“Lunar Libration” by Tomruen, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s time again for our monthly fun and educational compilation of the green, the furred, the finned, the extraordinary, and the thoughtful. Thank you, Karla, for sharing your newsletter! ❤ —SK
P. S. If you’re from Colorado Springs and would like Karla’s newsletter that includes local events, you can write her at karlaann45 @ gmail.com.
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Not through fear, anger & manipulation, but through LOVE, HOPE, and SMARTS: Bring it on, 2018! Humans around the world are our allies:
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Hug O’ War
a poem by the late Shel Silverstein
[author of A Light in the Attic]
I will not play at tug o’ war
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Where everyone hugs,
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.
(from Where the Sidewalk Ends: the poems & drawings of Shel Silverstein, published by Harper & Row Junior Books, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.Copyright © 1974 by Evil Eye Music, Inc.
“Tom Torlino, Navajo, before and after.” Black and white photographic portrait of a Navajo by J. N. Choate, 1882. Image courtesy of the Richard Henry Pratt Papers, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, via Wikimedia Commons.
Stay watchful on behalf of our Native American relatives: There’s a new drive to privatize Indian reservations, and it has much in common with past efforts to steal Native land. Article from The Daily Kos. (Be sure to read the comments, too—interesting!)
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“We cannot live in a world that is interpreted by others. An interpreted world is not a hope. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening—to use our own voice—to see our own light.” —Hildegard of Bingen
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Dr. Edith Widder’s TED talk on bioluminescence :
A new morning practice: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS and SEND SOME OUT!
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Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. –Goethe
Some bad news about chocolate (though it might get a lot better now that the problem has been exposed!).
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Straight Talk: Do we need to wipe our butts with virgin trees? NO! 27,000 trees are killed every day to make 85 million rolls of toilet paper used every day. It’s better to use sugar cane waste (bagasse) & bamboo, which are GRASSES. Grasses grow back in 1-2 years; trees take 30 years. Grasses produce 35% more oxygen than trees. Few chemicals are needed to process, so 70% of water can be re-used. Products are SOFTER, non-GMO, BPA-free, & biodegradable. Please consider switching to natural grocers” CABOO , Walgreen’s bamboo paper, or Walmart’s 100% recycled-content paper products.
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“Never be limited by other peoples’ limited imagination.”—Mae Jemison
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Three New Year’s resolutions that could help everyone!
1. Curb your plastic use.
2. Meatless Mondays.
3. #MeToo media selectiveness. . . . Read the science-based details here.
And . . . one more resolution that’s bigger and far more important (and more good for you). From her extraordinary book Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe.
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These AFFIRMATIONS have served me well since 2015—adopt any that appeal to you:
I surrender to the Flow. I am naturally joyful-my life works best when I’m having fun.
I am the author & illustrator of my life.
I am grateful everything works out for the highest good.
I easily give & receive energy & money.
I learn a lot by tuning in to the sacred Hum of Nature.
I am empowered to bless everything and uplift everyone.
I make myself better by clear positive intentions and actions.
The Truth is: Life is Miraculous and I can’t really die.
“After all these (Trump/Kim Jong-un) hissy fits I never want to hear anyone say a woman is too emotional to be president.”—Karla
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And . . . the best for last! This made me LAUGH and dance a little, too!
“All good things always rise to the surface, because goodness has no weight to hold it down.”—Karla
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