Unanswered Question: Why not spend more time teaching kids how to cope?

It appears to me that there’s a great amount energy spent trying to ‘cure’ the World of unpleasantness and ‘evil’. That’s quite a heavy task. It’s almost as absurd as humankind supposing they are empowered to “Save the Planet”, but I digress.
When I had a group of preschool kids in my home on a daily basis, the pleas for ‘justice’ and my intervention were sometimes incessant.
“Susan! He’s in MY spot!”
“Susan! She’s taking MY blocks!”
“Susan! He won’t stop looking at me! “…”Susan! Susan! Susan!”
My approach to those complaints was to offer them a self-initiated way to cope or compromise.

“Does that ‘spot’ have your name on it? Find another one.”
“If there aren’t enough blocks for you to work with, you can choose to come and draw for now, then I’ll give you time alone with all of them later.”
“You must be looking at him to know that. Stop looking at him.”

I pity the current kindergarten teachers. Kids, today, are routinely taught to lodge complaints rather than resolve their own problems. On top of that, mere irritations have now been given “problem” status. This is a sad situation for all involved. Many, many, people have opted to label themselves as victims, and few realize they have the ‘power’ (and responsibility) not to be one.

We can agree that many of us have been true victims of crimes, and wrongdoing, at no fault of our own. But by instructing kids to ask, “What might I do differently?” or “What may I have done to avoid that?”, I assure you the ‘victim’ statistics would be cut in half in no time. That would happily allow for more attention to ‘real’ victims too.

I’ve gotten a lot of push back and ridicule for asking people who are complaining about their problematic situation, “Could you have handled that better?” Those people ‘triggered’ by my question seem to think there’s a ‘side’ to be taken more than a ‘problem’ to solve. I suggest that the most prudent first step in solving all of our own problems is to ask questions of ourselves. Your problems don’t just belong to the world ‘at large’.

“But unkindness is BAD, and evil is destructive!” I totally agree. Yet I realistically understand the only power I have, when facing those things, is my own reaction and approach. Throughout life I’ve learned I’m a participant in ‘goings on’ not an irritated, aggrieved, observer. News Flash: Those “evil and unkind” dynamics of life aren’t going anywhere.

So why don’t we spend more time teaching kids how to cope? Complaining is an overall waste of time compared to taking a personal initiative.

To adults who were raised as individuals, the online ‘bullying plague’ could be solved by suggesting teens turn selected apps off, opt to “block” offensive content, or ‘unplug’ all together. Those options are readily available. The kids who feel that they ‘can’t possibly’ do that, have already IMHO shown they place a stunning level of importance on “What others think.” and those kids could have used more early intervention and instruction in “How to handle yourself safely and confidently in life.”

My final note is about the Big Picture of “individualism” versus “victimhood”. Free countries can only exist with one of those mindsets. I have no doubt that Marxism is currently winning the battle between those two.


Weekend Writing Prompt #299- A Confident Sunrise

Woman walking on seashore, waves. Girl outdoors at sunrise. Stock Video ...

Her saturnine mood descended for preservation.
She was verbally assaulted by online ‘eggheads’ over controversial topics that she bravely dared to address.
Now, guarded and silent, no one would ruin her day!
Not until she stopped giving ‘eggheads’ that power did her mood brighten like a sunrise.

47-words


https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2023/02/18/weekend-writing-prompt-299-saturnine/

SoCS 1-21-23- Count on it- Use it!

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 21st and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “count on it.” Use the phrase “count on it” somewhere in your post. Enjoy!

[One of my all-time favorite songs came to my mind yesterday and I was determined, no matter the prompt, to USE IT. :-D]

So, the prompt “count on it” made me first think about numbers. I dislike them. I don’t care about the old saying, “Numbers never lie”. They’re dishonest because they can be manipulated as much as any other human method of understanding. As Mark Twain said, “Facts are stubborn but statistics are quite pliable.”

Does anybody still think a statistic from any government resource is something you can count on? If your answer is, “Yeah”, remind me not to seek your advice on anything.

But everyone needs something to count on. If you’re a Christian it’s, of course, Jesus. But there must be SOMETHING worldly that makes us think “I can count on it.”. I suggest you consider yourself as a candidate.

Are you going to make mistakes? Duh. You can count on it. But who knows when you’re lying every single time? Who knows what you like, and what you’re good at, better than yourself?

Even when we don’t listen to that little voice known as a conscience, we hear it.

So, here’s my advice, trust and believe in yourself. Embrace your strengths and try to improve your weaknesses. And most importantly, forgive yourself often. You’re a ‘work in progress’.

Many of my posts come right out and say that I believe every one of us is unique. Claiming that I’m an individualist is an understatement. Knowing that, below is my choice of a theme song for this post.

Remember:
Every decision you make, everything you tell yourself, and how you nurture and apply your talents is up to YOU.
You have great power…
Use it wisely and your happiness is almost guaranteed.

Hit it, Eric!

One-liner Wednesday- 7-6-22- HOPE

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

“Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.” – Samuel Smiles

Choose Hope

Choices aren’t easy
Choices aren’t fair
Choices aren’t frequent
Most aren’t even there.

