Today, our family celebrates the birthday of one of our family members. We only wish we were closer, that we were together to celebrate. We send you our love, regardless of the distance that separate us. You are always in our hearts.
And the USA observes the anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center. It has proven to be the most expensive demolition effort in the history of mankind.
In 1297 Scottish rebel William Wallace defeats the English. FREEDOM!
HEALTH & FITNESS
Great jog this morning. I covered over three miles for the first time in months. It was a slow jog (18-19 minute miles), starting by listening to Laura of the NHS Couch-5K podcasts, and ending with listening to Steve Boyett's 133 BPM "Common Ground" track from Podrunner.
Tuesday is bowling night, and today was a challenging day. The bowling center was very hot and humid, and that never helps bowling conditions. We had fun, and that is all that matters.
HURRICANE FLORENCE
Our area is in full Hurricane mode. Two major highways had lane reversals to help with coastal evacuation efforts. This usually means our highways are super congested. On top of that, we are beginning to experience weird weather; this afternoon we had a strong, very isolated thunderstorm that was exciting and a bit scary. Please visit the National Hurricane Center website for more information.
GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS
I am going to begin listing my streaks here.
Writing: Day 13
Blood Pressure Readings: 4 days in a row
Logging to SparkPeople: 3 days in a row
Intermittent Fasting: (I will re-start tomorrow)
Daily Exercise Routine: in order to count this one, I am making it a bit challenging. A day will only count if it contains at least 30 minutes of cardio, at least 30 minutes of strength training, at least 10 minutes of stretching, at least six hours of sleep, and at least 10 minutes of meditation. The count starts tomorrow.
Meditation: 5 days (all-time = 40)
FINANCES
Tomorrow I must catch up with "EveryDollar" entries. This is the danger of not keeping up with it; trying to be accurate and being behind are enemies to financial success.
PODCASTS / VIDEOS
Warning: do not watch videos that start "10 great gadgets …" unless you have lots of self-discipline! I watched two of those today and ended up spending $100 at Amazon. Granted, these are things I need for long term projects, and I did get a huge bargain on one of them (saved over $60), but many of these things could have waited. Indeed, I could cancel the orders if I wanted to, but I am not planning on doing that. I do have the money in the bank, I was planning on getting the things anyway. I am very happy with the purchases I made and I cannot wait to get them delivered after Florence is out of the area.
The European Union (EU) recently announced that they were working on discontinuing what in the USA is called Daylight Savings Time (DST). The EU citizens found that the time change was no longer applicable to a society that is not, for the most part, largely based on agriculture and farming. Europeans argue that if the aim of this time change is to maximize use of daily time, then the time change is highly ineffective at doing so. I completely concur. I firmly believe the disadvantages of DST significantly outweigh its benefits. It is time to ditch an obsolete construct and settle on Standard time. It is not as if every community in the USA follows it, anyway. I think it is time to let the time be the time and stop monkeying with the time, for time's sake! Time, after all, is just an illusion, a human construct designed to get more things done, often at the expense of actual living.
HURRICANE UPDATE
Hurricane Florence is heading our way, perhaps not as a direct hit to the SC coast, but close enough to cause havoc. Schools in our district have already been closed through next week. Our governor has issued mandatory evacuation orders for all coastal counties. Store shelves are just about empty, even this far inland.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I did a partial workout today. I simply ran out of time (and some motivation) to complete the whole thing. It is hard to get back on a workout routine once you have been off for a week or two. Tomorrow will be better.
PERSONAL GROWTH
I briefly looked online today on ways of making common, free cardboard boxes more usable for organizing efforts. Here is my suggestion: use an old pillow case to cover the box.
Shoe box with top cut off. Not pretty.
Shoe box with rolled cleaning rags. That would work.
Found an old pillow case. Slip box into pillow case.
Cover box with pillow case. Gently tuck material into box.
Same cleaning rags inside newly covered box. Much nicer. Easy project.
What in the world is a mayor in Louisiana thinking? According to a news report, the mayor of Kenner City has banned the use of Nike products perhaps as a reaction to Nike's decision to use Colin Kaepernick as their spokesperson for the latest "Just Do It" campaign. I don't think the mayor of any city should interfere with free commerce and free enterprise based on their political viewpoint. Government business should be conducted without influence of personal opinions. This mayor has left their city open to a lawsuit, although I doubt Nike will do that. Nike's sales have gone through the roof as a result of their decision to hire Kaepernick. By the way, I admire Mt. Kaepernick for his valor and bravery and his firm convictions; in many ways, his courageous actions forced us to open our eyes to issues that had remained buried under the rug of ignorance for far too long. We may not have liked what he brought to light, and facing these issues has made us a better nation.
TIPS & TRICKS
An easier way to roll jeans:
TECHNOLOGY
Do you log out? It is not uncommon for computer users to allow connections to websites (such as banking sites) to expire before they logout. Often, users just close the window or tab without logging off. This is not a good practice as it potentially leaves the connection to the account vulnerable to hacking. The best thing we can do is to always log off from any resources we have connected to.
Sunday, a day usually reserved for spiritual time and relaxation. Unless it is this Sunday, which was hectic and it lacked a lot of the spirituality that I normally like to focus on.
I joined my Tribe for some beautiful dancing on its fifth anniversary of starting, and also the last time dancing at our current location. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to run errands and pick up my daughter and do some preparations for Hurricane Florence.which seems to be heading straight for SC.
I managed to accomplish a lot today. In the afternoon I went back to Dollar Tree to get more organizing boxes. Here are some before and after pictures:
The shorts are now in nice boxes; top container for sports, bottom for dress shorts.
Before: Shorts (sports and dress) in available cardboard boxes
After: Shorts (sports and dress) in inexpensive nice boxes
The second part is cleaning, purging and organizing the remaining two drawers of my dresser.
