I had a simple wonder, one day,
As to why the moon has been yellow
Particles in the air, of course,
But what particles and from where?

I did some research on the wild fires in Canada
There is a jet stream carrying smoke
From Saskatchewan down to Iowa
Covering Minnesota, where I live.

This is an example of how the Earth is One Place
Events thousands of miles away can occur
Anywhere else on the Earth

And my first experience of allergies,
I willingly accept as part of the wild fires
That rage in Canada
Over one thousand miles away.

Harder to accept is,
the Fukishima nuclear plant which
Is still pouring radiation into the sea
And how that radiation has
Made its way to the US West Coast
All the way from Japan.

Something so very far away, is simultaneously,
So very intimate and near.

The Earth is all One Place
And we are part of the Earth

We make the Earth our *****
Instead of our intimate and loving partner.

~Arianna Elise Darshani

We had a EF3 tornado
It destroyed our house
A child died.
We moved on
All of our pets lived
I felt we should not *****
About "stuff"
When two people lost their lives
One a toddler,
Nathan Prindle.
I did not know him
But I mourned over
The death of such
A young child.

They say that what does not
**** you, only makes you stronger
I find that to be true.

There is a zen saying:
My barn burned down tonight
Now I have a better view of the moon

I'm here to spread the news that.
Despite its bad reputation with people
Back surgery works like a charm.

When I was 23, I injured my back lifting weights
I began to have chronic back pain
I researched what was the best thing for back pain
And yoga came to the top

At age 28, I began 8 years of yoga
That I practiced every day
My back pain was reduced until my age of 35

When yoga eventually failed
I moved in to physical therapy
That worked into my late 40s

I was rear ended in a car accident,
With the car entirely totaled.

That was the beginning of the end.

Nothing "alternative" worked anymore
I felt like there were razorblades in my groin

I would fall for no apparent reason
And then could not stand back up
I went to my doctor about it
He said if I got a MRI, that surgery would be the next step
Since surgery has such a bad reputation
I skipped the MRI

I was riding horses at the time
One day, I went to get a horse in the pasture
I kept falling and could not stand
I thought it was due to the mud.
I had to crawl through the mud and horse ****
To get back to the barn.

I thought once I was on concrete
That I could stand
But I couldn't
The stable manager helped me
To the office.
I rested for half and hour
And then drove home.

We were watching TV
In our downstairs family room
I went to go upstairs
And in the middle of the stairs
My legs stopped working

We drove to the ER
I had an emergency MRI
It showed that my disc was entirely extruded
And surrounding my spinal cord.

I went for emergency back surgery.
The procedure was called a microdiscectomy
They just took the gel
Away from my spinal cord
And within 2 hours of surgery
I could walk again.
I noted how easy it was to walk.

After a few weeks of just weird stuff
Like lightning bolts down my legs,
My back entirely healed Within 6 weeks
And that was the end of 27 years
Of back pain.

I often tell young people that
I had an extruded disc that
Was older than they are!!

It's been 5 years now and my back is cured.
If back surgery did not have
Such a bad reputation,
I could have saved myself a lot of pain

Microdiscectomy has a 95% cure for referred pain
In my case, it had a 30% cure rate for back pain
I am in the lucky 30%

Back surgery does work
And every year
There are more advances.

I went to my surgeon
And gave him a present
And a big hug of thanks.

Spread the word!

Aging is one if the more difficult aspects of life.
By the time you are in your 50s
You wonder why your life looks so protracted.
It seems you were 25 just a few seconds ago.

More people your own age are dying
Or they are suffering from chronic illness
You know sickness and old age are inevitable
You know your prayers for good health will be denied.
You can reduce some aging by exercise or diet
But in the end, even the most meticulous of us, die.
Your 70s don't seem that far in the future
Especially if your parent died at age 58.

There is no guarantee that you will live to 70
Or any age, at all.
You have sick friends and you know they are going to die
And leave you alone.
My best friend is in failing health.
My spiritual teacher has recently died
My husband has chronic illness
He got a blood clot, and that could have killed him.
There is the reality that I could have easily lost him.

Im not feeling any special purpose in life.
So I can't preach.
I'm trying to keep fit, and to chase old age away
For awhile.
I meditate upon nothingness
I practice Mindfulness.
I recognize you have to have faith in God
Even if you become old and sick
It's nothing personal.
We are just destined to have sickness and old age.

So, truly, if you are young.
Enjoy your youth.
Soon enough. You will be in your 50s
It happens in a flash
And our lives are minuscule
Compared to the aging Universe.

I'm in recovery from crossing paths
With a psychopath.
I don't use the word lightly.
He had just been released from prison
For ****** against his 7 year old daughter

Fortunately, he is far away.
2000 miles away.

Fortunately this interaction
was email, only.
Fortunately I was not harmed
Fortunately, I was not stalked
Fortunately, I was not kidnapped
Fortunately, I was not *****.

I researched Ted Bundy
how he would wear a fake cast
And use crutches to lure women to him.

Psychopaths always have charisma and charm
In the beginning, anyway.
They are experts in fooling people.
I didn't do anything wrong.
I was merely fooled.
And it won't happen a second time.

I realize that I am far too "nice"
I am one who would have helped Ted Bundy
Get his briefcase, and help him
put it into his car.
Not anymore. Id rather be safe than sorry.
It's not a requirement to help people out.

I'd rather be paranoid
Than to allow any other psychopath
Into my life.

No more "Minnesota Nice"

We have a Siamese cat who finds a space to nest in.
She once was pregnant and had 3 kittens.
There was no runt, no placenta, no liquid.
Just three tiny, fluffy kittens in with my underwear.
We kept the little one and named her Peanut.
The mother cat, continues to nest
Though she's been spayed
Like she expects to have kittens any time now.
Even now, 13 years later.
Animals can be very strange.
You have to love their weirdness.
It's part of who they are.