Walking into 2019

I'll be honest.  This is hard but I'm determined.  This will be posted somewhere prominent to remind me when there is slippage.  There is an adult philosophy course beginning here in this small town for which I feel especially grateful.  It begins by reminding me what a spectacular miracle it is to be a  human being alive in this incredibly wondrous universe.  It mentions how many of us sink down into the comforts of routine and habit forgetting the wonder and awe of life.  My intention is to live in a state of wonder and awe from this point foward! KAS

Invisible Nets of Love

These nets of love are strong and beautiful.  They gather us all together and support us so we can each do our work to make our world a more just and welcoming place for ALL.  May they heal what is wrong and uplift what is wholehearted.  KAS

Less than a Man's Pay

She said these words sometime around 1861!  Think about that!   Think how long women have been fighting for equality. The truth is, as I see it, when human beings value decency and humanity and equality, they are driven by their concern for their fellow creatures.  Sometimes the money follows but often it doesn't because the opposing force...the one which worships money over humanity has a completely different idea of what matters.  Even though I know it's a complex subject, that difference seems to be what is at the core the current division in the world.  KAS

In case you're interested, as I was, there is a monument in Clara Barton's honor at Antietam.  No statue though.

Shifting

This is certainly something I aspire to and I'd like to think I'm making progress.  Truth is, there is still work to be done in this arena.  It is shifting though. That I am certain of.  Things I once valued in an abstract way have become much more real and much more precious.  Truth, Justice--REAL justice, and liberty FOR ALL has taken on a new level of poignancy.  KAS

Breathe--The Chapter is Not the Story

Sometimes, chapters are long.  Longer than you wish with dense or difficult prose.  As a reader, I enjoy skimming over unappealing sections of a story. As a human being living my story, there is a way to do this but I'm not sure I recommend it.   I often listen to stories where I have the option to fast-forward or rewind a section; options not available to us as we write our real-life human-being-living story.  With awareness and thoughtfulness, you can change the arc of your story/life.  And, the most important piece of this for me is I am the one doing the writing.  I may be getting situations from an apparently random universe, but my response; my story, belongs to me.  I seek to own it with gusto!  KAS

Face It Till You Make It

And that's what it takes.  So don't give up.  Be kind to yourself.  Rest if you must but get back in there and keep going!  I believe in you.  KAS

Planting the seeds

Contemplating the seeds I am planting both consciously and unconsciously seems a worthwhile exercise.What do I want to see grow in my life?  ... on this planet?  ...in this society?  KAS