I learned little from English classes. I think my highest grade in high school was a 53. I mastered grammar and that formulaic essay enough to slip over into a passing grade, but I never understood all the metaphor and symbolism talk. At the time, I suspected it was all
Continue readingTag: Resilience
Writings of J. Todd Ring: Stop Buying Bottled Water! Get A Berkey Now
Everyone should have one of these – a Berkey water filter, that is a whole other standard for clean water. We simply can’t be using bottled water. Bottled water causes massive pollution and waste and is killing the oceans with plastic. The plastic bottles also leach toxic chemicals into the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Knowledge Is Power. Panic Is Death. Reconnection Is Resilience
Knowledge is power. Bacon was right about one thing, at least. People are afraid of wolves, coyotes, snakes, bugs, bears…the flu. Our ability to assess danger rationally in our modern, coroorate ruled, media manipulated, techno-entranced, deeply alienated society, is near zero, it would seem. In terms of the modern fear
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: My Dream Homestead Garden – Or, Healing The Earth, One Carrot At A Time
A dream homestead garden? Ok, so this is not a subject to everyone’s taste or interest, clearly. Nor is it my usual domain, but it is related. I tend to write about politics, philosophy, social issues and social commentary, with forays into economics and finance, green living, health, and green
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Low tech, high tech
These are just a few thoughts that came to mind, after researching the tiny home and camper van trends, but they have very broad implications, for just about everything. This is not a comprehensive treatise nor a definitive statement, but simply some musings. Low tech vs high tech Pretty cool
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Gold, Savings & Security In The Real World
Here is what the crowd, the authorities, and the mainstream media, including the business press, will tell you: It’s called BS. Think for yourself. For example, when real inflation rates of 8% or more are counted, money in the bank is losing money, and most investment funds are losing money.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Digital Dystopia & The Killing of Cash – and – Advice For Hard Times
Here is another aspect of the unfolding fascist power grab we are seeing globally in 2020 – along with sweeping powers for governments, suspension of all constitutional rights and freedoms, mass indefinite detainment, global surveillance, and accelerated economic warfare by the 0.1% elite against the 99.9%: fully digital currencies that
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Resilience: Another Lesson From The Heart Of The Renaissance
It’s interesting to me to reflect on the fact that Florence and Tuscany have weathered many, many storms and vicissitudes, and have seen empires come and go. Tuscany was culturally rich and ahead of the curve when Rome wasn’t even a village on a muddy river bank, much less a
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: WHICH HAT AM I WEARING?
Every day, I learn something new from another caregiver. Today, I was reading a conversation in a support group for spousal caregivers. “How can I cope with the resentment and frustration that comes from being so tired all the time?” someone asked. Another caregiver replied: “We wear different hats as
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: A Time to Feel Grateful, Sometimes After Loss
My husband Jim and I are packing this morning – we’ve got an early morning flight tomorrow to Dayton, Ohio. Our daughter Natalie’s boyfriend grew up there and we’re all meeting at his family home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Sipping my coffee, I began to think of all things I’m grateful for
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Peterson, Political Correctness, and Postmodernism
Peterson was on Bill Maher last night. They’re both people that have some clever ideas, but also promote a few questionable notions in a way that’s slick enough to just get a pass from some intelligent people instead of necessarily getting the scrutiny deserved. Here’s an innocuous and pleasant exchange
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE MAKING OF A CAREGIVER
In this recipe, the essence of the caregiver is kept aside, similar to the starter in sour dough bread. This ‘starter’ will be needed to make and re-make the caregiver into different shapes and sizes as needs for her or him arise. Recipe for Making A Caregiver Start with a
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: WHEN A CAREGIVER GOT CANCER
Paid or unpaid, caregivers are never supposed to get sick, right? But sometimes we do. Sue Robins owns a health care communications company and she also happens to be the mother of a young man with Down Syndrome. Robins used to blog about caring for her son and his encounters with the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Four Out of Ten. Hey, That’s Still Less Than Half.
We know that as climate change steadily closes in around us, our resilience as communities, societies even as a civilization will be tested. Droughts, floods, severe storm events of increasing frequency, duration and intensity are already setting in. Then there’s the environmental threat Maude Barlow warns is almost equally threatening
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: National Caregivers Month: The Third Pillar is Patience
Patience. We learn it the hard way in caregiving. In this break-neck-speed society, caregivers are like student drivers, always trying to put our foot on the gas, but with ‘fate’, the driving instructor, firmly putting his foot on the metaphorical brake. Caring for young children, an elderly parent, a loved
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: National Caregivers Month Part 1: Bullet-proof
November is National Family Caregivers month and I’ve decided to write a series about resilience. When I think about my own resilience, I am only half-joking when I tell friends that I’m bullet-proof. What I mean by that is this: I experience a full range of emotions, but another part
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: How To Be A Resilient Caregiver – Especially When Change Hits Hard
Resilience is a word that’s thrown around a lot these days. Everyone needs it and everyone wants it, especially people giving or receiving care. And the truth is we all need resilience the most at times of big life changes or transitions. We mine our reserves of strength and optimism
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When a Couple at McDonald’s Said I Shouldn’t Feed My Son in Public
I am fortunate to write for the marvellous site, The Mighty. Here’s my latest post for the good folks there – and if you feel like a daily dose of good news, subscribe to the feed. You won’t regret it! In 1993, we were living in London. My husband’s diplomatic
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Caregiving With Strength – A Guidebook for Grieving Caregivers
Eleanor Silverberg understands grief. She is a child of holocaust survivors who often witnessed her mother silently weeping. An unspoken sorrow infused the Silverberg family home…..grief seeped into their furniture, their walls and of course their hearts. Eleanor Silverberg’s book Caregiving With Strength: Raising Self Care to New Heights by
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: What Next! What Best Laid Plans Fall Through
Sometimes, even the best laid plans fall apart. And life feels very, very unfair. Every caregiver has a story about a high school reunion or an anniversary dinner that had to be cancelled at the last minute because of a loved one’s illness or worse, bad weather. Sometimes, the Gods
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