Tag: Humanity

What’s the biggest change you ever took

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I made the move to join the military. I joined the Navy on 22nd November 1985. I was so lost. I had asked God, who I know had saved my life from a very bad decision, what he had planned for me. He wanted me here, so why was I here. I was at a laundromat doing laundry when an army recruiter started talking to me. She asked me, “What are your plans for your life? What is it that you think you are here to do?” It was like God answering me. Giving me the chance to answer my own questions. I took my ASVAB and went to the recruiters office and waited to hear what job I was going to do. Jeep mechanic. That is what they offered though I was one of their top scorers on the exam. Women were not being allowed in the military as much as they had met their quotas so I was lucky to be offered this. I told them that is not what I was meant to do. I wanted to be a medic. They were going to see what they could do, but were not hopeful. The Navy recuriter heard what was going on as his office was next to hers and he essentially stole me from her and put me in the Navy. I told her I was grateful to her, but the army at that time would not let you change your MOS or job rating until the next enlistment. The Navy was more flexible and I could change ratings with approval at most any time as long as there were openings in the field I wanted. There were no Hospital Corpsman billets open but I could go in as a Seaman and Cross Train for Hospital Corpsman.

I arrived at boot camp and did very well. If I hadn’t gone in as an E3 they would have given me the advancement on graduation from boot camp. I was however, changed to an Airman Apprentice. This was still a good opportunity and it ended up that I became my squadron corpsman and had an excellent Career Counselor and she helped me to get cross trained for Squadron Corpsman. I received my first two award letters from my work with the squadron. Over my twenty years in the Navy, I learned more than I ever thought. I earned my Cardiopulmonary Credential, my Respiratory Therapy License, my Associates Degrees through my Master’s Degree. There was so much bad with it as well, but I have chosen to look at those events as what needs to happen for growth. You cannot grow without difficulty. You cannot grow sometimes without overcoming obstacles and feeling the pain of failure and then using that failure to push you forward to succeed. The biggest change I ever made was making the choice to live.

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Two and half Daisies

Two and half Daisies

Wow…I was looking at my page and realizing how many posts I had started an not finished and were sitting in my drafts box. I really do miss blogging. I am hoping that this new spurt of creative energy continues. I remember thinking when I took this picture how that one daisy, half eaten and damaged was still beautiful. Isn’t that the way it can be with people. They can look worn and damaged and still have a spiritual light. A beauty that transends what their physical appearance displays. There are so many times I feel like that daisy. Half of me missing, damaged and worn. But, I would hope that I can maintain a spiritual light that can and does transend the physical pain and the worn appearnace. I am blessed to know people who have been going through trials both physical and spiritual and come out the other side with that wonderful spiritual light. They inspire me to continue and I will do my best to do so.

Light in the Dark

Light in the dark.

This is still one of my most favorite photographs I have ever taken. It represents what I have felt so often. Especially about my spiritual journey. I was walking through the woods and my mood was very somber and I was in deep reflection about so many things going on in my life. It was a cloudy day and the woods were dark, but there were streams of light that shown through the leaves when the sun came out and it shone on this one branch of honeysuckle growing over the fallen tree. Like a soft caress over the bark. It was inspirational for me. Life continues and light breaks through the darkness, we just have to look sometimes to see it and what it is illuminating. Blessings.

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Daily Prompt: Generous Genies

I have thought about this post for a few days. It is a perplexing problem. I am a Genie that has been freed from my bottle. I am able to give my three wishes to anyone I wish. Who would I give them to? I have decided that I would split up my wishes. I would give one to three individuals. The wishes must be made so that they benefit mankind as a whole. I wonder who would step up to the challenge of developing a wish that would not only benefit them but all of mankind. Would they wish for world peace? Endless resources? Love and Kindness? The eradication of evil and greed? Or would no one be able to stand up and make the wish unless it specifically gives them all that they want. I think I have enough faith left in the human race to know that there are genuinely altruistic people that would come forward and create such a wish.

Do we need to agree with the artist’s lifestyle and or politics to appreciate their art and or to buy it?

The Daily Post question for the day is: Do we need to agree with the artist’s lifestyle and or politics to appreciate their art and or to buy it? That is a very good question. Personally I can appreciate any work of art an artist produces just for the art itself. I don’t think of the politics or how they live at all when I am looking at a painting. Many of the classic painters like Monet, Picasso, etc had difficult personal lives, drug habits, psychiatric illnesses. Some would say that is what made the paintings so unique and beautiful was the translation of their pain, sadness and sometimes madness to the canvas. I guess where I would have a problem is buying a piece of art where I knew the money from buying it would go for a purpose that was less than ideal. This would be in terms of helping fund organizations that promote terrorism, suppression of women’s rights or the rights or children. Well human rights in general. Then I would have a problem with appreciating it or buying it. Even if was a beautiful piece of art the intentions behind it would make it the most hideous thing I could look at.

What Inspires me

This video and the message it conveys gives me hope and inspires me to look at the splinter in my own eye. I know that not all Islamists are terrorists, just as I know that all Jewish people are not “thieves”. Americans are now looked down upon as war mongering, capitalist, greedy, etc…and we know for many, if not most of us, that is not true. I wish we could all see each other as we are. Human beings with similar likes and dislikes. We love, we hate, we can be generous and compassionate. We hunger, we love our children. We all want to matter. We can be hard and unforgiving. But we are all human. There are few differences under the skin. There are those that would say “Well that is just not true. Look at Genetics.” Genetic differences do not make us less “human”. They are what make us human and unique unto ourselves. I tell people who are racist and use the “genetics” argument as a means of lowering another race to inferior and I tell them not to look too far into their own genetic closet. They may not like what they see. We all live on this Earth. We all are human. We can all look beyond differences to find similarities and hopefully by doing this find a way to Peace.

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