How Have You Changed ??

[Guest]

Hey, Logos!
I no longer reside there, but Indiana is not a friendly place for pot smokers. About the most cruel and unusual laws there are. Although legislators point out the leeway the judge can give first offenders, which is supposed to be an ease to the very stiff penalty's the state has the ability to levy, if they so chose.

 

[hamstring]

The biggest change for me except my fat arse is that I always new where I was going when I was young. Life seemed easy just follow the well-groomed path to success. Never tiring or wavering from the course. Always sure that success (however you describe it) was just around the corner. Just keep moving forward and f**k anyone who stands in my way.

Well I have been traveling down that road for over 40 years and I am getting tired and have no idea where the hell I am. Should have taken that left turn at Albakurky. (Bugs reference). Time seems compressed instead of endless and I keep wondering about the choices I have made.

Keep fighting the good fight.
Peace

 

[Logos]

Hey, Logos!
I no longer reside there, but Indiana is not a friendly place for pot smokers. About the most cruel and unusual laws there are. Although legislators point out the leeway the judge can give first offenders, which is supposed to be an ease to the very stiff penalty's the state has the ability to levy, if they so chose.

Hoosierhash,

It's good to hear from you again. All I can say is Indiana is a good place to be from, far from. At least you got out of there, and hopefully to a less punitive state? If you have to live in a certain state because of a job, that's one thing. But if all else is equal, then a person who wants to smoke must find that state which is least repressive. Even so, most employers, regardless of the state, believe the lies about the effects of smoking and will fire you if you are targeted by a positive test result. In many respects, our age is not one of enlightenment. How long will it take? I do not believe I will see decriminalization in my lifetime. It's up to our children to make the changes we have failed to make.

Logos

 

[peacenik]

Hello Everyone!
Thanks to all for sharing your stories, we can always use a moment to reflect on the lives of others instead of being so self-absorbed, like I am often.
Here's something I can never seem to learn, that worry isn't the same as prayer! But I'm getting better, having more faith & not trying to "worry in advance"! One thing that has helped me SO much is the tending of my garden. I can't begin to tell you the benefits that have come from that patch of soil. It has taught me patience, hard work, & I don't have to tell this group of people as I'm sure you already know! Being with the land is the best feeling I've known.

 

[Logos]

The biggest change for me except my fat arse is that I always new where I was going when I was young. Life seemed easy just follow the well-groomed path to success. Never tiring or wavering from the course. Always sure that success (however you describe it) was just around the corner. Just keep moving forward and f**k anyone who stands in my way.

Well I have been traveling down that road for over 40 years and I am getting tired and have no idea where the hell I am. Should have taken that left turn at Albakurky. (Bugs reference). Time seems compressed instead of endless and I keep wondering about the choices I have made.

Keep fighting the good fight.
Peace

Hello, hamstring, and good of you to drop in.

You know, you are not the only one who has this sense of failure, this “what if” question about how life would be different now had some other avenue been taken. I do it. We all do it. We all Monday quarterback our lives. But just how is it possible to second guess anything? I don’t know. All I know is that I made decisions based on how I felt at the moment instead of having the benefit of mystical insight. I was often afraid to push myself beyond what I perceived were my limits, whether they be education, or physical, or intellectual. Plus, I lived with the attitude that I had time to make the changes I knew were necessary for my future security. But, that attitude of tomorrow, tomorrow, proves to be denial of the reality of today. Unfortunately, tomorrow does come, and with it comes nothing but the experience that the reward of waiting is nothingness. At least that realization is something, but it comes too late all too often to do anything different or better. My problem has always been that I was not gifted with knowing what I was destined to be. I had no distinct goal because I had no desire for any specific occupation. I had no specific ability, no born-with talent to exploit. It is disheartening to realize that you are just a follower, a worker, a wannabe, a nobody in the day-to-day grind. On the flip side, sure, it is essential for society to be largely comprised of workers and followers. But the rub comes from being a common man who also does not own the follower mentality. If mentally you are satisfied with that status, then maybe you are happy with your relationship with life. In my case, I find it maddening to feel you are meant for more but don’t know what that more is. Therefore, at this stage in my development, I am concerned with learning to be happy, to cultivate that state of mind which is independent of status and material possessions. And, who knows, maybe that late-in-life goal is exactly what I was born to learn to be. Maybe mastering that state of mind will entice more and better things into my life. Maybe I am being forced to learn in this life a lesson I failed in a past life. Maybe this lesson is the balance I need to move forward.

