I think even Garrison Keillor would agree it has not been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon or just about any place that has access to mainstream media. We are barraged by news stories that feed our fears and incite frenzied reactions rather than calm, measured responses. Those who have an agenda that is not about getting along well with others, attempt to control us for their own gain.
 
            There are more than 7 billion people alive on the planet today.
            There are more than 7 billion different perspectives.
            There are more than 7 billion possibilities for wars.
            There are more than 7 billion opportunities for peace. 
 
I listen to local news and weather and try to avoid taking in all the rest. I scroll through facebook posts and sometimes feel guilty for wasting time and for feeling compelled to keep on scrolling. But had I not logged on last week, I would never have known about Milo’s Advice. I would not have rejoiced about sweet shelter dogs finding forever homes, learned a new recipe for cheesecake, read Susan Weed’s healing remedies, laughed over mis-adventures of curious kittens, been moved to tears when an African American man and a cop hugged, when women in Kenya shared conversations with my friends from South Dakota.  Of course, extremist views are posted on facebook along with shocking stories of hate and violence, and live reports of  mass destruction caused by tornados, earthquakes and floods.
            
             There are more than 7 billion different perspectives

But the thing is, facebook is a public venue where we all still have a voice! We can express our 7 billion different perspectives. We can roll our eyes and lol at those idiots, whomever we may think they are. We may vehemently disagree and we may post smiley faces and hearts and tell our friends what we had for dinner and with whom. We are not being manipulated or driven wholesale to our planetary destruction  - and you can like and share or unfriend me about that.

             There are more than 7 billion possibilities for wars

Of course there are made up stories and false conclusions and outright lies that attempt to direct our thinking. Facebook sources are as authentic - and as questionable - as any other source of information. But we can choose! And the way I see it is that more of us are choosing to post the good and we have the crazies outnumbered by a huge margin. We share breathtaking photos from our vacations, hug our classmates at a reunion, remember birthdays, have our collective conscience challenged, and pass along words of wisdom and love.

             There are more than 7 billion opportunities for peace
 
And there, last week, was a photo of precious 2 year old Milo.  He reminds us that we do indeed have choices.  He and Grandma Lolo think, speak and act like this: “First think about it. And then play.”                                                                xoxoxo <3

           (the photo is not Milo but another Wise One who would most likely say "Amen" to Milo!)

A perfect northwest rain forest kind of day ……hills surrounding our town shrouded in fog, mist rising from the river, ducks afloat on cool and placid waters, seedlings fallen from shade trees dot the sidewalks, traffic sounds muffled, flowers washed clean of dust and heat splendorous color against damp soil. After the hottest, driest June on record, July 1 is a blessing and a promise:    
                                cycles   
                                         goodness   
                                                      fruition    
                                                                 continuous     
                                                                                 flowing

​and still the river
 
river bank encrusted in ice
a few short months ago
now soft
covered in moss and tender shoots of grass
tiny fish move in quiet pools
wisps of cotton catch in grass
beneath sacred trees
the lower limbs, forgetting frigid storms
that left them brittle and dark with longing,
bend gracefully
caress the surface of tranquil flowing
with eager new leaves

and still the river rises
ebbs and flows
peace and plenty
abide in the land
 
  
-  © 1 july 2016  pab  -
​ooooo