* For us

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A grassy lot inspires a vision of what can be when a community cares for itself.

When I take the bus to church in the morning, I normally get off at the closest stop, walk three blocks north and one block east.  At the corner where I turn is a vacant lot.  I don’t know who owns it.  In months past, it has typically been heavily littered.

One morning not long ago, as I approached that lot, I saw that it had been cleaned.  I saw this from fifty feet away.  The way things are around here, that little bit of beauty nearly knocked me down.  It took my breath away.  It lifted my spirits.

A tiny bit of beauty can powerfully affect one’s mood.  A mere glimpse of a pretty face can make one’s whole day.

I reflected:  harmony is the essence of beauty, exemplified in the orderliness of the clean lot as contrasted with the chaos of its previous litter.  I reflected on the relatednesses among light, love, harmony, order and prosperity, on the one hand; and darkness, strife, chaos and need, on the other.  What does it take to begin to establish harmony?  I concluded that perhaps love, or self-love, is the beginning of creation.

What if the whole community cared for itself as someone cared for that lot? Continue reading * For us →

* Self-management: A snippet

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It’s happened often enough lately that I may as well tell it.

When I go into the shower room at the shelter, often enough, unhappiness meets me.

The shower stall I prefer isn’t available, and I resent it.

This guy is taking up half the shower bench, and the other half is full also, and I resent it.

This other guy is taking up all kinds of too much time getting dressed, and I resent it.

As soon as I turn my attention to what I will actually do — where to put my clothes, choosing a stall that is available, and getting undressed in itself — all those bad feelings vanish.

Complaining means you’re not doing what you can.

Related:  Here – Now – Can

Reblogged 12/21/23.

o Special needs coming soon

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☺Please donate!☺

I have two specific needs coming up very, very soon.

For the past month, I have relied upon certain resources to cover the rent at the shelter, $21/week.  These are about to run out, possibly as soon as next week.  The happiest outcome would be if someone could find it possible to cover this on an ongoing basis.

Second, my state ID comes up for renewal at the end of August.  I must do this online.  It will cost me $24 for an eight-year renewal.  A donation of $25 should take care of this.

I am most grateful to all those who would like to help out, even if, in the real world, they can’t.  Also grateful to those who can.  God bless y’all real good!

* There can be no dialogue with toxic speech.

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Debate opposing views, don’t label them hate: Column

Over the weekend, I very nearly un-Friended a church member on Facebook.

This woman is a pillar of the congregation, exceptionally gifted, and holds several important offices.  But she frequents certain web sites that spew forth racial hatred, and she Likes certain items, and they show up in my Timeline.  I will never voluntarily expose myself to such material.  (Related:  Change your diet.)  There can be no dialogue with it:  even to take it seriously is poisonous to my soul.

The First Amendment will not protect me from it.  On the contrary, hate speech is normally protected.  As are lies.  As is verbal bullying.  And heckling.

One can choose, however, what one pays attention to.

Milo Yiannopoulos is a troll.

As likewise are Ann Coulter and Joan Walsh.

There may be no lawful way to silence them, but those persons and organizations (such as Young Republicans) who sponsor them, hire them, and give them gratuitous platforms, may be persuaded that the nation deserves better.

Reblogged 2023-12-07.