Logos

 

[hamstring]

I am concerned with learning to be happy, to cultivate that state of mind which is independent of status and material possessions. And, who knows, maybe that late-in-life goal is exactly what I was born to learn to be. Maybe mastering that state of mind will entice more and better things into my life. Maybe I am being forced to learn in this life a lesson I failed in a past life. Maybe this lesson is the balance I need to move forward.

Logos

Pretty good advice there. I want to thank you for making it ok for us to vent. You are a very patient person. Allowing others to express while you listen it takes a gift.

I am not sure I feel like a failure as much as lost. I have tried so hard to get where I am. Like many people of my era I was on my own at 18 and eventually got through college on my own. I am proud of my accomplishments but I honestly believe that even though my father never graduated 8th grade he in the end is doing better than I will at his age. We are stuck our age group over 40 today, stuck because retirement will never come. That idea needs to be eradicated from my mind because it is an old idea that drags me down.

I finally understand that most of the things I believed in when I was 15 are what are important to me now. Like you said the material things are not important. Do not get me wrong I understand that money is the 6 sense it lets you enjoy the other 5.

Maslow hierarchy of needs. With out basic needs, safety needs, Belongingness and Love needs, Esteem needs, you can never get to Self-Actualization needs.

It just seems that in today’s world we (probably a choice and not forced action)are stuck in the first two levels of the Maslow pyramid. I know there are things out there that make me happy, better yet satisfied, I enjoy some of them today. Kayaking and hiking in general outdoors things. I have given up on the idea I will ever be able to visit a rain forest or hike for weeks in the backcountry of Canada or Australia. I have given up on the idea I could ever own a piece of wooded property. These are child like dreams that I will never accomplish I simply hop in the kayak and enjoy a smoke and 3-5 hr paddle through some area that is void of other humans if possible. I can live with this but the problem is these moments are few a far between and the truth is I will never be able to choose my time rather than time choosing me for my enjoyment.
Lost because no matter which way I turn all roads are a dead end to these things. It's true and I am a positive thinker although I share this with you today tomorrow I will be hard at it trying to find my way there.

Taking your quote above its all what you make of it and I do try and see that I am blessed but it is good to "vent the splean" as the say.

PEACE andThanks again

 

[EatCannabisRaw]

I'm only 26, and maybe shouldn't be on this forum. But what I've been learning is how awesome it is to actually care about other people. I felt the same way. Life should be more than -this-. But when I care about other people, they become part of my world...and all of a sudden my world expands hugely... and its awesome. I don't know... I think the idea of individualism is kinda hyped up...and actually not a good thing in the first place. Its not how we are supposed to live. We probably evolved in tribes...even monkeys live in groups, and most animals do right? We need to be surrounded by people who care about us... who feel that -we- are a part of -their- world...and vice versa...

its not just about us. its really not. its about all of us... i mean you could expand it beyond your close friends, your family...to your neighborhood, your city, state..country...

the whole fucking world

 

[tinhorn]

i havnt changed so much as our world has.its terminal folks. on the edge of chaos.the corporations have brought us here.they think they are really slick.unstoppable.unaccountable. little do they know there fate is already sealed. pretty soon no one will be able to afford their goods and they will wilt. Ha Ha!

 

[Logos]

Hello Everyone!
Thanks to all for sharing your stories, we can always use a moment to reflect on the lives of others instead of being so self-absorbed, like I am often.
Here's something I can never seem to learn, that worry isn't the same as prayer! But I'm getting better, having more faith & not trying to "worry in advance"! One thing that has helped me SO much is the tending of my garden. I can't begin to tell you the benefits that have come from that patch of soil. It has taught me patience, hard work, & I don't have to tell this group of people as I'm sure you already know! Being with the land is the best feeling I've known.