Before: second drawer -- what a mess!
After: middle drawer (t-shirts, head wear, swim suits)
I also managed to cook a yummy Mexican dish called "Mole Verde." It came out great. I will have to share my recipe and tricks will all of you at some time.
Speaking of tricks, I realized during the rolling of many items that one of the tricks to a successful Army roll is to make sure that the area where you begin to roll is narrower than the place where the roll is going to tuck into the garment. The second thing I realized is that you don't really need to roll every single inch of the garment. It works almost as well to fold the part you are going to roll in half and then roll that much smaller amount of garment. In some clothes you can fold the garment into thirds before you begin rolling. Much faster and easier on your hands.
That's it for this post. Much more to clean and organize, but it will wait until tomorrow.
Writing challenge, Day 10: a busy Saturday, a fun Saturday, a productive Saturday.
Yesterday I stayed up late (past 1 AM) trying to master the new skills needed to do the Ranger Roll for best packing of clothes (please see video below). I managed to roll pants, shirts, sports shorts, and socks; dress shorts and underwear, however, did not work for me. I ended up adapting the concept for those two garments. For dress shorts, I still rolled them and used rubber bands to hold each short neatly tucked in. For underwear I modified the tucking step to make it work. It is not as neat or durable, but it still does the job.
Dress shorts, rolled, rubber band
Sports shorts, rolled, tucked in
All shorts neatly stored in available cardboard boxes (to be replaced with appropriate cubes later)
Learning to do the Ranger/Army Roll lead to videos on organizing clothes. This morning I bought some very inexpensive organizing cubes for my socks and such. I wish I had taken a picture of the before. But here is the after.
Socks and underwear, neatly organized
Socks and underwear, neatly organized, drawer in place
More or less what the top drawer used to look like. This is my project for tomorrow.
PERSONAL GROWTH
Why all the fuss about cleaning and organizing. It is a way to reset my mindset, not just about clothes and drawers, but also about other aspects of life. Just like I started with working on my finances, cleaning other areas of my life is a good exercise in discipline and tidiness.
TIPS & TRICKS
Fantastic clothes folding tricks. I cannot wait to use them the next time I travel!
I wrote this post on 9/7/2018 and got busy and did not post it until 9/8/2018. Life happens. :-)
TODAY
I am celebrating day nine of the writing challenge. Speaking of celebrations, September 7 is a very busy day of celebrations:
National Beer Lover's Day
National Lazy Mom's Day
National Food Bank Day
National Grandma Moses Day
National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day
National Salami Day
National Grateful Patient Day
National Acorn Squash Day
National New Hampshire Day
If nothing else, maybe we can bring some donations to a food bank. Perhaps we can then go out and have a salami sandwich and a beer while enjoying a day that has neither snow nor rain, being grateful that we are not a patient (in hospital or nursing home) or that we don't have to endure the New Hampshire winters. I will let you figure out what to do with the Lazy Mom and Grandma Moses part of the list.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I received a nice pair of ASICS running shoes from one of my favorite supplies (Running Warehouse) last night and I went for a nice 2+ mile jog this morning. I am not sure about the new shoes; they feel a bit tight, but it just may be the newer model is cut different than the models I am used to. I will give it one more try on Sunday and then decide if I need to return them. The great thing about Running Warehouseis that returns are hassle free.
FINANCES
So far I am thoroughly enjoying "EveryDollar". Today was my payday, which means entering a whole bunch of manual transactions. I looked at Mint a little today, but I think I am going to stick with "EveryDollar" for now.
TIPS & TRICKS
Excellent tips for times when you are traveling and use a hostel or AirBnB.
On September 6 we celebrate "National Read A Book Day" and "National Coffee Ice Cream Day." Coffee ice cream is one of my favorites, and reading a book one of my favorite pastimes. Maybe it is a sign that tonight we should eat some coffee ice cream (my favorite) while reading a book, although we must be careful not to drip all over the pages (especially if it is a borrowed item). J
Lots of things happened on this date, among them:
1620 The Mayflower
departs Plymouth, England with 102 Pilgrims and about 30 crew for the New World
1901 US President
William McKinley is shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, while visiting the
Pan-American Exposition in New York
1916 1st true
supermarket, the "Piggly Wiggly" is opened by Clarence Saunders in
Memphis, Tennessee
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divine within you." ~ Amit Ray
HEALTH & FITNESS
I am been good about logging in to SparkPeople everyday for the last six days. I just caught up with entering the food I have eaten. Sadly, this effort brings to mind that I have not been exercising daily as I know I should. Time to get back on it — today! :-)
PERSONAL GROWTH
As I rose this morning I realized I missed one of my streaks yesterday. I was rushed in the morning and forgot to meditate; then got busy all day and did not meditate during the day. And so my streak of meditation days ended at 40 days. Today, I start that streak again. There is an important lesson there: just because we miss one day of whatever activity we are trying to do regularly, it does not mean we need not start all over. The event (in my case, missing the meditation period) gives us pause to evaluate the importance of relevance of that event. If it is still important and relevant, then we must start again. And, as my Buddhist Master often says, when we forget the activity (and we will), then start again, and then again, and be kind to yourself when you find yourself starting over and over. Whether this applies to meditation, exercise, diet, work assignments, cleaning, or anything else, it is a daily process that we commit to everyday.
How appropriate that today's quote is about meditation.
The other lesson from this finding is that rituals and routines are critical in developing better habits and achieving our goals and making our dreams come true.
FINANCES
As I venture into using "EveryDollar" everyday, I learn more and more about my finances. One of the things we must be alert to, regardless of what budgeting/tracking system you use, is the impact of automatic transactions. I have many transactions carefully scheduled, and tracking each manually will be a nice challenge.
