My Bike Ride

Today I decided that I was going to get back on my bicycle and start working out again. I had it tuned up at the bike shop and took it for a test ride the other day and I was ready. It was a great to feel the sun and wind on my face. I decided to take on the bike path that is near my house and one of the stops along the trail is a place called Lake Balboa. I decided today I was going to ride through this park and it was beautiful. At one point I took a wrong turn after passing the golf course and ended up in an area where there was a flyers club. I first hear all of this buzzing above my head after looking up, I immediately thought there were kids with some remote control air planes, then I saw the flyers club sign and saw a scattered group of middle age men. They were the ones flying the planes and they looked really happy with themselves. This was the moment that I wished I had my camera, but of course I didn't. It still amazes me that people are still fascinated with the simple things in life.
I remember my Uncle Smithy who loved playing golf more than anything. I never understood the fascination with hitting a little ball and being out in the middle of no where. It was not until I sponsored a corporate golf tournament and was out on the green driving the golf cart that I got it. Being one with nature was so hypnotizing. It was not the hitting the ball alone , but where you were while hitting the ball. In the middle of green grass, beautiful trees, birds singing and the Peace, this was all addictive. Needless to say I started playing golf, and I even have my Uncle's clubs now that he is teeing off on the big green in the sky. It is definitely a game that requires a great deal of patience, not to mention a little bit of money. I have not played in awhile now, but I still have his clubs and can go and enjoy this game with a friend that is in love with golf.

Food and Fitness

It has been some time since I have posted anything here. I have been working a great deal lately so everything has been put on the back burner. I am going to try to do better because I do enjoy writing this blog as well as the others.

Lately I have been doing research on eating well. I have always been a pretty good eater and love good food, but I have been trying to learn the right foods to eat to give my aging body what it needs to stay healthy. Learning the right combinations of foods as well as the healthiest way to prepare these foods. I have also started juicing and it has made a great deal of difference in how I feel daily. It is mostly trial and error to find out how often to juice and what to juice. Your body will tell you what works for sure if you pay attention.
I have also started a yoga program, but have not been doing this part as often as I would like to. I am steadily trying to work all of this around my work schedule, which has increased. Again, this is all trial and error. I have even gone to a Chinese herbalist to help with the symptoms of perimenopause, and I must say that it has been quite helpful. All of this is a process, so I am trying to take the time to learn what works for me and what does not. I really want to incorporate this all into my daily life in order to make it a permanent part of my routine. This is why I am doing just a little at a time.
I have discovered some really good recipes on line for various foods as well as juicing. This has been a great deal of fun, and I will keep you posted on what I learn.

Peacefulness

2009 has brought some wonderful changes to my life. It has brought an end to a great deal of things that I had been struggling with for the past four or more years. Growth is often painful as well as change, but there has been a great deal of good that has come from my struggle. The growth is phenomenal as well as the peace that I feel because of change. There are also a few changes that I am working on such as nutrition and yoga/meditation. The latter I have not quite incorporated yet, but the nutrition has been fun. There is still a great deal more to learn, but I am reading several books on nutrition simultaneously. I have started juicing which is something that I love thus far, all except the clean up.

The Spirit of Christmas

This is a picture of my daughter Whitney with Santa at 20 months old.

Christmas is here again and it brings with it a great deal of change for a great deal of families. The economy will force some to be more creative for Christmas and others will feel a great deal of pain. Using this time to count your blessings is the best thing that one can do, because if you have life and health, you are truly blessed and have the chance to once again accumulate stuff. More than likely, accumulating stuff will become less and less important, other than the stuff that you need to be comfortable in this life; and many will do with out those for now. America has come back from the Great Depression and we will again recover from this economic down turn.

The meaning of Christmas started to change for me many years ago when my daughter was about six years old. We had been living in Atlanta, Georgia and I had been laid off from my job at MCI about five months before, forcing me to move my young daughter back to Savannah, Ga. to live with my parents. Well that move was a strain on all involved. Seeing the disappointment in my parents eyes was extremely painful, but something I had become accustomed to. In the early days of December I ran into an old friend that was now a psychologist and shared and office with another psychologist in a beautiful old house in Thunderbolt that faced the water. She invited me and my daughter to a Christmas party that they were having at their office for many of their patients and their families who either had no family or were away from family for various reasons. I decided to go and she said the only requirement was to bring a Christmas ornament for the tree and a potluck dish. This party was taking place on Christmas eve and it was quite cold that night, but the sky was clear. I was in a house full of people that I didn't know, where we decorated the tree, chained popcorn, laughed, talked, and ate all sort of food. After the kids chose a present from a grab bag, we were all going caroling through the neighborhood, and the smallest kids road in the back of an old pickup truck with wooden railings, filled with hay. We walked from door to door singing, badly I might add. The people came outside to greet us with hot chocolate and candy canes for the kids. It was the first time that I had done anything like this, but it was the most wonderful experience. I was with people whom I didn't know until that night and have not seen since. But there was a beautifully warm connection of peace and love like I had never felt before. It really restored my faith in people and love. I then realized that blood didn't equate to family, that you can have the sense of family with perfect strangers. I know it was only one night, just like you have chance meetings with people on the street, but that immediate connection, warmth, and acceptance you feel is something you carry with you through out your life.