My dear peacenik,

It is good to hear from you once again. Nice observation about worry. I had not contrasted worry with prayer, but in thinking it over, I see your point. It has been said that if you can change a situation, then don’t worry over it. If you cannot change a situation, then don’t worry over it. I must admit, I am still in the “trying to” stage. That is, even though I know worry is useless and debilitating, I still do it. As part of my self-improvement program, I consciously make the effort to affect a state of mind that is neutral to some perceived looming stressful event. Sometimes I succeed. Often, however, find that some lazy part of me uses the “no worry” state of mind to simply blow off taking action, rather than being smart about doing what is necessary before some situation becomes critical. I am always forced to admit or recognize some character flaw that has found a very comfortable home in my psyche.

As far as getting closer to nature goes, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Nature is constant. It has its rhythms. Nature teaches balance because nature is balance. Nature is Yang and Yin. What we have forgotten is that we are part of nature, so we are out of balance. We don’t go with the flow, let alone even suspecting that there is such a thing as flow in our lives. Everything is energy. There is energy associated with a garden. So, if you can go into a state of mind in which you suspend all of your emotions and thoughts that are not the energy of your garden, then you are energy that is in tune with your garden energy. For that period of time, you are with nature, you are in the flow. You feel good, you are happy, you and nature are exchanging a state of balance. This is natural and therapeutic. So, thanks for the reminder, peacenik.

Logos

 

[Logos]

Pretty good advice there. I want to thank you for making it ok for us to vent. You are a very patient person. Allowing others to express while you listen it takes a gift.

I am not sure I feel like a failure as much as lost. I have tried so hard to get where I am. Like many people of my era I was on my own at 18 and eventually got through college on my own. I am proud of my accomplishments but I honestly believe that even though my father never graduated 8th grade he in the end is doing better than I will at his age. We are stuck our age group over 40 today, stuck because retirement will never come. That idea needs to be eradicated from my mind because it is an old idea that drags me down.

I finally understand that most of the things I believed in when I was 15 are what are important to me now. Like you said the material things are not important. Do not get me wrong I understand that money is the 6 sense it lets you enjoy the other 5.

Maslow hierarchy of needs. With out basic needs, safety needs, Belongingness and Love needs, Esteem needs, you can never get to Self-Actualization needs.

It just seems that in today’s world we (probably a choice and not forced action)are stuck in the first two levels of the Maslow pyramid. I know there are things out there that make me happy, better yet satisfied, I enjoy some of them today. Kayaking and hiking in general outdoors things. I have given up on the idea I will ever be able to visit a rain forest or hike for weeks in the backcountry of Canada or Australia. I have given up on the idea I could ever own a piece of wooded property. These are child like dreams that I will never accomplish I simply hop in the kayak and enjoy a smoke and 3-5 hr paddle through some area that is void of other humans if possible. I can live with this but the problem is these moments are few a far between and the truth is I will never be able to choose my time rather than time choosing me for my enjoyment.
Lost because no matter which way I turn all roads are a dead end to these things. It's true and I am a positive thinker although I share this with you today tomorrow I will be hard at it trying to find my way there.

Taking your quote above its all what you make of it and I do try and see that I am blessed but it is good to "vent the splean" as the say.

PEACE andThanks again

Hello, hamstring, once again.

I want you and everyone else to understand that my intention is to provide a secure place in which you can respectfully dump those things that have plagued you, or share personal observations related to ageing and growing. We tend to believe that our realizations are totally personal, and that there is no one out there who has the same realizations, that there is no one who can possibly understand what “I” am going through. Anyone who would criticize another for having a human experience is simply an egocentric fool in denial of his own foibles. This thread is just a service I have assumed for myself for the purpose of letting anyone who wants to vent a little to be free to do so without backlash or a lack of compassion and understanding. Anyway, I thank you for your compliment.

I am glad that you clarified that you don’t feel like a failure. Feeling like a failure is truly a horrible feeling, very debilitating. I know some people who were raised to be perfectionists. They are accomplished people, yet they drive themselves nuts with having to dot every i, never taking a rest, never giving themselves credit. So, you feel lost. You feel you are not where you should be at this stage of life in relation to where others are at your age. Is this true? I know that my retirement will not sustain my current financial obligations. I find it quite disturbing that this country and my life are influenced by forces over which I have no control. It is true that the majority of Americans face hard times in the form of a financial crisis. Do you realize that for many people their retirement plan is to win the lotto? How sad.

