The World Court has spoken. It has ordered Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide. A day late and a dollar short don’t you think?
The case was brought before the court by South Africa but the order did not include an immediate ceasefire. In the ruling, 15 of the 17 judges voted for emergency measures, it covered most of what South Africa asked for short of a halt to military action in Gaza.
More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli forces invaded Gaza in the last four months. This ruling comes as an embarrassment to both Israel and the U.S. but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his usual, I take no prisoners stance said, the charge against Israel was “outrageous” and that it has the right to defend itself.
However, ICJ’s decisions are final but the court has no way to enforce them. The 1949 Genocide Convention clearly defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” Israel has one month to report back with what it has done to improve matters.
Israel, however, is not taking this sitting down. Netanyahu further went on to reiterate, “The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected.” He means to defend themselves folks but this has gone way beyond the defending stage. It is clear for all to see, that is if you have your eyes open.
Finally, does it sound like Israel is going to comply?
“To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.” Mary Davis
Walking is my favorite thing to do. It helps to clear my mind, helps me to get a better perspective on life and it’s good for the mind and soul not to mention my body so what’s not to like?
It is almost springlike in my part of the world and after the snow, ice and sleet of the past week, blue skies and sunshine is a nice change. After having been cooped up for a week, it is time to take advantage of the nice weather.
Zipping up my light jacket with a scarf around my neck and stepping into my boots, I am all ready to head out the door. I am not expecting much, just a beautiful walk in nature. I wonder if I will see the deer I’ve seen on my last few walks. We made eye contact several times and then he took off and went back into the woods. I hope I do because there is something about coming face to face with one of nature’s own. It makes me feel like I belong too.
“Nature is the purest portal to inner-peace.” Angie Weiland Crosby
I am surrounded by blue-tipped mountains on one side and the sporadic green line of the forest on the other. Today, I find myself alone as I am on most days. I feel the wind picking up speed and I pull my coat closer against me as I raise my face to the sky. It is clear and blue and perfect. A loud cawing draws my attention. I look further up the path I am on and see two huge black crows fighting over something. As I approach them, they let out a loud sound at the human who has walked into their space, it almost sounds rude to the ear. Then they flap their wings and take off to another part of the field where they would be left in peace. I understand them well, I crave peace too.
Approaching the apple trees, I see that they’ve lost all their foliage and now stand naked their twig-like branches reaching out to nothing in particular. Not too long ago, they looked bright and beautiful with globes of red, pink and green hanging from their green branches. The apples have been harvested and there is nothing more left to be done until springtime of course. Out of what stands before me will emerge pink and white blossoms bringing with them a faint delicate scent that is warm and delicious and the cycle will start again. So it is with life. There is no end and no beginning. It is a never-ending cycle. You get on at some point and you get off when your time is up but life never stops moving, it just keeps on going.
As I make my way back, I realize that I haven’t seen the deer. I hope it is alright. Feeling refreshed by the clean air and the open spaces for as far as the eye can see, I say a small “thank you” for the beauty, the peace and the graciousness of nature. It has accompanied me in good times and bad and will be my companion for many more walks to come. Suddenly, a sharp shrill sound pierces the air. I look up to see a hawk hovering above me. A smile crosses my face as I watch it stay there for a while. Almost weightless it hovers and then it lets out another shrill cry as it flies away into the blue yonder. Nature teaches us many things but most of all it has the power to heal, it shows us a thousand miracles if we are open to it and in its own way it shows us that there is a time and place for everything.
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” Henry David Thoreau
Or this one,
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” John Muir
“Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go but rather learning to start over.” Nicole Sobon
Starting over is a hard thing to do. It means accepting what has happened and making the decision to move on. It is not that simple is it? We often want to stay awhile and in some cases, we never want to let go because there is comfort in holding on. I know someone who has held on for over a decade and still refuses to let go, not because it was the best thing that had happened to him, I am sure in his mind he thinks it is, but because he is comfortable where he is and so his life is at a standstill. He rekindles the memories over and over again and never gives them time to fade. It is like a scab that refuses to heal because he keeps picking at it.
I think looking at the past and all that we’ve had to live through especially the bad parts as lessons learned instead of as things that happened which brought us to our knees, might just do the trick.
Speaking from my experience of the betrayal and the divorce that followed in my own life, it did bring me down to my knees. As I have said before, I felt like a bird with clipped wings and I was for a long time. It is only recently that I’ve decided to look at my past, mindfully go through the remnants of what was left of the life that was once mine that I realized I would never do it again. What? I would never settle for a man with no morals or integrity. These are the building blocks of any relationship and so I will not settle for less. That said, the lesson I have learned is that I won’t be dependent on one man to make me complete. I am complete as I am and learning that has opened new doors for me. I am stronger, more capable and I wouldn’t say fearless but less fearful. There are new roads to travel with my new found sense of freedom and knowledge of myself and I am taking it with me along with all the other lessons I will learn to the finish line.
“Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.” Unknown
Losing a loved one is hard to bear. I was lost for awhile when it happened to me. I accompanied my friend on his final journey and back then I didn’t realize it would take superhuman strength to do that. My focus was on despair, anger, sadness and an incredible sense of unfairness. I didn’t see the strong woman emerging out of the cocoon she was in. ”I can’t” was my mantra but I learned soon enough that I was capable of so much more even if it meant losing someone very dear to me. Life was teaching me a lesson if I was willing to learn it. The problem was I wasn’t accepting any lessons at that time. I hugged and kissed him goodbye without breaking down, that came later. I think there is tremendous strength within each of us that only come into play when called upon to push ourselves to the limit. I learned that weakness is an option, an easy one, it is easy to run and hide, but the other one, strength is learned while going through what is considered the impossible and still coming out on top. I did.
When I became an empty nester, I thought life had come to a standstill for me. Being a mom was my biggest role and I relished it. He was my world. When he left to pursue what all young men do, part of me refused to let go, the selfish part. Eventually I let him go with tears in my eyes and slowly, very slowly, I learned that I was fully capable of handling this and much more.
Life never stands still and those things that it throws our way, the ones that make us cringe and shy away or the ones that make us throw up our hands and say, this is enough, I can’t do this, well they are exactly the ones that will teach us who we are as a person, the ones that will open new doors if you let it and the ones that will take you to where you need to go. Did I pass with flying colors? Not without putting up a fight first. I cried and berated at the unfairness of it all but when I calmed down and looked within, I found the answers to go on and I learned that there was enough resources within me to battle even the worst storms one step at a time. Simplify your life, get rid of the excess that blinds you to what is happening and maybe you will learn the lessons life is teaching you. Remember it may not be fair, it may not be just but in order to get to where you need to be, it is necessary and that in itself might be the hardest lesson to learn.
“In my life, I’ve lived, I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve missed, I’ve hurt, I’ve trusted, I’ve made mistakes but most of all….I’ve learned.” Unknown
The man of the hour won and some of us cried. Nothing surprising here but still fact is stranger than fiction. A friend wrote this, “Trump is going to make the economy better and control the border is what people are saying but ignorance is overwhelming in America.”
Wearing Cheshire cat grins on their faces, Trump stepped onto the winner’s platform to deliver his victory speech flanked by former rivals, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Ramaswamy once said when pressed by George Stephanopoulos about Trump’s actions of January 6th, “I would have handled that situation very differently than Trump did. But I do draw a distinction between bad behavior and illegal behavior.” Tim Scott whispered three words, “I love you,” and the response in return was, “That’s why he’s a great politician.” Cringeworthy! Absolutely. They looked like the cats who swallowed the cream or rather, the cat who swallowed the canary!
He went on to eye his one standing opponent. In his normal fashion, he opened his mouth and this is what he had to say, “I said, wow, she’s doing a speech like she won. She didn’t win. She lost. Let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night, She had a very bad night,” and more significantly, “I don’t get angry, I get even.” His victory speech was littered with false claims but that didn’t wipe the grin off his face. ”They used Covid to cheat,” “they lost by a whisker,” and “they want to raise your taxes times four.” He knows naught of what he speaks folks.
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” MLK
However, this says it better I think. ”In politics stupidity is not a handicap.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Nikki Haley for her part made her concession speech looking poised and ready to do battle. Claiming that the GOP race is “far from over” she went on to say, “Trump is the only Republican in the country who Joe Biden can defeat.” And she might be right there. The lady is determined, has the smarts to do it but it will be an uphill battle for her.
Let’s see, Trump is facing numerous indictments both from the state and federal levels including DOJ’s and Jack Smith, Special Counsel’s investigation into his alleged attempt in trying to overturn the 2020 elections which led to the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He calls it a “witch hunt” but facts are facts. Will the so called “witch hunt” help to wipe off the Cheshire cat grin off his face? Let’s hope so. THERE IS STILL HOPE!
“Time and tide waits for no man.” Geoffrey Chaucer
I was discussing time with a friend and told him jokingly that this year I was going to hold on tight and make time go as slowly as possible. He laughed because he knew as well as I did that holding onto time is an impossible task and the truth is it flies and trying to keep up is the only thing to do.
Zig Ziglar said, “Lack of direction not lack of time is the problem. We all have 24-hour days.”
