Good News Tuesday for Jan. 18, 2022: Five Nations Agree to Avoid Nuclear War, Honoring Women, a Champion of Earth, and My JJJ Prompt is Up Today

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Five Powerful Countries Agree to Avoid Nuclear War and Work for Disarmament

Earlier this month, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US signed an agreement to avoid nuclear war and work toward global disarmament. These five nations released a joint statement affirming that “…a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” The ending of the five-paragraph joint statement is especially positive: “We are resolved to pursue constructive dialogue with mutual respect and acknowledgment of each other’s security interests and concerns.” You can read more at The Guardian.

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Honoring Inspiring Women

Matel is honoring black journalist and activist Ida B. Wells by making a doll in her image as part of the company’s “Inspiring Women” series which includes Dr. Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks. Good Morning America has details. Poet Maya Angelou will also become the first Black woman portrayed on a U.S. quarter. Other women to be featured on coins will include astronaut Sally Ride; actress Anna May Wong; suffragist and politician Nina Otero-Warren; and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.” NPR has more on the coins.

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A Champion of Earth

On Dec. 7th, The United Nations recognized Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a wildlife veterinarian, as one of its “champions of the Earth” for promoting the One Health approach to conservation in Africa. This wise woman connects the well-being of animals, humans, and planet Earth.

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My #JusJoJan Prompt is Up Today

In personal good news, Linda accepted my prompt (cycle) for Just Jot it January, and it’s up today! Good News Tuesday cycles around every week, so make sure to drop by again for some good news! My #JusJoJan post, will hopefully be up before noon.

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Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news or GNT link in the comments!

Anticipate the Best, but be Prepared

(Today’s prompt for Just Jot it January is Anticipation.)

Let’s anticipate good things.

Anticipate peace in spite of tension.

Anticipate love that’s right on time.

Anticipate a healthy planet before it’s too late.

Then we have to work for those things.

Prepare for the possibilities.

But don’t obsess on the fears.

Let us feed our hopes well,

and comfort our fears.

Lock the door and turn off the stove.

But don’t go back and check it three times.

Maybe just a double check.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Put energy into clean energy.

Find common ground.

Anticipate healing.

~~~

Just Jot it January is brought to us by our host, Linda Hill.

Thanks to Pamela for today’s prompt: Anticipation.

Click here for details.

An Abundance of Possibilities

I’m dropping in for Just Jot it January today. I might not do this every day in January, but today is a day I feel like jotting. Our prompt for today comes from Janet, and it is the word: “abundance.” Thanks, Janet! Great word!

We have an abundance of wind here in the Carolinas. Some places, including Alabama, have an abundance of snow. I have an abundance of material things and told my daughter I didn’t want anything store-bought for Christmas, so she cleaned my bathroom! It was my favorite Christmas gift this year for sure!

Our host Linda indicated I could go back into my drafts for JJJ, so I came upon the piece below. Maybe I’ve shared this before, and maybe I haven’t, but either way, I believe it’s worth sharing again.

“For all of you who aren’t sure, it is possible to be gay and Christian.
It’s also possible to believe in God and science.
It is possible to be pro-choice and anti-abortion.
It is equally possible to be a feminist and love and respect men.
It’s possible to have privilege and be discriminated against, to be poor and have a rich life, to not have a job and still have money.
It is possible to believe in sensible gun control legislation and still believe in one’s right to defend one’s self, family, and property.
It’s possible to be anti-war and pro-military.
It is possible to love thy neighbor and despise his actions.
It is possible to advocate Black Lives Matter and still be pro police.
It is possible to not have an education and be brilliant.
It is possible to be Muslim and also suffer at the hands of terrorists.
It is possible to be a non-American fighting for the American dream.
It is possible to be different and the same.
It is possible to be spiritual and not follow a religion.
We are all walking contradictions of what “normal” looks like.
Let humanity and love win.”

(I found this on Facebook showing  it is possible to find something good on Facebook.)

All or nothing thinking divides us. The world is much more complex than black or white, or even gray. There are many more colors and color combinations. When we respect the gifts of our diversity, the world will become more beautiful.

Here’s wishing you an abundance of peace, joy, and possibility, in 2022! 

For more January jottings on abundance or other topics, visit Linda’s post by clicking this link: 

https://lindaghill.com/2022/01/03/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-3rd-2022/

SoCS: Can We Just Go Without Screaming?

Revolution.

I’d like a quiet one, please.

Is that possible?

Anything is possible, right?

But we need to speak up

For a revolution.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Children. Animals. Planet Earth.

But the planet is speaking to us.

Are we listening?

Not enough.

So we must speak for the planet.

Sing for the birds.

Dance for the children.

Hope. Believe. Speak.

Try to speak with kindness

Not with hate.

Whenever you can,

Strive for peace,

But not peace at any cost.

Balance the cost.

We each make a choice

Every day. Every hour.

All is not lost.

There are still possibilities.

Perhaps we may not go quietly.

Can we just go without screaming?