POLITICS
I published my "Manifesto for a Better United States of America" as a separate post. It is not meant to be a call for revolution, but for reform. Some of the reform is drastic and could be confused with revolution. In my mind, the time for this type of drastic change is now, perhaps overdue by decades. We cannot continue doing things in the same way and expecting different results. When we waste billions of dollars on war instead of spending those resources on peaceful efforts that would result in less suffering then we miss the opportunity to make a real positive impact in our world.
One of the podcasts I listen to regularly and that applies to anyone is called "Hacking Humans." I think we can all learn from the hacks hackers are using to hack into our lives. Power is knowledge, and knowledge brings safety.
TECHNOLOGY
Have you been the victim of an internet based crime? Not sure who to talk to about it? Try the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3
I originally posted this manifesto on September 5, 2018. This is my vision of what we must do in order to make the United States a better country and thus begin the process of improving the world. I made small edits on September 6, 2018.
Here is my manifesto for true change in the United States of America and in the world:
1. Congress must pass an amendment limiting the number of terms a Senator and Representative can serve. Senators must be limited to two terms, Representatives to three terms.
2. The salary for members of Congress shall be set to the average wages received in their district. If the average wage in a congressional district is $26,000 per year, then that would be the salary for that member of Congress. There shall be no additional perks or bonuses allowed; the majority of Americans do not get perks nor bonuses.
3. The benefits given to a member of Congress shall match the lowest benefits available in their congressional district. If there are citizens that lack health or other benefits, then the Congress member shall have none.
4. Neither Members of Congress nor the President shall have lifetime benefits after finishing their term. They shall be eligible to receive a one-time payment equal to their previous year's salary to assist them in transitioning back to private life; their health benefits, if any, shall also be extended by one year after the end of their term.
5. Congress shall not pass any law that affects the citizenship but to which Congress is exempted.
6. It shall be illegal for Congress to pass any expenditure resolution which contains unrelated amendments that thus increase the expenditure. For example, a resolution to authorize the funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs shall not contain amendments of any kind unless they directly affect programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
7. Congress shall pass a balanced budget amendment and shall submit and approve an annual budget at least 120 days in advance of the end of the current fiscal year. Failure to do so would result in disciplinary action, potentially including loss of salary and termination for failure to perform.
8. Any Bill/Resolution brought for a vote must be presented to Congress with a minimum of 30 days prior to the scheduled vote. All such items for voting must be publicly available for at least 30 days so that citizens can voice concerns to their representatives.
9. All citizens shall receive basic health benefits at no cost.
10. All citizens shall receive education benefits, including access to college and universities, at no cost.
11. The criminal justice system shall be reformed to help rehabilitate, not punish, those that commit a crime. We shall implement a system based not on revenge but on compassion. Humankind's history shows us that the more pain we inflict, the more pain we suffer; the more love we give, the more love we receive.
12. We shall strive to end poverty, ignorance and disease worldwide; we must dedicate our resources to improve conditions on Earth for all planet inhabitants by focusing all our efforts to ensure we live in peace and freedom, and that everyone has enough food, water and shelter, and excellent free health care and education.
Partisan politics in the USA has reached ridiculous levels. Please read my thoughts below under "POLITICS."
Today is "World Cheese Pizza Day." Does that mean that toppings are outlawed today?
Speaking of outlaws, Jesse James was born on this date in 1847. I bet he would kill for one of those cheese pizzas.
Tonight dinner will consist of cheese pizza to conform with today's celebration, and we will also have pizza with toppings, to push back against the expected, to be a rebel, to be different; mostly, just because pizza is great with or without toppings!
PERSONAL GROWTH
Here are seven things you can control that can make a huge difference in your life:
FINANCES
On my drive to work I realized that some of the knowledge that comes from budgeting and expense tracking can lead us to believe that being over-budget on one or more categories is a horrible thing. While it is not the best idea to over-spend, knowing that we are over-spending is the first step in making changes that will, eventually, bring us to the point where we can live within our means and stop over-spending. This is especially true in the first few months of us taking responsibility for our finances. It is during this time that we discover where money is going that we did not even realize was a factor. It is this process of discovery that brings control to our spending habits. With knowledge comes the power to make adjustments. If we over-spend one month, then we can strive to under-spend the next month to make things balance out. Knowledge is the key to self-control.
POLITICS
Partisan politics in the USA has reached ridiculous levels. Yesterday's Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination were a pathetic display of useless partisan politics. As a liberal, I was dismayed by the ridiculous waste of time and effort in what we all suspect is public posturing for the cameras. Democrats do not have the votes to prevent the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. I understand that there are many things not to like about how the process is going. It is not fair that thousands of pages of related documents were received just hours before the hearings were scheduled to start. It is unfair that twice as many pages were excluded from the disclosure. It is sad that there is no time to digest all this material to make an informed decision on Judge Kavanaugh. On the other hand, Judge Kavanaugh has an extensive public life and Democrats have had lots of time to investigate and they did not have to wait until the day of the hearing to begin the process. And, from what I heard in an NPR report a few months ago, Judge Kavanaugh is the least worrisome candidate amongst the list of candidates originally proposed by #45. Is Roe V. Wade in jeopardy if Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed? Perhaps it is. However, considering the erosion to the pro-choice movement at the state level over the last few years, it would not be surprising if Roe gets overturned. Many liberal leaders have allowed this to happen. Change is inevitable, even if we do not like the change that is happening. And change can go the other way if we liberals get our act together.
Here is my manifesto for true change in the United States of America:
1. Congress must pass an amendment limiting the number of terms a Senator and Representative can serve. Senators must be limited to two terms, Representatives to three terms.
