You threw that fish back for a REASON – Belladonna’s Flashlight

Have you ever wondered why you throw that fish back, only to look for it again? In the context of relationships, this ‘fish’ could represent a past partner or a relationship that you’ve ended but find yourself longing for again.

So, have you ever tried your hand at fishing? Let me tell you why most people do it.

More often than not, you’ll fish so you can catch and eat a good meal. The goal is to see a fish of an ideal size, and if it’s too small, you might throw it back and try to catch a better one. But when you do catch that perfect fish, the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction is unparalleled.

I can’t help but scratch my head when I imagine someone throwing the fish back and then frantically looking for it again. Perhaps they aren’t looking for it, but after fishing for a while and having zero luck in catchin’ something better, we, in turn, start thinking how great the throwback fish really was.

Are we desperate people? Sometimes we think, “Well, something is better than nothing.”

But wouldn’t you rather have nothing than that sad, sorry-looking fish that you threw back?

She threw him back for a reason.

We can’t let life catch us feeling vulnerable and desperate. If you were in a relationship with someone and saw that they weren’t who you thought they were and broke things up. Then guess what? They are not going to change miraculously.

Even if you are lonely, the person that you pushed behind you should stay behind you.

There are too many fish in the sea for you to be desperate enough to search for the one you threw back. You threw it back for a reason, and it’s up to you to remember why you did it.

Look after yourself because if you don’t do it, who will? How are you looking after you today?

You could have chosen any blog to read, but you chose mine, and I’m honored!

Source: You threw that fish back for a REASON – Belladonna’s Flashlight

Israel’s Deadliest Airstrike on West Bank in Decades Kills 18 Palestinians – Havana Times

An Israeli airstrike on the occupied West Bank has killed at least 18 Palestinians. On Thursday, Israeli fighter jets targeted a crowded cafe in the Tulkarm refugee camp, leaving behind twisted piles of wreckage and flaming debris. This is Nimer Fayyad, the brother of the cafe’s owner who was killed in the attack.

Nimer Fayyad: “The missiles targeted a civilian building. A family was wiped from the civil registry. What was their fault? The family was asleep in their house. There’s no safe place for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves.”

Israel’s military claimed the bombing targeted the head of Hamas’s infrastructure in Tulkarm. It was the largest and deadliest airstrike in the occupied West Bank in more than two decades.

Source: Israel’s Deadliest Airstrike on West Bank in Decades Kills 18 Palestinians – Havana Times

New Report Links Alcohol to Six Major Cancer Types : ScienceAlert

The complex relationship between alcohol and cancer was recently highlighted in a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research. The report’s findings are eye-opening.

The authors of the report estimate that 40% of all cancer cases are associated with “modifiable risk factors” – in other words, things we can change ourselves. Alcohol consumption being prominent among them.

Six types of cancer are linked to alcohol consumption: head and neck cancers, oesophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.

The statistics are sobering. In 2019, more than one in 20 cancer diagnoses in the west were attributed to alcohol consumption, and this is increasing with time.

This figure challenges the widespread perception of alcohol as a harmless social lubricant and builds on several well-conducted studies linking alcohol consumption to cancer risk.

But this isn’t just about the present – it’s also about the future. The report highlights a concerning trend: rising rates of certain cancers among younger adults.

It’s a plot twist that researchers like me are still trying to understand, but alcohol consumption is emerging as a potential frontrunner in the list of causes.

Of particular concern is the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer among adults under 50. The report notes a 1.9% annual increase between 2011 and 2019.

Source: New Report Links Alcohol to Six Major Cancer Types : ScienceAlert

Fiction Essential Existential + Here I am by Ruth Mestry – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

Fiction Essential Existential + Here I am by Ruth Mestry

“I feel sorry for you being a writer. That’s so boring,” a friend told me. (About my novels here.)

His statement wasn’t a joke, but it was so absurd that I just chuckled. Inwardly, I decided to “consider the source.” He hated his own job and thought the only book worth reading was the bible.

