DAY 200 - Big Really Big Family

Imagine you had a really large family. And imagine that every time you turned around, there was another family need, responsibility or occasion that you felt drawn to respond to. Grampa needs a ride to his chiropractic appointment. Your niece is getting married; shop for gift, pick up tux, rehearsal, bachelorette party, wedding and reception. Aunt Tori is dealing with cancer; send a card, make a call, discuss possibility of a visit, reflect on her life and the meaning of life. Who’s picking up the CSA? And tomorrow is Liel’s birthday .....

Not recognizing and not responding to these family needs has consequences. A simple lack of planning ahead, also has consequences.

In this world, there is no need for anyone to simply imagine; we all do ... have a really large family; humankind. We are members of communities, states, nations, and are citizens of the world. Not recognizing and not responding to these family members has consequences. A simple lack of planning ahead, also has consequences.

My Mom and Dad raised us to know that others in the world were important, but their actions showed me that their real focus and attention was on the wellbeing of our nuclear family. As I grew, raised a family, and got older, I cared about others, but put almost all of my effort into the wellbeing of my own nuclear family.

I am drawn today to think and write about families, the boundaries that we imagine and live, and the allocation of our efforts during our lives, because of a recent, even literal, watershed event. This last Tuesday night, the Ventura City Council voted 6-0 to not annex the North Ventura Avenue area, nor Canada Larga, areas that had been proposed, if not pushed, for development, i.e., building and expansion. In the minds of a number of residents of Ventura and Ventura County, the annexation of North Ventura Avenue or Canada Larga would have been unsustainable, unecological; a clear step on the road to mirroring the sprawl and unlivibility of Los Angeles, here in Ventura County.

But, it was not the minds of the residents that helped to guide the Ventura City Council to this 6-0 vote, it was the actions of these same people who organized, planned, communicated, and came to City Council meetings. These people came out, stood up, and spoke up because they don’t need to read this essay. They already knew their large family, knew the consequences of not responding, and chose to plan ahead.

If you have appetite for a little more, I would highly recommend the following essay in The Ojai Post, by Steve Sprinkel, Ojai organic farmer, really-big family man, and visionary planner-activist for our future. http://tinyurl.com/3awc629

DAY 113 - A Day in The Life

Let me just talk straight with you. It’s 2:30 PM and I feel tired. My shoulder muscles, between my neck and the tips of my shoulders, what are for short called traps, are tight and tense. I’ve been off coffee for 27 days, and it’s times like this when I feel that I could use a cup. I’ve got a lot of work to do. Nothing new there. Maybe that’s part of my problem. Always things, not little things, that need done. But, they don’t just need done; they need thinking, and with my brain, they often need lots of thinking. But they also need love and compassion. Is an answer an answer if it isn’t compassionate? Well, yesterday after work, I went straight to the Ventura City Council meeting which started at 6:00 PM. Big issue about whether to spend $75,000 to study whether or not to annex Canada Larga into the City. Bit stressful because even considering annexing Canada Larga, is to create and invite more urban sprawl, moving Ventura, and all of Ventura County toward becoming a clone of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Lots of folks living here, that just fled from there. Are we having trouble thinking ahead? I sat from 6:15’till 9 ish – not great for my back, legs, or health. Spoke briefly before the council to be a voice of reminder that we don’t want nor like urban sprawl, so let’s not do it. After the meeting a nice lady told me that the Council was “two-faced”. I told her that I personally knew a few of the Council members and that my opinion is that they were not liars, but were caring people working with very complicated issues. Drove home. Got a bite. (Dragged a comb across my head.) And sat down to write my daily post for my book/blog. By 11:30 PM I was done and in bed. Not so good for a guy who functions best on 10 hours of sleep per night. So, I’m snuggled in, my wife breathing quietly beside me. Now I get to deal with being wound up from the day’s feelings, activities, interactions and inactivities. My heart is racing a little; my mind definitely is. My gut is a bit tight and uncomfortable. I start with deep breaths and awareness of my traps. I begin counting my blessings; my wife, my kids, my health, the enormity of the options and opportunities in my life. Things, like my heart, begin to slow, and thanks to exhaustion, I am asleep in no time. But now it’s today and I’m in the cycle. Still lots of blessings. Still lots of stresses, tensions, and things needing done. I was thinking, that since I am doing non-patient work in the office in Ventura today, and since I won’t get home to Ojai before 6:00 PM, that it would feel good to be with a friend this evening while watching the State of the Union. While my dear friend, Bill, says that he still likes Obama, he also says that has lost some appreciation for him. Gosh, I still love the man! Why is it that so many of us can’t seem to separate the man, Obama, from what they hoped would be accomplished, but has not been? Obama has told us himself that he is not satisfied with what has been accomplished. But, how many of us are living our own lives as we think we should; and could? How many of us have a family that is without disharmony and dysfunction? How many of our cities are running smoothly, without a glitch? Holy cow! He is trying to help us run a COUNTRY! Don’t just cut him some slack, remember that you too have a responsibility for the actions and direction of our Country. Has he really become a traitor, like the Ventura City Council? Come on! Hey, what if we gave him a hand, rather than a fist? Maybe, as he has requested repeatedly, we could work together; the only way that things can be accomplished for the greater good. What got me going on that? :) So, I’m with you, with him, and trying to be with me.

DAY 71 - Putting the “Public” into Public Health

I just created a Facebook Page called “Community of Health ~ Ventura, CA”. It is a framework for monthly gatherings for health. I think we can live more healthfully, and have a good time doing it! And part of the magic will be in doing it together!

Here is what I posted today:

What is Community of Health ~ Ventura?
COHV is friendly people coming together once a month, enjoying learning about, practicing, and staying engaged in health! COHV will provide a calming, joyful, and thoughtful environment in which to consider the factors that lead to health and that lead to imbalance, and in which to find personalized direction for health and happiness.

Who: people interested in health; for many reasons
Where: in the City of Ventura – to be figured out – offers of a comfy place?
What: 90 minute gathering with varying formats and content
When: the second Thursday of each month, from 7-8:30 PM

Who created and who will lead Community of Health ~ Ventura?
Dr. Kristofer Young, Ventura chiropractor.
“Most of us need help staying on track; staying inspired to care for our health. I have created Community of Health ~ Ventura, to help us do just that.”

Is COHV a business promotion, or a front for marketing products or services?
No, and no.

DAY 3 – The Earth Charter

About age 50 my awareness of, and my attention to the world around me began to increase. I found myself thinking more about human suffering, world peace, and global ecology. These changes have led me to spend more time in the last 10 years working for the common good than I did in the previous 49 years combined.

In 2002 I became a member of Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions (CPR - http://c-p-r.net), a Ventura, California-based non-profit, and nine months later joined its executive board. Each October we, CPR, host a celebration and award ceremony based on The Earth Charter (http://earthcharterus.org).

The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a vision of hope and a call to action. The Earth Charter is a product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values.

The Earth Charter is a framework that helps me more fully appreciate that we are all members of one big human family on this earth, and reminds me that we will all sink or swim together.

If you live in the Ventura area, please consider joining us this Saturday the 9th of October from 3-5 PM at the Ventura College cafeteria as we consciously celebrate and work toward a peaceful global society, and honor activists in our community who work in support of the values of The Earth Charter. For additional information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156127717741541&index=1