit of iniquity. Mob rule is not the democracy they so inappropriately speak of. Their stated purpose is not the underlyiong factor. The factions operating in that part of the world are disturbingly radical and based on nothing more than fanatacism, fear and lack of personal identity. to identify only with a group, to lose oneself in a group is a thoroughly wasted life, and a waste of oxygen.
Moderation can be fun. I know that's not quite what the song says, and yet both are significant and appropiate modes of behaviour.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
TOO MUCH DEBT, TOO MANY LIES AND TOO MANY PEOPLE IN DENIAL
The lies have come from banks, from real estate developers, from realtors, from the government, from lobbyists, from government backed lenders, from the media and from each other.
We listened to too many lies and we bought the ones that sounded the most delightful, and paid for them with credit.
We: we as individuals, we as voters, we as ‘we the people,’ and we as one country amongst a world of countries many of whom have participated in this same contagion of greed, entitlement, credit and debt.
I am no political or financial authority, but having received nothing but lies and mistakes from those who are political and financial authorities, I must don my own hat of responsibility and decide what is real and what is not.
These are my views.
The stage was set by a strengthening of federalism. People being what they are, we seemed to have needed federalism to protect against feudalism. Our sovereign States have, bit by bit, given up pieces of their sovereignty over the years and ‘States Rights’ is a term no longer heard.
Instead of localized feudal states, what we have become is a generalized federal feudalism that has set our Constitution on the shelf as a mere artifact and has taken the three sanctioned branches of government and subversively created three additional branches, constructed of greed, by greed, and for greed: of the few, by the few, and for the few. Branch number four is the Media, number five, Big Business Corporations.
In collusion with Big Business, is number six: the Central Bank, ie: The Federal Reserve Bank which has the ultimate power to ring the life blood from your working day, your inheritance, even your sanity, if you let it.
The true role of the United States Government is simple: To provide for the common defense, to construct and maintain ports of entry while securing our borders, to provide for essential services such as roads, bridges, schools (and other elements of our infrastructure), maintain our standing armed forces, conduct beneficent diplomatic relations with other nations of the world in a fiduciary manner for the benefit of our citizenry and the moral obligations of brotherhood, and to ensure domestic tranquility.
It was not designed to become a regulatory body, nor a self-serving entitlement program for elected elitists.
That we were founded as ‘One Nation Under God, With Liberty and Justice For All’, includes in it the given obligation to provide for these services with the guidance of the Ten Commandments, The Golden Rule, and The Beatitudes as the over riding inspiration: the heartbeat.
It may be in our best interest for the government to provide oversight for other essential services such as water quality and safe delivery of fuel and electricity, but it is counterproductive to prohibit safe development of alternative sources for any of the above.
Due to the greed of the giant corporations, a beneficent government would prohibit out-sourcing of American jobs, but were it not for the desire to avoid fees, constrictions of bureaucratic expense for employers and other disincentives, employers would not wish to incur the expense of outsourcing.
Giving corporations the status of a citizen entity with the rights of protection from the results of misconduct, not to mention tax breaks, has been contributory to our economic downfall in a very large measure, both for the country as a whole and to the financial woes of Us, the People.
I’m not clear on the historical names and dates, on who did what and which conspiracy theory is the real one, however, it is apparent to me that it is simply another phase of a very long-going condition begun with the rise of royalty and feudalism in the very earliest phases of human civilization.
Okay, now you think I’m sounding like a real wack job, if you didn’t think so before. In the words of what’s his name in a movie from the 90’s, “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”
I invite you to give this some serious thought. If you do much reading, if you took some history courses that were more than ‘Columbus in 1492’ then I double-dog-dare you to truly think about how things have changed and how in very real and fundamental ways they have remained the same.
At this point I have written 725 words on this topic. I have more to say. I am told I should always write blog posts of less than 500 words.
I would hope that my readers have the mental capacity and attention span to read more than 500 words. I often read as many as five books a week.
The sister blogs: Just Enough, and 100 Things We Can Do to Fix Our Mess are being updated as we speak with related information.
I have invited you to think. Now I will challenge you to participate by commenting and engaging in discourse on this as well as my other blog sites.
Blessed Be and Be Well
Love, Victoria
We listened to too many lies and we bought the ones that sounded the most delightful, and paid for them with credit.
We: we as individuals, we as voters, we as ‘we the people,’ and we as one country amongst a world of countries many of whom have participated in this same contagion of greed, entitlement, credit and debt.
I am no political or financial authority, but having received nothing but lies and mistakes from those who are political and financial authorities, I must don my own hat of responsibility and decide what is real and what is not.
These are my views.
The stage was set by a strengthening of federalism. People being what they are, we seemed to have needed federalism to protect against feudalism. Our sovereign States have, bit by bit, given up pieces of their sovereignty over the years and ‘States Rights’ is a term no longer heard.
Instead of localized feudal states, what we have become is a generalized federal feudalism that has set our Constitution on the shelf as a mere artifact and has taken the three sanctioned branches of government and subversively created three additional branches, constructed of greed, by greed, and for greed: of the few, by the few, and for the few. Branch number four is the Media, number five, Big Business Corporations.
In collusion with Big Business, is number six: the Central Bank, ie: The Federal Reserve Bank which has the ultimate power to ring the life blood from your working day, your inheritance, even your sanity, if you let it.
The true role of the United States Government is simple: To provide for the common defense, to construct and maintain ports of entry while securing our borders, to provide for essential services such as roads, bridges, schools (and other elements of our infrastructure), maintain our standing armed forces, conduct beneficent diplomatic relations with other nations of the world in a fiduciary manner for the benefit of our citizenry and the moral obligations of brotherhood, and to ensure domestic tranquility.
It was not designed to become a regulatory body, nor a self-serving entitlement program for elected elitists.
