Walking around Lake Tomahawk

 

On Jan 3, 2021...a nice afternoon.

Some clouds caught on the Black Mountains north of Lake Tomahawk.

Today there were more Mallards in different places around the lake...well, different from yesterday. I'll have to go back a few more times to see where else they might like to congregate!

And just one lonely Canada Goose, nibbling on grass shoots right by the walkway.

Today's Quote:

Try another way of looking.

Try you looking and the whole universe seeing.

—Rumi

A tribal gathering

This is a submission for Sepia Saturday. I am glad to see it continuing!

 

1877 Oglala - Standing: He Dog, Little Wound, American Horse, Little Big Man, Young Man Afraid, George Sword. 

Seated: Yellow Bear, J. Merivalle, Billy Garnett, Leon Pallardy, Three Bears

I don't know the occasion, nor where this was taken. It looks as if there more on the right which is cut off. But I am grateful that the names of all these participants were posted on Facebook with their photo. I also notice that the "white men" aren't in uniform. I wonder who they were...

Billy Garnett was an interpreter. Here's a story about him and the murder of Crazy Horse. And here's a great resource that I'll spend more time looking further soon...American Tribes photos identified! I found Leon Pallardy there, another interpreter. 

Incidentally, we just passed the anniversary of the Massacre at Wounded Knee. Did you ever see the movie Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman as the narrator?

And on the American Tribes link I found the same photo without being cut at the right side. The names and tribes are given for the men in it. (NOTE: This was taken at the same time, but some details show it's a different photo.)

Standing L-R: He Dog (Oglala), Little Wound (Oglala), American Horse (Oglala), Little Big Man (Oglala), Young Man Afraid of His Horses (Oglala), George Sword (Oglala) Sitting L-R: Yellow Bear (Oglala), Jose Merivalle, Billy Hunter, Leon Pallardy, Three Bears (Oglala) - 1877

Today's Quote:

Silence is a Living Silence that is needed to hear the cry of the soul.
Abandon surface impressions and patterns, abandon what has become
comfortable, and embrace the sacred depth of being that asks us to
enter that which is wholly unknown and that which fosters genuine
metanoia [a transformative change of heart].  The Holy Silence
creates an inner clearing that makes room for new life, including
living, breathing Silence.  In this dimension
where time becomes space, life is enlivened.

Blocking the light of the soul results in a need to pre-package things,
ideas, emotions because they provide a semblance of light.  When
light of the soul is blocked, we develop a desire for things, not for
Silence.

[Through Silence] we can enter that which is wholly unknown with
a creative purity that is startling, because we are accompanied by
the companion-presence: Love.

Therese Schroeder-Sheker
From the introduction to:
Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness
by Robert Sardello

The mob and violence on Jan 6, 2021

Clear thinking people were able to say what needed to be said.

I was sitting for hours watching a mob in Washington DC, in real-time yesterday (wrote this Jan. 7, 2021 in the morning). 

I knew this was history happening before my eyes.

"As the afternoon wore on, police found two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., as well as a truck full of weapons and ammunition, and mobs gathered at statehouses across the country, including in Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Georgia." Heather Cox Richardson said in her newsletter, Letters from an American on Jan 7 at 4:27 am.

In the 80s, I had watched the students who gathered by the thousands in Tienanmen Square in Beijing China...while Dan Rather narrated from a live feed.  I made sure my son who was not yet 10 also watched. I knew that history was happening. In China, the ending was that the student protesters didn't make much difference.

Richard Barnett of Gravette Arkansas with mail he stole from the office of Nancy Pelosi.  from Matthew Rosenberg

The noon newscast Thurs Jan 7 in Asheville NC

Yesterday, I think we saw that those who abuse power and manipulate crowds for their own sense of purpose, aren't always the winners. I've been unable to listen to tRump's lies, and to see how enthusiastic his followers were. I have been nauseated by it, by him, by his voice and his appearance.  I also have "hidden" posts by my 3 family members who supported him, who believed his lies. They had been brainwashed, was my best way of understanding their illogical emotional beliefs that he was right.

But the unruly mob which descended upon our Capitol in Washington DC yesterday, totally spurred on by tRump, was a historic occasion of abuse of power. It was a coup. It was an insurrection. It was treasonous.

