30 May 2022 Loving Those We Don’t Agree With

May 30, 2022May 30, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

https://youtu.be/XeQMzt2xHR4 – What are we doing? Senator Murphy slams inaction on gun violence (PBS Newshour)

This morning I am reflecting on Memorial Day or Veterans day as it is referred to. I’m remembering visiting Arlington National Cemetery several years ago. My husbands father and his family participated in a ceremony of playing taps. Each person positioned at different points in the cemetery and playing at the designated hour:

The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying time off from work for the national holiday. Taps is instantly recognizable as the somber 24-note bugle call played at American military funerals and ceremonies.Apr 29, 2022

https://www.greaterseattleonthecheap.com › …

Sound Taps at 3PM on Memorial Day – Greater Seattle on the Cheap

This experience was extremely hard for me emotionally and spiritually. As we arrived at one of the places they would be playing we passed fresh graves…..new ones in the process of being dug. Ages on the tombstones were the ages of my husband, his brothers and me. There were people sitting with these stones with children. I looked at the vast field of white stones and was overwhelmed and overcome with sorrow. Today as I think of that experience, what all those people died for…hoping, thinking their sacrifice could make this country….this world a better place. I have to wonder were they mislead or have we betrayed them with the world we’ve created where hating and killing each other is still a common occurrence?

Can’t believe it’s been 2 years since this picture!

As a Veteran speaking only for myself, the best way to thank me for my service is to do whatever is possible to manifest a world where soldiers are no longer needed.

Questions…..”what are we doing?” and “what is all this for?” I hear the phrase “Happy Memorial Day” and my first thought is “what is so happy about it?!” Same thing for Labor Day. I think many people don’t realize how much blood was shed and lives….families destroyed just so we can have a day off of work. Nothing is free especially not our freedom. People long for things to go back to normal and sadly I think, unless drastic steps are taken, this IS normal.

Each time trauma happens to a person, to a world, it’s an infinite drop making ripples that never cease. Once the drop falls the waters never remain still….at peace. Generation after generation endure the stories and the wounds. Each new trauma ripping off the bandage from the last wound….perpetual bleeding of flesh and souls for wounds that don’t get a chance to heal. I read yesterday there was another mass shooting in Chicago: https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2022/5/29/23146412/weekend-roundup-shootings-homicide-chicago-memorial-day?_amp=true – it’s not if another one will happen….it’s when.

You can turn off all the devices that broadcast these shared traumas….put your head in denial but I think we still remain affected. The collective consciousness of God and this earth just know when things are wrong. You can feel it in the air….in your soul. Kind of like what the movie Donnie Darko illustrated. Something or someone is missing but your not sure just what it is until you finally learn another trauma has been inflicted.

I know this song is sad but sometimes sad songs help us clear out the traumas and make a bigger space for God…for inevitable change:

https://youtu.be/DHtcliIvnHI – Gary Jules – Mad World (Donnie Darko Soundtrack)

Mad World

Song by Michael Andrews

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere

Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it’s a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello, teacher! Tell me, what’s my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me

Enlarging your world
Mad world

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Orzabal Roland

Mad World lyrics © Chrysalis Music, Roland Orzabal Limited, Roland Orzabal Ltd

A rose in remembrance of all who have given their lives in the hope for peace.

John 15:13New International Version

¹³Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.^(A)

28 May 2022 Insanity

May 28, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you today? It’s Saturday here as I write to you and I’m still struggling to climb out of the valley I’m in. Last night everything was going good for sleeping and then I woke up to a violent crash. Link either fell or jumped off the opposite side of the bed. It was hard for both of us to get back to sleep. The way he was acting was like the whole thing scared him. Certainly freaked me out. He’s never done that before.

I have been sitting here trying to find positive and uplifting words to share with you. It’s hard. So I will simply say something I wish the whole world could feel and hear as we struggle together: I love you

The title of my post today is from looking for a message and just not feeling any of them are right for today. It is indeed insanity to keep doing the same things and expect anything to change. That is my message to Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton and leaders like them in the United States of America. It is my sincere hope that God has a better plan than any I’ve seen or heard from you.