That we were founded as ‘One Nation Under God, With Liberty and Justice For All’, includes in it the given obligation to provide for these services with the guidance of the Ten Commandments, The Golden Rule, and The Beatitudes as the over riding inspiration: the heartbeat.
It may be in our best interest for the government to provide oversight for other essential services such as water quality and safe delivery of fuel and electricity, but it is counterproductive to prohibit safe development of alternative sources for any of the above.
Due to the greed of the giant corporations, a beneficent government would prohibit out-sourcing of American jobs, but were it not for the desire to avoid fees, constrictions of bureaucratic expense for employers and other disincentives, employers would not wish to incur the expense of outsourcing.
Giving corporations the status of a citizen entity with the rights of protection from the results of misconduct, not to mention tax breaks, has been contributory to our economic downfall in a very large measure, both for the country as a whole and to the financial woes of Us, the People.
I’m not clear on the historical names and dates, on who did what and which conspiracy theory is the real one, however, it is apparent to me that it is simply another phase of a very long-going condition begun with the rise of royalty and feudalism in the very earliest phases of human civilization.
Okay, now you think I’m sounding like a real wack job, if you didn’t think so before. In the words of what’s his name in a movie from the 90’s, “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”
I invite you to give this some serious thought. If you do much reading, if you took some history courses that were more than ‘Columbus in 1492’ then I double-dog-dare you to truly think about how things have changed and how in very real and fundamental ways they have remained the same.
At this point I have written 725 words on this topic. I have more to say. I am told I should always write blog posts of less than 500 words.
I would hope that my readers have the mental capacity and attention span to read more than 500 words. I often read as many as five books a week.
The sister blogs: Just Enough, and 100 Things We Can Do to Fix Our Mess are being updated as we speak with related information.
I have invited you to think. Now I will challenge you to participate by commenting and engaging in discourse on this as well as my other blog sites.
Blessed Be and Be Well
Love, Victoria
Friday, November 26, 2010
Some Thoughts on Black Friday (It's All Too Much # 9)
Well, here it is again: another ‘Black Friday.’ It was only a couple of years ago that I learned the meaning of the term. Nothing particularly dire about it. Nothing dark and ominous. It is simply the one day of the year when retailers hope to be operating in the black, or to finally achieve some profit for the year.
That is a sad commentary on our economy.
It indicates to me that even though employees are paid pitiful wages in the retail business, the companies are not operating in a manner conducive to profit-making. Their overheads are too high, Their stock is misjudged, their inventory is too deep or too broad. Their advertising is too expensive and too ineffective. And they have completely misunderstood their demographic and not made proper decisions based on economic variables. They struggle through greed, trying to get ahead of everyone else: competing with other stores that may have a better edge due to capitalization, smaller debt, wiser choices, happier staff or even just a frugal business plan.
Too much. Too much. Too much.
Packing hundreds of miles of shelves with merchandise that is unnecessary and poorly made, not to mention technologically obsolete even before it is displayed is a very good way to fail in business.
Waste Waste Waste.
Excessive packaging: Hard to open plastic is sometimes even dangerous to open. Several times I have cut myself, not on knife or scissor trying to force my way into a purchase, but on the plastic packaging itself. Why is it like that? Who thought it would be a good idea to package products that way?
The inventory in many stores reminds me of the adage about if you throw enough s--t at the wall, some of it is sure to stick. Waste is built in to the system of our economy. Where I work, we receive hundreds more newspapers and magazines than we could ever hope to sell in the allotted time. They are discarded. In most bookstores, paperback books that do not sell after a time are stripped of their covers and put in the trash, same as the unpurchased magazines. Nothing is donated to schools, prisons, libraries, retirement homes or homeless shelters. Why not? Greed. If it isn’t purchased, then they do not want anyone to have it.
Grocery stores throw away tons of food, including meat, on a daily and weekly basis. Do they offer it to those who know what to do with something that may be past its prime? No. Do they donate wilted produce to bunny rescue organizations? No. Do they buy too much product with expiration dates that could never be sold before the dreaded date comes around? Does anyone realize that expired cold medicine and aspirin are not harmful? It is only marginally less effective (maybe.) There are times when expiration dates are helpful. On other items, the dates are simply designed to get you to throw out the product and run out and buy more.
The economic system we have is failing us from the top down and from the bottom up. Buy or save? Spend or invest? Tithe? Or bury it in the backyard? Time to re-think what we, as individuals, are doing and what we can do to change this damaged system. It may be time to stop patching it and re-inflating the bald tires. It may be time to work together to develop a new economy. I think it would look different than any we may have seen on Earth in thousands of years. I think it might be one based in the heart and then the mind instead of the other way around.
Economy is made up of four factors that I know of: time; a medium of exchange; product; and a need for a product. Beyond that, what humanity does to make exchanges of goods and services is the variable factor in designing an economic system.
I would like for my readers to enter into a discourse on this topic and kick around some ideas on what might work, how something fresh could look and how it might be put into place. Any takers?
That is a sad commentary on our economy.
It indicates to me that even though employees are paid pitiful wages in the retail business, the companies are not operating in a manner conducive to profit-making. Their overheads are too high, Their stock is misjudged, their inventory is too deep or too broad. Their advertising is too expensive and too ineffective. And they have completely misunderstood their demographic and not made proper decisions based on economic variables. They struggle through greed, trying to get ahead of everyone else: competing with other stores that may have a better edge due to capitalization, smaller debt, wiser choices, happier staff or even just a frugal business plan.
Too much. Too much. Too much.
Packing hundreds of miles of shelves with merchandise that is unnecessary and poorly made, not to mention technologically obsolete even before it is displayed is a very good way to fail in business.
Waste Waste Waste.
