30 April 2022 The Flow

April 30, 2022April 30, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, space, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

This morning as I’m still having back pain my thoughts turned to that special state you can get into where your body, time and existence are all synchronized….nothing hurts, there is no clock and your just completely absorbed in doing something what pleases every part of you. They call it the flow state:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-flow-2794768

What Is Flow?

Flow is a state of mind in which a person becomes fully immersed in an activity. Positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes flow as a state of complete immersion in an activity. Being immersed can be defined as a state of focus in which a person is completely absorbed and engrossed in their work.

While in this mental flow state, people are highly involved and focused on what they are doing.

“The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost,” Csíkszentmihályi said in an interview with Wired magazine.1

————————

I find lately that I’m able to get into this state when I’m out exploring with Link and noticing the world around me. Taking pictures with my phone. What comes to mind again is Kairos time – for a moment operating in God’s time. I’m a car going on the best Sunday drives ever. I’m learning to cherish those moments when it feels like God makes the clock and pain disappear. Last night I found this song playing in my head again and so I decided to listen to it. I got goose bumps all over me. What a perfect song to play walking in the garden:

https://youtu.be/CvFH_6DNRCY – Claude Debussy – Clair De Lune

Each morning when I open my eyes is another day to be more in love with the one who made me.

This isn’t the greatest picture as cell phone cameras do have limits but I wanted to take a moment with this young tree as it begins to wake up.

My neighbors up the street have been working so hard and this is some fruits of their labors. I think they did a great job!

Do you remember the picture I took of Smokey all pooped out?! Link is tired but still smiles!

I just love seeing what God is doing with the canvas of sky – ever changing as he stands still

These tulips keep catching my eye. The owner of the yard has been doing some digging but these beauties remain in the seeming chaos around them.

Can’t you almost hear Clair De Lune standing here?

There is such glory in seeing a tree in the sunlight

https://youtu.be/6IL2dAm3ldk – Legend Music Video (Loved by the Sun by Tangerine Dream)

Thinking of actor Chadwick AAron Boseman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman today after finding this song last night, I had never heard it before:

https://youtu.be/XR7Ev14vUh8 – The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar Pray For Me

The lyrics to this song speak of generations coming up behind me. Where is God in all this chaos every day? Do all I have is myself? From my own experience I know God is everywhere in my life but I can understand how young people can lose hope – think they have to get through all by themselves. This song also speaks of the fight Chadwick put up with his battle with colon cancer. Such a light extinguished way too soon:

I’m always ready for a war again (a war again)
Go down that road again (that road again)
It’s all the same (it’s all the same)
I’m always ready to take a life again
You know I’ll ride again
It’s all the same (ooh, ooh, ooh)

Tell me who’s gon’ save me from myself
When this life is all I know
Tell me who’s gon’ save me from this hell
Without you, I’m all alone

Who gon’ pray for me? (Who gon’ pray for me?)
Take my pain for me? (Take my pain for me?)
Save my soul for me? (Save my soul for me?)
‘Cause I’m alone, you see (I’m alone, you see)
If I’m gon’ die for you (if I’m gon’ die for you )
If I’m gon’ kill for you (if I’m gon’ kill for you)
Then I’ll spill this blood for you, hey

I fight the world, I fight you, I fight myself
I fight God, just tell me how many burdens left
I fight pain and hurricanes, today I wept
I’m tryna fight back tears, flood on my doorsteps
Life a livin’ hell, puddles of blood in the streets
Shooters on top of the building, government aid ain’t relief
Earthquake, the body drop, the ground breaks
The poor run with smoke lungs and Scarface
Who need a hero? (Hero)
You need a hero, look in the mirror, there go your hero
Who on the front lines at ground zero? (Hero)
My heart don’t skip a beat, even when hard times bumps the needle
Mass destruction and mass corruption
The souls are sufferin’ men
Clutchin’ on deaf ears again, rapture is comin’
It’s all prophecy and if I gotta be sacrificed for the greater good
Then that’s what it gotta be

Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey

Just in case my faith go
I live by my own law
I live by my own law
I live by my own
Just in case my faith go
I live by my own law
I live by my own law
I live by my own

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Abel Tesfaye / Adam King Feeney / Kendrick Lamar / Martin McKinney

Pray for Me lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

20 April 2022 The Garden We Get To Live In

April 20, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? I’m doing ok. Feeling grateful for the little rains we’ve been getting. What is amazing is when I go for walks with Link. Everywhere my eyes rest on beauty. This is what you get to experience getting out walking where you live.