2. The salary for members of Congress shall be set to the average wages received in their district. If the average wage in a congressional district is $26,000 per year, then that would be the salary for that member of Congress. There shall be no additional perks or bonuses allowed; the majority of Americans do not get perks nor bonuses.
3. The benefits given to a member of Congress shall match the lowest benefits available in their congressional district. If there are citizens that lack health or other benefits, then the Congress member shall have none.
4. Neither Members of Congress nor the President shall have lifetime benefits after finishing their term. They shall be eligible to receive a one-time payment equal to their previous year's salary to assist them in transitioning back to private life; their health benefits shall also be extended by one year after the end of their term.
5. Congress shall not pass any law that affects the citizenship but to which Congress is exempted.
6. It shall be illegal for Congress to pass any expenditure resolution which contains unrelated amendments that thus increase the expenditure. For example, a resolution to authorize the funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs shall not contain amendments of any kind unless they directly affect programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
7. Congress shall pass a balanced budget amendment and shall submit and approve an annual budget at least 120 days in advance of the end of the current fiscal year. Failure to do so would result in disciplinary action, potentially including loss of salary and termination for failure to perform.
8. Any Bill/Resolution brought for a vote must be presented to Congress with a minimum of 30 days prior to the scheduled vote. All such items for voting must be publicly available for at least 30 days so that citizens can voice concerns to their representatives.
9. All citizens shall receive basic health benefits at no cost.
10. All citizens shall receive education benefits, including access to college and universities, at no cost.
11. The criminal justice system shall be reformed to help rehabilitate, not punish, those that commit a crime. We shall implement a system based not on revenge but on compassion. Humankind's history shows us that the more pain we inflict, the more pain we suffer; the more love we give, the more love we receive.
12. We shall strive to end poverty, ignorance and disease; we must dedicate our resources to improve conditions on Earth for all planet inhabitants by focusing all our efforts to ensure we live in peace, and that everyone has enough food, water and shelter, and excellent free health care and education.
TIPS & TRICKS
Should I Answer That Call? If you are bombarded by phone calls at home or on your cell from numbers you do not recognize, you may appreciate the website "Should I Answer?" Not only can you look up numbers, you can also report scammers and telemarketers.
Writing Challenge day 6 (by the way, I will stop counting once I reach 31 days — I figure I would have tortured you enough by then).
Today was a busy day and content is not as abundant as in previous days. It looks like after day #31 I may try for shorter posts, and post more often during the day.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your unguarded thoughts." Buddha
HEALTH & FITNESS
One of my trusted sources for health information is "The People's Pharmacy." In today's newsletter they share information about a potential source of relief for people dealing with certain types of allergies: Quercetin. Most importantly, it is naturally occurring in foods like kale and apples.
Using "EveryDollar" is beginning to pay off. I am becoming more aware of where money is going and how many categories I had forgotten to include originally. This is what it is all about: knowledge, which then allows you to begin gaining control of your finances.
POLITICS
Another example on how #45 continues to try to erode the American system of justice, a system that is envied throughout the world, and thus corrupt it beyond recognition:
Today is day five of this writing challenge. It is also Labor Day in the United States. As usual, Labor Day falls on a Monday, the first Monday in September. Monday, which to many is the most hated day of the week, the day when they return to work, that horrible four-letter word.
But not this Monday. This Monday, in the United States, is about celebrating Labor by not laboring.
For many of us, it also means that Tuesday will be congested with all the things we needed to do on Monday but we did not do on Monday because we were off on Monday and now we need to do Monday and Tuesday work all on Tuesday.
How do you squeeze 16 hours worth of work into eight hours? You work 12 hours on Tuesday and 12 hours on Wednesday, of course! By the time Thursday comes, no wonder we are looking forward to Friday so that we can start the weekend!
In addition to Labor Day, today we celebrate U.S. Bowling League Day. I have been an avid bowler for 44 years (still looking for my first 300 game). I am also the Secretary/Treasurer for a bowling league (currently dormant) and have served as President and Vice-President of several leagues over the years. I am a lifetime member of the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), perhaps the only one in Columbia and one of few in South Carolina. I love bowling!
HEALTH & FITNESS
Although I went to bed very late last night (it was actually very early this morning, 1:30 AM to be exact), I managed to get up, take care of chores (feed dog and cats, clean litter boxes, etc.) and went for a 2.2 mile jog. I recently discovered the NHS Couch-to-5K podcast series and have been using it over the last few weeks. I just finished Week 2 and started on Week 3. I am thoroughly enjoying the music and the personal trainer (Laura) that guides you through the walking and jogging lapses. I recommend it as an alternative to Steve Boyett's amazing C25K series on Podrunner.
I have never been a very fast runner; at the height of my fitness in 2009 I was able to approach a 9-minute mile during several 5K races. I am currently averaging an 18-minute mile using the C25K program. Considering I still have some pain on my right knee, I think I am doing quite well.
Today, I also started the Darebee "90 Day of Action" (PDF here).
GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS
My friend Warren Doyle has hiked the Appalachian Trail 18 times over the decades. More importantly, he has helped dozens of people achieve their dream of conquering the 2200 miles that run from Georgia to Maine and, in the process, conquering themselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I recently came across this documentary of one brave, admirable young lady that hiked the AT and documented it for all to see.
PERSONAL GROWTH
FINANCES
The "EveryDollar" app continues to impress me. It is extremely easy to use and, with that, easy to track expenses on the go.
