Posts

Not another garden ramble. How do you let go of negativity?

Image
Not another garden ramble.....But, How do you let go of negativity? We are living in an era of hate, divisiveness, pain and terrible fear. Yes, I am talking about the United States's presidential election year. We are literally bombarded by signs of fear, hatred and racial divisiveness wherever we are, drive or walk. It's Everywhere. It is all over social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, which is now a cesspool for hatred and the spread of fear.  Let me be clear.  I do not care what your political affiliation is, who your candidate is, or candidates are, and I don't care what your beliefs are about politics. My mother raised me to believe that politics, like religion, is a personal matter, and your Vote is your Voice. Neither side is letting that be the case.  I am flustered that we are divided between red, blue and purple states. My new state is a purple state, where democrats live primarily in cities and republicans live primarily in the country. I d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Life Is Like A Garden

Image
  Life Is Like A Garden Having lived in California for most of my life, along with summers in Arizona for ten years, I am well aware that wild nature and home gardens have several things in common:  They can look great or, they can look awful, for myriad reasons. Drought, fire and insects in nature can devastate once beautiful, wild areas. Aphids, ants, neglect, excessive heat and cold can wreak havoc on patio or yard plants.  Without the proper care by government and property owners, our wild areas and our patio gardens can be beautiful or laid to waste. What's more, Life Is Like A Garden.   Let's Talk...   My spouse and I moved from San Francisco, California, about a month ago to North Carolina. The climate in the Bay Area is vastly different compared to the tropical climate in North Carolina. The temperatures in the area in which we lived rarely exceeded 75-degrees, and in my town, Daly City, also known as "Fog City" due to fog every day throughout summe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conflabs with Myself: Children and Expectations

Image
  Conflabs with Myself Most of us go through life following a certain or expected plan that had long been established for our life and growth within the familial line. What I mean is, most of us become programmed to follow a certain path. There is no wrong in that, but life throws curve balls into the mix to smash things up a bit. Mom or Pop was an athlete and little Johnny is absolutely not.  Mom or Pop is a fantastic cook and little Jenny burns toast but, little Johnny makes a mean Pasta Fagioli.  High School Jenny had the familial expectation to date a nice boy; she instead brings home nice Gina.  High School Johnny was taught that boys do not cry, they buck up and take it, but a bully sends him home in tears every day.  The same could happen with Jenny. These monkey wrenches in the life paths parents have long charted for their children can certainly cause great familial distress and discourse.  When I was in my senior year of high school, my dad wanted...
Post a Comment
Read more

To Thyself Be Divine

Image
  To Thyself Be Divine I know I did not quote Shakespeare correctly, and I meant not to.  There are days when men and women deal with ridiculous amounts of stress, stress we either bury deep until it explodes in a very wrong manner or, we carry the yolk like an ox.  It is heavy, it hurts, it is infuriating.  We all do this every day because we seem programmed to. Yoga, date night, girl's night and what have you are all ways to alleviate stress.  Good things, too.  Not too practical during this pandemic, but prior to the virus, it was.  What if you are alone and carrying this?  What do you do?   Tonight, as I have been this entire month, I have been alone, except for the kiddos whom I teach via Zoom. The stressors of the election of 2020, politics and people's behaviors about it, finances, health, love and more have been building on my shoulders like sedimentary rock layers.  Scientifically in nature, through heat and pressure over m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disappointment

Image
  Disappointment The Mother of all Frustration "Don't ever shoot down anyone's dreams or goals.  Just because it potentially may be a long while to achieve those dreams and goals doesn't mean they're forever unattainable.  It's just a matter of YET."     Martin Phillips  I wrote that on Twitter and Facebook this last Friday, October 23rd. Something I'd really wanted to happen was crushed and my heart sunk seemingly to the bottom of the sea with the heaviest of chains around it. My sometimes mature brain knew it was only a matter of Yet, I will have the weekend I have been wanting, just not Yet. The mystery part of my brain felt like the Titanic sinking.  This kinda became the theme of this weekend.  That sinking of my heart like the Titanic brought back memories.........   Back in 1990, maybe a year or two before or after, my wife and our neighbors went to a gorgeous plantation style bed and breakfast inn located in wine country, Sonoma, Mari...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fight or Fight

Image
  Welcome to the eternal mystery that is.....Me I am full of stories that will surprise you, shock you, make you laugh until your tummy hurts, maybe make you ill, but all-in-all, they will make you want to hug everyone you love and tell them just that, that you love them. See, life is never truly easy, not for anyone. Life's challenges rank from annoying to a real bitch. A former boss once said:  "Life can be easy, life can be difficult.  It is how you adjust that makes the difference."  Not sure who said that, as my boss explained that it was a quote he found somewhere, but I think it is true.   There are times when you are just cruising through life, all is good, you feel good, you have a good attitude, the job is good, personal life is awesome, and then "Babayuuuum!!!"   You find yourself in the ER and then the Med floor with congestive heart failure. Yep. That is me in all my glory.  I did not quite tell the truth above.  Not about m...
Post a Comment
Read more