Excessive packaging: Hard to open plastic is sometimes even dangerous to open. Several times I have cut myself, not on knife or scissor trying to force my way into a purchase, but on the plastic packaging itself. Why is it like that? Who thought it would be a good idea to package products that way?
The inventory in many stores reminds me of the adage about if you throw enough s--t at the wall, some of it is sure to stick. Waste is built in to the system of our economy. Where I work, we receive hundreds more newspapers and magazines than we could ever hope to sell in the allotted time. They are discarded. In most bookstores, paperback books that do not sell after a time are stripped of their covers and put in the trash, same as the unpurchased magazines. Nothing is donated to schools, prisons, libraries, retirement homes or homeless shelters. Why not? Greed. If it isn’t purchased, then they do not want anyone to have it.
Grocery stores throw away tons of food, including meat, on a daily and weekly basis. Do they offer it to those who know what to do with something that may be past its prime? No. Do they donate wilted produce to bunny rescue organizations? No. Do they buy too much product with expiration dates that could never be sold before the dreaded date comes around? Does anyone realize that expired cold medicine and aspirin are not harmful? It is only marginally less effective (maybe.) There are times when expiration dates are helpful. On other items, the dates are simply designed to get you to throw out the product and run out and buy more.
The economic system we have is failing us from the top down and from the bottom up. Buy or save? Spend or invest? Tithe? Or bury it in the backyard? Time to re-think what we, as individuals, are doing and what we can do to change this damaged system. It may be time to stop patching it and re-inflating the bald tires. It may be time to work together to develop a new economy. I think it would look different than any we may have seen on Earth in thousands of years. I think it might be one based in the heart and then the mind instead of the other way around.
Economy is made up of four factors that I know of: time; a medium of exchange; product; and a need for a product. Beyond that, what humanity does to make exchanges of goods and services is the variable factor in designing an economic system.
I would like for my readers to enter into a discourse on this topic and kick around some ideas on what might work, how something fresh could look and how it might be put into place. Any takers?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
DESPOILING THE SACRED (It's All Too Much # 8)
DESPOILING THE SACRED:
How Much Paper? A Bit Too Much Perhaps?
As I drive around or look out my front windows and view the lovely array of trees growing here in central Tennessee, I try to imagine the vastness of leaves in the world. How many leaves on that tree? Or this one? How many leaves are there on the average tree, if there is such a thing? For statistical purposes, I suppose an arborist or botanist could come up with a figure. Then there would be a separate figure for the number of needles on a pine… I boggle my mind with these thoughts… How many leaves are there in the world?
And yet, with the rain forests and other woodlands disappearing to the blades of the timber industry and the bulldozers of developers, how many have been lost? How many trees, how many leaves, how much potential for oxygen production and CO2 absorption?
Breathe deeply. It is necessary to breathe more deeply to accommodate the thinner mix we are left with. The same could be said for the kelp beds which in some areas of the seas have become sadly endangered.
How many pieces of paper are there in the world? Perhaps as many as the current leaf population. Such conjecture is unfounded and unprovable, yet it is food for thought.
If every American must deal with the same amount of paper in their lives as that which pours into my life from assorted sources, then the number would be incomprehensible to me. My unfounded guess is that not very many other countries would use the same per capita volume of paper each day, week, month or year as here in America.
“Oops! That’s a bad copy. Let me make another.” “Oh goody! Another envelope from Publisher’s Clearing House.” Every single EOB form from my insurance company sends with it a sheet of paper telling how to file a disagreement. It is the same thing each time, and also, if three EOBs come in the same envelope(good they are saving envelops and postage) they still send three of those crazy repetitive complaint forms with it.
Sell a house. Buy a house. The stacks of papers to sign is nearly six inches thick. How thick is the Obama Health Care Plan and how many copies have been printed?
Where I work we sell newspapers, among other things. On average, we sell about thirty copies of a given newspaper per day. They bring us ninety. Why? Then they pick up the leftovers. Someone said they recycle them into cellulose insulation or something. Why print all those extras in the first place?
Paperback books. Same story.
We despoil the sacred trees in an arboristic form of mass genocide, then we make paper, which we despoil with inanities and annoyances. When the used paper is not recycled, then even more trees are cut to grind into pulp for the creation of yet more paper products which will largely go unused, wasted or soiled and spoiled.
Do we not know that paper, because of its sources and the Source of its sources, is a sacred thing?
Worthy endeavors are worth the use of paper. Art, literature, currency*, first editions of new books and reprints of old classics, library books, reference, research and text books, wallpaper, stationary, greeting cards, and personal notes can all be deemed worthy uses of paper. I’m sure there are others.
But, overruns of mass market paperbacks, overruns of newspapers and magazines, excessive and unnecessary packaging materials** advertising junk mail and duplicates of duplicates in corporate cube farms are a sad, sad waste of paper… of trees.
The First Amendment to our Constitution of the United States declares most rightly, that we all have the right of free speech. That does not guarantee us the right to be wasteful. Some discretion must be used in publishing, advertising, the business world and government.
The written word is powerful and wonderful, and as a writer, I am fully supportive of writing in all avenues of endeavor. I do believe, however, that all industries from advertising to publishing to law and government, should take it upon themselves to plant a tree or donate to the Arbor Day Foundation for every ream of paper they consume. And I support the immediate cessation of any and all cutting of old-growth forests.
The planting needs to happen where things have already been cut, and not used to justify fresh cutting. Tree farms will be sufficient for the building and papermill industries. If that makes prices of paper and wood go up a little bit, then so be it. The price of a magazine will increase, but it will not matter because those who want to read it will do so anyway.
*I am surprised by how many people disrespect even the money they carry with them. So many times the money I take at the cash register at work is not only filthy, but is handed to me wadded up and crumpled like so much used toilet paper, or folded and refolded and drawn and written on. If we can respect the money that represents our abundance and livelihood, then what do we respect?
