Since the city I live in (Covington, KY) borders the Ohio River, last weekend I participated in an annual “River Sweep.” The goal is to clean up trash along the wooded banks of the Kentucky side of the river. I met with about 30 other diligent environmental do-gooders armed with old jeans, hearty shoes, gloves, […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts tagged Politics
People may disagree about what is the right thing to do and whose opinion is correct. Some folks are just plain argumentative. Others may be of good will, but we just have different fundamental views on life or values. The temptation is to retreat into our “tribes” or “bubbles” where folks agree with me. It […]
I’ve been doing a lot of wondering lately. Perhaps it’s connected with Covid, aging, or a deepening spirituality – or maybe not. I wonder. Mostly I’ve been wondering about politics and how people of sound mind and good will can come to differing opinions about what is true. Isn’t truth by definition true? For example, […]
My blog post #218 focused on “Carrying a Heavy Heart.” That was 5 months ago. We still have Covid-19 and we in the northern hemisphere are still in the dark and cold of winter. Physical distancing still limits traditional socializing which usually lifts my spirit. I didn’t think political divisions could get much worse than […]
Reducing SUPs (Single Use Plastics) is a laudable goal. Although some SUPs are necessary (for example medical use), reducing & recycling plastics are only partial and temporary solutions. Therefore, the classic environmental mantra – Reduce/Reuse/Recycle needs a “P” for PREVENTION. I have divided Prevention into two sub-categories – Substitutions and Stop the Production. To explore […]
There are plenty of worries to weigh one down these days. In addition to the normal worries that most of us have to fret about (our kids, money, career, health, how to tame the internet etc.) 2020 has now layered the coronavirus, conflicts about race and police relationships, and the presidential election on top of […]
As destructive as Covid-19 has been, it’s forced me to learn some new lessons during this time of change. I’ve become more: Grateful for many people (essential workers, family, friends) Grateful for the lifestyle I take for granted (my health, a steady income from Social Security and a pension, ability to work from home…) Aware […]
Last week I had two experiences of being forced to wait with strangers. My first reaction was annoyance at being delayed. But upon reflection, I realized that these were opportunities to let go of my compulsion to not waste time. I like to be on time and to make the most of my time. In […]
If politics, hatred, suffering, and the sorry state of the world is cluttering your mind – welcome to the club. It’s easy to become depressed and want to return hate with hate. But that doesn’t solve anything. On my last blog post, Let Go of Trivial Judgments, I promised to move beyond trivial judgments to […]
About 6 months ago I focused on trying to be kinder for Lent. One dimension of this was to be less judgmental of other people. By the end of Lent I realized that it’s harder to actually change my internal critical self than to give things away. Today, over half a year later, I’m noticing […]
Although I like to think that most often my opinions are right, I admit that my husband, Jim, is often more accurate about facts than I am. I might say, “Hey, there were about 50 people at the party.” Jim might say, “No, there were 46. I counted.” I chalk this up to different personality […]
I’ve spent almost 4 weeks now listening to people with whom I disagree. That might sound like a depressing Lent, but my intention was to better understand people who have a different political stance than mine. This meant I had to find and talk with Trump voters. Since I, like many people, primarily associate with […]
