“Where love rules,
there is no will to power,
and where power predominates,
love is lacking.
The one is the shadow of the other” – Carl Jung
Sunday Thoughts: Jung Love
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Category Archives: Serious Stuff
OPINION | Ban Fireworks #July4th #IndependenceDay
There’s nothing to celebrate on the #July4th when traditional fireworks cause environmental pollution, scare wildlife, pets, and veterans.
Instead, let’s be smart and kind and use laser light shows. It’s virtually the same experience with zero #cruelty. #BanFireworks#IndependenceDay
Fortunately, a growing number of cities and counties are opting to prohibit fireworks, including recently adopted bans in Portland, Oregon; San Jose, California; Detroit, Michigan; and King County, Washington (home to Seattle).
The Animal Legal Defense Fund advocates in favor of such bans to protect animals and the ecosystems in which they live.
Companion Animals at Risk
Every July like clockwork, news articles and social media posts are published sharing advice for animal guardians about how to keep their companions as safe and calm as possible on the Fourth of July.
And, every July like clockwork, municipal animal shelters fill to the brim with dogs and cats who’ve escaped their homes and yards, becoming lost as they try to flee the sounds, smells, and vibrations of fireworks.
Wildlife Suffer for Fireworks
As for animals in the wild, they face perils of their own as a result of fireworks. “We know what to expect, but wildlife don’t,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes, adding that “[t]he abrupt lights and sounds are often seen as a threat by nesting bald eagles and easily startle great blue herons and other colonial nesting birds.”
Additional Problems for Humans and the Environment
Fireworks have environmental and public health impacts that are rarely considered or fully appreciated. They release particulate matter and toxins, adversely affecting air quality. They also pose a serious risk of igniting wildfires, particularly in areas facing dry conditions.
Many humans are also bothered by fireworks, including people with post-traumatic stress disorder, those on the autism spectrum, and others with sensory processing challenges.
https://aldf.org/article/animals-suffer-for-fireworks-more-localities-are-implementing-bans/
Inner Child ⭐ Love
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a little child within who needs love and acceptance.”- Louise Hay
Do you still wish upon a star? I do, because my own inner child is blissfully naive and unsophisticated.
Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I wish tonight.⭐
I wrote a letter
To my inner child
And, I told her
How loved she was by me
And, if no one else
Ever told her so
She knew
How loved she was, by me
⭐
And when
We grow up
We must never forget
That hidden, down deep
Within us
Is our forever inner child
Resting, silently within us
Forever waiting
Forever hoping
That one day
We shall
Remember it
⭐
And, if a star shall fall
Down upon the ground
Why, I shall pick her up
For she longed to be found
I shall hold her forever
Forever in my heart
Knowing that we shall never
Ever again, be apart
By Athey Thompson from A little Pocket Book of Poems
Hearts and Gardens
The last week has been heavy with sad and tragic events from around the world. As we leave June and enter another month, let’s lighten the energy with a beautiful quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about planting kindness wherever we can.
“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
BREAKING NEWS: Rest in Peace, Julian Sands
Here’s confirmation.from San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department:
Coroner Identifies Remains Located in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area on June 24, 2023
DATE/TIME: June 24, 2023 / 10:00 a.m.
INCIDENT: Human Remains Located
LOCATION: Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area
DECEASED PARTY: Julian Sands, 65-year-old resident of North Hollywood, CA
UPDATE- June 27, 2023: The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results.
We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands.
Hopefully, this information will offer some kind of solace to family and loved ones.
Rest in peace.
UPDATE: Could This Be Actor Julian Sands? | Human Remains Found on Mt. Baldy
It’s been a long time since we heard any news about Julian Sands. It’s now possible there will be a sad closure to his disappearance.
According to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the body was discovered around 10 a.m. in wilderness near Mount Baldy and was transported to the coroner’s office for identification next week.
Hikers Discover Human Remains in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area
DATE/TIME: June 24, 2023 / 10:00 a.m.
INCIDENT: Human Remains Located
LOCATION: Mt. Baldy Wilderness Area
On Saturday, June 24, 2023, at about 10:00 a.m., civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they discovered human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness. Fontana Station deputies, along with the Sheriff’s Department’s Emergency Operations Division, responded to the scene. The decedent was transported to the Coroner’s Office, pending positive identification. Identification should be completed next week at which time we will update this press release. No further details are available at this time. Additional details were not immediately available.
