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There must be hope

Years ago my yoga teacher and friend once said that she was watching a big group of salmon struggling to get upstream past a large bank of mud. It seemed that many would die. She asked them in that moment why they were struggling so when they would inevitably meet death. Why not give up? She said the answer came back that their will to live was strong. That they could not give up.

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceX5jJ5fggs]

Tripura has passed now. Not so long ago of pancreatic cancer. May she fill the universe with light.

We homo sapiens sapiens seem to have a greatness that can breach the chasm of the cosmos. Indeed, often, our brightness gulfs the shoal of time.

But now…

Not so much. Or, can we go back to our hippy roots and be here now? The choice is getting harder. I am seeing way too many people melting down.

A few days ago a friend was helping me screw my car carrier back on. The screw fell out and he could not get it back in. I silently said to myself, oh, universe just let that screw find its hole. A few seconds later he shouted, “I’ve got it.”

Is the universe tapping me on the shoulder? Me, who sees things through science-based eyes?

Maybe yes. I have taken it as a sign. I am embracing my hippy roots and I will visualize the future I want, in spite of the endless unraveling of everything I love, and I do mean everything (women’s rights, the right to choose, equity for all, the entire ecosystem of the planet). Everything I have worked for over the last fifty some-odd years. Gone in a flash. (Yes, there’s a lot to melt down about.)

Do I think we can meditate away the orangegreen meanies? No. Uh-uh. No way. On the other hand, remember the 60s, the 70s. Like far out, man. So, where is our cosmic collective consciousness now?

All I know is that we ain’t gonna get anywhere by freaking out. So why not, (not just stay positive and love the one you’re with - yes to that), affirm that we will win, that the planet can survive, that people can endure and thrive. Affirm that we will find a way out. Yes, I know that it’s one party, the oligarchy über alles, and maybe the DemsDumbshits don’t care any more than the Repugs if women fall back into the dark ages with one chain to the kitchen and one chain to the bed. And yes, I know the ice is melting and catapulting into the sea. And yes, the web of life that makes this Earth what it is, is being raped, pillaged and plundered.

Affirm we must, because why not. It can’t hurt and it might help.

I affirm that this world will not be driven into oblivion by climate chaos, that the poor will not be forgotten, be pushed to the brink, that Blacks and Browns will find real equality. Just for starters.

And I will continue to work for the causes I believe in because I am just pissed off enough to not give up.

Peace

It's your open thread, now...

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magiamma's picture

Just posting this for any who might be interested.
zz Geoengineering workshop.jpg
Greetings,

The Hands off Mother Earth (HOME) Campaign invites you to a grounding teach-in on geoengineering technologies - techno-fixes - whose proponents have long claimed that it is the best tool to solve the climate crisis. On the other hand, global grassroots movements for climate justice have argued that these projects are expensive as well a dangerous distraction designed in ways that ignore power relations at a global scale and importantly, the deeper structural questions regarding the root causes of the climate crisis. This (101) session will critically unpack, from a climate justice perspective, three intersections of geoengineering: its techno-financial /deterministic roots and ideology, human rights and social justice questions, and finally, global governance and sovereignty.

Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group, Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Dr. Max Ajl, Tunisian Observatory for Food Sovereignty (OSAE) will lead the teach-in.

The webinar will be in English.

To attend the webinar please register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B7-SbgtiTvS676VuK1qIPA

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma
the magnitude, volume or details of what we don't understand, and the veritable real world devil is in those details. Webinar teach in will be a great public service. With luck, it will be taped and made readily available.

Thanks for the notice.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

Positive future images are essential for positive progress. I never lost my hippie dippie ideals. The back to the land movement has been my path since my teens. The peace movement is still strong in me as well. And though the ecosystem has degraded and there is ever more war, I keep to the path and heal my little piece of land and try to promote peace when I can.

We are individuals and we just need enough individuals to build critical mass. However, just as I accept my eventual death, I accept the idea we are past the climatic tipping point. I don't really pray to a god or goddess but find the concept in this prayer worthwhile
prayer.jpg

Wish us all peace and what happiness we can find or make for ourselves.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

magiamma's picture

@Lookout
There is wisdom in not fretting over what you don't have control over. I thought this comment by firewfire was very insightful.

The Marks believe they are watching a real fight between characters who really hate each other. The Smarts realize they are watching an exhibition of fake mayhem, but enjoy both the spectacle and the histrionics of the Show.

It is so ironic that the upper middle class liberals are the Marks and the unsophisticated and unknowledgeable wingnuts in the empty states are the Smarts -- who see how well Trump's villainous act drives liberals beyond the bend, and love it.