True but sometimes it seems that the days fly by and just when you think it is the beginning of the week, lo and behold, it’s the weekend again. When we look back, it is clear that we waste a lot of time on things that don’t matter, on people we shouldn’t be wasting our time on and perhaps just sitting around and wishing and hoping that things were different. I’ve started a routine to make the days count because lost time is just that. You are not getting it back ever again. I’ve started writing down everything I do during the course of the day. There are no hard and fast rules so I give myself permission to write down my thoughts and feelings as well as improvement ideas. Surprisingly, I’ve been keeping up and getting a lot accomplished and some days I pat myself on the back and say, “Great job, you’re giving time a run for the money! Keep it up.” It really has slowed time down for me. Try this approach, you might just like it.
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” Michael Altshuler
This year I want to take the time to smell the roses which means taking more time for myself mentally and physically. I want to do things that will bring an improvement to and will enrich my life. I am not going to let a day go by without doing something productive. That said, I am going to find the time to relax, not going to sweat the small stuff and let time keep up with me instead of the other way around! Doable? Anything is doable if you put your mind to it.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“Losers make promises they often break, winners make commitments they always keep.” Denis Waitly
A worthy quote but for someone going through a hard time especially of not feeling like they belong on the winner’s platform, this is a hard one to swallow.
Today, I got a message from someone very close to me. It said, “I’m doing what I need to do but it’s hard.” He’s come a long ways from doing nothing, of pulling the covers over his head and wishing the world away. Today, there seems to be a light at the end of the deep, dark tunnel. He still has a long way to go and that is the hard part.
Moving on and doing what is expected of you sometimes takes superhuman effort. Been there and done that. Taking that first step after life has pushed you down and trusting that wherever you’re headed is much better than the here and now is going to require placing your energy, effort and trust in the unseen or rather the unknown. It is going to require strength, tremendous strength. The problem is we keep looking at that closed door and we refuse to look at the one that is open. Even if we do see that open door, we refuse to budge because change is frightening and here is where we want to stay no matter how bad it is. There is no other option but to keep moving.
I know he will stay in bed for a little while longer until he realizes that winning requires movement, it requires hard work and it requires motivation and dedication. He has all those things within him so I know that when the time is right, he will stand back up and push himself to the finish line. He is not a loser, he has worked too hard to give up now, just needs a little nudge to get him there.
Ron DeSantis throws in the towel. He officially dropped his bid for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination on Sunday saying, ”If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time or donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.” I’ve got to hand it to him, the man knows when to fold ’em and when to walk away as the lyrics to The Gambler song goes. As if that wasn’t enough to rock the Republican world, he went on to endorse Agent Orange and that was surprising. A friend said, “Can you believe it? What a loser!!!” Loser or not, DeSantis jumping ship means there will be two left standing.
Trump, the frontrunner, is pleased as punch to say the least. On hearing the news on Sunday, the man who is known for throwing insults, was magnanimous in his praise as he always is when things go his way. ”I’d like to take time to congratulate Ron DeSantis, (not Ron DeSanctimonious) a really terrific person (see the oozing?) ……for having run a great campaign for president.”
Nikki Haley, the other one standing, was in a high school auditorium plugging her campaign. She asked, “Can you hear that sound? That is the sound of a two person race.” She will get her wish of standing shoulder-to-shoulder or going one-on-one with the man who doesn’t care if it’s right or wrong, if an election has been won legally and one who will stoop to nothing short of instigating a coup because he didn’t get his way. He is still walking with his head held high and with a smile plastered on his “orange” face.
There you have it. It’s going to be a two-person race and it’s coming down to the wire. The question is, do they even have to duke it out? Isn’t it a foregone conclusion? The orange giant is looming larger than life and like a bad dream that will never go away! I swear the man has nine lives or more, now if he’ll only put it to good use. No chance of that so we’ll have to grit our teeth, clench our jaws and see how this will play out.
I’ll take anyone BUT you know who. Four more years of GREAT! HUGE! and MOI! MOI! MOI! is not my cup of tea and neither is a daily dose of MAGA greatness and stunted vocabulary!
A great start to a new week don’t you think? Lord have mercy!
Several years ago, Nikki Haley delivered the Margaret Thatcher lecture to a small group gathered outside the U.S. Capitol building. She said, “The Iron Lady taught us a great lesson. Things were going badly (for) the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. Inflation soared. The economy stagnated. Because of socialism, the United Kingdom was on the road to ruin. Then Margaret Thatcher hit the brakes.”
Former aide to Margaret Thatcher, Nile Gardiner congratulated Haley saying, “I think I can say that you are the closest America has to an Iron Lady.” That was way back then.
Her real name is Nimrata N. Randhawa but she has gone by Nikki all her life. She is the proud daughter of immigrant parents. Her father, Ajit Singh and her mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa came to America to take part in the American Dream. In her 2012 memoir, “Can’t Is Not an Option: My American Story,” Haley talks about the racial bias she and her family faced in almost every aspect of their lives. Not considered white enough and not considered black enough, she had to fight to make it in racist America. She says, “I faced racism when I was growing up,” for being a brown girl.
