YAAAAWWWWWNNNN!!! {{{stretccccchhhhh}}} [smack, smack...] Did ya MISS me?

well, i'm BAAAAACCCCCK!

took a well spent break from this place - needed time to separate from the bickering and polarizing and bashing - and it did a body good, let me TELL ya!  yall should try it when you start feeling vexed!

the good news is that i've got a new focus, a new perspective and a much better temper!  [let me tell ya, that LAST one is more important to me than to you all!]

so, what are the new revelations?  well, come with me below the fold and i'll share!

musings while moving:

1.  there is a difference between the anti war efforts of today and the ones during viet nam... and the difference is critical to the success in ending the war.

2. change happens when WE want it to happen because WE are the key to the universe!  we make it happen - and WE direct the world around us - NOT the other way around.

3.  tolerance is a good thing - not so much for the benefit of the one to whom your anger is directed, but to you, yourself - for it is within you that all things happen.

4. there is hope.  all is NOT lost.  bush is NOT the end of the world.  we will have the world we make, not be bound by what the world makes of us because the world does not exist outside of us - for when we are dead, there IS no more world for us.  so we need to re-think how we are thinking if we want results.

5.  energy - our energy - our directed energy shapes everything around us - the emotions we experience, the "facts" we choose to "remember" or "know" - it is up to US to pull from our world what we focus our energies upon.

6.  i choose to focus on peace.

okay.

i realize that this is a rather weird treatise... but i'm not going to expound tonite.  but, if you look to what i write in the days and weeks to come - remember these ideas... for they are my new focus.

all we are saying - is give peace a chance - REALLY give PEACE a chance.  focus on peace, not anger - focus on love, not hate - focus on understanding, not conflict.  it worked before - it can again.

peace - all.

and - hope you all are well.

•  this afternoon kgo pays tribute to pete wilson.

  wilson, the tv anchor for kgo and the afternoon talk show host died after having a heart attack during routine hip replacement surgery.

  i heard this on saturday when the shocked kgo news and hosts were coming to grips with the death of their colleague.

  i disagreed mostly with wilson.  called him once and confronted his political point of view - then stopped listening.  i judged him harshly - yet, for some reason, his death is having a huge impact on me.

  i disagreed with him strongly, but i didn't wish him ill or certainly not dead.

  perhaps the impact has to do with my own uncertainty about whether my hip is or isn't broken.  (fell during the red, white and blues festival - and, as rogerdaddy says, i do it very well!)  was finally getting ready to go and have it xrayed (if it IS broken, surgery is the most probable end result) when i heard of wilson's sudden death.

  maybe the reminder that none of us is here forever - none of us has assurance more than this minute and even that isn't such a sure thing - has added to this new view of politics.

  but, for what ever reason, i don't want to dismiss another obvious one: my own intolerance of those with whom i strongly disagree.  perhaps that, combined with the not so subtle reminder in deathly hallows, we should be careful about judging others - and perhaps we should look inward to see WHY we hold those opinions.

  the interesting question i am avoiding is how i would feel about bush's own mortality.  do i hope he finds "remorse" or do i coldly watch him choose his fate.

  that said, i do feel great sadness about the death of wilson - and i wish his family and his kgo family comfort in the realization that he made a difference  - even if in disagreement on political issues.

  peace...

  by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:03:47 AM PDT

•  sunday nite/monday morning sure is quiet..nt

  by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:12:50 AM PDT

•  Welcome back e

  A kinder, gentler edrie
  wow

  by Zwoof on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:14:20 AM PDT

  •  hi, z

    found my zen again!

    hope you are well!

    by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:20:58 AM PDT

•  I hope your words

  fall on some ears who need it.Some people need to rethink their reaction to opposing opinions.
  I usually don't comment when someone pushes my button here. The written word is without emotion and don't always comes across as intended. I rather mutter at my screen and/or walk away .
  I'm an old hippie I love peace.

  by mint julep on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:29:40 AM PDT

  •  funny how this last week things started

    coming back into view ('60's view, that is...)

    picked up a copy of nature of personal reality by jane roberts - one of her seth series started in the sixties - this one was early 70's.

    really shook me to re-read in today's mind.

    the stark difference between the peace movement then and now hit me like a ton of proverbial bricks.

    remember the protests?  both men and women putting flowers into the ends of the guns of the guards?

    martin luther king and the sit down strikes where people sang "all we are saying, is give peace a chance"

    people FOCUSED on peace - not on anger and retribution and fury.  people campaigned for mcgovern not with words spat in disdain for other candidates (of the same party), but in words of HOPE - hope for an end to war.

    the beatles, baez, and more - sang songs of love.

    we put love into the universe, not arrogance, anger and self-righteousness.

    why isn't the peace effort working this time?  because everyone is too busy "warring" over who is "right" instead of sending the universal energy of peace and tranquility forward.

    we have truly lost our way.  we have forotten to listen to the likes of the dalai lama.  we have no martin luther kings to teach us to resist passively and without anger and violence.

