Another Monday
It is sort of a green smiley. I have had a reflective week - mostly because for 3 days the weather was snowy, windy and cold.
So what to smile about? Two things:
1. I am trying to get fit again. I walk when I can and do Pilates (with a tape). It is painful but I feel good afterwards - except for my neck which does not like some of the poses. I even went down to the workout room today and rode the bike, did the rowing machine and stair stepper. I am not much of a gym person so don't darken its door very often.
2. We had our first committee meeting since the new year was on Wednesday. I am on a committee called "Neighbor to Neighbor" - N2N. We are advocating and working to make our inner city neighborhood safer and more livable. It is an eclectic area. We have multimillion dollar homes condos and low end housing and across the river is a Drop In Center for the homeless. Consequently, we have had a lot of unsavory activity.
Our committee has been working for 3 years and have accomplished a lot. In fact our alderman uses us as an example of what can be done if there is the will.
So why am I excited about a meeting? We have a blast. We eat pizza, drink wine, laugh and enjoy each others' company. We work and play. I also must add - they have been phenomenally kind to me these last 2 years when I couldn't contribute much besides helping to demolish the wine and pizza!
We were supposed to go to Edmonton to visit our son and Joe's sister on Saturday but the blizzard scuttled our plans. We will try this weekend.
Have a wonderful week!
So what to smile about? Two things:
1. I am trying to get fit again. I walk when I can and do Pilates (with a tape). It is painful but I feel good afterwards - except for my neck which does not like some of the poses. I even went down to the workout room today and rode the bike, did the rowing machine and stair stepper. I am not much of a gym person so don't darken its door very often.
2. We had our first committee meeting since the new year was on Wednesday. I am on a committee called "Neighbor to Neighbor" - N2N. We are advocating and working to make our inner city neighborhood safer and more livable. It is an eclectic area. We have multimillion dollar homes condos and low end housing and across the river is a Drop In Center for the homeless. Consequently, we have had a lot of unsavory activity.
Our committee has been working for 3 years and have accomplished a lot. In fact our alderman uses us as an example of what can be done if there is the will.
So why am I excited about a meeting? We have a blast. We eat pizza, drink wine, laugh and enjoy each others' company. We work and play. I also must add - they have been phenomenally kind to me these last 2 years when I couldn't contribute much besides helping to demolish the wine and pizza!
We were supposed to go to Edmonton to visit our son and Joe's sister on Saturday but the blizzard scuttled our plans. We will try this weekend.
Have a wonderful week!
Replies
PROACTIVE - is the KEY to better communities.
We are geared at throwing MONEY at social problems seeking to solve them when what is NEEDED is to throw PEOPLE into the problem to improve our society. I am very proud of your effort and wish for you the best. If you could do occasional follow ups to let us know how it is going - I would LOVE that and pictures would be terrific also - hint, hint LOL Whenever we think \'solutions\' we automatically think MONEY and we need to change that into thinking PEOPLE POWER. United we STAND and there are NO OTHER OPTIONS to success. I am left isolated, alone and ill because I am seen as \'worthless\' to the society in which I live since the death of my husband left me coping with disability alone. FOR SHAME on the society I live in attempting to make me nothing more than worthless garbage - and to think it was my church that led the way in this effort of casually tossing me out in the trash. Well, I\'m not going anywhere and I am not only going to survive the abuse, harm, neglect and indifference but I am going to ACHIEVE a viable, productive life - somehow and without the support of the society I live in so to HELL WITH THEM and I will succeed ANYWAY!!! I am beginning to think a majority of our homeless population consists of those we have marginalized and disenfranchised and worked at making them feel as worthless, human garbage - and then we WONDER why we have the societal problems we have. If I, as a disabled person coping alone who has been severely neglected and left to needlessly suffer to the place of increased \'DIS\'ability, where given good support here in my home I would have been allowed to remain a productive, INVOLVED member of the society which has done everything in its power to turn me into a disposable, worthless piece of human garbage. I REFUSE TO COMPLY with this goal that seems to be of those around me that I depend on as a disabled person and I WILL ACHIEVE a viable life with or without the help of the society I live in. I WILL NOT ALLOW anyone to turn me into human garbage and attempt to harm me by taking away possession of my home and assets. Just because those who have attempted such extreme harm on my life by exploiting me in my need were called \'Christian\' and \'MY CHURCH\' does not make their \'crime against humanity\' any less disgusting than if they were Adolf Hitler himself.
