Here are some words of encouragement I found at live bold and bloom. with 50 quotes to lift your spirits and brighten your day:

1. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” ~Arthur Ashe

3. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~Anne Frank

4. “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ~Alexander Graham Bell

5. “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”~Helen Keller

6. “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

7. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

8. “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.” ~David Allen

9. “I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” ~Dalai Lama

10. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” ~Helen Keller

11. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” ~Joseph Campbell

12. “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” ~Tony Robbins

13. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ~Thomas A. Edison

14. “You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C.S. Lewis

15. “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” ~Victor Kiam

16. “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” ~Wayne Dyer

17. “Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now.” ~Denis Waitley

18. “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ~Thomas Jefferson

19. “The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” ~Epictetus

20. “Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” ~Miguel Angel Ruiz

21. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” ~William James

22. “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” ~Jim Rohn

23. “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” ~Robert H. Schuller

24. “If it is bread that you seek, you will have bread. If it is the soul you seek, you will find the soul. If you understand this secret, you know you are that which you seek.” ~Rumi

25. “Always say ‘yes’ to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.” ~Eckhart Tolle

26. “Perhaps everything terrible is in its being something that needs our love.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke

27. “Hold on to what is good, even if it’s a handful of earth.” ~Hopi prayer

28. “Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.” ~Walt Whitman

29. “If you are going through hell, keep going.” ~Winston Churchill

30. “Tell you heart that the fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.” ~Paulo Coelho

31. “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future . . . but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” ~Buddha

32. “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” ~Deepak Chopra

33. “Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keep friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.” ~Greenville Kleisser

34. “What you thought before has led to every choice you have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to change who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually, you will have to change what you think.” ~Dr. Patrick Gentempo

35. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ~Leo Buscaglia

36. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” ~Japanese Proverb

37. “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” ~Robert Schuller

38. “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” ~Kenji Miyazawa

39. “By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” ~Mark Victor Hansen

40. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” ~Stephen Covey

41. “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.” ~Thomas J. Watson

42. “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” ~Maria Robinson

43. “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.” ~Thomas Edison

44. “Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. ~Albert Einstein

45. “If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents — start charging for it.” ~Kim Garst

46. “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” ~John D. Rockefeller

47. “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~Lolly Daskal

48. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” ~Michael John Bobak

49. “When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” ~Audre Lorde

50. “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” ~Vince Lombardi

On local News - Keeping people informed

From  press release last summer.

GNAT’s Executive Director, Tammie Reilly states, “the local focus that we need to be informed and engaged citizens. This is an immense project for our small organization, but now is the time to move forward to play a role in meeting our communities’ local information needs. “

I could not agree more. I have been telling my husband this for years. The loss of print journalism is a shame. With the internet and social media , the real important local info is not getting out there. 

Recently I e mailed my town clerk about a few issues and she couldn’t be bothered to answer with at least a sentence. Her reply just stated the select board member  I should contact and his e mail address. She couldn’t even forward it to him?  Basically it was ignored and I had to then send it to him. 

There is a big problem brewing. People just pass the virtual buck around and one cannot get an answer. Too much information, too much poor information, too much apathy.  One has to spend more time on line to go to all the local news sites. When you finally find the link you want many times it gives you the big 404 denial. 

The Bennington Banner, The Rutland Heralds, Brattleboro Reformer, The Burlington Free Press , The New York Times, most want to limit the amount of articles you can read per month or you have to pay. This disenfranchises the low income, budget minded, poor, the children. 

I miss newspapers. One cannot flip through a paper while waiting at the dentist. Employees do not bring them to work and share info at break time. Comics, crosswords.  Reading to the elderly.  With the loss of a real paper, the on line “ papers”  now have an opposite effect. Once connected by papers and coffee shops, conversations are now Tweets and Snaps and  has become being connected with a cell phone.  Now many people , all across the country are in the dark about their region and County goings on. 

 I believe this to be a very serious matter. Not only are people mis informed, they are NOT informed. We are in the dark,  (unless one can, is able, or wants to spend 6 hrs a day on line reading a screen) and this could have serious consequences to humanity.

 As all the small local papers  have either gone under, print half the pages they used to, they all have even a smaller staff now that has to try to get the issue to the printer and distribute it and keep the on line version updated. Both need ad revenue

My question then, is revenue from ad space non existent  ? Is there room  and income to re - grow a paper after it has all but ceased printing and succumbed to the internet?  Publications are in between trying to print and up load.  A lot of the on line papers have poor links, out dated articles, disorganized..just terrible layout in general. 

ok that’s my rant.

