Category: Media

30 days

12/1/2020

How did we get here? It's the first of December 2020. How in the heck did we get here? Where has this year gone?
It started out okay, I think. January 1, 2020 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?
We had a death in our family in January so things focused on that the early part of the year for us.
Then, out of the blue, there was a global pandemic. True, we'd heard bits about it going on in other countries, like it having started in China -- and there was a fuss when President Trump was closing borders from Asian countries during the impeachment, but the media didn't talk about that. Next thing you know, the media was blaming Mr Trump! Go figure.
Guess what, folks? It's a virus that spreads rapidly, a new virus, in the same family as the common cold. Go figure. There is no 'cure.' By the way, we STILL don't have a cure for the common cold, so get a grip.
To be sure, if you get a bad case of COVID-19, it can be life-threatening. BUT, there are thousands more who don't suffer from a severe case of it and go on with their lives.
Have you checked the numbers of deaths from the flu/influenza every year, it can be pretty deadly too if you get complications. Sure, they have a vaccine for the flu, but I've never taken the flu shot, and never will per the advice of a medical doctor regarding my many allergic reactions in the past. In fact, I avoid vaccines like the plague, because in my case, the side effects could be deadly. Better for me to risk battling the disease than risk death trying to prevent it.
But, I digress.
I live in a state, a commonwealth to be exact, that has a governor who's edicts regarding the pandemic vary day to day and week to week. The edicts conflict with one another and the ability to keep our livelihoods in business and our families afloat. We have a secretary of health whose degree is not in medicine and infectious diseases, but rather in mental health. This secretary and governor seem to think their words are akin to those of God Himself. (For the record, they aren't.) I worry about my fellow residents in this beautiful state, but I am only one to try and change things. I do my best to support our congressmen and women, our senators and let them know I support their efforts to keep our great state treading water. Are you in touch with your representatives? You should be!
I live in the greatest country on earth. (It must be great or so many wouldn't still try to sneak into it illegally.) And yet, there are those crowds who want to change our country to be something less than it is, to someplace wherein competition dies, the ability to dream and excel is stifled, the ability to protect one's home and family is denied. I worry about my country and her citizens (the legal citizens, not the illegal squatters who sneak in). Now before you say I'm heartless or not a Christian, let me assure you, I can love all of God's children. I can donate to agencies to help the homeless. I can care for those who've suffered from oppression and violence who seek a better way of life. BUT, I will not support those who arrive here illegally looking for another handout from our government.
That's not the way this works, folks. There are those who are even legal citizens who want the free handouts and look for every opportunity to suck them up. Shucks, I've even been told by some that I should look into disability because of my Fibromyalgia diagnosis. I will not do so until the time comes when I can no longer function. Sure, sometimes I have a bad day or series of days, but I'll still get to work and get the job done at some point. I like my job, my colleagues, and to be active. I like knowing I was productive, that I have created something of value and earned an honest wage for it. I am blessed with an employer who is a Christian and is extremely understanding of my health and my personal commitments to help others. (I remain involved with area veterans, local agricultural organizations, and a few other things.)
I'll be darned if I'm going to contribute to the drain of the USA's bank account. Not if I can help it! Just because you may be entitled to something doesn't mean you need to take advantage of it.
I watched the most recent presidential election with interest. I watched people bicker and call names. I watched candidates in many political races berate their opponents, yet never providing their own concrete solutions. Where's the resume of the candidates? I don't need someone telling me what's wrong with someone else. I can see those flaws on my own, thank you. Tell me what you can do for my state, my country, my local government, my people! Too many candidates fail on that score alone.
Our election system should function well, but truly, when you have more votes counted than registered voters, or votes by dead people, that should sound the alarm. I am very concerned by whom the Associated Press has declared the president and vice-president elects. The AP is not part of the electoral system; they really have no say whatsoever. It comes down to the legitimate counting of legally cast ballots, certified, and the electoral college. For four (4) years I've watch the Democratic Party berate and cry over the 2016 presidential results, looking for someone to 'blame.' Now this year, I'm watching the Republican Party berate and cry over the supposed results announced by the press, not the electoral college. Full circle.
I will continue to stay in touch with my representatives at federal, state, and local levels and discuss my concerns and ideas for our great land. I'm not going to stop communicating because I do (or do not) like the outcome of any political races. I am going to call for careful checks and balances when I believe there are flaws in the system.
