MAYBE ALL THIS CRAZY WEATHER MEANS SOMETHING

And another Sunday arrives, freezing cold. Like below zero cold. Like, what the fuck is happening with the weather cold? I am not sure how anyone can continue to pretend that the world's climate- our world, the place where we live and walk and go to the mountains and beaches and skip and have general fun when we can- is in crisis mode.

Is it denialism, fear, subservience to the powers that be, some odd form of Stockholm  Syndrome?

I like this planet. I think it's rather beautiful. I like winter to be cold but not crazy. I like snow capped mountains, clear skies, animals running free. All that. I'm what you might call a nature boy.

I also like summer to not be one long session of sweating, watching the world wither. Smelling smoke in the air, sometimes from fires that are gigantic, so massive that even though they are thousands of miles away, the smoke makes its way to my neighborhood.

So why isn't Climate front and center in the upcoming election? 

Whomever wins, this is important. 

It is not a hoax. And saying it is doesn't make it so. I can go outside. I can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. And every one of my five senses tells me, on a daily basis, something is wrong. 

What is it going to take? An army of Lorax, leaping out of the all too many tree stumps out there, driven mad with frustration, running through the street, screaming "I am the Lorax, fuckers!" while gleefully decapitating everyone that come across?

I'm cranky today. I think I have a cold coming on. 

Be that as it may, I want you all to consider our little planet. I want you to cherish it. 

Because I'm selfish. I love my planet. I want to to be around for as long as possible. Yes, millions of years from now, it will be engulfed by the Sun. So what? Just because we are all set to expire one day doesn't mean we sit around smacking ourselves in the head with a hammer.

Okay. Rant over. For now. Watch some football. Grab a cup of coffee with someone you enjoy, or alone. Read a book, a graphic novel, the tea leaves. Do something for yourself. 

And enjoy.

Here's a song. It's Jack White doing a cover of Mother Nature's Son by The Beatles. 

 

INFLATE YOURSELVES

I don't understand inflation all that much. Or the economy in general, really. Seems like people work, they get paid, they buy things they need, and things they don't, and live their lives. And behind that, there are these powerful companies and individuals who control a lot of it. Banks, Oil companies, Big Pharma. 

I like money, but I think some people love it more than anything else. Or think they do. Maybe they just think that having enough money will fill in that empty spot in their heart or soul of being or whatever you want to call it. Which is sad, really. Paying the bills and having food and shelter and being able to take a trip now and then is awesome, but I don't need a million dollars, five houses, a private island, or anything like that. 

Besides, even if I had any of that, I'd still be mortal. I'd still be able to hear music, feel the wind on my face, experience loss and sorrow, and die. 

We are all in the same boat, and no amount of money can fix that. 

Ever.

And yet, we keep on trying to pretend otherwise. 

We pretend a lot, I think. We pretend we are immortal. That big government don't work due to their size, but that somehow huge corporations work due to their size. 

Because Capitalism. 

I've always felt that capitalism, like communism, doesn't work because all systems that have people in the are subject to corruption.

Maybe there is a system for running the world that works but I haven't seen one yet. 

And now we have global warming and pandemics and who knows what else on the way?

So what do we do? 

Freak out about inflation. 

Yay us.

From what I do understand, inflation is the result of too much spending, leading to high prices. 

Which sounds crazy. I would think that is things are getting sold, those who sell said things would be happy. But no. Prices go up as things get sold, so wages need to increase, interest rates go down, and fingers get pointed.

And we are all still alive, still here, still working the same jobs, leading the same lives. 

I will be honest.

I don't give a shit about inflation.

Or the Dow Jones. 

Or banks or fast food chains or the minimum wage.

I like animals, arts, and people.

I also love theatre, movies, and teaching.

So that's what I do.

Here's a song. It's the Beatles doing Can't Buy Me Love, as seen in the great film A Hard Day's Night, directed by Richard Lester.

PS- I watched the film "Oh, God" from 1977 the other night. It's fucking awesome. Watch it and feel good about the world.

LORD HELP ME I CAN'T CHANGE

I am thinking of change this morning. Our resistance to it. Our need of it. And how Change could not give two shits about what we think, want, and/or need. Change comes at all times. Change is really synonymous with life. We are in a constant state of flux, whether we like it or not. A lot of it that flux is in the "or not" category. Physically, we are nothing more than a mass of atoms and molecules and so forth, all in constant movement. We grow, hit our peak early in life, then slowly hit our not peak. And that one sucks, but I think we age because the universe knows that if we didn't we would pretend that nothing ever happens, nothing changes, nothing evolves. And that, as Socrates once said, is bullshit.

And I don't always feel this way. But I do today. My outlook has changed. 

See what I did there?

