Tag: connection

Morning Dawdler 3/17/23 Looking for Miracles

On By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion...3 Comments

Rory asked these questions a day ago. It seemed a fun place to start the day.



Do you think being outside is good for a person’s wellbeing?

It is absolutely essential. When I’m outside, all my problems seem smaller. The immense beauty and expansive wonder of Nature (something I cannot fully explain) speaks to me. There are forces so much bigger than I. My favorite personal explanation is “It’s a place where I feel comfortably insignificant.”
Once when my granddaughter, at about 8 years old, was having a ‘meltdown’, my cure for it was asking her to go and sit outdoors. It worked. It always works.
I don’t consider it a distraction, but rather a reconnection.

How much of a sensation seeker are you?

This is a good one. I am a bit of a daredevil. But the path I take is usually testing my own limits. As an “eyes wide open” person when it comes to assessing physical danger, I don’t as often take safety risks as I test the “rules”. I think most rules are arbitrary nonsense. Remember the 6-foot distancing during the pandemic? Yeah…that one was actually an IQ test and most people were sadly scoring in the double digits. lol 😉

Do you believe in blind luck?

No. Since I decided to center my life around gratitude it has been even more beautiful. And to feel gratitude, one needs someone or something to thank. I am thankful to God for his grace and love. By finding that life direction which increases my perception of beauty and calm, I haven’t regretted the decision… and I truly don’t care what others think of it. Faith is absolutely a daily decision and no different from deciding what you’ll wear.
Since I’ve looked for miracles (I even did as a child), I’ve recognized SO much. It’s quite like the saying, “You can’t win the lottery if you don’t play.”

https://earthlycomforts.uk/2023/03/16/a-wild-aloha-to-you-27/

Unanswered Question: Doesn’t tolerance and inclusion require ‘connection’?

On By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Unanswered Questions6 Comments

Some comments strike me as odd. Then I wonder, am I ‘further evolved’ or are others just ‘devolving’?

Usually my “Unanswered Question” posts are inspired by something I see or read. Today it was something I happened to read.
A blogger was discussing her new ‘Mental Health Therapy’ and admitted that she’d already doubted it would work for her because the therapist is a man. That struck me as odd but clearly an ‘in vogue’ viewpoint. Immutable traits are now given an awful lot of attention.

Last night, I also heard about medical universities, in an effort of “inclusion”, suggesting everyone should be treated by physicians and surgeons who are the same race and gender as the patient. As someone who had long ago become ‘blind’ to people’s immutable traits, I again wondered, “Am I the oddball?”. Doesn’t everyone want skilled professionals treating them? What does skin color or gender or sexual orientation have to do with that?

The worst part of my stream of thought was realizing that the modern day ‘sifting and sorting’ of people into groups is ultimately affecting me too. I don’t like it!
I’ve long admired Douglas Murray for his intellect and confidence. Recently, it came to my attention that he’s gay. “Ugh, so what?” was my first thought. Another person I’ve admired and enjoyed listening to is Rick Grennell, who was our ambassador to Germany and acting DNI during the Trump administration. He’s also been identified as gay. Those two fine intelligent men were already on my most admired list. Again, I thought, “What difference is knowing their sexuality supposed make? “







Richard Grennell




Then, it happened! I was trying to recall something brilliant that Douglas Murray had said, and my mind injected the thought, “You know. That Gay intellectual you admire.” Not only was I surprised, but I was also disgusted. The widespread superficial ‘labeling virus’ had infected me.






Douglas Murray


All this ‘intersectionality’ crap is counterproductive to unity to say the least. Worse, is the total lack of self-awareness those who are tossing it around have. The same people who keep suggesting that everyone needs to be more tolerant and inclusive, clearly want to emphasize our ‘unimportant differences’ to a point that no one pays attention to our ‘important gifts and talents and similarities’.

Doesn’t tolerance and inclusion require ‘connection’? Our humanity is already our connection to each other and the only one we ought to pay attention to, IMHO. Those suggesting we need to pay a great deal of attention to anything else, are not at all trying to unify people. Their underlying purpose clearly is to segregate us and they’re doing well now that they can infect the minds of those who have already further evolved.




SoCS-3/4/23-My Enchanted Childhood: A Glimpse

On By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Writing Prompts8 Comments

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “wild animal.” Choose a wild animal (or many wild animals) and use it any way you’d like in your post. Enjoy!


