Friday, February 14, 2014

“Desiderata”




 Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be
on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations
to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become
vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser
persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress
yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever
your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

 Max Ehrmann, “Desiderata”

Desiderata: a manifesto for peace desiderata, Max Ehrmann, life manifesto was written in 1927.
However, it was largely unknown during Ehrmann’s lifetime, gaining popularity in the early 1970′s.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Recovery...as this drunk sees it #2


Addictive disease contains all FIVE conditions 
that are required to qualify as a disease.

1) PRIMARY: The disease is not a symptom of
 
another  condition, and exists independently
 
of other disease processes.

2) CHRONIC: There is no cure. Abstinence is necessary to
 
stop the behavioral and physical progression of the disease.

3) PROGRESSIVE: Signs and symptoms become more
 
severe over time.

4) PRONE TO RELAPSE: Once the disease has
 
progressed to the point where the symptoms are obvious,
 
it becomes abnormal for the individual not to use.
The individual must learn how to not use and must have
 
a preventive program in place to prevent relapse.

5) POTENTIALLY FATAL: All addictive diseases can kill either directly or indirectly.

There are also TWO dominant characteristics of addiction.

1) TOLERANCE: As the result of cellular adaptation at the neuron level in the brain, it becomes necessary to have an increase in use to achieve the same affect.
2) PHYSICAL DEPENDENCY: Progressively severe withdrawal symptoms of which the most important are those which originate in the brain itself. As an addictive disease progresses it is these characteristics, tolerance and dependency, which motivate continued use rather than anything else in the addict/alcoholics life.

   The above is a definition, alcoholics are individuals, therefore, every alcoholic has his own diagnosis, his own time frame for the progression of the disease, the different nuances of this and that, which they (the alcoholic) use to deny that they have a problem. Every alcoholic is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole,(or visa verse). As regards the Chronic part of the definition, medication may help some, hypnosis may help some, but once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic and the only sane way to survive the disease is not to drink or drug, ever.
   Progression can be illustrated by noting that some teenagers begin way out of control and are dead by the time they are twenty-one. Some addicts and alcoholics start out hard and hardy and have a good long run before the problems catch up to them. Some start out slowly and go many years, with few problems, until they reach a point where they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. There are exceptions: the traffic accident victim who is severely hurt and requires large doses of pain killers to survive and when they are healed, they are hooked. Grandma and Grandpa retire, never drank, now they decide to have a toddy to help them sleep; the kids finally catch on and send them to the rehab.The Prone to Relapse part of the disease definition is a topic that will be discussed in a series of separate blogs after more discussions about the bad behaviors of alcoholics.
  The only constant is that all of the victims will deny that they do not have a problem. 
 
Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you that you do not have a disease.
 
The pain, the agony, the suffering and the misery are always caused by someone else.
 
Be sympathetic of the addict who is trying to quit drinking and drugging, but remember,
 
tough love may be the only sane way that you have to defend yourself from the alcoholic.

Please remember, they are sick people trying to get well, not bad people trying to become good.

The following is a link to one of the more highly recommended rehabilitation facilities
 
on the east coast of the
 United States.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Michael_e

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Equality


It’s just another fact of life…
We all want to be equal…
Oftentimes it is at the expense…
Of the other teams people…

 Equality can not be won…
It is not domination…
It will be a product…
Of peaceful motivation…

 Equality is not an excuse…
To bash enemy faces…
Surely not the occupation…
Of our public places…

 Equality is the combination…
Of our dreams and ideas…
Equality will be a chapter…
In future encyclopedias…

We will all read and laugh…
And realize we were wrong…
We all dream the same dreams…
We all sing freedom songs…

 The only thing that’s different…
Our attitudes towards others…
I’d still be willing to bet…
We all love our mothers…

 We are all brothers…
We are all sisters…
We are all just little people…
In a big world of misters…

 It’s time to be complimentary…
Agree we are on the same land…
Red… Green… Blue… Nor black…
Has the right to oppress a man…

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 plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

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http://chriscondello.wordpress.com/

– Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA

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ME and the Boss

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Green Collar


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Watching people on streets come and go…
Abandoned houses remain capped in snow… Occupied homes emanate clouds of smoke…
When the wind blows the stream is broke…

Neighborhood cats normally skittish and mean…
Using my warmth to get the energy to clean…
After a few minutes he is on his way…
Chasing a lost leaf across a frozen display…

After a few moments an old car rolls past…
The smell of exhaust and discount gas…
The car slowly rolls to a screeching stop…
Lights turn off and bass lines drop…

A few minutes pass into the crunch of ice…
A stranger slithers past staring not so nice…
There’s a guy on that porch we gotta roll…
Drop me on the corner and I’ll grab your toll…

Another night observing the urban streets…
Another drug deal by a kid packing heat…
Realizing we are all slaves to the dollar…
Blue collar… White collar…

And then there’s me… The green collar…

 plant petunias and question everything

– chriscondello

The Green Thumbed Vagabond

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from Wilkinsburg, PA

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ME and the Boss and thanks to chris for his wonderful insights...

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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Whatever sets you free


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 A child is a seedling…
A grown up is a tree…
Somewhere in the middle…
Is just little old me…

 Sitting here in the snow…
Thinking with my fragile soul…
Considering all the little shit…
That combines to make me whole…

 Don’t sweat the small stuff…
Walk softly and carry a big stick…
When given your own choice…
Always build with bricks…

 Brick stands the test of time…
Icy snows and gusty flows…
Be the structure standing tall…
When the cold wind blows…

 Be the mighty wind…
Be the mighty tree…
Sometimes you just have to be…
Whatever sets you free…

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 plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

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http://chriscondello.wordpress.com/

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From Wilkinsburg, Pa

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ME and the Boss

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