To homeschool expensive
Taxation is theft
Buy groceries or donate
No choices are left

Illegals who work
Are modern day slaves
There’s no one to tell
If the boss misbehaves

Parents need money
To cover the home
No choice to raise children
Instead let them roam

Speaking makes trouble
Voting unsound
No power or leverage
When corruptions abound

There’s little to choose from
No need to complain
Elites are not worried
Your choice their disdain.

There’s one thing remaining
One choice every day
Look up to our Maker
And learn how to pray

The best source of choices
Is believing there’s hope
Evil has no power
Once the meek learn to cope

Just existing is useless
Free people must thrive
With faith now our weapon
True choice we revive.












FOWC -WHOLE- Dear 2022… Better days ahead.

My whole life I respected authority.
Of course, the teen years meant I resented authority too, but the overall trust in my elders was strong.
Then, I raised a family. As I aged, I realized that elders, doctors, and experts were not perfect. They don’t actually know everything, but I was cautiously confident that they all were dedicated to the best possible outcome. Hey… life’s dangerous and a personally complex journey.
Then, I became an elder. It was humbling to realize that the ‘truth’ was hard to ‘nail down’ and that the state of ‘perfect’ didn’t actually exist.
Enter 2020.
An unknown ‘novel’ virus threatened us all. Experts step forward to reassure us. Media offered us information and statistics. We were going to ‘work this one out’ together.
THEN things started to smell suspicious.
Mistakes were bound to be made. We were taken by surprise, after all!
BUT they weren’t being admitted nor were they corrected.
This was not a ‘novel’ virus but a version of other viruses we knew.
The handling of this pandemic was the only novel part!
Soon, the media numbers were exposed as arbitrary… and later it was clear they were manipulated.
We weren’t protecting the vulnerable and we weren’t taking swift action in early treatments.
Governors assumed extreme powers never citing clear scientific suggestions.
Then we found out that the Chinese government purposely spread a deadly experiment through the world. Whether it escaped or was released may never be known.
All trust left the building once Big Tech, our federal government, and our health agencies spoke in unison, telling us their ‘facts’ (never backed with scientific studies) and censoring ‘misinformation’ (which was any contrary commenting). This was science, right? Scientific research is an ongoing diverse questioning not a conclusion.
World famous scientists and hands-on doctors were being silenced. They wanted to focus on therapeutics because they wanted to save lives. They had data to share and ideas!
Ultimately, most people were never offered treatment but were asked to come to the hospital once they were dying!
Hospitals were paid large incentives to label hospitalizations and deaths with Covid-19.
The FDA gets 45% of its funding from vaccines. They pushed vaccines… only vaccines.
Big powerful companies (with lobbyists) were allowed to flourish while small businesses were sentenced to ‘die’. Churches (with specific Constitutional protections) were militantly closed, while liquor stores, lotteries, and large chain stores remained open.
And people kept dying… kids were kept out of school, our economy ground to a halt, and our Southern Borders were sprung wide open. (Covid-19, Fentanyl, terrorists, and criminals uncounted)
No longer was there any hope that the ‘best outcome’ was even a consideration.
Our health wasn’t the highest concern.
Our well-being wasn’t important.
Our children’s futures were cast aside. (The added debt will be only a part of their future struggles)
Our compliance was the only goal. Power and greed prevailed.
Fear, blind trust, and ignorance worked wonders.

Dear 2022,
Trust may be gone but,
Fear is waning and
Our eyes are open.
We’ll work this one out, together.
Better days ahead…

My Hero

Daily Prompt: Heroic

When you were five years old, who was your hero? What do you think of that person today?
——————————————————————————————————————————————-

photo-3

When I was five years old, Zorro (portrayed by Guy Williams) was my hero. He was a “righter”of injustices and defender of the weak.

I chose to write on this topic because I felt, Zorro, might be a controversial choice of a modern 5-year-old.

Primarily, the complaints would come from those who dislike the idea of violent images offered to our kids. Parents cringe about “armed” heroes, yet, I believe they are missing the message and ought to consider the moral fiber of fictional (and real life heroes ) with, as much, immediate concern. My former blog post “The Blind Eye”, was about apathy and fear in the face of trouble. This topic seems a fitting continuation of my point.

My heart still quickens at the thought of “Zorro to the rescue” and I really have no memory of him ever hurting anyone. He may have…but, my 5-year-old self certainly did not internalize the violence at all. What I remember most is that people “with power” can be good or evil and the good one’s are heroic only when they take action and risks. Zorro was also labeled a “public enemy” by those “evil” powerful folks who feared his interference in their corrupt and greedy agendas.

I believe that the pen is truly “mightier than the sword” and Zorro, if transported to 2014, would probably be a political blogger. A mighty dashing one, at that! lol

More than any time, ever before, there are medias that allow us to “take a stand” and to expose corruption. Fear of labels, cannot hold the bravest of us back, either. Touche’!

https://sillyfrogsusan.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/the-blind-eye/