All You Need Is Love

Not quite fifty-two years ago, this song was the one that The Beatles performed to close out the veryfirst live global television link. It was broadcast in 26 different countries and viewed by about 350 million people. For the fascinating details surrounding that event and also how the song came to be written, go here.

While you're at it, check out the website supporting The Synchronized Global Orgasm For Peace. Recreate the Big Bang! Tell your friends.!

Take a Moment...

Take a moment to breathe.
Sometimes, in the hustling and the bustling, I forget to clear the clutter and the clatter from my mind and just breathe. 
Wish someone well. Call someone up. Smile.
Whoever you are and whatever you are going through, there is always someone you know who is a little worse off than you are. Share your smile with them.
It is easy to be anxious or moody in the midst of all this uproar, but I try to be an oasis of peace and tranquility amid all of it... and I was taught to share.
Be kind to one another, not just today and tomorrow, or this week... but always. It's a long boat ride with a lot of people on board... and it is good to share a laugh when the seas are stormy.
Whatever it is that you choose to celebrate or contemplate, may you fare safely and in good spirits.
Be well. I love you all.

Today's Remembrance

Okay, kids... pop quiz!
What do terrorists want?
I bet it's terror... or panic.
Dread is even acceptable.
Terrorists want people to be forever nervous and afraid. It keeps those people from thinking.
Psychological reinforcement of terror is quick, cheap and easy.
Don't give in to it.
Remember the event. Remember that it caused pain, suffering, and turmoil.
But, for sanity's sake, leave the pain, suffering, and turmoil in the past where it belongs.
Do not fear. Do not dread.
Do not give in to rage or hatred.
Show terrorists how a free people conduct themselves... unflinchingly, with grace and dignity.
Remember the bravery and unselfishness of those who helped. Remember those who fell.
Honor their memory by going about your daily business... calm and unafraid.
This is the best way to spit in a terrorist's eye.

Breathe, Smile, Laugh...

Breathe... appreciate the little things... the delightful things... look for those fleeting momentary opportunities to relax those facial muscles and lift one corner of your mouth in kind of a smile... don't resist that... go with it... nurture it... shield it from the bitter winds as you would the faltering flame of a lonely match... let it catch fire to you and grin widely... laugh in spite of yourself, at yourself, with yourself... but, most of all, smile and laugh... it's addicting... and contagious.

Some Thoughts on Letting Go and Freedom

I think that most of you folk know that I shun creebing about my tiny, high-class problems in a public forum, just as I would not take a megaphone to a street-corner and broadcast them. However, I sometimes ruminate on my thoughts during and after some of my more interesting times, just in case someone else may find that it could relate to something that is going on with them. Then, too, I often get some fascinating perspectives from others, many of which I find helpful to me.
That said, I am profoundly grateful to a couple of dear friends for providing the springboard I needed, at just the right time, in order to make a mental leap... one which has caused me to think of a situation in a very different way, thereby making a connection between two things which I have known for a while, but just hadn't ever put together in a manner such as relates to how I am habitually used to thinking, feeling, and behaving.
There are two movie scenes I like to use as illustrations in conversation, when apropos of the general subject matter. I cannot recall ever having utilized them both in the same exchange, though.
(1) In Star Wars, Chapter III: Revenge of the Sith, Yoda counsels Anakin Skywalker by telling him, "You must train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." We see what becomes of Anakin when he fails to detach from his feelings and gives in to his fears by attempting to control a situation when it is not within his province to do so. 
(2) In The Shawshank Redemption, Brooks got a parole after half-a-century of being in prison, but cannot adjust to a free life, and eventually hangs himself.
Now, in using that first illustration, I am careful to point out that when one lets another person go, one gives leave to this other person to follow their own path wherever it may lead. That means one must recognize and accept that the other person gets to walk away, change their feelings, move to another place, or even die. 
I point out further that when one does this, one is not freeing this other person... for the other person has always had these rights. One is freeing one's self from a prison of one's own making in realizing this.
To let any situation go, one is called upon to make a judgment as to which things are under one's control and which things cannot be changed. Then, also... there are those things which one should not attempt to control. This freedom of will business is not to be taken lightly.
What I had never considered before is that, in letting myself out of my own prison, I must now learn how to handle the freedom.
Freedom, for someone like me, can be a scary thing. How I act freely gives measure of the content of my character. 
Sorry folks... there will be no hangings.
I tend to think that, for most persons, there are freedoms which are desired and there are those which are not sought. Likely, there are also many sorts of little freedoms, which I believe may be overlooked in day-to-day living. 
When I find myself suddenly and unexpectedly free, shall I let fear speak and act for me? I would not wish to have My Positive Eye jaundiced by bitterness or petty meanness born of despair for the loss of my comfortable cage. This is a chance to get out of my self!
I have faith that if I continue to learn and grow... if I am willing to do a little work... if I am honest... if I act with kindness and compassion... then I am on the right path and all will work out for the best in the end.

"Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses..."

Once in a while, I rant about rants. Tell me... have you seen this one? Have you shared it?

Besides the obvious fact that the natives of this land welcomed freely the Europeans who barged in here and crowded them onto little pieces of their own land while setting up laws which kept them from getting it back,  people seem to forget that, at the Statue of Liberty, there is a plaque. The last bit of that plaque reads,

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I have provided a link to the full inscription at the end of this blog post.

Shouldn't we offer freedom with the open arms of hope and charity? Wasn't that how we began the American Dream? Weren't we saying, "Gee... we're sorry that you had to flee, but since you had to then, by all means, flee here." 

Of course, if you really believe everything in this little rant that you shared, you must fully agree with how the governments of North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iran are running the show. Are you really endorsing their policies when you share this? Are you saying that, as a country, we should be more like them?

Y'know it's funny, really. I run with a crowd that has a tradition of not turning anyone away. I have often thought that our principles and traditions would be a nice thing for all people to embrace, and not just us. But then, it is not up to me to tell everyone else how to live.

I mean, I can only tell people that my method of economic recovery is not shopping at dollar stores and Wal-Mart, so that fewer dollars go to China and more back into my own community... and that my method of staying positive is not sharing angry rants via my social networking media... I can't tell anyone else what to do, so I just tell them what I do.

However, when I am angry I ask myself... what am I scared of?

Here's the link to the poem by Emma Lazarus which is inscribed on a tablet within the pedestal upon which the Statue of Liberty stands: http://www.libertystatepark.com/emma.htm

Only 4 More Days Until Beethoven's Birthday!

Thank goodness for Charles M. Schulz (affectionately known as "Sparky" to friends and colleagues). If it weren't for him, I never would have known that Ludwig Von Beethoven was born on the sixteenth of December. 

When I was a kid, back in the sixties, one of the greatest things in the world was getting to read the latest Peanuts comic strip anthology. We were big fans of good ol' Charlie Brown in our old house on Wayburn ( as well as Walt Kelly's Pogo and Johnny Hart's B.C. ). 

Back then, I just thought it was funny to see Schroeder proudly carrying a sign which read, "Only 41 more days until Beethoven's Birthday!", followed by Snoopy who was holding his own sign that said, "Or did you already know that?" 

Three weeks worth of strips later, Schroeder's sign reads, "Only 20 more days until Beethoven's Birthday". Three panels after that, Snoopy holds up the one that says, "If you'd keep track yourself, we wouldn't have to do this!" 

But, as with much of the Peanuts strip humor, there is a message embedded not too deeply below the surface. Sparky tips his hand in a strip that has Lucy talk to the boy standing next to her: "Beethoven's Birthday is Dec. 16th, Shermy..." she says sweetly. "Have you decided what you're going to get me?" 

"Yes!" Shermy responds, curtly. "I'm not going to get you anything!" 

At that point, he marches off stage left, frowning, as Lucy and Patty (who appears suddenly from stage right) watch expressionlessly. 

Lucy then turns to Patty and asks, "What kind of a holiday is it where you don't give girls presents?" 

Just in case some of the audience is oblivious to wry subtleties and clever hints, Schulz has Schroeder walk by a couple of weeks later with another sign. This one is emblazoned with the declaration: "Only 5 more shopping days 'til Beethoven's Birthday". For a change of pace, it is Lucy who carries the equally bold follow-up sign which warns: "Stores open until nine o'clock". 

Schulz often offered various reactions to social and cultural currents through the mouths of his many different characters in, more often than not, a very humorous fashion. Being a newspaper strip cartoonist ( and a very successful one, at that! ) he was all too familiar with the workings of the commercial world. I tend to believe that this was one of his satirical jabs at our habit of attempting to generate bucks out of commemorative dates and holidays. 

