If you are an adult living in your parents’ home and they’re paying all your bills, consider it a small price to pay to follow their rules. Do your best not to take advantage. Don’t put undue burden on them, don’t make them pick up after you, don’t make them have to remind you about chores, don’t request expensive supplies.  There are a million ways you can help around the house and yard, even if it’s just to be extra kind and ask if they need anything, help clean up after meals, keep your space clean and orderly. Don’t make them worry about you. If you don’t feel it’s honor enough to share time with your parents in their older years, think of them as two graciously generous roommates whose pleasure it is to provide for you when you asked.  Treat them with respect and gratitude no matter how they treat you. Karma will repay you in huge ways. Or, you can figure out a way to move out and do it on your own.

A Facebook friend gave another heck for posting an image of Buddha saying that is not in line with her typical posts about angels and God, that some things are not the same.  I commented, “I understand confusion over it. I am not a Buddhist but I lean toward Buddhist thought. I am not a Hindu but I have many Hindu practices. I don’t call myself a Christian because the evangelicals hijacked that word.
. . I grew up with Catholics and going to Catholic Church. I spent years in a monastic community that most would call a cult. I don’t consider the Bible the word of God since it’s been editorially suppressed and revised by politicians throughout all millenia. I know God exists, I know angels exist. I’m sure the above sounds like many different topics.
. . What I have found in my lifetime is that I am allowed to pick and choose from the different socially acceptable belief systems to find something that fits what I know to be true according to my own personal experience.
. . My meditation altar — my entire home actually — is full of Hindu deities as well as a huge poster and statues of Buddha, several pictures of Jesus, various Saints and other sacred art. I do not find that any of it conflicts with any other of it.”

An irksome thing about the Kindle Fire is that it keeps you continually signed into your Amazon account. That means anybody who picks up your Kindle Fire can order something from Amazon and have it charged to your payment method. The only way to sign out of your Amazon account is to de-register the device, after which you can’t use it. ♡♡ So treat your Kindle Fire the same way you’d treat your wallet. Don’t leave it lying around where anyone can pick it up. ♡♡ BTW, I keep no payment methods on my phone. I also treat my phone the same as my wallet: no one touches it but me.

A reminder that we can still be happy no matter who is or is not in power, no matter who is or is not impeached. Sure, it would be nice if there was an election do-over, but the only thing we can ever be sure of is change. The secret to life is to take what you have right in front of you and turn it into something you can be happy with.

Angry friends please: your anger, your bitterness and resentment is slowly poisoning your system and clouding your thought. What you wish upon your “enemy” is absolutely what comes back to you in the form of your physical health and outward living conditions. When you give yourself a stroke, you will have no loved ones to look after you if you alienate them all with your hateful actions. Learn to control it, learn to let it go, learn to move on, learn to forgive.

Today walking into a business in a strip mall in an older part of town, I had to walk past 3 young African American men who had gathered smoking cigs at the front door. The youngest kind of scowled at me and the older nodded, so I nodded and said “Afternoon, gentlemen.” The young thuggie-dressed one called out “What makes you think we’re gentleman?” I said “Well, you look like gentlemen to me.” When I came back out, the thuggie one held the door open for me and smiled and did a sweeping gesture of allowing me to walk through. I said, “See I knew you were a gentleman.” People are who you make them think you think they are.

I may not be able to stop anyone from bombing on a whim but what I can do, where I can be of help is this: I can say a prayer and hold the higher vision for where there is trouble. I can lessen the amount of resistance I myself put out into the world. I can be kind and I can stay calm when those around me are neither kind nor calm. That gives me something to do when I think there’s nothing I can do.

I said a really ignorant thing today without thinking. Having lunch in the Cantonese restaurant there was an Asian woman having lunch with a child about 2. I thought how well behaved he was. I remarked — and this was in front of an Asian server — that if that was an American kid he’d probably be causing a ruckus by now. My pal looks at me and says “they’re probably American.” Ye gads! I meant Western! I meant Caucasian! I meant “my kind.” OMG can I sound even more ignorant? My point was how well behaved kids of Eastern culture are in public when I encounter them. I didn’t mean to turn it into an Us vs.Them, yet that’s exactly what I did. I’d say I don’t have a racist bone in my body but I made that statement in a heartbeat without thinking twice about it. Yikes.

What makes you feel connected? I used to think I was seeking the right person, the right job, the right place to live. What I discovered was I felt dis-connected from things around me, so I was seeking connection. Once I had the connection, everything around me became magic and relevant.

Human nature, muscle memory and psychological attachments are always interesting to watch play out. I grew up with Campbell’s chicken noodle soup being a comfort food. As an adult, when I began eating less processed food, my allergies cleared up. After a while of no processed food when I would eat a can of my beloved chicken noodle soup my sinuses would immediately clogged so I knew it was related. I also knew there was a lot of sodium. Even knowing that it will clog my sinuses up, I still crave Campbell’s chicken noodle soup when I have a cold. I come to realize the emotional satisfaction I get from eating the soup is worth the clogged head for an hour after. Kind of like when the dog sticks its head out the window to feel the wind in its face because it’s so worth it despite bugs in the teeth.