In the 2020 races, I think it was a great folly to have mail-in ballots for just anyone. In previous years, for the military and citizens abroad, for those who travel for a living, for those with medically incapacitating issues, I believe the absentee ballot was a great idea. For the entire populous, I view it as a disaster, and I don't care who won. The entire process was not well-thought out by whoever implemented it. I, personally, know several people who received mail-in ballots when never requested, threw them out because it seemed bogus, then had to cast provisional ballots as a result. I know some who received multiple ballots; How do you get more than one? I even checked the online systems to make sure my dead family members weren't listed as having cast votes. (Thankfully, none of my deceased relatives were listed! Score one for that!)
I hear people wishing for 2021 because 'it has to be better than 2020.' Don't hold your breath, folks. I wished a year away once after watching several people I loved die. The next year was worse! Yes, worse. Don't wish your life away. Live today. Let's march through this weird year together, supporting our weird neighbors, enlightening our adversaries to the best of our abilities, taking care of ourselves (why do we need to start washing our hands this year, who really wasn't doing that before the pandemic, seriously?), looking out for fellow humans, guiding people to do things legally with respect for our laws and constitution, giving of ourselves to charities that help homeless, veterans, disabled, and so many more groups. That should be our job as individual humans, not the job of the government! We should help our neighbors so that they never feel they have to ask the government for a single dime! When did common kindness go out of style?
When did excelling in a job, a foot race, a spelling bee, a political debate (an actual debate, look up the definition), a volunteer organization go out of style? If you excel, and are taught to strive for your individual fullest potential, then you are better equipped to help others. When we are taught to be mediocre, then there is no incentive to help others because there is no point to helping.
Our great country needs friendly competition, healthy goals to achieve more than we did the day before, the spirit of doing good for ourselves and others in due course. If we don't do well for ourselves, then how can we be expected to do anything for anyone else?
As I sit here on Eastern Standard Time looking out my window at pitch black at almost 5:30pm, I realize the utter beauty of the current winter storm is hated, ignored, and discounted by many. The truth of it is though, it's been an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect for postcards and calendars. Many complain about the treacherous roads and plows that don't arrive to suit our individual schedules. Guess what, folks? It's a climate that has snowstorms every winter! We get snow. The government agencies declare Daylight Savings and Daylight Standard Time. The time change has served its time, but gosh, they can't mandate when it snows! Indeed, I drove in today's weather, on some very bad roads, slid a little sideways once, but I know it's part of life if you live in this climate. I could choose to move somewhere it doesn't snow, but that is my choice. If I choose to live here, than I accept that snow comes with the territory.
So, too, does my choice to live in the USA. I know we have a great tricameral form of government in our republic. (We are a republic, not a democracy in case you slept through that in your history class.) We have to option to move somewhere else. Our executive branches must respect the laws made by the legislative branches and both must respect the governing of our laws by the judiciary branch, whether at the federal, state, or local levels. More and more frequently, those in the judicial system seem to forget that they are not lawmakers and our legislators forget that they are not judges. And, our executives also seem to miss the memo that they do not legislate, but are there to execute the laws of the land. (I blame all political parties for this, not just the two largest parties.)
Our country has great potential: to grow even greater or to create our own demise. The choice is ours.
As 2020 winds down and many of us celebrate various religious holidays, let us not wish away this year, let us strive to be better humans, to pay attention to the details so that we can hold all branches of government accountable, to support our leaders, and even to pray for them. Pray for our country, her citizens, the residents of planet earth, and our planet since it is, in the end, just a speck in the universe, a dot and a minuscule dot at that. God knows every single one of us, but we don't and that's ok. The choice is ours to be tenders of our government, tenders of our fellow humans and animals, tenders of our planet, tenders of ourselves.
The choice is ours. Every. Single. Day. Choose wisely. 2021 is on the horizon, don't rush it. Get your act together, today, tomorrow, and every day to come. Excel. Do your best. Be the best you can be, not the best your neighbor is, but the best you can be. Then help your neighbor if you can.
The choice is yours. The choice is ours.
Thirty (30) days left to make a change, make a difference, excel, set your goals, build up yourself, and build up your neighbor. 30 days. A lot can happen in 30 days. Someone may die. It could be me. It could be you. If it is you, will someone say you lived to your potential? If I die, will someone say I was too stubborn for my own good? Will we swallow our pride and do better? Are you with me? Are you getting it?
We choose to live in this great country. We can minister to the needs of our fractured government, support our leaders, and work our derrieres off to make our system good again, while making our own lives better in the process. We choose to live here. We choose every day not to leave.
Since we've made that choice already, let's do better. The choice is ours.