I had been happy to hear in the Senate chambers, Vice President Pence saying that there were no discrepancies in the voting. And then Senator McConnell's remarks that did not support tRump's claims that he had been cheated out of winning. McConnell actually sounded as if he wanted to try to work together with Democrats (for the moment anyway.) 

Within thirty minutes of those remarks, the mob had broken into the building and the Capitol police had directed all members of Congress and their staff to safe locations. That may well have been where their manpower was when the mob flowed into the chambers...taking selfies all the time. But many of the police just stood by and watched the crowd of white men in various costumes, carrying flags for tRump, the Confederacy, and even Jesus.

Fortunately during the escape to safety, "four quick-thinking staffers brought along the electoral ballots, in their ceremonial boxes." (Richardson)

What was on the minds of the half dozen demonstrators squatting down in the balcony hiding? They had another member of the mob taking videos of them. This kind of illogical mob behavior had brought them into a place of our government's meeting, and suddenly they were just like kids misbehaving. They knew no leadership. They only knew they wanted to subvert the government's true mission of the day. That's what their only leader, President tRump, had ordered them to do.

He wanted his mob to somehow give him a legitimate win over Biden...which is about as silly as anything. But back when Nov 3 election became clearly a Biden win, tRump had said "I'm not going to lose," and "I'm not going to leave office."

"The election was not close—Biden won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes and the Electoral College by 306 to 232—but Trump contends that he won the election in a landslide and “fraud” made Biden the winner." (Richardson)

We are dealing with a mental/emotional breakdown. He hasn't done any presiding for weeks, but has played golf. His executive orders are primarily aimed at subverting Biden from accomplishing things in the future. He has stated illogical emotional things to his followers, which just give them incentive to break rules, but not to actually achieve anything. But like the cornered fox that he is, he continues to have his cunning ways to try to keep the hounds at bay.

"One rioter photographed himself sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet on it." (Richardson)

Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Image

The photo-ops seemed to be the highest achievement of the rioters. I'm really determined that the receive justice for their invasion. Of the 4 people who died, one was killed by a legitimate police officer, and one died of a heart attack, and one tased himself and died. I don't know what happened to the other person. Over a dozen police were injured, and 52 people were arrested. That's not anywhere near as many as should have been!

The guards ready for Black Lives Matter demonstration.

Nine arrested from North Carolina, this bus from Asheville.

I would say Amendment 25 should be invoked by Pence, but tRump has fired most of his cabinet so there are mainly "acting Secretaries of departments" who might blindly follow his lead. And the vice president knows this. So an impeachment is the best course...and Pelosi will see that that happens.

But what everyone knows, including the saner group of Republicans, is that he is mentally unstable. This is the man who has the capability of sending nuclear bombs anywhere in the world, if he can get just one military man to agree with him. Many of them don't, and that's the saving grace at this moment. He is now practically alone. Those who used to want to seem to support him, in order that their elections might continue to keep them in office, have mostly deserted him. They have seen their future, and it doesn't include him.

Two more weeks until the inauguration of Joe Biden. I imagine tRump isn't finished with his tom-foolery, which continues to be at the expense of his followers.

I firmly support the DC police as well as the US Capitol police, to bring charges against each of the the mobsters, as well as tRump who incited the treasonous insurrection. I'm angry. And I'm not willing for lawbreakers to continue to act without consequences. The antics which have often been outside the law, by tRump, have blatantly incited an insurrection yesterday.

And the police didn't do their job at all. Why weren't the National Guard and other forces available the minute tRump got that rally going to the Capitol? They had sure been there for other demonstrations.

P.S. A comment by Marcia let me know that the Capitol Police had actually turned down any assistance from National Guard.  I heard (on Fri.Jan 8) that the head of Capitol Police had resigned.

Jan. 2 at Lake Tomahawk

Lots of dads were out with their sons fishing last Saturday at Lake Tomahawk. The water was murky and a bit high after rain the Friday before my walk.

The spillway was full of water, as well as some coming out of the overflow pipe. 

I liked this photo of the Dad fishing, but he noticed me, and waved after I took this pic. Hope he catches something.

The Mallards were all taking their afternoon naps.

The path had some puddles left, as well as the usual little ditches from rain draining into the lake.

The pool changing rooms had a wreath on its side, but nobody had used them last summer at all.