I am unemployed. Perhaps I should find my press hat.

Sincerely,

Diane Denby

De regulate Trump

This de regulation  is bull. People worked really hard for a  long time to put laws and rules in place to protect people from corruption.
Now the swamp gets re filled and the flood gates will open and drown the small people once again.

First, Trump wants to raise the PMI rate. That  just makes us poor peons have to pay more for our mortgage than a wealthier family.
Second, Now they want to let mining corps. have free reign and not have to declare details to the SEC of deals with foreign countries..  AKA: take and give payola secretly.

De regulate coal  and how much they can pollute? WTF? I am sure they can mine and profit with the precautions that are in place. Why let them go backwards and destroy the planet more.?

this from Reuters" the House would try to kill regulations protecting streams and forests from coal mining's impacts, curbing methane leaks on public lands, and requiring employers to report workers' information as part of an attempt to end pay discrimination. "

in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Regulators struggled for years to make it a reality as the companies said it would drive up their costs.

Human rights group Oxfam in 2014 sued the SEC when it stalled on drafting the rule, and in 2015 a federal judge ordered the commission to fast-track it. The commission met the judge's deadline this summer, with the requirements set to take effect in 2018.

Stupid is as stupid does

 I have to second guess everything now. Things that sound feasable to me are not true. 

Things… like laws, rules, that are true, astound me and in my mind are opposite of what they should be.. .ugh!!

There is so much mis information. With photoshop I can’t trust what I see.. ..photography was mostly real, the perfect light and a skilled photographer knowing what film and f. stop to use in creating a beautiful art photograph or photojournalism that told the truth in a picture..all gone.. 

The propaganda, spoof-makers, yellow journalism , fear mongers.. I just can’t trust what I read..

The sampling and audio manipulation that anyone can do now, I can’t trust my ears..

What will happen next? Pre crime like in the Tom Cruz movie?  it is happening already with suspicion and profiling.

 

Case in point..#1

Fucked up  Florida..

I drove to Florida, last month, for a vacation. After driving all day, it was late and dark. I was just over the border really, north of St. Augustine, Jacksonville beaches, wealthy area.. I pulled over in a parking area  kinda the road side, but bigger for beach access…it was pretty desolate road. many houses, empty land too.some cars.not too many. Saw a cop car pass me..

I checked my phone/map. I was there about a minute.. I continued driving even though was  tired, my destination maybe 15 miles.. about 5 miles later I saw a large public beach access parking area and decided to stop again. I really needed to actually get out of the car and  stretch my legs and check my map again because It seemed as if I would have been to the bridge I wanted  by now..

. Yes the sign said no parking after sunset..Didn’t think twice about it..it was about 11PM. 

I was not really parking and leaving my car.. I had just  opened my door and getting out, phone in hand,  and a cop was pulling in behind me. So he asked if everything was ok because he saw me stop earlier. He told me I couldn’t park there. 

I said I was just checking the map on my phone again and wanted to stretch my legs as I had been driving all day.. ( VERMONT plates, sober, single, older,  non threatening , kind looking lady ( and yes, luckily white in a southern state, like the cop ) ..kind of obvious I was not a threat)  Again he said I couldn’t park there, because if the residents see people there ,they will probably call it in..

 I said, ok, I don’t want to bother anyone.  we say thanks and bye..

 So he goes to get in his car,  I was getting in mine,  my door still open, he starts back towards me , says,

 "Diane, Can I just check your license?” 

I had not told him my name. That freaked me out..

He must have ran my plates when he passed me earlier.. so if he did he would know there is nothing on my car, not stolen or anything..

I said “ Really? , well sure, just seems odd”

He said he had to, so that he can account for his stop, his time…so he takes my license and I have to wait. Seems like this would bother the neighbors more than if he would have just let me go on my way..

Now that seemed really odd.. Welcome to Fuckin’ Florida…

A few days later I was at a beach side state/city?  camp ground. It was not crowded and it was a  beautiful beach, even if the workers were stupid  and the bathrooms and showers were scuzzy..

 My Honda Element is set up for car camping/sleeping inside. I knew rain was in the forecast, so I didn’t bother to set up my tent.

 It started raining in the middle of the night..Nice sleeping weather. Early in the morning  I was just waking up, I see a car on the road  in front of my camp space. Normal car . A Dude gets out and starts walking into my camp area. , normal clothes, he was about 50.. i yelled at him through the gap in the window before he could even get close to the car! I was pissed. I mean i had not had my coffee yet and some stranger is invading my space.

