The movies were about boldly and with new eyes looking at change and how people have to wrestle with new information which transports their belief systems. One was the historic depiction of the struggle to know what is the right action and to act and change the whole belief system of a society.  The next was an artist taking film  though various mediums to show how the human story is such a minimalistic part of the change process; yet it flows within the spectrum of all of life in service and in pursuit of change. One could experience the transportation through the visual, or musical, or human story of the artist’s rendering.

The third story transformed one into the realm of how scary life can be; one entered a “ghost story” and felt the need to run away.  The film maker did not present this old tale as a muckraking adventure but as a compilation of all the pieces of a life changed by disaster thus allowing the human spirit to emerge and old beliefs to be deleted.

Those thoughts and words are tumbling through my being as I fly away to another place and present events.  I have come to see 100 Graduate students being honored for their distinguished work and service.  There are 36,000 students attending this University and these few are being recognized for their outstanding efforts in bringing about knowledge and change to their communities.  They are being recognized for their efforts, thoughts, struggles and service and yet they are being asked to VOTE and be thankful for their opportunity, to demonstrate gratitude by keeping higher education opportunities open to this society; to show the world that we know education is the key to a successful evolution and for continued growth and striving for our ideals.

80,000 students were turned away for lack of funding.

Education is in the realm of the public it is not limited for the privileged, the wealthy, and the corporate few.

I have to take a walk to allow my thinking to coalesce and to integrate.  I explore another neighborhood by taking a train and a bus and navigating up and down, through the park, and asking directions, until I discover myself to be at the heart of a foment of change in the 1960s.  Here I stand, and it seems plain and ordinary, with vintage clothing stores and shops that are only made fresh by the bloom of the planter boxes, the new vegetables displayed at the market, and the fresh paint and solar panels on the Victorian Ladies of the side streets.

We are asked to take pictures of other visitors exploring this corner of change and struggle – that moment of time that transformed.

I am worn out from all the walking and only regain my energy with applauding for each recipient’s efforts recited and the moment their stick their necks out to receive the Hood.  Were these wonderful people changed by their experience were they changed enough to transform their corner of our globe, will this moment transform me and will I be grateful?

Will I be left hoping others will transport me?

How’s your week going?  Are you feeling the change, are you contemplating your transformations?  How have you been transported?

If you purchase anything from Amazon  or Powell’s from this site, I will receive a few beans in my bucket.  Thank you.

Lots of good book reviews listed under Recommended Reading Tab – click on over and check it out.

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Transportation

Ruth M Hamilton

I love to give gifts and I pride myself in giving gifts that truly match up to the person to whom they are intended. The specific event is not so important, it is the thought and intention which matter the most.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in the middle of May in the USA.  My older brother holds the record for giving the best gift to our Mother by being born male on Mother’s Day.  He was the first grandchild added to my Mother’s family tree and she was so proud to hold that honor.  The two daughters had to work very hard for this event and we never quite measured up.

My Mother was very proud of all of her children and extremely equal with her attentions.  She taught us all that we must work very hard to achieve anything in life, how to be good citizens and thoughtful people.   She wanted my brother to be an elementary school teacher, my sister to be a special education teacher and she thought maybe I could become a secretary because I was so organized.  My brother became a policeman, my sister a reading specialist and me, well (sigh) I write a blog or three.

My siblings had a hard time learning to read and I had dyscalcula (she just thought it was being lazy on my part); my siblings took on learning how to be great at what they did and to show her how wonderful they were.  My Mother hoped we would win scholarships to college and get awards for our efforts.  Rather she became the most requested 1st grade teacher in the district, not because she was a great entertainer, but because the children who left her classroom at the end of the year had a strong foundation to go forward and they felt good about school; had a sense of accomplishment.  She earned many a reward from the parents of her students and so many of her students attended her Memorial Service 5 years ago.

My brother did win the Volunteer of the year award before Mother died and she was so proud.

She was so proud of my sister for her frugality and talent with earning and investing money, at one time she thought she should have encouraged her to be an accountant, numbers were her forte’, instead of a reading teacher, which was so difficult.  Mother was proud of how hard she worked and her perseverance.  She was proud of how carefully my sister followed in her example and how disciplined they both were.

