Peace – Page 4 – 2 GALS 4 PEACE

Losing Our Way?

When babies are born, they arrive with a sense of conscience that develops over time into adulthood. The human conscience is the regulator that gives us the ability to choose right from wrong and good from evil. It is that “little voice inside our heads.” The human conscience is formed by identification like “monkey see, monkey do.” It has its beginnings in childhood and, with age, is influenced by instruction, training, and interactions with the environment, family included. Because of these various influences, this may explain why humans do not necessarily act in the same manner or hold the same ethical and moral beliefs. It seems these days that the human conscience may be deteriorating a bit and that the…

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November 12, 2021

Peace

The Eyes Have It

It occurred to us this week that it was such a joy to be able to say good morning to someone and smile while doing so. Even though it was outside and at a distance, it seemed so pure and real. The morning was sunny and cool and, for the moment, all seemed right with the world. As epidemiologists identify the current three “C’s” of COVID concerns - Crowds, Close contact, and Close spaces - this makes it even more important to savor those moments of connection. So, at a distance, we smile because in the last couple of years these moments have been challenging and have felt remote and rare. Some say that it takes fewer muscles to smile…

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October 7, 2021

Peace

Send in the Clouds!

The last several nights, we have taken to watching the sunset. We have followed the clouds as they roll, wander, and eventually disappear. Forming shapes of things we know and those we make up, the clouds capture our imagination and our curiosity. We always come back to asking what are clouds made of and what are all those colors about, especially at sunset? The reds, oranges and, as we saw last night, the purple clouds ahead of the gray and black. We understand that the marriage of light and raindrops creates rainbows that are known as a symbol of hope and good fortune. But, clouds on the other hand are different. Apparently, their color depends primarily on the color of…

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September 24, 2021

Peace

Sorry!

We hate mistakes. Well, our own to speak of. Last week, we said that General Eisenhower was elected to the Presidency in the 1940’s. We were wrong. It was in the 1950’s as one of our astute readers pointed out. We said, “Oh shoot, a typo” and thanked her. It proved once again that we are humans, not robots. Maggie’s Dad never liked Eisenhower which was one of Maggie’s earliest political memories. Her Dad said that he played too much golf! Imagine if her Dad had been around for four years of Trump who, by the way, did not even show up for the 9/11 remembrance last week and has never admitted to making any mistakes. No apologies there! Apologizing…

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September 19, 2021

Peace

Decisions They Are – History They Become

We ran into an elderly neighbor this week as we were contemplating writing about decision making. How timely that he sat down and went on to share with us this true story. There was a preacher and an impending ice storm. He knew an ice storm could be dangerous, but he also knew that his parishioners wanted to come to church that Sunday. He decided to conduct the service but also decided to stage someone outside to monitor the weather. As the weather began to deteriorate, the outside observer let him know and he decided to end the service halfway through his sermon. The parishioners left as the storm was approaching but while it was still safe to travel. Most…

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September 4, 2021

Peace

Unsinkable

We had one of those logy days yesterday when you want to put on an old movie and contemplate your navel. Contemplating your navel is an old saying that we used in our youth which means excessive self-contemplation, otherwise known as omphaloskepsis. It is a word derived from the Ancient Greek language and can be an aid to meditation. The phrases today, such as contemplating one’s navel or navel-gazing, refer to self-absorbed pursuits. Well, that we did. We plopped ourselves on the couch and turned on the Old Movie Channel. And there it was, the original 1953 Titanic movie. Maggie’s father had been drawn in by this story of the largest and most glamorous ship that was lost on the…

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August 28, 2021

Peace / Social Justice

Honor the Earth

We saw a placard on a truck today that read “Trump/DeSantis 2024 Make America Florida.” OMG, you can only imagine our reaction! This is just as we were all ready to write about the benefits of communing with Mother Nature. Well, we are going to look away for the moment and write about nature anyway. Mother Nature is usually gentle and kind but she has been acting up lately. Extreme heat, fires, and floods. Sounds almost biblical. As some men and women seek ways to get off this earth, others look for ways to stay here and survive. Greta Thunberg, the 18-year-old Swedish environmental activist, worries that, "As it is now, nothing is changing. The only thing that's changing is…

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August 24, 2021

Peace

The Joy of Chaos

It is not something that we would want to experience every day but occasionally it may be healthy. It starts with opening your mind and, in this case, opening your closets and drawers. There is nothing like the reality of trying on your clothes, especially the ones you have not worn in a long while. For a guy or gal standing in front of a long mirror and doing this can be comical. No tears here please! The shirts and the dresses with that crazy pattern or bright color that is no longer you. And those pants that do not zip closed anymore. We like to ask how do clothes shrink while hanging in the closet? Is it the same…

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July 19, 2021

Peace

The Winds They Blow

There is nothing like waiting for a storm to pass to give us time to reflect. As life deals its blows and twists and turns, it is helpful to just take the time to think, to be mindful, and to turn inward. Along these lines, the act of taking a long look in the mirror can be inviting and can also be a little intimidating. Yet, it can be fascinating to look into your own eyes and feel what you see and see what you feel. In a different vein, one of the things that has been helpful in our lives lately has been the use of humor. It has smoothed out some hard times and eased the transition from…

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July 8, 2021

Peace

Get Over It

As this summer launches, many of us will begin to wander away from home once again. Traveling can be stressful even at its best. Newly vaccinated and now experiencing the “coming out” from Covid, new adventures await. But, as we have been cloistered for over a year, traveling these days will more than likely be somewhat challenging. Are you vaccinated and are others vaccinated? Traveling now can tax your resilience, your flexibility, and your tolerance for being out of your comfort zone. The rental house or hotel, different food, transportation, and the interesting people whom you meet and who were once okay before Covid can now pose a dilemma. To mask or not to mask, to eat inside or out?…

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June 27, 2021

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