R-E-S-P-E-C-T

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care, TCB

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me,

sock it to me, sock it to me)

A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me,

sock it to me, sock it to me)

Whoa, babe (just a little bit)

A little respect (just a little bit)

I get tired (just a little bit)

Keep on tryin' (just a little bit)

You're runnin' out of foolin' (just a little bit)

And I ain't lyin' (just a little bit)

(re, re, re, re) 'spect

There are times in life where you find your respect for another waivering.  I want to think the best of others. When life rears it's ugly side I tend to look from all angles, I try not to judge...but...there are times where..."here come the judge." 

We are all imperfect and sometimes we are given a job that requires more than we are capable of performing.  To be able to see that which we can bring to the world and that which we do not have the ability or desire too bring, gives us a better chance of giving and gaining respect.  There are times you land in the nettles, how to get out with the least amount of trauma is a challange we will face over and over in our life.  It is these times that we have to figure out, who we really are.

Because respect can only be born of knowledge.

Soon To Be A Ball Less Dog

Today I go to the Vet.  They think I don't know why I am going...but there is a reason I choose the angry pumpkin to sit under!  I know the whole population problem...but look at me...do I not deserve to bring some really good looking puppies into this world. 

But you know parenting, it is challenging and in my situation I don't get to say who is the mother of my pups...the humans around here get to choose and who knows they might pick a real DOG...I mean some dog who isn't as good looking as me.

What I am really upset about is the, no food, no water after 10 PM the night before.  The humans get to eat till midnight before surgery and get clear liquids until 6 hours prior...this really blows.

Then again, when I get back home I am going to milk this for all it's worth...I could get something really good to eat by dinner!

100% Mortality

The human race has a 100% mortality.  There is no one, who has escaped this fate.  For each one person there will be one death.  Brutal in its reality.

The question is...given that you get this one life why do so many people spend their thoughts worrying about the next...when we really do not know if there is a next?  How can we even fathom what comes next?  So man, in order to feel better or more secure has written in many languages what they believe will be next.  There are creative stories of heaven, or levels we reach with each death...or reincarnation. But in reality we do not know...we are man...ground on this earth...in this life. 

How much better the world would be if we focused on this life...our only life.  Would people who are good because they are entrenched in the dogma of religion, still be good people if they did not believe.  Is the only reason they are good is because someone in a church tells them that God expects it...or can we not be good because it is part of being human?

With all the different religions in existence...each believing they are the one, that if you do not believe as they do, you are destined to end up someplace...not heaven...how can we progress in our humanity unified by our common goodness.

As I continue to grow in my humanity and beliefs...I know that I am destined to die.  The one fact is, that there is a 100% mortality to being human.  So, if this is possibly the only life I get would I not want to spend it learning to be the best person I believe I can be...not the person who the pulpit says I should be. 

I want to focus my energy on this life...not the next...do I not want to do that which enhances this life...not the next.  Can I make this life fulfilling irregarless of the next.  Would it not be healthier to cherish the people in the present rather than longing to see them...in the next. 

If one were to see the reality of what religion has created, we would cry a million tears.  If we were to embrace the present, strive to be good in spite of religion...then we would be gods.

La Bellezza Di Non Fare Nulla

The beauty of doing nothing...an Italian phrase.  Americans are the hardest workers in the world.  We work the longest hours, days, weeks, months and years.  Even when we are off, we have list of fun things to do...no downtime to day dream.

The beauty of doing nothing is a mantra in Italy.  You might discover something about yourself...if you just gave yourself the time.  You might discover you are more interesting than you thought...if you could only have the time to hear yourself. 

You might find out that "the beauty of doing nothing" is really beautiful...you might hear your heart beat and the air moving in and out of your lungs...and it might be like beautiful music.

So, when I look at this photo of a friend who is practicing "la bellezza di non fare nulla" I can feel the air, the sand, the warmth and know that if one of us can do nothing...then all of us can enjoy doing nothing also.

"9 Life Lessons From The Garden"

There is an article in today's paper entitled "9 life lessons from the garden."  It doesn't happen very often but, I believe every word of this article.  Craig Chalquist of John F. Kennedy University says that research shows gardening can lift depression, release stress  and anxiety, and strenghten the immune system.

This past year was the most depressing year and when I describe it to people the first words out of my mouth have been..."I did not work in my yard once!"  My next door neighbor even made the comment that she hadn't seen me in the yard this year...because she knows how I love to dig in the dirt.  I had even told her last year, that if I changed careers it would be to work in gardening.

With all that was going on this past summer at work I let all the things I love go by the wayside, and as a result it was the most depressing summer I have had in a long time.

So what is the lesson...there are actually 9 of them and I love them all...but #7 is a jewel...

"When you taste something that grows in the garden and it's bitter, you spit it out.  The garden teaches me that there are things my body doesn't find nutritious and that I should not let it into my system. Chalquist says.  You may have people in your life who are like a sour fruit or a bitter herb.  If they are tearing you down psychologically, remove them from your life."

Having put gardening aside this year has taught me a lesson, painful yes...but I heard the trees and flowers loud and clear and will not do it again.

Walk, Trot, Jog...Run???

Having made myself a goal of either running or walking the Portland Marathon 2010...I have started the training.  Now you say...why now, it's only 2009?  Because it will take me that long to get ready.

The photo above is mile 9 of this years marathon...oh I remember well the exhilitration and fear...yes, fear at mile 9.  Having come so far, yet so far to go...not even half way.

Although 2010 is my year to set boundaries, to only do that which I find meaningful and to make a effort of connecting with the people I love...I always feel better when I have a goal to sink my teeth into...thus the Portland Marathon.  It is fun, love the town, it is basically at sea level...lol

I have been working on the walk part and today I added the trot.  I am alternating walking then trotting, then walking then trotting...all the while building up the time/distance.  1 mile down...25.4 to go.