My Mother felt she had taken care of me by getting me to marry a man who would have a stable income and who she liked so very much and he would always make sure I had the basic necessities of life.  As a team, we brought her home after she fractured her spine and I took care of her 24/7 – right to the end.  I heard her confessions and there were no real regrets and I valued her clear global voice.

Her last Mother’s Day, she told me that I was an amazing mother – loving, guiding, kind, and creative – and she forgave me for sometimes yelling my anger; she apologized for being so critical of me at the time it had seemed appropriate.

Now is time for the best Mother’s Day gift of all – her grandchildren are doing her proud.  Those awards are coming this year – IT Girl has just won the highest honor for her master’s thesis at San Francisco State University and was nominated for another award for writing excellence.  Librarian Girl just had a week of 32 hugs from her students as she completes her first year of full time teaching.  Entrepreneurial Girl has been promoted in her position 2 times this year into management with her own car.  Dancing Girl will graduate from Law School this Mother’s Day.  Alaska Girl has her driver’s license and is moving towards high school graduation with honors.  First born Grandson, and oldest of the crew, is off teaching math and reading for the Navy having to leave his wife and children at home for a long period of time.

The perfect Mother’s Day gift is coming true and I think she knows – I’m sure of it.

Have you ever given the perfect gift?  Was someone proud of you?  Did you receive a great award for your talents?

Happy Mother’s Day !

If you purchase anything from this site from Amazon or Powell’s, I will receive a few beans in my bucket

CONGRATULATIONS
TO Vered DeLeeuw  for winning the book FOODTRIENTS and the APRON from the author Grace O and TLC online book tours.

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

The day started with a phone call from an unknown source and with the right area code and city name for where one of my daughter’s resides.  My first thought was that maybe it was a medical center or police and there had been an accident.  I answered the phone.  It was a recording about credit card services.  I hung up and became angry at myself for thinking the worst and being gullible to a marketing call.  I will say that both my business and my personal phone numbers are on the DO NOT CALL LIST and I changed phone companies last autumn because my carrier would not honor my request. I still get about a dozen calls per week from marketers.  I have blocked several calls that I recognize and just do not answer many of the unknowns.

Then came gullible yesterday.   I was in the middle of listening to WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME! on NPR.  I love to laugh and I can knit socks during this show each week and exercise my hands.  I was listening on my cellphone.

I was busy with 4 needles at the most complicated section, and the phone rang and cut out the program.   I reached over suspending yarn in my free fingers and complicating the yarn to answer the phone?  It was a strange number and I am not sure why?

The heavy accented male voice on the line told me that I was being offered a rescue service which was tracking my computer which was full of viruses and infections.  The Mother Board was a mess.   I responded, by saying that my computer is fine and I am on the “do not call list” so remove me from their list and do not call again.  I then hung up.

The phone rang again, and I answered to put this number on the blocked list.  On the other end was the same fellow now yelling at me because I hung up on him; he is saying he is trying to save my computer.   I was neither kind nor compassionate; I yelled right back at him, “YOU SIR Are a SCAMMER!   DO Not CALL ME EVER AGAIN!

The phone rang in from that number 6 more times.   I have now missed 11 minutes of my program and I am so angry.   I am angry for the folks who do not know this is a scam and that it puts a tracking system which can steal credit card numbers from you.  I am so angry that this man is yelling at me and telling me he is a Good Guy trying to help me.

I calm myself down, rip out a row of knitting because I cannot remember where I am and start over.  I also realize that I can download the program onto the phone and still hear the show.   I have something I can do to remedy.   I feel better.  I am frustrated that I cannot tell the world and save others from this scam and potential travesty.

Deep breath in and deep breath out.

Later in the day another gullible experience occurs, though this time I laugh at myself for being foolish.  We go to the grocery store where they are playing a game with lots of prizes.  I have a game board and pieces to attach come at the cash register.  I am hoping to win one of the 4 cars, because my Librarian Girl needs a car, or the mortgage payoff to allow my partner to retire before age 72.   I have been so hopeful and dutiful at playing the pieces.

The shopper ahead of me purchased $69 (US) worth of groceries.  I notice he has no fruit or veggies going into the bags and he has not brought his own bags.  He received 32 stickers for his game board. I think I am going to get lots and lots of stickers because I am having my book group for dinner and I have purchase enough food for a dinner for 12, many items I normally would not purchase.  Yep!  I have spent $150 (US) and they are all food items – only the 2 bottles of wine are taxed.   I receive 1 sticker game piece.

