Neither. The answer should be PRO-PEOPLE. Hatred and power that lead to war are unacceptable, and the resulting loss of human lives is unconscionable .
4.5 million cigarette butts (the world’s most common litter) are tossed everywhere: into gutters, waterways, roadsides, farmlands, city streets…. They’re ugly AND harm the land, water, fish, birds, and animals that eat them (cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals). The tobacco is biodegradable, but plastic filters NEVER break down. If you smoke or are with someone who does, make sure that butt goes into a waste receptacle.
[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go toMy Free Books).
Currently, our veterans are very much on our minds, as we learn about the large percentage of homeless people being vets (number is declining, but too slowly), as well as news of substandard treatment by the VA medical system. We want to honor the men and women who have fought our battles, to care for them as they have cared for us.
There’s a man, presumably a vet, sitting outside a store, with a cane, an ammo box, and a sign asking for donations to benefit veterans. Our conscience pricks us. Should we give?
Not unless we’re familiar with the organization. This is a huge scam in our country right now–a shameful one.
Check out that group (or any charitable organization) before giving. Be sure your money will actually benefit veterans. There are various on-line sites that can tell you if a particular group is legally registered and does the work they claim to do. One I like, because it’s always up-to-date, is http://www.guidestar.org.
Do whatever you can to help our vets. But beware of scam artists.
What am I going to do?! My friend is going through so much right now, in a lot of emotional pain. I want to do or say something…but what if it’s the wrong thing? Today’s Thursday Thought gives a simple yet powerful answer.
During a routine trip to the office supply store, she comes across a small group getting art instruction. Curious, she makes her way to the back of the store to investigate. From high school, she knew she had some talent in drawing, but she was too busy jumping life’s hurdles to pursue it. She joined the class. Soon she learned that even an outhouse can be pretty. This was the beginning of a lifetime love affair with art, one that helped develop her as a person. She recognized in herself her Influencers’ interest in color, their imagination, their closeness, to varying degrees, to nature, and their have-at-it attitude. https://smthingscount.com/women-in-me/
Twice a year people complain about Daylight Saving Time. It could be worse. 3500 years ago, Egyptians, who created the idea of time based on lunar cycles and the number of stars observable at night, had a different system: 24 hours, but 12 of them day and 10 night. I don’t know how they made nighttime dates since sundials didn’t work well after dark. I wonder, today, would the DST hour go on the day’s span or the night’s?
Tomorrow, thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time, we get an extra hour. Why not spend it in your yard, making it wildlife friendly? Attract birds, pollinators, and other critters that you can enjoy watching for years to come and, at the same time, promote the food chain that we humans depend on. Learn how at https://wildark.org/journals/create-wildlife-habitat-backyard.
[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go toMy Free Books).
A TV news reporter described people’s responses to the suffering of those caught in Super Storm Sandy: “It shows how we are neighbors to each other.” Ambulances from Indiana pulling into Atlantic City. Texas, Indiana, even Canada sending power-workers to restore electricity. Shelters accepting pets, which are of great comfort to frightened children. Neighbors helping each other search for some little object to keep the past alive while sharing the heartache of destroyed homes. Near-strangers dividing up their quickly dwindling supplies to help each other get through the day or night. Even news trucks letting people use their power supply to charge their cell phones so loved ones can be in touch and reassured. All this in addition to the organizations and churches sending members to help wherever they can.
It does show people being neighbors to each other. It shows humanity at its best.
As I see the news of riots, division, and unrest, today’s Thursday Thought comes to mind. It’s a lesson for our country and our world. We’d all do well to make this our mantra for the future.
“THERE IS MORE POWER IN UNITY THAN DIVISION.” — EMANUEL CLEAVE
[Here’s Wednesday peek into another chapter of The Women in Me–How They Helped Me Survive and Thrive.] Ch 10 Shaping a Marriage: Enter Raymond, the mature love she doubted she’d ever find. They tried to merge their two very different families and build a loving life together. Results were mixed. But events like her near death, being grandparents, and his series of illnesses drew them closer together. She attributes the success of their 38 years of marriage to that closeness, the pact they made, and to the strength, faith, and love her Influencers showered on her throughout her life.