This experience showed me that Christmas was not about shopping for that hat and scarf, sweater, or whatever gift you are buying for friends and family, it is mostly about what is on the inside than what is on or for the outside. That Christmas warmed my heart and has remained apart of me, and to me that is what Christmas is really about, that is the true spirit of Christmas. As each Christmas comes and goes, I want less and less of that tradition my family has created, which was wonderful for many years, but things have changed and I want to change with it. It has become about giviing of yourself instead of giving of stuff. Oh yeh, I know that giving of stuff can also be memorable, when someone gets something that they have been wanting for sometime, a new car, a new baby, a marriage proposal, etc., but most of these things are also for the heart. Most things that are purchased and put in a box are not. Christmas has also been a time of great loss for some and reconnection for others. It is important for us to reconnect to what is important in our lives and celebrate that. Always!

17.4 Million Dollar Emergency Loans to Only Two Auto Companies.

This is a first for me, but I applaud President Bush's decision to bailout GM and Chrysler on Friday. Chrysler is a privately owned company and after the parent company has dumped millions into its struggling entity, it decided no more. I don't blame them for not wanting to continually dump good money after bad, but I do blame them for allowing all of this bad decision making by the top executives to continue. The liquidation of these companies would have destroyed the American economy and many hard working American people with it. Even though most of their demise is from their not following the trends of today or merely listening to its consumers, these are decisions of a few, that would destroy the lives of many. It was important to give them a chance to make things better. It was a surprising decision of this administration to, for once, look after the interest of its people. This is mostly because of the outcry from many politicians to do something to help the people of this country and stop putting the business sector first, allowing them to continuously exploit its workers and its consumers.
Gratefully so, this decision came with quite a few restraints on the auto companies, which were completely necessary. Bush's decision was very much in line with the plan proposed in Congress earlier in the week that met with strong Republican opposition, who believe that the companies should go bankrupt. Even Bush, a Republican, believed that under ordinary circumstances these companies should not be bailed out by the government and should be allowed to fail. That is one Republican view that I agree with. Unfortunately, these are not ordinary circumstances, they are extraordinary ones, and to keep the economy from completely spiraling out of control, Bush is giving these companies a chance to restructure and help themselves with a short term loans. The way that this differs from Congress is that the money Bush is using comes from the 700 billion dollars already set aside by Congress for the financial markets as opposed to the 25 billion previously set aside for the auto makers in the plans to update the auto industry, with more fuel efficient cars, alternate fueled cars, and possibly electric cars.
This also holds the roof up long enough for the new administration to come in and make some decisions as oppose to having to undo one more thing, or shovel up one more pile of Bush dung, Making Obama look even more like the House Negro.

Economic Recession

It amazes me that our government is so out of touch with the people that they govern, they don't have a clue when we are suffering until things start to fall down around their own ankles. We have been in a recession for well over a year with unemployment at 6.7 % and over a million jobs lost this year alone. Last week they officailly announced that this country was in a recession, what do you think was the clue for them.
Did they think by not acknowledging the true state of this economy would not make it so. How did our government get so out of touch with the people. It is not just the executive branch of government, which you almost expect to be out of touch, but our legislative branch is something you want to believe is still in touch with it's constituents. That is why it is designed the way that it is. There are two senators that are voted from each state, but the House consists of 435 representatives taking a specific number from each state according to the population of that state. Most of these representatives are people living in the communities of which they represent. So how is it that after a short time rubbing elbows with power perceived in politics they soon forget why they are there. Their personal agenda immediately takes precedence and they never look back. I don't understand how they look themselves in the mirror once they start to sell out those who believed in them and worked so hard to get them elected. I truly believe that the day does come when they look in the mirror and not even recognize their own reflections, they see something totally different. Just like a person who suffers from eating disorders. They will be skin and bone, weighing a mere 75 pounds and on the brink of death, but what they see when they look in the mirror is someone overweight and unattractive. This is in serious contrast to what many politician see when they look in the mirror. Even when they have lost sight of what they were elected for and what promises they have made to get the majority votes, they see something larger than life, something beautiful to them, what they can become or what they want to become. They don't recognize GREED when they see it, and as time goes on that reflection, of which they don't presently recognize, becomes even more obscure.