**Paper packaging is wasteful, but plastic packaging is another whole subject for another day!
How Much Paper? A Bit Too Much Perhaps?
As I drive around or look out my front windows and view the lovely array of trees growing here in central Tennessee, I try to imagine the vastness of leaves in the world. How many leaves on that tree? Or this one? How many leaves are there on the average tree, if there is such a thing? For statistical purposes, I suppose an arborist or botanist could come up with a figure. Then there would be a separate figure for the number of needles on a pine… I boggle my mind with these thoughts… How many leaves are there in the world?
And yet, with the rain forests and other woodlands disappearing to the blades of the timber industry and the bulldozers of developers, how many have been lost? How many trees, how many leaves, how much potential for oxygen production and CO2 absorption?
Breathe deeply. It is necessary to breathe more deeply to accommodate the thinner mix we are left with. The same could be said for the kelp beds which in some areas of the seas have become sadly endangered.
How many pieces of paper are there in the world? Perhaps as many as the current leaf population. Such conjecture is unfounded and unprovable, yet it is food for thought.
If every American must deal with the same amount of paper in their lives as that which pours into my life from assorted sources, then the number would be incomprehensible to me. My unfounded guess is that not very many other countries would use the same per capita volume of paper each day, week, month or year as here in America.
“Oops! That’s a bad copy. Let me make another.” “Oh goody! Another envelope from Publisher’s Clearing House.” Every single EOB form from my insurance company sends with it a sheet of paper telling how to file a disagreement. It is the same thing each time, and also, if three EOBs come in the same envelope(good they are saving envelops and postage) they still send three of those crazy repetitive complaint forms with it.
Sell a house. Buy a house. The stacks of papers to sign is nearly six inches thick. How thick is the Obama Health Care Plan and how many copies have been printed?
Where I work we sell newspapers, among other things. On average, we sell about thirty copies of a given newspaper per day. They bring us ninety. Why? Then they pick up the leftovers. Someone said they recycle them into cellulose insulation or something. Why print all those extras in the first place?
Paperback books. Same story.
We despoil the sacred trees in an arboristic form of mass genocide, then we make paper, which we despoil with inanities and annoyances. When the used paper is not recycled, then even more trees are cut to grind into pulp for the creation of yet more paper products which will largely go unused, wasted or soiled and spoiled.
Do we not know that paper, because of its sources and the Source of its sources, is a sacred thing?
Worthy endeavors are worth the use of paper. Art, literature, currency*, first editions of new books and reprints of old classics, library books, reference, research and text books, wallpaper, stationary, greeting cards, and personal notes can all be deemed worthy uses of paper. I’m sure there are others.
But, overruns of mass market paperbacks, overruns of newspapers and magazines, excessive and unnecessary packaging materials** advertising junk mail and duplicates of duplicates in corporate cube farms are a sad, sad waste of paper… of trees.
The First Amendment to our Constitution of the United States declares most rightly, that we all have the right of free speech. That does not guarantee us the right to be wasteful. Some discretion must be used in publishing, advertising, the business world and government.
The written word is powerful and wonderful, and as a writer, I am fully supportive of writing in all avenues of endeavor. I do believe, however, that all industries from advertising to publishing to law and government, should take it upon themselves to plant a tree or donate to the Arbor Day Foundation for every ream of paper they consume. And I support the immediate cessation of any and all cutting of old-growth forests.
The planting needs to happen where things have already been cut, and not used to justify fresh cutting. Tree farms will be sufficient for the building and papermill industries. If that makes prices of paper and wood go up a little bit, then so be it. The price of a magazine will increase, but it will not matter because those who want to read it will do so anyway.
*I am surprised by how many people disrespect even the money they carry with them. So many times the money I take at the cash register at work is not only filthy, but is handed to me wadded up and crumpled like so much used toilet paper, or folded and refolded and drawn and written on. If we can respect the money that represents our abundance and livelihood, then what do we respect?
**Paper packaging is wasteful, but plastic packaging is another whole subject for another day!
Monday, October 11, 2010
# 7: STUFF, STUFFING, AND DESTUFFING OUR LIVES
Issue #7 A Harsh Look at Stuff
It’s All Too Much, Isn’t It?
Nearly everyone I know has or has had too much stuff in their lives. We accumulate stuff for various reasons, such as fear and insecurity, loneliness, guilt, or boredom. I’ll bet you can think of a few other reasons. Sometimes it seems there was no reason at all. The stuff just slowly appeared.
I got out of college and I had some clothes, a foot locker, a few dishes, a hot plate and a couple of pans. I had some stuffed animals, a couple decks of cards, a dice game, and some books, some toiletries and sheets, towels and a couple of blankets. It all fit nicely into my ’68 Chevy BelAire.
The guy I had met in college had a kitchen in his Des Moines apartment that was set up by his mother, a real Joy of Cooking aficionado… her, not her son. So most cooking we did was at his place.
I moved to Boone and took a job as a news journalist, weekend editor, feature writer, etc. In taking the job, I also took the apartment of the fellow whose job I wound up with. With the apartment, came a coffee table and a wire cage containing two gerbils.
My guy followed me to Boone and got a place across town and a couple of jobs.
I got a ring.
We got a place together. And a tank of fish. And some furniture.
We got married and received tons of stuff, including an antique cherry drop leaf table.
There were souvenirs of the wedding and souvenirs of the honeymoon. The stuff accumulated.
We moved when he became a cop. More stuff appeared: guns, targets, more clothes, a constant influx of books. And a dog, my dog: Fluffy was pregnant, so we took her from my parents to make a good home for her.
We got kicked out for smuggling a dog in and out of the window of the apartment, so we rented a house: three bedrooms, 928 square feet. Soon, it was all full. Of course the puppies had arrived and accoutrements began to collect. Bowls, toys, beds, blankies, and oh yes, somewhere along the way a second pair of gerbils had joined our household.
