Latest Covid 19 Numbers In NC

As I am emerging from my cave of sorrow, I am slowly getting back to normal, and ready to discuss the current state of the planet.

Is the official story really official?

As we make our way through the state of things, I sit back, and watch how things are unfolding. I myself do not support the "official story", and I'll share some numbers on this later. Two days ago, several states here in the U.S. extended "phase two" of the covid 19 approach to get back to normal operations. For N.C., that was supposed to mean that citizens were to wear masks whenever they go into any business away from their home. Being in a very rural and country area, I do not see these "orders" holding for to long, if at all. If there is one thing I have learned about living in the mountains, it's that no one, and no office can tell country mountain folk what they can and can not do. That's just the facts of the situation.

Numbers on covid

Now, about the numbers on where we are in the state of NC which seem to speak volumes about the "facts" that we are being told to believe by the main stream media. The following graph is from a study done at UNC, and it shows that the numbers of all "confirmed" cases of covid 19 have been dropping, and are continuing to do so. That said, remember that all "research" can be biased, may not be 100% accurate because of faulty numbers, and also may be skewed because the corporations paying for the research may want it to say a certain thing. So, keeping all of that in mind, here is where we are currently with the covid 19 cases.

  You can read more about this study here - UNC economist Zelder sees ‘remarkably encouraging’ coronavirus news

Note: as always, do your own research to learn more about this information. Critically thinking is a must if you want to get to the bottom of an issue.

You have GOT to think for yourself

Speaking of critically thinking, as you've noticed by now the pic at the top of this post, I am an avid advocate of thinking for ones self. Sadly, in today's society, all to often people choose not to think on their own, or they have been programmed, by the main stream media, so well that they do not know how to critically think. If you want to get to the bottom of a situation, and understand it well enough to quote information about it to your friends or followers, you have got to utilize critical thinking. Just taking the word of the "main stream media" is contingent to following the heard, so to speak, right off of the cliff they are being told to walk off of. IE: there is a heard mentality aspect that comes into play if you do not practice, and continue using your critical thinking skills.

Time to research

So, wrapping this blog up today, I invite you to dig into the net, and research all you can, doing your best to remain unbiased when doing your research. The last thing that the so called "leaders" of the "free world" want is an educated, and intelligent populace. For, those who can think for themselves no longer need leadership, in the form of what we have in the U.S. anyway.

I will leave you with this quote today - “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”
― Albert Einstein

Male Masculinity And Other Social Norms Society Has Outgrown

Today I want to discuss with you some of the social norms that I have been bumping up against during my healing process, and how they seem to be outdated.

First I would like to cover my own experiences, as a male in a society that still seems to have very explicit "expectations" of what I should or shouldn't do because of how I was biologically born.

Reintroduced to emotions

As I have ventured through this amazingly difficult, and challenging time of my life, I have been reintroduced, to a degree, to emotions, and what they may look like when manifesting in the physical. Specifically, I have been dealing with a lot of sadness, and anger. Both of which are normal for someone going through a loss. As I started this journey, when I started to cry, if it was out in public somewhere, I tended to hold the tears back, and not show any emotion because that would seem "weak" in the eyes of anyone who may notice me, being a male in the U.S. social construct. As I continued to feel sad, and angry, because of how I was programmed by society, I tried to not show any emotions when I was out and about in my local community. Because, you know as well as I do, "men don't cry", and men are the "stronger gender", etc etc. I could share other cliche statements, but I hope you get what I am trying to say. As a male in the society of the U.S., especially so for me being a former military person, I am expected to "be strong" and just carry on with life as nothing had happened. However, it's the 21st century now, and things need to change in this aspect. They need to change for men as well as women in the U.S.

It's time for social norms to change

I feel as though there is more of an allowance for males to express their emotions freely in public, or in general, then there used to be ten or twenty years ago. However, I also believe we still have a long way to go before society, generally speaking, is open and welcoming of men expressing themselves naturally. At the same time, we see more women taking on traditionally "male roles" in society, which is great. You'll notice that I have a picture of Rosie The Riveter at the top of this blog because she was one of the earliest examples of pushing the boundaries of social norms to wake the world up to the facts that women were able to do just as much as men could do, and sometimes more. Again, because of the times that we are in, I find it surprising at the very least, that we still have some outdated beliefs that most people in society hang on to. Isn't it time that we woke up to the fact that we are all human beings, and able to do anything we want to do, individually?

