Ruminations at the end of another year...

Now that the extravagance of the Christmas holiday has passed, and the decadence of the New Year’s Eve rituals are but three days away, I wonder how many of us become aware of our human condition.  Just what is the human condition?

The news reports that terrorists are intent on killing the infidel’s; that our Police officers are under attack; that domestic violence is happening more than we realize; that children are being abused physically, sexually, mentally… and sometimes by the very people they should trust; that scientists are feuding about global climate change; that education is failing our children; that homelessness is rampant; that hunger is rampant; that drug and alcohol abuse is rampant; and the list of negatives about humans and their lives is endless.

Good news doesn’t always make front page. And yet, there are, in my opinion, more good people than bad people. There are zealots in every religion: some become terrorists, and others do individual acts of violence. But how about the humans who are kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, caring, and who act on those feelings? These people are evident and probably in every faith known to humankind. And there are people who do not espouse a religion or go to church who can also be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and caring, and who can act on those feelings.

How do we address these issues individually? Aren’t they larger than we can handle?

I would like to suggest that each person who becomes responsible for his/her behavior is on the path to overcoming all the evils we encounter. How many of us do random acts of kindness just because it feels good? How many take actions, however small, to improve the day for even one person?  All of the good taking place in the world is more powerful than all of the evil/bad that takes the headlines. 

Before he died, my Father used to call me almost every day, and his first words to me were always: “what have you done for the good of the order?”  He never expected to hear earth-shattering news, but he just wanted to make sure I knew that I had the power to do something good at every turn. He was not a religious man, but his actions were on a Biblical level:  do something for the widows and orphans; teach young people the value of hard work; help anyone willing to learn without expecting anything in return but a ‘thank you;’ and to be respectful of every person.

As we say good-bye to 2014, my wish is to spread good and generosity where ever possible; to be thankful for the bounty we have; to be appreciative all I come in contact with; and to be kind to everyone, because everyone struggles in some way.

May you welcome the chance to improve life around you in 2015!  And enjoy every minute of the NOW that you are given.

The Inner Clock...

A lot of animals have reliable inner clocks: bears know when to hibernate; geese know when to fly North or South depending on the season; cats know when it's nap time; dogs know when it's time to get the mail, go for a walk, etc; and the list could be rather exhaustive.

I posit that humans are also born with a reliable inner clock. I'm not sure when we lose touch with our own clock and start to rely solely on the man-made evil alarm clock, but it happens. Perhaps we learn to turn off our natural in-born clock from our parents.  Schedules can be demanding, and if we choose to stay up late to watch an old movie for the 100th time, then we probably need something very dependable to wake us up when we are not done sleeping.

God in his wisdom gave us the only time differential we really need: night and day; light and dark. Humans are the ones who needed to break time down into hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, nano-seconds, etc.  As civilization, I'm using the term generally here, not all people are civilized in the strictest sense of the word, progresses into the mind-set of discovering all there is to know, it has chopped everything into Riemann slices that grow ever and ever so small that we lose sight of the big picture.

What are the forces that drive the human?  Eat, sleep, learn, be creative, be productive, enjoy whatever we do, and seek wisdom. These may not be the exact forces that drive everyone, but they are a general core. Along with these forces of natural life, we also become aware of others, and grow into helping those around us, as in the community we bond with and live with.

I believe that all babies, animal and human alike, are born with the best clocks. I like to think the Irish understood this especially well in one old drinking song:  The Moonshiner. Here is the chorus:

I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home
And if you don't like me, well, leave me alone
I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry
And the moonshine don't kill me, I'll live til I die.

What if dieters, or just people in general would listen to the inner clock that calls for food when you're hungry, or drink when you're thirsty?  All the advice about life and food comes charging in to my brain:

     Eat breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; and dinner like a pauper.

     Put your fork down when you're full.

     Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

Now, what if all we needed was: to eat when we are hungry, drink when we are dry, go to bed when we are tired?  How would the world operate?  