Not that Schulz made any attempt to avoid commercialism and merchandising himself. But, surprisingly enough... I really don't mind too much, simply because that stuff had some real substance to it. It was charming, clever, thought-provoking, deep, delightful... and just plain fun. 

So, sometime in the next few days, I'm going to slip Vince Guaraldi's score to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in the CD player of my Jeep, and drive down to Paperback Writer Books to see if maybe I can find a Peanuts book.

I Fear No Friendly Greeting!

Okay, I see it is already starting... it's the Happy Holiday Party versus the Merry Christmas Party. Look... isn't there enough fighting in the world?
Me? I say, "Merry Christmas." I've never, ever, Ever, EVER had anyone quibble with me about it. I think that's just urban legend. I think it is just axe grinding. It is flinching before one is struck.
Think about that... in over half-a-century, no one has ever argued with me if I told them to have a Merry Christmas. Ever. 
Now, If someone... anyone... goes out of their way to wish me a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Happy Holiday, Season's Greetings, Lovely Kwanzaa, Cool Yule, Swingin' Solstice, or whatever, then I just thank them and wish them the same. If I am truly humble, it means I accept good will in whatever form it is offered... and I return it with a smile. 
I cannot imagine what I would be like if I were to feel threatened by the kind wish from another human being, regardless of its wording. 
So, Let other people wish others well in their own fashion, and you may wish them well in your fashion. I mean... who wants to start a fight over what kind of glad tidings one has been given freely? Sheesh!

Today's Remembrance.

Okay, kids... pop quiz!
What do terrorists want?
I bet it's terror... or panic.
Dread is even acceptable.
Terrorists want people to be forever nervous and afraid. It keeps those people from thinking.
Psychological reinforcement of terror is quick, cheap and easy.
Don't give in to it.
Remember the event. Remember that it caused pain, suffering, and turmoil.
But, for sanity's sake, leave the pain, suffering, and turmoil in the past where it belongs.
Do not fear. Do not dread.
Show terrorists how a free people conduct themselves... unflinchingly, with grace and dignity.
Remember the bravery and unselfishness of those who helped. Remember those who fell.
Honor their memory by going about your daily business... calm and unafraid.
This is the best way to spit in a terrorist's eye.

Learning

People, young and old, learn best when they wish to learn.
Approval systems do little to change that.
It helps if the young child becomes aware in a home where the other family members read and discourse upon matters curious, but sometimes children respond to other stimuli and get greedy for wanting to acquire knowledge and solve problems.
Unfortunately, most compulsory public educational systems have to adopt a kind of a "one size fits all" attitude to accomodate larger and larger classes.
Kids are often taught through other media that it is cool not to like school and that it is uncool to be too smart an' use beeg woords.
Between that and the official recognition and public stigmatization of various so-called learning disabilities, mental blocks, and blind spots, too many individuals fall outside the scope of optimum effectiveness where motivational strategies and tactics are concerned.
This is not an easy issue to address and, in the current state of compulsory public education, nearly impossible to fix.
Whatever it is that I have went undiagnosed as a child because I was high-energy and high-functioning (and because they had no name for it, beyond telling me... and my folks... that I was talkative, curious, couldn't sit still, creative, imaginative, and with a tremendous potential... if I could only behave and follow the rules). Chances are that my father had it, and his father before him, from what I now know.
I'm glad they couldn't put a name to it. I knew there were things wrong with me... but I slowly found ways to work around the intellectual barriers and discovered alternate methods of doing those things that seemed to come easily to others, but which I had to huff and puff to do.
I told my daughter that whatever it is that she has is similar to what I have. It is part of her. It may cause pain to realize that she cannot do some things in the same way as others may do them, but that she should not worry about putting a name to it, that it is not going away anytime soon, and that she should find the advantages and disadvantages of having it... and therefore use it to the best of her ability.
I tell her that, because it is what I must do every day.

The Other 1%

I think there is another 1%...
There is a small (but hopefully growing) subset of the population who are basically happy, and grateful for what they do have and for their friends and family... who do not spread negative press or cause/join needless conflict... who do not think that compassion means weakness or that acceptance means ignorance... who appreciate life, love, peace, and good cheer... who are more amazed and awed at the smallest, most delightful of spiritual things than they are angry and resentful at the largest, most outrageous of material things... who realize that true wealth is there for the asking, if one is willing to give up the fight against nothing.
I belong to this Other 1%.
Who's with me?