Yesterday I found myself thinking that I’m living in a garden – God’s garden. So many different plants, flowers, trees, birds, animals and insects…..everywhere you look life is happening! Now there are the canals with water that sparkle in the sun. Yesterday Link and I just stood and listened to the rushing waters. The more I focus on the wonders of God’s creation, the more I see! Beyond the buildings, moving vehicles and pavement- the flurry of our daily lives – there is evidence of an amazing God all around us. Look and see!

Psalm 8:3-6New International Version

³When I consider your heavens,^(A)
    the work of your fingers,^(B)
the moon and the stars,^(C)
    which you have set in place,
⁴what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?^[a]^(D)

⁵You have made them^[b] a little lower than the angels^[c]^(E)
and crowned them^[d] with glory and honor.^(F)
⁶You made them rulers^(G) over the works of your hands;^(H)
you put everything under their^[e] feet:^(I)

Pictures from yesterday:

I’m like a bee when I go by this tree lol

“You can learn a lot from us dogs. Slow down, take a nap if your tired and stay in the “now” – quit worrying so much. You are eruff!”

Happiness is mine today. It’s as close as the expression of my gratitude. – A Woman’s Spirit

Whenever I hear this song I think of standing in my driveway in base housing in Florida. The moon was full and I was waiting to be with who would become my husband. He introduced me to the voice of Chris:

https://youtu.be/tLrz0vMOhU4. – Audioslave The Last Remaining Light

Roll me on your frozen fields
Break my bones to watch them heal
Drown me in your thirsty veins
Where I’ll watch and I’ll wait
And pray for the rain

Curl like smoke and breath again
Down your throat inside your ribs
Through your spine in every nerve
Where I watch and I wait and yield to the hurt

And if you don’t believe
The sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

Seven moons and seven suns
Heaven waits for those who run
Down your winter and
Underneath your waves
Where you watch and you wait
And pray for the day

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light

And if you don’t believe the sun will rise
Stand alone and greet the coming night
In the last remaining light
Light
Light
Light

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brad Wilk / Chris Cornell / Timothy Commerford / Tom Morello

The Last Remaining Light lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Wixen Music Publishing

19 April 2022 Surprises on Walks

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, books, Food, Health, Home, Leading Life by Example, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing? I didn’t do a video for Twitch again today. It’s been about a week. I just haven’t felt up to it. It’s been hard to convince myself to get out of bed lately! I just hurt!

I was doing some surfing yesterday about joint pain and arthritis connected to having Covid. Turns out it’s indeed a thing! I’m really starting to believe what I’ve been going through is post Covid related stuff. Here is a link to one of the videos I found where a man and his wife have been experiencing joint pain after Covid: https://youtu.be/fyR9uJHCdKA – if you are experiencing inflammation and pain in your joints, like for me it’s my upper thighs and knees, this video might resonate with you. I am hoping it will eventually stop!

Despite the pain, I’ve been trying to get out for walks with Link. It’s so rewarding when I do! So much to see! There have been surprises lately too! This morning I looked down for just one minute and was amazed to see not one but two wild pansies in the edge of a yard we were passing! I struggled to get down to take the picture…..getting up made me curse gravity a bit lol….but it was worth it!

A lovely surprise for us today on the morning walk- a wild pansy!

Other pictures from yesterday and today:

The tulips are out here in Idaho – when I see them I think of my Mom. She used to grow flowers like tulips

I noticed this yesterday in the shopping center on our walk

This beauty caught my eye even with being surrounded by so many power lines

Part of what makes each tree an individual is their bark – I love seeing trees in afternoon light

This little one made me think of a cat we used to see all the time in Alvarado TX! Love the mustache!