27 May 2022 Times in the Valley

May 27, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Another week has come and gone. Today doesn’t find me on top of a mountain but down in a valley. I’m just finding it difficult to right myself after the latest goings on. Last night I was falling asleep and heard a loud noise inside and outside of my head and it startled me. Then I felt this presence fill the room and seem to be standing right next to me. There was a cold chill and I felt like I was being touched. Whatever was happening was not comforting and made me feel really anxious! When I asked if Jesus was there whatever it was went away. This kind of stuff happens to me and it’s so hard to understand.

As I write to you, I’m not feeling very rested but I can’t go back to sleep. What is my mind and body doing or is it something else? Someone else? I just don’t know! Praying and hoping Jesus will reveal some answers!

https://youtu.be/o5OnF3sg0cY – The Chosen Scene Jesus Gives The Beatitudes

Matthew 5New International Version

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes^(A)

He said:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^(B)
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.^(C)
⁵Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.^(D)
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.^(E)
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.^(F)
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,^(G)
    for they will see God.^(H)
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,^(I)
    for they will be called children of God.^(J)
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,^(K)
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.^(L)

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you,^(M)persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.^(N) ¹²Rejoice and be glad,^(O) because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.^(P)

25 May 2022 Mom

May 25, 2022May 25, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you today. How are you doing? I’m sitting here after a nice phone call with my Uncle and thinking about my birth mom. Today would have been her 80th birthday.

Drawing I did of my Mom several years ago

My mom Jeanne died by her own hand when she was just 26 years old. She suffered from depression and used a firearm. In the wake of what happened yesterday in Uvalde Texas, Brooklyn New York, Laguna California, Lowellville Ohio and just down the street from me here in Middleton Idaho…and places I haven’t heard about I am feeling discouraged about our country. After all this time my mom has been gone things aren’t much better in regards to mental and spiritual health in this country – it seems worse. This stuff keeps happening. People with some sort of problem be it physical, emotional, spiritual or economical either turning it on themselves or turning it on the world they live in and using a weapon to do it. After all the times we have been through the trauma of gun violence as a country….a world….still it goes on. Is God too slow to answer or are we too slow to hear and act?

People say if it wasn’t guns these people would use something else. Sadly, that’s a true statement. My therapist and I have talked about it. I tried to take my own life a couple years ago – it was access to pills for me. What I see going on is deeper than the surface issues, problems and causes we like to blame for these eruptions of passion. The “why” of it is where to begin and that is complicated and that takes time. It’s expensive. It’s easier to just keep dispensing cocktails of pills. I think we are still where we are at because no one wants to face the why of it, take responsibility and enact meaningful change. So we keep wiping up blood and handing down trauma with all its labels to yet another generation.

Pointing fingers without self reflection….we are so good at that! What our country is also good at is making troubled people famous. People who felt meaningless in life do something like what happened in Uvalde and just like that they are finally “somebody.”

What I have known from my own experience, people I have known and what I’ve observed these 54 years is that we are emotionally and spiritually sick in America. The mental health system of my mom’s day and a lot of what I’ve experienced being in the system are still inadequate. Some of us are taught to pray and told that will make everything okay again. Often things don’t change and later in life some of us learn there is action in prayer….God isn’t going to do it all for us. For some, especially those feeling powerless, this realization is enough to turn to other more immediate solutions for what ails them. As we are seeing….they pick up a gun and use it to express their unresolved problems and emotions. I know when I was growing up I wasn’t taught by anyone what to do with the insecurity and bad feelings that arose in me when I was bullied at school. I mostly turned those negative feelings and emotions on myself.

What’s different from my mom’s time and mine is now we have social media to broadcast suicides, hate and violent intentions at the click of a button. God, thoughts and prayers only go so far in this modern world of 24/7 media. Instantaneous poison for the spirit and soul.

I know…..echo chamber….preaching to the choir in my words here today. Can’t hurt to keep trying.

For Our Country

lossless-page1-800px-president_wilson_1919-bw-tif

Almighty God,
Ruler of all the peoples of the earth,
forgive our shortcomings as a nation,
purify our hearts to see and love the truth,
give wisdom to our leaders,
and steadfastness to our people,
and bring us at last
to that fair city of peace
whose foundations are mercy,
justice, and goodwill,
of which you are the designer and builder;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Woodrow Wilson

22-23 May 2022 Loving Those Different Than Ourselves

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 by saymber, posted in Health, history, Home, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Music, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. Some plans have materialized for tomorrow morning so I figured I would write to you tonight so I can take my time!