The Importance of Password Safety

Folks,

    Even if you already know this stuff, please share it with everyone you know, so that the word on passwords may be spread. Thank you.
    Okay, here I go: About passwords...

    Do any of you find passwords annoying?
    Do you create a password because it is easy to remember?
    Do you use the same password for more than one website?
    Are you kind of unclear as to what makes for a strong password, as opposed to a weak password?
    Do you grant any and all apps access to all your information, without knowing which are trustworthy and which are not?

    If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, I may have gotten (or may be getting in the future) some form of SPAM from you, that you did not intend to send... and if that is the worst thing that happens, you may consider yourself fortunate. However, far worse things can come of not understanding passwords, their strengths and their weaknesses.

    Some examples of passwords:

    Pathetically & Ridiculously Weak Password........password
    Pathetically Weak Password................................password1
    Ridiculously Weak Password...............................password1234
    Very Weak Password...........................................lee1234   
    Weak Password...................................................LeeG1106
    Flimsy Password..................................................LeeGothro2012
    Fair Password......................................................ElOg07192012d
    Strong Password..................................................733d4v1D6o7Hr0
    Really Tough Password.......................................{733}d.&o7hR0~

    Note that the last six examples are all based on my name. Though that becomes less clear, as the passwords get stronger, the Really, Really Tough Password is the one that has absolutely nothing to do with anything about me... my name, my address, my daughter's name, pet's name, my phone number, birthday, graduation date, or any other information that can be remotely tied to me.

   Have a different password for EVERY website and EVERY application that requires one... and make them Really, Really Tough.
    Your information is safer if you have to write them all down in a secret notebook put under lock and key in your house, than if you use a weak password, especially if you use it in more than one place!

    You also PROTECT YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY by doing so!
    Also (and this is the part that everyone hates), CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS PERIODICALLY. This means like more than twice a year. Once a month is better... but I confess that not even I do that.

    Lastly... if you get some spam from any of those who are in your contact list, LET THEM KNOW ABOUT IT.

    Thank you. 

The Fool

   The Fool is almost always the very first card of the Major Arcana and is either unnumbered or numbered as zero.

   In my deck (Robin Wood), the Fool is an androgynous person, colorfully dressed, about to step off a cliff while playing the flute, and is accompanied by a small dog.
   The Rider-Waite deck also shows the sun behind the fool, who is carrying his/her worldly belongings in a cloth tied to a stick and a white flower in the hand extended behind nim/her.
   From what I have learned, along with my own insight, the Fool can be interpreted on a few different levels. Naturally, it also depends on its position in a reading and what layout is used for the reading.
   Basically, though, by itself, the Fool represents an irrevocable change. In some decks, the fool is reaching for a butterfly and/or the dog (or cat) is nipping at his/her leg.
   The sun behind the figure is often interpreted as the light of reason or what is considered rational, and the firm ground which he/she is about to leave as the stable reality that can be seen and felt. The dog can be argued as either worldly creatures chasing him/her to the cliff's edge, or attempting to prevent the folly of him/her taking a leap of faith, where logic shows no solid place to stand.
   The beginning of the Fool's journey is here. It is a journey of spirit and so cannot be divined by reason or calculation alone. The beginning of such a journey often requires one to put aside those beliefs which have always been considered safe, sensible and comfortable.
   But, once such a journey has been undertaken, one cannot go back to the way things were before the first step had been taken. Now the Fool must learn to fly. But, doubt will undo the Fool. The childlike belief in magic and the innocent perspective that the universe is one of awe and wonder is what the Fool needs in order not to fall back to the Earth.
   There are more (and deeper) interpretations, including the one that the Fool's step into the unknown represents the beginning of the universe, expanding into what we know now from conditions to which the Second Law of Thermodynamics prevents it from ever regaining.
   Last but not least, the card can be dealt upside-down (called "reversed" or "inverted" in a reading). Many readers interpret that as causing the card to represent the opposite of its righted meaning.
   So, the Fool would normally be interpreted as the seeker (in this case, you) looking for fulfillment and new experience through an apparently undisciplined, unprecendented, and lighthearted throwing-of-caution-to-the-winds in anticipation of a whole new existence.
   Reversed, however, could be interpreted by some readers as simply carelessness, apathy, indecision, and/or poor judgment.