A lot of people I know consider fiction in any medium to be frivolous or worse. Still, to me fiction is so essential that every time they tell me that, it catches me off guard. I splutter, keep quiet, or over-argue my point. Between you and me, I feel sorry for them, those non-writers and non-fiction lovers.

So why do I care enough to tell you about it? Really, I don’t know. Maybe it rankles me at the moment because my current occupation of querying for a Literary Agent can make me question my entire existence — but only if I let it. That’s why I want your input.

Stories are everything to me. When I was a journalist, it was clearer than ever that so-called non-fiction comes with its own special shading and lighting, point of view, let alone the author’s distinct vantage point. Ditto for the mass of first-person stories (like this one) that are the internet’s lifeblood.

It’s all good, all of value! Rather than pick one over the other, let’s bring it all to the party! Go ahead and bring your fave “educational,” “constructive,“ and blessed as “money making“ fare. Stories, painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, video, whatever — all the arty stuff is what plumbs my humanity. Storytelling and the rest of the arts deepen thought, empathy, and appreciation of life. The proof is how art endures and how it continues to influence as individuals and within our cultures..

Selfie of blogger/writer Ruth Mestry.
Blogger/writer Ruth Mestry.

Today’s guest, Ruth Mestry is a wonderful writer! She works at a children’s museum in Mumbai, India, and also hosts her ruthmess blog, which is filled with whatever inspires her…

Here I am by Ruth Mestry

Rising sun here I am!

Withdrawing sun here I am!

Just the same as I have always been

Nothing changed yet so much seen

And yet so much still left to be. 

Here I am. This is me. 

Same old dream, same old chase 

Same old paths, same old ways 

There are things I know better now 

Still everything is a daze

So much wiser, yet mind with the wind sways.

You would think I am the great “I AM” now, but you see 

Tattered and torn, broken to the bone

Here I am. This is me. 

Living off borrowed time, scarping the edges 

Barely calling it a life 

Dreaming of stars in the night

All forgotten in the light. 

Things to say, left unsaid.

So much written, left unread.

Everything I have to see, everything I have to be 

Keeps looking up to me

Here I am. This is me. 

But lying next to a soul, you see.

Listening to the vastness of the sea

Although in pieces, scruffy and misshapen

A tender gaze reminds – “You are not forsaken”

Defeated maybe, but determined too 

Made it so far, will also make it through.

The dreams of night, will one day see the light

You and yours will one day see that wondrous sight

Until then live in the whisper with hope anew

“Here you are. This is you. I love you. All of you.”

The motivation behind writing this poetry is one person. This one person taught me the most important thing about love I have ever known – “Acceptance”…

Source: Fiction Essential Existential + Here I am by Ruth Mestry – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

Therapists Leaving Insurers | Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

I am not sure whether or not I have this scheduled for (much) later, but this deserves mention  :

“Therapists are leaving health insurance networks” in the USA: (thanks for this report from NPR…)

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/08/24/nx-s1-5028551/insurance-therapy-therapist-mental-health-coverage

Source: Therapists Leaving Insurers | Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

Combating Environmental Apathy: SDG’s and A Call to Action – FunWritings

Combating Environmental Apathy: SDG’s and A Call to Action

Even though we know that pollution has led to serious problems on earth, there are so many individuals who simply want to continue polluting the environment. There are several reasons why some people may ignore or downplay environmental issues, such as:

Short-term thinking: Many individuals and organizations prioritize immediate economic gains over long-term environmental sustainability.

Being rich and ill because of polluted or toxic food, water and air can never be good. Those individuals who ignore environmental care as they seek wealth are not very smart. We have seen wealthy people die when their money cannot save them. It will be passed on to other people who might waste it. The people who do more for the environment will be remembered because of the long lasting effect of their good deeds.


Psychological distance: Environmental problems often seem abstract or far removed from daily life, making it easier for people to ignore them.

When plastic is thrown in the drains and it washes down to the ocean, we will not see the dead Turtles and Seabirds if we don’t visit the beach. Only the building of environmental protection awareness can cause us to see a change in the behavior of more people.