All of the things you listed as goals are subject to having the money to do them. Unfortunately, today, money equals life. Anymore, everything we do is dependent on money, unless you totally drop out and become totally dependent on the kindness of others, such as through homeless shelters, and soup kitchens. You are lost because you don’t have the financial resources to follow that road to dreams. . . You wonder, “How do I get there from here?” I am in the same boat, my friend. I have had to come to terms with the reality of my situation. Happiness is a state of mind. So, I have to come to grips with my situation by appreciating what I can and letting go of unrealistic dreams. It’s like peacenik says, worry is not prayer. So, I have given up on my dead end roads, and have learned to explore other, perhaps more attainable roads. Believe me, I am not advocating that you give up because I believe in the power of thought and action. Perhaps in some unforeseen way some of your dreams are still attainable. Perhaps I should have said I have set aside certain roads instead of having given up on them. But be that is it may be, I believe it is imperative that we remain positive and cultivate a state of happiness that is independent of status and money. At least you are not willing to give up. Really, good for you.

Logos

 

[HerbGlaze]

Well.. im 55.. and my crazyness came at a young age of around 8... all I can say is i myself have done some truly chaotic and terrifying things when I was younger and did not know the consequences that come with your actions.. I began pot at 14 drank at 17 then went down a long and torturing path of opiates and LSD.. I truly began absolutely sick minded and a dangerous to society and I thought I was going crazy which turned out to be a chemical imbalance in my brain.. genetics is my guess. I had a hard childhood.. abusive parents.. complete alcoholic mother and father.. I just went through some pictures.. with my son and im not proud of what he found.. sort of funny to look back at but still pretty sad it was my dad passed out.. with a 40 grasped loosely in his hand in are yard.. god damn. I think my past is what made me do the things I did. Fought like hell drank like fish and smoked like a chimney. I just want to make sure my son doesnt go in the path I did but I think hes smart enough to know right from wrong.. well anyways ive changed cause now im more brittle thats about it you still see me jumping of bridges and jumping on the ole skateboard at times hahaha.

 

[Logos]

I'm only 26, and maybe shouldn't be on this forum. But what I've been learning is how awesome it is to actually care about other people. I felt the same way. Life should be more than -this-. But when I care about other people, they become part of my world...and all of a sudden my world expands hugely... and its awesome. I don't know... I think the idea of individualism is kinda hyped up...and actually not a good thing in the first place. Its not how we are supposed to live. We probably evolved in tribes...even monkeys live in groups, and most animals do right? We need to be surrounded by people who care about us... who feel that -we- are a part of -their- world...and vice versa...

its not just about us. its really not. its about all of us... i mean you could expand it beyond your close friends, your family...to your neighborhood, your city, state..country...

the whole fucking world

Hello, EatCannabisRaw:

Of course you are welcomed here. As I explained earlier, this thread is for legitimate observations, which is the reason I placed it under Old Stoners Crash Pad. Any such observations normally only come with experiences gained through age. So, I must admit it surprises me (happily) that you would be interested in this thread.

ECR, do you know that what you have described is a fundamental precept of Eastern philosophy? Do you know that you have described the steps of a certain meditation? Restated, the meditation starts with the meditator seeing herself and feeling as one with her family and close friends. This feeling of connectedness is then expanded to include everyone in the neighborhood, then the city, then the country, then the world. The meditator deepens the feeling of oneness to include the universe. The universe is totally in the meditator, and simultaneously the meditator is equally part of the universe. There is a knowing of complete oneness and love. This is the goal of every credible religion, to be as one with all. Contemplate that, although a drop of water is an individual drop, it is also part of the ocean. The ocean cannot exist without each of its individual drops. Everything that is the ocean of water is contained within a single drop of that ocean. Although you can isolate a drop of water, you cannot remove the essence of the ocean from the drop. Just as the ocean is the source of the drop, every being contains the same source. We are all the same stuff. Therefore, as consciousness, we ultimately are all one consciousness. To realize this about one’s self is to experience enlightenment. Well done, ECR!

Logos

 

[Logos]

i havnt changed so much as our world has.its terminal folks. on the edge of chaos.the corporations have brought us here.they think they are really slick.unstoppable.unaccountable. little do they know there fate is already sealed. pretty soon no one will be able to afford their goods and they will wilt. Ha Ha!

Hello, tinhorn:

Many thanks to you for taking the time to express your thoughts.