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This, That, and The Other Thing

6/27/2020

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I talk. A lot. Just ask my husband, my siblings, my good friends and family. They will attest that I am way more than verbose. It's true. I talk a lot and I know it. I love words. I love wordplay. I love how the daydreams, facts, and otherwise useless crap rolls off one's tongue. Sometimes just for fun, sometimes with purpose, and sometimes, sometimes I'm not quite sure.
Now there are the rare few folks who think I'm quiet. Sometimes I am. At least until I get to know you.
There is so much to say in this world, by each of us. There is also much for us to hear, to listen to, if we just would. But we don't. We don't stop. We don't pause. We don't listen.
We all keep talking and talking and shouting and yelling and espousing and insisting and telling and....you get the picture (I hope).
Look at our society in the United States today, heck, look at the global society of mankind. What a mess we've all made. Everyone portends to know better than everyone within shouting distance. Add in social media and we can tell the world how very right we are on every single topic available for discussion. Perish the fool who argues with us, debates us, and could prove us wrong. We are supreme in our own little minds, all humans are much smaller minded that we will ever admit. Just look at the social media platform Facebook: countless times in the past month alone I have witnessed epithets declaring that if you do not conform to the poster's ideals and beliefs, you will be (gasp) UNFRIENDED, perhaps even BLOCKED. wow. just wow.
What happened to 'plays well with others'? Remember that line on our old-fashioned report cards from school days years ago? None of us are playing well with others. None of us. And this needs to stop.
Get a grip, folks. We've had a global pandemic that at first sounded like the virus was part of the common cold family, but turned out to be 'slippery' (that means it mutates frequently so that it can find new ways to spread its contagion). The death rate with COVID-19 is low, but if one contracts it in its most severe form, the death is slow and miserable. There are those who insist it is a hoax. There are those who are ready to panic because we all may catch this bug and die. Neither one of those is a good scenario. There are now those who scoff at any medically related advice like wearing masks, stating that masks do no good, requiring masks is an infringement of constitutional rights, that masks do more harm than good to the wearer. There are those who are sure that once the United States 2020 Presidential election has come and gone, the virus will no longer be a threat (see hoax above).
Indeed 2020 is an odd year to say the least. Some declare that we are nearing the Rapture as prophesied in the Holy Bible, based on these plagues to mankind. Some places on the planet are dealing locusts or other bugs. Wild fires suddenly appear. Last year (2019) Australia suffered terribly with wild fires. Oh wait, 2020 is supposed to be the odd year if you listen to most folks right now. Riots and associated looting have sprung up globally following the alleged murder of a man named George Floyd in Minneapolis. Yes, I said alleged. I know what the video shows and what my belief is (that George Floyd died of wrongful death during an arrest), BUT, I know that in this country part of our constitutional rights/legal system declares that we each have the right to a fair trial, meaning that those who report on any deaths are to use the term 'alleged' if foul play is suspected and that the accused criminal has the right to be heard in a court of law - and that the prosecution has the burden to prove guilt, not the other way around (that the accused must prove innocence). I know what the video shows and I feel strongly that the police in Minneapolis used excessive force, BUT there is more to the story.
Mr Floyd had a checkered past (as do many of us in different ways), but he was not on trial for his misbehavior in his past when the incident that took his life occurred. He was being pursued a suspect of an immediate crime at the time. So many things could have happened differently that day. He could have not passed a suspected counterfeit monetary note. He could have not run when it was clear he was being pursued. The police could have cuffed him when they took him down, shackling him in the police vehicle. The policeman in question could have eased up on the pressure on Mr Floyd's neck area. So many things could have happened differently. But they did not. We cannot change what happened that day as much as many of us would love to see a different, less violent ending. We have to accept that that ugly day happened.
Mr Floyd died and many people chose to make his death into that of a martyr. Grief is a personal event, sometimes spilling to our neighbors, our communities, and, in the case of Mr Floyd, to our country, to our planet. Protests over his death began. Protests over improper tactics used by bad policemen. Not all policemen are bad, but protests against all policemen arose. And then, the rioting. Violent riots. And looting. None of which will bring Mr Floyd back for anyone who knew him personally. Businesses destroyed. Vehicles destroyed. Homes and lives destroyed. Far more than just Mr Floyd's life and the life of that police officer's family has been destroyed and it doesn't appear to be slowing down.
