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The best thing that happened to you today.
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Went out for breakfast, took her daughter to dancing, went to watch a charity football match, crazy golf, 2p arcade machines and meal out this evening. Fun packed day but the only thing that really mattered was sharing her company, could really have been anywhere doing anything.
Anyhow I walked all the way from the park by my house on a beautiful day to downtown. I met some of his friends and just chatted with him for quite some time. I tried a beer with rice in the fermentables and a lemony hops that was really good. Another was hot pepper chocolate beer.
I was exhausted when I finally got back home. Probably the best spring day ever and I walked probably 5 miles, no idea.
There was no one else around, just me and nature. At the top of the climb there is a radio mast and a bench. I sat on the bench for about 10 minutes, concentrated on my breathing and relaxed. Still there was just me in the open countryside. As I descended I took a route that would take me past the reservoir where I stood looking over the water, completely still and silent for 5 minutes.
I then continued my descent and back to the car park, completely calm and relaxed. The whole thing took about 1 1/4 hours and for the whole time there was nobody else but me, it was bliss.
Pretty pink toes makes a girl feel light on her feet...
Pretty pink toes makes a guy feel light on his feet...
from me walks over and hands me a greeting card...my face lit up as I
opened it....what was this for? The front of it said 'Happy Birthday'....
It's not my birthday.
While I was deciding what to say....a couple of people walked over and started
singing....so I knew I had to say something. I said 'it's not my birthday guys'...
and the little lady says...'Oh no! someone told me it was'. Her face looked like
she was about to crawl in a hole and cry.....I looked at her and smiled and said...
'I'm always down for celebrating.... forget a surprise birthday party....Sandra here
just gave me a surprise birthday! Happy Birthday to me! ..About 6 of us started dancing in the hall and having us a good time! .....Hot damn! This
is going to be way more fun today than the one I expect all year!, haha
Thanks Sandra for my birthday today! Party details to follow....
:clap:
Otherwise move along . . . nothing to see . . . many thanks . . .
And I have a job interview on Monday!
I'm glad they came back right away after that ban was voted down to legalize gay marriage in this state.
If you don't like it (marriage equality), you kin giit out!
girls..."That's it...I want to be drove around today! It's Mother's Day!...
hahaha"...."lets go...."
We went and jumped on the trolley...I kicked back...and we
rode around twice....sun hitting....73...Super nice! You hear me ??!!
I got a chocolate ice cream waffle cone too!....:)
One of the things that I think would've made the panel better, though, was including a Marxist ecologist to help connect some of the dots for them. (Speaking of 'Marxist,' it was great to see the audience, who applauded just about everything the Dalai Lama said, squirm and the silence that followed when he said, "Perhaps I am socialist. As far as social economy is concerned, I am Marxist.")
Most of the panelists agreed we need to rethink our economic structure in some way, but they never really touched on how doing so within the context of capitalism is problematic. For one thing, they all seemed to agree that an economic system that depends on continued and uninterrupted expansion (i.e., indefinite growth) isn't an environmentally sustainable system, particularly when the drive for profit is the bottom line.
However, nobody really dealt with the problem that capital only functions when it grows and reproduces itself (i.e., creates surplus value and profit) in a process that arguably requires amplifying consumption, particularly to overcome the tendency of the rate of profit to fall and a shrinkage in the absolute mass of profit created via commodity production. And further exacerbating the problem, which was briefly mentioned, is the fact that, within the context of this system, negative externalities can actually contribute to economic growth.
Another thing that wasn't really touched upon was that if we truly want to change our collective behaviour in more environmentally sound ways, on an individual level as well as on the broader level of global production and distribution, we need to critically assess and rethink the current system that underlies our material reproduction and coerces our economic and consumptive behaviour.
Simply recycling and reusing clothes on an individual level isn't going to reduce our CO2 admissions from 400ppm to 350ppm since most of the pollution is produced by large industries, industrial farming, the harvesting and processing of fossil fuels, etc., not to mention the fact that less consumption by consumers means a slowing and even collapsing capitalist economy (especially in the US, where consumption accounts for about 70% of GDP).
This, I think, also ties into the problem of conflicts between various industries and public interests when it comes to combating things like pollution and environmental degradation. For one, more environmentally sound policies would potentially make things more expensive. In addition, it'd also potentially cut into profits and restrict growth; and the companies we're trying to 'persuade' to further limit pollution have powerful lobbying power and put pressure on politicians (if they don't just outright buy them), and attempting to regulate them via legislation often results in inadequate compromises (e.g., weak cap and trade laws).
So the solution can't just be shifting to more individual 'green' activities, nor can it solely be through political reforms and regulations (i.e., laws), although both can be useful tools; it has to include a fundamental shift in the way we approach production, distribution, and even consumption. And one of the ways to achieve this is through better education and honest, open dialogues about what we all agree on and how to move forward in the direction we want to go—which hopefully includes taking care of our collective home.
I think that was one of the main points made by the Dalai Lama, which he returned to again and again. Changing our behaviour begins with becoming more educated, about ourselves and our environment, continually adjusting our worldview based upon the things we learn, strengthening our affection and compassion for others, realizing our potential as human beings, and then going out into the world and acting on that knowledge from a place of concern for the well-being of both ourselves and others.
All in all, it was a great way to spend the day and I'm glad that I was able to go. If nothing else, it inspired me to get back into my meditation practice and motivated me to continue trying to do what I can to make myself and the world a better place using all the tools at my disposal.