Orangutans, Turtles & PayPal

I watched a Nightline segment that was bitter/sweet the other night regarding a sanctuary for baby elephants. Since I seem obsessed with elephants lately, (I wonder what that is all about), I found myself churning the video of a baby elephant not wanting to leave its dying mother, who was shot and robbed of her tusks. The baby was adopted by this woman (another woman!), and her foundation that has adopted over 130 baby elephants that have been orphaned - many by poachers looking for ivory to feed Asian markets. I was awake for hours. Despite trying to avoid news segments, these stories seem to creep in, affecting me even more deeply than ever before. My way of dealing with this issue is to shine a light on this wonderful woman's work.

I have also been using my PayPal account to send funds in every which direction. I'm going to be in trouble when the bill comes, but the baby Orangutans were in dire straits, and it seemed so much easier to just have the money come out once a month for the turtles through Oceana.

I also find that anything that draws a big reaction emotionally from me seems to pop up everywhere! As with these elephant stories, they seem to find me no matter how hard I try to hide from them. There were three last week alone. I will be scrolling along, minding my own business, reading dumb stories on Huff Post and bam! A story designed to rip everyone's heart out. Naturally I have to read it - for some reason I feel compelled to read every painful story, as if I am not giving the respect due if I don't take it in and make myself feel bad.

But that is not the gist of this post. I think we are all being inundated with negative images, thoughts, and fears. I am not alone in feeling bombarded, I'm sure. So, it's time to talk about ways to feel more centered, to feel joy in the moment, and hope for the future. With that in mind, I would like to ask YOU - what do you do to stay in the moment? What brings you joy?

And by the way, is there an issue that has you obsessed? If so, why do you think that is?

Dark Clouds

http://www.terragalleria.com/

I recently read a nasty comment left on someone's blog that was devastating enough that he decided to close his blog. And I really want to take a moment to talk about all the negativity in the world right now. I can feel the energy as if it were a breathing thing, over the last couple of days. I've been swatting at my own black cloud. But I also know that the only way to combat all of the "stuff" going on is to be positive. To stay grounded and centered. Realizing that when people put themselves out there, in a blog, they are sensitive to what we leave as a comment. That's not to say that leaving a differing opinion is not welcome, it is, at least on mine. But being mindful that many people are struggling with job loss, self-esteem issues, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burn out, illness, and a host of other problems. We are going through trying times. It is often what makes our writing so soulful and life affirming.

We have a responsibility to be aware of the impact we have on the world. It has been a lack of this type of awareness that has propelled us to where we are now. And the blog world has been a place where most people are supportive and friendly. A very positive place. A life-affirming place. A wonderful place. At least it has been for me.

I think it is certainly okay to not leave a comment if it might be hurtful. Especially one of a personal nature. Just move on. It is not our responsibility to set any one straight, offering up a nasty opinion. We simply do not know the effects of what that one comment might have on the person. Because we really don't know where that person is coming from, or what they have been through. We only know snippets of a life shared. And we are all a bit vulnerable right now. Don't you agree?

Blogging and Energy

Lately I have been turning off the news. I've been a news junkie. Over the last many months, since before the election, and subsequent dismantling of our economy, I was glued. And listening to all the angry voices out there, angry for good reason, I might add, I realized I couldn't overcome the the number one Spiritual Law of the Universe. "Like attracts like". Whatever you focus on returns to you. My anger was returning to me, and it wasn't pretty. The news media feeds on that anger because it sells. The only way to break the cycle was to turn off the news programs and quit visiting my many aggregate news sites, newspapers on-line, and magazines. Time to let Obama do what he is going to do, trusting that he has our back. I was like a junkie. I needed to get it under control before I needed anti-depressants, or therapy.

Like most addictions, you need a replacement. In my case it became blogging. I started out by hanging around my daughters blog. But she is in a completely different stage in life, and I kind of felt a little out of place. I will always be interested in children and families, but this blogging forum was more about new mommies who wanted to connect with other new mommies. No, what I needed was something different. So I started going to Blog of Note, and found a couple of sites there. But my biggest breakthrough was following some of the comments on those sites. The beautiful thing about blogging is that it is inclusive. You don't have to be young, old, athletic, beautiful, handsome, smart, rich or poor to be included. You just have to leave a comment. Certain rules do apply, however. Mean comments will be deleted and so will you. The blog will either become private, or all the comments will be approved before they appear on the blog. A nice little built-in hate stopper. But thoughtful comments are appreciated by everyone. 

Which brings me to energy.

I have been noticing a certain energy pattern in blogging. We are drawn to the sites that have something we need. It may be a quality that we have not yet developed, an interest we want to pursue, a need to be cheered, information, a friendly "voice" in the night. But we find them, and they find us. We are never alone, if we don't want to be. And everyone has something to offer. And I think that is the real beauty of it. You may not think what you have to say is of any interest to anyone, but rest assured someone is interested. What you have to offer is valuable. So all you new bloggers out there, keep exploring the blog world, and remember "like attracts like".

Words Come Back to Haunt

So I have spent my life espousing a certain philosophy that has come back to haunt me over the last few days. First of all, I have always said when you are down you need to go out and do something for someone else (thanks, Mae, for the reminder.) And I have always lectured that when you are depressed, you need to use cognitive behavior therapy, whereby literally replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. When you cannot come up with a positive thought, then start running through all the things you are grateful for, one by one. In this way, you trick your brain, and therefore your hormones and anatomic nervous system, to believe you are surrounded by good, not bad. Some depression (not all) can become a physical condition, caused by constantly dwelling on negative and fearful thoughts. Your body begins to respond in a like manner. Soon, it is very difficult to overcome depressive and obsessive thinking. Over the last few weeks, I have really got caught up in all the fear and anger having to do with this really negative and hurtful campaign run by McCain/Palin. They really are a drain on our very fragile national well being. On top of their hate, we have watched our economy literally tank. After immersing myself in this muck, I became a negative, neurotic, angry person. It took a conversation with my friend, Kay, today to remind me to use my power of positive thinking and spiritual awareness to get myself back on track and become the person my family needs me to be right now. When the Mom (or older sister) falters, no matter how old the children, it affects the well being of the family. We mothers need to set the example of what to do when the world tilts. How to keep a sense that everything is going to be okay, even when we are worried that it won't be. We teach this to our daughters, so that they can then do that for their families. Or we teach our sons, so that they can get up every day to do what they need to do to take care of their wives and children. I think our best legacy to our families is the ability to catch ourselves, and do what we need to do in times of crises, to keep our thinking healthy and productive. It does not help anyone to wallow in negativity for very long, least of all ourselves.

Okay, I'm Back!

You may have wondered where I went - at least a few of you have wondered evidently. Well, I felt I was adding to the negativity, with my anger, regarding the politics of hate, I had been spending way too much time watching. So I erased my blog, and began writing a journal, feeling pretty good about not adding to the rhetoric. But, I guess some people actually read my dribble and - gasp - missed it. So I'm back, hoping to be more positive, but no less worried about our world. I hope all of you that asked what happened to me will also blog and let me know where you are, so I can read yours also. Until then - off to the debate!