FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024 - MISCELLANEOUS

 FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024 - MISCELLANEOUS

I think that everybody has problems.  We might not admit to that statement - but there seems to be some merit to the thought.  

Some problem have health problems.  If you have been to a clinic or hospital recently the majority of people in the waiting room are seniors.  (Other than maybe the Obstetrics  area).  We all (generic “we”) seem to have pills - high blood pressure, depresion, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, digestion, poor eyesight, poor hearing, dental problems, dementia, and more.   

(Tongue in cheek - medicare keeps the health industry growing.)

But, there are other unseen problems.  One of my friends has a daughter in Portland Oregon (or at least word), who is living on the street with paranoia, drugs, and mental health issues.  Another friend has dealt with relationship issues (agresive husband who abused and beat her).  

There are financial problems - working from paycheck to paycheck - and/or spending more than they make (sometimes on drugs and alchohol).  

Maybe the family is happy and adjusted, but they are also problems with neighbors, bosses and other people they don’t like (or people who don’t like them).

I’m reading a book about a daughter who cuts herself.  (Years ago I wouldn’t have believed that - but I know a recovering cutter.)

Be kind to all people - you don’t know what all they are going through.

An epidenic of mental illness and depression is floating around.  People don’t need your hate, but your love.  Walk a mile in their shoes.  

*****

I recently read this address by Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft - one of the richest people in the World) to high school students.

1.The world is not concerned about your self-esteem. The world expects you to do something useful for it BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

A former cleaning lady becomes a chef and fulfils her dream of having her own organic restaurant

True story: A simple (but powerful) gesture of kindness from a CEO

2 . You will not earn $20,000 a month once you leave school. You won't be vice president of a company with a car and phone available until you've managed to buy your own car and phone.

3. If you find your teacher rude, wait until you have a boss. He will not feel sorry for you.

4. Selling old newspapers or working while on vacation is not beneath your social standing. Your grandparents have a different word for it: they call it opportunity.

5. If you fail, it's not your parents' fault. So do not whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

6. Before you were born, your parents weren't as critical as they are now. They only got that way from paying your bills, washing your clothes and hearing you say they're "ridiculous." So before saving the planet for the next generation wanting to fix the mistakes of your parent's generation, try cleaning your own room.

7. Your school may have blurred the distinction between winners and losers, but life isn't like that. In some schools, you don't repeat more than a year and you have as many chances as you need to get it right. This looks like absolutely NOTHING in real life. If you make a mistake, you're fired! Do it right the first time!

8. Life is not divided into semesters. You won't always have summers off, and it's unlikely that other employees will help you with your tasks at the end of each term.

9. Television is NOT real life. In real life, people have to leave the bar or the club and go to work.

10. Be nice to the computer nerds (those students that others think are assholes). There is a high probability that you will work FOR one of them.”

11. Know these and know peace. I come in PEACE.

*****

One of my favorite classical pieces is Finlandia by Jean Sibelius.  Sibelius was a Finnish composer - stuck between the western world and the ever presen Soviet Union.  He penned this words (or as they have been translated to English)

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

Yes, in other lands hearts are beating with hopes and dreams!!!

*****

This week, the focus has been on this country - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness - let’s pursue happiness in a happy fashion.  Happiness really doesn’t come from a bottle or a pill.

*****

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, July 5, 2024