I watched a clip of this young Palestinian girl a year ago, I never forgot it.
I watched a clip of this young Palestinian girl a year ago, I never forgot it.
Many people are trying to get through life as best as they can, with the least amount of unnecessary hassle. I have known people whose lives have hit rock-bottom, but they managed to bounce back and then they continued to work on their own personal development. Unless we have growth, we stagnate.
One of the biggest hindrances for anyone trying to improve their life, is having people in it, who are a drain on their positive energy. I came across the “selfcarexpress” image below which sums it up quite well.
When you rid yourself of people who are a hinderance to your happiness, life is easier.
Eye-locks and Other Fearsome Things
A book by fellow blogger, Ellen Stockdale Wolfe
Blog: stockdalewolfe.com
“Eye-locks” is a Bipolar/Asperger’s memoir in narrative form that describes the triumph of love over mental illness. While not a lesson plan, it documents Ellen’s therapeutic journey to finding love against all odds. Useful for therapists, and for patients with Bipolar Disorder and/or Asperger’s Syndrome.
Further information:
The past year has gone and it is time for a fresh approach to achieve any goals that were not realised in 2022.
The road ahead is not always an easy journey, and one of the things that makes the journey harder is when we lose anyone dear to us. Hope, helps us to look to the future and deal with new problems along the way, but without the help and support of friends in difficult times, the challenge is greater.
I think the benefit of online friends is greatly underestimated. One of my favourite proverbs is a Japanese proverb, “One kind word can warm three winter months.” It is not just what is said to you, but who says it, that can make a big difference to how you feel. People from other countries have said just the right words, at the right time to me, which changed my outlook and helped my morale greatly. Kindness generates inner strength, when it is most needed.
People who care about other people, infuse love into the world. People who help other people, bring cohesion to the bonds of society. The most valuable thing you can give to someone, is your time and attention.
May the road you travel on, in 2023 be paved with love and kindness, and your journey be pleasant and fulfilling.
“As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.”
– Pythagoras
I usually do not post music over a certain length, as people tend to prefer shorter tracks on a blog. I have made an exception with this Runrig song and chosen a longer version, over 8 minutes, because I consider it to be one of the most emotionally charged songs I have ever heard. Runrig pay their respects to the brave people who have fallen in battle. I hope you can enjoy, and appreciate this music as much as I do.
Rise And Fall
I’ve seen the sunlight shining on the valley
I’ve seen the shadows darken on the deep
I’ve seen the young men riding out for glory
And broken in defeat
There was an hour that never knew a gloaming
The whole of life, enchanted in a day
And we’ll be there, forever in the places
Where we used to be
Passing the hedgerows, moving through the orchards
Through the bocage and breaking out for Caen
Dealing fear and all our dices loaded
With the courage of the dawn
And some will rise and some will fall
To gain the world or lose it all
And that time was mine to hear you when you called
You were our youngest, brightest flower
Walking side by side through our darkest hour
And we’ll take this cup, this portion evermore
I’ve seen the last wave breaking on the beaches
I’ve seen the angels crying on the wire
I’ve seen the first star up and brightly shining
Couldn’t rise much higher
Now we’re waiting here not getting older
But we can dream like we cannot believe
With all those fools, those great historic moments
That flatter to deceive
And some will come and some will go
To rise on wings in the skies of gold
Or to fall down to the final, silent cold
When I was young it burned so bright
The only son, a rising Christ
Now I’m left here in the fall out of that light
The rise and fall
The rise and fall
…
“There is nothing natural about extreme inequality. It is the predictable result of an economic system that distributes income, based on who owns the means of production, rather than according to any common-sense principle of labour contribution, human needs or justice.”
– Jason Hickel
Jason Edward Hickel is an economic anthropologist whose research focuses on ecological economics, global inequality, imperialism and political economy.
Image Source Credit: Humane Society for Hamilton County (Indiana)/Facebook
The poignant image is of Ritter, a dog in Indiana. The dog was separated from his family because of unfortunate circumstances. The effect on any dog that is abandoned, for whatever reason, can be devastating.
Although Christmas is a common time for people to get a dog, it is not just this time of the year that results in dogs being abandoned after a short while, it happens at other times of the year as well.