~~~

I keep wanting to add something, to clarify…. Maybe we do need to scream. Maybe some things are screamworthy. This just reflects my stream of consciousness. I don’t like loud. Chanting is good. Singing is good.

Sing it with me: “All we are saying, is give peace a chance.”

And…

I’m stepping out of the stream a bit now, because I found this relatively short TED talk about a quiet revolution. Susan Cain talks about quiet leadership and empowering introverts for the benefit of all. She offers this quote from Mahatma Gandhi:

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

~~~

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is……. “rev.” Use “rev” or find a word that contains it. Have fun! Thanks, Linda!

For more streams, rules and such, visit our host, Linda Hill by clicking here.

Good News Tuesday for Sept. 21, 2021 ~ Happy Peace Day! : Lawn Chairs for Peace, Restoring Coral, Italy’s Old Homes, and A Good Sign in the Hosptial Parking Lot

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution. To learn more about peace day, visit: https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace.

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Lawn Chairs for Peace

In Minneapolis, Minnesota , community and church folks are helping decrease violence by “seating themselves in lawn chairs on street corners in the most dangerous neighborhoods, and acting as “violence interrupters.” Police statistics show it’s working! Here’s more from the Good News Network.

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Restoring Coral

Hoi Ha Wan, near Hong Kong, is now a protected coastal reserve. Past coral mining left nothing for coral to grow on and made restoration unlikely until a team working with Hong Kong university’s architecture department developed an artificial reef using a 3D printing facility. The reef is made from clay tiles. Learn more and watch an interesting video from CNN here.

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Old Homes in Italy are Selling for One Euro

Towns in Italy are are selling abandoned old homes for one euro with the agreement for restoration. Read more about this innovative program at the Good News Network.

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A Good Sign

Every day Donna was in the hospital for covid with no visitors allowed, her husband Gary stood outside her window with an I ❤ you sign. Donna is back home now and doing okay.

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I’m following a story about firefighters working to save the oldest tree in ? California. Hopefully I’ll have good news on that soon. In the meantime, THANK YOU to all the firefighters, first responders, teachers, nurses, doctors, and medical workers doing their best to save lives all over the world.

Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news or GNT link in the comments!

Good News Tuesday for August 17, 2021: A Kidney Donation Beyond Borders, Stories of Gratitude, Peseverance, and Trust from the Olympics, and Choosing Your Own Headline

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Israeli Teacher Donates Kidney to Palestinian Boy

Idit Harel Segal, an Israeli kindergarten teacher and mother-of-three, wanted to do something meaningful for her 50th birthday. She decided to donate a kidney to a 3-year-old Palestinian boy from the Gaza Strip. Read more about Segal and her decision here.

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Olympic Medal Winner Expresses Gratitude for Truck Drivers

India’s Mirabai Chanu who won an olympic silver medal for weightlifting expressed appreciation to 150 truck drivers who gave her free rides from her village to the training center 15 miles away. This article from Mint provides details and Mirabai’s reminder: “Never forget a favor.”

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The Fastest Blind Man in the World

There’s a new documentary coming out about “the fastest blind man in the world.” The film titled Unteathered tells about David Brown who lost his sight by the age of 13 due to Kawasaki disease. Jerome Avery, David’s training buddy of 15 years, was recently inured, so David will have a new trainer in the paralympics next month. You can read more about this extraordinary athlete, trust, and brotherhood in this article from the Good News Network. Be sure to take a look below at the trailer for Unteathered.

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PS: I found something good on Facebook. It touches on why I do Good News Tuesday:

Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news headline in the comments!

SoCS: Least Favorite and Favorite Words

Here’s today’s interesting stream of consciousness prompt: “least-favorite word.” Use your least-favorite word in your post. If you can’t decide on one, use a word that just really bugs you. Enjoy!

Just one word?

There are plenty of words I don’t like. Maybe I’ll figure out my least favorite if I start rambling them off.

“Unbelievable!” is one my ex boyfriend used a lot. It got on my nerves, because I could believe things that were really cool. Unbelievable would be something like the pigs flying when they are not in heaven, because pigs go to heaven just like dogs. So if you see a pig flying, I mean really flying, you might be in heaven.

Impossible. No surprises there since my blog title is “Anything is possible.” My dad told me “Nothing is impossible,” when I was 12 and it stuck.

