Five Ways to Live Your Dream

I have been going through magazines pulling out recipes, articles and such that I want to save. And I came across this...in Organic Style (which isn't in print anymore but has an online version but I just subscribed to it today.)

5 Ways to Live Your Dreams
1. Break the rules. Do what you want, if it harms no one.
2. Spend time alone, at home, in a restaurant, or across the globe and you'll hear your inner voice.
3. Follow your passion -- whatever it takes.
4. Stop worrying so much about what other people think. It's your life.
5. Get over your fear. Fear is normal, so embrace it, and then you'll get past it.

Beautiful People

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Don't Divorce

A friend had this video on her blog. She just got married this summer in California to her partner so might be one of the couples forced to get a divorce. It is upsetting. So this video is made in support of the Courage Campaign to fight it.



"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Homeless in America

So the other day Michael and I watched - well he watched and I listened - to President Obama's town hall meeting in Florida. During it a woman who sounded like she was on the verge of tears and talked of living in her car with her son. And asked if the stimulus package would help them. Later I found her son was laid off from a computer programing job so couldn't keep their house payments up. I was instantly in tears of course watching her... and feeling for her.

Here is a link to the Huffington Post with the clip of Henrietta Hughes asking President Obama her question.

When trying to find the link to that clip, I made a mistake by clicking on a conservative right blog. It went on and on how it was staged. I have read the news articles with photos of people standing in line for tickets. And doesn't seem it was staged. The next thing they complained about is how a homeless woman could have stockings on, a decent looking dress and nice hair but be living in a car. That they had never seen homeless people that didn't have matted hair, dirty clothes and stunk. I was appalled that people would talk about people less fortunate like that.

As someone who has worked in homeless shelters and known people who were homeless at one point or another in their life. I can say that if they got a ticket to see President Obama - they would have been in a bathroom at a public park getting ready if need be. And I am sure that is what Henrietta Hughes did and that is sad that someone has to do live like that.

I found another post on Huffington Post about helping people like Henrietta Hughes. And trying to find solutions.

I suggest taking a look at Change.org that is a social networking site to learn about causes, connect with people good people working for change and take action.

Elizabeth Gilbert on TED

Michael found this and passed it on to me. It is Elizabeth Gilbert the author of Eat Pray Love giving a talk about the creative process and what it does to us creative types. I really enjoyed it and felt myself nodding along on many things.

Compassion

Bean of Coyote Craft posted this.... and I just had to repost it.

"Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary.

Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion... is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception."

~ Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

Soul Collage

A very dear friend of mine, Jessica had been doing Soul Collage. I have seen her breathtaking and moving cards. She inspired me with them. It was one of those things that I thought someday I will get the book and do the work for it. Right now I am still in that "I am 40 years old (41 years old now but started when I hit 40) and what do I have to show for my life and where do I want it to go the next 20 years" phase. So doing that kind of work probably would be very good for me but as always things just get put aside.

Well after yesterday I don't have an excuse anymore. Jessica gave me a gift of the book and brought together 4 of us friends to do this together. I am looking forward to exploring all that comes with it.

Here is another link about them too that talks about how to make them.

October 15th Blog Action Day

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Going to participate in this over on my other blog.

What Would You Do?

I watched Oprah one day last week where she featured Primetime's What Would You Do? series with John Quinones. They set up actors to perform scenarios and see how people reacted to them. Such as they had teenagers in a park - one girl being picked on by a bunch of girls. And then they saw what people did. Men didn't respond and women did. Women would just start out trying to talk to the bully girls and then started acting like the teenagers. Calling the teenagers losers with the attitude of teenager.

Of course all the scenarios bothered me but there were a few that brought tears to my eyes as it just hurt to see others being treated so poorly and no one doing anything. One of the scenarios reminded me of a situation I encountered a month or two after 9/11.

