On the road and in between house sits. Back on November 7th.
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos, and one video.
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
THOUGHTFUL: showing consideration for others; occupied with or given to thought; contemplative; meditative. WANDERER: moving from place to place without a fixed plan; or having no permanent residence; nomadic.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
ON THE ROAD
POST # 188
On the road and in between house sits. Back on November 7th.
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos, and one video.
LAST VIEW OF BELLA AND RINGO, AT LEAST FOR NOW
A VERY LARGE AND VERY OLD MONTEREY PINE TREE
NATURE ON AN AUTUMN DAY
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
On the road and in between house sits. Back on November 7th.
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos, and one video.
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
ANOTHER POINTLESS ELECTION THAT AVOIDS THE REAL ISSUES
POST # 187
Canadians turned out in droves two days ago to vote for a new federal government. Apparently over 70% of eligible voters made their way to their respective voting centres to cast a vote. I imagine that most if not all of those who voted (and I'm certainly not one of them) felt that their vote could "make a difference."
The four main choices were, Conservative, Liberal, NDP, and the Green party. Even for someone like myself who spends next to zero time listening to the mainstream media, it was still difficult to not be bombarded with the pre-election party hype about how a vote for "them" was going to be the right choice going forward. Every party, including the Green party had at the very top of their agenda, jobs and growth. Jobs and growth, jobs and growth, it's all about jobs and growth. "Just vote for me and I'll make sure to provide more "JOBS AND GROWTH." Now, you would have thought that at least the Green party would put the environment ahead of jobs and growth, but if you thought that, you would have been wrong.
Not once did I hear Stephen Harper (Conservative), Justin Trudeau (Liberal), Tom Mulcair (NDP) or Elizabeth May (Greens) bring up the fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to have infinite growth on a finite planet. I guess they all figured that we can just keep on digging up, burning up, trashing up the planet, without any consequences. After all, "we've got technology, dude."
If any of these "leaders" spent a few moments to actually THINK, they would have to understand that you just can't continue to use up any particular "resource" no matter what it is, and expect it to be there forever and ever in order to maintain ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. (On a small side note, it's interesting how the word SUSTAINABLE, has now wiggled it's way into the narrative. Continued development = bad, sustainable development= good.) Of course, if any of them were to admit to that truth, ( the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet), then they would also have to question the concept of ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. And if they questioned that, then they might have to question just why they're up there in the first place asking for your vote? But we are way, way too far into this set of living arrangements called industrial civilization to make any significant changes at this point. This makes all political parties, irrelevant. The system will continue to pulverize the living world that we and all other species depend upon for life, until, in the end, even life itself won't be possible. But you won't hear those politicians talk about that. As far as I can see, politicians have two primary goals. The first is to get elected, and the second is to stay elected. Harper managed to keep the second goal going for quite some time, but now it's Trudeau's turn. The slogan for his party was "real change." I'm not sure what the difference is between change, and real change, but perhaps the Liberals didn't want to align themselves too closely with the Obama, "hope and change" mantra. We've all seen how well that has worked out since early 2009.
Maybe a much better slogan for any politician to promote would be the words of a painting that is hanging on the wall here.
I'm not holding my breath to find a politician that would have these words as their campaign slogan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aside from that lovely painting, I have a few more photos and videos to share this week from my location in the woods on Vancouver Island.
A BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER IN THE GARDEN
RINGO, LOOKING SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE BILL THE CAT FROM MAPLE BAY (see below)
MY CURRENT "HOME"
And to round things out for the day, a few videos of my friends next door who love to eat apples.
Canadians turned out in droves two days ago to vote for a new federal government. Apparently over 70% of eligible voters made their way to their respective voting centres to cast a vote. I imagine that most if not all of those who voted (and I'm certainly not one of them) felt that their vote could "make a difference."
The four main choices were, Conservative, Liberal, NDP, and the Green party. Even for someone like myself who spends next to zero time listening to the mainstream media, it was still difficult to not be bombarded with the pre-election party hype about how a vote for "them" was going to be the right choice going forward. Every party, including the Green party had at the very top of their agenda, jobs and growth. Jobs and growth, jobs and growth, it's all about jobs and growth. "Just vote for me and I'll make sure to provide more "JOBS AND GROWTH." Now, you would have thought that at least the Green party would put the environment ahead of jobs and growth, but if you thought that, you would have been wrong.
Not once did I hear Stephen Harper (Conservative), Justin Trudeau (Liberal), Tom Mulcair (NDP) or Elizabeth May (Greens) bring up the fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to have infinite growth on a finite planet. I guess they all figured that we can just keep on digging up, burning up, trashing up the planet, without any consequences. After all, "we've got technology, dude."