This mornings sermon given by Pastor Jason really resonated with me. The subject that he talked about was difficult love. He wanted us to draw a line and divide it in two. Then he asked us to write down the name of a person we love the most on one side and the name of the person we feel the least for on the other side. He said chances are the person we love the most is the most like ourselves in most every way and the person we love the least is very different from ourselves. All through our lives we have gravitated towards those who were most like ourselves. As adults many of us still do this. It’s easy to love those that love us back. Thankfully God doesn’t conditionally love us!

Big point: “God loves people that don’t love him back—-and so should we”

I saw this driving home and just had to get a picture! Singer Chris Cornell has been on my mind a lot lately

I have always been an odd ball or outsider. I always gravitated to others living on the margins of society….an observer…..loner. When I was on active duty in the Air Force I was exposed to people of many cultures and regardless of our many differences we had a mission in common. We learned to work together and agree to disagree about things. I have worked with homeless people and talked to veterans out in the street…. approached the types of people most everyone else passes by or “ doesn’t see.” I care about these people often regarded as difficult to love. I try to see people with my heart and find the good in such people. It can be really difficult especially if you are polar opposites on most everything! I have people close to me that don’t share my views on things but don’t hold it against me or I them. It’s good and healthy to have different perspectives and share them – it helps us widen our mindscapes and we grow as people….that’s what I think anyways!

What comes to my mind is that love is the bridge between different worlds.

This morning I got to talk and pray with a couple of my neighbors. One of them is working with others to include clergy to try and help a woman who is living in very unhealthy conditions. This woman is finally accepting help but resisted for a long time. An example of someone difficult to love! The other neighbor asked me to take a couple pictures for her for some friends and showed me the beautiful orange irises that had just opened up. She’s kind of digging the color orange too lol. She knew that orange is the color associated with the lower back (sacral chakra).

My neighbors friends helped her with this and wanted to see it!

More beauty dedicated to those who are victims of human trafficking

I’ve never seen an Iris this color before

Doing all this I got to know her better. Turns out she has dedicated her yard and all the work she puts into it to victims of human trafficking! Isn’t that beautiful? An active, perpetual prayer in flowers for victims. We talked about how crazy the world is and I mentioned my mantra about not overly focusing on the doings of others. She said she used to be very co-dependent which I can relate to. She said my mantra sounded a lot like one of The Four Agreements. I had to look this up when I got home! So glad I did! I really love message exchanges:

The one my personal mantra aligns with is not taking anything personally – this aligns with loving difficult people. Sometimes difficult people say and do things we don’t understand. Sometimes people are difficult because of spiritual, mental or emotional wounds.

Only a couple happy snaps from the afternoon walk. I saw the healthcare worker as Link and I were leaving the spot by the canal we love. I encouraged her to just take a moment by the water to catch her breath on her walk home. Today I was imagining sitting in the stream out back of where my Aunt and Uncle used to live in Idaho City – waterways are so therapeutic for the spirit:

I can’t help it – this tree is amazing to me

Another one of my neighbors had this beauty finally appear! Unusual Iris color

https://youtu.be/OU4AeKju81I – Super Recovery and Healing Frequency Whole Body Regeneration (I like music like this when I am hurting or trying to still my mind)

https://youtu.be/UJZxtO9XNno – Gentle Stream Sounds

20 May 2022 The Difficulty of Releasing Earthly Attachments

May 20, 2022May 20, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Food, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Money, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. For me it’s Friday again and I say that because it feels like time is moving so fast! Yesterday I came across a video taken from one of my favorite animated shows called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was when Aang, the Avatar learns about the energy vortexes in our bodies called chakras and how to clear them when they are blocked. The one part that brought me to tears was thinking about letting go of all I love that attaches me to this life. When we are overly attached to things of this earth we suffer when the inevitable happens – change….loss. We can’t hold on too tight and this is a lesson I’ve struggled with almost my whole life.

https://youtu.be/StrbppmsZJw – How to open your 7 chakras as explained in a children’s show (Nickelodeon Avatar the Last Airbender)

Buddha taught that “the root of suffering is attachment” because the only constant in the universe is change. And change often involves loss. When you allow yourself to become attached to someone or something, you’re more likely to dwell on the pain of losing them.

