KY_EnviroGuy
KY_EnviroGuy's JournalI love my wildflowers!
Last year, I added mixed wildflowers to my flower & shrub garden in the front of my property and have enjoyed them more than my other flowers due to what they attract.
I enjoy just standing out in the middle of the plot, watching dozens of bees and other pollinators and even witnessed a juvenile Monarch this spring. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm crazy and say "what the hell is that old man doing?"
But the most joyous moment this year was a flock of goldfinches that come to feast on the Black-eyed Susan plants every day, as I can watch through my front windows.
Highly recommended for any garden although they can overshadow other plants with a lot of shade. Most are perennials, propagate on their own and are tough as nails.
Breaks my heart to hear this, Kentuck.
Having experienced this exact event myself in 2019, I feel your pain and loss. My wife and I were married in 1965, right out of high school and she stayed by my side through some very trying times. I am eternally grateful for her life and I'm blessed to have the love of our two adult children.
I sincerely believe you will heal with time and carry on your family tradition of progressive living in her honor.
Please let the DU family know if there's anything we can do.
One day at a time, good friend............
........
Use it like a medication taken when needed, not as a constant activity.
Although some in Zen and other practices claim it can be a constant thing, most of us normies rely on mindfulness as a reset mechanism when needed. The key is to develop our own method that fits our personalities. When I feel my day is becoming overwhelming or depressing, I can do a mental reset to re-ground myself in reality, then get on with my day.
Soon after I started my addiction recovery program, I started traveling in the engineering field service biz in power plants, paper mills, etc. and often found myself mentally overloaded during big plant outages. I then learned a trick of going into a relatively quiet place such as a restroom alone and just doing a repetitive meditation to quieten the multiple committees in my brain. That simple activity got me through some very tough spots.
One technique along that line is to discover a brief "mantra" that is peaceful to the individual, then repeat that line over and over until you feel relaxation coming in. For example, one of mine is "Peace on Earth, good will to all". You can also print longer ones and post them around your home to read when needed, such as this one I borrowed from a meditation book:
"May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy."
Good luck in finding your own way!
Thank you and best wishes for a peaceful day.
Periodically connecting with nature and some good music always enhances even the worst of my days.
I've been blessed with a small wildflower garden this year that's allowed me to see hundreds of pollinators, several Monarchs and even a small flock of goldfinches that became regulars.
Kindest regards and love from KY...........
Practicing Mindfulness should help and that also may relieve stress.
I've used mindful meditation along with simple mindfulness for decades as part of my alcoholism recovery and it's saved me a lot of pain along the way.
In the most simple method, start by intensively focusing your mind on every single movement of your body for a few minutes, fighting all attempts by your brain to distract you. With practice, one can go into this mode at any time to quieten the mind, reduce stress and allow us to stay focused on our tasks.
In other words, we're telling our brains to shut the hell up for a little while, de-clutter and give us a break.
There are numerous other common mindfulness practices that are wonderful, such as intense focus on each part of our bodies from head to toe while laying down in a quiet space. A large number of books have been published on mindful living.
I think what you described is a product of our current excessively busy world that's keeping our subconscious minds in total chaos, a huge change from my youth in the 50s.
Our next president will rename it appropriately.
Link to the Opera House web site: https://www.kennedy-center.org/visit/exploring-our-spaces/opera-house/
How about naming it after Hillary Clinton or Sheila Jackson Lee, for example?
Absolute maximum MAGAT triggering is the key here.
Just another GOP fake split the vote tactic.
In the end, they'll all take a knee to GOP power, gather 'round the campfire and vote Republican......
Call it what it is - The Big Billionaire Bailout Bill.
The core of it is simply trickle-up economics on steroids......
......and we all know GOP House lackeys will cave like lemmings in the end.
One potential saving grace for this legislation is that there's a remote chance it might put a fatal stake in the GOP's black heart.
Drumph is so egotistical he thinks AF1 should squat down to receive him.
Is that very last flight to Florida scheduled yet?.........
It's a righteous rant you have there.
At 77, not looking forward to three more years of this insane shit. Remember when we were foolish enough to think it couldn't get any worse than Nixon/Agnew?
Fighting depression, arthritis, and an extremely tight budget, the GOP is not helping my retirement and mood. That's not how politics is supposed to work. I'm finding some peace in music, my flower garden and repairing anything that's broken for friends and family.
Thank you for your service in 'Nam.....
I barely missed being drafted by virtue of the lottery in '69 but many of my class of '65 classmates were not so lucky. I hope the VA is treating you OK.
Love your story about your grandson. Just got to witness my granddaughter's HS graduation with great joy but I worry about what her future will hold, even with her excellent grades.
Peace!........
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: TN, KY
Home country: USA
Current location: KY
Member since: Thu Jul 6, 2017, 07:43 PM
Number of posts: 14,740