It is at this very moment, I realize one must purchase the specific products which are part of the game.  Organic veggies, fruit, and the other items I normally purchase from this store are not playing the game.   My optimism just slides down to my shoes and I felt foolish and gullible.

Then I laughed and laughed and laughed at myself!  Forgiveness achieved.

Have you ever had a telemarketer or scammer make you feel gullible?  Does your hope sometimes blind your perspective?  Are you willing to play the game?
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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Gullible

Conversation, good solid conversation, real conversation, deep thinking conversation, historic conversation, and fresh and invigorating interpretation was just what I needed this past weekend. I set out to achieve just that at the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Church of Christ (PNW-UCC) annual meeting in Pasco, Washington.  I was content and satisfied by the conversations I experienced.

Clergy in the UCC church are highly trained to listen, interpret, read, research and are able to communicate well in a variety of arenas.  These individuals are keenly aware of the culture, news, politics, and how people interact and need to understand situations and events in order to live their lives fully and participate in the world as good stewards, leaders and parents.  There is a great deal of attention paid to teaching the youth how to be in conversation, interpret and keep thinking and learning.    There is a curiosity and a freedom to question.  I watched an 8 year process towards change in governance being discussed and challenged right up to the call for the vote.  People truly felt heard and respected.  There was no yelling or shouting.  There were no age restrictions or gender bias.  There was a respectful honoring – lots of contemplation and debate.  I was planning on voting one direction and after the discussion and good night of sleep, I changed my mind.  It was satisfying.

One thing I cherished in the weekend, that there were no “sound bites” except in the humor of the speeches and lectures, which were extremely fun, funny and informative.  It was wonderful to hear folks clarifying what they heard so they could respond to the idea shared and move the conversation in many directions.  It was savory to witness true heart/head and head/heart connections being made.

Now the group was not perfect, no way! Lots of the young folks did not even speak to the elders.  Several groups came together and did not connect with others.  Several people boldly stated that they did not receive an answer to their question even when it was restated.  That conversation went on past my bedtime, and I was heartened to see it had created new friend bonds in the morning, when they had reached a point of understanding that enabled them to disagree and to agree upon their disagreement.

I was hungry for the conversation and the depth.

In so many of my daily interactions, I am being told, “Oh I never discuss religion or politics,”  “I always keep the conversation positive”; “I don’t know”.   These statements assume that discussion or discussing change is negative, religious or political.  How does one improve their society without knowing that there is something different that could be accomplished? Without learning the new?

We know that the brain does not make a decision or a change without new research and having conversations about it.   I have written about how we make decisions and change several times.  If you are just following orders or directions of suggestions and ideas of others – you are just memorizing another path and not choosing; there is no dialogue or integrating of concepts.

I was hungry to have a meaningful, heartfelt conversation.

I have returned home satisfied and fulfilled.

When was the last time you had a heart to heart, mind to mind satisfying conversation?  Do you hunger for these?  Some people are happy on a restricted diet, I know I am weary of conversation these days, I need to establish trust, how about you?

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Satisfying Conversation

In order to comply with my new health insurance policy, I must have certain tests every year.  If I do not comply between now and age 65 I will be dropped from my policy and thus not be eligible for Medicare at age 65.  (I will still need to purchase a supplemental policy to go along with Medicare and those are not inexpensive either.)

I personally pay $524.00 (US) a month for a major medical policy with a $3,000.00 deductible which requires me to co-pay for each visit.  I must see my Physician every year at least one time and I must have a mammogram every year.   I pay full price for these services until I have covered the deductible.

There is no coverage for any alternative medical treatment, massage therapy or herbal supplements.

It has taken me 3 months to plan and take care of the first requirements for 2012.  I have met and seen my Doctor, had lab work completed, and a mammogram.

Walking into the Doctor’s office cost me $600.00
Getting the lab work completed was $662.00 (My shopping paid off – see below)
And the Mammogram was $366.46

Who can afford all this?   Well not many people can find $1,500.00 and there is a tendency for some to just suffer and save the whole deductible for the Emergency Room.

I instead decided to go shopping.   I have no choice over the Physicians approved for my policy, so I interviewed several from the approved listed for my $600 and found a nice young woman who was highly recommended and willing to work with me.