PODCASTS / VIDEOS
I recently added a podcast to my collection of resources, and today was the first time I listened to "The Life Coach School." Full disclosure: as with many podcasts, this one is used as a soft-selling tool for the author's training classes and seminars. This one, however, seems to bring reasonable value to the listener. The latest podcast is titled "Who are you becoming?" and it makes some excellent points on how we can manage our paradigms to make progress and become who we want to become. We are all in transition and the trick to success is to manage the transition process. A key point of the episode is that we need to consider our capabilities not on what we have accomplished but on what we want to become. The author points that if we based on future solely on our accomplishments then we would never have learned to walk because, of course, we did not know how to walk (past accomplishment) and therefore we had no experience in such to help us become a walker. This is, obviously, an over-simplification of the matter, but worthwhile considering nonetheless.
TECHNOLOGY
One of the best computer-related websites available is Bleeping Computer; they have a vast knowledge base and are often the first to report on problems and dangers with our dear computers (including the smart phones we use all the time).
IOU
I mentioned I would share tips from Sunday's UU service today. Today is, however, quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be a very busy day and the UU service content may have to wait until Wednesday.
It is Sunday, a day many reserve for church and family activities.
I am not a religious person but I routinely attend services at the Unitarian Universalist church in Columbia. I love their philosophy and I actually became a member over a year ago, the second organized church I have ever joined.
I am definitely a spiritual person. I am an ordained Buddhist layperson and an ordained minister in two Humanist churches. I do not believe in God in the way many people do (that is, an omnipotent being that punishes and rewards, one who we must fear and obey blindly). To me, God is the Universal energy that connects everything; that is my understanding, and it is likely flawed and incomplete, but that is the best I can come up with. As my Buddhist Master once told me, much of the Universe is beyond human comprehension. Although we see that it works, we do not always understand how it works.
Humans have a tendency to demand an explanation for everything, and so we come up with ideas/concepts about how things work. The problem, of course, is when we grasp unto our beliefs so tightly that we name them "The Truth." When our truth becomes the only acceptable truth then we enter the "suffering zone." We either suffer ourselves when others disagree with us, or we cause others to suffer because they think differently from us.
Those in power love this because that causes us to be divided, fragmented, impeded from working for the collective good. The elite has created all manners of ways to divide us, religion being but one of them. Globally, we are separated by national borders. We are split by races, ignoring the fact hat we are just one race: the human race. From early childhood we are taught to be rivals with something: a different school, a different sport team, a different club. Our world is constantly being fragmented with the main purpose of keeping us apart.
I often recall John Lennon's "Imagine" — I wonder what it would be to not be so divided, to be more united, to work together for the common good. Can we imagine a world without borders, without religions, without competitive team sports, without political parties? Can we imagine a world in which we no longer need to stand against things, in which we stand for things, and then work collectively to achieve those things?
I will share more about Sunday's service tomorrow.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I missed jogging again this morning. Darn it! I went to bed late last night working on "EveryDollar" and did not get up until after 7 AM. I cannot wait for Fall weather so that I can begin running during the day and evening. Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Speaking of fitness, I highly recommend the Darebee website. They provide, free of charge, a huge collection of workout plans, challenges, and other fitness and health information. All their materials are downloadable and printable. All for free. I donate monthly to them. Please consider supporting them if you find value in their resources.
And speaking of Darebee, I plan to start their "90 Days of Action" program tomorrow. I will keep you posted.
MEDITATION
I am on Day 38 of daily morning meditations. That is a record number of days for my meditation practice. Today's session was on Equanimity, the mindful intent of finding common ground with anybody we dislike. It is a powerful meditation because, at the very least, every being wants to be happy and free of suffering; we all have that in common. If we think about anyone we have a conflict with and we remind ourselves that the other person is also seeking happiness then we begin to build bridges with them.
GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS
Tim Minchin is an amazing comedian, musician and philosopher. I love his commencement speech. I have listened to it many times and I always laugh and I am moved and inspired by his words.
One of the most powerful messages from his speech is his plea for people to be teachers. Tim says, in part: "Be a teacher, even if you are not a teacher, be a teacher." We all have something to offer to the rest of humanity. Let us share our knowledge, our experiences, our discoveries. Every story matters, every voice is important. Raise your voice, share yourself with the world. Be a teacher!
One of the most amazing, thought-provoking pieces by Tim is called "The Fence." Enjoy!
PERSONAL GROWTH
For some time now I have been working on becoming a minimalist. Someone recently asked for a definition of minimalism. It boils down to this: a minimalist questions the value of everything in their life. It is not just about material things, although that is a good point to start. It is not about having the least number of things, it is about only having things that bring value in our life. And beyond the realm of "things" we can have other areas such as activities and relationships. We can view the things we do and the people we interact with regularly and find if they bring value to our life (and when it comes to relationships, we could also question whether we bring value into the other person's life). Sometimes we are in a crappy relationship and we are the cause of it being crappy.
For more information on minimalism, I suggest reading the blog by "The Minimalists". I met Josh and Ryan when they were in Columbia some time ago and they are genuine believers in the power of minimalism. You may also enjoy reading Leo Babauta's "Zen Habits". Leo was one of the original minimalists.
FINANCES
I have been using the "EveryDollar" website and app very successfully today. One word of caution. Do not get too far ahead in your monthly budgeting. If you create several monthly budgets and then you decide to add categories to the current month, the new categories do not automatically appear in future months unless you use the "Reset" function (link located at the bottom of the page) which will copy the previous month budget and categories, but also causes you to lose any budget data entered for that month. It is not a big deal, but I wanted to share this tidbit with you.
POLITICS
You may have heard or read that Sen. McCain's daughter delivered a strong message about how America is already a great nation that does not need to be made great again. #45 could not take the high ground on this and went on the attack. How un-presidential these actions are. Childish and vengeful behavior that would be expected of a 10-year old, not the head of state of the most powerful nation on Earth. But then again … perhaps he is not the legitimate head of state of the most powerful nation on Earth.