Now, there are people raising the issues again of Black Lives Matter (which, as a white person, I'm not offended that Black lives matter, but so do the lives of all people of all colors and shades, from albino white to the darkest dark tone, to olive hues, and crimson skin). Historical monuments are being defaced and destroyed. As if tearing down symbols of the history of all of us (history that is bad and good, good and bad) will bring Mr Floyd back. Erasing history and symbols of historic moments will not restore Mr Floyd's life any more than it will bring back my late dad who passed away over 22 years ago. Death doesn't work that way. When you're dead, you're dead. At least physically. But I'm not here to write about the afterlife at the moment; that's an entirely separate blog entry for another day.
Our society is sending mixed signals to itself and from one individual to another. If one takes note of society in general, people tend not to like mixed signals from a date, a romantic partner, significant other, spouse, employer, employee, friend, and so on. Yet here we are. As a country, a people, a nation of varying shades of skin sending mixed signals all over the globe. Many of our states remain shut down due to the pandemic, so much so that funerals remain private with guests not permitted to attend. Yet, Mr Floyd had several funeral/memorial services, very publicly attended. We are supposed to social distance, not visit loved ones in long-term care facilities / hospitals, funerals, but no one is stopping multiple public funeral services of a man who was under pursuit and died at the hands of the police who halted his escape. No one is stopping the rioters and looters. Sections of cities are being overtaken by various groups espousing Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and other pet causes. White supremacists are being blamed. White people are being blamed. If you aren't one of them, then you're to blame.
All of a sudden we're all to blame for what happened 100+ years ago. Acts of slavery that were perpetrated by some of our ancestors, not all, are not being placed on the shoulders of people who would not harm a fly on the windowsill, let alone another human being.
Yes, slavery was and is horrible. That human beings can treat their fellow men and women with such ugly disregard is nauseating at best, and that is pushing it. Slavery didn't just happen in the United States after we formed our own country. It was happening here and in other countries around the globe. Each society may have used different terminology, methods, and races, but slavery itself has been around basically as long as humans have. We like having others do for us, rather than us doing for them. We like to feel superior.
It doesn't matter whether your from Asia, Africa, Europe, America, or anywhere in between, we all like to feel important. Sadly, horribly for some, the method by which we feel important often comes at the expense of other humans.
Remember when your report card showed if you 'played well with others'? Well, apparently a lot more people in recent years did not play well with others, or they were taught that it just doesn't matter. And I'm not talking about people of any specific skin tone who are protesting or rioting. I'm talking about all of us. Apparently, in learning to express our individuality (as encouraged in many self-help books), our individuality and rights must supersede the individuality and rights of everyone around us. That's not how it was intended, I believe, but it has surely morphed and here we are.
Shouting. Yelling. Demanding. Insisting. Looting. Destroying. Unfriending.
We all need to spend time in some timeouts, or with our nose in the corner until we can be nice. Or, sitting on chairs facing each other til we calm down and can speak nicely to each other again.
I've seen dear friends berating and unfriending each other because they disagree over the wisdom and safety of face masks during a pandemic. Heck some even call names, basically saying another is chicken if they wear one, or stupid if they don't. We have received immense amounts of medical data, smothered in public opinion over the past few months, to the point, can any fact-checker actually find the facts? I dare say if I provide you a study on the efficacy of a mask, I will immediately find another equally valid study fully substantiating the danger of wearing a mask. Add to this, those who surmise it is all a government plot, a Democratic Party plot, a deep-state plot, a plot by some unknown evil entity to take away all our civil liberties, and you have one fine mess. There are those who blame the United States President Donald Trump. There are those who blame all the Democratic Party state governors and mayors. There are those who blame a huge mistake in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. There are those who blame a bat in a meat market in Wuhan, China. There are those declare it's racist to call it the Wuhan Virus even though that's from where it originated.
I fear that pretty soon, we won't be 'permitted' to call the sky the sky, the ocean the ocean, the earth the earth. Hopefully, I can still call myself: I, me, my, mine, myself, and all other appropriate grammar references to the first person. Oh guess what? I can do that. AND you can still be you, you, yours, yourself, and so on. Because, guess what? Those are genuine parts of the English language as we have been taught for decades in our schools! Sadly, there are those at universities today who seemed to have completely missed the memo when it comes to gender usage in the parts of speech. They should study a few foreign languages; they would soon learn that the common declensions are 1st person "I" with "we" for the plural, 2nd person "you", third person "he, she, it" with "they" for the plural. Once a person learns a fair amount of good grammar, the other spoken disasters we're reading and listening to, via social media and many biased news agencies, can be diagrammed into complete sentences, run-ons, incomplete thoughts, split infinitives, incorrect subject-verb usage, poor singular vs plural pronoun examples. From there, it is easier to spot the flaws in logic, the misleading stories, the facts vs the fantasy.