The only \'thing\' preventing us from having a truly wonderful society is everyone is \'unplugged\' from the reality that it \'TAKES A VILLAGE - to not only \'raise a child\' but to have a VIABLE, THRIVING COMMUNITY\'. We have worked for CLASS INEQUALITY and a society of the HAVES and HAVE NOTS. We actively work at EXCLUDING people because of their perceived UNWORTHINESS based on, in my case disability, and other factors but mostly on a judgment of ECONOMIC WORTH. We punish people with exclusion and making them feel as human garbage based on ECONOMIC WORTH and we have to STOP IT and begin to MAKE ALL PEOPLE VIABLE AND WORTHWHILE by INVESTING IN THEIR LIVES. The marginalized and disenfranchised are often as I am, ALONE and ILL in some way that effects their physical, emotional, mental and possibly SOCIAL health. People treat me, as a disabled person living alone, as it if am less than invisible and already dead. The effect of this treatment since the death of my husband in 03 has been beyond DEVASTATING to my physical, mental and emotional health. I am today far more disabled than I ever was when my husband was alive and being of support to me. BUT I WILL NOT ONLY SURVIVE the harm inflicted on me over all of these years but I WILL ACHIEVE A VIABLE LIFE in spite of being turned into worthless garbage and left for dead. I will not allow the society I live in as a disabled person coping alone to render me worthless while they exploit and harm me in an effort to strip me of my assists and cause me to become homeless. This is year ten of my survival of this crisis and life is beginning to improve because I now see reality for what it is and no longer live with the belief that as a disabled person coping alone I will have the help needed to live a productive, viable life based on the care given to me by society -- for I now fully realize left up to the society In which I reside I am as good as dead for all they care. And here we ALL want and need COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT but we render some people as WORTHLESS GARBAGE and then wonder why we have the \'issues\' we have in our society. We need to REHAB PEOPLE every bit as much as we need to REHAB dilapidated properties and with a TEAM EFFORT where there is no HUMAN GARBAGE and everyone is treated with respect and worth we could truly have a VILLAGE to be proud of but unless we get rid of CLASS WARFARE where some are considered disposable garbage we will continue to see our problems of social inequality and social injustice only grow worse where the disenfranchised and marginalized will need to unite and have a major uprising as has never been seen before and TAKE BACK the social equality which is needed to have everyone MATTER. It is \'WE THE PEOPLE\' and UNITED WE STAND and until that includes EVERYONE we are only going to see problems grow more severe over time. We run homeless people out of our parks, neighborhoods and society but that does not \'get rid of the problem\' but only MOVES IT AROUND making it grow worse with the passing of time. The needs of those on the EDGE OF HOMELESSNESS don\'t even matter at all. The disabled living alone had better only hope they are able to survive well in crisis because if left up to society they are as GOOD AS DEAD. Until we put on end to disenfranchising and marginalizing people based on economic worth we will only see inequality and social injustice escalate to the place of only creating more homeless, hopeless people who then become severely mentally ill from the treatment/HARM given to them. Instead of pushing a homeless person out of our parks and neighborhoods if we aggressively rehabilitate them they would become a productive member of society instead of a homeless person with growing mental health issues from the trauma of coping without basic needs being met and exposed to everything a homeless person is exposed to with crime, drugs, malnutrition, hopelessness, and abuse by everyone in society who is not homeless making it almost impressible for someone coping alone and homeless to ever have a viable life again and this feeds into street crime and a exploding prison population filled with the mentally ill who fell through the cracks of a safety net that, in reality, does NOT exist.
We actually have the society we have worked years and years in achieving - one of social and economic injustice where the poor are becoming more poor and the wealthy simply want them to disappear and will continue to have the police evict them from their cardboard tent cities under some bridge somewhere because we rather have a golf course and church on every corner instead of rehabbing human lives making them viable once again.
UNITED WE STAND and until we are all united we will only see society continue to decline into despair and inequality of opportunity. There is no excuse for the condition of our society - it is ALL GREED based inequality that feeds to problems we have and until we change the cause the effects are only going to be superficial at best.
I hope we all become WE the people one day soon and claim our COMMUNITY/VILLAGE as united we stand.
((hugs)) and good thoughts.
:-) Patricia
How wonderful to be on a fun committee that is affective. That\'s a good feeling. Have a great visit this coming weekend with your son and SIL. I hope the weather gets warmer for you. I know you must be ready for spring. Sending love, Terry
Marlene, I think it is great that you are on a committee and work for the collective good. It is so important to get involved. I hope you will be able to make the trip to see your son & SIL this weekend. Love to you and Lisa, Linda
You certainly know how to have a meeting!!!!!!
Marlene, I am impressed by your new exercise endeavor and also by your involvement in N2N. My husband is a building engineer in a condo similar to yours. It is called The Glass House because it is made of glass. lol The Glass House is located in downtown Denver and the homeless brim the confluence of the river. I hope you keep on feeling this good!!! With love, Leda
I love the sound of your neighborhood. Certainly does have its challenges but your committee is doing great things in working to resolve problems without agitating to kick the drop-in center and low income housing out of the neighborhood altogether. Kudos!
Kudos also on your resolve to get more fit. I go to Curves and walk our dogs 2 or 3 miles a day. Curves is the only gym I can imagine going to ~ it\'s a no-brainer ~ just go around the circuit twice, stretch and leave! I also recently bought a Wii Fit to use at home but am daunted by the prospect of hooking it up to our TV!
It can be very challenging to find anything to be glad about when we\'re snowbound on gloomy winter days and I applaud you for doing it so successfully!
Here\'s to a spring thaw soon!
Sending lots of love and big exercising hugs ~ Debbie
Good for you with N2N - there is so much can be achieved when people think about the common good as opposed to the individual. Society could be so much better if we all would do that....especially politicians!! Your meetings sound fun - demolishing wine and pizza certainly hits the spot for therapy of any kind!!!
Good luck with the exercising - wish I could say the same. Think I\'m going that wine and pizza route........
love Joanna