TIPS & TRICKS
For months now I have been using the "Waze" app to plan my drives, even the simplest ones. It has helped me avoid traffic jams many times. I highly recommend it.
It is Saturday and it seems that the weekends are when I am most vulnerable to fall off my routines and abandon my goals. It goes to show that having a set of rituals for everyday can impact our success. I normally try to get up at 4:30 and be on the road jogging by 5 AM. That requires that I go to bed by 9 PM so that I can get enough rest. Last night, however, I went to bed late (after 10:30 PM) and I did not get up until almost 8 AM. By then it was a bit too hot for jogging so I miss that window for my favorite way to start my day. Too hot at 8 AM? It is if you have a health condition that amplifies the effects of histamines (normally released during exercise) and causes hives all over your back; that happens to me when I exercise in hot, humid weather. Which is interesting because I live in a city that is hot and humid most of the year.
HEALTH & FITNESS
When I first started jogging/running back in 2009, I discovered the Couch To 5K training plan. That lead me to discover Podrunner, the best source for workout music I know of. I have been so impressed and grateful for the hard work of Steve Boyett that I contribute monthly to his website funding. The music mixes that Steve produces can be used for more than just running; he often puts together Tabata mixes, walk mixes, etc. And if you just want to dance (which is also a great fitness activity) then Steve provides dance mixes at Groovelectric. Enjoy!
PERSONAL GROWTH
I have watched the following video many times, and I always find inspiration in the message it carries: it is the little things that make the greatest difference in life.
FINANCES
I started the process of setting financial information through EveryDollar. The initial set up is the hardest part. The next challenge is to keep up with entering transactions daily and working diligently to stay within our budget. Simple things, not so easy to always do. However, I am proud to have finally gotten started. I am very impressed with the website and look forward to using the mobile app. That should make it easier to keep up with things.
PODCASTS / VIDEOS
I want to mention two of the podcasts I listen to regularly:
September is filled with many reasons to celebrate and some of the celebrations have “no rhyme or reason”.
National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day, observed annually on September 1, actually celebrates words in the English language which do not rhyme with any other words. Also known as refractory rhymes, these are words that poets try to avoid using in verse.
Some unrhymable words in the English language include:
Orange
Month
Silver
Spirit
Chimney
Purple
Woman
HOW TO OBSERVE
Make a list of words that you believe cannot be rhymed, and check if you are correct. Use #NoRhymeNorReasonDay to post on social media.
Day two of this daily writing effort. It brings to mind the motivational power of streaks. How long can we do something? How many days can we do the same activity? What is the reward for going on long streaks?
Many groups use streaks to reward and motivate. My daughter told me about Snapchat and their streak philosophy; obviously, they want to increase user involvement with their platform, to create addiction to the chatting, even if it is not always meaningful communication.
HEALTH & FITNESS
My favorite health/fitness website, SparkPeople, uses streaks for motivation in many different ways. You can earn points for simply logging in, earn points for entering the foods you eat, the fitness activities you are perform, etc. During my best fitness (2008-2009), I ran a nice streak of daily log ins and daily journaling of nutrition and fitness. When I let go of that discipline is when I began to slide into unhealthy habits.
Recently, I started using an app called "Zero" to keep track of intermittent fasting. I am doing the 13 hour program and I am beginning to see results. For more than a year I have been stuck at a very unhealthy weight; finally I am beginning to see some weight lose and I am thrilled. Part of the success comes from portion control and part from the fasting hours.
GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS
I have been using the Bedtime feature of the Clock app that comes with the iPhone as a good reminder of when to go to bed so that I can wake up at 4:30 for my morning routine (which includes jogging and other exercises). As long as I go to bed when I am supposed to (or close to it) then I am up and going in time to get everything done. If I don't, then the morning routine suffers.
PERSONAL GROWTH
I am on my 36th day of daily meditation. That is a nice streak of 10-15 minute daily meditations. I use an app called "Breathe" to help with my morning meditations. I recently discovered "Oak" and began using it for my evening (before bedtime) meditations. Each app has its benefits.
As a follow-up to yesterday, here is some amazing advise from Wayne Dyer:
It's your choice: you can be a host to God or a hostage to your ego.
FINANCES
I signed up yesterday for the EveryDollar app/service promoted by Dave Ramsey. I will start the process this evening and keep you posted.
It is hard to believe that just over a year ago I tried to do this daily posting and could not keep it up. Life seems to get too busy and it takes an enormous amount of discipline to write even a little everyday. But here I am, once more, because there are so many things we can share with each other. So here we go!
HEALTH & FITNESS
For several years I have been dealing with a number of health issues. Last year I finally went to a doctor to get a physical. From conventional medicine's viewpoint, my two main issues are high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. With some medication, careful nutrition, regular exercise, and managed rest/sleep, I am beginning to turn the corner on these conditions. I will share more on this later.
GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS
My thought for today: if we want to achieve our greatest goals, we must pay attention to our rituals. A small change in the things we do routinely can have a great impact on the rest of our life. Tony Robbins tells the story of advise he received from a golf pro (see video); he was told that a small change in how a gold ball is hit by the club makes a huge impact on its trajectory and where the ball ends up. Making a small change in our rituals and routines can have a tremendous impact on our life months and years down the road. It is important to remember that we act on "triggers"; for example, we get up and routinely do certain things, usually in a specific order. What if we changed one of those things? Here is an example. Let's say we wake up, hit the snooze button four times (about 36 minutes have gone by), then go to the bathroom, etc. What if we do not hit the snooze button and instead we get up, splash water on our face, and then do some gentle exercises for 20 minutes? How much would that small change impact our health in one year? Ten years? I think it would be huge!
