Let us live and love as he taught

This is his actual birthday, though in the US it is shifted to a Monday holiday so workers get a long weekend. I'm sure they are appreciative as January is a long month without other holidays.

The fight is not over. Racism is rampant still. Consider my 2024 blog to catch up with Civil Rights with Heather Cox Richardson giving information on its history.

Sharing with Thankful Thursday!

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Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
 only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;
 only love can do that. 

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world

 that we must love our enemies - or else? 

The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate,
 wars producing more wars - must be broken,
 or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. 

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love

 will have the final word in reality. This is why right,
 temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. 

I have decided to stick with love.
 Hate is too great a burden to bear. 

Love is the only force capable of transforming

 an enemy into friend. 

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.

 He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid 
of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us
 and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this,
 we are less prone to hate our enemies. 

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

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The Birth anniversary is January 15 of  Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (now a US national holiday on the third Monday in January each year)

Today's Art:

On my past year's celebrations of his birth anniversary here is his Letter from the Birmingham Jail.

Woody Guthry singing the short song "All You Facists Bound to Lose."

Last Sunday Mike Lux posted his substack with this song.

He said:

The days ahead will require courage. It will be, to paraphrase Frederick Douglass, both a moral and physical struggle. But if we, as my dear friend the legendary Heather Booth says, keep organizing with love at the center, we will beat these fascists. Hope and courage and solidarity will always ultimately prevail, even over violence and intimidation.

I spent Sunday last returning to my roots...to belief in Love as the positive force of life on this earth.  I was sharing an article which another blogger had posted, talking with my son about our current events. 

I want to share a link to a very impressive article which Sabine shared last weekend. I hope you can open it because it is so striking.  Devin Kelly shared it on his substack "Ordinary Plots."

Jim Moore's It Is Not the Fact That I Will Die That I Mind

I'd read it in the morning, but kept thinking about it all day. Shared it with a couple of people...and was struck by the image that was so strong, that each person has unique ways of loving, that that is what is lost when they die. But they are the embodiment of that particular person's love.

We talked briefly about how those who love see so many diverse ways that people might be...and accept their differences readily. Those who chose to hate seem to be more homogenized...only liking those who are exactly like them, and hating all who are different. Their strength lies in setting themselves up as separate and better than, having a limited way of looking at life.

Those who love and know it, who accept those who are not like them, but also are loving people, these people form loose groups, form communities of people who join together in hundreds to demonstrate against the haters, the ICE, the MAGA's, the tRump supporters, the KKK's of today.

Look to the force of Love.

This plaque depicting Greek Physician Agnodice at a birth, was excavated at Ostia, Italy

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We’re in the thick of it, folks. It’s ugly and getting uglier. We knew Trump would escalate as he loses support, but it’s still painful to watch. Having said that, I’m also deeply inspired by and proud of the response we’re seeing from citizens like you across the country. It’s magnificent, brave, and relentless. Let’s keep it up!

We’re going to win. We ARE winning. Trump is weak and scared. Unfortunately the more this becomes the case the worse he’ll act…for now.

But he’s still losing. Never forget it.

Let’s get to work.

Thanks Jess Craven of Chop Wood CarryWater

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Peace on earth

 

Peace: A Gift for All Beings

"May peace flow like a quiet stream through all hearts and across every corner of the Earth.

May it touch the wings of birds, the breath of animals, the souls of humans, and the roots of trees alike.

Let kindness be our language, compassion our gift, and understanding our bridge—so that all beings, seen and unseen, may live in harmony, free of harm, embraced by love."

posted on FB Serendipity Corner in 2024

by Anna Speshilova

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Where we've been, historically speaking:

As published in 2020, a Timeline of World History!

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Environmental news

Australian good eco-news! That's ecology, not economy!

The Australian government has just announced that beginning next July, residents of three of the country’s six states will get three free hours of electricity every day, with the rest of the country to follow in 2027. This is because the country has put up so many solar panels that at midday, when the sun is highest, they’re producing truly massive amounts of power.

The free offer is a way to get Aussies scheduling their lives a little differently to take advantage of the surplus—one imagines that many of them will be programming their washing machines to run midday, and charging their EVs then, too. It’s a good moment to be selling ever-cheaper household batteries too, since Australians can fill them on the cheap power and then run their homes all night.

In the largest sense, this is truly remarkable news. For at least 700,000 years humans have worked hard to get energy—first by gathering firewood, more recently by scraping together the money to pay power bills. But now—thanks to our new understanding of how to generate energy from the sun—we can be relieved of that burden.

It’s potentially an epochal moment—in some ways as remarkable as the invention of agriculture or the Industrial Revolution. Back in the 1950s, the nuclear industry literally promised electricity “too cheap to meter.” Now, thanks to the largest nuclear reactor in our corner of the universe, that is entirely possible.