Tirelessly. I might have written about this before. Back when I worked in a stressful job with way too much paperwork, the boss gave a big speech at a banquet and talked about how we staff had been working “tirelessly.” But I was damn tired. If someone works tirelessly, they either haven’t worked very long, or they are on too much caffeine and will eventually burn out. Or at least need a rest. We’re human. We get tired. There’s a backlash going around about glamorizing overwork. Maybe I can find the meme. Be right back….

On the other hand, there’s this thing lately about having trouble finding people to work. We saw that on a sign the other night when we went out to a restaurant and someone didn’t show up for work. The sign said,

Be nice to our servers, we are short staffed. People don’t want to work.

There must be some kind of balance. A need to treat people with respect. Expect responsibility and work, but not 50 hours a week with no overtime.

I guess I got off on a tangent.

There’s still no male component for the word, “bitch,” is there? I mean, it’s a female dog, and that’s okay, but, well you know the issue with a male who exhibits the same behavior being praised, except not by me.

I knew I was forgetting something, so went to ask David what word I don’t like. He thought for a minute, then said, “always.” Yes. How could I forget about “always,” and “never,” and “everybody.” They are rarely true. Can you think of an example where always, never, or everybody is true?

Okay, If you’re telling someone to always look both ways before crossing the street, that’s good. But saying, politicians always lie – there’s no proof of that. I mean, surely they one might tell the truth, sometimes. There are always possibly exceptions.

They say it never rains in California, but it does, sometimes, and I’m praying it rains more. A steady, but moderate rain to quench the dry earth and put out the fires.

Just for the sake of balance, here are some of my favorite words,

Possibilities

Rainbow

Bliss

Peace

Hope

Maybe

May it be……

Today’s SoCS prompt is brought to us by our host, Linda Hill. Find out more at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS July 17, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

Good News Tuesday for June 1, 2021: Four Years of GNT, Court Orders Shell to Cut Emissions, Police Making a Difference, Working Together in Israel, and a Second Chance Pays Off

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

GNT Four Year Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe Good News Tuesday has been going for four years! My first GNT post was on May 30, 2017. THANK YOU to all my readers and contributors for supporting the good news, one Tuesday at a time!

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Court Orders Fossil Fuel Giant to Cut Emissions

A Dutch court has ordered Shell to cut carbon emissions by 45% to comply with the Paris Agreement. “It is the first time a company has been legally obliged to align its policies with the Paris climate accords, says Friends of the Earth…” Read more about this historic decision in BBC News.

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Police Officers Living in High Crime Neighborhoods Make a Difference

A program in Atlanta helps dedicated police officers buy homes in high crime neighborhoods. Even with the financial assistance and other benefits, it’s a big commitment. Officers are expected to work to help tackle issues in the community. Lt. Ralph Woolfolk, a 14-year police veteran, is one such officer. This article about Lt. Woofolk and the program includes a great video.

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Working Together

This is a photo I discovered on Facebook shared by T. B. Shamir who wrote: “This too is happening in Israel. My niece Tali working in one of Israel’s main hospital in harmony with her fellow staff – Jews and Arabs coexistence in the work force!”

Jewish and Arab Hospital Workers

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The Judge Gave Him a Second Chance

Judge Bruce Morrow gave a 27-year-old Edward Martell, a high school dropout/drug dealer, a second chance sixteen years ago. Instead of jail time Martell got probation and to challenge to make something better of himself. Recently, Martell passed the Michigan state bar exam to become a lawyer and was sworn in by the same judge who gave him the second chance. I first saw this story on someone’s WATWB post (remind me who please) and then on the Good News Network. The video tells the story.

Got Good News?

Please share your good news or GNT link in the comments!

SoCS: A Year of Challenge and Hope for Healing

Our Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “day/week/month/year.” Linda also invites us to write about the past year of pandemic, “how we have coped or not, to share our common experiences as a way to connect, to feel a little less alone.”

As a citizen of the United States, these past 12 months have been heavy, not just due to the pandemic, but also with the political divide and the racial injustice of the murders of George Floyd, Breaonna Taylor and others. It has been strange and confusing to have stay at home orders, masks and social distancing recommendations along with protests and demonstrations.

My hope is that with the pandemic calming down and someone less inflammatory at the helm, we can move into healing. It’s going to take a lot of work. A lot of compassion, listening, compromise, and seeking common ground… or higher ground.