So fish, a wayward snail named Speedy, four gerbils, three dogs and a partridge in a pear tree. Well, not actually, but there was a parakeet for a short time. He was a real screamer. The bird soon went to live with another policeman who raised parakeets. Owlie turned out to be quite a little egg layer, and was soon a mother. I guess he was a she. A brief experience with a kitten shocked us into realizing that vertical surfaces were fair game and the kitten went to live with a cat lady.
Stuff. We sold a lot of stuff before moving to Florida. A small rental house awaited us. Then a move to a bigger rental we shared with a friend. Then she bought a duplex. We rented half. We got a windfall and were informed we had to spend it on a house of our own. (bad advice from an accountant) 900 square feet or so had always seemed about right, even though it may have grown a bit cramped with stuff.
So we built a new house. 3,660 square feet is just about four times larger than what we were accustomed to. So what did we do? We promptly began to fill it with stuff. The stuff we had did not begin to fill it up. We had to get more stuff. And so we did.
Too much stuff. And now, post-divorce, and no longer in Florida, I find myself with enough stuff to supply maybe 3 large families with adequate stuff. Garage sale-ing has been a slow way to divest myself of stuff. Many more weekends shall be taken up by baring my retail soul to the passing public. I’m Craigslisting also, and thinking of giving Half.com a try.
The goal: Freedom through simplicity. Eventually I will spend much less time and money maintaining and warehousing stuff. This house, which is on the market, is about 2800 square feet. It’s full, but the dogs and I only live in three rooms of it: kitchen, bedroom, and ‘dog den,’ plus the bathrooms. Oh yeah, Munchie eats in a wee corner of the dining room to keep him from fighting with the others. Mealtime crating could also solve that issue. The rest of it is storage for furniture, books and miscellanea.
Having lost three of my six dogs this past year or so, I see clearly how having TOO MUCH in the way of pets can really complicate your life. I miss Tucker, Bob and Sierra fiercely, but know now that three is my absolute limit for sane living. Eventually it will be two and I do not intend to go beyond that.
In my garage sale, I have a number of purses for sale. Almost new, they are the result of choices based on color more than anything else. Are they cute? Damn straight they’re cute. Useful? Not so much. To me, a soft-sided purse is a collapsing star. You put something in it and the black hole enfolds itself over the item and you may never see it again, unless it is ejected by some cosmic mishap, like a spillage. It makes a nice show but you wouldn’t want to live there.
I stumbled across a web site earlier today that promised the ultimate in bags. Every single bag I looked at had some issue taking it out of the running for me. (except one, but I won’t get it due to the aforementioned financial difficulties). Anyhow, there were thousands. I do not know how many thousands, but certainly the styles and designers outnumber the population of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Point? Too many choices. In many cases the distinguishing characteristics amounted to nothing but variations in the shape and amount of bling. Why are so many resources used to make so many worthless purses? It is a competition based fundamentally on greed, I think. The creativity that has been spent on the various designs only makes them different enough to not be copies of basic patterns. It’s All Too Much!
Point? I think perhaps I will decorate an empty paint bucket and carry my stuff in that. It’s the right size. It’s got a sturdy handle, and hard sides to keep it from collapsing. I’d rather it were rectangular instead of round, but hey, sometimes our choices are not perfect even when they are the best at the time.
So, here’s the deal.
I am in this uncomfortable financial, emotional and physical situation because of the choices I have made. I have chosen to seek security in the accumulation of stuff. What I have found instead of security, is enslavement.
As goes the individual, so goes the nation. Who said that? Not sure, but it is demonstrated to be true over and over again. We as individuals have overspent ourselves into various levels of personal financial crisis. America has overspent itself into a state of unprecedented and perilous financial crisis.
As I work to excavate myself from this dark pit of debt, I pray that America will begin to follow suit.
Let’s save America one individual at a time. Join me in my quest for debt free, low impact living.
My first step has been to stop all spending. Now I only buy gasoline, food, and replacement clothing for work. Okay, confession time, the hardest thing to give up has been buying books and, I’m tapering off rapidly. The only books I’ve purchased recently were used books, for mere pennies. But I’ve taken a lesson from several of my bookstore browsers (cannot call them customers since they do not buy, only browse). I use my cell phone to take shots of books that I want. It’s like a cooling off period. If I’m still really interested in the book, I can borrow it at a library or get it used for pennies. Meanwhile, I no longer whip out the credit card, and I also leave the debit card tucked away safely.
Converting to a cash-only basis is a challenging adjustment, but I was surprised to find that it actually feels good.
Some contend that ceasing spending will further ruin the economy. I agree it will have impact, but I think it should be looked at as a transformation rather than a ruination. The future will be different than the present. We know that. It’s a given. And that is a topic for another issue.
Be Well
Victoria
It’s All Too Much, Isn’t It?
Nearly everyone I know has or has had too much stuff in their lives. We accumulate stuff for various reasons, such as fear and insecurity, loneliness, guilt, or boredom. I’ll bet you can think of a few other reasons. Sometimes it seems there was no reason at all. The stuff just slowly appeared.
I got out of college and I had some clothes, a foot locker, a few dishes, a hot plate and a couple of pans. I had some stuffed animals, a couple decks of cards, a dice game, and some books, some toiletries and sheets, towels and a couple of blankets. It all fit nicely into my ’68 Chevy BelAire.
The guy I had met in college had a kitchen in his Des Moines apartment that was set up by his mother, a real Joy of Cooking aficionado… her, not her son. So most cooking we did was at his place.
I moved to Boone and took a job as a news journalist, weekend editor, feature writer, etc. In taking the job, I also took the apartment of the fellow whose job I wound up with. With the apartment, came a coffee table and a wire cage containing two gerbils.
