Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Weighty Issues, Dead Scrolls ,Happiness and Mixter's on the Road


After working hard for the last few days I finally have a day off and those things that I have taken issue with have piled up! It can be hard to write about issues after your initial furor has boiled over, but hopefully I can still make a few valid points.

It is also hard when you finally have a day where you have to not only catch up on sleep, but also laundry, dog issues and groceries to deal with. I also want to blog,so.....I have planted myself on the livingroom floor, cup of hot coffee, Matt Lauer in the background and issues before me!

First we go back to the "Happiness Project".
What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?

I look at my son, and what seems to make him happy, and the difference in what makes me happy these days. I don't look for the big things. I can be happy and smile with a small gesture. A nice Burts Bees chapstick can make me happy. A good walk with my dog. A yummy box of Girl Scout cookies can be a pleasant surprise. I now know that happiness in life, for me and maybe many people, is made up of all the small stuff. Sure the big things can be extra special nice, but they are not the stuff of everyday.

If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost? Or, like a “comfort food,” do you have a comfort activity?

Unfortunately I have MANY comfort foods! In the last few years I have also developed "comfort activities". Blogging and journaling have been a great comfort to me. It was initially difficult for me to begin my journaling on my laptop, but once I got over the need for pen and paper I began to love it. Just have to remember to hit "SAVE" every so often!

Now, we move on to religion. You had to know that neither Mixter, nor I, can let a post get by without a passing mention of our current fave topic!

'
Biblical scholars have long argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were the work of an ascetic and celibate Jewish community known as the Essenes, which flourished in the 1st century A.D. in the scorching desert canyons near the Dead Sea. Now a prominent Israeli scholar, Rachel Elior, disputes that the Essenes ever existed at all — a claim that has shaken the bedrock of biblical scholarship.' This comes to us courtesy of Time Magazine. Seems to me, after reading this article, that another of the stories connected to the Bible et al may be just another fabrication with which people used to control/manipulate the peoples. Are we surprised? Only reason that folks will get in to an uproar is because they hate it when their "faith" cage gets rattled.

Finally we get to the turmoil over Meghan Mcains weight. Can we get serious!! Are we actually still so controlled by our high school emotions that a radio chat host would act like a pissed off cheerleader and poke fun at another girls weight?

"Ingraham, using an empty-headed Valley Girl voice, also mocked McCain, saying, "Okay, I was really hoping that I was going to get that role in the Real World, but then I realized that, well, they don't like plus-sized models. They only like the women who look a certain way."

But on Monday, McCain fired back at Ingraham, whom she admitted "I had actually never heard of," before her comments, stating: "It's terrible. It infuriates me. I'm a political writer on a blog and all of a sudden I'm too fat to write? There's no place for weight criticism of women in 2009."

Seems that conservative radio talk person, Laura Ingraham, decided to blast Meghan Mcain not for her politics, but for being fat! Are you kidding me! No matter what Mcains politics I still believe that she can totally speak or write about what ever she likes without her looks or weight coming in to the mix. I think that people who stoop to those tactics are really the ones who are fearful and have inner strength and like to belittle others to make themselves feel better. I applaud Mcains comments and rebuttals! You go girl.

Our girl Mixter is on the road! Yahoo. She landed a cool, new job that is going to require her to be on the road for awhile and living out of a suit case. Blogging in a hotel lobby or library. Hope they won't escort you out of the city as some sort of subversive for your points of view!! Can't wait to hear about her exploits out there in "God Country". even though I did not know that He showed any personal preference. I live in a college town and figure that we are not counted among His favorite places. Too much drinking and debauchery!!



1 comment:

Gretchen Rubin said...

Dear Dharma,
I saw the nice mention of my blog, The Happiness Project, here. I so much appreciate those kind words and you shining a spotlight on my blog! Thanks and best wishes, Gretchen Rubin