This and That

Women still earn less....men earn $1.00 to a female's $0.77 cents.

Do the owners of the 232,400 firearms stolen every year consider themselves responsible gun owners?

 Earth...that means the entire Earth had the 4^th warmest January this year.

In January 2014, 99% of new power available for use was done with renewable energy in the US.

The Air Force completed a 16.4 Megawatt solar plant in the US.

75 million Americans do not have a retirement plan.

Exxon Mobil ex CEO protests a new fracking water tower close to his $5,000,000 home. Hmmmmm

The rest of these interesting this's and that's can be found in more detail on Bloomberg:

The US ranks 19^th worldwide in retirement security. European countries claim the top 10 spots.

Texas has the most prisoners in the nation.

Nevada has the most divorced residents.

Norway is the most wired country in the world.

The oldest operating reactor in the US is Nine Mile Point

The state with the most drivers over 85 is Connecticut.

Canada has the longest life span in the Americas.

Austria has the most paid time off.

Aging rich people worry the most about losing their memories.

Aging poor people worry most about starving.

See ya next week.

Music of the Sea

Lapping to shore at Off the Wall

Music for most of us means turning on something and listening. We use our Ipods and music systems in the privacy of our homes and cars. We go to concerts or hear music wafting up the valleys and hills from all sorts of places. We sing in our heads or out loud but how many of us actually listen to the music of the sea when we are in it or by it?

La Reine Market from the parking lot.

Walking by the ocean on a pebble beach on a day when the breakers are coming in hard and heavy is music in motion. The sounds left behind when the wave rolls in then sucks out ringing all the various sized stones can dramatize all out of proportion a feeling of limitless wonder.

Cane Bay early morning looking NE

Even the gentle lapping against a sandy beach has a soothing sound that can slow the heart and reduce stress when really paid attention to. The music of the sea is constant but its tone and tempo change regularly throughout the day. Those of us lucky enough to live surrounded by water can hear its call daily when we choose to listen.

Yummy squash to make a lovely warm soup

The ocean covers three quarters of our world and has for many of us magical, mystical, magnetic qualities that enchant and delight our psyche's. The ancients wrote about the Sirens of the sea in ways that cautioned sailors to heed the call and steer away from certain destruction. All who interact with the ocean know not only danger but elation when her music beckons.

A fawn venturing out into our back yard by itself. This pic was taken through the window screen.

There are loads of You Tubes with the sound of waves lapping against the shore. Sometimes when i can't hear the ocean here at the house i'll put one of them on and just let it run in the background. When i turn it off its always kind of jarring because the music becomes embedded without you really realizing it. If you've never tried it just google sea music and pick one.

Lately i've been noticing how quiet the ocean sounds when my ears are submerged. It seems that unless i'm swimming right over some live coral i don't hear the fish as much as in years past. i could always hear the fish munching on coral and still can today but not as much. But even with the reduction of the song there are still moments of surprise and astonishment when for the first time i was able to hear the calls of the Humpback Whales passing by St. Croix.

This week was a banner week. Friends have been spotting whales left and right and Monday while swimming out over the wall we heard them calling to each other. This sounds so ridiculous but if you have ever listened to the Song of the Humpback Whale that is exactly how it sounds when your ears are under water. It's beautiful and delightful and this sounds so cliché but it really is out of this world. All of us that heard them were beaming.

This spider and buddies have built a HUGE web under the deck

If you don't live by the ocean don't let that stop you. You can always listen to the music of the sea and its creatures anytime you are at your computer. Put a piece on in the background and go about your business. i'm convinced that when you turn it off you will miss its majesty.

See ya next week

Life is like a ?

Life is like a dream, or an awakening, or a transformation

The old sages and philosopher's have always captured my imagination when contemplating the words of wisdom they left behind. Today i'm posting a Tao piece with no detail concerning what it might mean to you. Enjoy and if you need more explore the net to find how others may interpret this.