My guy followed me to Boone and got a place across town and a couple of jobs.
I got a ring.
We got a place together. And a tank of fish. And some furniture.
We got married and received tons of stuff, including an antique cherry drop leaf table.
There were souvenirs of the wedding and souvenirs of the honeymoon. The stuff accumulated.
We moved when he became a cop. More stuff appeared: guns, targets, more clothes, a constant influx of books. And a dog, my dog: Fluffy was pregnant, so we took her from my parents to make a good home for her.
We got kicked out for smuggling a dog in and out of the window of the apartment, so we rented a house: three bedrooms, 928 square feet. Soon, it was all full. Of course the puppies had arrived and accoutrements began to collect. Bowls, toys, beds, blankies, and oh yes, somewhere along the way a second pair of gerbils had joined our household.
So fish, a wayward snail named Speedy, four gerbils, three dogs and a partridge in a pear tree. Well, not actually, but there was a parakeet for a short time. He was a real screamer. The bird soon went to live with another policeman who raised parakeets. Owlie turned out to be quite a little egg layer, and was soon a mother. I guess he was a she. A brief experience with a kitten shocked us into realizing that vertical surfaces were fair game and the kitten went to live with a cat lady.
Stuff. We sold a lot of stuff before moving to Florida. A small rental house awaited us. Then a move to a bigger rental we shared with a friend. Then she bought a duplex. We rented half. We got a windfall and were informed we had to spend it on a house of our own. (bad advice from an accountant) 900 square feet or so had always seemed about right, even though it may have grown a bit cramped with stuff.
So we built a new house. 3,660 square feet is just about four times larger than what we were accustomed to. So what did we do? We promptly began to fill it with stuff. The stuff we had did not begin to fill it up. We had to get more stuff. And so we did.
Too much stuff. And now, post-divorce, and no longer in Florida, I find myself with enough stuff to supply maybe 3 large families with adequate stuff. Garage sale-ing has been a slow way to divest myself of stuff. Many more weekends shall be taken up by baring my retail soul to the passing public. I’m Craigslisting also, and thinking of giving Half.com a try.
The goal: Freedom through simplicity. Eventually I will spend much less time and money maintaining and warehousing stuff. This house, which is on the market, is about 2800 square feet. It’s full, but the dogs and I only live in three rooms of it: kitchen, bedroom, and ‘dog den,’ plus the bathrooms. Oh yeah, Munchie eats in a wee corner of the dining room to keep him from fighting with the others. Mealtime crating could also solve that issue. The rest of it is storage for furniture, books and miscellanea.
Having lost three of my six dogs this past year or so, I see clearly how having TOO MUCH in the way of pets can really complicate your life. I miss Tucker, Bob and Sierra fiercely, but know now that three is my absolute limit for sane living. Eventually it will be two and I do not intend to go beyond that.
In my garage sale, I have a number of purses for sale. Almost new, they are the result of choices based on color more than anything else. Are they cute? Damn straight they’re cute. Useful? Not so much. To me, a soft-sided purse is a collapsing star. You put something in it and the black hole enfolds itself over the item and you may never see it again, unless it is ejected by some cosmic mishap, like a spillage. It makes a nice show but you wouldn’t want to live there.
I stumbled across a web site earlier today that promised the ultimate in bags. Every single bag I looked at had some issue taking it out of the running for me. (except one, but I won’t get it due to the aforementioned financial difficulties). Anyhow, there were thousands. I do not know how many thousands, but certainly the styles and designers outnumber the population of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Point? Too many choices. In many cases the distinguishing characteristics amounted to nothing but variations in the shape and amount of bling. Why are so many resources used to make so many worthless purses? It is a competition based fundamentally on greed, I think. The creativity that has been spent on the various designs only makes them different enough to not be copies of basic patterns. It’s All Too Much!
Point? I think perhaps I will decorate an empty paint bucket and carry my stuff in that. It’s the right size. It’s got a sturdy handle, and hard sides to keep it from collapsing. I’d rather it were rectangular instead of round, but hey, sometimes our choices are not perfect even when they are the best at the time.
So, here’s the deal.
I am in this uncomfortable financial, emotional and physical situation because of the choices I have made. I have chosen to seek security in the accumulation of stuff. What I have found instead of security, is enslavement.
As goes the individual, so goes the nation. Who said that? Not sure, but it is demonstrated to be true over and over again. We as individuals have overspent ourselves into various levels of personal financial crisis. America has overspent itself into a state of unprecedented and perilous financial crisis.
As I work to excavate myself from this dark pit of debt, I pray that America will begin to follow suit.
Let’s save America one individual at a time. Join me in my quest for debt free, low impact living.
My first step has been to stop all spending. Now I only buy gasoline, food, and replacement clothing for work. Okay, confession time, the hardest thing to give up has been buying books and, I’m tapering off rapidly. The only books I’ve purchased recently were used books, for mere pennies. But I’ve taken a lesson from several of my bookstore browsers (cannot call them customers since they do not buy, only browse). I use my cell phone to take shots of books that I want. It’s like a cooling off period. If I’m still really interested in the book, I can borrow it at a library or get it used for pennies. Meanwhile, I no longer whip out the credit card, and I also leave the debit card tucked away safely.
Converting to a cash-only basis is a challenging adjustment, but I was surprised to find that it actually feels good.
Some contend that ceasing spending will further ruin the economy. I agree it will have impact, but I think it should be looked at as a transformation rather than a ruination. The future will be different than the present. We know that. It’s a given. And that is a topic for another issue.
Be Well
Victoria
Sunday, September 12, 2010
How Did This Happen to Me? Blog # 6
It’s All Too Much
Quite suddenly, I find myself faced with impending foreclosure and on this day, 9/11/2010 Yes the 9th anniversary of the terrible attacks on our nation) I find myself attacked. I am a victim only of my own poor choices and bad decisions and of course, failing in my marriage.
