Take a walk, choose love

 

Wordsmith gives this word today…rather appropriate

auspicate

MEANING:

verb tr.: To begin an undertaking, especially with a ceremony intended to bring good luck.

The Breakfast Place in Swannanoa. My friend treated me to breakfast a few weeks ago when she needed a ride from dropping her car off to be fixed.

Good hardy breakfast, being enjoyed by a lot of single older men...and  decorated for Christmas all year long!

A recently renovated home in downtown Black Mountain. the brick driveway gives you a clue as to the luxury it will have.

While next door is a new home built on a steep slope, which isn't evident until you drive to the other side of it..t.

 Erigeron eximius, splendid daisy

Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we are called upon to be more.

RITA DOVE  Before and after - Habitat sent a young woman, Elizabeth, and a young man, Rick. They carted both these dressers, a bookcase and an antique oak dining room table out to their truck. They don’t take beds just the frames. So it will be sent to dump via city pick up.

 The cluttered shelf comes apart completely.

Wisdom from the net

 While I celebrate (from a distance) the birthday of my oldest son, Marty, here are some musings...

There is no lake in the distance, rather fog caught in a low place. Once the sun comes over the mountains, it will dissapate. 

And finally from Facebook:

As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.

MUHAMMAD ALI -------------------- Marty can fix lots of things...here in the 90s one of my computers. I've been so lucky to have super skilled loving sons. Marty has helped me with everything imaginable. It's hard to believe he's going to be a grandfather this year!

It's all about LOVE!

Bad Bunny's halftime show at SuperBowl XV had this billboard to remind everyone what brings us together. (More later explaining what was happening)

Person attending the emergency demonstration in San Francisco the day Alex Pretti was murdered, with a sign that gets to the heart of the matter.

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A protest for peace - the  Bed-in by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1969.

From March 25 to 31, they stayed in the presidential suite, Room 702, at the Amsterdam Hilton, welcoming reporters every day from morning until evening.

When questioned afterward about whether the protest had achieved its goal, Lennon expressed irritation at the press’s skepticism, arguing that being dismissed was intentional: “It’s part of our policy not to be taken seriously. Our opposition, whoever they may be, in all manifest forms, don’t know how to handle humour. And we are humorous.” 

The first bed-in took place at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam, followed by a second at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, at a time when public frustration over the war was intensifying.

Aware that their March 20, 1969 marriage would draw global media attention, Lennon and Ono decided to turn their honeymoon into a platform for peace activism.

SOURCE: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/john-lennon-yoko-ono-bed-in/

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From stoic, Marcus Aurelius, in Meditations...

What we do now echoes in eternity...

Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not ‘This is misfortune,’ but ‘To bear this worthily is good fortune.’...

and

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

Thanks Jess Craven for sharing these quotes of the philosopher.

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FYI

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

Any questions? Comments?

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My reaction to seeing they had Latino names was a bit "Hurumph, can this be real? Are they manipulating us again?" 
Second, I want justice for their actions in killing Alex Pretti. And not the "reassignment" kind. Real trial justice.

Third, as a confirmed but sometimes struggling pacifist, I want to move to forgiveness and love even towards those who have committed heinous actions. I am nowhere near feeling that way yet, but it's out there for consideration. It keeps me from being angry, mostly.

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Sharing with Sepia Saturday...

And an interpretation of what the meanings were for those who don't understand Spanish - Band Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show:

FrLast night’s halftime show was amazing. If you understood it, you understood it. And if you didn’t… I took the time to summarize it, because the amount of hate, misinformation, and division over a damn 15-minute performance is honestly ridiculous.

"Bad Bunny opens in a massive sugarcane field. For those that don’t know, sugarcane was once one of Puerto Rico’s biggest economic drivers. It represents labor, history, survival. If you want the deep dive, Google it… because it matters.

As he walks through the fields you see workers, kiosks, piragua stands, domino players, nail tech hustle, food stands… everyday Puerto Rican life. Not glamorized. Just real. Because that hustle is part of our DNA.

Then he passes two Puerto Rican boxing champions, Xander Zayas and Emiliano Vargas, a reminder that boxing has always been a source of pride for the island.

Next thing you know he’s on top of a classic casita straight out of el campo singing some reggaeton bangers. Are they the most proper songs? No But he still had the tact to censor the bad words even though half the audience wouldn’t have known the difference anyway.

And let’s talk reggaeton for a second. That genre was born in the barrios and caseríos. It wasn’t always accepted. It was criticized before it went global. So when he says:

“Estás escuchando música de Puerto Rico, de los barrios, de los caseríos.”

That means:

“You’re listening to music from Puerto Rico. From the neighborhoods. From the housing projects.”

Translation? This global sound came from us.

Then comes the violin intro to Monaco and he introduces himself by his full name:

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.

Not Bad Bunny. Benito.

And he says:

“If I’m here today at the Super Bowl it’s because I never stopped believing in myself… and you should believe in yourself too. You’re worth more than you think.”

Goosebumps.

From there we transition into what looks like a full Puerto Rican wedding. And if you’ve ever been to one, you KNOW it’s basically a family reunion with louder music and better outfits.

Enter Lady Gaga in a light blue dress with a red flower, a subtle nod to the original colors of the Puerto Rican flag, singing “Die With a Smile.” A song about love, about choosing your person no matter what. But with a salsa twist and a live band… because nothing says celebration like live horns and percussion.

Benito says:

“Mientras uno está vivo, uno debe amar lo más que pueda.”

“While we’re alive, we should love as much as we possibly can.”

Then…

“Baila sin miedo, ama sin miedo.”

“Dance without fear. Love without fear.”