One situation that brought tears was an African American couple arguing in a park - they were the actors. And many men that came up to them said take this out of the park. They didn't say this isn't right -- how the man was talking to the woman and how he was grabbing her. But said take it out of the park. And they would say things like..."these people" shouldn't be using the park like this. But they didn't really help the woman of the couple. It was amazing to me because the things the man was saying to the woman of couple were very offensive. He was grabbing her by the arm swinging him back to her saying don't walk away from me and he even slapped at her bottom a few times. And yet no one was stopping. But one woman finally stopped and wouldn't leave. She didn't have a cell phone and kept asking passersby for a cell phone to call 911 but wouldn't leave the woman alone. The actors did this for 5 hours before a woman that stopped. It makes me sick to think that so many people passed them by and didn't help her. When Primetime's John Quinones interviewed people after the men said they thought it would just escalate it and they might get hurt. That thought just boggles my mind. Then go to the nearest phone and call 911 - stop someone and say call 911 and then go over to the couple so you can get involved now to stop what was happening to her. Benjamin Franklin said, "He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither." To me no man is free if they can really stand by and watch something like that.

The woman of actors/couple said after doing that for 5 hours having that kind of offensive language and behavior used on her - although she was an actor - it did affect her. She was feeling defeated and then finally that woman stopped and she said she felt like finally someone saw me. When she was asked why she stopped she said how could I not stop.

Then the other scenario that really got to me was a woman with a headcovering came into a bakery and the guy behind the counter was an actor and the woman in the headcovering was also. She said she had a question about the apple pastry and the guy behind the counter started saying he didn't serve her kind that she wasn't an American she was a terrorist. He said extremely offensive anti-Muslim and anti-Arab slurs. And most people just literally looked the other way by turning their faces to not look at her. Some even stepped in front of her to order. There was one man that thanked/commended the guy behind the counter and agreed she was a terrorist and not an American. She said I was born and raised here. That didn't matter to him. She asked people in line to buy her an apple pastry and they wouldn't. There were a few people that stopped and stuck up for her. One man had a son in Iraq and said that this woman shouldn't be treated that way. He said that he stopped in the bakery every time he passed by it and now he wouldn't again. Then there were two young women that really got angry and one said she wanted to see the manager right away that if anyone needed to leave was the guy behind the counter. That it wasn't right to treat anyone the way he was and so on - she was great!

It made me remember I was coming out of a grocery store maybe a month or just bit longer after 9/11 and there was a woman with a little kid and holding a couple sacks on the way her car a little ways in front of me. She was wearing a headcovering and also a long dress. She was basically covered - except for her face. And a man and what I assumed was his son went up to her and spit on her and knocked her groceries from her hands. They were telling her to go back home that she wasn't wanted here in the USA anymore. I ran over to her asked her if she was okay. I helped pick up her groceries. She had tears streaming down face. And the man told me I shouldn't be helping a terrorist. I was like she isn't a terrorist...and went on to say that she looked like a mom shopping for groceries to go home and make dinner just like I was and he probably was too. He just rolled his eyes at me. He told all of "them" are terrorist and he walked away. I helped her get to her car and asked if she wanted me to call 911. She said no. I felt so sorry for her. She thanked me several times. I told her that they should be apologizing and although it wasn't the same I was apologized for their behavior. She said that it was not necessary that it has been happening quite a bit -- but she can't hide out in her house for the rest of her life. I told her I hoped she wouldn't because not everyone was as ignorant as those two men. She said I proved that to her.

"Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander." From the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out. (one version of the famous words by Martin Niemöller)

I will not be a bystander and I will not remain silent.


(image from a triptych I did on censorship)

Zen Habits

ZenHabits is one of my regular reads. I have always enjoyed the simplistic advice it gives. Yesterday's was about being content with ones life....The Incredible Power of Contentment

World Aids Day

December 1st was World's Aids Day and this was the first year in many that I forgot. I didn't mention it or even think about. And I feel ashamed. Years ago it was something that I think was more up in the face with education and awareness. And it bothers me that has disappeared because I know HIV/AIDS hasn't disappeared. Stats -- 33.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2007. It is hard to think about so many people suffering. But is something I don't want to ignore or pretend isn't an issue...it is still here. And I hope that one day there will be a cure.