Sands, an avid hiker and mountaineer, was reported missing January 13 after setting out on the peak that rises more than 10,000 feet east of Los Angeles. The region was pounded by severe storms during winter.
On Friday, his family released its first statement since Sands’ disappearance:
“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer,” the statement said.
Julian Sands is a British-born actor best known for his role in the 1985 film “A Room With a View,”
A June 17 search for Sands, the eighth organized search with a rescue team of about eighty volunteers, was unsuccessful. Hundreds of hours have been put into the search … through the use of helicopters, drones, and other tactics.
I’lll update as more information becomes available.
Curated from NPR and other sources
The Titan | Ocean’s Tragic Magic
“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.” – Kahlil Gibran
My thoughts are about as insignificant as a drop in the ocean, but I’ve memorialized my observations as a way to try and wrap my brain around the tragedy that unfolded the last few days about the Titan submersible.
I’ve lived near the ocean most of my life and while I love it, I’m afraid of it at the same time.
I CAN swim but it’s not my most favorite thing to do; in fact, my chest gets tight and I can start to hyperventilate simply thinking about putting my head under water — even though I know I have done it many times.
The Angel Kids aren’t like me — they’re half dolphin — both of them, and swim and jump in the waves and dive and try to surf and paddleboard with no fear of the power of the ocean.
When I first learned about the concerns regarding the loss of communication with this tiny little submersible while it attempted to reach the wreck of the Titanic, the idea of being crouched into a tight space, freezing cold, in total darkness, with limited oxygen, miles away from help — was a recipe to ignite some of my worst fears.
Lost and alone, in the dark, unable to breathe, under the sea.
I don’t like to take the Bart tunnel from San Francisco to Oakland and can’t even think of an incentive that could motivate me to endure a two-hour ride on the Chunnel from London to Paris.
Yesterday, the United States Coast Guard said that an ROV found the tail cone of the Titan 1,600 ft from the Titanic, and the ROV then found additional debris consistent with the “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.”
The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger.
Officials said that the location of the debris field matched “the location of last communication” of the submersible. The time of the implosion has not yet been determined.
From the Rear Admiral, “I offer my deepest condolences to the family. I hope this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the Titan, released a statement on Thursday saying that they believe all five passengers on the submersible had been “lost.”
Presumed deceased are Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, and his son, Sulaiman Dawood.
Also from OceanGate, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the statement said . “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
What I find utterly fascinating and darkly eerie is the connection to the wreck of the Titanic.
From NPR: “The OceanGate executive who was piloting the submersible on its fateful Sunday dive is married to the descendent of a couple who died in the very shipwreck his expedition aimed to see.
OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush is married to Wendy Rush, the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who choose to remain onboard the sinking Titanic together so that others could escape to safety in their place.
They were the real-life inspiration behind the heartbreaking scene in James Cameron’s movie in which an elderly couple embraces in bed as water rushes into their room.”
There’s been a disgusting amount of unkind and vicious commentary on social media about the fact that these men were millionaires and billionaires.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how entitled they were or how much money they had; this is a tragic, horrible way to die.
From Julias Kim via Twitter: “There isn’t one person who is hating on billionaires right now that wouldn’t take a billion dollars if it was handed to them tax free…Beware. It’s a slippery slope when we start devaluing lives based on how much money people have.”
Yet…there’s this:
As every news report led with the OceanGate submersible, how many international efforts coalesced to rescue hundreds of migrants from the ocean off Greece?
It seems as if that catastrophe garnered little to no attention.
I feel terrible for the migrants who drowned in the waters outside Greece AND for the people who died aboard the Titan.
And yes, it’s possible to feel compassion for both.
I Am 🩷
The practice of daily affirmations is a great way to reframe our mental patterns, shifting into positive thinking while learning to dynamically rewire our brain with neuroplasticity.
~Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar
“I closed my eyes, took a calming breath and listened to my heart call I am… I am… I am…”
(In 1982, Plath was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her Collected Poems.)
Try these I am affirmations:
I am excited for this day.
I am so grateful to be alive.
I am lovable.
I am worthy.
I’m going to have a great day.
I am open to opportunities.
I am alive.
I am full of joy.
I am at peace.
I am positive.
I am safe.
I am a wonderful person.
I am happy and healthy.
I am.
🩷
Black Gold
I love to look at historical photos and was fascinated by the pervasive documentation of how little human respect there was (and still is) for our planet.