    we have become those souls immersed in the river of blood - boiling over and inflaming those around us.

    what we have forgotten is that peace begets peace, anger begets anger and hatred begets hatred.

    it is time for us to redirect our energies into that which we most want:  peace.

    i've started.  i'm putting my energy out into the universe with calm, peace and beauty - i am hoping that others will join force.

    religious folk call it the power of prayer, budhists call it the power of meditation - what ever it might be, isn't it worth giving a bit of time to try to see if it can work (again)?

    peace!

    by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:39:46 AM PDT

    •  I would like to go back in time

      and redo some of the things we did.We were quite naive then and we didn't finish what we started. Some of us thought to change the system from within,most got swallowed up by the system.,some turned to violence and that gave them reason to infiltrate us and up the police numbers.Divide and conquer and it worked.
      Kids nowadays see violence as strenght,peace is weakness.
      You know,sometimes I think the USA has to go through this hell(bush regime) to 'grow up'.
      A new age of Aquarius I would love to see it again before my time is up.
      Peace

      by mint julep on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:12:05 AM PDT

      •  A new age of Aquarius

        I'm not sure that we ever really saw the full light of the first age.

        The song says, "it is the dawning of the age of Aquarius"

        Sometimes just before the dawn the sky is very dark.  And even after the dawn, there are clouds, etc.

        Yet I loved the spirit of that time when I was so young and filled with hope of creating a better world.  I still think it is possible but I have to admit that I do get discouraged.  It is good to know there are like minded souls around.

        by pioneer111 on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:25:21 AM PDT

        •  What I miss the most

          is the sense of community,the sharing of ideas and goods. I've lost my sense of belonging I'm afraid.
          It can only get better,right?

          by mint julep on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 09:57:09 PM PDT

          •  the community begins with each of us.

            and then we share it.

            i welcome you to my world... i hope you will join me in this new defining of what we can and will become!

            by edrie on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 12:26:14 AM PDT

        •  we are more than you realize...

          all we have to do is raise our voices and sing out... WE need to change OUR dialogue - to make the music sweet and to show the way back into an enlightened world.

          it is within each of us - we direct the energy - the dalai lama, christ, buhda, even mohammed say the same thing - it starts with one - and it starts with desire - a desire for peace and harmony.

          i'm working to now bring that harmony back into my life and world... it starts with me, for when i die, MY world ceases to exist.  

          i now CHOOSE to bring that calm and joy and happiness back into my life and world... and by that action, all of you who share MY world with me will also experience that emotion and world.

          peace!

          by edrie on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 12:25:14 AM PDT

      •  then we need to start that age...

        WE need to bring that imagery forth - we need to talk peace to everyone who will listen.  we need to talk beauty and grace.

        in the rv park where i just settled, i've been trying this one on one with a neighbor who is angry - righteous anger - and little by little, as the ideas are shown to her, she is changing.  she is confused but she is changing.

        i see her finding an inner peace that was missing before... and it is so easy - a quiet placing of the idea that SHE controls the world around her and if she brings confrontation, she gets confrontation... if she brings "grace", she GETS grace in return.  

        slowly, slowly - one person at a time... but here - we have hundreds of thousands reading and searching for answers.  let's give them some!

        by edrie on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 12:21:36 AM PDT

•  imagine

  Imagine there's no heaven
  It's easy if you try
  No hell below us
  Above us only sky
  Imagine all the people
  Living for today...

  Imagine there's no countries
  It isn't hard to do
  Nothing to kill or die for
  And no religion too
  Imagine all the people
  Living life in peace...

  You may say I'm a dreamer
  But I'm not the only one
  I hope someday you'll join us
  And the world will be as one

  Imagine no possessions
  I wonder if you can
  No need for greed or hunger
  A brotherhood of man
  Imagine all the people
  Sharing all the world...

  You may say I'm a dreamer
  But I'm not the only one
  I hope someday you'll join us
  And the world will live as one

  by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 03:43:18 AM PDT

  •  I Hope...

    by the Dixie Chicks...

    Sunday morning, I heard the preacher say
    Thou shall not kill
    I don't wanna, hear nothin' else, about killin'
    And that it's God's will
    Cuz our children are watching us
    They put their trust in us
    They're gonna be like us
    So let's learn from our history
    And do it differently

    I hope
    For more love, more joy and laughter
    I hope
    We'll have more than we'll ever need
    I hope
    We'll have more happy ever afters
    I hope
    We can all live more fearlessly
    And we can lose all the pain and misery
    I hope, I hope

    Oh Rosie, her man he gets too rough
    And all she can say, is he's a good man
    He don't mean no harm
    He was just brought up that way
    But our children are watching us
    They put their trust in us
    They're gonna be like us
    It's okay for us to disagree
    We can work it out lovingly

    For I hope
    For more love, more joy and laughter
    I hope
    You'll have more than you'll ever need
    I hope
    You'll have more happy ever afters
    I hope
    And you can all live more fearlessly
    And you can lose all your pain and misery
    I hope, I hope

    There must be a way to change what's going on
    No, I don't have all the answers

    I hope
    For more love, more joy and laughter
    I hope
    you'll have more than you'll ever need
    I hope
    There'll be more happy ever afters
    I hope
    We can all live more fearlessly
    And we can lose all the pain and misery
    I hope, I hope

    I hope
    I hope
    I hope

    by madame defarge on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 05:18:47 AM PDT

    •  thank you for this one...

      there are lights shining anew!

      we need to start focusing on hope, peace, a brighter future - and it can and will happen.

      at the very least, it will begin in november of next year and will culminate on january 20, 2009.

      there is still time... there is still hope.