If any of these "leaders" spent a few moments to actually THINK, they would have to understand that you just can't continue to use up any particular "resource" no matter what it is, and expect it to be there forever and ever in order to maintain ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. (On a small side note, it's interesting how the word SUSTAINABLE, has now wiggled it's way into the narrative. Continued development = bad, sustainable development= good.) Of course, if any of them were to admit to that truth, ( the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet), then they would also have to question the concept of ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. And if they questioned that, then they might have to question just why they're up there in the first place asking for your vote? But we are way, way too far into this set of living arrangements called industrial civilization to make any significant changes at this point. This makes all political parties, irrelevant. The system will continue to pulverize the living world that we and all other species depend upon for life, until, in the end, even life itself won't be possible. But you won't hear those politicians talk about that. As far as I can see, politicians have two primary goals. The first is to get elected, and the second is to stay elected. Harper managed to keep the second goal going for quite some time, but now it's Trudeau's turn. The slogan for his party was "real change." I'm not sure what the difference is between change, and real change, but perhaps the Liberals didn't want to align themselves too closely with the Obama, "hope and change" mantra. We've all seen how well that has worked out since early 2009.
Maybe a much better slogan for any politician to promote would be the words of a painting that is hanging on the wall here.
I'm not holding my breath to find a politician that would have these words as their campaign slogan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aside from that lovely painting, I have a few more photos and videos to share this week from my location in the woods on Vancouver Island.
A BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER IN THE GARDEN
RINGO, LOOKING SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE BILL THE CAT FROM MAPLE BAY (see below)
MY CURRENT "HOME"
And to round things out for the day, a few videos of my friends next door who love to eat apples.
Next week, I may or may not be able to do a blog as I might be on the road. Check back on the 28th to find out.
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
NEW DIGS
POST # 186
Chumlee's history! Actually he's still doing fine back at his place in Nanoose Bay, but The Thoughtful Wanderer has moved on to his new digs, here on a farm out West of Duncan. It's just a short sit for only a couple of weeks, but I am looking forward to it.
En route to this location, I spent a night at my friend's farm which is only about 15 minutes from here. Accommodation was the WOOFER'S shack. It's even smaller than SNUG in the Yukon. Very cozy indeed.
But it was much preferable to spending time in the city.
Here is the approach road to downtown Vancouver.
Here is the approach road to my current sit. Which would you prefer?
And here is the house.
There is a good supply of wood, and with two wood stoves, I shouldn't have any problem with keeping warm over the next couple of weeks.
My house companions will be Bella, and Ringo, the two resident furballs. Jack the dog is off to a kennel for the duration. It would have been good to have him around, however I'm sure that the two furballs will be enough to keep me company. Plus, Jack will have time to spend with his dog friends, so it's all good.
Chumlee's history! Actually he's still doing fine back at his place in Nanoose Bay, but The Thoughtful Wanderer has moved on to his new digs, here on a farm out West of Duncan. It's just a short sit for only a couple of weeks, but I am looking forward to it.
En route to this location, I spent a night at my friend's farm which is only about 15 minutes from here. Accommodation was the WOOFER'S shack. It's even smaller than SNUG in the Yukon. Very cozy indeed.
But it was much preferable to spending time in the city.
Here is the approach road to downtown Vancouver.
Here is the approach road to my current sit. Which would you prefer?
And here is the house.
There is a good supply of wood, and with two wood stoves, I shouldn't have any problem with keeping warm over the next couple of weeks.
My house companions will be Bella, and Ringo, the two resident furballs. Jack the dog is off to a kennel for the duration. It would have been good to have him around, however I'm sure that the two furballs will be enough to keep me company. Plus, Jack will have time to spend with his dog friends, so it's all good.
RINGO
BELLA
JACK
That's about all there is to report for this go around, and I'll be back typing away next week.
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
THE DATE GUY and THE SEVENTH STAGE OF GRIEF
POST # 185
I have been told on countless occasions that I am "the date guy." For what ever reason, dates seem to stick in my head. And it doesn't really matter how far back the date is. The only condition, is that it was significant for me, in one way or another. It's kind of weird, but lots of things are weird, especially in this day and age.
Yesterday happened to be one of those dates. October 6th, 2007 was the day Madonna died. No, not Madonna the singer, Madonna the mother. My mom. Even though I think about her from time to time, it certainly isn't as often as it used to be. I feel that I've worked through the grief as a result of her death, and I'm left with pleasant memories of the times we shared.
In an odd coincidence, there was an essay posted by my friend Guy at his website yesterday, and the title of the essay is, "The Seventh Stage." If you're interested, you can read it here:
http://guymcpherson.com/2015/10/the-seventh-stage/
In short, Guy has added two additional stages to Elizabeth Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief. Stage 6 is gallows humour, and stage 7 is fuck it. Now I imagine that a few readers won't appreciate the fact that I've dared to use the "f" word on my blog, but I find it both funny and appropriate.
In fact, it takes me back to thinking about my mom, on the last day that I saw her alive which was one week before she died. A broken hip had put her in the hospital, and at the age of almost 92, the odds of her coming out of the hospital weren't very good. In spite of her advanced age, modern medicine "came to the rescue" with a hip replacement. I could go off on a rant about whether or not a hip replacement was appropriate, but I won't.