I’ll just comment that greed is part of human nature. Therefore, greed has been a large motivating force in most enterprises, baring altruistic and humanitarian endeavors. There is absolutely nothing new about greed being exercised in human interaction as far back as the beginning of human commerce. From simply trading a bead necklace for a spear to the dealings of mega corporations, the desire for excess has always been part of business. Having said that, I am amazed that mankind has not evolved past its primitive human failings. We still fight, and we still try to rip each other off. In commerce there is such a thing as “what the market will bear”. If a product or service is overpriced, the consumer will stop buying the product or service. Hence the seller will lower its prices in an attempt to attract buyers. While this law of supply and demand is always in effect, there are special conditions in which the consumer has no choice. All countries are dependent on oil. It is impossible to stop consuming oil and it byproducts – as long as there is no alternative. So, OPEC has a monopoly. It has the ability to ruin economies, and therefore the economic lives of average everyday working people. This is one of the forces - over which an individual has no control - of which I alluded to in a previous posting. Just how all of this will shake out, no one really knows, especially since everyone is in it for themselves. In the interim, however, the hurt will be worldwide, and already has begun. The full extent of the crisis remains unseen. One thing, I am sad to say, is that no one will learn a lesson this time around any more than mankind has learned from all its many repetitious mistakes for the past thousands of years. Geeze!

Logos

 

[Logos]

Well.. im 55.. and my crazyness came at a young age of around 8... all I can say is i myself have done some truly chaotic and terrifying things when I was younger and did not know the consequences that come with your actions.. I began pot at 14 drank at 17 then went down a long and torturing path of opiates and LSD.. I truly began absolutely sick minded and a dangerous to society and I thought I was going crazy which turned out to be a chemical imbalance in my brain.. genetics is my guess. I had a hard childhood.. abusive parents.. complete alcoholic mother and father.. I just went through some pictures.. with my son and im not proud of what he found.. sort of funny to look back at but still pretty sad it was my dad passed out.. with a 40 grasped loosely in his hand in are yard.. god damn. I think my past is what made me do the things I did. Fought like hell drank like fish and smoked like a chimney. I just want to make sure my son doesnt go in the path I did but I think hes smart enough to know right from wrong.. well anyways ive changed cause now im more brittle thats about it you still see me jumping of bridges and jumping on the ole skateboard at times hahaha.

Hi, HerbGlaze:

Welcome to this thread. I appreciate your showing up to share some of your thoughts, painful as they may be. You really have my sympathy over your mental torment. Your parents were (or are) also tormented, and chose to find escape in the drug of alcohol. Something terrible happened to them as children. Perhaps they had unloving parents, and so without the ability to show love, you also were raised without love. We are human beings. As human beings it is fundamental that in our psyche- it is in our genetic code - that we be loved in order to be balanced as human beings. So, an imbalance must express itself. For you the misfortune has been parents that chose to continue the broken home. At any moment in time we are the culmination of our past and cannot run away from that personal fact. However, we also are gifted with the ability to change; meaning, if we do implement change, then that change also becomes part of our past which makes us who we are in the present. Fortunately for your son, you chose to break the circle of dysfunction. I hope you are giving him all the love and understanding that you deserved but were denied. If you have truly broken the cycle of dysfunction, then I stand up and cheer you on with much applause. Changing ones psyche is definitely not easy to do. But it is a challenge in which we all must engage if we are ever to rise above our lower selves in order to enact a better world for our future generations. They certainly don’t deserve to inherit our self-imposed problems, let alone perpetuate them. Watch out when jumping off bridges. Good post, HerbGlaze. Thanks so much.

Logos

 

[peacenik]