The difference I notice from the last time I trained is my bladder was younger.  During the 2005 race I only had to stop once to pee...I have a feeling my time is going to be longer because of the additional pee stops that my much older bladder will need.

I go into this race with the knowledge that I did it before, that I didn't hit any 20 mile wall and to not drink the Red Bull.

TV Technology

While down in Napa at my sister's house taking care of my mother, I got to see a real TV.  Greg and I have always had little TV's and it seems that lately with this latest birthday it is getting harder to see our TV.  Our TV sits behind closed doors above our fireplace and is not very big.  So, we not only have to wear glasses to see it, but because of the small size of our family room our couch is too close to the screen and we have to tip our heads back to watch the screen. Resulting in neck aches by the end of the shows.

The prospect of purchasing a new TV is daunting because the technology has changed so much...it is no longer a TV, it is a theater system.  You no longer just can watch your basic channels but you can get the internet.

My conclusion is that purchasing the TV is the easy part but setting it up and getting all the plugs in the right place...now that is entirely different.  The last time we had to hook up a TV and VCR...I mean CD player...we almost came to blows. 

Since we have come to the descision that this will be our joint Christmas present  it may be better if we look for a TV that comes with a person who will hook everything up, so Christmas Day will be a happy one!

Refuseniks

a Soviet citizen, usually Jewish, who was denied permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union

Origin:


1970–75; refuse + -nik, perh. trans. of Russ otkáznik (unless the Russ word is itself a trans. of refusenik)
 
Now this term is being used to distinguish anyone who rejects a segment of society.  What brings me to this???
 
Last night Greg and I were watching a tv show on the computer.  It took a few minutes to figure out how to get it started, as the network had changed their format, their face page and requirements.  Greg made the comment that we as a society are totally ruled by technology, the learning process, the maintaining and the updating, and we wait, and wait, and wait.  We have cell phones that keep us on the grid...so much so that the goverment can find you anywhere, as long as it is with you.  We have email that keep us internationally connected at a moments notice.  We have internet that gives us knowledge about anything and anyone we are curious about.  In our discussion we wondered what would happen if we went off the grid?  Greg asked..."could you go off the gird?"  I thought seriously and said that it would be like going through withdrawals and would probably take me a couple of weeks to begin relaxing.
 
The lead story on the internet news was about "technological refusenik."  Those who do not have cell phones.  85% of all adults have cell phones.  When I was at quilt group a cell phone would go off about every 20 mintues and 2 or 3 people would pipe up, "someones cell phones is ringing" and several people would check their phones.  This group is mainly made up of retired women who are socializing while enjoying the age old art of quilting.
 
A smaller segment of society does not have cell phones either because they are older or less educated and subsequently have less funds to support and update technology.
 
But, there is about a 5% slice of society that do not have cell phones because they are Refuseniks.  They take pride in being off the grid, being hard to keep track of and knowing that they walk to a different drummer.
 
My mother who will be 80 yrs old just bought herself an I Phone, oye vey am I in trouble.

"The Fame Motive"

Andy Warhol said everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame, at least once in their lifetime.  But...at least by TV standards there are a lot of people getting their 15+ minutes on reality shows.

If you took all the TV channels available, all the internet sites, there are literarly thousands if not millions of reality shows.  From surviving the elements to surviving your make up application in your own bathroom. 

I find it facinating that people want to be filmed and then all that film gets edited down to a nano second of some editing guys idea of good entertainment.  A fellow quilter told me that the local news came a filmed her (extensive) Christmas decor for 2 hours...how much ended up on the news...15 seconds.  So, it is surprising to me that people would allow their lives to be edited by someone who doesn't know them or even care...they are the employee of sensational tv.

We as a nation addicted to peeking into someone elses life, to only feeling good about ourselves when we see wack jobs on reality tv.  For the most part I find it boring...that is not to say I don't check into Survivor or Amazing Race but trying to find love, raise a family in front of a nation is ludicrous.

I was sick about the "balloon boy" fiasco.  What kind of adult will he become with a childhood like that.  Kids do not learn by what we tell them...but by watching how we live.  We drink too much...they think drinking is ok...we drive like idiots and yell at people...they yell at their classmates. We watch and cheer for the Ultimate Fighter and they grow up cheering at school yard fight. They watch our every move and are like sponges.

I was raised to fly below the radar.  So the idea of a public 15 mintues of fame is not even a comfortable place for me.  When I do a donation, I don't want anyone to know.  I do it for myself...the only spot light I want shining on me is my own flash light, held by my own hand.

Optical Illusion

optical illusion: A visually perceived image that is deceptive or misleading.

If you stare at the optical illusion above the circles move in opposite directions.  It is the trick of the brain and eyes.  In reality there are many illusions that we live with...one being, that if you have a uterus you must have and want children.  If you are male you are destined to a life of bread winner. If you are a nurse you must be able to take care of every patient...now there is the challenge of the day.  The idea that as a nurse you can nurture everyone, have the knowledge to take care of "any patient" and know what every doctor is thinking....hummm...oh and in this day and age as a nurse you must also be a computer expert.

It is again and again a challenge to put forth your best foot.  That is by moving the best foot forward you create a stance that may help you create a balance.  You really can't do it all and by putting both feet forward you would fall backwards, gaining no ground emotionally and meeting no challenges.

Although some illusions over time become reality, the idea that a nurse can meet all challenges is detrimental to the self esteem not only of the nurse but but to the soul of the person who resides in the role of nurse.

For today, I vow to put my best foot forward and know that it is not only all I can do but, it is all I want to do.