9 Ways Attachments Play Out In Your Life To Make You Suffer – Mindful Zen

In the Bible you can find a variation of this message. We are encouraged to store up our devotion to God not to people, places and things if this earth. Our souls, the energy within us, will care nothing about the world once set free of the flesh:

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

https://chop.bible.com › bible › mat….

Matthew 6:19-34 NIV – Bible.com

Think of great storms that have happened and how grateful people are to come away from them with their life and those they love – their neighbors. Their home a pile of wreckage or ash but they praise God that they still live. In those moments reminded about what truly matters.

We are taught from a very young age living in the world structure in which we live to work hard and acquire things. Things representing the fruit of our labors. We associate memories and feelings to the things we acquire…..this leads to attachment. Then comes the time when for whatever reason we have to let go of what we have acquired and then comes the feelings…the loss….the suffering. How to live in a material world without getting overly attached but not live like everything is just disposable….expendable. What a paradox we are asked to live in our material world!

I didn’t get many pictures yesterday. The energy outside has felt “weird” to me lately and I have felt disconnected:

Trying to eat better

A quote from Robin that resonated

The sun looking like a bright moon again

Another “victrola” flower opened – In 1901, Eldridge Johnson of the Talking Machine Company created the Victrola. The Victrola is a type of early phonograph that used an internal horn. It was patented by the Victor Talking Machine Company, and only refers to internal horned phonographs.Nov 24, 2010

http://cultureandcommunication.org › …
The Victrola – Dead Media Archive

We all have different gifts God has given us for a purpose

If you look really close on the upper right it seems I captured a bird flying by lol

Lovely Willow with winds blowing her long green locks of hair

This picture really caught my attention – the artist did a great job of illumination – the eyes are filled with light seeing this

14 May 2022 Make Better Choices

May 14, 2022 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Food, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Native American Culture, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? It’s overcast. Gray and wet here but I’m not complaining! I am so grateful we are experiencing this type of weather and not the kind so many are experiencing lately! Yesterday I found out the Midwest, where I am originally from, has been experiencing wild dust storms: https://www.argusleader.com/story/weather/2022/05/13/south-dakota-storm-met-definition-derecho-what-haboob-severe-weather/9759725002/ – this is from my hometown newspaper. They do a good job of explaining two weather terms I hadn’t heard of before. A derecho and a haboob:

It’s really strange to have noticed this type of stuff going on in the Middle East a few posts ago and then to see this show up at my parents doorsteps!

The title of this blog today is a message for me and I think for others. On the small scale for myself is health related. I had a couple blemishes show up on my face and I messed with them and I know better! I was laying in bed and noticed how much belly fat was there and at the same time was feeling pain in my lower back which is one of the main parts of my body that carries that belly! I went to the mirror and the message that came to me about all of my meager issues was, “This is your fault! Make better choices!” Thinking of all that is going on in our world in all the principalities I don’t think that message is just for me. Bad choices can come from initial well meaning intentions and then they just compound on themselves making new problems on top of old ones. A good example is Roundup or weed killers. We use poison that ends up in our bodies through various means and we wonder why cancer shows up.

https://youtu.be/ZQYPlEoU9ko – Life is a Walking from Good Buffalo Eagle

The next images are kind of random but may be something is for you:

With the pain I’ve been experiencing, I’m very grateful to George!

My Aunt and Uncle gave me this electric blanket and it really has been helping me manage pain

Sometimes it’s good to just stop and appreciate the world around you. Link likes to walk really slow so he really helps me slow down.

This little trees leaves look like they were painted on

I was happy to see this little one again. The last time I saw them they were running off with a hurt foot! Reminds me of a cat I had, loved and miss named Amber.

One of my favorite spots – isn’t the sun amazing?!

The blooming trees on the walk transitioning to leaves and berries

My favorite pic of the day – as I stood here I was thinking of my Grandma Carol and how much she loved streams like this too. The sound and just watching it glisten in the sun is balm for my soul.