Good Morning!
Over the week-end we went to see the Guess Who, remember them??? What a trip down memory lane that was! Observation: the handicap parking fills up real fast at rock concerts these days!
On the subject of our dreams vs. our current reality, I guess I look at things in the sense that it's not necessarity money that fulfills goals but circumstance. I think it's called serendipity? Like when I need something, I think that it will come to me, some way, some how, maybe through means I cannot see today, maybe through total strangers. But I always keep the paths open for a future I can't forsee. You just don't know what could fall into your lap, what opportunities can happen for you. And it's those little things that seem to fall into place that can make that dream come true. As my forune cookie said the other night, it's in the getting not the having that brings happiness! I look for the "win-win" situations in life, how to turn things in a way that everybody gains something. Sometimes it's knowledge that you earn the hard way, but then again isn't knowledge valuable too?
And that leads me to my 2nd comment about the point ECR brought up concerning the people in our lives. If we've narrowed ourselves down to so few people in our lives, we're missing out on SO much. We've been taught more how to take care of things than people. Or we think that buying things takes care of people. It's our communities that make us rich, our relationships. It's hard to see that when you're poor & struggling, but you're certainly not alone. But you don't need money to laugh, to hug somebody, to just say something kind. Something I used to admire about those younger than me was how many kids I'd see greet each other with hugs. That was something we really didn't do, even the way we used to dance had very little touch involved. That came later! But I like that intimacy, that touch. It's the "social grooming" that we used to do that defined us as a group, even defined our position in that group. But when so much of our energy is spent just trying to keep the electricity on, it's hard at times to remember the little things. I used to be a hairdresser & that's when I really saw the power of touch. It was almost like being a shrink, it's like the commercial used to say..."only your hairdresser knows for sure"! Like some of those blue-haired little old ladies, in every week for the shampoo/set. It wasn't really about the new hair-do, it was about having the physical contact in a loving way. And making somebody feel special & nurtured on the inside as well as the outside. When you're all done, it's a different person getting out of that chair.
So let's all get out there this week & comb somebody's hair!!! Let your freak flag fly!

 

[Logos]

Good Morning!
Over the week-end we went to see the Guess Who, remember them??? What a trip down memory lane that was! Observation: the handicap parking fills up real fast at rock concerts these days!
On the subject of our dreams vs. our current reality, I guess I look at things in the sense that it's not necessarity money that fulfills goals but circumstance. I think it's called serendipity? Like when I need something, I think that it will come to me, some way, some how, maybe through means I cannot see today, maybe through total strangers. But I always keep the paths open for a future I can't forsee. You just don't know what could fall into your lap, what opportunities can happen for you. And it's those little things that seem to fall into place that can make that dream come true. As my forune cookie said the other night, it's in the getting not the having that brings happiness! I look for the "win-win" situations in life, how to turn things in a way that everybody gains something. Sometimes it's knowledge that you earn the hard way, but then again isn't knowledge valuable too?
And that leads me to my 2nd comment about the point ECR brought up concerning the people in our lives. If we've narrowed ourselves down to so few people in our lives, we're missing out on SO much. We've been taught more how to take care of things than people. Or we think that buying things takes care of people. It's our communities that make us rich, our relationships. It's hard to see that when you're poor & struggling, but you're certainly not alone. But you don't need money to laugh, to hug somebody, to just say something kind. Something I used to admire about those younger than me was how many kids I'd see greet each other with hugs. That was something we really didn't do, even the way we used to dance had very little touch involved. That came later! But I like that intimacy, that touch. It's the "social grooming" that we used to do that defined us as a group, even defined our position in that group. But when so much of our energy is spent just trying to keep the electricity on, it's hard at times to remember the little things. I used to be a hairdresser & that's when I really saw the power of touch. It was almost like being a shrink, it's like the commercial used to say..."only your hairdresser knows for sure"! Like some of those blue-haired little old ladies, in every week for the shampoo/set. It wasn't really about the new hair-do, it was about having the physical contact in a loving way. And making somebody feel special & nurtured on the inside as well as the outside. When you're all done, it's a different person getting out of that chair.
So let's all get out there this week & comb somebody's hair!!! Let your freak flag fly!

Good morning, peacenick:

I had to laugh upon reading your handicap parking observation. Remember the Lawerence Welk show? All the old folks in the audience, the ladies with the blue hair? That’s what you bring to mind. Are our kids seeing us and our bands like we did our elders. Aren’t we cool anymore? The chickens are coming home to roost.


Serendipity is being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it’s luck. Sometimes it’s a lot of little un-noticed actions and decisions that culminate in serendipity. Some say that there is no such thing as luck. I do know of people who seem to have incredible luck compared to others, even me. I have a good friend who goes to a casino with his brother. While my friend can’t win anything, his brother consistently wins much more than he bets. So, is my friend’s brother eternally lucky, or is he the recipient of something else? Anyway, I agree, peacenick, that we should keep open doors to future opportunities. I once bought a lotto ticket, and a person with me disapproved. I explained that opportunity is always present, but sometimes you have to make a doorway for it to enter. And yes, knowledge is invaluable because you can’t buy it and you cannot function without it. For example, what if you never learned left from right?