I must move out of my house prior to October 13th, or the people who do these things will come here and place me, my dogs and all of our belongings out in the ditch (we have no curbs in this neighborhood) and we will be deciding if Tent City is our only option or not.
Following ill-advised ‘legal advice,’ I find, although I tout the principles of simplicity, ethics, and good stewardship, I am now reaping the spoils of poor stewardship that I could or would not see myself committing for the past twenty years.
There are so many ‘if onlies’ that come to mind. They are nothing but stumbling blocks at this point, unless I make sure to learn from them. If given an opportunity in the future, I will certainly comport myself differently.
If I had even half the money I have spent on books during the past twenty-five years (many of which have not even been read) I would not be in this situation. Creditors will not take books or other goods, they are not barterers, but operate only on a cash basis.
If you have been reading my blogs, you will see that I have shared with you some pearls of wisdom along the way. This is one of the most important practical things I can share with you today:
Get out and stay out of debt. Never purchase anything you cannot afford to purchase for cash. Credit is a temptation from the dark side. Become a cash- only person. Spend cash when you must, or use a debit card if you have to, drawing only on what is actually in your bank account. Save for contingencies and unexpected pop-ups. Invest only in things that have real value that will always appreciate (if there is such a thing) and be smart, aware, and wise to the ‘moneychangers’. Know this: in spite of the old laws on the books to prohibit it, usury is alive and well in the world today, turning well-meaning ordinary folks into serfs and slaves.
Here is an important article I want to share with all of you:
Click here: Secrets of the debt-collection biz uncovered by a reporter
So, just so you are aware, sometime in the next several weeks, I may not be able to post regularly. If I am living on the street, it might be a problem using electricity and the internet.
I looked at an apartment last night. It had no room for my bed. 400 square feet for $630.00. It is the first place I’ve seen. It was wonderful location and landlady-wise, but Add storage fees and I might as well live in storage… Didn’t Kramer do that at one point? Someone did. I think it’s illegal.
I apologize for this posting. It is not solution-oriented as I strive for. That is because no solutions have occurred to me. I just want to be forthright with my readers and perhaps, if you could offer some feedback it would help me to find the solution to all of this. I cannot say that prayer has not worked. On the contrary. My heartfelt distaste for where I live and why I live here is coming home to roost. I did not realize how fond I am of this solid brick ‘money pit’ until faced with the utter loss of it. It is a perfect example of the song:
Our thoughts are prayers
And we are always praying
Our thoughts are prayers
Listen to what you saying
Seek a higher consciousness
A state of peacefulness
And know that God is always there
For every thought becomes a prayer.
It is true, what is said: “All prayers are answered”
It is also true: “Be careful what you pray for”
Remember: WORDS ARE POWER
Love to all
Victoria
Quite suddenly, I find myself faced with impending foreclosure and on this day, 9/11/2010 Yes the 9th anniversary of the terrible attacks on our nation) I find myself attacked. I am a victim only of my own poor choices and bad decisions and of course, failing in my marriage.
I must move out of my house prior to October 13th, or the people who do these things will come here and place me, my dogs and all of our belongings out in the ditch (we have no curbs in this neighborhood) and we will be deciding if Tent City is our only option or not.
Following ill-advised ‘legal advice,’ I find, although I tout the principles of simplicity, ethics, and good stewardship, I am now reaping the spoils of poor stewardship that I could or would not see myself committing for the past twenty years.
There are so many ‘if onlies’ that come to mind. They are nothing but stumbling blocks at this point, unless I make sure to learn from them. If given an opportunity in the future, I will certainly comport myself differently.
If I had even half the money I have spent on books during the past twenty-five years (many of which have not even been read) I would not be in this situation. Creditors will not take books or other goods, they are not barterers, but operate only on a cash basis.
If you have been reading my blogs, you will see that I have shared with you some pearls of wisdom along the way. This is one of the most important practical things I can share with you today:
Get out and stay out of debt. Never purchase anything you cannot afford to purchase for cash. Credit is a temptation from the dark side. Become a cash- only person. Spend cash when you must, or use a debit card if you have to, drawing only on what is actually in your bank account. Save for contingencies and unexpected pop-ups. Invest only in things that have real value that will always appreciate (if there is such a thing) and be smart, aware, and wise to the ‘moneychangers’. Know this: in spite of the old laws on the books to prohibit it, usury is alive and well in the world today, turning well-meaning ordinary folks into serfs and slaves.
Here is an important article I want to share with all of you:
Click here: Secrets of the debt-collection biz uncovered by a reporter
So, just so you are aware, sometime in the next several weeks, I may not be able to post regularly. If I am living on the street, it might be a problem using electricity and the internet.
I looked at an apartment last night. It had no room for my bed. 400 square feet for $630.00. It is the first place I’ve seen. It was wonderful location and landlady-wise, but Add storage fees and I might as well live in storage… Didn’t Kramer do that at one point? Someone did. I think it’s illegal.
I apologize for this posting. It is not solution-oriented as I strive for. That is because no solutions have occurred to me. I just want to be forthright with my readers and perhaps, if you could offer some feedback it would help me to find the solution to all of this. I cannot say that prayer has not worked. On the contrary. My heartfelt distaste for where I live and why I live here is coming home to roost. I did not realize how fond I am of this solid brick ‘money pit’ until faced with the utter loss of it. It is a perfect example of the song:
Our thoughts are prayers
And we are always praying
Our thoughts are prayers
Listen to what you saying
Seek a higher consciousness
A state of peacefulness
And know that God is always there
For every thought becomes a prayer.