Thanks Katharine Hayhoe

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So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

John Lewis

Today's goddess

Dogū Goddess. Ebisuda site in Tajiri, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, 1000–400 BCE. Dogū are analogous to the stone figurines that were made by people throughout the late Paleolithic and Neolithic eras.

Thanks Jenny Mendes Ceramics on FB

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Today's quote:

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. HOWARD THURMAN I love the idea of a cease to all conflict and war. That doesn’t mean I don’t want consequences for the behaviors that have hurt others. Yes, I can be angry about injustice, and want resolution of harmful acts through legal civilized means, but not by becoming as hurtful as those who are being judged. Others may feel justified in wanting revenge. I won't go there, as it just perpetuates violence. My doctor visit yesterday was uneventful. I'm grateful that my migraines just give me auras, and no pain. I do continue to be sensitive to light following them, and it's so frequent suddenly that I wanted to address the problem. For the last 30 years or so I've only had a couple a year. For the last month, almost daily. So I'm being referred to a neurologist (who I already see for the essential tremor in my hands and neuropathy in my legs) an eye doctor to check that my visual nerves are ok, and a CT scan to see what's going on in my brain. No drugs, since she said they would have worse side effects than not taking them. Anyone on social media should have become aware by now of the Monks walking in the Peace March from Fort Worth TX to Washington DC. They are now in Georgia I believe.

Peri Social House meeting

 

On the porch of the Peri Social House, several Christmas trees and a mistletoe booth greet us.

I've been sharing many of the trees individually on my posts for the last week.

I still disagree with the decision the new owners made to paint the entire exterior black, including the roof! But inside are tastefully decorated comfortable seating nooks where people may gather and drink either coffee or spirits, depending maybe on the time of day! As you can see it's on a steep hill, so parking and getting to the front door is not easy for me!

What it looked like before!

The long hallway goes through the little store, through access to many  tables and nooks (one was reserved by a group when we visited) and finally back  to the room with the fireplace and the refreshment counter/bar.

We came for coffee and had a great long chat!

Friend Helen noticed this older fence which had rabbits and stars on the tops of some of the slats...I'll give you a closeup...

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Today's goddess:

North India, 3rd–2nd century BCE

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Today's quote:

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Three more days till the light returns on Winter Solstice!

The Orion constellation rising above the stones at Castlerigg Stone Circle, to the east of Keswick, in the Lake District National Park, North West England.

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 “Women get more beautiful as they grow older. Not less.

Female youth is only prized in modern culture because it doesn’t represent as much of a threat spiritually to anyone who is frightened of divine feminine power.

As women grow and mature, they call in stronger forces of sacred feminine wisdom. They vibrate with the creative power of their stories.

They are more of a force to be reckoned with.

They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit.

When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in ‘slowing the signs of ageing’, an enormous vault of divine love is lost.

Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed.

Perhaps a total revolution would occur.”

~ Sophie Bashford

Art: Andrea Redmond

Cailleach Moon Cottage

Sharing with "My Corner of the World"

Hanukkah lasts from Dec. 14-22, 2025. Each night a new candle is lit.

One of several trees at The Bistro Restaurant in Black Mountain.

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Lumbee Indian Tribe gets Federal Recognition! (needs president's signature still, as of 5 pm press release)

My first job out of grad school was in Lumberton, Robeson County, NC. There were many Lumbee Indians in the workshop where I was the coordinator for various folks needing something to do, to train for jobs if possible, and to learn basic living skills to maybe be able to move from group homes to independent living. Every client had some kind of mental disability or illness.

Yes, that's me in the blue blouse and jeans on the right.

I also attended church in a chapel in Pembroke, the town with the most Lumbee Indians in the county. When I joined the Hope Chapel there were two others who joined with me, one of whom was a Lumbee.

I often hoped they would be able to have access to more services, which this new law (if Trump signs it) will enable.

Art in the neighborhood

 After some of the underbrush was trimmed back last week, I can see how tall some of these trees are as I climb the hill of Walker Rd. (yes I thought it was a street, but it's just a Rd.)

 In front of the A-Frame house are a couple of sculptural elements. (view going up hill)

View coming down hill. Both this home and the cottage further down the hill have lots of trees shrouding them.

On the right (going uphill) are a lot of garden features, but I heard a fountain...so I  peeked over the hedge to see...

Yes, over by the porch, right above the head of this little angel in this picture...a stream of water flows from a bowl. You probably have to be there and hear it to find it. The yard has many little attractive garden features. More photo opportunities, I think!

I love reading a blog by Ronni Bennett, who has several terminal conditions, and is sharing her own thoughts and feelings with her readers. She approaches death by talking about her own sense of it, and sharing other's writings. The comments on her blog are often full of supportive and caring people's thoughts as well...and there are usually a lot of them.  Yesterday she shared a video of a children's book about death...and I got a lot out of it, so am giving the link here.  Cry Heart, But Never Break by Danish children's author, Glenn Ringtved, illustrated by Danish artist, Charlotte Pardi.

Today's quote:

We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.