I get that. I keep seeing people running around with their hairs on fire reacting. Seems like that was the plan all along. To unsettle people.

Take good care.

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Either way we all must do what we can to slow the destruction of our planet.
Maintaining a positive attitude helps as we strive to keep fighting for a future.
Happy Birthday Yosemite National Park
half_dome_smoke_haze.jpg
Today is the 130 year anniversary of the bill signing that made it a National Park. The air is pretty bad here right now due to smoke from wildfires. I've had to cut back on my hiking activities while here to celebrate the park's birthday. Actually it's the park's second birthday due to the convoluted timeline of actions that saved this place. The first birthday is June 30, 1864 when Abe Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, a first of it's kind bill that protected portions of this place for posterity before there was a National Park System.
The photo of Half Dome above was taken Sep. 29, 2020 at a place called Glacier Point.

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magiamma's picture

@jbob
Happy Birthday, indeed. Thanks for the history. Hug a tree for me. Lol Hope the smoke clears. It's here now. No idea where from. Have a good one.

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Needed a reminder of why we do not give up our hippy dippy past and continue to embrace it. I will continue to find hope working with causes that seem to be making a difference.

Going to spend the weekend camping in nature up in the jemez mountains and just dropping out to recharge.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

magiamma's picture

@jakkalbessie
you are welcome. Need to settle back from our amygdalas. Have a great weekend. Take good care.

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enhydra lutris's picture

inspiration. And thanks especially for this:

I affirm that this world will not be driven into oblivion by climate chaos, that the poor will not be forgotten, be pushed to the brink, that Blacks and Browns will find real equality. Just for starters.

And I will continue to work for the causes I believe in because I am just pissed off enough to not give up.

That is indeed the crux of it. They say that "faith can move mountains", but the reality is that shovels seem to help. The other reality is that the mountains are better left alone where they stand are we and the world are both better off if that is the case as well. Perhaps mo bettah, with innumerable historical cooperative ventures in mind is that Belief can build houses, but much more quickly if hammers are provided and used.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
imho one cannot just meditate one's way out of whatever. But intuition has always played a big part in my life. I have, many times, awoken in the night with the solution to something I have been working on. I count on it now. Just don't know how that works but apparently it does. I think it was, maybe, the periodic table that came to someone in a dream. There is a lot of space inside atoms between the electrons and all. Interspace. What ever is in there? Take good care.

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mhagle's picture

I-m so happy

Yes, that's the ticket. A couple of years ago I said here on c99 that I was so frightened about the world (climate mostly) that I felt paralyzed inside. Not anymore. Due to certain personal rituals, and taking it moment by moment. And actions, most of which are small things, daily chores, doing things for others.

The rituals would sound silly to most, but they are little songs I made up about gratitude, faith in the goodness inside people, wishing blessings on the world, and surrendering to what is. Because it is in song form, I have these melodies running though my head much of the day.

Also, I bought 8 round hay bales yesterday and am going to plant my fall overwinter garden in them. So we still keep on keeping on. And my neighbor and I have been gathering mesquite pods to grind into flour. Hope it works as this is our first time to try it.

Wishing all of you a wonderful day!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

enhydra lutris's picture

@mhagle

mesquite flour for decades now.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@mhagle
Your songs sound healing and wonderful. If I could carry a tune I would join in. We all need something like this to carry us through. So many people I know are growing anxious. It only prevents us from being effective even in small ways. I needed to take a break from ranting every week. There is so much to rant about and so much to be grateful for. Yin yang. Need some yin. Be well.

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enhydra lutris's picture

Mind over matter at work?

Diabetic's blood-sugar levels affected by false ingredient labels
https://boingboing.net/2020/09/30/diabetics-blood-sugar-levels-affected-...

includes link to:

A Psychological Trick Changed Diabetics' Blood Sugar Levels
https://www.realclearscience.com/quick_and_clear_science/2020/09/28/a_ps...

We will ...

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@enhydra lutris
push save until just now. Arrgh.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris

After participants drank the beverages (a different one on each day), the researchers monitored their blood glucose levels at twenty-minute intervals over the ensuing hour. They found that participants who thought they were drinking the high-sugar variant had significantly elevated blood sugar levels during the monitoring period compared to those who thought they were drinking the low-sugar variant.
...
These findings challenge the mainstream assumption that natural biological and physiological metabolic homeostasis processes require sufficient insulin to allow glucose to return to normal ranges," the authors said of the results.