It is true, what is said: “All prayers are answered”
It is also true: “Be careful what you pray for”
Remember: WORDS ARE POWER
Love to all
Victoria
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Too Much? Simplify
Simple Simplify Simplicity
It's All Too Much #5
‘Tis a gift to be simple ‘tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in a place just right
We’ll be in a valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend
We shan’t be ashamed
To turn, turn will be a delight
For by turning and turning we’ll come ‘round right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcGIfMu0bw (copy and paste for link)
That little song, a standard of the Shakers, has a profound message. Of course there are those naysayers who will say it is too radical, to subservient, or too something else. Well, if we could just simplify our outlook and find the succulent tidbit of truth within for each of us, then perhaps criticism could be curtailed.
You may know, there is a monthly magazine devoted to simplifying your life. This somewhat oxymoronic publication is thicker than Cosmo and filled to overflowing with advertisements for all the things you have to purchase in order to make your life simple. The articles themselves are mainly more recommendations for things that assure you will simplify your life, thus leaving you more time for you.
I have yet to achieve my desired state of simplicity, but I know it will entail removing things from my life, not acquiring more things to hold and organize the things that already have me overstuffed.
I am not planning to join a convent or move to Lancaster County. I simply want to lighten my load and free myself of the burdens of past choices that have weighed me down.
Seems to me that Madison Avenue, much like the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Catholic hierarchy have striven to alter the fundamental meanings of certain words, to bend them to their own use.
Meekness
Stewardship
Simplicity
These, to me, are the most glaring examples.
But then, to further point a finger, the word ‘acedia’ has been almost totally excised from dictionaries, from common usage, and even from acknowledgement by the clergy who exist to help us with our spiritual and emotional needs.
Meekness, as we discussed in a prior blog post, is, according to Jesus best defined as ‘moderation.’
Stewardship is caretaking and watching over, as a shepherd with a flock, or a mother with a toddler.
Simple means to be uncomplicated, easy, without worry over excessive concerns.
These words are virtues to be attained in order to achieve inner peace. Inner peace leads ultimately to outer peace.
It begins right here. Inside of you. Inside of me. As I am the center of my own universe, you are the center of your universe. Our individual universes (auric fields) interact, and impose influence on each other and with all of those who inhabit this planet.
The principle of the monkeys applies here. You know the story, It was observed by a biologist in the field, that one day, a monkey went down to the lake and washed his fruit before he ate it. Next day he did it again. The following day, another monkey joined him in fruit-washing. And on it went. One day there were half a dozen monkeys washing their fruit, the next day, all the monkeys on the island had joined them. At the same time, tribes of monkeys on other isolated islands began to also wash their fruit.
We are looking to achieve a shift in consciousness on a planet-wide basis. To do this we begin where we are. With diligence, sharing, and sincerity, we will achieve the critical mass to alter the direction humanity is headed. Like the monkeys, we will influence our greater society for the good.
Looking for grandiose, complicated, dazzling political solutions does not work. How many times have we seen huge efforts fail to do anything but palliate, placate and ultimately alienate?
May Peace and Joy and Simplicity and Meekness reign within you.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
It's All Too Much #5
‘Tis a gift to be simple ‘tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in a place just right
We’ll be in a valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend
We shan’t be ashamed
To turn, turn will be a delight
For by turning and turning we’ll come ‘round right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcGIfMu0bw (copy and paste for link)
That little song, a standard of the Shakers, has a profound message. Of course there are those naysayers who will say it is too radical, to subservient, or too something else. Well, if we could just simplify our outlook and find the succulent tidbit of truth within for each of us, then perhaps criticism could be curtailed.
You may know, there is a monthly magazine devoted to simplifying your life. This somewhat oxymoronic publication is thicker than Cosmo and filled to overflowing with advertisements for all the things you have to purchase in order to make your life simple. The articles themselves are mainly more recommendations for things that assure you will simplify your life, thus leaving you more time for you.
I have yet to achieve my desired state of simplicity, but I know it will entail removing things from my life, not acquiring more things to hold and organize the things that already have me overstuffed.
I am not planning to join a convent or move to Lancaster County. I simply want to lighten my load and free myself of the burdens of past choices that have weighed me down.
Seems to me that Madison Avenue, much like the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Catholic hierarchy have striven to alter the fundamental meanings of certain words, to bend them to their own use.
Meekness
Stewardship
Simplicity
These, to me, are the most glaring examples.
But then, to further point a finger, the word ‘acedia’ has been almost totally excised from dictionaries, from common usage, and even from acknowledgement by the clergy who exist to help us with our spiritual and emotional needs.
Meekness, as we discussed in a prior blog post, is, according to Jesus best defined as ‘moderation.’
Stewardship is caretaking and watching over, as a shepherd with a flock, or a mother with a toddler.
Simple means to be uncomplicated, easy, without worry over excessive concerns.
These words are virtues to be attained in order to achieve inner peace. Inner peace leads ultimately to outer peace.
It begins right here. Inside of you. Inside of me. As I am the center of my own universe, you are the center of your universe. Our individual universes (auric fields) interact, and impose influence on each other and with all of those who inhabit this planet.
The principle of the monkeys applies here. You know the story, It was observed by a biologist in the field, that one day, a monkey went down to the lake and washed his fruit before he ate it. Next day he did it again. The following day, another monkey joined him in fruit-washing. And on it went. One day there were half a dozen monkeys washing their fruit, the next day, all the monkeys on the island had joined them. At the same time, tribes of monkeys on other isolated islands began to also wash their fruit.
We are looking to achieve a shift in consciousness on a planet-wide basis. To do this we begin where we are. With diligence, sharing, and sincerity, we will achieve the critical mass to alter the direction humanity is headed. Like the monkeys, we will influence our greater society for the good.
Looking for grandiose, complicated, dazzling political solutions does not work. How many times have we seen huge efforts fail to do anything but palliate, placate and ultimately alienate?
May Peace and Joy and Simplicity and Meekness reign within you.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
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