That is awesome that you had a sign asking for people to take them off! Yeah, as someone who does not regularly go out of my way to make people uncomfortable, it was really weird for me to...make so many people uncomfortable, by not masking. But there's no other option, really. The masking is a sinister triple threat, b/c a) more harmful than was ever advertised, b) ineffective, and c) a really evil symbol of self-silence and submission to the narrative.
Though as our mandates here in CA wore on, many of the formerly uncomfortable who would try to get me to put one on just ignored me. Which I wasn't sure I was happy about, because they did that glazed eye I-don't-see-you-because-I-can't-process-what-you're-doing thing. I was a little happy about it, because it showed at least they weren't personally buying into the fear as much. But then again, I was a little sad about it, because it meant they were conforming for even LESS of a reason than if they were afraid. But then again, maybe they were never afraid, just afraid of getting fired.
But I quit my job rather than submit to masks, jabs, or tests, so I kind of have no sympathy for that. Everyone has their own calculus, I guess, and I can understand intellectually, why a person would go along to get along, but viscerally, I cannot. For me there was no question.
You and I are obviously more sincere in our beliefs than the next person, Michele.
I feel what you feel, too, but the crux of the matter is that I find humans to be terribly disappointing. Perhaps I shouldn't have any expectations of them, eh?!
I'm sorry to say, we don't seem to be seeing the best in people these days. I find it necessary to limit the (bad) news, find some happy and uplifting news stories, and devote as much of my day as possible to observing the natural world, mostly in silence. Meister Eckhart said, "To the quiet mind all things are possible." That's what I strive for, a quiet mind. The only thing I really have any power over is myself.
I watch my cats in the garden, water my yard, look at the weather forecasts, tidy my house, read books cook, and scrupulously avoid CNN or MSM. Gab on occasion, but mostly Substacks that i subscribe to and Zerohedge. Listen to CDs in the car not radio... and it is definitely working as it keeps my stress lower.
Sounds a lot like my routine, Oona. I'm still working but it's work I love, with plants. Still stressed, though. I'm seeing people with masks on, indoors and out, every day. Wish I could just shrug my shoulders and laugh at them, but it hits me that these are the people who will greet the next atrocity with open arms. I need to move out of California and never look back.
Yes, you DEFINITELY need to leave CA ASAP. I do not know how people can actually live there. Drought, wildfire, pandemic, crime, taxes till you drop, earthquakes, and all made worse by 'the authorities'. When I moved to Florida, from NoVa it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Just the atmosphere changed and I can't tell you how, but I feel it in my daily interactions.
Thank you, I do need that encouragement. We live in the most beautiful and most dysfunctional place on earth, a stunning valley hidden in the mountains with an Indian reservation making up a large part of the area. Seven tribes, many of them enemies, were forced to come here. The place is beautiful and historically drenched in blood. Fifty years of cannabis growing has suddenly ended for the vast majority of people here and we've been plunged into an economic hardship even beyond what the rest of the country is experiencing. My partner's been here 45 years, I've been here 29 years; it's a hard place to come to and a harder place to leave. We have Baja in our sights, but at 79 that man is hard to shift. He'll go for days without seeing anyone to do more than wave to, just communes with our garden, the animals and the birds. Lucky guy. I, on the other hand, have to deal with Mexican cartel guys and mask-wearing Trump haters who babble on about climate change. I can't wait to leave.
Right? Super disappointing. All that 12-step stuff is kinda appropos now (b/c dealing w/dysfunction)--"detach with love" and "acceptance is Step Zero" and "expectations are resentments waiting to happen"--LOL. Not the first reactions I reach for--this is a pep talk for myself, not holier-than-thou advice!
I've done a lot of 12 Step work myself (Al-Anon) and have found it life-changing. There are things I don't embrace about it, I'm not a fanatic by any means, but it's helped me with many many issues in my life, many of them going way back. I think it's too bad that people sneer at it without giving it a try.
Yeah, a 12-step program saved my life, for sure; I think it is a shame too, that people pre-judge, but I know I did for years, until it was the only place to go.
Ditto. I saw that first hand at work as well. And finally we went to tacit admission (to ourselves and our public) that some folks were not going to wear the masks and we were just going to ignore them. Those who choose to be 'good' and kept wearing long after no need to was declared? Those are the ones lost, they will never regain their right minds - or perhaps never had a mind of their own to begin with...