How I wish that all school students, prior to matriculation, were required to pass courses in argumentation & debate, along with the philosophy of logic. I was blessed to fit them into my university studies as side course, not required of my major. There are 10 main fallacies to be found in flawed logic, ranging from the infamous red herring to the circular argument. (Go ahead, this is your chance to learn something new: Google search for fallacies and then keep reading, several articles, not just one.) Our media today has sadly traveled beyond solid journalistic reporting and fallen into frequent use of fallacies to build up platforms for pet projects of the various writers and their 'bosses/employers.' Our schools of higher education, especially those based on the liberal arts, actively promote the fallacy of political correctness, teaching that there are only certain words that are acceptable. This begins the slide into censorship, thought control, population manipulation. It was delightful when institutions promoted free thought and decision making, when they taught that we could assess situations on our own and make qualified decisions based on our prior experiences and education. More and more frequently our young people are being taught that self worth means, e.g., that everyone must get a trophy, that everyone must come out on top, that there are no losers (who wants to be a loser), that if we do lose the fault belongs to anyone but ourselves.
And so, we have a global pandemic that started in another country than mine, but at this point, it makes no difference. The virus is here. No amount of masks or vaccines or treatments will kill it off. Polio still exists, no one killed it off. The powers-that-be just have it under control. Same with the COVID-19 corona Wuhan virus, what ever you call it. It exists. We cannot pretend that it doesn't. People have died from it, some have shown barely any symptoms.
We have experienced an unnecessary death of an alleged criminal by horribly inappropriate actions of a police officer. We cannot change that and pretend it didn't happen. Mr Floyd died.
The truth in the midst of all this chaos is simple: we are all human, imperfect and finite. We will all die, our physical bodies will have life terminate at some unscheduled moment, but there is no stopping death. It happens.
How we respond to the facts of death and life and existing with one another is something over which we have dominion. We make the choices to fall into those who are called sheep or those who are free-thinkers. If you look at many social media debates today, most of them are two-sided and both sides consider themselves to be the free-thinkers and their opposition to be the sheep. It's practically laughable. Each group is falling politely into the places the chess-masters would have them stand.
Division in this country isn't caused by the President. Division isn't caused by a dead man. Division isn't caused by the actual act of rioting. Division is caused by each one of us, every single day. We make the choice to share good or bad. We make the choice to threaten or de-escalate. We make the choice to tell tall tales or the truth. We make the choice to spread rumors or lift up our neighbors. We make choices that do harm or good to ourselves and our fellow humans. How we make those choices is up to us.
Yelling at your best friends over the good or bad of face masks creates a division. Educate, but do not belittle.
My late mum, and my late dad, always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. But, at the end of the day, you may have to swat the darn fly anyway.
Before you swat, try the honey. You may actually like some of the flies you catch. You might find those you thought were flies next door, or in the big city, or in another country, are actually gorgeous butterflies. Get to know them.
You and I cannot change our death or the death of Mr Floyd, or the deaths of the elderly in long-term care homes from any virus. BUT, we can enforce that our laws, designed to be fair for the victim and the accused are followed and enforced. We can expect that our country's foundation in the Constitution and Bill of Rights will be upheld for the betterment of all citizens (illegal arrivals is a topic for another day) and visitors. We can tell our representatives in government that we will accept no less than upholding the laws of the land. We can protect one another's property and life, but we do not need to be in argument with everyone to do so. We can be the respect all humans' rights, learn to 'play well with others', and not to further the sorry display of discord we've been witnessing over the past few months.
We each have a power to excel and be superior in that we can teach, lead, set examples, without harming the dignity of our friends and perfect strangers. We owe it ourselves and to each other. Let our country be the example of its name: The UNITED States of America, not the divided states. Physical life is finite. Let's not waste it in temporary arguments and brain-washing. Let us value the lives of every human and work together to find resolution, peace, and wellness.
--The two memes included with this blog were found on social media; I take no credit for their creation whatsoever and I intend no profit from their use, simple to emphasize my verbiage.