A little deja vu seeing this happening in our times. I can remember my Grandma Schmidt talking about actually living through this. What kind of choices have been made to have this sort of thing happening again?

16 April 2022 Saturday Request

April 16, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Bipolar life, books, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you? My thoughts this morning are all over the place to be honest! There is just so much going on in this world. The news isn’t good but I am trying to remain conscious that good things are happening. There are so many good people. For all of the awful we are being bombarded with at every turn, there is good. I remind myself that even though I am powerless to stop and change so much of what is going on, God is not. There will be justice….there is justice we can’t see with our eyes but know with our spirits. My request is God’s justice for atrocities such as this:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-business-black-sea-22d7279f32c15d4a7037a2195113fb57 – 900 souls

Philippians 4:6-7New International Version

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is a great reminder about the power of time….it passes. Whatever the trial or tribulation we are experiencing we can trust it won’t last. We wish we could hold on to the good stuff that happens as much as we want to let go and forget the bad stuff….the length either stays is where we are empowered outside the rules of time:

Everything passes, as I flow with this river of highs and lows, I become calm. I trust my experience and the life force guiding me. – Ruthie Albert

Everything passes. There is perhaps no greater comfort when we’re caught in the throes of trauma than the knowledge that this too shall pass. We lived many years without this knowledge as we struggled to change the i changeable. Unfortunately, the only thing that changed was our level of frustration: it got higher. Now we know that we can patiently wait for a situation to pass. Nothing lasts forever.

The good times pass too, of course. We hope to hold on to them, but the same principle applies. The minutes tick by, carrying is to new experiences. What we need to learn will become known to us through both the good times and the struggles. They all will pass, having prepared us for the high and lows that wait to serve us.

I am at peace with the knowledge that everything passes. My needs will be met today.

————————-

Here are pictures from yesterday’s adventures:

Morning light trying to happen- “dwell in me Lord, be strong when I am weak…”

Setting up for Good Friday service at Millcreek Elementary School

I took this going in to help set up. In the evening one of our parishioners children handed me a flower just like this from the same tree. Children and trees…….

Lots of extra chairs in anticipation of Easter. The Good Friday service really meant a lot to me. There was a good turn out.

Something that reminds us of the pain Jesus endured

When I saw this moment I wanted to capture it for their Mom. I also thought of my Grandpa and what it must have been like for my Mom and her family to help Grandpa prepare for such occasions. These moments are so fleeting, thank goodness for cameras!

Gorgeous flower on our walk that I hadn’t seen before

Sweet beautiful boy we encountered on the walk. He wanted to come to me so bad but Link wasn’t having it! I hope he is home safe and loved.

My little bear Link getting my attention!

Found out yesterday that my brother Jerry is a Grandpa again!

This is one of the red tulips I shared the other day. More of them have appeared and I was able to get a closer look! I love the fringes on the edges!

Vanity….you would laugh at how many tries it took me to get this! Sometimes it’s nice to see a face that goes with words. I hope the best for you – no matter what things seem like now it’s all going to keep moving on. Stay focused on the helpers….do what you can to be a helper. Remember that no act of kindness is too small for God.

13 April 2022 Keep It Simple and Letting Go

April 13, 2022 by saymber, posted in animals, Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, drawing, Health, history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Science (Keshe Foundation and other innovations), Social media, Spirituality and Religion, technology, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1454828924

Reminder to myself today and from my therapist too…too many mind!

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope this finds you well. These past couple of days, months….years have been so surreal. I was watching the news yesterday about the shooting in the subway in New York and what popped into my head was this, “look for the helpers.” When I did that I regained my personal power. I went from powerlessness to being empowered. I want to adopt this lesson with all the chaos I see in the world. Who is helping? Who’s trying to restore peace…order. Focus attention and prayer on them not those responsible for instigating the chaos. I pray for the instigators but have to let God work on them beyond a prayer.