It was a cool evening in ancient China. Chuang Tzu's friend went looking for him at the local inn. He found Chuang Tzu sitting at a table, sipping his drink in a contemplative mood.
"There you are!" Chuang Tzu's friend greeted him. "I thought by now you would be telling everybody another one of your stories. Why so quiet?"
"There is a question on my mind," said Chuang Tzu, "a question about existence."
"I see. Would you like me to leave you alone to your thoughts?"
"No, let me share it with you. Perhaps you can provide me with your perspective."
"My perspective is of little value, but I would be glad to listen." He pulled up a chair.
"I was out for a stroll late in the afternoon," said Chuang Tzu. "I went to one of my favorite spots under a tree. I sat there, thinking about the meaning of life. It was so warm and pleasant that I soon relaxed, dozed off, and drifted into a dream. In my dream, I found myself flying up above the field. I looked behind me and saw that I had wings. They were large and beautiful, and they fluttered rapidly. I had turned into a butterfly! It was such a feeling of freedom and joy, to be so carefree and fly around so lightly in any way I wished. Everything in this dream felt absolutely real in every way. Before long, I forgot that I was ever Chuang Tzu. I was simply the butterfly and nothing else."
"I've had dreams of flying myself, but never as a butterfly," Chuang Tzu's friend said. "This dream sounds like a wonderful experience."
"It was, but like all things, it had to end sooner or later. Gradually, I woke up and realized that I was Chuang Tzu after all. This is what puzzles me."
"What is so puzzling about it? You had a nice dream, that's all there is to it."
"What if I am dreaming right now? This conversation I am having with you seems real in every way, but so did my dream. I thought I was Chuang Tzu who had a dream of being a butterfly. What if I am a butterfly who, at this very moment, is dreaming of being Chuang Tzu?"
"Well, I can tell you that you are actually Chuang Tzu, not a butterfly."
Chuang Tzu smiled: "You may simply be part of my dream, no more or less real than anything else. Thus, there is nothing you can do to help me identify the distinction between Chuang Tzu and the butterfly. This, my friend, is the essential question about the transformation of existence."

See ya next week.

Over-consumption

There has been a lot written over the past few years about over-consumption, affluenza, the purchasing of too much stuff and the need for many to always want more. Consumption is something we all do naturally, it's part of being human. We need a constant flow of oxygen, protection from the elements, and sustenance to re-charge and energize our bodies. These are basic needs which the planet can comfortably provide even with an increasing population.

Most of us have these basic needs met unless we are amongst the growing homeless and hungry that find themselves without protection from the elements or access to enough food to sustain them. If we look outside this group and focus on Western civilizations emphasis on constant consumption we can shine a light on the uncomfortable feeling that results from always wanting more, or feeling that you haven't worked hard enough, or that someone else is better off than you are.

A PBS special on Affluenza defines the term as: “1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.”

So the question is why do we spend a lot of time stressed, indebted, and working way too hard to spend time storing and cleaning up the “stuff” we think we can't do without? Well our western society is based upon constant consumption and the need to acquire status. Unfortunately the search for prestige and self-esteem has been wrapped up in the outward expression of material possessions.

But we don't have to buy into it.

There are things to consider before working your butt off to buy something.

1. Do I really need it.
2. How many hours do I have to work for this?
3. Will I wear it, eat it, and or use it until it is worn out, or will I store it and clean it.

If we are really honest with ourselves when looking around at all our possessions it is easy to see that most “stuff” spends a lot of time getting stored and cleaned. Those bigger houses are just storage containers for all the “stuff” we just have to have. And those security systems we pay for to protect all that “stuff” means we just have to work all the harder to store it and clean it.

But i'd like to tell you that you don't have to buy status by showing off what you own. Being a good consumer will not make you happy, it will just make you work harder, clean more, and pay more to store all those products.

There are things we can do to make our lives happier and less stressed. The first of which is don't buy things you don't need and the second is stop celebrating and desiring material possessions. Simplify your life.

Isn't quality of life much more important than your material “stuff”?

Try focusing on your family, your friends and your community. Spend less time working to get more “stuff” and more time working to make your life less stressful. Value relationships and understand that you don't really need what you think you need to lead a happy life.

See ya next week.