Tag: Dr. Seuss
Umbrella
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Dr. Seuss was correct (always, even if he might not have said this one, who knows, but he makes me smile).
Nothing can protect you from the storms of life, not enough the biggest umbrella (thanks Rhianna/Jay-Z, I’ll never get that song out of my head).
Put on those rain boots, galoshes, rubbers, overshoes, Wellies, whatever and go out and dance in the rain. Stand in it. Sit. Sleep.
Those storms are going to come, whether you fear them or not.
Change is going to come whether you fear it or not.
The lightning strikes of technology.
The rumbling thunder of racism. 
The pelting hail of misinformation.
The sleet of corruption.
The hurricanes of hate.
The tornadoes of greed.
The slapping winds of regression.
Face them. Fight them. Survive them. But you can’t avoid them.
Ignoring something never made it go away. Get stormy, let your inner Mary Poppins out, and get on with it.
Too often in my life I’ve missed out on good, hell, amazing things because I was afraid. My fear stopped me. Siting on my shoulder, claws curled into my trembling flesh, cackling in my ear about how I was going to fail, how it wasn’t going to turn out anyway (it rarely did), I was going to get hurt, I was going flounder, or goof…
I was going to ruin things, even ruin my life https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/01/04/so-youve-ruined-your-lifenow-what/ I listened, avidly, to the voice of fear, so I missed out on smiling because it happened.
Much of what we fear stems from what we’ve learned, consciously or subconsciously.
Fear is actively used in: child-rearing, schooling, work, play, sports, politics, science, religion, movies, TV, books, business, and well, everything – then we’re shocked/surprised that fear rules us? Sometimes those fears are irrational and sometimes: “be afraid, be very afraid”.
So many fears…Fear of the dark comes from fear of the unknown (what’s out there I can’t see?).
Fear of strangers, immigrants, different races? Just people you don’t know yet.
Fear of snakes? Boo, hiss!
Fear of antiques? That gets old fast.
Fear of spiders? Sorry Charlotte, you know I love you (and your web), but you’re super creepy looking.
Fear of bananas? That’s bananas!
Fear of time? But it’s so wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Fear of falling asleep? Probably good away after a good night’s sleep.
Fear of Trump? Well, duh, that’s rational.
Fear of failure? It has all happened before and it will all happen again.
Fear of success? I could live with that.
Fear of heights? You never want to get to the bottom of things with that one, but I could fall for that fear.
Fear of planes, trains, and automobiles? Really, it’s a hilarious movie.
Fear of books? What?!? The?!? No, just no.
Fear of fear? Nothing to fear but…
Yoda got it so right, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering”.
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” ~C.S. Lewis
Some days I feel I’ve lost something, or am missing something. In those times, I go about my life with a weird, niggling feeling gnawing at the base of my skull.
Slowly I come to the same conclusion, it feels like fear, but it’s grief. Loss of loved ones, loss of health, loss of what could have been, loss of civility, loss of decency, loss of honour, loss of dreams as they fade into changed expectations.
Yet, at these moments, “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” Jane Austen, my courage hasn’t always risen – I’ve been intimidated, dispirited, badgered, ruffled, browbeaten, disheartened, constrained…But sorry not sorry that’s a thing of the past (and it can stay there) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/07/15/see-you-again/
Fear is likely even part of my procrastination issues https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/02/07/after-all-tomorrow-is-another-day/. I’ve made a promise, to myself, to let my courage flag fly, I can’t always let them grind me down…
I used to believe if I tried to control everything I could control, even conquer my fear. That I could stop bad things from happening. Nope. The only thing I can control is how I react to fear. How I react to the bad things.
I’m out of control and loving it (when I’m not terrified beyond words).
Trust yourself. Respect yourself. Not the Fear. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/17/all-were-asking-is-for-a-little-respect/
And I hope you know, you can always stand under my umbrella (not with the Umbrella Corporation, they suck), or dance with me in the rain.
