
Found these when walking in a park in Berlin a while back. For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
Source: Tulips | Kamerapromenader

Found these when walking in a park in Berlin a while back. For Cee´s Flower of the Day.
Source: Tulips | Kamerapromenader
This is another of my rare attempts to write fiction. This premise got into my head this evening and refused to vacate the premises, so … I finally gave in and let my mind dictate to my fingers while I sat back and listened.
Two young women appeared at my door a few weeks ago. They were from some church … I didn’t bother to note which one … and wanted to invite me to attend their church services the following Sunday. I politely told them that I was not interested, thanked them for their time, and as I attempted to close the door, one of them put her foot between the door and the door frame.
“Can’t we at least come in and tell you a bit about our church?” she asked.
“No,” I responded, “I am busy and I am not a Christian, do not believe the same as you do. Now please, go find someone else to peddle your religion to.”
I gently used my bare toes to nudge her foot from my door frame, closed the door, and locked it. I looked out a minute later and they were gone. Okay, better things to do than to ruminate on the rudeness of the churchies.
Fast forward to last Monday, when the same two ladies returned. Gotta give them credit for perseverance, but my patience was wearing thin.
“What do you want? I already told you that I have no interest in your church or your religion, so why are you back here wasting my time and yours?”
“Forgive us, but we were sent to let you know that you and your family have, under the new state law SL-5168, been assigned to our church. Are you aware of the new law that passed two weeks ago?”
I had read about the bill, but … I had no idea it had actually passed into law! What a sham! What a slap in the face to the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution! The bill, in a nutshell, deemed that every member of every household must attend a Christian church at least once a week, and in lieu of approved hardship cases, must tithe 10% of the household’s combined weekly salary to said church. I paid little to no attention to this piece of legislation, surely it couldn’t actually pass, and so was not aware that … it had passed in the Republican-majority state legislature!
I paused a moment to think, but the ladies were pushing past me saying they must speak with me. When they were inside my living room, one of them accidentally tripped over the kitty litter box and her hand went into the box, where one cat or another had just left a lovely turd. Ah well, serves her right.
“Look, ladies, no matter what law just passed and no matter how much you bully me, I’m not coming to your church … not next Sunday, nor the Sunday after, nor any Sunday in the future. Put that in your holy water and drink it. I’m 72 years old and have not believed in the mythology of your god, heaven, hell, etc., since the age of 5, so in the words of the Moody Blues song, just … Go Now!”
This encounter left me shaken. Is it possible that my family and I, and others who are non-believers, can be forced to attend Christian church services and also to donate money? Surely not! Surely there must be an appeal pending … right? Right???? I tried to put the incident out of my mind. 30% of all citizens in the U.S. are non-believers or ‘unaffiliated’ … surely we cannot all be forced … can we?
Sunday morning, 7:25 a.m.
A pounding on the front door downstairs. As I make my way out of my bedroom, daughter Chris beats me to the stairs and opens the front door at the bottom of the stairs. There stand two policemen. I sit down on the 8th step to keep from falling down the rest of the way.
“We are here,” they start, “to escort your family to the church you’ve been assigned to. You have 15 minutes to get ready, and please dress appropriately.”
From my sitting position on that 8th stairstep, I yell at the top of my lungs …
“Hell no, we won’t go!!!”
And then I woke up, safe and sound in my own bed, with Oliver the alpha cat snuggled contentedly by my side, and my heart pounding. A nightmare … just a nightmare. For now, anyway.
Source: “Hell No, We Won’t Go!!!” | Filosofa’s Word

“When MTV started, it wanted nothing to do with black artists. But then I gave them ‘All Night Long’ after Michael (Jackson) had broken down the door. And from then on I was on MTV.”
All Night Long (All Night)
Lionel Richie
Source: ♫ All Night Long (All Night) ♫ (Redux) | Filosofa’s Word
“Prayer by itself is not sufficient to bring about peace of mind. What is much more effective is coming to understand the workings of the mind and learning how to tackle the mental afflictions that disturb it.”
His Holiness the great 14th Dalai Lama
Source: Peace of Mind – Silent Songs of Sonsnow

By Neus Bonet i Sala
Estados egoicos
embellecidos
por amor propio
que desvelan
instantes de vigilia
inertes en mundos irreales.
Source: VIGILIA – El plumier de Nenuse
The possibility of so many emotions in one poem Trying to write poetry of emotions so many emotions in the flow of my tears I weave words with my tears half a poem later, my grief drenched heart .. finding a way through my heart’s dream my world is made up of broken dreams the brush of life as it drifts by indifferent to the melancholy moving through my soul in the blue shades of my mood part sorrow, part joy my life and me translating life into poetry I learn to sing by myself
Source: A Poem Trail – yaskhan

Image Credit: energepic.com
I know that I’ve played this tune time and time again, but I am grief-stricken over the fact that due to the insane surge of modern technology, the art of handwriting and good penmanship has disappeared from schools. I am dismayed we are now living in a world where penmanship is becoming a lost world of beauty, art, and hand-written communications. The good thing is that there is a handful of schools, teachers, parents, and tutors who are implementing the technique and practice of handwriting with their students and children. I applaud that.
There is an even brighter light shown on the importance of handwriting and its connection to neuroscience pointing to the benefits of writing by hand.
One recent post on Psychology Today, for example, notes that “handwriting stimulates [the genesis of] complex brain connections essential in encoding new information and forming memories.” Studies employing high-density electroencephalogram technology point to the conclusion that note-takers, grocery-list compilers, and those who make calendar entries by hand are more likely to better retain the information. Entering information by hand also heightened the speed of recall by as much as 25% (not relying on a smartphone or personal information management” software).
The act of learning to write handsome, fluent calligraphy, and personal letters expresses creativity, individuality, personality, and communication skills in an artistic and regal way. Since cursive writing was required to be learned by second grade, my mother would always have us practice our writing, especially when she would tell us it looked like chicken-scratch. UGH! But you know what? I am so glad that she did. Perhaps that’s why I do a lot of writing, doodling, and journaling by hand every day, for the fringe, health, and lifestyle benefits.
Still, we can find balance in traditional handwriting instruction, coupled with digital literacy. It doesn’t have to be one without the other.
Image Credit: Katya Wolf
Source: Behind the Art and Skill of Cursive Handwriting ✍🏼 | From Behind the Pen
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