Here is a funny video (warning: profanity used liberally and effectively in the video) on how to change our morning routine:
PERSONAL GROWTH
A friend of mine just watched her life shatter through domestic violence. During long conversations I reminded her of the two most important words we can keep using to settle ourselves for whatever we are facing: I AM.
We need nothing else but those two words. I AM. If we repeat them over and over to ourselves we can center on the fact that we exist and that is an amazing miracle in and of itself.
What we put after "I AM" can be huge in our mindset, our health, and our success. How often we hear people say "I am a smoker," or "I am a failure," or "I am no good at …" (and there are many variations on this: I suck at … , I cannot do math/cooking/skating/etc.).
But what if we used better additives to "I AM"? I am alive! I am successful! I am love! I am safe! I am strong! The impact would be significant in the energy we attract into our daily life.
FINANCES
Saving is one of the most important skills one can master for solid financial success. Here is a good MSN article on saving for the future.
My trick: my paycheck is deposited automatically to my credit union account. I then distribute money to various saving accounts based on goals and needs. For example, I know I need to save $300 each year for car taxes. I get 26 paychecks per year, so that comes to $11.54 per paycheck. I do the same for all recurring and expected expenses: car maintenance, home owner association fees, etc. However, my first payment goes to build and grow my emergency fund. Having an emergency fund is critical to prepare you for the ups and downs of life.
For more tips on financial success, I suggest visiting the Dave Ramsey website. Pay special attention to his Seven Baby Steps advice. Please note: I am not a Christian and Dave Ramsey is, and many of his teachings are based on Biblical references; so be it, to each its own. The truth is, his methodology works whether you are a Christian, a Buddhist or an Atheist. Most importantly, you need not buy or attend his full course to benefit from his knowledge; everything you need is right there in his website. It is simple, but not easy. You will need to stick with it to make it work, and work it will.
POLITICS
Oh my, where to start. I guess it is best to start by saying that this Fake President is a total disgrace to the nation. <sigh> That is not even a good start. I am at a loss for words on how bad #45 is. He cannot talk rationally, he cannot write rationally, he cannot think rationally. He has not grasp on facts, not even the simple, basic variety of facts. You don't believe me? Check the facts! He lives in a fantasy world in which he is Emperor; when things do not go the way he wants them to go, then heads roll and he unleashes his venom on the world. He cannot tell the truth; there is evidence that he is incapable of telling the truth. He may be a stereotypical pathological liar. He tells lies upon lies upon lies. <sigh> This is a sad situation, and our country (if not the world) is in danger while this person is in office. But the most dangerous thing is for us to remain quiet, to label his actions as "acceptable" because they are coming from an unconventional President. If we take nothing else from Sen. John McCain's life, let's take this: we must stand for the truth, and we must stand up to someone that wants to be a dictator disguised as an "unconventional politician."
PODCASTS / VIDEOS
Excellent video on cooking eggs in interesting and delicious ways! Enjoy!
FUNNY STORY
UPS could not deliver a package in Asheville, NC; the reason: bear in driveway.
One of the highest profit centers at any supermarket is the cleaning-supplies isle. Unfortunately, many of the products available in the market today are expensive and harmful to the environment (and sometimes also dangerous to humans and pets).
For quite sometime I have been using vinegar and baking soda as my only cleaning supplies, inspired by my friend Janet who is very wise in terms of cleaners and cosmetics.
Here are a few of the cleaning products we use at home:
Dish Washing Detergent
We wash dishes by hand because our dishwasher began to malfunction years ago and I refused to repair it or replace it. For a small family of three, washing a few dishes per day is not a big deal. This is a formula I came up based on things I learned from Janet:
1 part inexpensive dish detergent (I buy the 26 or 32 Oz $1 product at Dollar Tree)
1 part white vinegar
2 parts water
Tip: using a large measuring cup, pour 2 cups of water, then 1 cup of vinegar and then 1 cup of detergent. This minimizes foaming. Stir gently and then pour slowly into a squirt bottle.
We use a little of the above mixture with a little baking soda and dishes come out clean every time.
Laundry Detergent
This one does not use vinegar, but here is my formula for a great laundry detergent:
1 part Wash Soda (Arm & Hammer)
1 part Borax (Twenty Mule brand)
1 part Zote laundry flakes (or you can grate a bar of your favorite soap, but that is a lot of work and the Zote product works great and is very inexpensive; we find it at Walmart in the laundry aisle).
Use a small (1/3-cup) scoop per load. This is so inexpensive, gentle on your clothes and skin, and kind to the environment.
A side note: when you forget to dry a load of laundry and it sits in the wash for a day or more, the smell of mold can develop quickly. Re-wash your load adding 1/2 to 1 small bottle of ammonia. The bad odor will be gone. This is a very simple and inexpensive way to deal with this problem.
Dryer Static & Freshener
In the dryer, we use dryer balls to combat static and to infuse a nice fragrance to our clothes. You can search for "wool dryer balls" for a great pick of suppliers. Currently, Walmart has six of them for less than $10.
We put three balls in the dryer with every load and that takes care of all static build up. We often place a few drops of essential oils on the balls to also give our clothes a nice fragrance. For sheets I use lavender essential oil to assist with good sleep; other clothes I use peppermint oil to have a fresh smell.
Three of the wool balls will last several years before showing any sign of wear.
Wrinkle-release Spray
For many years I have depended on a commercial wrinkle-release spray for the rare times that a garment comes out wrinkled from the drier and I do not feel like iron it. I recently found a great homemade formula:
1 part white vinegar
1 part water (distilled is preferred)
14-20 drops of your favorite essential oil
Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Shake mixture gently and use like any commercial product. Spray lightly on the garment and smooth out the wrinkles. No more ironing!