If I did the reflections meme, this would be a perfect shot for it.

It was warm enough for some women to engage in tennis.

Today's Quote:

We with our lives are like islands in the sea, or like trees in the forest. The maple and the pine may whisper to each other with their leaves. But the trees also commingle their roots in the darkness underground, and the islands also hang together through the ocean’s bottom. Just so there is a continuum of cosmic consciousness, against which our individuality builds but accidental fences, and into which our several minds plunge as into a mother-sea or reservoir.

William James
 

The buzzard

 

I thought at first perhaps an eagle...

It isn't an osprey, and is too big for a hawk. Solo vultures are rare...but perhaps. I'm just not sure.

And then I noticed the little Mallard sitting in the overflow stream, which I was standing right next to on the dam. 

Someone else took his photo with a zoom, and posted it on Facebook. Their comment was that he had been entangled with fishing line, and various people gave suggestions to get some wildlife people to rescue it. I was sorry then that I hadn't noticed him being caught. And then it kept me from falling asleep that night, thinking about how he was the object of the buzzard's desire. As soon as people went away, I would imagine the duck might have become dinner. I felt some emotional connection to the duck, that his suffering before his death was somehow something I could have empathy toward.

Another FB posting earlier last week told of a bear cub who had been hit by a car, and dragged himself to the shelter of a nearby restaurant, in the night. When the owner came to open up for breakfast, they found him, and eventually he was put down and removed by some wildlife agency. In the meantime, the police had known about him suffering there all night, and just left him there. The owner was not happy that they hadn't been contacted about it. Again, it kept me awake for hours, thinking of the bear, then the duck. The restaurant is located a few blocks from me, across the street from a friend's home.

So I'm not sharing pithy sayings on FB any more. I liked when friends would "like" my shared things...and occasionally I would post a link to my blogs. But I think I'm going to back out of FB pretty much now. I rather prefer hearing from bloggers here actually. We've become a community of friendly people. There aren't any hateful postings (that I've received) about anti-mask wearing people. I guess they are all celebrating their good health with their tribal leader who lost the election somewhere else.

I recently read a fellow blogger's post (Forest and Field) where the remains of a predator's meal were examined to determine what had died, and by whom. It was very interesting, from a scientific viewpoint. 

My empathy towards animals suffering is much the same as I've had when my pets needed to be put down. And it is the same feeling, only slightly removed, when I consider all the Covid patients who've suffered for so long in hospitals, and then died alone and without any closure with their loved ones. I've got a semblance of need as a human being to decrease the conscious suffering of any live being.

Today's quote:

There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring.

 -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956) 

Warm enough to walk at the lake

 

The little waterfall is under water, because it rained most of yesterday.

Lake Tomahawk was at a high water level, and full of sediment from yesterday's rains.

Me and my shadow didn't get to sit on our favorite bench, because the sun doesn't hit the seat, just the back...so it was really damp still.

I think I saw 4-5 families fishing last Saturday when I walked around the lake. Dads must have purchased new rods or reels for Christmas

Today's quote:

In the midst of the 21st century, many people, in spite of all
their worldly wisdom, are still laden with medieval attitudes to
illness.....as if sickness is some kind of failing.  Physical dysfunction,
frailty or weakness is often experienced as if it were something to be
ashamed of, or guilty about - as if we have failed to meet some target
or some kind of socially acceptable ideal of good health.  We often
feel a need to make excuses for our suffering.  As if we needed to make
excuses for being vulnerably co-dependent dancings that we are!  We
try to identify a concrete cause for our condition, not only to help us
find a resolution to it but because the only alternative to identifying
a clear 'outer' cause seems to be that we ourselves, our behavior or our
lifestyles, are the cause.  It's our bad 'karma' or perhaps our bad diet or
lack of exercise or excessive stress, and illness is punishment or
retribution for our dissolute living!

[Could it be that] illness has invited us into a period of intensified
enquiry, contemplation and spiritual ripening...

An immeasurable expanse of experience and experiences surrounds
 and suffuses [us], a weaving together of uncountable situations and
circumstances - a seamless whole in the act of constant transformation
 - this dancing of [our] current knowing/beingness.

