Hello kibitzers. I'm out in the field doing what I love to do! I'm with my family, kossacks, and 350 Silicon Valley members hoping to catch a glimpse of President Obama. While I'm at it, I'm waving my sign and contributing energy to this amazing grassroots campaign to stop the Keystone Pipeline and Tar Sands development dead in its tracks. Unlike previous rallies I've attended, I'm more certain that we have captured the President's attention. I believe he wants to reject the pipeline, and is giving us time to grow this movement. We are making an impact, however slight it may be, it is an impact.
I'm settling into my new job, tolerating the discomfort of learning new skills and methods, and implementing what I work on with my patients in my own life. Imagine that, I'm trying to practice what I preach! The basis for therapeutic work is self care, and I have needed to improve on that. What has made the biggest improvement in my mood and energy is increasing activities that make me feel good. Sounds easy, right? But, it's not. It's not when there is a personal and family schedule to keep. Gradually, over time, I've expanded my participation on Daily Kos (Hi Kibitzers), and became more active in my community by joining 350 Silicon Valley, and working with my synagogue to educate people about Climate Change and Gun Violence. My life's dream has been to do something that helps others in a significant way. Presently, I feel I am on the right path. Thank you, community, for being a part of this very wonderful cross section of my life.
I'm now serving on the Food Justice Committee at my synagogue and participating in a listening and research campaign to determine what our next campaign will be. The synagogue belongs to PACT (People Acting in Community Together) that has certain guidelines to follow in determining and implementing the campaign. I've noted how I am experiencing virtually no anxiety in these formats regarding speaking out, reaching out, and sparking interest in an environmental campaign. To be fair, I am advocating for two potential campaigns and I will participate in which ever is chosen. The other is a gun violence reduction campaign. I've already composed a letter to Religious School parents at the request of the Rabbi, to inform them about the law in California that requires and holds adults responsible to keep their guns and ammunition locked up. This is part of the Brady Campaign's School Memo Project. As it stands now, there is more support for a gun violence reduction campaign than for an environmental one, but this may have to do with uncertainty of what we can achieve given Climate Change is a global problem with local impacts. It is difficult for some individuals to see what can be done locally when so little attention is given to Climate Change in the media.
I am proud to be among all of these people and to be a part of one of the most important movements of all time, certainly, of our time. One day, my daughter and I will look back on this and say, "we did this together!"
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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