High Mesa Happenings & Heartstrings

A Soothing, Summer Voyage into the Fantastic: a Must See

Summer is here! In past times, the car was loaded for a Summer vacation. Maybe not this year. We are watching that gas tank. Here is a proposal:

* secure a comfortable position in front of your screen

* rest your mind in knowing this trip will not add to pollution, road rage or stressors

* take a deep breath of anticipation

*  click Download FantasticTrip.pps, wait a couple of seconds,  enjoy!

(... and maybe you just get a still screen after clicking "open" in the dialog box; breath in; go to your taskbar, all the way down of your screen, to the right side and surf over the icons; click on the one that says: slideshow)

It's awsome!

Posted by NWH

A Global Wave: One World, One Circle, One Cause

We all live on the same planet. We all are connected the same. We all long for the same.

Thank you Ginny and Kate for sharing this opportunity. Please watch the video below, then let's do it, on June the 18th at 7:00pm !

 "Such an easy thing to do. Send love and joy and healing to the earth and all living things at 7:00pm in whatever time zone you're in."

Posted by NWH

CFL Safety: Another Step after Saving Energy and Money

We're pretty sure you've heard by now:  Switching from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is a great way to save energy and money. But your environmental responsibility doesn't end there. CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin,so it's important to dispose of them properly. (To put the amount into perspective, consider that one CFL bulb contains between 2 and 5 milligrams of mercury, whereas the nation's coal-fired power plants spew out about 50 tons of mercury per year.) Some manufacturers have already implemented strategies to reduce mercury content in CFLs. While they're working on that, you can do your part by keeping CFLs out of landfills.

Don't throw CLFs in the trash. Some manufacturers, like Osram Sylvania accept returned CFLs for recycling. Retailers, like IKEA, also have take-back programs. Find your nearest CFL recycling center at RecycleABulb.com, or consult the EPA’s directory of recycling facilities. If a bulb breaks, the EPA recommends opening a window and leaving the room for at least 15 minutes. Keep children and pets away from the broken bulb, and follow these steps  for safe clean up and removal.

                                     

             From the Green Life, Sierra Club

 

 

 

 

Posted by NWH

On Peace

Jane B-Y sent us words on Peace by Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez, known as Monsenor Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador. Witnessing ongoing violations of human rights in his country, he started a group speaking on behalf of the poor and victims during the civil war in El Salvador. He was assassinated in 1980 during a sermon, by a death squad. The movie Salvador by Oliver Stone renders the political stage around the life of Monsenor Romero and on the Civil War of El Salvador.

"Peace  is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism,
Peace is generosity,
It is right and it is duty."

Among others, Jane has included this photo (Bakersfield, CA,) titled "The Day when God dropped the Paintbox".

Sometimes, looking at beautiful colors of nature helps me to gratefully be still.

NWH 

The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes

Yes, it could be considered  a "trend" nowadays: kids speaking to adults on how we are destroying Mother Earth. These messages and other alike pleas have come via emails, videos, music, etc. Actually, it's not really a "new thing."  Every generation in its youth has been calling for a change or another. What's different about today's calls, then? Your answer is as good as mine.

My answer is that I hear the underlying fear. I hear the anxiety of loosing life as we know it, as it is supposed to be. Life ending for good. No future left. A cry for help. What to do? I can't bring back as the girl says in the video, species or forests that have disappeared. But I can take a child in my arms, listen, acknowledge, and nurture strength to face with compassion change and accept things the way they are. I can show that I heard the message and that I care in choosing a behavior which will honor all and everything as it is. I can show and teach skills to cope.

The Peace Village Camp is the opportunity for Teen Counselors, Teachers, Camp Staff and HMHC Staff to hear worries and change them into strength in demonstrating and encouraging peaceful life practices.

Watch and hear:

Posted by NWH

Age of the Millenials

Young adults coddled by their parents to the point of being ill prepared for a demanding workplace?

 

If you missed the report from the May 25 CBS 60 Minutes on the generation called “Millenials” by Morley Safer, click on the link that follows.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4126233n

 

posted by PJA

Amazing Striped Icebergs

I like Nature. I spent most of my 3 first years of my life outside, almost all day long and well into a night a lot of times. Don't ask, it's my story.  After these former years, it often has been a challenge to be drawn into cultures where nature seems to have become a stage backdrop or a prey to satisfy personal needs. I can't do it. I have to live with Nature: feel, see, touch, smell, nurture with it. Doing so allows me to practice awe,  respect and gratitude in my life. I like that.

Thank you Jane B-Y for sharing the below wonder of Nature.

Amazing striped icebergs

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions. Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with melted water and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form. When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe. Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

To see more colored and shaped icebergs, go to

Australian Antarctic Division.

Enjoy.

Posted by NWH

Light up a Life; polish the glow on your own.

Save the Starship!

