Quote for the Day

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. – Will Durant

Happy FOJ

Happy Fourth everyone! I’m off to a barbeque and ready to pig out on Rick’s famous barbeque chicken. The parrots have to stay home, just in case Rick runs out of chicken.

Stay safe!

Too Much News Makes You Sick

Evaluating Media
Fresh Mind

borrowed from The Daily Om

There is a lot of information available to us at this time in history, more than ever before, and it travels fast. We are able to learn in the blink of an eye about something that happened halfway around the world, and it’s natural for us to want to know what’s going on. However, it’s also fair to say that we don’t want to become so caught up in one way of looking at events that we lose perspective. Often, the news comes to us in a very fear-oriented format, and when too many of us get caught up in fear, the balance of the whole is disrupted. It helps to remember that we have a much greater and more positive impact on the world when we maintain our inner sense of peace and joy.

We are aware enough to know when we are eating something that is not good for us, because we don’t feel well after we’ve eaten it. In the same way, we can determine for ourselves whether the sources in which our information comes are ultimately healthful. News can be presented in a way that inspires us to take positive action to help the world, or it can be presented in a way that leaves us feeling powerless and sad. It is up to us to seek out and support media that empowers and informs us, and to say no to media that drains our energy and our hope.

For a time, it may even be of benefit to commit to a media fast, in which we stop taking information in for a time to give ourselves a rest. When we return to the task of taking in and processing the information all around us, we will come to it with a fresh mind. This will enable us to really notice how we are affected by what we hear and see, and to make conscious choices about the sources of information that we allow into our lives.

Daily

May I be at peace.

May my heart remain open.

May I awaken to the light of my own true nature.

May I be healed.

May I be a source of healing for all beings.

– Buddhist Meta Prayer of Loving Kindness

Sounds Wonderful

I was laying down taking a nap this past weekend; as I lay there next to an open window with the sun drawing patterns on the walls, I could hear the sounds of my neighborhood drift in and out of the room. I realized how grateful I am for the gift of hearing (I do have a slight hearing loss in my right ear) and started making a mental list of all the sounds that I really love. I’m not trying to write a sentimental, corny post here, but I couldn’t help sharing this once I thought about it (although my list will be much gentler than that expressed by Elton John in Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting – “a couple of the sounds that I really like are the sounds of a switchblade and a motorbike…”) :

the crisp unfolding of my parrots’ wings as they stretch after sleeping

the rustle of the wind through the leaves of trees

the rough striking of a match

the clip-clop of clogs or wooden heels on tile floors

the swish and tumble of ocean waves meeting the shore

the lone call of a mockingbird in the middle of the night

the drone of a distant lawn mower, reminding me of childhood summers

the click-click of little parrot feet walking down the hallway

the plunking of a pebble as it hits the bottom of a well

the crunch of boots on packed snow