That is awesome that you had a sign asking for people to take them off! Yeah, as someone who does not regularly go out of my way to make people uncomfortable, it was really weird for me to...make so many people uncomfortable, by not masking. But there's no other option, really. The masking is a sinister triple threat, b/c a) more harmful than was ever advertised, b) ineffective, and c) a really evil symbol of self-silence and submission to the narrative.
Though as our mandates here in CA wore on, many of the formerly uncomfortable who would try to get me to put one on just ignored me. Which I wasn't sure I was happy about, because they did that glazed eye I-don't-see-you-because-I-can't-process-what-you're-doing thing. I was a little happy about it, because it showed at least they weren't personally buying into the fear as much. But then again, I was a little sad about it, because it meant they were conforming for even LESS of a reason than if they were afraid. But then again, maybe they were never afraid, just afraid of getting fired.
But I quit my job rather than submit to masks, jabs, or tests, so I kind of have no sympathy for that. Everyone has their own calculus, I guess, and I can understand intellectually, why a person would go along to get along, but viscerally, I cannot. For me there was no question.
You and I are obviously more sincere in our beliefs than the next person, Michele.
I feel what you feel, too, but the crux of the matter is that I find humans to be terribly disappointing. Perhaps I shouldn't have any expectations of them, eh?!
I'm sorry to say, we don't seem to be seeing the best in people these days. I find it necessary to limit the (bad) news, find some happy and uplifting news stories, and devote as much of my day as possible to observing the natural world, mostly in silence. Meister Eckhart said, "To the quiet mind all things are possible." That's what I strive for, a quiet mind. The only thing I really have any power over is myself.
I watch my cats in the garden, water my yard, look at the weather forecasts, tidy my house, read books cook, and scrupulously avoid CNN or MSM. Gab on occasion, but mostly Substacks that i subscribe to and Zerohedge. Listen to CDs in the car not radio... and it is definitely working as it keeps my stress lower.
Sounds a lot like my routine, Oona. I'm still working but it's work I love, with plants. Still stressed, though. I'm seeing people with masks on, indoors and out, every day. Wish I could just shrug my shoulders and laugh at them, but it hits me that these are the people who will greet the next atrocity with open arms. I need to move out of California and never look back.
Yes, you DEFINITELY need to leave CA ASAP. I do not know how people can actually live there. Drought, wildfire, pandemic, crime, taxes till you drop, earthquakes, and all made worse by 'the authorities'. When I moved to Florida, from NoVa it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Just the atmosphere changed and I can't tell you how, but I feel it in my daily interactions.
Thank you, I do need that encouragement. We live in the most beautiful and most dysfunctional place on earth, a stunning valley hidden in the mountains with an Indian reservation making up a large part of the area. Seven tribes, many of them enemies, were forced to come here. The place is beautiful and historically drenched in blood. Fifty years of cannabis growing has suddenly ended for the vast majority of people here and we've been plunged into an economic hardship even beyond what the rest of the country is experiencing. My partner's been here 45 years, I've been here 29 years; it's a hard place to come to and a harder place to leave. We have Baja in our sights, but at 79 that man is hard to shift. He'll go for days without seeing anyone to do more than wave to, just communes with our garden, the animals and the birds. Lucky guy. I, on the other hand, have to deal with Mexican cartel guys and mask-wearing Trump haters who babble on about climate change. I can't wait to leave.
DEFINITELY key, limiting the bad news, focusing on the beauty and the mystery of world around us.
B/c sometimes birds are a more interesting mystery than people!
In my view, they are.
Right? Super disappointing. All that 12-step stuff is kinda appropos now (b/c dealing w/dysfunction)--"detach with love" and "acceptance is Step Zero" and "expectations are resentments waiting to happen"--LOL. Not the first reactions I reach for--this is a pep talk for myself, not holier-than-thou advice!
I've done a lot of 12 Step work myself (Al-Anon) and have found it life-changing. There are things I don't embrace about it, I'm not a fanatic by any means, but it's helped me with many many issues in my life, many of them going way back. I think it's too bad that people sneer at it without giving it a try.
Yeah, a 12-step program saved my life, for sure; I think it is a shame too, that people pre-judge, but I know I did for years, until it was the only place to go.
Ditto. I saw that first hand at work as well. And finally we went to tacit admission (to ourselves and our public) that some folks were not going to wear the masks and we were just going to ignore them. Those who choose to be 'good' and kept wearing long after no need to was declared? Those are the ones lost, they will never regain their right minds - or perhaps never had a mind of their own to begin with...