Those who have discarded the inner clock in favor of the 'working time clock' would not stop what they are doing; all those who don't even have a clock to alarm them would not stop the way they are living; the bears and the geese and the cats and dogs would not stop what they do; and they children are trained to be good little worker bees would not stop.  

My advice:  throw away the human machinations of time control and listen to your own clock!  It is more powerful than you can imagine! 

Live well til you die!

Vandalism is not an appropriate way to protest...

I've held my tongue about the rioting and protests that are going on all over this country to allegedly condemn the two policemen who acted to the best of their ability with devastating results: the deaths of two people who were being subdued for misconduct of some degree. Having said that as nicely as I could, the actions of the alleged protestors is the most reprehensible behavior that could be portrayed.

The rioters, looters, vandals, and other scofflaws who destroyed their own neighborhoods and towns, are nothing but criminals waiting for an excuse to act out their agressions and hatred. I applauded Charles Barkley for condemning the 'thugs' and speaking out in defense of the policemen who have difficult jobs.

This morning on NWPR, there was some discussion about the incidents that brought about such horrific behavior in the general population. There was mention of a number of just how many 'bad cops' there might be: 5%, and one fellow said it was probably less than that. I doubt that neither of the two policemen who not charged or indicted for their actions was a 'bad cop.'

If you look at the population in general, how many 'bat citizens' are there?  How many people are in prison for various crimes?  What is the percentage of 'bad' to 'good?'

The problem, in my opinion, is that in general, people have become lulled into thinking that they don't have any responsibilities when it comes to their own actions.  When you watch a 'flash mob' sing the Hallelujah! chorus it give you good feelings and brings a smile to your face. When you watch a 'flash mob of rioters and looters,' it strikes fears and loathing in your heart, or at least it does to me. Why would anyone participate in looting and burning a store in your neighborhood, owned by one of your neighbors?  What justification could one possibly point to?

Ghandi said, 'Be the change you wish to see.'  Does this mean the rioters and looters, and thugs are showing us what they think society should be like?  I pray to God that is not the case.

I would much rather see the policeman hug the young man who was protesting quietly, and who both had the good sense to talk about reality.

If people who profess to be Christians truly had Christian hearts, they would offer kindness and hope, not hatred and judgment.  I am not anyone's judge, and while I may have an opinion, I leave the judgment to God.

Unless there is forgiveness, no healing takes place. And that's the truth.

Awakening to new things...

A friend recently introduced me to "awakened almonds" by telling me about her process of soaking them in brine for 12 hours, then rinsing them off and drying them in the food dryer for 24 hours. Then she suggested I do research on my own about the awakening process.

The process of soaking or sprouting the almonds [any many other nuts and beans/seeds] changes the chemistry of the almonds by changing the Phytic Acid.  The Phytic Acid in tree nuts makes them difficult to digest for some people. The sprouting process changes the taste of the nut, and the nutritional value goes way up.  The first batch made me very curious as to whether or not the nuts actually sprouted, so I cracked a few open to see if there really was a sprout. Voila! There it was, tiny but definitely there.

I've experimented now and have come to my own conclusions about the process. I read a lot of posts on the internet about how long to soak them, what strength of brine, and how long to dry them. I would have to assume [I know, Danger Batman] that different geographical areas with varying altitudes and relative humidity have an affect on the process. I felt comfortable experimenting based on these variables.

For my altitude [2780 AMSL] and relative humidity [30% + /-] I now soak my almonds for 14 hours in a brine solution of 1/2 to 3/4 Cups of Kosher salt for 5 Cups of nuts. I mix a few cups of warm water with the salt in a gallon jug, the add the nuts [5 Cups] and then I fill the jug with cooler water and shake it well. I put it on the kitchen counter and give a twirl a few times.  I usually start the soaking about 6-7 p.m. and let them soak overnight. The next day, I rinse the nuts well in a strainer and  put them in the food dryer at 160 Deg. F. for 24-27 hours.  With the last batch, I took out a handful of the soaked nuts and put them in my oatmeal.  Very tasty, without the crunch.