I think you and ECR are right about the importance of friendship and human touch. After all, we are inherently social creatures and need social interaction. Kids don’t need to be taught this instinctual trait, but our paranoid society has made simple normal and necessary contact a taboo. Don’t believe me, then you are not listening to the news. Almost daily, from kindergarteners on up, schools are suspending kids for hugging. Wow, imagine the negative lesson that ingrains in their minds? A society that forbids nature is in for deep psychological trouble. Is it any wonder that a society which condemns and criminalizes touching begins to see other people a mere objects? Just look at the callous way in which such a large number of teens view others with disrespect. The culture is becoming debris. In the poor communities it is blamed on poverty. But the same willingness to hurt others is equally prevalent in well-to-do neighborhoods. This lack of something basic in these kids’ upbringing is systemic. How sad, and we all suffer for it. Me, I just wanna hold your hand. So, it is great that there are people like peacenick who continue to enjoy giving a bit of love to stranger. Come on, folks, let’s comb someone’s hair.

Logos

 

[peacenik]

Good Evening!
It's been a long time between replies here huh? Since returning from the coast it's just been non-stop activites for me, there's just been so much to do. It's that time again....you know?
It was looking like I'd have to have surgery on my hand, bad case of "trigger thumb" but was able to get alot of relief instead through massage work & a little electric therapy. I'm able to type again! So the notion of losing the abilities of my hand was a very reflectful time.The idea of having to be so dependent upon others for things that I took for granted.
I've had another birthday since I last wrote in, I'm really going to make a bigger effort to take better care of myself! I can barely swing that weed-eater like I used to!!!
I heard something I'd like to pass on to everyone. We all hear the news, the economy is listing & there's alot of evil out there. In times like these it's so easy to let it all overwhelm us, there's so much uncertainty. But remember to be kind to those around you, to have patience, to show affection, to laugh.
On that note, I'll say good night & have a great week-end!

 

[flubnutz]

as i have aged, my hair has migrated down my body, from my head to my ears and eyebrows and to my back and ass. if by some modern miracle of medical science i was to live to be 150, i think it will have all moved to my ankles and i will look like alice the goon.

 

[peacenik]

know what you mean! Like where did my behind go??? I'm wearing it up front now, which makes all my levi's fit weird! It's hard to find clothes that fit my new figure, Iwear sarongs alot in summer, besides my hippie uniform (jeans + t-shirt) or (jeans skirt + t-shirt) or just t-shirt!
How many out here have a suit in the closet?? My hubby's proud that at 52 he's never put one on yet, he calls them "suits of The Man"!

 

[Logos]

Good Evening!
It's been a long time between replies here huh? Since returning from the coast it's just been non-stop activites for me, there's just been so much to do. It's that time again....you know?
It was looking like I'd have to have surgery on my hand, bad case of "trigger thumb" but was able to get alot of relief instead through massage work & a little electric therapy. I'm able to type again! So the notion of losing the abilities of my hand was a very reflectful time.The idea of having to be so dependent upon others for things that I took for granted.
I've had another birthday since I last wrote in, I'm really going to make a bigger effort to take better care of myself! I can barely swing that weed-eater like I used to!!!
I heard something I'd like to pass on to everyone. We all hear the news, the economy is listing & there's alot of evil out there. In times like these it's so easy to let it all overwhelm us, there's so much uncertainty. But remember to be kind to those around you, to have patience, to show affection, to laugh.
On that note, I'll say good night & have a great week-end!

Hello, peacenik and belated happy birthday:

Non-stop lately has been the theme of my life for a couple of weeks now, so hopefully it will slow and I can return my attention to other activities I love.

Thanks for your observations, as they apply universally. I am pleased that you have not lost the use of you hand. Along that line, this body has gotten banged up over the years of hard use, and so I cannot physically do those activities for as long and as hard as I once was capable. However, if something were to occur that would make me dependent on others or if I must work to live when this body is no longer adequately able, then I will kill it and move on. Just that simple. I do not believe in trying to squeeze every last minute out of this go-around of life. For me, dignity and quality of life is much more important than sucking in air as long as possible. Besides, life does not die, it only changes form.

Logos