Being encouraged to show emotions

I went to a support group recently for people who had suffered a loss of a pet, and the coordinator of the group encouraged me to show my emotions, and to do so when I felt it necessary. To hear someone telling me that "it was ok" to show my sadness, and to let my emotions flow freely, was very empowering to me. You have to understand that coming from a background that I have, those words spoke volumes to me, and gave me "permission" to be who I truly am. An emotional being.

It's ok to be who you really are

So, if you happen to start feeling a certain way, and feel the need to express yourself, in a safe and positive way, do so. As this will allow you to be more of who and what you are truly meant to be, remembering that every single human being on the planet has both masculine, and feminine traits within them. Learn to love who and what you are in all of the amazing, flawed, perfect, humanness that your meant to be.

UNT,

D

Finding The Support To Heal

Today I want to talk about support, in healing, in life, and in general.

Resources Of Support

As I continue my journey through the healing process of loss, I am finding resources that I am able to use to help me along the way. Some of these resources come in the form of support from friends, through them listening, offering understanding, and being able to relate to what I am going though, as well as just being there physically, and psychologically for me to lean on. Some come in the form of support groups, which I am able to utilize and get feedback from the group members about how to potentially see things from a different view point. Still yet other ways of support come from books written specifically to help those in the grieving process after loosing a pet. One such book is Soul Comfort for Cat Lovers

which I have yet to get, but full intend to obtain a copy as soon as possible.

Many Types Of Support

Finding the type of support that works for you can be a challenge. Especially so if your not the type of person who actively seeks out help when you go through something. Lets face facts though, sooner or later, the support of a group, or a friend is going to come into play. So, in my humble opinion, it's best to start gathering resources well ahead of time so everything will be in place once the time comes.

Find Out What Works For You

Support also comes in all different shapes and sizes, so to speak. Try to be open minded about how your specific support resource may look. Try not to be "married" to the idea that if your going through a loss, that you "need to find a loss counselor". There are many different ways of supporting ones self through self healing methods, like journaling, or finding a local group that you can attend which may be facilitated by a licensed psychologist. However, be open to different and unique ways of supporting yourself. For example, if running out to a store and buying paints, and markers to create something helps you to move that energy of grieving, then do it. Whatever works for YOU is what you should focus on. Remembering that everyone is different which means different ways of healing may fall into place as well.

Don't Rush The Process

Finally, remember to not be in a rush to get the healing process over. Again, everyone is different, which means what may take me four to six months to heal from, may only take someone else six weeks. Alternately, it may take someone else two years to heal fully from a loss. Regardless, do your best to be gentle with yourself, and allow the process to go where it needs to, in it's own time.

Thank you for your support, and feel free to share this blog with your friends and family.

D 

The Grieving Process Of Loss Continues

Not What I Planned

The process of working through my loss is still under way. I did not plan this blog to be so focused on what I am going through personally right now, however, it's possible that what I am posting for all to read may one day help someone, somewhere that knows exactly how I feel, and will read my words, and appreciate that I have shared them. To that end, I will continue to share as I am able.

Physical Effects Of Grief

As I am continuing this process, I have noticed other physical experiences manifest to a degree. So, I did a web search and learned that when one has a traumatic loss in their lives of a beloved family member, or anyone whom they loved whole heartedly, they will most times experience more than just the emotions of grief, sadness, anger, and loss. They may also experience some physical things that manifest into their lives because of the loss itself. The loss of appetite, thus not eating, sleeping more then normal, not being as active, etc. I have experienced some of this myself, and I wasn't sure if it was something that was happening with my body, or if it was something I was experiencing because of the loss I am dealing with. I do what I can to be gentle with myself, but even now, almost two full months after I lost my buddy, I am still struggling to find any positive outlook on life daily. This is normal, as per the training that I had in my social work classes, but I did not expect my loss to hit me so hard, or last this long.

To learn more about other potential symptoms one might go through when grieving a loss, you can check this web site and read the article.