I've used the 'awakened almonds' after drying in pancakes [chopped], and eaten them just plain. They are the perfect snack for me. Crunchy, tasty, easy to digest, nutritionally good, and very satisfying. What more could I ask for?  The awakened almonds also have less calories than the plain raw almonds. Go figure!

I hope I've given you something to think about and enough information to give it a try. Let me know what you think.

May you try something new today!

Wants and Needs...

Before going to the grocery store, I usually make a list, and check it several times after perusing the refrigerator and the pantry. I also eat something, even if it's just a small snack. This is a self-defense mechanism:  if I go to the grocery store whilst I'm hungry, I buy lots of stuff that I don't need, but as soon as I see it, I have to buy it. I consider this behavior of mine as 'buying without thinking; on a whim, because of a message from my stomach.'

I challenged myself to go through the grocery store and identify all the things that I don't need. After walking through the store with this intention to see what I don't need, then I did another walk through with my list. This was a good exercise for me because it made me think about what I was buying, and why I was buying it.

I imagine our ancestors, who were probably hunter gatherers before they became farmers, and their habits about food. They were limited by the seasons, their lifestyle [whether they were nomads, or kept more than one area for living depending on the food sources] and their ability to know what to do with the abundance when it was available, and their ability to preserve some of the bounty by some method to stave off hunger in the leaner times.

We've come so far from those times, that our thinking is jaded about what we want and what we need.  Here are some things I've decided that I really don't need:

• Cake mixes, because a homemade cake is so much better and doesn't have the preservatives.
• Junk food, because it's a slippery slope for me that is easy to avoid by just saying, 'NO,' However, I do admit that I buy an occasional bag of Kettle Chips because I love the crunch. Two or three bags a year is probably not going to kill me.
• Highly processed foods like breakfast cereal because I've come to love my hot homemade oatmeal with raisins and cransins, maybe some nuts, and Agave nectar for a little sweetness. I buy the old fashioned oats, not the the instant/quick cooking kind. Steel cut oats from Bob's Red Mill are really good!
• Bread, although I will buy the occasional loaf of sourdough bread. I've learned to make beer bread and it's way better than any store bought loaf. This bread has no fat, no eggs, or other complications. It has unbleached flour, yeast, water, salt, and beer. I've tried several different beers and the best so far is Schock Top. The Guinness and the Porter are good, but they do have a much stronger flavor. 
• Margarine. I only use butter because it's much better for you than hydrogenated fats. Most of the butter I buy goes into baking, or on a baked potato, or toasted beer bread! 

OK... the list is not exhaustive or definitive, but it conveys my message; stock your pantry with the basics and create the good stuff from scratch! Grow your own veggies whenever you can; and preserve the harvest when you have lots. Homegrown herbs are the best. Dried apples and plums are wonderful snack foods. 

Now, I'm getting off the soapbox.  It's past my bedtime! :-) 

Thankful Every Day...

The day after Thanksgiving is just as important for being thankful as was Thanksgiving Day...as is every day!

If you have never created a gratitude journal for yourself, I would recommend to everyone to start one today. To make it simple: choose a small bound blank book: lines or not, it doesn't  matter. Then, write the date on the first page and begin.  You may have to stop a moment and think a bit before you actually begin writing, but in your deepest heart, you know what you have to be thankful for.

Don't complicate the task. Try to limit yourself to one page a day. However, if you are overflowing with gratitude you can make each entry as long as you want. After all, it is your gratitude journal. If you need some limitations, then set a number to meet: each day I'll record five things that I was grateful for today.  Number them if you need to: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5,  Make sentences that can stand alone. Use your best penmanship. The value of writing and seeing the written word is huge!

I maintained a gratitude journal for quite a while, and then I set aside the ritual. Today, I realize that I need to get back to putting my gratitude in writing, so that I can go back and read it when I'm feeling despair, sadness, loneliness, low self-esteem, hurt, anger, and all the emotions that are part of being human.

Be honest in your journal of gratitude. Write from your heart. Take a few minutes out of your day to be kind to yourself and to be thankful to God and for your friends and the bounty you have. The process provides salve to soothe the soul.

May the peace that excels all thought be upon your soul today.