Mary Oliver

     Poet Mary Oliver died a couple of weeks ago.  She will be sorely missed by a world that really needs her.  (see link to her obit)
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/17/577380646/beloved-poet-mary-oliver-who-believed-poetry-mustn-t-be-fancy-dies-at-83


     Meanwhile, I am back home.  I have 2 weeks worth of snow piled up everywhere.  It is so beautiful, but tell me why again I live in a place with so much snow and ice? 

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 
― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

     I do believe that a life without contrasts would be boring, though.

                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=y5M8HP-AqGM


Also-----
(Please keep emailing/calling your senators and Mitch McConnell.  American people want the government reopened.  Keep the pressure on, please.  It is working.  Keep your finger crossed for me today that TSA is working)

     So it's not just me who thinks the GOP members so intent on defending probable Russian asset trump are also apparent Russian assets. 
https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/01/57b774c5098316/congressional-republicans-also-caught-by-russia-so-protect-trump-exgop-white-house-lawyer.html


     One of the reasons could be all the Russian money they've taken.

     Are you contacting your congresspeople daily????

     I have been emailing my senators, especially the republican one, almost daily.  Also I've sent daily emails to Mitch McConnell.....he and trump are our real national emergency.  Today I sent one to Adam Schiff, house intelligence committee.
     I hope you are all becoming activists, too, and voicing your opinions to your congress-people. Our democracy is in grave danger.  Act. Please.

Christians making atheists

     This article by John Pavlovitz is a couple of years old, but needs to be read again and often.

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/06/04/the-christians-making-atheists/?fbclid=IwAR2EPqTFBEbLGsFzopgTJfjljEpRflcCZPG_74V92SauVNb5gLFOAeTUbWU

Let the record show that I was not okay with any of this

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/01/19/let-the-record-show/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=John+Pavlovitz&fbclid=IwAR2XcnZ4v7auqXJMgAHlXBGN8aLnQMCIP7ql3N9wBdq83-nmOeFpa4KtCNQ

Ta Ta Ta Daaaaa

Remember this before ever even considering to vote republican ever ever again

          183 house republicans just voted against resuming food safety inspections.

     It was a snow globe day.  Big fluffy flakes everywhere.  A great day to settle in with a good book and a sleepy dog.
     Tomorrow will be an active, snow shoveling day. 

We are miraculous

     We can do this.  We can turn this god-awful administration around to make America livable for everyone again. 

ZACH BUSH MD

21 hrs · 

The fact that we are here at this exact time in the history of the universe is miraculous.

The fact that we have the ability to make choices, change the direction of our current trajectory is astounding.

Let us not lose touch with the ultimate fact that we each have a deeper purpose to be a part of a miraculous solution while we are here.

Let us all be the miracle we want to see in the world.

Children are our future

FDA suspends routine inspections of food supply due to gov't shutdown.

This is something everyone should be aware of.

https://www.axios.com/fda-suspended-food-inspections-government-shutdown-911a826d-34cc-4abb-b63a-77a9c44b1ea7.html

The Dunning-Kruger Effect or Syndrome

     I just learned of this term.  It is so cool to have a name for it.

Sometimes referred to as Dunning Kruger syndrome, the Dunning Kruger effect was coined by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger to explain why incompetent people cannot see their own incompetence.
     It occurs when incompetent people not only fail to realize their incompetence, but consider themselves to be more competent than everyone else. 

                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW9R6jgE7SQ

     Interesting, yes?

     I read the following quote today.  Boy, is it politically timely!

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
                                                  Charles Spurgeon

Food Independence & Planetary Evolution: Zach Bush, MD | Rich Roll Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3aOQ0N74PI



     This podcast is excellent.  Here is Rich Roll's intro as to who Dr Zach Bush is.
A triple board certified physician, master healer & consciousness, Zach Bush, MD is the founder and director of M Clinic, an integrative medicine center in Charlottesville, Virginia and simply put, one of the most compelling medical minds currently working to improve our understanding of human and environmental health. Enjoy!


The podcast is 1 hr, 54 min long so watch/listen when you have some time. It is eye-opening.

A wise woman.

Love this.....a Dad joke my Dad will appreciate.

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."-----Lao Tzu

     An old quote but always a good one.



     Yesterday I joined the fitness app Strava in order to be part of a "run 2019 miles in 2019" competition at my local running store. (There are awesome prizes along the way and for all finishers. We're talking free shoes plus a gift basket).  This is really pushing me out of my comfort zone....sharing my run stats with others.  I do run a lot and don't mind sharing my mileage, but I am not and never will be the speediest person out there, and dislike comparing myself with others.  I just run my own pace, my own miles, and my own race. That will have to be good enough.  Be brave and share your pace Deb....maybe doing that will help you improve. 

I feel stronger just looking at these vegans.

“Running is analogue. It is hunter-gatherer. It is Palaeo. It is linear. It is long-form thought. It is an uninterrupted conversation with yourself. It is a journey back through modernity to your body. It is a way out of technology. It is a way to be free.” — Vybarr Cregan-Reid

     I would add that it is meditative (usually, unless you run with a crazy sniffer-dog). 

Cute!

     I'm having trouble getting back into the exercise routine on day 4 of the new year.  I did make myself do some easy hatha yoga today and am tired.  In the long shavasana (resting) pose at the end, the yoga instructor said to concentrate on your anterior (chest, abdomen, face, shins) all facing forward into the future, and your posterior (back, back of head, back of legs, heels) all facing into the past. I liked that, your strong posterior pushing you into your future as you look towards it.  For some reason, it resonated with me.
     How are your resolutions going?

Don't you love that the House of Representatives is starting to resemble America!

     I love John Pavlovitz' posts.  Here is another winner.

"Nancy Pelosi was simply yet another, in the near infinite chain of strong, intelligent, capable women, speaking clearly despite the hissing, frantic noise of an insecure, less qualified man, desperate to silence her."
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/12/12/to-she-who-still-persists/?fbclid=IwAR1hxzOkoRsCt8-WnLCTOI0lTo6EyZL4i_0rB4RXJQfGcnUYYSPUAG6Nlfg

Darn

     Tried to email Representative Nancy Pelosi this morning.  She is only accepting emails from her district in California due to high volume. 

     It is time to get busy with activism again.  Unfortunately, I will have to miss the woman's march later this month. 

     Make your opinions known to your congresspeople, please. 


“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” 
― Leonardo da Vinci


“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” 
― Elie Wiesel




     Our country has never faced an oppressor from within as it is now.

“If I can’t dance at the revolution, it’s not my revolution.” -Emma Goldman

Another New Year. Another new book with 365 blank pages........

     A year for trial and error and making mistakes.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” 
― Neil Gaiman

Some Mary Oliver to start the year:

Mornings at Blackwater

For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.

And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.

What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.

So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life.

     May your year be flavored with the feet of ducks.

!

     People have been making New Year's Resolutions for thousands of years from ancient Babylon to ancient Rome, so we are in good company.
https://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions


     I'm starting to consider my resolutions for 2019 other than the usual to eat healthier and exercise more, which everyone does annually.  I have gotten very lax about those from Thanksgiving to New Years. It takes awhile for more specific goals to crystallize in my mind.
     Meanwhile I'll share some wishes from friends that are much more well-considered  and wise than anything I could come up with.
      "May this year be kinder to you than those in recent memory.   You are destined for great things.  Don't forget that!"  (Craig Nash)
      "Go out and spread your confetti."   (Collette Schoenegge) 



     It is wonderful to have inspiring friends.

   

   

   

  shared from

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