IMPEACHMENT--SAME SADNESS, DIFFERENT CAUSE

It's one of those mass-shooting days in America--same sadness, different cause.  The beginning of an impeachment inquiry into our President is like a funeral march, not a parade.  It's hard to be an American and not feel the tragedy unfolding. 

I know the readers of this blog are from across the world.   This week alone audience stats show readers outside the US living in Australia, India, Malaysia, Portugal and Sweden. Last month's readers included people living in Ukraine, Canada, France, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.  So understandably some readers may not care all that much that the United States House of Representatives has begun its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. After all, you logged on perhaps for some respite from the world's problems, and your own.  That's one reason I do. So . . . spoiler alert:  like "Another Week of Shootings" Post 8/4/19, some things are too much to ignore. 

I was alive when President Richard Nixon resigned before facing the House impeachment vote.  He had betrayed the country by his coverup of the break-in into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC.  Both Republicans and Democrats were prepared to impeach him.  I was already a lawyer when President Bill Clinton faced impeachment for a lie under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.  But yesterday when I read just the redacted transcript of the phone call between Trump and President of the Ukraine I actually cried.  Maybe because I studied Constitutional Law I saw the treason so clearly and it made me sad. 

Now I've read the whole intelligence officer whistle-blower complaint and listened to the live testimony of the Director of National Security.  President Trump blocked delivery of aid to Ukraine.  Then he phoned President Zelensky and asked him for "a favor":  to investigate  former Vice President Biden-- American citizen, member of the United States Senate and a rival presidential candidate.  He asked Zelensky to work with Trump's personal attorney and with our country's Attorney General in the investigation.  He is actively seeking foreign interference into the upcoming 2020 election.  Then, when the phone call was over, recognizing its implications, his White House attempted to "lock down" all records of the call. These facts have been admitted and confirmed.  Although the last few years have paved the way for this revelation, this reaches new levels.  As a country we are in for it. 


This is not a political blog.   Politically I am an Independent.  So was my mother, Nina Naomi--a US history teacher and an Independent voter.  Living simply, loving nature, staying in the present, being mindful of each day, nesting, keeping healthy attitudes, taking the time to live well--that is what this blog commits to.  But these few days are watersheds.  There will be more.  All of us will need to stand up and be counted.

As I wrote in the post about a recent week of mass shootings,  when we need a break from news or worry, daily chores or work, or our own activism,  then nature, mindfulness and other tools that restore us are still there.  There's much work to be done.  But for the next hour I'm going back to my own lovely scrapbooking and collage-making.  It's filled with sayings and quotations that hopefully will give me some perspective.  Here's one that helps when things are very very difficult:

The Best Thing to Hold Onto in Life is Each-other.

                                                                                            Nina Naomi

Illustration by Mia Charro

 

TURN ON YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN

Lately I've been loving making word collages.  Bloggers love words, that's fair to say isn't it?  So do readers.  We love to read and to write.  Somewhere I read that crafting used to be considered trivial.  Not sure who felt that way, but those kinds of judgments are long past.  Now we know how healthy hobbies are and if you can make a living with your hobby, so much the better.   

This word collage is in a 10"x12" old frame that I painted.  I collaged over a quote by Maya Angelou:  "You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."  I like seeing her words left exposed, you & creativity, and knowing what the rest of the phrase is.  The words I chose were: 

sunset, dance, darling, the meaning of life, 

lies you've told, Outside hours, hate small talk.

"An ordinary life can be extraordinary and that magic can be found in the everyday."  

speak emotion, life goes by too quickly, warm tea,

Quiet, like people with depth.    

We--all of us--think in words, in our native languages.  Even our word-less emotions we try to give names to.  "I'm sad," no, "I'm downright miserable."  "I feel empty." No, "bereft." Words give us distance from the bad times. Or "I feel loved."  Saying those words slows our breath, releases any tightness. See the phrase "speak emotion?"  Those two words are fraught with memories for me, a kind of therapy almost.  Being loved creates a physical feeling of calmness.  Being absorbed in creating a word collage can do the same, like the other things we do just because we want to. 

This word collage is in a 3"x4" frame:  

Write more, Living, flow, ONE DAY AT A TIME,
Today, all these years later, Don't be afraid,  
Tiny Pleasures Sticky Notes, a blessing, to enjoy each day.  

The pleasure is not only in choosing the words and phrases for what they bring to you, but also deciding on a background, choosing the fonts, and arranging the sentiments.  I have old frames of faded snaps just waiting for reuse, but our consignment shops are also filled with them.  

This one is in an antique brass oval frame, also 3"x4".  It covers a picture of a person in our family no longer known to anyone living.  I enjoyed picking the leafy green background and the words and phrases in alternating white-on-black, white-on-taupe, and black-on-white: 

because, Focus your attention, What makes you think, 
Close some doors today, what counts most, you, 
 discovering your options,  Make a plan,  lead,  
 what can you do to change, simply

My husband asked why I would choose "Close some doors today."  "Because some doors lead to nowhere," I said.  He said the word he liked best was "simply."  Maybe I do too. Making a word collage is definitely a simple pleasure.  One more:  

This is in a 5'x7' frame.  My granddaughter likes to illustrate and drew the background wallpaper. These words just collected themselves, different fonts, sizes, colors all amassed and waiting for the right matting which also appeared.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  The words? 

 Insight, FLOW, KIND, beautifully, POETRY, 

TAKING PHOTOS, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE,

BODY BEAUTIFUL,  TAKING TIME AND LOOKING CLOSELY

Why do we like this sort of thing?  Because focus is calming, isn't it.  So many people make creating something, even the smallest thing, part of their recipe for wholeness.  Maybe doing nothing for a bit is even healthier, but I'm not there yet, maybe never will be.  In the meantime, let's turn on our creative brains and make something.  I'm committed to enjoying every single thing I make!