However, in a recent interview with Brian Kilmeade of Fox News she changed her tune. ”We’re not a racist country.” She plays to the Pied Piper folks. The lady talks tough and stands tall when delivering her messages of change and hope for a better America but the Iron Lady seems to have a core that is as soft as a marshmallow or more appropriately more like Jello that wiggles and moves when pressure is placed on it. America was and still is a racist country. Hard work and ambition may help you to achieve the American Dream but that is besides the point and she knows it.
Remember when she refused to acknowledge that slavery was the root cause that plunged the U.S. into a civil war from 1861 1865? Slavery was morally wrong, that was the message delivered by the Civil War. However, Haley’s answer went like this, “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.” When Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist and Neo-Nazi cold-bloodedly murdered nine Black members of a Bible study group, the Confederate flag was removed from the Capitol, however, Haley had this to say, “For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble – traditions of history, of heritage and ancestry,” conveniently forgetting or simply choosing to forget that the “flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.” Sydney Blumenthal in his opinion piece, “Nikki Haley’s comment on the US civil war was no gaffee,” says, “The unexpected incident showed Haley to be slight, frightened and cowardly. Her deeper problem is that she is a slave to her party.” Margaret Thatcher was dubbed “the Iron Lady” for her uncompromising politics and leadership style. Nikki Haley has a long ways to go and filling those shoes takes unwavering strength, strong will and standing up for what is right. Melting like a tub of butter when the sun hits is not going to do it.
“Be careful who you trust. Salt and sugar look the same.” Unknown
This world for as much as it is beautiful is still a cruel place. Evil lurks and strikes when you least expect it. However, the kind of evil I am going to talk about here is not the kind that can hurt you physically but the one that has the power to go deeper, much deeper.
“A dagger of words can pierce the heart more deeply than any weapon.” Unknown
We’ve heard this adage before, some of us many times before. ”Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” How often have we taken this one to heart and agreed wholeheartedly with it? Words will never hurt me? It doesn’t quite work that way does it? Words have the potential to hurt even more than sticks and stones. They have the power to cut you like a knife, they have the ability to hurt like hell, they can humiliate and maim you to the point that your world comes to a standstill.
Words have power. The good ones can lift you up but the bad ones can bring you to your knees. Labels such as, moron, imbecile, idiot or others of a more sinister nature DO HURT. They can also have an impact on a more deeper psychological level.
So choose your words carefully as you go out into the world today. What you put out there matters so let’s go out and make this world a better place, one word at a time!
Here are some of my favorite quotes that speak to the power of words.
“Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don’t mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime.” Rachel Wolchin
“Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.” Robin Sharma
And finally this,
“Words are powerful, they have the ability to create a moment and the strength to destroy it.” Joyce Meyer
“When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.” Jenna Morasca
I got a call from a friend yesterday. She told me that she had been in the hospital for a week. All is well with her but it was a scary experience. It brought home the fact that life in all its beauty is still as fragile as can be.
A year and a half ago, I lost someone very close to me. We never thought that life with all its idiosyncrasies would throw a curveball. One so large and unexpected that when all was said and done, only one of us would be left standing to carry on.
The walk in the snow-covered world was exhilarating. Everything was covered in white and the trees looked like pictures out of a postcard. It also brought back times when we had taken those walks together. The times when snowball fights and laughter reigned supreme. Little did we know then that life as we knew it was about to change forever.
“You never think the last time is the last time. You think that there will be more. You think you have forever. But then life can quickly remind you, you don’t” Grey’s Anatomy
What if we knew that life was short? What then? Would we try to cram as much living as we can into today? Perhaps knowing just how fragile life is should make us stop and take notice, to stop procrastinating and to do and say the things we need to say before it is too late. I wish I had.
Today as I approach the top of the hill, I remember that snow-filled day as you said, “I want a selfie with the both of us in it.” We were laughing in the picture. Now I realize that there will be no more pictures, no more memories to be made and no more laughter to be shared. You’ve gone on a different journey.
I’ve said many things to you since you’ve been gone. Nothing seems enough, perhaps one day it will be and memories of you will fade and I will be at peace. Here are more of the same, more of what I wished I had said when you were here.
Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for all the times we shared. Thank you for showing me just how much love you could squeeze into that little amount of time. Thank you for showing me that I was an important part of your life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Life is fragile. All it takes is one wrong move, one unexpected turn of events and like a candle in the wind, it can be snuffed out never to be relit again. Forever is not in its vocabulary and neither is invincible. Knowing that we should make time for the important things in life, free up space by letting go of the unimportant ones and take the time to say and do the things you need to do before it is too late.
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