I waited a few days before posting this to see just what congress would possibly put together for this bailout of the auto industry, because on the wall street bailout they just wrote a blank check. This time there is a two edge sword, the working class could lose either way, either through losing millions of jobs that would possibly put us into a depression; and as a taxpayer, that is going to bailout private industry that we have watched make bad decisions for the past 20-30 years. Decisions that didn't take into account the needs of the working class, of the average American. The need for less dependency on foreign oil and a way to use alternative energy sources, leaving less carbons in the air' that lists goes on.
Well I am surprised and equally elated about the bailout legislation that is being proposed. In the New York Times today there was a bit of an overview of what Congress had been working on so hard this weekend. The two things that radiated with me more than anything was the part of the legislation that states that the three automakers will not be able to own or lease private jets during the time the government loans are outstanding and that the top level executives will not receive any bonuses nor the stockholders any dividends during this time the loans are outstanding. Now this is the beginning of a real bailout. The first time that I have every taken note of politicians looking out for the working class, where the majority of taxes are generated.

It is a new day America, and I am glad that I am around to see it.

CNN Heros

On Thanksgiving night I watched CNN Heroes and it was something inspiring. It is amazing the compassion and the love that is in the heart and souls of so many everyday people. So we are not all consumed by the economy and how we are going to make it through these tough times, there are also those who are consumed with what they can do to help others through these tough times. We all know that regardless of what we are going through in this life, there are just so many more people that are suffering even more than you are. I have always heard that helping others is food for the soul.

About four years ago, I had a bad feeling, it was more of a profound feeling that things in my life were going to spiral downhill and during that time I was going to be stripped of something that was going to prepare me for something else. Well my life did spiral out of control and there was nothing that I could do about it. Emotionally it was harder than anything that I have ever experienced. Somehow through it all, I would always see a bright light, something positive, a person reaching out to me, a person that was a total stranger would give me a hug, and sometimes only a smile. Some how it was always there, and I guess that kept me going. I believe that God has a special job for me and I also feel that I am on the right path to be of service to others. My needs and wants have been put on the back burner, actually what I want and believe I need has become less and less. It seems like what I desire more of these days is to give, to give of myself, to give of my time, and to give of my heart. It was just recently that I had another profound feeling that this burden that I have had for the past four years was about to be lifted, and I would blossom into something that has always been within. I guess I had to be stripped of the fear, the fear of giving without receiving or feeling the need of acceptance by others, especially family and close friends. Through all of this humility resonates and that is a wonderful feeling. I have been compelled to do some charitable work, but I am a little selective in what I want to do. First of all it has to be something where I can see the direct benefit to others, nothing that goes through too many hands. I wanted it to be something that helps women and children, especially young women. I wanted it to be something that I am committed to, not just on holidays or special occasions, but something that was on going, and has a direct effect on people's lives.

Well I have not found that one thing yet, but honestly I have not been looking really hard. I have been trying to get myself in place both physically and emotionally, and now I feel like the cloud of smoke is lifting and it is time for me to emerge.
I have been so blessed. God has always put kind and generous people in my path. As I drive the bus everyday, there is always someone buying me breakfast, bringing me fruit, coffee, books, and many other things, but most of all they are constantly thanking me for what they perceive as acts of kindness. One girl actually said to me, " Thank you for being so kind to your passengers" That is my reward, the appreciation and the return kindness of others. I often thank God for His putting certain people in my path, and ask him if there is anything that I am doing to attract so many warm and loving people into my life, I want to keep on doing that and actually I want to do more of it. That has always been my prayer, and one day I was told on my bus, that I attract certain kinds of people because of the kind of person that I am. But it is the kind of person that I am becoming through the love and guidance of the Great Master. Don't worry I am not taking myself too seriously, but I can see the growth, that is why I think that I am on the right path to be of service to others. I am not going to lie and say I don't absolutely love how people respond to me, and the feeling I get when I am kind and considerate to others, and their appreciation of that kindness. I find it so much easier than not being kind, now that takes so much more energy.
I hope to find something that becomes a passion for me, something that impacts others lives, something that I can only give in a way that I can only give it. I feel that I am getting closer to that point in my life, and I am grateful.

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