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2020

1/3/2020

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Happy New Year!!
Many things to talk about in this new year, but let's just savor the last few days of the Christmas Season. Remember, the 12 Days of Christmas. Epiphany, Three Kings Day, the twelfth day is coming up on January 6th. My Christmas lights will stay lit through the 7th, maybe even the 8th. Brightens up January and is a reminder of all that we've been celebrating during the Christmas season, I hope!
Families are near, some are scattered, some just plain far away. Friends come and go, some linger in our expanded circle for a lifetime. Strangers are everywhere.
The media makes many strangers appear to be part of our everyday lives; they infiltrate our social media, our televisions, our smart little phones, grocery headlines, and more.
It is imperative in this age of technological infiltration that we remain aware of our individuality and humanity, that we recognize who and what are real, and that who and what are 'larger than life' and not part of our actual everyday reality.
As we enter this decade of the new 'roaring twenties,' and face the truth of humankind's and the planet's mortality and life cycles. Each of us is finite, yet immortal at the same time. Rather than easily-broken resolutions, let us simply strive to do the best we can every day, and forgive ourselves and others when we make mistakes. Let us accept that there is ugliness in the world and that we must face it even though we may never be able to make it palatable.
Step forth, make it a good step for you, for all of us.

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Chronic Pain

8/25/2014

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Chronic pain affects millions of people.
There are forms of pain: pains, aches, itching, etc. Did you know itching is a form of pain. I didn't know that until a dear friend was ill with cancer and she itched, a lot. Her doctors said it was a form of pain.
Chronic pain is associated with many different types of illnesses/diseases. I won't go into the many forms lest I miss a type and offend someone. (Our society, by the way, is overly sensitive these days. You know that I do not believe in political correctness -- that is a bunch of crap, and a different subject matter. I simply do not want to have someone who is hurting to think that I discounted his/her pain.)
If you do not have pain in your body, cherish it! Most days I have some pain; many days I have a great deal of pain; some days my pain overwhelms my ability to physically 'work' and initiative to do so.
I am not here to whine or ask for sympathy. I want to bring awareness to a massive pain problem in our country, even on our planet.
Our pharmaceutical companies churn out painkiller after painkiller and still we have pain. There are many treatment programs from physical therapy and home exercise to in-house treatments such as injections, surgery, and devices to wear. Guess what? We still hurt.
There are homeopathic remedies, folklore remedies, yoga, and diet possibilities. Guess what? We still hurt.
Clearly, there is a theme here: we hurt. We don't like to hurt. We don't like to take a bunch of drugs that consist of chemicals that were never intended to be absorbed by our bodies and have side effects of their own which we then have to handle. We don't like scheduled physical therapy because it hurts. Yes, it hurts. Sometimes we make progress, but it hurts in the process.....and when you start the process hurting, it makes you less anxious for the process that hurts. Vicious circle!
Treatments can hurt too! Have you ever had injections into your neck or spine? How about into your hip? They are nothing like the prick of a subcutaneous injection for a regular shot in the arm.
Sitting hurts. Standing hurts. Walking hurts. Stretched out /curled up in bed hurts. Seems there is no happy medium.
And then, and then........we share that we're hurting. With friends. With family. With strangers. And we get those looks. Pity. Disgust. Boredom. Yes, you've heard it all before. You know we hurt. You wonder why we point it out at every turn. You wish we'd keep it to ourselves. Surely no one really hurts THAT much. Why don't we just suck it up like everyone else does when they hurt?
BECAUSE WE CAN'T. We try!! We really really do try!! We go to work, we go to church, we go to school, we go get groceries, we do laundry, we drive, we climb the stairs, we try!!! And some days, we can't work. Why go to work if you're going to be inefficient? That only wastes the boss' money and makes you hurt more! Some days we can't make it to church. Just getting ready to go puts us into a sweat from the pain and exertion of getting ready on the day of rest. Everything and anything can make our pain worse.