Whether it was harming the environment by tearing up the earth to find gold in 1848 which caused irreversible damage or pillaging and plundering the ground for oil, it’s tragic to see that we don’t seem to have learned much about co-existing in harmony with nature without polluting and destroying our world.
I remember when my parents would drive up to Los Angeles to visit relatives and I’d see a few oil derricks along the way, but nothing like this.
Though conventional oil reserves have dwindled, oil drilling in the Los Angeles area remains. Oil rigs dot the city but are often hidden from sight through the use of tall fences, clandestine structures, or by drilling in LA’s low-income neighborhoods.
This is how Los Angeles Times described the Venice Beach–Del Rey oil field in 1930: Today oil derricks stand like trees in a forest… . Steam pile drivers roar on many a vacant lot… . One hundred and eighty permits to drill for oil have been given and twenty-five more are in procedure… . If this fever continues, as it gives every indication of doing, one reasonably may expect to see virtually the entire water-front line of private properties from Washington street to Sixty-sixth avenue or Playa del Rey dotted with a line of oil derricks.
Apparently, petroleum had already been in use by Native Americans for about 13,000 years. They relied on oil primarily as a lubricant but also as a sealant to waterproof canoes.
Following the initial oil discovery in California in 1872, Edward L. Doheny struck the massive Los Angeles oilfield in 1892, thirty-five miles south of the Pico Canyon.
FYI…It’s been reported that the recent runoff from California’s historic rainy season has exposed more gold around Placerville, the heart of gold country. Treasure seekers are dusting off their metal detectors and searching for the shiny stuff. With gold prices hovering at approximately $2,700 per ounce, it’s going to look like an episode of Aussie Gold Hunters out there.
Lots of great info at https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/
Fellini-esque Homeless Encounter
Yesterday I drove to an appointment for a physical therapy session to work on my knee, the one with the torn meniscus. Since I hate parking garages with low, oppressive ceilings, I chose to park a block or so away.
The sky was blue, the sun was out, and I briskly walked to my destination. Restaurants were full of happy people enjoying balmy weather on the last day of spring break.
I crossed the street and noticed a gnome-like, wizened, obviously homeless guy on a bench.
Exactly as if he had been watching and waiting for me, he stood up and blocked my path when I approached. He held out a pen and asked me if he could write his name on my body.
(Yes, for a nanosecond, I imagined he was holding a knife. Adrenalin production ramped up in my body, but it was just a pen.)
I shook my head and firmly replied, “No, you CANNOT!”
He said, “Why not? Because then you’d belong to me.”
This wasn’t a pleasant encounter — his demeanor was filled with contempt. With those few words, the tone he conveyed was sarcastic, sardonic, mocking, even derisive.
I continued to walk, shook my head at the oddness of his words. Many times, I’ve been asked for money by street people, but this was out of the ordinary for sure.
Instead of “homeless”, advocates suggest the use of language like unhoused or unsheltered to describe people “experiencing homelessness” to imply a worldview that sees homelessness as a structural and societal failing, not a personal problem.
Whatever language one uses, we have a large population here, and I think our city has a fairly responsive and compassionate approach to this crisis. Not great, but better than their past one-dimensional militant approach.
About an hour later, I retraced my steps as I made my way back to my car. The little man was still there, perched on the same bench. This time I noticed that his feet didn’t touch the ground, which means he was even shorter than my five feet. I didn’t feel like I needed to take any effort to avoid him.
This bench was positioned in the middle of the sidewalk and near the intersection at the stoplight where I needed to cross the street.
As I walked by, he cackled and stuck his foot out as if to trip me. I circumvented this potential ill-mannered assault as he called out to me with an abundance of animosity, “Hey curly!”.
Of course I didn’t respond and made it safely back to my car, but I was curious about these two slightly peculiar encounters in an otherwise completely normal day.
As I pondered the deeper meaning of what occurred, it reminded me of a Fellini film; the blending of fantasy and baroque images with raw earthiness — opening a portal to what lives beneath the surface of seeming normalcy.
What did the angry man represent? Why me? Why did he say I would be his if he wrote his name on me? There was an essence of something shadowy and devious and outlier about him; a glimpse into a version of a world I don’t inhabit.
How utterly strange and slightly unsettling, like I was actually IN an art film or an alternate reality or another dimension.
The only way I can describe it is how Caryn James in an old newspaper article described a Fellini film…”that moment when you walk headlong into a scene so strange you think you’re hallucinating; then it turns out to be real.
What I know for sure is that it was borderline creepy and I was SO glad to go home. To be home. There’s no place like home.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 