So the day that I'm there at her bedside, a young lady arrives to get mom out of bed, in order to "get that new hip working." At this stage, mom was mostly just skin and bones, and to me it seemed almost cruel to get her up and out of bed and positioned in front of her "walker" in order to exercise this new hip. But I guess the young lady was just doing her job. Anyway, I'm now getting to the funny part. Her plan for my mom was to have mom walk to the end of the bed, and then continue on out into the hallway. Mom made it to the end of the bed, then a few steps more past the foot of the bed in the direction of the doorway, and it was here that I think in her mind, she just said, "fuck it" and made another left and bee-lined it back towards her bed. She had had enough of this walking business. As painful as it was to watch her struggle along, my lasting memory was the look on her face, which implied, that she wasn't going to let some young woman tell her what to do. I find myself chuckling right now, just thinking about it.
She died a week later, and even though I wasn't there by her bedside, perhaps she had decided to call it a day, and say, "fuck it" and drift off into a peaceful, painless, forever sleep.
Never in my life, did I hear my mom use the "f" word, and she only heard me use it once in front of her, which ended up causing both of us to laugh out loud, but that's a long story from a long time ago, so I'll leave it at that. Another happy mom related memory.
Getting back to my friend, Guy's essay, and in light of the bleak outlook going forward, it seems like a good time to be in the "fuck it" stage. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean giving up, it just means trying to appreciate even more, each moment.
So on that note, here are a couple of photos and videos showing how I appreciate the moments. Enjoy.
A WEST COAST BEACH HERE IN NANOOSE BAY
_KAIN, THE HUSKY I MET A FEW DAYS AGO
QUALICUM BEACH B.C.
CHUMLEE PLAYING WITH HIS GREEN STRAW
Spending time with animals like Kain, and Chumlee, helps to reinforce the idea of how valuable being in the present moment really is. It's not easy (for us human animals), but it is certainly worth it. And just look at how much fun you can have. Right Chumlee?
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
I have been told on countless occasions that I am "the date guy." For what ever reason, dates seem to stick in my head. And it doesn't really matter how far back the date is. The only condition, is that it was significant for me, in one way or another. It's kind of weird, but lots of things are weird, especially in this day and age.
Yesterday happened to be one of those dates. October 6th, 2007 was the day Madonna died. No, not Madonna the singer, Madonna the mother. My mom. Even though I think about her from time to time, it certainly isn't as often as it used to be. I feel that I've worked through the grief as a result of her death, and I'm left with pleasant memories of the times we shared.
In an odd coincidence, there was an essay posted by my friend Guy at his website yesterday, and the title of the essay is, "The Seventh Stage." If you're interested, you can read it here:
http://guymcpherson.com/2015/10/the-seventh-stage/
In short, Guy has added two additional stages to Elizabeth Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief. Stage 6 is gallows humour, and stage 7 is fuck it. Now I imagine that a few readers won't appreciate the fact that I've dared to use the "f" word on my blog, but I find it both funny and appropriate.
In fact, it takes me back to thinking about my mom, on the last day that I saw her alive which was one week before she died. A broken hip had put her in the hospital, and at the age of almost 92, the odds of her coming out of the hospital weren't very good. In spite of her advanced age, modern medicine "came to the rescue" with a hip replacement. I could go off on a rant about whether or not a hip replacement was appropriate, but I won't.
So the day that I'm there at her bedside, a young lady arrives to get mom out of bed, in order to "get that new hip working." At this stage, mom was mostly just skin and bones, and to me it seemed almost cruel to get her up and out of bed and positioned in front of her "walker" in order to exercise this new hip. But I guess the young lady was just doing her job. Anyway, I'm now getting to the funny part. Her plan for my mom was to have mom walk to the end of the bed, and then continue on out into the hallway. Mom made it to the end of the bed, then a few steps more past the foot of the bed in the direction of the doorway, and it was here that I think in her mind, she just said, "fuck it" and made another left and bee-lined it back towards her bed. She had had enough of this walking business. As painful as it was to watch her struggle along, my lasting memory was the look on her face, which implied, that she wasn't going to let some young woman tell her what to do. I find myself chuckling right now, just thinking about it.
She died a week later, and even though I wasn't there by her bedside, perhaps she had decided to call it a day, and say, "fuck it" and drift off into a peaceful, painless, forever sleep.
Never in my life, did I hear my mom use the "f" word, and she only heard me use it once in front of her, which ended up causing both of us to laugh out loud, but that's a long story from a long time ago, so I'll leave it at that. Another happy mom related memory.
Getting back to my friend, Guy's essay, and in light of the bleak outlook going forward, it seems like a good time to be in the "fuck it" stage. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean giving up, it just means trying to appreciate even more, each moment.
So on that note, here are a couple of photos and videos showing how I appreciate the moments. Enjoy.
A WEST COAST BEACH HERE IN NANOOSE BAY
_KAIN, THE HUSKY I MET A FEW DAYS AGO
CHUMLEE PLAYING WITH HIS GREEN STRAW
Spending time with animals like Kain, and Chumlee, helps to reinforce the idea of how valuable being in the present moment really is. It's not easy (for us human animals), but it is certainly worth it. And just look at how much fun you can have. Right Chumlee?
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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