Sometimes we have an almost pain-free day -- we cherish those. On those days we feel we can conquer the world, so we run about with a surge of energy as if we have been cured -- doing errands, cleaning our houses, accomplishing great things at work and at school.   And then......and then.....the next day we crash. We crash with pain and exhaustion because we felt so very good and did so much that, for our bodies, we overdid.
We get judged because some think we're lazy, some think we're faking it (why anyone would want to fake living in this kind of pain is beyond me), some think we are attention-seekers.
Why do I write about this today? I've had a good bit of pain for many years and I tried to keep going. As the pain started winning, I found it harder and harder to keep pushing and accomplishing the 'everything' 'everyone' expected and was used to me producing.   I kept wondering to myself if this was what aging was really like, if I had messed up somehow, if I were really lazy...... I worried about all these things, and the resulting failures in future accomplishment situations. What would people think as I began to let them down.
Fortunately, I had already started backing out of several committees. I kept a few. And then came family illnesses and needs. So, I kept pushing and pushing. And finally one day I met a man, a chiropractor, who said we can work on these things and we can start getting rid of some of these medications. That's almost two years ago. We've made great headway, but there are times (days and sometimes weeks) when the pain reminds me it is a part of my life.   Then I met a pain management doctor who agreed that we can work on this. He sent me to a rheumatologist for the first time in my life who agreed with the chiropractor and the pain management doctor: we can work on this and that the less drugs the better!!
Pain is a vengeful creature, it doesn't like to be pushed to the back burner. It reminds you it is there - most often thought of as a symptom. Chronic pain exists.
Why do I write about pain today? Because today is a high pain day for me -- it is getting in the way of my accomplishing physical activities, of going to my office, of mowing my lawn when it is sunny, of carrying laundry, of feeling like doing anything. I write today because I am reminded that there are others who haven't found the healers, the support network, the friends who will say that 'it's ok, we still love you' and 'we can work on this.' I write because those who hurt need to know it's ok to hurt and take time to rest. It's ok to work on yourself and looking to the future.
I write because I want the world not to look down on those who hurt, but rather lift them up and help them move through the pain. Chronic pain is nothing like the pain of working out and building yourself up physically. Chronic pain is exhausting and debilitating.
I am not cured. I hurt. I live. I will go on. Thanks to my good chiropractor and other doctors, to my husband who understands me, to my siblings who understand, to my extended family who put up with me, to my friends and fellow committee workers, to my friends at my office (they are, indeed, friends, not just colleagues), to my social media friends who've never met me but send me cyber hugs -- thanks to all of these folks, I am lifted up. Thanks to God above for peace of mind and strength to tough it out when I don't want to, I am lifted up. I know there is far greater pain, even when, on a day like today, I doubt it. I have never been a Prisoner of War. I have been blessed in so many ways, that I know I will get through this day and many more!
(Some days, I will grumble and share that I'm hurting.)   I figure if someone has the nerve to greet me with, "Hi, how ya doing?" I'm going to answer and I'm going to answer honestly. If you don't really want to know, don't ask!! The greeting is, "Hi!" if you don't want to know how I'm really doing!!
Why am I writing about pain today? Shouldn't I be writing about something political? This blog is for my opinions, my viewpoints, my observations. Topics vary. There is much in the media about world events and our country that has me livid with rage, heartbroken beyond belief, and in shock.   Some of those gaining moments of media attention don't deserve our time of day. For that very reason and the fact that I hurt, that is why I have written about pain today.
We, as human beings, are hurting. We can work through it. We need to support each other. We need to lift up each other. We need to strive to comfort, to alleviate the pain of our fellow men and women. We can work through this to enjoy other days.