Getting a puppy is similar to having a baby, in a sense that they have to be cared for, a lot, and are very time-consuming. You have to make changes in your life to cater for your dog’s needs. Many people do not realise the amount of time and effort that is needed, or the commitment that is required. This often means that they are ill-prepared and cannot cope with the demanding position that they find themselves in.
Be loyal to your dog and you will be rewarded with unconditional love.
A dog is for love, not a passing whim.
Snowflakes flutter down and land on my head like confetti
Reminding me of the day we became joined in matrimonial bliss.
Your eyes shone like sapphires as you glided along in your wedding dress
Not just the centre of everyone’s attention, but for me, the centre of the universe.
We sealed the promise of till-death-do-us-part with the longest ever, long lingering kiss
Bonding like lovebirds singing a perpetual song of everlasting love, with devoted, undying faithfulness.
Sometimes size has no relevance, unless it refers to your heart.
Christmastime brings different problems for different people, but it can be a particularly difficult time for someone who is in the early stages of recovering from alcohol misuse. The Christmas period brings about extra challenges for someone who has accepted that their life has become intolerable with alcohol in it, and they are doing their best to become a sober member of society.
Embracing sobriety can feel like being an outcast among friends, or exclusion from the usual family activities. It can feel like self-inflicted loneliness for some.
Unfortunately, there are people who encourage them to have a drink. Sometimes it is by an alcoholic who has been unable to quit, and sometimes it is by someone who genuinely thinks that “just one or two won’t do any harm”.
Just one drink can do a great deal of harm to someone who has been working at total abstinence. It is like a game of Snakes and Ladders; one drink is the equivalent of landing on a snake and going back to Square 1. All the previous hard work, and it is hard work, will be undone.
In cultures where alcohol is socially acceptable and is encouraged at Christmas and New Year, it is fine for people who can drink without experiencing problems. For someone who is embarking on a journey of total abstinence, it can be the most difficult time of the whole year.
If you know someone who has chosen to give up alcohol, please give them praise and encouragement, it goes a long way in helping them to succeed, in what can be the one of the most difficult times of their life.
Alcoholism is not a choice; it is an illness.
“How beautiful to find a heart that loves you, without asking you for anything, but to be okay.”
Khalil Gibran
A True Friend
If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you.
And share with you it’s beauty
On the days you’re feeling blue.
If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own.
A place to find serenity
A place to be alone.
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them into the sea,
But all these things I’m finding
Are impossible for me.
I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend that is always there.
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.
When people terrorise other people, they are terrorists. If they have the backing of the state, they are still terrorists. If a state indulges in terrorist activities, it is a terrorist state.
To call Israel an apartheid terrorist state is not being anti-Semitic, it is stating a fact. To deny that Israel commit child abuse crimes in Palestine, is trying to defend the indefensible.
The state of Israel is guilty of systematic genocide. Any country that supports a terrorist state, is complicit in crimes against humanity.
When you realise, that this song is about a refugee, it makes more sense.
I left my home still as a child
I walked a thousand sorry miles
To wait for my father, to gather up his tools
He said my boy you’ve got to run
Don’t wait for me, don’t wait for mum
We’ll come get you, when it’s safe for us to move
So I waited many years,
Held back the pain behind my tears
For my father, to come find me like he said
And in that time I was alone,
So many years without my home
I made brothers of a different kind instead
And at the time I didn’t know,
Just how hard the wind could blow
Towards disaster, and the things that I would see
I never found my father,
I never found my mother
Even would I know in my lifetime I will be
A hero into the masses,
To those born without chances
There’s a freedom that everyone deserves
I know there’s greed and there’s corruption
I’ve seen death and mass destruction
But I’m telling you, and I hope that I’m heard
I will not be commanded,
I will not be controlled
And I will not let my future go on,
Without the help of my soul
And I will not be commanded,
And I will not be controlled
And I will not let my future go on,
Without the help of my soul
And I will not be commanded,
And I will not be controlled
And I will not let my future go on,
Without the help of my soul
I will not be commanded,
I will not be controlled
And I will not let my future go on,
Without the help of my soul
“You know what we need to do?
We need to get the fuck out of here, that’s what we need to do.”
Ronnie's Blog 