A blue version of the car I used to drive in Sr. High School! Mine was red. I’ll never forget Dad and I practicing stick shift in a parking lot lol!

Ridleys is the grocery store I always go to. I told the cashier I was so grateful she was there (they seem a little short handed), that I was grateful to wake up to peace and quiet and that there was food in the store…..little things people in warring parts of the world aren’t experiencing today. We are so fortunate!

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light f my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace – A Woman’s Spirit

https://youtu.be/bFeNjMjk0dA – Toni Cornell singing Nothing Compares 2 U in honor of her Dad Chris. Her eyes are so sad to me. This was the first song Kyle and I listened to (the Sinead O’Conner version) after we said goodbye to our sweet dog Sam. It’s hard for me to listen to for that reason but I toughed it out to hear both Chris and now Toni’s interpretation of it. She did her Dad proud I think!

17 April 2022 Light of The World

April 17, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, history, Leading Life by Example, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. It’s a sunny morning here – beautiful day for Easter. In a little while I plan to go to and share with others the good news of this day. Can you imagine what it must have been like to see Jesus after all he went through? I bet the sun was shining that day too! These words resonated this morning:

John 8:12 NIV

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

NIV: New International Version

Yesterday we were blessed to get some much needed rain! So grateful! There is water rushing through the canals again. Here are the pictures from yesterday:

Moss and lichen- thinking of the day my Mom taught me what lichen was during a visit to Pipestone South Dakota when I was a young girl

I love seeing water droplets sparkle in the sun

After the rain and storms it all gives way to glorious light

This one made me smile. It’s like the sun has hair of clouds!

God put on quite a show last night with views like this and so many birds were out! A huge crane, a hawk, ducks, geese and so much more. The miracles of water.

Link checking out one of the canals on our amazing walk yesterday. We walked farther than normal and got to see and chat with other neighbors. One mentioned her taking care of a brother in Rapid City South Dakota! Since I’m originally from Sioux Falls that was pretty cool!

This one….this one made me think “Hallelujah!” I can just see angels and glory.

This song came to my mind this morning. It’s about a love that stretches through the expanse of all existence. I think of God’s love for us:

We are Stars by the Pierces

We are stars
Fashioned in the flesh and bone
We are islands
Excuses to remain alone
We are moons
Throw ourselves around each other
We are oceans
Being controlled by the pull of another

And I just wanna be loved by you
Yeah, I just wanna be loved by you
I see nothing worse
Than to sail this universe without you

When we met
I was pulling an angel out of a liar
We forget
Satisfaction kills our desire
We are dreamers
Wishing upon what we were born from
We made plans
Kill them ourselves
And then we mourn them

And I just wanna be loved by you
Yeah, I just wanna be loved by you
I see nothing worse
Than to sail this universe without you

I just wanna be loved by you
Yeah, I just wanna be loved by you
I see nothing worse
Than to sail this universe without you (I just wanna be loved by you)
I see nothing worse
Than to sail this universe without you (Yeah, I just wanna be loved by you)
I see nothing worse
Than to sail this universe without you
Without you

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Catherine Eleanor Pierce / Allison Margaret Pierce / Allison Pierce / Catherine Pierce

We Are Stars lyrics © Multisongs, Bunny Cat Music, Wordspring Music, Llc

https://youtu.be/IWD8b9eIROI – We are Stars

15 April 2022 A Different Kind of Friday

April 15, 2022 by saymber, posted in books, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? In a little bit I will be going to join some others to help set up church for tonight’s Good Friday observance. In light of what is being remembered, I’ve always had a hard time thinking of this day as good. A good man was tortured, he suffered and died on a cross with criminals. What could possibly be good about that?’ What I’m reminded is good about today is he went through all that for us….so we wouldn’t have to. He took all of the world on himself out of love for both his father and each of us. It’s truly a beautiful thing to think about someone loving me that much to go through everything he did.