Now I went shopping for Mammograms.  There are only 2 imaging centers here and they both cost the same.  One makes appointments; the other is a drop in center.   The next closest center charged the same price but I would have needed to add gas money into the equation making this option too expensive.  I chose the place with the appointments and did not have to sit and wait.   (This is new because of the Affordable Health Care Act – Insurance companies cannot randomly set the price for required Mammograms any more)

The really big SHOPPING event was center stage.   I started interviewing Labs to get estimates on the 3 lab tests that I needed to have.  One group charged over $1,000 for one of the tests, the Hospital charged $600 for the same test, an independent Lab group charged $288.00, and the third independent lab group charged $60.00.   For the last 2 labs listed, I did all the paperwork.

I chose the last lab.   Not because it was the cheapest, but because I found out all the labs use the same facility to process the actual tests and produce the results.  Because if I prepaid through my Naturopathic Physician all three of my tests came to a total of $131.00 and she will mail the results to my new Provider Doctor.

Now I will start the same process for getting the cyst removed off my spine. Remember it is $600.00 just to walk into the Doctor’s office.  This last shopping experience took me 3 months to work out all the details.   But it is good training as my partner is studying the Medicare plans.  I can see clearly how they work and how much expense and energy is going to be needed to maintain our health.  It is all good and good practice.

I am willing to be aware.   One cannot just assume that it is going to work like company or government policies have worked in the past.  I have met 3 people who are trying to get back into the work force just this week, because they are overwhelmed by the cost and time this kind of healthcare is taking and none of them have severe health problems.  (Medicare does not cover alternative treatments at all)

As Comedian Jack Benny is quoted,“GROWING OLD IS NOT FOR SISSIES!”

Do you keep a copy of your own health records?  Are you aware of all the steps necessary and all the places to look to get the best services?   Is the Government in your State working for you or against you? When you do not feel well, who will assist you with this kind of shopping?

Thank you for sharing this article by using the SHARE BUTTONS

If you purchase anything from Amazon or Powell’s from this site I will receive a few beans in my bucket.

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Shopping with Awareness

I am very enthusiastic about this book.  THE ART OF THE SALE is about change and success and I am always enthusiastic about those topics.   I picked up this book with the first opportunity that presented itself because I thought it was going to be a difficult read and I had lots of tasks to complete with so much company arriving at my house, I wanted guaranteed focused time.   I could hardly put the book down, it was a great read and so well written.

Mr. Broughton has traveled the globe interviewing the very top salesmen and women.  He believes that we are all sales people and that we all need to be sales people, because this is the basic way we connect to others in our world and it is how we get our needs met.  Here he tells the stories of how these individuals developed their skills and sharpened their talents.  It is fascinating.

At first I thought I should just recommend this book to bloggers and writers, because I think the stories and tools are such valuable lessons, then I slept on that idea and think this book is ideal for everyone.

“Sales is nothing more than the purely human ordeal of rejection and acceptance”

I have taken 2 marketing classes this past year and learned a great deal.  I am still not able to implement good marketing strategies into job interviews or marketing my blogs.   It is not that I do not believe in myself or my words, but marketing is big, big, big picture work; the salesman or saleswoman does the one on one work of promotion.  This is the ART OF THE CLOSE.    After reading this book, I realize that I have lots of knowledge about marketing, I am not fast enough in this environment, and to be truly successful at this business I will need to hire someone and I still have to learn how to be a good sales person because I am not a natural.

My youngest child is a natural and, as she says, #1.  I over talk myself and the customer out of the sale.  I do not know when to stop.  I try to convince folks.   I am not afraid of rejection and I can use it well to learn and grow, but I have to be too “honest” about what I am trying to sell.   I am not a good trickster or promiser and since I am working on selling “change” and releasing “fear”, I have chosen a very difficult market to reach.  I also do not have enough WANTS.   I have to teach my classes at University for a couple of years before I have a waiting list; folks think they know how to think and think ethically because they are not being arrested and the noise in their brains is running all the time.

RESILIENCE

“…being committed to finding a meaningful purpose in life, the belief that one can influence one’s surroundings and the outcome of events, and the belief that one can learn and grow from both positive and negative life experiences.”
“The folks with the most ‘no s’ made the most money.”
“ …this acceptance of rejection and failure as essential to building the muscle necessary for eventual success.”