Information overload: The constant stream of news and information can lead to fatigue and desensitization to environmental concerns.

There are people who believe the Earth will take care of itself and waste will simply biodegrade, there is no need to think about it. Some leaders say climate change is a hoax and the people who voted for them will tend to believe everything they say. When they hear about the damage done by pollution they will just ignore what is being said. After a while they will become completely desensitized and pollution will become a problem they simply ignore.


Economic interests: Some industries and individuals benefit financially from practices that harm the environment, creating an incentive to downplay these issues.

 

When business owners see their colleagues polluting the environment, and they are not held accountable. They will think nothing will go wrong if they do the same. The financial gain becomes too enticing for them to resist. This leads to more pollution and poor health for the people who live in areas surrounding these businesses and the people who are working with these companies.

Political polarization: Environmental issues have become politically charged in many countries, leading some to dismiss them as partisan concerns

It is now known that it is hard to grow an economy with clean green energy and this could cause some politicians to ignore the advice given by environmentalists when they are making decisions pertaining to job creation. Politicians who are switching to clean energy could see job loss and slow economic growth. People might be inclined to vote for the politicians who are more interested in using oil to improve their economies.

Lack of visible impact: The effects of environmental degradation are often gradual and not immediately apparent, making it easier to ignore

 

When we eat toxic food and breathe in toxic air we will not feel ill immediately. When trees are cut down we do not feel a rise in the temperature and the washing away of the soil right away and we tend to believe everything will be just fine. Not knowing that the damage done will have a long lasting impact on many people in the future.

Feelings of helplessness: Some people may feel that individual actions won’t make a difference, leading to apathy

Feeling helpless and believing our actions will not make a difference is not making life better for anyone. We need to see ourselves as a part of a huge family on Earth. The waste we produce will be a part of all the waste at the landfill one day and when it is burned the fumes will produce greenhouse gases and we will be affected by heat waves and even wildfires if they occur where you live. This makes it more important for us to stop believing our activities don’t matter. If everyone on the planet thought they couldn’t make a difference there would be no leaders and many of our problems would not be fixed.

Conflicting information: Misinformation and conflicting reports can create confusion and skepticism about environmental issues

When scientists say climate change is happening and we need to decrease the use of oil; and the authorities lock up the people who demonstrate because they want to see change. We begin wondering if people in charge have no access to the information we are getting about our pollution problems. Conflicting information can lead to a lot of problems and we wish there was a way to get this problem fixed.

Cultural values: In some societies, economic growth and consumption are highly valued, potentially overshadowing environmental concerns

When leaders are determined to see huge economic growth and they use different ways of communicating their ambitions to their people. We have seen where the work ethic in the country changes and productivity improves. Pollution also increases and most people in these countries are so caught up with earning and making their country rich, they don’t care about the environment anymore.

Lack of education: Insufficient understanding of environmental issues and their impacts can lead to indifference

People who don’t know that pollution could be the cause of increased incidents of Cancer and respiratory illnesses; they continue believing they will not be affected by pollution in any way. Building environmental protection awareness in a new and better way is the solution for this problem. We must support every effort that is made to get the information about environmental solutions out to more individuals.

Why Environmental education is needed

Now that you are aware of these reasons for the neglect we have seen in places where the environment has been destroyed. Do you believe we should continue ignoring the early childhood  environmental education plan as we did in the past? Wouldn’t it be best for us to help our children to live sustainably as they prepare to create green jobs for themselves and others when they grow up?

Conclusion

Let us begin planning for the future in a great way. The eco-kids book project is being developed to be used as a tool that will help children to be empowered with the information that will transform their habits. They will develop green habits as they grow up and become the kind of citizens who will protect the environment when they grow up. As you begin creating a shift in the way we encourage others to live sustainably and plan for a bright future, you will benefit from your action in many ways. You will be eating healthy organic food, grown in your garden, spending less on bills while you conserve and you will continue learning about the awesome green living tips you can use to improve your life as time goes by.  

Let us improve our world. Let us improve our lives.

Source: Combating Environmental Apathy: SDG’s and A Call to Action – FunWritings

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