Good Fri·day

/ˈˌɡo͝od ˈfrīˌdā/

Learn to pronounce

noun

the Friday before Easter Sunday, on which the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is commemorated in the Christian Church. It is traditionally a day of fasting and penance.

Last night I was restless and wanted to watch something. I was pleased to find and watch (finally! My cousin and his wife recommended this to me over a year ago!) The Case For Christ. It was the story of author Lee Strobel an atheist who after a journey of discovery and love found his way to believing in Jesus Christ. The movie did a really good job of showing what having a believer and an unbeliever living in the same house with children can really cause disruption….division. Test a marriage. My ex-husband and I went through some of that strife. If you haven’t seen it and are curious, I saw it on You tube.

https://youtu.be/pBcNvSA1kNo – The Case For Christ (full movie)

As you can see by my note and the date I’ve struggled with sleep for a long time. This is another scripture of comfort. You can talk to God about anything you need help with!

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is a good one for what we are remembering today….forgiveness:

Work for justice. Struggle for forgiveness. Choose love. -Patricia Benson

Justice, forgiveness, and love sound far loftier than they are. Developing these qualities requires only that we live as we think God wants us to live. It’s as simple as that. Admittedly, when we have wanted to punish a significant person in our lives, we have often preferred “justifiable” anger or resentment over love. However, the emotional hangover that has followed the expression of our outrage has diminished any pleasure we might have gained.

Our inclination to forgive other people and ourselves, coupled with our decision to love rather than punish those who irritate us, seems to grow daily. Our changed perspective comes from our willingness to grow in recovery. We can be as peace-filled and as loving as we want. We’re in charge!

I will stay in control of who I am today. I can fulfill God’s wishes.

In all the mysteries of mysteries there is light both seen and unseen. Matthew 5:16
New International Version

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others,^(A) that they may see your good deeds^(B)and glorify^(C) your Father in heaven.

https://youtu.be/y4CY3nf1Mvw – Phil Wickham Great Things (song)

9 April 2022 Your Not Walking Alone

April 9, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, history, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. This morning when I was preparing to get up, a phrase from a song kept repeating in my head, “I walk alone….” I tried to find it on You tube but found something better. I like the thought of never walking alone better. It makes me think of the scene from The Chosen last night. When Jesus meets the architect Nathanael and tells him “I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael had been sitting under that tree alone burning up his drawings. He had felt abandoned by God. How many feel that today living in the world as it is? I assure you in all the “noise” is God’s presence…you are seen and heard no matter how things may seem. Your not walking alone. Try to find hope today and let it make your steps lighter.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Song by Gerry

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Source: LyricFind

You’ll Never Walk Alone lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC

Songwriters: Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers

https://youtu.be/mN8oN8I3lrk – Elvis Presley version of You’ll Never Walk Alone

Some pictures from our walk yesterday:

“Walks are good. When you go for walks you get close to God. If you walk slow like me or can’t walk it’s nice to sit outside for a minute and look at the sky…hear the birds. God is good. May be today you can smile?”

5 April 2022 Feeling Peace

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 5 April 2022 Tuesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1447098869

Hello to you today. I hope this finds you well. To be honest I’m struggling a bit today. The more it seems that I seek what’s good in the world the more the opposite extreme seems to try to get in my view.

I decided to watch The Chosen yesterday and I am enjoying it so far. The scene when Jesus heals “Lilith” real name Mary really touched me. When he puts his hands on her head and brought her peace she could feel I thought of that scene from the Davinci Code when Sophie touches Robert Langdons head. I thought of all the times Kyle used to do that to me when I was thinking too much. A simple and beautiful gesture…..feeling peace….relief from too many mind. If your curious You can get the Chosen app from the Apple Store. Here is a link: http://www.thechosen.tv/app or search “The Chosen”

Yesterday we got a little bit of rain but it was weird. Our cars all looked like they had been washed in mud! https://idahonews.com/amp/weather/adventure-starts-with-weather/milky-rain-nope-but-cars-in-the-treasure-valley-will-be-especially-dirty-monday –

“Are your cars dirty after the rain? The culprit is strong winds blowing lakebed dust near Summer Lake OR toward the Boise, Nampa, Meridian area,” the NWS wrote on social media.

