Category Archives: Relationships

Reality Overload! Brain Dump!

Life Notes, My Life, Rants, Relationships, Struggles, Thought, , , , , , ,

Seven and a half years ago, my wife died. She was one of several people in my life who died within an 11-month period. Life shattering. This totally scrambled my brain. Tore up both mine and our son’s life. I had “friends” and relatives turn on me. We delt with so much crap, including TWO dealings with Children’s Services as results of lies from some controlling/manipulative people.

Over the course of the past 2 years, several people in my life have been affected by COVID-19. I, myself had a (not so) mild case of it. I was actually criticized for saying that I had it. The list of people I know who have died from COVID-19 is ridiculously and painfully long. One of my friends died from COVID … in a hospital room … isolated and alone. And still, countless numbers of idiots continue to harp about the HUMAN DECENCEY of wearing a mask to help REDUCE the spread of the virus.

I have had people who claimed to be friends turn on me. They have made it their mission to spread lies and rumors … all because I caught them in lies. I have cut ties with relatives who do all they can to feed their narcissistic needs. They have sought to spread rumors and sow seeds of deceit and distrust because I would not cater to their whims.

I have fought hard for the well-being of my son. Along the way, people whom I trusted for support proceeded to introduce my son to harmful, health undermining things. Some of these people were “fellow church members” as well. I have sacrificed much to do my best to keep my son safe and help to ensure that he has a good future.

The board of my college alma mater has made a foolish decision to eliminate the Theater Program. This program has been a part of the institution for a century. I spent countless hours of my life involved with this program, even when I was NOT a student. Many people I now call “Friend” I met because of my involvement with the Theater Program. The board made no attempts to seek input from the staff or alumni before they made their decision. I am not surprised they did this. I expected it long ago, actually. Since I started my life at Union University in Fall of 1990, I have seen several “promises” to improve the Theater Program quietly swept away. Promises would be made, then funds would be diverted to other projects. Most often, the Sports Department got the funds. The Sports Department has long been favored. Being a High-Profile source of income for the institution, the Sports Department gets what it wants.

Right now, there is a war in Ukraine. The Russian dictator claims he is “de-Nazifying” the Ukraine. Homes, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, churches, and cultural centers are his targets. All the while, he insists his troops are only targeting military installations. All the while, countless families are displaced … countless lives are shattered.

I have a friend who just got married in the Ukraine … just a few weeks ago … just prior to the Russian attacks. The very church he was married in is now a shelter for refugees. In Romania, I have friends who are coordinating efforts to build a small “village” of sorts for Ukrainian refugees. I just watched a live video of the progress of their efforts. They hope to provide housing for 25 families. That is a tremendous effort. I have other friends who are involved in the larger effort of overseeing refugee coordination of ALL the surrounding countries. I have acquaintances who either are from or family of people from Ukraine. These families are scrambling to contact their families in the Ukraine.

Yesterday, a friend of mine who lives in Texas messaged me. She and her husband had taken her father to the doctor for a checkup. While they were away from home, they got word that wildfires were ragging toward their home. Their children were at home with their pets. The children were told to evacuate by local authorities. Thankfully, one of them had a learners permit (aka .. just learning to drive). They were able to evacuate safely. Within a few hours, the fire had totally leveled their whole community. Today, they have a pile of ashes where their home stood yesterday.

This is only a few things on my mind right now.

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We could learn a great deal from observing the weather

Charecteristics, Community, Relationships, Thought, , , ,

As I stand in my kitchen watching the snow fall outside, I think about how beautiful it is. Pure white snow falling … blanketing the landscape. I remember many moments from my childhood … playing in the snow. I smile. Then, my adult brain jumps to the need to shovel the sidewalk and clean off the vehicle. I start to ponder the condition of the roads as the wet snow accumulates and the temperature drops.

We could learn a great deal from observing the weather.

There are millions of people who have never, nor will ever see snow. They may live in regions that do not get cold, let alone cold enough to snow. There are many who live in regions who will never see a hurricane. Some regions rarely get rain.

Let us ponder rain. There are regions of this world where people die from lack of access to clean water. They are in desperate need of rain. There are regions of this world where heavy rains are common. There are areas that experience devastating flooding. Hurricanes have ravaged many lands. A springtime rain shower is rejoiced in some regions. The thought of rain is often dreaded in some areas of our world.

Rain, the thought of, sight of, mention of can invoke an extremely wide range of emotions in many … depending on where they live.

We could learn a great deal from observing the weather.

Let us ponder snow. Snow acts as a blanket for the ground and causes the ground to freeze thus killing wintering insects, their eggs and larvae plus slowing down noxious weed populations. Rain is great, but snow is heavy and soaks deep into the ground and adds nitrogen and trace nutrients to the soil. We cannot overlook the childlike wonder involved with playing in the snow. Likewise, extreme amounts of snow can cause tremendous problems … blocking roadways, trapping people in their homes, bringing down trees and powerlines, freezing water pipes, just to name a few problems. Snow, the thought of, sight of, mention of can invoke an extremely wide range of emotions in many … depending on where they live.

We could learn a great deal from observing the weather.

Lack of a weather element can lead to problems. Excessive occurrences of a weather element can lead to problems. Just like weather elements, a person’s emotions in excess or lack thereof can lead to problems. We cannot control the weather. We can, however, control our emotions.

You may be the only sunshine a frozen heart receives today. You may be the only shelter a battered soul receives today. Keep in mind that “a little goes a long way”. Being encouragement for someone does not mean you have to flood them with all your “insights”.

We could learn a great deal from observing the weather.

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