The stories are about real people and how they succeeded at selling whether it was at street fairs, door to door, on a showroom floor, through big industries such as IBM, and Boeing right through to how to do Internet sales.   It takes a salesman or a saleswoman to close the deal that the marketing folks have set the stage for – you can only close if you meet the NEED of the other.

Martin Shanker asked the author during his interview this question: “What do you most want for your children? The answer, he told me [Broughton] after I fumbled to find my own, was this: the ability to meet their own needs.” “We want our children not merely to be self-sufficient, but to be able to meet the needs any human has in order to live a fulfilling life.”

Selling is about understanding and using your own needs and emotions to find fulfillment.

This book is very valuable information sharing.   Selling inspires thinking skills and faith, when one stops being told what to believe (formulas) and what to say and can truly think and act .   The Art Of The Sale  is what we will need when we give up playing games and being entertained, it is about the art of living life.

I am grateful for TLC online book tours and The Penguin Press for sharing this book with me – It was eye opening and full of great information.

If you order anything from Amazon (including Kindle) or Powell’s or from this site, I will receive a few beans in my bucket.

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

The Art Of The Sale: Learning From the Masters About the Business of Life ~Philip Delves Broughton

My eyes, hands, nose and ears have all reached out to select this lovely green reward.  As the shoots are just venturing forth from garden beds in my world, I know this gem has traveled far to catch all my senses.

I have brought it home just for me and now as sunshine burns back the fog and mist of morning walk, I pick up my treasure and begin the task of preparation.  Two good thumps to the side of the sink and the leaves relax to allow the water to cleanse.   Thick stem cut away and set aside for potassium broth. Swift, sharp blade to the top edge and then a slice to create the halves; it is wounded.

Red handled veggie scissors snip the prickly tips and remind me of my mother’s hands at work by the sink; it is a memory.    Small spoon digs into the silky choke to separate and pare away.

Steamer is set into the pot and pure water filled to the level and each half is carefully laid down upon the form.   To boil and then to simmer, and the hands are washed and cutaways are put into the compost for the work ahead.  My fingers are blackened and will remain so for most   of this day; reminder.

A bowl of raspberries and red, red juice are set beside my plate of green.  I do not mind the heat, rather I draw the first leaf slowly across my teeth and savor the gentle offering; there are 42 leaves before the heart, each one granted a minute on its own.

Nothing interferes with the exaltation and pure taste of what has transpired.

The hour has past, dishes are done and steam water is greenish delight in freezer for stock; I push myself back to the work and the list knowing full well that this was enough.

Do you focus on every bite when you eat?  Is it like a gift or a meditation/prayer?  When was the last time/instance you were certain it was enough?

Happy Easter and Passover

If you purchase anything from Amazon or Powell’s from the site I will receive a few beans in my bucket  – or maybe artichokes?

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

TASTE

Oh there are numerous people fighting on the front lines to make sure there are parades for returning soldiers and displays about getting jobs, so I would say there is a caring element in every segment of our society.  If I open my eyes wide, I have no trouble finding dedicated individuals who are working to make this world or a community a better place to live.  Education is the key.

For the noisiest segment of our society currently money and lots of it is doing most of the talking.  We are appalled when someone steps over the line like the CEO of BP over the oil leak in the gulf and Limbaugh in his disgusting bullying.  Still those folks are making lots of money, even if they must disappear for a time.

So I turned on my curiosity switches and started studying and I have been at this endeavor for over a month now focused on what is being covered up by the public noise against issues of health care.

I thought I would find information such as the following:

• -    The Massachusetts Health Care Plan is 5 years old
• -    98% of the residents are insured now   99.8% of the children are insured
• -    Only 94% of the children were covered 5 years ago
• -    70% of adults had health insurance before the mandates 97% currently
• -    There was a 1% increase in the State’s budget the first year, now it is leveled out
• -    88% of the insurance premium payments are now actually spent on health care
• -    88% of the Doctors are recording an improvement in quality of care
• -    The Emergency Rooms of hospitals are not overwhelmed with patients coming there rather than to their physicians – there is a consistent level of patients.
• -     After 5 years 2 out of 3 adults truly like their health care program and would not want to give it up.