How to Cope With the Physical Effects of Grief

Empty Feeling Still Around

Something that seems to be a constant companion of mine on this journey is the empty feeling I have, which could be attributed to my buddy no longer being here physically, but the empty feeling goes beyond the physical. Every day I wake up, and most days I go over in my mind, if I should even get out of bed. When my buddy was still here, I had to get up and feed him his breakfast, which would get my day of to a start. There was a structure to my life that I enjoyed, that is no longer there. Me and the Christed Buddha had a beneficial arrangement that worked very well for the both of us. I cared for him, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and he cared for me, in many of the same ways. There is a belief that states that our beloved pets remain after they have crossed over. Their energy, if you will, remains to help us humans to cope with their loss. I have not experienced this myself, which could be why I feel so empty, and directionless most days. The feeling of being numb to the world fits me very well where I am on my path right now.

The Process Will End

Eventually I know things will improve, but I'm not sure exactly when that will be. Again, I'm doing my best not to rush the process, as every individual experiences this differently. But, right now, in this moment, I am ready to not feel so sad, and empty, and not having a direction. I want to feel happy, and be able to appreciate the beauty of the world once again... some day soon.

Until next blog, thank you for your visiting with me, and your comments.

D

P.S. Here is another article written for those whom have lost their pets.

Bereavement: Grief After The Loss of A Pet

How I Feel Right Now

If you ever listened to my show on WWCUFM broadcast, you'll know that I liked to throw some Five Finger Death Punch in the mix from time to time. I just saw this recent video they did, and it pretty much speaks to how I feel right now.

Click this link for updated version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve3fcInpKj0

Listen to the words. Nuff Said.

Till next time,

D

The Moon

I thought I would change pace a little with this blog and talk about something fun and different. So, I have chosen to discuss the moon today, because I enjoy photographing it, this is my own personal pic above, and my buddy recently posted something about the stars on his blog. You can check him out, and subscribe here -- https://myramblings70.blogspot.com/

What Is The Moon?

Now, lets talk about the Moon. What IS the moon? How did the moon get there? Why do we only see one side of it? All good questions to ask. What the moon is, other then the obvious answer of being a satellite of the earth, has been the subject of conversations for many decades. Generally speaking, it seems to be basically a big chunk of what was left of the "big bang" when our galaxy was formed. Moon rocks were brought back from at least one of the Apollo missions. I'm not privy to what exactly NASA, and whoever funds them, found out when they studied the rocks. Suffice it to say, as of this writing, that humanity has not been made aware of what our scientists have found out about the moon rocks, and what their make up is. 

How Did It Get There?

How did the moon get to be in it's current orbit? From what I understand, once all of the material that makes the moon up cooled, it settled into an orbit around the earth. However, for reasons I'm not completely sure about, the moon does not rotate like the earth, thus, we earthlings only see one side of the moon, unless your an astronaut of some kind, and travel out past the moon to see the other side.

My Take On The Moon

I have always been drawn to the moon, which is why I enjoy taking photos of it when I can. I find it unique, and interesting because of all of the anomalies that it exhibits. For example, if the moon formed about the same time as the earth did, with the same kind of materials, why doesn't it rotate, or have an atmosphere? Also, why have we not been back to the moon since our early exploration missions? Did our government discover something up there that they don't want us knowing about? Are there beings of some kind that have occupied the moon, and told us not to come back? I'm just thinking out loud here, as it were.

At any rate, I will probably always enjoy looking at the moon, and studying it for as long as I'm on this blue ball. Feel free to comment below, and share your own information or questions about our one and only natural satellite.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any new posts. Top right of this page, and thanks for reading my blog.

D

Dark Night Of The Soul

Dark Night Of The Soul

Today I will take you down the path that I have been on for the past month and some change. The path to the dark night of the soul is one of loss, and grief. As you well know, I have recently lost a very close soul to me in my beloved pet of more then 10 years. When I was first made aware of the situation in which he was in, I was immediately thrown into the decision making responsibility, which put his life into my hands. This process automatically started a chain reaction in my life, which lead me to embarking on the journey into the dark night of the soul. This path is rife with sadness, anger, grief, rage, disappointment, denial, and disbelief. As I worked my way through these emotions, I started out with sadness, and disbelief. In fact, I am still dealing with these right now. The impact they have on my life isn't as pronounced, but they are still my daily companions. Next for me in the process came anger, with some rage sprinkled in there. I am still also dealing with this one, and it comes on all of a sudden, and I have to honor the grieving process, so I do my best to allow this to happen as naturally as possible. However, sometimes this tears me down, in that moment. For me, the next stop was disbelief, and disappointment. These came to me as a pair, and I had to deal with the fact that my buddy, the Buddha, was gone, permanently. That still hurts for me to see, but I know that it's a fact now. So, that's how my journey has been so far. Keep in mind that not everyone will have the same journey. Your departure onto the path of the dark night of your soul may look a lot different then mine. However, some common themes to keep in mind will be sadness, deep sorrow, and the disbelief of what is happening. Something else that I forgot to mention is the empty feeling that I have felt almost since day one post Buddha. The feeling of emptiness in myself, and my house. Actually, my entire life feels empty now because of the loss I have suffered.