This is to supplement the info in the Call for Help that Nadette posted  for us in the May 15th newsletter.
It's about my friend, Michael Schwass, a really cool man. He's a quadraplegic: yeah, all four limbs.

If you don't need the whole story to open your heart, here's the Donate Now link.  I'm hoping for LOTS of money, though, so read on, please.

I want to begin this post with an excerpt from Laura's post of April 26th:

I have come to appreciate something that we don't always acknowledge:

It's easier to raise money for children who so easily capture our hearts and the newly injured when life is much more dramatic and emotions are high for everyone. But, truly, after 33 years, people kind of forget that the needs of the disabled never ever diminish, but, in fact, increase.  In fact, with someone disabled as long as Michael it's almost easy to forget, in a strange way, just how much work his life takes because it's just so normal.  His hands are all contracted and you just get used to it. You don't think about things like how he can't wear gloves in the winter, no matter how cold, because he can't put them on. It just doesn't occur to us and he doesn't point it out. In general, we don't think about 49 year olds needing help and honestly, if you were to meet Michael he is so positive and upbeat that it would be very easy to look at him as someone who has everything entirely under control.  Makes him a joy to be around, a heck of a teacher in dignity, grace and fortitude but yowsa what the man behind the curtain goes through...

So please, if you can, help spread the word to your own networks, or maybe at your own blogs.  This literally is about keeping Michael alive, out of the hospital and as independent as possible. If anyone has any additional ideas for us on ways to get support, I'm all ears.  ...

Thanks everyone!

 

Here's an excerpt from a story about Michael getting trapped in his van recently:

 

Michael's van, affectionately known as "The Starship" has a few "issues" beyond what one would normally expect in a 103,000 mile mini-van. When I met him on Friday with plans to help him get to the Sprint store to replace his failing phone he pulled into the parking lot, rolled down the window and said,

"It took me a few seconds to realize the implications, but look..."

He hit the switch to open the door and extend his ramp only to reveal the door jammed midway open, barring the ramp from extending. He was trapped, quite literally, in his van.

The good news: It was nice weather and the mechanic had agreed to come to meet us in a Quizno's parking lot to free him. Being able bodied, I was able to get in and keep him company for the hour and a half wait.

The bad news: The door jammed again as he was getting ready to head home at 8 pm preventing him from getting into the van.

The good news: The mechanic's home number was listed and he was willing and able to come back out, the thunderstorms had waned to a light drizzle allowing him to work and an hour later we were able to get Michael home. He is now sporting a duct taped running board (which was the culprit jamming the door) to match the bungee cord holding on his front bumper. He has to get into the body shop soon or he really is risking getting trapped again in a much less congenial situation.

And yes, I'm pulling on your heartstrings, I hope. I'm shameless, don't you know. I also believe in seva - in service to others. This job is just bigger than I can handle on my own. So I need you and Michael REALLY needs you. And The Starship needs you.

Here are some links to help you find the rest of the story, and lots of stuff about Michael; how he's one of the good guys, what he's done with his life from the wheelchair, other ways to help - stuff like that.

Thanks so much for taking your time to read this. And thanks for all that open-heart giving that's happening now. You're the best.

ABOUT Michael - bio-type stuff:
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/about-michael-schwass.html

Mike's own request.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/contributions.html

a post about Michael's book
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/about-dont-blame-the-game.html

Mike's blog – pages of great info, and insight into the man.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/rollingrishi/

Laura's 1^st req.
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/dragonslaying/2008/04/scenes-from-a-f.html

Laura's update & 2^nd  request
http://laurayoung.typepad.com/dragonslaying/2008/04/were-on-our-way.html

the donate now link.
http://www.typepad.com/t/app/public/tj?__mode=tip_confirm&id=192136&user_id=469601

 

 

Black Balloons

We are aware of how consumerism affects our planet. It just that so many daily activities have become routine necessities. That is just the way things are. It would be insane to choose to return to a home life of the past, were it at all possible. There is a choice however: that of consuming with awareness and  of reducing consumerism. To choose to be aware of how much is needed to live well,  and what else is just plain  consumerism . Sometimes graphics help in receiving and accepting a same old message. Take a few minutes to watch Black Balloons, a video featured by The Alliance for Climate Protection , a group of people urging others to adopt strategies to protect the climate of the planet.  HMHC supports Planetary Wellness and Wholeness.

Posted by NWH

SOLDIERS . . . THEIR FAMILIES . . . THEIR SACRIFICES . . .

A 15 year old, Lizzie Palmer, put this presentation together . . . she realizes what the rest of us have a tendency to forget . . . that our soldiers are individuals with feelings . . . they have families . . . they make sacrifices . . . for us!

Enjoy this tribute . . . allow your hearts and thoughts to merge with ours with comfort for the families . . . that somehow they'll feel less alone, less separated.

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

and then . . .

What would you do for peace?
What would you do for love and happiness?
What will you do for our future?
Right now . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9cp0aR59dQ&feature=related

posted by PJA