Life On A B-I7

Biopsychosocial

Body, mind, and spirit therapy… Also know as Pickleball.

Classical Chinese Training

Classically trained Chinese Masters studied painting, poetry, philosophy, herbal medicine, and Martial Arts (Tai Chi among other schools). World Tai Chi day is the last Saturday in April. I’m planning to start Tai Chi training. (I’ll let you know how it goes.) I enjoy poetry and philosophy too. You don’t have to be good at them, just appreciate them.

Who’s On First?

Is Trump running the country, or is he just a pawn and doesn’t realize it. I believe he is so self-centered that he really doesn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself. I think the country is being run by people that have his ear, and even some that don’t. He isn’t smart enough to be a good leader. All he has are some outdated opinions and prejudices.

I’m Happy

Amazing. I can’t deny it. I’m happy. The world is an ugly place but a beautiful one. All things considered, I’ll take the beauty and leave the ugly for other people to complain about. That doesn’t mean I turn a blind eye to the ugly. Quite the opposite. I aspire to do what I can, in my own small way, to make the world less ugly. That said, I don’t let the things I can’t control affect what I can control — first-and-foremost, my happiness.

Zen Masters

“I have lived with several Zen Masters. All of the cats.” —Eckhard Tolle. You’d think I were more Zen than I actually am. After all, I live with a Zen Master that is continuously teaching me (and leading me to his food dish).

Are You Right Or Are You Wrong?

Some people have to be right, even when they are wrong. Not knowing you are that sort of person is worse than being wrong.

Enduring Happiness

Continuous growth and learning are what bring enduring happiness.

Whiskey

I’m becoming a big fan of Japanese Whiskey. I was just thinking this morning that I should quit drinking, not even an hour has passed and I’m having second thoughts. One glass occasionally can’t hurt, right?

Time To Pray

A war with Iran (a war with any country under the current Administration) would jeopardize American Democracy. The Administration would use such an event as a tool to restrict the freedoms of Americans. They are likely looking for ways to do that even without using war as an excuse.

Feline ADLs

The six Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) for humans… we needn’t go into that yet since I’m still managing those on my own… But that got me thinking, what are my cat’s six ADLs? Clearly this is a matter of some importance since my cat owns the house and by virtue of that owns me. Were it necessary to put him into assisted living I would have to move in with him and I’m not yet ready to make a cat assisted living home my place of residence…

Well, here they are, I am monitoring all of these very closely:

1. Begging me for food.
2. Demanding I let him outside.
3. Telling me to clean his kitty box.
4. Snuggling on the bed with us (I don’t mind that one except when he makes me get out of bed to lift him up onto it.
5. Telling me to turn on the water in the bathroom faucet for him (he won’t drink out of a water dish because that doesn’t require enough work on my part.
6. And of course, making me brush him on demand.

I’m not complaining, I’m just not looking forward to spending my golden years in an assisted living home full of cats because I have a feeling I’d probably end up at the beck and call of the entire house.

The News

What’s Wrong With American News Media?

I remember when I was a kid growing up, I thought the news was dry and boring. That’s because basically it was. The news was brought to us without opinion and we were allowed to draw our own conclusions. The news today is another matter, not only do we get reporting (sometimes fact based, often not) we are also told what to think about it as we are receiving it.

Smoothie

Kale, Blueberries, Banana, all good stuff and good for you. I’ll skip the beef tallow, I’m not a big RFK fan.

Using Our Thoughts For Good

We are always standing at a fork in the road. The thing that dictates which path we choose is our attitude. Our perception is more deeply impacted by our thoughts than by our experiences. Experiences are wonderful things and they can lead to lasting memories, but what determines the type of day we’re having is our thoughts. Celebrate the moment you’re in and try and make it as positive as possible.

Perfect Trail Manhattan

Crater Lake Rock-n-Rye and Crater Lake American Straight Rye, mixed one-to-one. Cheers!

Hiding The Tears

There are days when I have to wear sunglasses to hide the tears. There’s nothing wrong with me, other than the fact that I see people being misused and I feel powerless to help them directly. So how do you help? One way is to remind people that there is a better way to deal with differences than with anger and hatred.

Room On The Porch

There’s room on the porch for everyone. If you don’t see that, you lack love and compassion.

Books

I love books. I love holding them in my hands. I love bending them so they are easy to hold, but the thing I love most are the words on the pages. One after another. Each word fashioning a string that takes me on a journey to a new place. A place I couldn’t go unless the book took me there.

Delusion

Don’t delude yourself, Trump is not defending democracy overseas. He is behaving like a dictator both at home and abroad. Taking a cynical view of his actions abroad (some might argue realistic view) one would conclude that his reason for seeking peace by dropping bombs in the Middle East is so he can build luxury hotels in Gaza. Hotels you and I could never afford to stay at, nor the people that live there. His Republican benefactors certainly could.

My Strength

My strength is I let people be themselves. My weakness is I let people be themselves.

Toilets

If the toilet is still flushing when someone walks out of the bathroom, don’t shake hands with them. I think that probably qualifies as practical advice.

Drinking

The more I drink, the mellower I get. That’s a good thing. I try not to drink to the point where I do stupid things.. But, stupid is relative, and I’ve been known to fail that test.

What Is A Tyrant?

What follows is a list of incidents when the National Guard was deployed to maintain peace on city streets. These deployments were done with the consent of local authorities. Any deployment not explicitly authorized by local authorities is a violation of a state’s sovereignty.

1929 after the stock market crash under President Herbert Hoover.

1967 in the Detroit riots.

1967 during the Newark riots.

1968 during the riots following the assignation of Dr Martin. Luther King.

1992 during riots in Los Angeles sparked by the beating of Rodney King.

There is a long history in America of identifying tyrants as those leaders that use their military against citizens to stifle and suppress political dissent. American Presidents have avoided the use of military against citizens… until now. The current President has no compunction against using this deplorable tactic. When a President stoops to this level they place themselves precisely in the category of tyrant. In so doing, they give up the right to represent the people of America.

Let’s Talk

If Boomers could find a way to talk to GenX and GenZ then maybe Republicans and Democrats could find a way to talk to one another? I’m an optimist I suppose.

Bad News

I think I’ve had enough bad news for one night. This is happening with greater frequency than ever since, oh, November of ’24… Our country is going insane and the news media is not doing it’s job reporting how tragic all of the decisions coming out of the Administration and the Supreme Court actually are and where all of this is leading us.

The North Rim

I’m sitting on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Well, to be precise, I’m sitting in my overland trailer after a magnificent day and magnificent sunset. It wasn’t easy getting out here. There are three of us. Two well equipped Tacomas and a stock Ram Winnebago (a rental). We were going to go to go a bit further out, but, since our friend in the Winnebago is driving a rental, this is going to have to do. That said, this place if amazing. I mean, it’s hard to describe just how spectacular this is. Where am I going with this? Let me answer by saying: When you are with friends there is no place to remote, too beautiful, to difficult to get to that that does not provide a reward any better than this.

(Update 7/16: The Grand Lodge on the North Rim burned to the ground this last weekend. It was caught in a huge wildfire that unexpectedly grew out of control last Friday. I’m so happy I got to visit the lodge on this trip)