Relaxed Reflection

     Do you have a place in your home or yard where you can go to ponder the imponderables? If not, you should.
     Mine happens to be a garden tub (it's in the house, not a garden, so why it's called that, I don't know. You tell me...). It has a few plants, lots of candles and oil lamps, plus things of beauty and interest  surrounding it. It has a triple gooseneck lamp and an AM/FM Radio/ CD/cassette player a safe distance away on the vanity shelf (out of shot in this picture). I keep pleasant smelling therapy bath stuff of many varieties handy.
     When chaos and order both demand too much of my attention,  I find it to be a wise idea to sink into aromatic bubbles and water hot enough to boil my weight in lobsters while I listen to some contemplative canyon drum medicine music, old Chinese folk music, Bach fugues, or even Ravi Shankar. I confess Paganini's caprices are kinda chaotic, but I use them to counteract a day that was too tediously regimented.
     Nag Champa, balsam pine incense or heated oils help immensely, if the aroma of the bath du jour is not enough. I even have a little book-supporter, in case I wish to read... but more often than not, I just spend the time in idle contemplation, letting the mind wander a bit where it will. It's important enough to let horses do that once in a while, so why not slacken the reins and enjoy the scenery when time allows. If time does not allow, then you must make the time.
     When you get so busy that you forego personal thinking time as a mere luxury, you risk losing your perspective. You can't help anyone else if you are in disrepair.
     Run a bath and think about that for an hour.

Marxist Philosophy (Groucho)

     Groucho Marx once said, "I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."
     I really can't think of a better attitude toward life to be held in the forefront of ones mind... even though, I am reasonably certain, that not even Groucho was able to see things in that light every day of his life. In fact, everything that I've learned about the guy over the last four decades or so seems to bear out that he has lived through some very hard times and has suffered through periods of angst, worry and hand-wringing that would furrow the brows of the best of us. For details, get the book My Life With Groucho written by Arthur Marx, Groucho's son.
     So why, then, would he utter words of Zen tranquility that would more likely than not bring a smile to the face of The Dalai Lama himself?
     Heck, I can answer that. I tell everyone, starting with myself, that people, places, things and events have only a limited power over our emotional well-being... and, even then, that power is only the power that we give them, consciously or subconsciously.
     The truth (I'm sure) is that Groucho didn't always find that he could live that way. But he very much wanted to do so and he expressed this desire. I can identify with that.  Who wouldn't want to live in the serenity that is born of a calmness inside ones self that is maintained regardless of the interference of outside events?
     Okay, okay... I do read the news (mostly online, of course)... there are lots of people who don't seem to desire to live peacefully. But, I believe that there are not really too many people who actively wish to live in suffering and misery.
     The Dalai Lama has said, "Feelings of anger, bitterness, and hate are negative. If I kept those inside me they would spoil my body and my health. They are of no use." Me? I couldn't agree more.
     I think the trick is to recognize things that are likely to make us angry before they actually get around to a full-fledged dander raising. The next trick is to ameliorate ones mood preparatory to the storm by asking internally if this thing or another is worth the emotional energy of becoming angry... will it still be worth it tomorrow, or the next day, or a week from now?
     I'm pretty good not getting worked up over big things. Yet little teeny annoyances, especially several strung in a row (like the random mishaps that tend to plague me like the staccato burpings of an automatic weapon whenever I'm in a rush) tend to send my thermometer into the red zone just like that! (Didja hear me snap my fingers, just then?)
     The point is that most of us would want to live in such a way where we are able to keep ourselves reasonably calm and happy most of the time... or even all of the time. For those who do not wish this, they should. All it takes is a little more awareness and a little more effort.
     I think Groucho was sincere when he said that. He always made more people laugh than cry.
     Naturally, I welcome comments and/or questions.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

Five blind men, walking abreast of each other, had come upon an elephant.

Since they cannot see, each began to feel around to determine what it is that they had bumped into.

The first remarked, having gotten hold of the tail, "It is like a vine... or a short rope.".

The second had put his arms around a leg and said, "No... it is more like a tree.".

The third blind man had walked right into the side of the elephant. "It is much more like a wall, than a tree or a rope," he countered.

The fourth had ahold of the ear. "But, maybe it is a tree... for I feel a thing very like a broad leaf," he offered.

The fifth declared, having encountered the trunk "It is very clearly a large snake!"

Each one of the men was attempting to make sense of something far larger than themselves by examining a very small part of this very big thing with severely limited perceptions.

The mistake to avoid is reasoning that the part of which one has ahold is the only right part and that it is all there is.