Message from A Woman’s Spirit today:

My life is filled with the evidence that I am lovable. God has not forgotten me. Everywhere I look today, I’ll see a gift.

I know times are ruff right now but it’s going to be ok! Do what I do and be happy right now. Stop worrying about all that stuff you can’t or won’t do anything about. Be good ok?

John 14:15-31New International Version

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands.^(A)¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate^(B) to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth.^(C) The world cannot accept him,^(D) because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[a] in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans;^(E) I will come to you.^(F)¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.^(G) Because I live, you also will live.^(H) ²⁰On that day^(I) you will realize that I am in my Father,^(J) and you are in me, and I am in you.^(K) ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.^(L) The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,^(M) and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

I Look To You – just the voice in song I needed to hear today. Beautiful Whitney.

25 March 2022 Little Pieces

March 25, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, Food, Health, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 25 March 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1436265682

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. Last night my Aunt, three friends of hers and I went to see the opening night of Matilda at the Nampa Civic Center. We made it through the first half and decided that was enough. The little girl that was cast as Matilda just didn’t resonate with us. For example for the first song none of us could understand what she was singing and it was loud. My favorite character was Miss Agatha Trunchbull. The man playing the part was hilarious. As with most things in the performance arts, the performer will either resonate with you or they won’t. Not everyone likes Bono from U2 for example. The little girl just didn’t resonate with me. That’s not saying she wasn’t talented or anything like that. So that was interesting and it’s the first time I’ve driven at night here!

I was thinking about my post yesterday about how I see, experience and understand God. What came to me as an example of how complex it must be to answer even the smallest of prayers was a family meal. Think about some of the meals you make, even just the trip to the grocery store. So many little pieces go into even just a hot dog or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s like an episode of How It’s Made but for each and every part of the meal. I think about all the people involved with the life of food, machinery, climactic conditions like floods or droughts, the health of the animal stock, fuel prices….so many little pieces have to fit together for just one hot dog! When I began thinking about how complex it is to make a family meal or even feeding just one person, it made me think of what it must be like to be God answering or not answering a prayer. How complicated it must be to have everything in alignment…..so many little pieces. Sometimes pieces seen as insignificant or not relevant but if they are missing things can’t happen. I truly believe that behind every unanswered prayer there is a reason. The other thing to remember too is sometimes what we want and are asking God for isn’t possible…..realistic. Sometimes the answer isn’t how we expect it and we miss it. Sometimes we have to wait for answer. Just like with putting together a meal – all the individual pieces in all the ways those individual items come to reality have to be acquired for that meal to happen! I think Covid has shown us a lot about how dependent we are on each other – like factory workers and truck drivers for example.

The other thing I thought about yesterday with regards to answered and unanswered prayers – people in particular. What is often overlooked is the individual will of the people we are praying for. We don’t know what they want for themselves. We don’t know what kind of conversations they are having with their Higher Power. For example we might find out someone has cancer and immediately begin praying they be cured. What if the person doesn’t want to be cured? What if they want things to be over with? Again….not as simple as things may seem. I think about what we are told Jesus said when he prayed about the sparing of his own life…(Luke 22:42) ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup^(F) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus had his own relationship with God. The apostles could pray for his life to be spared but Jesus was already working things out with God for himself.

Little pieces of the big picture to consider when you are deciding if you do or don’t believe in God. The stuff I’m sharing is what strengthens my personal relationship with The God of my understanding.

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit were good. Sometimes when people get into recovery and are feeling better they try to make up for lost time. They try to do too much at once. It’s important to remember that even doing a small part, a little piece of what you want to accomplish is enough:

I don’t train for a marathon when I simply want to run five mile races. -Patricia Roth Wuertzer

Today I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to complete a big project every day. Making some progress is enough.