Kids dancing. Adults dancing. Just joy everywhere. At one point there’s even a little boy knocked out across three chairs… and every Latino watching laughed because we have ALL been that kid at the family party.

Then the shift.

Nuevayol.

New York.

La Marqueta. Corner store. Barbershop. People dancing in the streets. A love letter to the Puerto Rican diaspora and the communities that built culture far from the island.

He says:

“San Francisco, disfruta… que esto es por un momento solamente.”

“Enjoy this moment… because it won’t last forever.”

Then a cameo from legendary Toñita handing him a shot. If you know Caribbean Social Club in East Harlem, you know that’s real community history.

One of the most powerful moments? A family watching Benito on TV holding his Grammy… and then he walks into the scene and hands that Grammy to his younger self.

“Siempre cree en ti.”

“Always believe in yourself.”

Dream → reality.

Then comes another icon… Ricky Martin.

Straight into “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” touching on themes of identity and cultural preservation before exploding into “El Apagón.”

And if you know Puerto Rico, you know an apagón is more than a blackout. It’s one of the island’s biggest ongoing struggles. But what happens when the lights go out?

People come outside.

Neighbors connect.

Music finds a way.

Resilience.

Out comes the massive Puerto Rican flag… pride on full display.

Then the party ramps all the way up.

“Todos quieren ser Latinos pero les falta sazón!!”

Everybody wants to be Latino… but the seasoning is missing

Suddenly flags from North, Central, and South America flood the field. As flags from every corner of North, Central, and South America flooded the field, the stadium lit up with one message across the screen: The only thing more powerful than hate is love. And honestly… that said everything.

He says God bless America… names countries across the continent… ends with:

“Y mi patria… Puerto Rico.”

My homeland.

Then a football that reads:

“Together we are America.”

And just when you think it can’t get bigger, he closes with “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” and turns the entire stadium into one giant celebration.

Listen…

The biggest stage in America had a jíbaro from Puerto Rico standing on it with class.

He brought history.

He brought struggle.

He brought pride.

He brought resilience.

He brought unity.

An American halftime show spoken largely in Spanish… showing that Puerto Rican history IS American history.

Connected to Latin America.

Connected to the diaspora.

Connected to each other.

Culture isn’t something you hide.

It’s something you carry.

Chest all the way out with pride last night.

Puerto Rico está bien cabrón.

Acho… PR es otra cosa.

Thanks Karrie Emmanuel Carrasquillo from FaceBook

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At George Washington University, Feb. 11, 2026
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I mentioned that I canceled my cardio stress test because of high – stress – to the extent I was nauseous.

When my doctor sent in an order for an anti-anxiety pill that’s what it was for just one pill. And my insurance doesn’t cover it. And I can’t take it before I start the test because they want me to be alert so they’re For when I’m in the MRI machine. Not sure what to do about the anxiety and nausea, but I have a month to think it over.

Systems changing

 "Contemporary biological sciences, from planetary ecology to botany, zoology, and neuroscience, have documented that we are all in dependent co-arising, (sic.) that we are all part of systems and relationships, that each of us is not so much an individual but a node on a network, a plural being whose body is made up of billions of microorganisms as well as what we call human. There's a wonderful new field of biology called processual biology that looks at the world as made up of processes rather than objects, as phenomena forever flowing and changing and thereby exchanging with each other and changing into each other. It proposes that it is more useful and accurate to think of ourselves and most of what we call things as events.

After all you yourself in this very moment live by taking gulps of the sky into your lungs and could not last long without taking in that most gloriously fluctuating of all things, water, and devouring other forms of life, and other things come out of you, be they poems or babies or political contributions. Buddhism gives us Indra's net, a vision of an infinite net whose every nexus contains a jewel reflecting every other jewel; science gives us another version of that world of systems, connections, and relations. 

For the survival of our democracy and our planet, understanding that interconnectedness, that capacity to relate and the abundance, joy, love that spring from it, are no longer abstract topics but an urgent political matter.

By Rebecca Solnit on the first anniversary of her "Meditations in an Emergency"

Person attending the emergency demonstration in San Francisco the day Alex Pretti was murdered, with a sign that gets to the heart of the matter.

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Reminder to check the UN Declaration of Human Rights (on my other blog)

And please go read on Substack, my friend Robertson  Work on the United Nations today. 

This organization of multiple countries has many different goals. Do they have a format in which to move forward with our world needs today?

I commented on Rob's Substack about the UN...and he answered. I'm including these to let you know that we CAN come up with better solutions to those that had worked in the past but no longer are effective.

From BR:

 My thinking these days is about systemic changes that need to be envisioned. I went back to the UN Declaration of Human Rights first. I'm trying to see what system might work better than the one that is currently failing. There are some good ideas behind our government, our culture, our way of life...but we obviously have many problems, and I don't believe they can be solved within this current broken system. With Love as the foundation of my new concepts, as well as studying some of the better systems yet devised, I am looking for best ideas to move toward. Any thoughts?

Robertson Work

3

Thank you, Barbara, I so appreciate your way of thinking! Yes, the Human Rights Declaration is essential. There is much wisdom in our constitutional democracy but it has been bought by the wealthy and must be renewed. Yes, love and wisdom as the foundation for new systems. Doughnut Economics has much to offer. Integral thinking, social artistry, group facilitation, mindfulness practices also. Also, creating islands of sanity and care at the local level. 

. . . Let's keep this dialogue going! 

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What better idea do you have?

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Here is a bit of my collection of the Buddhist Monks on the Walk for Peace. Sorry about duplication of those I've already published.

It's a kind of archive I guess. This is the last day of the Walk for Peace - Their goal was Washington DC