Thread Drift

Well, I have to bear witness to the pain of those who are *really* affected by what is going on. I have a caring voice, my heart isn't hard, but I am just realistic. All the Zen sayings in the world doesn't change reality for those whose who aren't privileged in the way I am. They know I empathize and I will fight/stand up for them, but I am also old enough to remember 1968, 1970, the whole damn thing. I was marching on the Boston Common when I was 14. It was ugly and violent then and the world is uglier and violent now.
In my own life, there are plenty of things that make me happy and I could easily ignore it all. But, I can't and I won't. I guess I am not perfect and I have no problem admitting I am pissed about what is going on in the US.

I am pissed off too, and dismayed and disappointed. But I still have to get out of bed every morning and do well at my job and not be a crazy angry person all the time. I want to do what I can to support people who need help now more than ever but I can't do that if I can't function.

Here is something from Human Rights Watch and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

https://www.hrw.org/callitout

NY….i feel the same way.....and I’ve never found anger to take me anywhere positive. We are fortunate to have lots of non-profits and state/city programs here doing great work especially in the more disadvantaged areas. Alex and I have started to give even more time and money to the causes we have embraced. That helps us deal in a positive way with our concerns and replaces anger with the feelings of helping others, seeing the courage in people struggling, seeing the wholeness of others and the unique story each person has…..each with their own potential and dreams. For both of us it’s just about a compassionate way of living.

Thanks for the link….I like the callitout idea….when we turn away from someone being assailed because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation we become part of a larger moral problem.

I do that stuff everyday, Rebecca. I *work* for a non profit, it's a choice, when my peers from grad school have all started private practices. I just can't do it, as it eliminates a wide diversity in the people you serve.
I don't see why saying one is angry is a bad thing. I do all of the stuff you note, but I am still angry at what happened. Maybe upset is a better word? I am not clinically angry, there's no homicidal ideation going on in my mind, but I just fear what could happen. It would be easy for me to live in a bubble, considering where I live, but at the least it's made me even more outspoken than usual!
I have never been a quiet or outwardly calm person. Some of it's cultural, and some of it is my personality. I am very calm in emergency situations and in my work, but generally I subscribe to the "call it out" all of the time. This is how change happens.

I don't think it's bad to be angry or acknowledge that you are. I just try not to dwell on it. Because I do tend to dwell on it and it causes too many problems, internally for my health and externally in my dealings with others. I am both angry and terrified of what will happen in the next few years. But as I said, I need to find a way to function, and I don't see myself being useful to anyone if I can't push the anger and fear aside.

Yes, it's not in my consciousness every minute of the day. It was, the first few days after the election.

For me, anger transforms to action, sadness and fear does the opposite, I end up staying in the house and being a lump. So, for now, I'm pleased to be royally pissed off.

Yes, Pax, I often tell clients that a little anger can lead to motivation. It's when the anger grows out of proportion to the original issue or becomes permanently entrenched, that it starts to do damage to one's body. I never get the kind of sad you are describing, but I understand it. From where I sit, a lot of prolonged anger leads to sadness and isolation. When I said I was angry, I didn't think some would take it to mean something other than I meant. Sometimes, you need to be angry, to see a solution or another path. Or motivated. It's all what you do with it. But to deny it, even in a cursory way is not part of my DNA. Maybe I am overreacting, so I am going to close my thoughts on this now!

I interpret Crankin's concerns as just that and nothing else.

Problem with such prominent political leader like Trump about to head one of the world's most powerful country (China is becoming powerful too, in many different ways), is that it simply emboldens others world-wide what they might have been afraid to say....that immigrants who aren't Christian-hetero, don't look like themselves, etc. are lesser / the less desirable "other" in the order of society.

Here's a female Canadian political delegate for the Conservative party: http://www.macleans.ca/politics/otta...trump-victory/
In the province of Alberta where I live, unemployment has climbed to 9% highest since 1994, due to faltering oil and gas economy which is our province is (wrongfully) too dependent. Now, there's sentiment that is getting all muddled with more anti-immigrant, and simply angry, etc.