What Do I Do Now?

At this point in the process, if you have ever been through a loss, or go through one in the future, you will be wondering, ok, now what? Rightly so. To be honest, there is no "easy way" to get to the end of this type of a process. Loss and grief needs time to be processed, and you need time to heal. Both physically, and psychologically. There is no "right way" or "wrong way" to go through this type of experience. It just kind of happens the way it's supposed to. For me, I journaled A LOT, in the first few weeks of my loss. Along with this journaling was a huge amount of shedding tears. I can't remember the last time that I cried so much, or for so long. Keep in mind that if you are going through a loss like this, that you need to allow yourself to experience the process as much as possible. It's not going to be easy, and yes it will hurt deep inside. But going through the process, and getting onto the path that leads to the dark night of the soul is the only way to the end point of the healing process. So, what you do now is what comes natural to you, as in individual. Whatever works, FOR YOU.

When Will This Pain Go Away? 

This is one of the hardest parts to go through when someone is experiencing loss, and going through the path of recovery. The pain one feels comes from deep inside. It almost feels like it's coming from somewhere so deep within that it's difficult to imagine ever being able to feel "normal" again. This part is highly dependent on how much "work" the individual is willing to do with themselves, and how often they are able to dive deep into the emotions that this part involves. Again, this is unique to each individual, and will differ for every person. Thus, what may take me six months to go through in my healing process may take someone else only two months. But keep in mind that you must work through the pain in order for it to dissipate.

All Better In The End

Finally, at the end of this process, which I am not at yet, there is the obvious change that one will experience when they get up in the morning. For the first time in a long time, they may feel happy. Or they may actually WANT to do something. They may feel drawn to go see a friend they have not talked to in months. This part is one of the best parts of the dark night of the soul journey. So, if you happen to be going through this process right now, understand that there are others out there that know what you are experiencing. Understanding that they will have a different path then you, but there will be an understanding that they can have that even some of your closest family members may not have to offer you.

Feel free to comment below and subscribe to my blog.

Until next entry,

D

All Beings Matter

So, with all of the "Black Lives Matter" stuff going on right now, I thought I would post a little something on this. First, I want you to actually read what Jim Morris, a former vegan body builder had to say about all life on the planet. -- Now, think about how laser focused this current movement is. It's not about bringing us all together as a peaceful collective consciousness, instead, "they" (however they are) are trying to keep us divided by focusing on ONE event, doing all they can to get it on all of the "news" networks main story line, loop it, and watch all of society loose it's mind. I ask you, does that sound loving, or accepting of every being on the planet?! No, I don't think it does

So, I would pose the idea that every living being on this big mud ball has value, and the right to choose their own life, and how they live it. Just like what Jim says in his quote above. No one type of being is any more or less important then any other one. Yes, I'm talking about all animals to. But, to stay on the topic of what is happening now, I pose this thought for you to ponder, until we come together as a collective consciousness, and accept everyone, where they are, as they are, with no judgement at all, with a loving heart, we will never experience what could be a "better world", or an ideal world like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr talked about. What happened to George Floyd was wrong, and the individual that caused the incident to happen should be held accountable. Taking this situation, and using it to keep us divided, as a collective community, is exactly what the elite, and the media moguls want to do.

They don't want us to wake up to the fact of realizing that every conscious being matters on the planet. For as soon as we come together, in unity, and acceptance, there is nothing that would be able to stop us as long as whatever we did came from a place of openness, and a truly love focused place.

So, just remember that even though the media try to make the masses focus on one event, and then use that event to rile humanity up, there is another, better, and more loving way to accept someone, or something other then following the heard over the cliff into the abyss of hatred and/or blind "faith" in the system.

I will leave you with a quote from Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated".

D