However, they caution that this sort of psychological trickery cannot treat Type 2 diabetes on its own. A diabetic could not, on a prolonged basis, trick themselves out of diabetes.

"Our study does not indicate whether psychological effects have long-term efficacy. Our findings instead suggest that psychological processes may be, at least temporarily, able to influence biochemical processes in diabetic metabolism."

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I agree, things are looking grim, and that is a huge understatement. I also agree that:

Affirm we must, because why not. It can’t hurt and it might help.

and being

pissed off enough to not give up.

is highly motivating.

I saw this article the other day and am going to go back and read it again. It ties in very nicely with what you wrote today.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/09/28/what-do-when-world-fire

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magiamma's picture

@randtntx
Great article

As a nature-lover and lifelong birdwatcher, that feeling echoed a greater despair. This planet and her kaleidoscope of species have given me so much – provided me so generously with food for the body, mind and spirit. And yet, in the face of anthropogenic climate change, can I do nothing but panic and watch her go up in flames in my rear-view mirror?
...
I implore all my fellow young nature-lovers and activists to consciously reject – wholesale – the corporate-led, techno-globalist future we are being sold. Such suggestions represent yet another extension of the reductionist thinking and scientific hubris that originally justified exploitation of the biosphere – it’s what got us into this mess in the first place. Tech-based “solutions” are still failing to curb emissions and unsustainable consumption, even as they guzzle more resources and damage more ecosystems in order to operate. Moreover, they are fundamentally about enabling the continuation of a gargantuan global economy that can’t even serve our own well being, let alone that of the animals and ecosystems we love.

This is the conundrum. The world is melting and burning. Biodiversity is fading. We know this. At the same time, knowing this, we must embrace the life that is left, I think. Because not to, leaves me in despair. So yes, we must keep our voices loud. The thought I had last night is that our voices and actions need to be directed in the right place to be effective. Otherwise it's just noise - a shadow strutting and fretting - that falls uselessly in to the abyss. The question is where and who. General strike would work if people would comply. Dunno.

Thanks for this article. Have a good one.

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I was inspired by Cass and others to reread Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark essays recently. (Reviewed here). The discussion had to do with political imagination or the lack thereof I believe. Either way, I find the ideas inspiring and, in these times, anything that helps get me out of bed in the morning is good.
From the review:

Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act. When you recognize uncertainty, you recognize that you may be able to influence the outcomes — you alone or you in concert with a few dozen or several million others. Hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists. Optimists think it will all be fine without our involvement; pessimists take the opposite position; both excuse themselves from acting. It’s the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what it may impact, are not things we can know beforehand.

All the best.

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magiamma's picture

@peachcreek
I needed to remind myself. Hope is a state of mind and must accompany action. There is so much beauty in the world. That’s what replenishes me. We are here now. So far so good. Hope and intuition work well together for me. My hope is that we can see a way to get out of this medusa of a mess together. Thanks. Be well.

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Or is this possibly an epidemiological decapitation event in progress? Do Rump and Melons actually have COVID-19, or will this be a show intended to display his "toughness" and "energy"?

It makes sense that the abhorrent, arrogant hygiene (er, lack thereof) practiced by that wing of the ruling class would enable community spread. On the other hand, I still suspect that Bolsonaro faked his infection (you don't hear about lasting effects, do you?), so Rump may have decided to emulate his emulator. What advantage could he derive from faking it? Sympathy? The chance to show he can "dominate" the lowly virus? A good excuse to bow out of debates without having to knuckle down to rules? Pseudo-martyrdom? Only The Shadow knows.

If it's real, could this be a bipartisan decap? Rump was certainly spewing in the nearby Biden's direction. Maybe this is a chance for the "saner" sport team captains to reset the stage and give us, say, Mitt Romney vs Kamala Harris.

How would professional wrestling handle this?

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magiamma's picture

@pindar's revenge
The fickle finger of divine justice or reality tv come full circle. You decide. Comorbidities abound. Stocks decline. The world gasps. Hairs are on fire. Oh noes. Please tell me it isn’t so. /s

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@magiamma
I'm seeing lots of comments around opining that he's faking it, for much the same reason I thought Bolsie was faking it: Look how strong I am, don't worry about the "little flu", go back to work. (bump in mortality AFTER the election)

Here's a disturbing tweet:

Carole Cadwalladr Verified Account
@carolecadwalla

A reminder to all Americans that the net effect of our prime minister catching COVID-19 was that it prompted a surge of patriotic support. From which he emerged with renewed popularity. Which enabled him to tear up key functions of the state

https://mobile.twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1311920391842078725

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magiamma's picture

@pindar's revenge

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