My wish for the New Year

Let’s hope that 2021 is the start of we humans getting things right, allowing nature to heal herself, realising that to move forward we have to co-operate rather than argue, compromise rather than stick rigidly to our preconceived ideas, love rather than hate, and help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Happy New Year to everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, even those I disagree with, even those who are bigoted, even those who hate.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Lundi limerick #93

A small Cornish village called Maker

has neither a priest nor a baker

It does have pub

but ay there’s the rub

for everyone there is a Quaker

 

The village exists but is not, and never has been, predominantly Quaker

You can learn a little about the village here.

Although not all Quakers (also known as Friends) are teetotal, many do practice abstinence. It is a fascinating religion and, indeed, some choose to lead a Quaker way of life but are non-theist.

Members of the various Quaker movements are all generally united by their belief in the ability of each human being to experientially access the light within, or “that of God in every one”.

I know that at least one of my readers is a Friend.

 

 

 

 

The Knife Angel

We have been experiencing increasing knife crime in the UK, with the majority of cases affecting our young men and boys. Deaths are increasing and there are few towns that have not experienced death or serious injuries. The police have regular knife amnesties, and seize weapons when they find them.

As part of the campaign to draw attention to this useless waste of life and the seriousness of carrying knives, a huge sculpture, made of blades of all shapes and sizes that have been handed in, or seized, has been created. It is called The Knife Angel.

You can read about the Knife Angel here or see the inspiration behind it, its creation, and its current location in Derby in the videos below.

Incidentally, the little map of Derby, shown in the link above, shows MHA “Methodist Homes for the Aged” , where I worked for 17 years prior to retirement.

 

 

The People of a Place — The Chatter Blog

For Paddy, and all those unsung heroes who are the salt of the earth, thanks to Colleen for introducing some of them to us.

We approached an Irish monument. I’m always excited to see the world as it used to be, or relics of it and use my imagination to create how I think it was. It was late in the day and only stragglers wandered about. As I stepped through the gates I could see an elderly man […]

via The People of a Place — The Chatter Blog

Privilege and Fractures

Carol at Wanderings of an Elusive Mind has done a great job of explaining the problems facing The United States of America…and it starts with the haves, afraid they will lose something, vs. the have nots, who are struggling with the long-held belief that upward mobility is possible. This applies equally to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Interesting to note that UNITED appears in both country titles, but fails to appear in everyday living!
Thanks to Margo at https://margosviews.wordpress.com for her initial re blog of this post.

Wanderings of an Elusive Mind

Privilege is defined as “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group”.

As a white-skinned man, you have always been granted the privilege to “sit at the counter”, drink from a water fountain, live in the better neighborhoods, be given credit for some degree of intelligence, admitted to the school of your choice, enter in the business of your choice, ride in the front of the bus, vote for the candidate of your choice. Women have had to fight hard for these privileges. People of color have had to fight harder for these privileges.

Even today, when equality is purportedly granted to all, some experience much more privilege than others.

As a wealthy white man, you have always had more privileges than those of a lower “class” or income group. As a wealthy man, you have always had the privilege of being…

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#WeRemember

There are still lessons to be learned, as hatred and bigotry are still widespread in all countries. It was reported today that 1 in 10 in the UK do not believe the Holocaust happened. Thank you to Kelly for the reminder.

Kelly With A Why

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and marks the 74^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I thought it was a fitting time to recount my visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum back in November.

The museum was established in 1992 by the generation of Holocaust Survivors who settled in Australia. This very special place continues to give a voice to the victims of the Holocaust, so their individual and collective stories can spark dialogues and inspire change. As well as preserving and documenting this important historical period, the museum also beautifully illustrates the richness of Jewish life in Australian society. The ground floor displays teach many aspects of Jewish faith and traditions. This Gentile found it fascinating.

The Holocaust exhibition stretches across three levels of the building, and details the persecution and murder of European Jewry from 1933-1945. The events of Hitler’s WWII are described in chronological order…

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Remember: not just Who and When, but also understand Why — babbitman

This makes so much sense to me. I hope it may make you think beyond the ceremony of remembrance!

Wars kill people. They devastate families. Wars should be a politician’s absolute last resort and they are an admission that they have failed their people.

via Remember: not just Who and When, but also understand Why — babbitman

Twittering Tales #103 – 25 September 2018

It’s time again for Kat Myrman’s wonderful challenge to tax our creative souls. Just take her photo prompt and write a story, inspired by it, in 280 characters or fewer.

Here is this week’s prompt and my contribution. Check out all the fabulous entries here.

Branching out into horrible humour

The tree had become quite a tourist attraction.
57 pairs of shoes in the branches.
114 uppers, 114 laces, 114 throats, 114 tongues, and 114 heels.
Beneath the tree there were only half that number of tongues, all belonging to the 57 bodies buried there!

Please pray for their souls!

(279 characters)

 

So Simple A Dog Understands

Don’t you just LOVE Martha contemplating the meaning of life?
How true these words are!

Mitigating Chaos

Thought for the Day.

Martha, 2017 on the Savannah River, Augusta, GA

I’ve been sick and NEEDED a doctor. 

I’ve encountered trouble and NEEDED a police officer.

I’ve lived through times of war when our nation NEEDED our military.

I’ve NEEDED a farmer 3 times a day.

I have even NEEDED an auto mechanic, a plumber, a house painter and a lot of other everyday people.

But I have NEVER, not even once, NEEDED a pro athlete or Hollywood entertainer for ANYTHING,

So simple a dog can understand it.

Thanks, Carla.

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Sunday sayings #48

Two for the price of one this week.

I believe that what we do, what we say, and how we support each other, matters more now than at any other time in my life.