OPEN HEARTS

They teach.
They guide.
They counsel.
They console.
They befriend.
They minister.
They lead.
They inspire.

Again and again
Each reprises Just one lesson:
That we are valued,
That we are capable.

That is all.
That is everything.
DIANNE M. DEL GIORNO

Gratitude Prayers: Prayers, Poems, and Prose for Everyday Thankfulness June Cotner

Good Morning Digitial Neighbors! Happy Friday ADD Irregulars, WSN Curators & Contributors, Friends & Refugees, Misfits & PHAM, Early Birds & Later Dayers, Conversants, Lurkers, Seekers and Wanderer on Locals! I hope you have a good week, and if you haven't I hope there have been moments of blessing and unexpected joy. If it has been a total crapfest, you have even more of my prayers than normal. Life is not all peaches & cream, there are chapters and can distress and oppress us. As @SEPTUAGENARIAN was won't to say, BIG HUGS!!!

When I get too immersed in the culture, too wound up by politics life does seem like one parade of crapfests after another. It isn't a false perception, culture and politics is in a current chapter of such personal decay that the most active players and representatives in the field are among the most self-serving and inauthentic people you can encounter. I'd feel pity for them if they didn't desire so much empty acclaim and want to wield such power over our lives.

The selfish & conceited were never our betters, be they Pharoah and his court, elite clergy and their plush estates, nobility and their walled castles, congressmen and their entourage. Add to that last group "journalist", entertainers (was there a strike? I hadn't noticed) corporate tech and pharmaceutical overlords and condescending intellectuals spouting interpretations of life that are completely unmoored from experience and reality. It does seem like one exhausting parade of arrogance and condescension.

If we focus on them, and they would love that, we can find ourselves in a constant state of distress. I am not saying we should be unaware, that you wandered to Locals would seem to indicate you want to be aware, but not overwhelmed. You want to be informed and have the freedom to question and discuss what you hear without being silenced or shamed by our self-appointed betters. At the same time I suspect you are here because you do not want to be an addict to the narrative, even if it is one of opposition to it. Our supposed betters will take negative attention as much as unquestioning compliance, they thrive on attention and they want readily identify their scapegoats. While they condescend to any and all not in Club Groupthink, they do appreciate the most vocal of their critics as ready made scapegoats when the need arises or their critics actually start worrying them. Russel Brand comes to mind.

Stepping out of that stream of soul tainting toxicity is necessary on a regular basis. Be aware, labor to be informed, but do not let it become the obsession of your life. Strive for an open heart as describe in the poem at the beginning of this ramble.

Teach someone something meaningful, creative, beautiful or joyful.
Guide someone to a safe haven for insulation form the toxicity.
Counsel another in how to wade through this current chapter of culture
Console the tried and weary, listen to the unheard and ignored.
Befriend the lonely, the unlikely or the marginal, you might be surprised, they will be.
Minister to the hurting, sacrifice your time and self to another in need, family , friend or stranger
Lead the hesitant, the timid and the fearful. "You can do it" is such a power first step to better.
Inspire any who are attentive, strive for fellow fighters, not personal followers

The message is more important than the messenger. When they hear something worthwhile, step aside with some satisfaction that you could be a bearer of meaning. When others learn that they are valued, that they are capable their lives and any around them will change for the better even when the crapfest abides as it does, even the light seems to be dimming, your personal fire does not and you have allowed another to ignite theirs.

Autumn Red Barn Photograph by Debra and Dave Vanderlaan