I find myself feeling tired as I write this. There are bursts of energy when things get done, but maybe it’s a tired that comes with age. Still, my personal life has not been bad. I’m the oldest one in my family – my parents and siblings are deceased. Even Aunt Ruth in Wisconsin crossed over last year after a full life into her 90s. I am thankful not to have to worry about my parents anymore and feel for those who do. I am thankful to have the luxury of time and the freedom to study my father’s letters from Vietnam, and to write and paint.

Staying at home doesn’t bother me, except that I have not seen my granddaughter, son and daughter in law since October. I miss the mountains. It was in October that I last visited the mountains and first brought mama cat home from the church. She has kept me company when David is at his woodshop, and she has become much less feral.

Mama Cat has a plate of food.
She wants attention while I’m trying to write.

Having a cat has been a big change after being a dog person for so long. The pandemic and people not being at church much was one of two factors that led me to bringing her home. The other factor was the abduction of her daughter, Gray, in June. I still go to the church once per week to see if Gray has shone up, but I don’t think this is likely. I talk to Saint Francis and pray my hopes and thanksgivings.

St. Francis with last year’s hydrangeas

Not going to church and choir practice is probably the biggest change in my personal life. We do zoom church and I’ve sung and played a little guitar for that, because music is my favorite part of church. My voice is way out of shape when it comes to singing anything challenging. My friend Anne, who is in her 80s and teaches singing, is helping me with that. I’m thankful to have had both vaccines, in spite of the side effects, I’m glad to have a little more confidence if I do want to go out. I’ll still wear a mask and avoid crowds.

Hopefully we won’t have as much to protest or demonstrate for or against for a while. Maybe things will calm down and justice will grow. Maybe we humans will wake up, bridge the divides, and focus on healing Mother Earth as we celebrate diversity in all it’s beauty and strength.

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Thank you to our host, Linda Hill for the consistency of SoCS through the year.

For SoCS rules and more streams, visit:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS March 13, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Nerves ~ Correlation is not Cause ~ Peace ~ Dreams ~ and the Wizard of Oz

The prompt: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “nerve.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

The first thing that popped into my head was the expression, “You’re about to get on my last nerve.” It isn’t exactly logical, but it’s fun to say. One thing that gets on my nerves, is when someone posts something that suggests a correlation is a cause, like the meme I just saw that had a photo of gas prices in November and gas prices in January with the heading/comment: “Biden’s America.”

To my credit, I did not try to engage in debate, but neither did I pass it by and ignore it, which is sometimes the best thing to do. Here’s my comment:

“In statistics class, we learned that correlation does not necessarily mean cause. There are likely other variables/factors to be considered.”

I do not need to engage in any further discussion that would irritate my nerves. This is why I try not to scroll on FB. I actually want to reduce my time on FB, but every now and then, these things come up. Then I was happy to be able to like and love some photos of her grand daughter.

I’m in training. Besides having a personal (exercise) trainer, I am in training to “practice peace that overpowers darkness.” I know that sounds somewhat presumptuous, but it is practice. I don’t always get it right, especially when things get on my nerves. This idea for peace training comes from the February 11 reading from the daily meditation book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I certainly can’t do this practice on my own. But if I connect with the guidance and strength of Jesus and my Creator, I can do my part.

“Nerve” can be used in so many ways: nervous energy, nerves of steel, a bundle of nerves, “You’ve got a lot of nerve!” Then there’s the nerve cells I learned about in college with axons, dendrites, synapses, and all that fading knowledge that I don’t use much, though it could be helpful in cellular imagery for the purpose of meditative healings…..

Where was I going with this? There was something I didn’t want to forget. Oh, in college – The Psychology of Consciousness, all those years ago, was my favorite class. I do recall the dominant theory of dreams being that our sleeping dreams are created by random nerve cells firing while we sleep. But what part of us assigns meaning? And what meanings that mean something important? Though maybe sometimes, they are just random, like the stream of consciousness. But is it really random? There is also a not so dominant theory that when we have a deja vu, we are experiencing something we dreamed since we dream so much that we don’t remember. I mentioned this in my college class. The professor was not impressed. But hey, anything is possible.

The “cowardly lion” in the Wizard of Oz, didn’t believe he had much nerve. But he really did. Or at least he found it.

And Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn’t already have.

I love this song and the mellow sound.

~~~

For more on the Saturday Stream of Consciousness,

visit out host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 20, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)