 “ what do you want? or something like that,  stern and obviously annoyed..he wanted to know if I had a permit.. i got mad..

i said yeah, what the fuck, you waking me up to see if i have a permit? 

It’s right here on the dash"..i wave it at him through the windshield,  and tell him “ now go away and leave me alone.” .really I said that..

(you can’t get in to camp grounds without paying and also getting a code for the gate) 

again, i am  a single older woman, in a decent car, early AM, raining..and some man approaches?  He, men, may not know it, but some times this would be perceived threatening and scary to a woman. people!  He worked there, is there no training or protocol for this situation?

 

so he goes and gets in his car and does not leave..then he comes BACK, and tells me I can’t sleep in my car.

I was really pissed now... said, what are you talking about? I’m camping and It’s raining out..  now go away and leave me the fuck alone” ….he tried to continue to tell me i couldn’t sleep in my car..i yelled at him again .."just  go away and stop bothering me.."

i stopped at the desk on the way out and complained.

.the lady said the man was checking permits because I was supposed to be in site 192 and i was in 194..

I showed her my permit, 2 car tags that said 194.. 

she said, I know. But, .I said you could have site 192 

194 is an RV site..

I said “ I didn’t know,  that’s not my fault,  my papers and car tag says 194 so that’s where I went.  Why did you give me 194 and not want me to go there?  and then  have some man wake me, a single woman, and bother me. You logged my car and license plate..It creeped me out and was kind of  scary..and I don’t think that is appropriate to do to a woman.

She said “ you were in the wrong spot and  it is illegal to sleep in your vehicle.."

i said "that’s just stupid,you gave me 194.   the people in the camp spot across from me were in an RV..that’s a vehicle.."

She then told me " it says in the park rules that you can’t sleep in a non approved vehicle."

I  said” What are you talking about?non approved?  It was raining. Are you  telling me people can’t seek shelter and go sleep their car or van or truck or SUV  at night if it’s raining? That they either have to stay in their tent the whole time or leave for a motel in the middle of the night?”

She said , it’s illegal to sleep in your car on city property."

I said," it’s a campground. Isn’t this a county park? I paid. It’s not like I was on a city street.

She said it was "a city park, well a county/city park.."

WTF

I then just said "I would like to have contact information to make a formal complaint.I don’t have time to be searching the internet for an hour to look for the department."

Harassment everywhere..

So I left Florida as fast as I could..I was there  less than 3 days, didn’t go further on to see my friends..

Something is not right with that state. Something is not right with this country.

Less is more...More or less.

In response to a van dwelling video I saw on You Tube.

Love Love Love what you've done to the place.! Absolutely! Thanks! I'm on a similar page as you are. Family, weather, finances, career, income, down size, simple, focus. 

I find my need to down size, to free me up to do other things ( move around, travel and explore minimalism,) is actually yelling at me from the back of my brain. Now it is front and center and I must do something about it. 

Not only because I believe it costs more dollars than many can afford both financially and spiritually. Being on the treadmill in the rat race and scraping by year after year to provide a modest,, humble,, safe, clean ,home is no small feat.

I don't mean to complain, after all we are in the U.S. and not in wintering in a refuge camp, or in the middle east. Yet all the possessions and home maintenance and bills to make it all go round, It is soul sucking and leaves one less time for family, art and community. Less time to be involved in ones town, or school or for volunteer work..For doing good!

I Wonder if...? Drag and Drop

 
I just realized, if you are logged in to Google, that you can drag and drop the top items to the order you want . When you click on the little gray squares of google apps when on the main search page.

Where am I going and How am I getting there?

I was reading Derek Sivers and replied tot he comments.

Derek,

Balance is the key to life. Whether you are an artist or not. The problem is, in our hectic world it is extremely hard to balance every thing ALL the time. 

 Being balanced for an extended period of time, years,  is the key to being content and productive. Other wise it is a roller coaster of constantly trying to find that balance and time and energy for the muse to come.

 If you have children and a job and a husband with a career, one has a difficult time finding the time to balance their own self.

As an artist, after you do all that needs to be done, there is very little time or energy to do anything artistic let alone find time to read, meditate or exercise, as all the tasks of daily life tend to suck you dry. Not everyone can get up at 6:00 AM and go -go -go until 7:00 pm and then still find energy to create. I think this is especially true for women with families to take care of. We are nurturers and put ourselves on hold for husband, kids, parents, and grandparents...people that need us.  

Artists are sensitive people, they take in "stuff" and releasing all the baggage we suck in from other peoples energy is difficult, yet must be done to find the balance or it will all  just leave us drained and resentful.