Be careful for what you ask! I wonder how this will translate to Trumpster? and how will it manifest? I dunno.

Anyway, I was tired and hating my engineering job toward the end then I got laid off just over 6 years ago. Hip hip hurray!! Well I'm doing what I like now ??? Work with my hands and growing veggies. Work outside, enjoy sunshine, enjoy nature. I sling shot past the dedicated gardener to being a full time farmer. There are pluses and there are well... not so fun stuff.

My partner decided she wanted more chickens so even though I swore not to build another thing for the chicken, I'm out there building another coop. 8 feet wide, 16 feet deep with 8 feet high walls and a gable roof. It's been raining for about a week with temp in mid 30's. Today it was snowing with temp around 30F. My joints are achy, coughing up a storm... I guess it caught up with me. I still need to nail in half a dozen ceiling joist, all the rafters, barge plates, fascia, plywood/sheathing for the roof. And to meet code, I need to install hurricane ties for each rafters...(no I don't need to have it inspected but...) Once the roof is done, I can start sheating the exterior walls.

blah!!

I haven't winterized my meyer lemon trees in the field nor fixed up a heater and a blower for one of the green house. At dusk today, I managed to get frost cover over several 100' rows of leeks, green onions/scallions, lettuce, tat-tsoi, chard, spinach, carrots... They are snow covered. I hope the snow will keep the leaves from freezing hard. And I hope my pepper plants in the greenhouse can survive the 30F temp over next two nights.

I feel utterly defeated. Again, so far behind the 8-ball. Trumpster is least of my concerns right now. Not even the crazy alt-recht flying the confederate flag down the street.

Tomorrow, I see my chiro to uncorkscrew my back and straighten me out. Silver lining in the whole thing I guess. :)

Brighter side of things, yipee!! furnace in our house finally got replaced today and we have heat in our house!! WOW!! SO NICE! We've been out since Thanksgiving morning.

Smilingcat, your post reminds me of all my farmer friends, work that always needs to be done, never enough hours in the day. I think the old timers were on to something when they had huge numbers of children... free labor!

Congrats on having heat, it's the little things that make life a bit easier.

I know it doesn't help get the work done, but I am in awe of everything you do, Smilingcat. I hope the chiro and the warm air make things easier for you.

Another good product that I have used for years has been discontinued. Almay Line Smoothing liquid makeup -- I use it to even out the brown blotches (age spots) and blemishes on my face and make the pores less noticeable. The ivory color is a good match for my Irish-German complexion and it does not cake up in wrinkles and creases. So of course due to "trends" they don't make it anymore. So what to use instead? Almay has a new foundation with "age" in the name but as near as I can tell it's just regular makeup. I tried Revlon Age Defying and it's awful. The lightest shade is too dark and it made the pores look so big that my face looked like a damn golf ball. My next option, if I can find the lightest shade in a store around here, is to try the Cover Girl "age" makeup that Ellen DeGeneres advertises (I can't remember the exact name, they all sound alike). Unless -- can anyone suggest makeup that works reasonably well on older skin? I tend to stick with drugstore brands because I'm not made of money and I don't want to deal with salespeople in department stores trying to sell me lots of products that I'm probably allergic to, but I would try something more expensive if I had reason to believe it actually works.

I am of no help ny biker but I do hear you. For a bit I used nerium lotion - great for the wrinkles but not the pocketbook. I am not a face makeup person - feel like I am smothering. My DD really likes the the mineral powder from Arbonne. (for me I am an arbonne protein powder junkie) if you know an Arbonne sales person maybe a sample (I bet mine would hook you up)

I haven't used foundation in close to 30 years.... I would caution, though, against mineral based make up if you are over 50, as it shows every nook and cranny.
Make up is one thing I pay for. I've changed brands over the years, right now I'm using Bobbi Brown. My cousin works for them, at Bloomies, and is always happy to give me free advice. Before that, I used Paula Dorf.
However, I use Neutrogena cleanser I buy at CVS and Clinique skin/eye cream, which I buy from Amazon.