Oh my! Where to go on a theme of wild animals?
I guess I’ll tell one of many tales of my encounters.
A connection with the Natural World IMHO is the greatest gift you can give a child.

My childhood was an absolutely enchanted one…
We spent family vacations at remote cabins we’re we went fishing, climbed trees, caught frogs, and sat around campfires. My Mom’s family even bundled their funds and bought a cabin by a lake when I was about 10. I would spend almost entire summers there.
Many whole days were all about catching, examining, and releasing, frogs and turtles and exploring. At night, we’d fish on the lake’s glassy surface using our favorite lure called a “jitterbug”. It mimicked the sound and motion of a frog on the water. In that near-silent scene (except for the lullaby of crickets), with the moon turning the water’s ‘smooth glass’ silver, I could hear (sometimes see) the lure lurching across the water.
“Glub, glug, glubbity”, {pause]…then repeat. Sometimes a small fish would take a slap at the lure. BUT the larger bass (lunkers) simply rose to the top making an almost inaudible sucking sound taking the whole lure in its mouth.
Then it was ON!
The pole would jerk as I ‘set the hook’ (pulled back). Larger, heavy, fish would take out line which is called “pulling out drag” and we’d fight as I reeled it in. On the best battles, the fish would leap fully out into the moonlight while shaking its head. That once quiet environment was now filled with splashing and the essence of the Natural World… a fight for survival.
If I had ‘set the hook’ quickly, once I bring the fish to the boat (if it hasn’t won the battle to get away), the hook is only lodged in the stiff corner of its mouth. That’s when the skilled ‘angler’ removes the hook and releases the bass back into the lake to hopefully pursue another day.

My husband and I honeymooned at a lake in Maine. Instead of going to bars or clubs, we sat on a moonlit lake and fished. Later on, we took our kids camping and finally bought 29 acres in the woods. We still spend weekends and vacations there ‘off the grid’ with our kids and grandkids. There’s no lake but plenty of Nature to ‘drinking in’.

I could have told you about the time I raised a baby raccoon, or kept frogs through one winter, or solved the mysteries of wild sounds I have encountered, or made friends with a Ruffed Grouse, but Stream of Consciousness takes its own course… maybe another time.

I could go on and on about the critical NEED for kids to connect to Nature. If the topic interests you, Richard Louv has written two outstanding books, The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.

Happy Saturday everyone!


https://lindaghill.com/2023/03/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-4-2023/
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/24840312/posts/4583744269

SoCS Saturday- 1/29/22- Common Culture

On By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts11 Comments

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “let go.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think “let go.” Enjoy!

The first thing I thought of when prompted by the phrase “let go” was this hilarious scene from The Great Outdoors. [attached below]
We, who grew up with TV and movies, have a cache of quotes and clips that are indelibly etched into our minds. I’m a movie quote junkie.
We are unavoidably connected by our movie history. A quote or mention of a scene is a cultural shorthand we can rely upon. There’s no need to explain further, we ‘get it’.
So, for today I’ll leave you with a Dandy Candy moment and say, “Hey Dad! Let go of the rope!”.

Happy Saturday!


https://lindaghill.com/2022/01/28/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2022-daily-prompt-jan-29th/

Six Sentence Story~ The Existence of Grace

On By Susan St.PierreIn 6 Sentence Stories30 Comments

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers 😀

PROMPT WORD:  CONNECTION

In a world that had given up on the age old thrill of anticipation, in favor of, immediate gratification, Grace was a rebel.

She had just entered retirement as the ‘social media’ computer craze imposed itself upon everyday life but indulging in technology was no more interesting to her than becoming a steamfitter, at that life stage, so she politely declined the invitation to join a ‘new’ world.

Grace wrote long heartfelt letters, talked with people ‘face to face’, and woke up each day expectant; her book’s next chapter, buds opening on the apple tree, or a delightful chat with the postman?

Once, when the power went out, she lit candles while sympathetically aware that there was an elsewhere panicked population rummaging ‘in the dark’ for battery power.

She poured her morning tea after insulting her neglected television with only a peek at the weather report, then indulged her senses watching and listening to her birds while imagining, with pleasure, the surprise connection her most recent letter was carrying.

Grace sighed fully pleased with her chosen existence and thankful she’d discovered a personal gratification in following “the road less traveled”.


Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt! – GirlieOnTheEdge’s Blog (wordpress.com)
It’s Six Sentence Story Thursday Link Up! – GirlieOnTheEdge’s Blog (wordpress.com)