In a very recent Huffington Post Poll of 696 people who had to purchase the mandatory insurance in Massachusetts 84% were satisfied with their coverage.
31% had to try several times to find a doctor to take their insurance and 23% had been turned down by Doctors not taking new patients.

The people who do not like the Massachusetts Health Care Plan are the Insurance providers, and the rhetorical pundits; the ignorant.  Why is the candidate who backed this program denying it now?  He does not even care about people without money.

So how does women’s health care come into this equation and the money trail?  It is women who are driving the need for health care in this country.  Quality health care, good clean food, and strong public education builds a healthy society.  It is what women want for their children and families and ultimately for themselves.

Right now in this point and time so many folks are spending huge amounts of time being entertained by the media and the Internet.  Our children get about 7.5 hours of screen time a day.  People are watching games but not outside growing their food or throwing around a ball.
There are lots of voices on the media and Internet reminding us of this, but they tend to be quieter voices – logical, teaching, and calm – not so dramatic and definitely not as fear inducing.

– WOMEN.  A mind boggling amount of money is being spent to distract women right now, and one political group is seeing an opportunity to gain control and take “moral” stances. How wonderful was the 16th century for women?

The insurance industry is now posting what they have distributed and to whom in the public arena – but that is only the surface, much of the funding is hidden in deep pathways.

Oh but Patricia!  Really I already know these things!

But this is really not the discovery that I made that truly amazed me.  What truly amazed me is that the voters are in burn out.  That’s right they are suffering from a PTSD style of over fear, over negative, over stimulated, over- taken financially until they are NUMB with fear; they are ill from avoidance.  The voters have been lied to and marketed to the extreme that they are NUMB and that is just where the money wants to be.  And that is exactly where the trend makers want the voters to be.

Women are always on the front line of recovery and healing – doing the work.  We need to start again – now.

The truly amazing thing is that in my first book review THE SHOCK DOCTRINE, I was at the same place I am now.   If 1 million plastic shopping bags leave USA grocery stores every hour of every day and the word has been out about the plastic bag island in the ocean, and places are charging for bags and the education is there, why do women just chuckle and say, “Oh I always forget my bags.”   I am no longer amused.

I hope you will share this post many times.  I cannot even begin to tell you all the incredible things I discovered in my research, and I am going to put on my work boots and get back into my community and work at educating and relieving fear to the best of my ability.

How do you counter balance fear?

If you purchase anything from this site from Amazon or Powell’s   I will receive a few beans in my bucket.  Thank you

Related Reading:
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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Women Wars?

I just want to say a few things today – keep it simple.  My life is too complex right now and I am preparing my income taxes, which are very difficult for me to do; I must do them right.

Last night I had a dream that reoccurred numerous times.  I was meticulously folding colored paper into a mask of a horse face.  The dream was full of my hands working and the stunning beauty that the paper was taking on in forming the different sections of the face.  The horse was a reddish brown color with a very dark brown, almost black, mane and there was a small white oval shape between the eyes and the darkening section of the mussel.

I was amazed at how the curve of the nostrils blended well as I tried and then discovered how to fold the paper to get the visual results I wanted.

My mask was deemed a masterpiece and found to be a highly prized sculpture – original and yet soft.

IT Girl and one of my friends are both exquisite at paper folding art.  My neighbor did a whole manger scene for her church one Christmas that just took your breath away.  IT Girl uses more color, but can make the paper perform in creative ways.   Library Girl can also do some interesting things with paper, and we are all surprised by her gift wrapping creations.

I have thought of this dream all day and decided it was important that I remembered it so vividly.  I think this is because I am quitting a medication that has ceased working for me and it is taking time to leave my system.  Then I thought I should look up the symbolism of a horse in my book:

“A horse symbolizes strength, power, endurance, majesty, and virility.  Riding a horse suggests one is in a powerful position.”

I started to think about horses in terms of how I am going to set goals for this next third of my life.  Since my original bucket list is either completed or cast off right now I seem to be in a space of opportunity to create – something of strength, power, endurance, and majesty – alive.   But what should I choose to do?

I vacuumed the whole house on this thought –

As I write this now, I am thinking the paper is simple and my hands are knowledgeable, whatever I decide it will endure majestically…

What do you think I should do and add to my bucket list?
Do you interpret the symbolism and dream in a different way?
Looking forward to your ideas and comments.  Thank you.