Bathtub / Shower / Sink Spray
One of the most-neglected jobs around our home is cleaning the shower/bathtub. Here is a "miracle" spray that makes cleaning the tub a breeze:
1 part white vinegar (warm slightly in microwave to help with mixing)
1 part dish washing soap
Pour the above mixture into a spray or squirt bottle. Spray the mixture and allow it to soak on the tub/shower walls for 30-60 minutes, then rinse thoroughly, wiping any stubborn spots as needed. I use this once per week to prevent the tub from getting dirty. It also works great on sinks and any other surface.
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
We spray white vinegar inside the toilet and then sprinkle a little baking soda all over the bowl surface. After a few minutes of soaking, a gentle brushing will leave the toilet completely clean.
Bleach Alternative
We all know that bleach is bad for the environment. Here is an alternative using natural products:
12 cups of water
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1 cup of hydrogen peroxide
Mix the ingredients well and pour into a spray bottle to use as a household cleaner, or use two cups of the mixture per load of laundry.
Window/Mirror Cleaner
The following is an inexpensive solution for cleaning windows and mirrors:
1/2 gallon of water
1/2 cup of ammonia
1 teaspoon of dish soap
Mix ingredients well and use in a spray bottle as you would any commercial product.
What do you use?
Do you have any homemade cleaning products you would like to share? Please leave a comment.
Mom
Today is my mom's birthday. She would have been 88 today. Her name was Leslie and, interestingly, she passed away just months after Tracey died.
Mom and Tracey were very similar in character; they exemplified the typical strong British women, but the usual side effect of strong stubbornness. Almost from day one they did not get along no matter how hard they tried. Holidays were especially interesting at our house. :-)
Today I started the Couch-to-5K program one more time. It is an awesome way to get back into running consistently. I run to the music of DJ Steve Boyett. You can find his 5K (and other) programs at the podrunner.com website.
We had our annual bowling league meeting today. Only seven bowlers showed up and we were not able to conduct business. The league, like many others in the area, has been shrinking year after year. Unless we can get more bowlers, this may be the end of a long standing league. I have been bowling with NDPP since 1999, and I have been its Secretary/Treasurer since about 2007. The current state of the league served to remind me of the Buddhist concept of impermanence: nothing lasts forever.
I am challenging myself to write something every day. I love writing; so here it goes.
A UU Call
For the last few months I have been attending service at the local Unitarian Universalist church. This does not mean I have become religious nor that I have abandoned my Buddhist precepts. On the contrary, the more things develop in the world (and to no fault of the UU or Buddhist faiths) the more convinced I am that religion, as an institution, is one of the core reasons for many of the evil acts we witness daily.
Today was the first day for our new settled minister to officiate. The Rev. Jeff Liebmann made a brave and powerful call from the pulpit: it is time to ban the production and distribution of hand guns except as needed for law enforcement and the military. He called for a transition period in which people would voluntarily trade their weapons for cash. After that, weapons would be confiscated and destroyed.
It was obvious that his call for action was not well received by the congregation; only a few of us applauded at the end of the sermon. I over heard people around me and their comments were not positive; Americans love their guns.
Here is a little song about guns.
I so agree with a call for sanity, for a cease to violence, for all of us to take the first step toward peace in our communities.
It is time.
Health Notes — Do not wait, do it soon
My wife died ten years ago, on July 18, 2007. Her name was Tracey and she fought a valiant battle against breast cancer from April 2004 until she passed. In October of 2008 I participated in the last full-scale health screening offered by my employer; my numbers were not good and I took action. Between January and July 2009 I lost a total of 90 pounds and got in the best shape since my teens. And then the worst disease overcame me: complacency. Perhaps I became over-confident, or perhaps it was the stress, or perhaps it was turning 50 … the weight began to creep up, the energy decreased, and then came a bunch of weird events that left me with what looked like an auto-immune disease.
Fast forward to August 2017. I finally looked for and engaged a new family doctor. There were many good results in the tests we ran: EKG was clean, white blood cell counts are all OK (no cancer), no anemia, etc. The not so good news: I have high blood pressure and I am borderline diabetic. Darn it! I waited too long to make the needed changes to stay healthy. So I have begun to take medications to control these problems, and I am also beginning the lifestyle modifications that will allow me to regain my health and fitness naturally. My goal is to be medication free in less than six months. This sounds easier than it will be, but it is going to be so worth it! I am looking forward to having fun in the process of re-balancing my nutrition, my fitness, and my rest.
If you have not had a check-up for a while, please do not wait, do it soon. You may catch things before they get out of hand. I may have caught my conditions in time to do something about it and prevent some serious damage. We owe it to ourselves and to all those that love us.
The Charlottesville Tragedy
What a sad note in the history of our country. What a terrible tragedy for all those that lost their lives and their families. We are better than this. But there are those that like to keep us divided. With us divided and fragmented in so many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pieces, they win, they continue their reign of hate and fear, and we, the people, suffer. The sooner we realize that we are being divided, by design, so that we cannot improve our situation by uniting, the sooner we can take the steps needed to stop the madness. We get divided by religions. We get divided by political party. We get divided by race and nationality; by gender and sexuality; by income or lack thereof; by profession and trade. We get divided by sport, by team, by city and by region. The system has been designed masterfully to avoid unity at all costs. We need to wake up and unite for the common good of all. That means dialogue, compromise, and honest negotiation. That means the hard work of finding a win-win situation for all. That means being mindful of our biases and of all the biases we are being encouraged to have through division and separation. Together we can do so much; divided we will continue to suffer while an elite class benefits from our pain, our sickness, our poverty, and our ignorance. Perhaps we would benefit by embracing the philosophy of "ubuntu," the belief that there is an universal bond that connects all humanity. Let's find what connects us to others; in doing so, we will begin to erase the divisions, bridge over the separations, and heal together for the common good.