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Guns, Guts, Glory

6/10/2014

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Current blazing headline today: "One student, shooter, dead in school shooting."

Pick the day of them week anymore. Location? Near or far from you. This is becoming commonplace.

Hate to tell the gun control pushers that it has nothing to do with guns. Nothing at all. Guns just happen to be the weapon of choice for many of the current set of killers.

Drugs kill. Making them illegal hasn't done away with them. Maybe laws to make drugs illegal make us feel good, as if we're doing something about the problem. Truth is, those laws haven't helped. Drugs are still out there, killing as many as before.

Truth is, if someone wants to kill, he or she will find a way.

Guts. Do killers, murderers, druggies have guts? Nope. They surely get a few minutes of media glory though, don't they?

Maybe, just maybe, if we, the American people, would just teach our children right from wrong. If we would give more disapproving looks when someone is making a buy, ask questions when someone is toting a gun in an unsafe manor, say NO when our kids want ultimate freedom to roam about the streets or internet.......IF WE would accept responsibility for what is happening rather than blaming the weapon.

Our media (movies, TV, etc) gives glory and fame to those who kill, who sell drugs, who maim. Parents blame schools, schools blame parents, the media blames guns and we listen.

I was raised by parents who lived on a farm. Guns existed for hunting. Dad fought in WWII and was wounded. I learned a healthy respect for guns and unless I wanted to learn to hunt, the gun was off-limits. I had no need, no desire to question that or even begin to think I should swipe the gun and take it to school on a rampage that would surely end in my demise as well. No desire whatsoever. So, why are there so many young folk taking guns, acquiring guns today?

Explain then, if it is the fault of guns, why two young girls recently made media headlines for stabbing a friend of theirs.....in order to prove themselves worthy of a fictional character's attention? KNIVES, Folks. These two used knives. Another type of weapon. Not a gun. Imagine that. Banning guns would not have stopped the actions of these two girls. Guess what? They wanted to impress a fictional character on the internet.

How does banning a weapon make us safe? It would strip many of us of our immediate source of protection. If someone tries to harm me or my family and I have a weapon, I have a chance to defend us while I await the arrival of protection officers. If I have no weapon, I and/or my loved ones may already be dead or inured.

I had a stalker a number of years ago. He went to jail on other charges. At the time, and after his release from jail, I was advised by protective authorities to learn to shoot, to carry. To carry Something with which I could quickly protect myself. Even the local police and authorities knew I was safer if I could defend myself on-the-spot, rather than waiting while 911 dispatched those I would need.

Banning guns won't solve problems.
Education, discipline, medical attention for our young people who may need counseling and medication...THESE would be a much better start. (Why do young people have so many more bouts of depression, anxiety, bullying, etc than 20-40 years ago, by the way?) Parents and Teachers who WORK TOGETHER for the education and betterment of the children, not parents who second-guess the teachers and vice-versa, this is what is needed.

Glory. Death is not to be glorified, especially violent death. The only glory in death occurs when you have faith in God above and meet Him in glory upon earthly death, leaving your body behind.

Our media glorifies killing, death, violence. Television. Movies. Magazines. News outlets. Social media. We, the people. Yes, we, the people, glorify death, killing and violence. Every time we watch that movie, that evening news, pick up the magazine with a headline, and share a post about violence on our Facebook or Twitter feeds. Every single time, WE glorify these things we say we are against.

We need to have the guts to give glory to life, to the sanctity of the human spirit. We need to have the guts not to ban guns, but rather to fight the good fight for life, for education, for discipline, for balance, for caring when someone seems 'off-balance,' for bringing our country back to a place that was sought once upon a time as a land, a home of the free because of the brave. Bring our country back to a place you would want to move to when you need freedom.

Have guts, keep your guns, and bring back the glory.

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