If you purchase anything from Amazon  or Powell’s   from this site, I will receive a few beans in my bucket.

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Walter’s Muse
Unfinished Business

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Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

If Wishes Were Horses

Bullying has been on my mind a lot lately, so I have been involved with a number of Internet searches on the subject.   I found that KUOW the radio station was going to run an hour long program done by Teens on being Bullied.   It was an outstanding hour spent listening and taking notes.

So who are these bullies?

Nearly everyone has experienced a time of being bullied or has been a bully over an idea.  Yep, just about everyone has experienced both sides.   Sometimes we bully when we do not mean to but rather an emotion runs away with us.  Most teen bullies do not know any better, and usually the bullying begins at home and it is a way that their family interacts.

Bullying is an enculturation error by society.   It is sometimes promoted in a society, such as on sitcoms and in teasing and by looking at the flow of money.

Bullies usually are feeling how they want to make you feel:
-    Insecure
-    Bullied themselves
-    Transferring own emotions onto the victim
-    Learned behavior from Media, School and HOME
-    Sign of fear
-    Self hatred
-    Wanting to feel powerful

The teens are trying to help other teens understand and I am proud to say that a number of suicide attempts by victims have been thwarted because teens are taking the lead – especially on social media sites monitoring and setting up interference with the  interaction.   TEENS are saying,  “That is not an appropriate thing to say/to do  to someone else.”   They are teaching the words that need to happen and they are not just standing around.   They are Naming the Problem and tracking it down quickly.

Parents think teens just have to endure this and toughen up.  If they really want to accomplish those things, they need to find another teen that is willing to stand up face to face and stop the barrage at the moment it is happening; they need to fund the classes on EMPATHY that the students need.

The ROLE OF THE BYSTANDER is the most crucial role in stopping this behavior.

The program on bullying was excellent and I learned a great deal.   The reason that I was researching bullying was that I am a bystander watching the Bullies make such huge amounts of money and be rewarded for their inappropriate behavior and language.    In 2008, I recommended that as bystanders we take on the Banking Institutions by Move your Money .  The BIG BANKS have become the Devil to so many individuals and are being left unchecked: large numbers of people are suffering and being victimized.

Whole Denominations are asking their membership to MOVE their MONEY now because of the banks human rights violations, illegal use of funds and investments, and Bullying behavior over housing issues.

This bystander repeats again MOVE YOUR MONEY and here are the three biggest bullies in this country  BANK OF AMERICA, CHASE, and WELLS FARGO.   I am sure you can name a few more.  You are feeding the problem by leaving your money there.

Just say NO to the Party of NO, be like Senator OLYMPIA SNOW and tell it like it is.  We elect “you” to office, not to take money from all the PACs and lobbies, we elect you to represent us the people and to be a voice for us and get the work done that we pay you for.   YOU are bullies and your behavior is inappropriate and noisy and it is creating victims and suffering that you do not care about. “ You” are the ones who are insecure and hurting and your media representatives have become a Bullying pulpit.

But what are we teaching our young, our communities when a Bully like Rush Limbaugh is rewarded daily for being a bully on the air.  He is rewarded with Millions of dollars of advertizing and a huge audience.   He is an aggressive cyber bully.

Stop listening to these media bullies and purchasing products from their advertisers, be a great bystander.

Teens are telling their peers and friends that he is just that, because the adults in our society are getting their jollies off imitation.  If children are not taught appropriate behavior by their parents then the teens are stepping in and saying, “We do not want this Bullying Kind of Society.”

The bystander should not be whipping folks into a frenzy by bullying.   I think the correction on Facebook and Twitter needs to be “If you cannot say anything encouraging or supportive, then do not say anything at all”   We can all find ways to run down another person and attack them – that is the way of the ignorant and the unaware – it is the way of the bully.  CYBER BULLING is Rampant.

Have you had to name language as being “bullying”?  Could you follow the example of the teens who are boldly letting others know that the bullying is inappropriate behavior and language?  They are teaching empathy?  Do you?

Please use the share button with this post, I would like to share my thoughts loudly and appropriately and I could use your assistance.  Thank you

Related Reading:
 Move you Money
Agenda For a New Economy
Leaving With Rake
Situations Matter
On Facebook – Public Radio Exchange
Generation.prx.org

Post from: www.patriciaswisdom.com

Bulling