The message from A Woman’s Spirit today is about the difficulty but importance of being able to let go. When we are overly attached to stuff of this world we suffer when things change….when we are forced to let go. We’ve all had a favorite “something” in our lives and the mere thought of letting that something go may have brought about negative emotions…pain. Just one object can symbolize such powerful emotions and trigger so many memories. Think about what happens to you when you hear a favorite song? It’s like we become time travelers going back to the moment we first heard that song – smells, sights, people, what we were eating and drinking….what we were doing. To let go is the fear we will forget. Hopefully this message is for you today:

The child in me says “Hold on”; the adult in me says “Let go.” – Harriet Hodgkin

Learning to let go is growing up. Whether we’re twenty-five or sixty-five, we have to learn to let go. We don’t do it automatically . The principles of this program can serve as a guide.

Perhaps we learned in childhood that if we didn’t want to lose our toys, we had to hold on to them. A pattern was set; we began hanging on to everything. But now it’s time for new training , for learning to let go of everything: possessions, people, attitudes, opinions. Patience and practice accomplish the growth we seek.

We must be prepared for backsliding. Some situations cry for us to hold on rather than let go. We have to be vigilant and forgive ourselves when we give in to the old urge to control. Being adult takes desire and consistent effort. The child in us doesn’t give in easily.

I have a choice today. I can handle all circumstances as an adult and feel free, or my “child” can trigger a confrontation. What will I do?

————————-

It was cold, windy and overcast yesterday but we did get our walks in:

Tulips have been appearing in the neighborhood

Hey – I hope you are doing good. When everything is ruff and confusing look for what’s good. Don’t focus on what’s bad.

Article talking about what they are figuring out about memories and the brain:

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/many-brain-regions-store-a-single-memory-360560

A new study by scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides the most comprehensive and rigorous evidence yet that the mammalian brain stores a single memory across a widely distributed, functionally connected complex spanning many brain regions, rather than in just one or even a few places.

30 March 2022 Fair

March 30, 2022 by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, books, Health, history, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Politics and Government, Social media, Spirituality and Religion, Television, trust, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Check out 30 March 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1441259554

Hello to you. How are you today? I hope well. Last night was another struggle with getting sleep but God and I got through it. My head has been really full the past few days and I’ve been thinking and praying about a lot. There has been so much going on near and far that has captured my attention and care. It’s hard to wind down when I’m like that. Before bed I saw a video that added more thoughts to my head and prayers to my lips. It was about our President and his mental condition. The source was from Fox News which I expected to be cruel about this subject but Tucker Carlson wasn’t. He brought up some very valid concerns. I will let you judge for yourself if you are interested: https://youtu.be/gsOnnLts-4U – Tucker: Biden can’t regulate his emotions. Being a leader at any strata of this existence isn’t an enviable position. So much responsibility and pressure! God is working in these people. I hope to continue to see God at work. I’m already seeing glimpses of it with the war in the Ukraine. What we focus the power of our thoughts on the most is what helps God manifest those thoughts into reality. That’s how it seems to me anyways! Prayers for leaders at all levels!

Message from A Woman’s Spirit for today:

By embracing the unfair, I no longer feel fear or reflection or lack of self-esteem. – Eileen Fehlen

It’s so human to quickly label an unwanted situation as unfair and to assume we know what’s best for us. We reason that if God would answer our prayers, our lives would unfold appropriately. It’s also terribly human to have to relearn repeatedly that God’s will and God’s timetable don’t always match our own; however , without fail they serve us well.

Learning to appreciate the good in everything that comes our way makes us courageous. In time few things will fill us with fear, and that is measurable progress. We were tormented by fear for so many years that we never expected this rebirth of spirit. Life is beginning to feel inviting, exciting and safe. Let’s step forth together.

I can be certain that God will give me only what is right for me today.

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Today I picked up a round piece of rose quartz I have and it was so comforting. There have been several times when I’ve been sick that I have held rose quartz and felt like it helped me heal. When my friend and I went to a rock and gem show I could tell by the crowds that I’m not the only one who feels like these stones help. I know for some it seems like woo woo and that’s ok! It could be a placebo effect somewhat but like with the rose quartz orb I’m holding as I write to you – it feels good in my hand. I think of those worry stones – remember those?

Rose quartz is known as a healing crystal and the stone of unconditional love.
…
It’s believed by some to emit strong vibrations of love, which are thought to:

support emotional and relationship healing.
inspire compassion.
boost feelings of peace and calm.

https://www.healthline.com › health