Lest We Forget…To Shop
The day after Halloween, before we’d even removed all the pretend fear,
Christmas is starting, carols are starting, earlier and earlier each year.
People say they respect soldiers and veterans,
but instead of respect – Christmas everywhere?!?
Everyone down in malls, the tall and the small,
will stand close together, Christmas sales ringing,
waiting in line, their credit cards zinging!
They spend! And they spend! And they spend!
They’ll spend on tablets! They’ll spend on smartphones!
They’ll spend on toys, clothes, TVs, and even on drones!
Instead of contentment and helping where we can,
filling our hearts with tech, plastic, chemicals, what a plan!
Stop for a moment, look at a soldier.
Dressed all in honour, from foot to head,
Poppy on their heart, to remember the brave dead.
The box of poppies sits below a chest full of medals,
honouring the past with each poppy they sell.
Christmas isn’t before Veterans Day.
Christmas isn’t before Remembrance Day.
Christmas is in December.
It begins on the 1st,
No, not of November!
Christmas blaring through the stores.
Christmas decorations, ads, displays.
Crass and disrespectful.
To soldiers fighting.
Families who lost soldiers.
Soldiers who fought for us.
Shop all year round if you must,
Black Friday, Cyber Monday,
Months of sales!
Leave Christmas until December,
Remember.
Can’t we wait for Christmas until after we’ve honoured our soldiers?
If we showed more respect to our soldiers and our veterans,
we might make our governments show them more respect as well.
Christmas Comes After Remembrance and Veterans Day.
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2013/11/02/christmas-comes-after-remembrance-day/
Earth Day? Really? Just One?
1. We only have one planet. Unless we find a way to boldly go where no one has gone before, we might want to be nicer to it.
2. The first Earth Day was celebrated 44 years ago, founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson (Democrat Wisconsin). Earth Day went international in 1990. Here in Canada we are regressing in our fight for our planet. How about your country, how are they doing?
3. To bring awareness to this beautiful blue planet we call home, NASA is throwing the #GlobalSelfie event. So you take a selfie (duck lips and model poses optional) of yourself outside, post it using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. NASA will use the images to generate a Blue Marble/Earth out of all the photos.
4. There are still those who don’t believe in climate change. Did you spread some more carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, Stratospheric ozone depleters, and other fun toxins today? Don’t worry about it, we’ll be gone before it gets too bad, let our children and their children live the nightmare we’re creating.
5. Canada is a large country with only 36 million people yet we are ambitious, we always try to get in to the Top 10 of World polluters. Wow, so proud…not.
6. Lyrid meteor shower peaked during the early hours of Earth Day this year (visible most of the week depending on your location, weather conditions, etc.). We need to enjoy the amazing gift we live on. 
7. There are places in the world, including Alberta (Home of the Tar Sands/Oil Sands), etc. where some people celebrate Earth Hour, Earth Day, Green Week by deliberately running all their appliances, vehicles, etc. to burn as much energy and fuel as possible. Seriously. I know I live in the same country as them, but I really think we exist on different planes of dimension.
“Pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere out in space cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” ~Monty Python’s Meaning of Life
8. Over 70% of our stunning, astonishing planet is water yet millions of people don’t have access to clean water. We’re systematically polluting and destroying our oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. as well the earth, air, and ourselves.
9. What messages are we sending to our children and grandchildren with our over-consumption? People will celebrate holidays like: Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving (especially Black Friday), Halloween, Valentine’s Day, but don’t celebrate Earth Day. I guess shopping and Earth Day wouldn’t go well together. So if the schools weren’t pushing it, how much would we participate?
10. Enjoy the Earth Day celebrations, but remember, when the photo ops are done, the trees planted, the walks done, we’re still destroying the planet today and the other 364 days of the year. Protect your home, the Earth.
Make peace with the planet. Happy Earth Day every day!!!
yadadarcyyada 