      WE will make this world better - we will turn around the despair and bring hope and joy back into the world  for the generations to come.

      i refuse to let the bush/cheneys of the world suck all of the happiness from my world!

      how about the rest of you?  

      just sing.  just laugh.  that is our most powerful weapon.  happiness and joy - every time will drown out the cries of anger and fury.

      peace.

      by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 06:07:48 AM PDT

•  Heh! What have you been reading?

  Just curious because I too am focusing on peace-thinking and that's one reason why I stopped my rant and rage diaries here and elsewhere- It was making me very angry, frustrated, sick and depressed.

  If I could rid the world of this disgusting corrupt administration I would, but I can't so I am putting my energy into good peaceful NATURAL endeavors..

  "Time is for careful people, not passionate ones"

  by roseeriter on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 06:09:29 AM PDT

  •  interesting how many people i'm

    running into who are also changing focus.

    book is "the nature of personal reality: a seth book" by jane roberts.

    it is the book that followed "seth speaks" where seth kept promising to tell the reader "how to do that" (make your own reality).  at the end of seth speaks, he hadn't and i thought at the time AHA!  another slick sales job!

    then nature of personal reality came out with specific practical application of how to shape your own world.  did it for years then forgot - life was a mess.

    just started "doing it" again and it is working with amazing clarity.

    try a used bookstore or amazon.  some bookstores will order - but i highly recommend.

    the basic concept:  everything is made of energy.  everything starts with an idea - everything comes from the imagination.

    i am imagining peace...

    by edrie on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 06:28:57 AM PDT

•  Love your diary, edrie

  saw it this morning.

  We do create the world we inhabit.

  I have seen some of the flame wars lately and they are so disappointing

  I like your attitude.

  Thank you.  I needed this.

  by pioneer111 on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:20:04 AM PDT

  •  me, too... me, too!

    peace!

    by edrie on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 12:16:21 AM PDT

•  Hey edrie!

  welcome back. glad your break helped to clear your mind. I think I am at the same point you are. I'm tired of all the people that are on the same side (or at least they claim they are) trying to tear one another down.

  BLACK EYED PEAS LYRICS

  "Where Is The Love?"

  What's wrong with the world, mama
  People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
  I think the whole world addicted to the drama
  Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
  Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
  But we still got terrorists here livin'
  In the USA, the big CIA
  The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
  But if you only have love for your own race
  Then you only leave space to discriminate
  And to discriminate only generates hate
  And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
  Madness is what you demonstrate
  And that's exactly how anger works and operates
  Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
  Take control of your mind and meditate
  Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

  People killin', people dyin'
  Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
  Can you practice what you preach
  And would you turn the other cheek

  Father, Father, Father help us
  Send some guidance from above
  'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
  Where is the love (Love)

  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love
  The love, the love

  It just ain't the same, always unchanged
  New days are strange, is the world insane
  If love and peace is so strong
  Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
  Nations droppin' bombs
  Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
  With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
  So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
  So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
  In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'
  in
  Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
  Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
  A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
  The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
  If you never know truth then you never know love
  Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
  Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
  Where's the love, y'all

  People killin', people dyin'
  Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
  Can you practice what you preach
  And would you turn the other cheek

  Father, Father, Father help us
  Send some guidance from above
  'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
  Where is the love (Love)

  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love (The love)
  Where is the love, the love, the love?

  I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
  As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
  Most of us only care about money makin'
  Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
  Wrong information always shown by the media
  Negative images is the main criteria
  Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
  Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
  Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
  Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
  Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity
  Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
  That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
  That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
  There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
  Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
  Now ask yourself

  Where is the love?
  Where is the love?
  Where is the love?
  Where is the love?

  Father, Father, Father help us
  Send some guidance from above
  'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
  Where is the love?

  Sing wit me y'all:
  One world, one world (We only got)
  One world, one world (That's all we got)
  One world, one world
  And something's wrong wit it (Yeah)
  Something's wrong wit it (Yeah)
  Something's wrong wit the wo-wo-world, yeah
  We only got
  (One world, one world)
  That's all we got
  (One world, one world)

  by ladylib on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 09:24:05 AM PDT

  •  really like these lyrics!

    after lennon was killed, all of new york was filled with imagine.  every window, every cab, every business - it was true magic.  the city had an aura of calm enveloping it.

    we need once more to "imagine".

    by edrie on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 12:17:45 AM PDT