I think about the bands I love the most. And the thing they have in common is that they change. They don't try to recreate their first album. They create the album or song or concert they are working on at that moment. They navigate the room they are in, and don't try to pretend it's a different room. Often, when a musician or band comes out with a new sound, feel, attitude, the fans freak out. At least at first. We want the music to make us feel like we did when we heard it the first time. I think what we really want is to be the people we were when we heard it the first time. But those people have gone Elsewhere and are playing hide and go seek in a graveyard in another dimension. 

Now, for me, if I am in a phase of my psychic moon that allows for change, embraces it, I listen to the new sounding album for a bit, and after awhile I fall in love with it and now want the band to make me feel like I do at that moment again and again. And the cosmic dance of funk continues.

I think about the planet, and how right now the world is seriously fucked because a lot of us are resistant to changing our lives or lifestyles, which have created an atmosphere that heats up and changes everything is really nasty ways, leading to oceans rising, forests burning, species dying off, and so on. By resisting change, we bring about greater change.

Put another way, we are stupid.

We really are. And one thing that doesn't seem to change is that we hate being told we are stupid, so very much. But sometimes, we need to be told we are being stupid. Foolish. Ill advised. 

The doesn't change either. The way, if something is said in a nicer sounding way, we more easily accept it. 

Ego. Fucking ego. Not only a poorly written bad guy in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. w, but a dangerous aspect of our humanity that, while essential to being a human being, can and often does get us into a lot of trouble.

We need change. We fear change. We love change. We hate change. 

I think we are all crazy. And I love us all. I do. I think that is about the only way to deal with things, before anything else. Accept and love and forgive and move on. I think the more crap you have thrown at you in your life, the more you need to do that. Not more, maybe, but the clearer the need for it. 

And that's difficult to do. 

But whenever I've managed to do that, I have been rewarded with peace and love and understanding.

So. Today, if possible, don't be like the dude in Freebird who sings about how he can't change, the Lord help him he can't change. Because he was lying. He was changing as he sang. He is changing still. And so are all of us. 

I feel like maybe that was all a bit preachy. But isn't all writing a bit preachy, on some level?

Okay. On to meetings, teaching. more meetings. And change. Evolution. Life.

Here's a song. It's Changes, by Bowie. 

FIND SOME JOY

It's TEN DEGREES outside. Hath Hell frozen over? I like cold weather. I love it. Snow, icicles, having your breath steam out of your mouth. All awesome. But when it gets down to single digits, I find I prefer staying inside. I'm glad it snowed. I'm glad it might help mitigate the nasty fires. I see all sorts of metaphors for the year 2020, Trump's cold heart, etc. Even so. Enough. Enough of this. 

Enough of seeing the numbers rise and rise of those who have gotten sick, and those who have passed, from this virus. Enough of people closing their minds and hearts to their own best interests. Enough greed, fear, anger, and sorrow. Enough.

We live in this amazing miracle of a world. We have so many wonderful things to experience: love, friendship, music, art, theatre, movies, dancing, laughter, nature, pets, cooking meals, reading books on cold days, finding a parking space, finding a dollar bill in an old pair of jeans, complaining about cold weather. We have all these things, these moments, these experiences, that are free and open and available to all of us. Why spend our time gnashing our teeth, living in fear, worrying about the other person? 

I watched Sixty Minutes last night, because I wanted to see this interview with our current president, see if it was as bad as I have read it was. And it was. The president, the most powerful person in the world, came across as a petulant, insecure, neurotic mess. And this guy has the nuclear codes. And in in charge of the federal government, which is in charge of our nation's response to the virus. And on and on. Then I watched the interview with Pence. He just seems like a yes man. What some would call a KissAss. And a robotic one at that. 

I think Trump and Pence need to take long walks, listen to more music, laugh more, try to tell jokes more, look at the stars and see if they can remember any constellations. Maybe they should take a camping trip together, get some bonding time in. Be human beings. Find some joy. 

They just don't seem to have any joy in their lives. None. And while it is sad, it is also dangerous, given their positions and power to shape the course of current events. 

I have had many people influence my life. And the ones who have had the best and longest effect, who I remember to this day when I need guidance, are the ones who always found the good in this world, the magic, the joy. 

The Love.

I think whomever wins the elections next week needs to find some joy in being alive. In their friends and family. In themselves. They have to remember that in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. They have to publicly hug their children and spouses more. They have to sing loudly and off key at least once a month on live national television. They have to do an improv game with the Cabinet. Write poetry. Put out their top ten album lists. Make a playlist for days their legislation gets stalled in congress. 

They have to bring humanity and humility to the Oval Office. 

And if it gets cold, write long, meandering blogs about life, the universe, and everything.

Here's a song. It's The End by The Beatles.