23 March 2022 Finding Comfort

March 23, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 23 March 2022 Wednesday chat(AA Step 3) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1434295003

I had to talk to God and myself this morning while feeling anxiety

Hello to you. How are you? Today began with one of those anxiety attacks I get once in awhile. I think it has to do with sleep apnea but I’m not sure. I just know I kind of freaked out. I had to pull out some tools from my sanity toolkit to get myself calmed down. I started with talking to God and went to the Bible to try and find comforting messages. I looked through so many chapters….the concordance for anxiety and comfort and just couldn’t find what I was looking for. It came to me to try the “Big Book” from Alcoholics Anonymous, specifically Step 3….made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. I ended up making my Twitch Stream today mostly about this step. When I initially entered into the program this step was hard. My sponsor reassured me that it didn’t have to be just the God of the Bible that I turned my will….surrendered to. It had to be a power that wasn’t me. It was me that got me into the mess I was in. Chances were that it wasn’t going to be my own will that was going to get me free. I just had to acknowledge I was powerless over alcohol (among other things of an addictive nature), admit I had a problem and then, most importantly, be WILLING to ask for help….accept help the way it came. What I realized using this program is if you get to the core of why addiction happens there are fewer what’s. A lot of people I met in AA were self medicating – they had a lot of “why’s” they were covering up with alcohol. They needed therapy and either couldn’t get it or would rather have the stigma of being an alcoholic than the stigma that comes with mental illness. When I look at my own life with help and by myself, there were so many why’s to my addictions. I kept trying to fill voids in my life with people, places and things. Many of those voids were of an intangible nature. You can’t put tangible things in the space where only the intangible dwells.

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit today had to do with friendship. The power we learn through the program is we can choose better friends. Here is a thought provoking part of the message:

“We may not have picked our friends carefully in our youth. Many of us felt pressured to hang out with a crowd that didn’t share our values. We frequently lived up to their expectations of us rather than our own. The internal conflict was painful, and we may still suffer from it.”

My choice of friends today reflects the health of my recovery.

________

It’s pretty easy to tell who are true friends are in life. They are the ones who are still there for you and comfort you as you clean up the mess you’ve made. I consider many members of my family also as dear friends! When we are young it feels like we don’t have a great power of choosing – so much is chosen for us!

Speaking of friendship! Last night Astravert did a wonderful collaboration with some fellow musicians on Twitch:

Check out astravert afishinabirdcage bagelrabbit COLLAB https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1433997448

22 March 2022 World Water Day and Remembering Chris Cornell

March 22, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, books, dreams, Health, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 22 March 2022 Tuesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1433418732

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well today. I found out it’s World Water Day – water is life! There are simple things each of us can do to help conserve our most precious of resources. Stuff as simple as turning off the tap when your brushing your teeth. Taking shorter showers. Not rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I found this National Geographic video that is short but shows some good examples of places where efforts are being made to preserve waterways- so many lives, not just human, depend on them:

https://youtu.be/aYNHNcmBxJM – The Worth of Water (National Geographic)

Here are some examples of lives awakening this spring that need water too:

Last night I couldn’t sleep and this song sung by Chris Cornell of Audioslave popped into my head:

https://youtu.be/KwKcMdiq60s – Audioslave Show Me How to Live (lyrics)

https://chrisandvickycornellfoundation.org/ – last night I had Chris Cornell on my mind and in my late night internet wandering found out about this.

The night before Chris died I had a disturbing dream of being pulled through my bedroom ceiling. Finding out he had strangled himself really hit me hard. His music was some of the first music my husband shared with me. In particular I Am the Highway. Songs like Be Yourself have comforted me through so many difficult times. His struggles and manner of death really bothered me. With my own journey with alcohol dependency for a time hearing of his battles really touched my heart. Addiction is a disease that so many lose the battle with….Chris was one such casualty. I’m glad his family got some peace with their law suite: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/chris-cornell-family-settlement-doctor-1166269/amp/

Messages from A Woman’s Spirit:

When we are all wrapped up in ourselves, we present a very small package to others. – Georgette Vickstrom

Today I can put aside my tendency to look at every circumstance in relationship to myself. With God’s help, I can put my attention on others.