All complex, inter-dependent life dancings, in other words, all living
beings, have come about through the collaboration and balancing of
uncountable factors.  As the relationship between these factors
 changes, the system functions differently.  If the relationships change
 sufficiently, the functioning will change into something else 
all together and the original functioning will no longer be there.  
These constantly changing relationships are a basic nature of all 
interdependent arisings.  There is no shame in this.

Birth without death would not be life.  This continuous streaming of
birthing/dying is life in action.

Tarchin Hearn

Excerpts from: 
The Dharma of Illness and The Medicine of Wonderment

"Tarchin has a unique view of the inter-dependency of all life, 
which he calls the "Holoverse", borrowing from the idea of
the Hologram.  The full article is worth the read, especially
for those dealing with a chronic health condition.  It really
helped me change my perspective on my own health issues."

From a fellow blogger (I'm sorry, I am not sure which one.)

The gratitude meditation

I was not following any guidance when meditating the other day...just had some background music going. Looking out the window at the fog as it lifted, first only being able to see the top of a power pole at Hwy. 70, then slowly having the ridge line of the mountain appear. The fog remained in the middle between these two points, a valley full of cloud. Somewhere down there the little Swannanoa River wanders back and forth through the valley that carries its name.

Some days my meditation just comes to me. Today, gratitude was top of my list. But not for the things I received for Christmas. I know I'll soon write a few thank-you notes to relatives and friends.

Often meditation starts with deep breaths. And then awareness of parts of the body...starting with the feet, legs and going up each part. But today I started with my heart, then lungs. And from there I focused on each of the systems of my body...muscles, nerves, skin etc. I almost forgot the digestive and kidneys/bladder systems. I did remember hair and finger nails.  

Anyway, it was good to be grateful for all the wonderful pieces that make up this pie called Barbara. What amazing things homo sapiens are.

Today's quote:

Moving in the flow of compassion and deepening enquiry,
we engage with all beings in ways that support the integrity,
the stability and the beauty of the entire living world.

Engaging with this [flow] of birthing/dying living,
embracing it, surrendering to it, [we find that] the mystery
is tremendously integrated.
It is extraordinarily stable.  It has been in action for
billions of years.  It is breath-stoppingly beautiful in
all its vulnerability...

My medicine is wonderment...

Tarchin Hearn

Excerpts from: 
The Dharma of Illness and The Medicine of Wonderment

More new shining faces in my windows

 

I woke up Sunday to see this amazing and strange flower looking at me.

These are my living room friends. I'm always happy when this many blooms open. So wonderful!

I'd think the first bloom would be towards the light, but here it is facing away from it!

Today's Quote:

...the person you think of as "yourself" exists only in you, and
even you don't really know who that is.  Every person you meet,
have a relationship with, or make eye contact on the street with,
creates a version of "you" in their heads.  You're not the same
person to your mom, your dad, your siblings, [that] you are to
your coworkers, your neighbors, or your friends.  There are a
thousand different versions of yourself out there, in people's minds.
A "you" exists in each version, and your "you", "yourself", isn't really
"someone" at all.

Commentary on a chapter in a book called
One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand
by Luigi Pirandello

Around home

 

The clean half of the kitchen.

As my friend Martha said, it's a working kitchen. Still lots to do on this half of the kitchen!

Another view of my apartment. Whenever the sun is shining in my bedroom, I usually find an excuse to lie down and enjoy the vitamin D and warmth. Here I was checking some facebook news out on my mini-iPad.

That's the wonderful south facing window in my bedroom. 

Today's quote:

We need to re-orient our lives to be in constant resonance with

The Silence.  We have to rediscover lost realms, and at the same time, clear away our deeply engrained desire to live by what others have said, rather than discover inner truths for ourselves.

Robert Sardello
From: Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness

This 2021

 Happy New Year everyone!

Last Sun. it was warm enough that I walked up Walker Rd. to get a bit of exercise.

This home is the Cummings residence, and I have yet to see it at night...but it does itself up pretty well in daytime!

YAY, now the car is fixed, so soon I can do more evening driving and look at lights of the holidays. If it's not raining, icy or after everyone has taken them down already!

Today's Quote:

Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.

Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.

Escape.

Walk out like somebody suddenly born into color.

Dot it now.
You're covered with a thick cloud.
Slide out the side.

Die,
and be quiet.
Quietness is the surest sign that
you've died.

Your old life was a frantic running
from silence...

Rumi