Paper thin margin for seeking peace and joy

 THE MARGIN MAY BE PAPER-THIN YET YOU CAN STILL FLY

So on one network there was the NCAA Basketball tournament and some digits up the remote there was something called the ‘what we do when we are roasting hogs and drinking beer” “team” championships—otherwise known as the National  Cornhole Finals.... Now these competitors even had “bag” sponsors with designer bean bags which they tossed with precision strategies among partners.  There was a play by play announcer and an analyst.  Now the toss by toss guy I can understand, however, an analyst?  Did this dude just fall short of  an internship calling the bass masters classic semifinals?  

Anyway, about two rounds in this fierce competition reminded me of several school and parish fun nights where you threw  paper airplanes at a set of cubby holes to see if you could win a toy whistle or maybe a super decoder ring.  I usually won an imported plastic yo-yo with a string that had a knot preventing it from winding properly  or ever returning once  it went spinning.  

Clearly the funnest part of that  content was making and tossing the airplane.  Some. Of my friends and I were fairly adept  at making and tossing these streamlined aircraft as we had practiced with countless mimeographed math worksheets and spelling lists.  

There were times when we were able to fold these thin winged-warriors just right, toss them with just the optional thrust and lift, and get some distance.  Now we never achieved world record distances like the 66 meters that was recorded—we didn’t even know what a meter was  with the exception. Of something you put a dime in to park downtown.  Our planes weren’t  made from titanium or carbon fiber and they were standard sheets of 8x10 unless we had a research project and a few left over  flash or index cards.  That being the case we didn’t approach the  record for the largest plane made because it’s wingspan was some 60 feet and ours was maybe six inches at the widest point.  

Having said this everyone who could get any distance could keep their plane flying three or four seconds not the record  29 seconds and we could get a good six to ten feet or we could get a loop and crash the bomber at our feet.  

So what the heck does this have to do with seeking peace and joy?  

You see to make a smooth flight a productive journey so to speak you had to study the conditions around you, watch what your friends were doing and learn from their triumphs and crashes and not push too hard.  Seeking answers and not pushing too hard seems to be a winning combo in many journeys.  Seeeking peace and joy will also likely take a lot of attempts and many of them might be seen by some as “failures” and goodness knows we all crash and burn from time to time.  Yet, if we stay focused on what is happening right now and if we  don’t worry too much about what’s might happen four tosses from now we just might take the old utility bill, fold it so that  the nose cuts channels back creating  vertical stability and send it six feet into the roaring flames of battle otherwise known as the fire pit that provides a warmth for our welcoming side yard.  

Okay...some of you recycle paper and I appreciate that, however living the same experiences over and over and giving them the same meanings will probably get you shot down more often than Snoopy nailed the Red Baron.  On the other hand if you are persistent and aware you may take the paper-thin moments and fly to places that only you can imagine.  

Have fun with your  yo-yo.    

a YEAR DOWN THE DRAIN BUT DON’T FLUSH YET

 A YEAR DOWN tTHE DRAIN?   

DON’T FLUSH JUST YET....

 Well it’s been about a year since the big toilet paper rush of 2020 when single rolls of toilet paper. Had been on the market for just north of $60.  America and it’s ultra-responsive business and industry really stepped up and Shazam we weathered the great TP crisis.  Just another problem wiped out.  In fact one might say that the shelves are flush with all types of the stuff.  Unfortunately some of the results from the pandemic and our response to it still leave our lives either full of crap we haven’t figured out or missing things that we once experienced in a normal flow of daily life.   Oh ... are we still fixated on the bathroom here?  Well a little so let’s treat this social constipation and move forward or downward so to speak.  

There is no such thing as a socio-cultural toilet into which we could dump the past twelve months and even if there were it might be a good idea to take a closer look at what we might want to deposit into it.  For example  some of our daily routines have gone into the dumper and some of them should stay while others  might be retrieved, modified and our time  devoted to work/family/recreation and their settings  could be portioned differently.  Some relationships have been strengthened by the fiber of spending more time with folks while others have most definitely become little better than waste product.  ...This analogy could go on and on...yet..let’s look  at the real world.  

What may have become apparent in the last year is that seeking peace and joy with others frequently depends on finding a common starting point for two or more people.  You have to find something. In common.  Well we all eliminate bodily waste so we have that in common  — or do we?  In a recent  issue of “Wired” magazine  they featured highlights from the virtual consumer electronics expo and one of the innovative items was a hi-tech toilet.  Now this throne is capable of being operated remotely to raise and lower the seat which can be heated.  It can be operated with an app on your phone and can play music while you go.  Now that’s not even close to all... When you go this computerized commode can analyze your deposits and give you a medical report based upon the make-up of what your body provides.  And you thought the internet was getting a little too intrusive?   Your White Cloud is getting replaced by the cyber cloud.  You may wonder if  this analysis includes telling you what you had to drink the night before?  Those details were’nt given, but who knows...and instead of using urine on a little reactive  strip...how would it be to have your outhouse announce that you are having a baby?    Clearly some scientists are spending time studying  the virus and other diseases and should continue doing so.  Some engineers are working on self-driving and assisted driving vehicle to make the roads safer.  Some folks are analyzing how to insure  safer and more reliable sources for water and electricity and well...I guess other talented folks are “bringing up the rear” so to speak.  

Now all this brings me back to the seeking peace and joy  point... we have some thinking to do about what to keep and what to change.   We all have some things in common but maybe we need to take a moment to understand  we don’t always  give the same meanings to our experiences including going to the toilet.  It is important  to seek peace and joy with a spirit of sharing and reaching common meanings when possible.  We won’t all have access to or want “super toilets” and some folks with disabilities. Still don’t have access to enough  of them yet (listen to the musical offering).  

In the end we have the capacity to reflect on many things and reach some common ground and regardless of where anyone sits if we create empathy and work things out everything will come out fine.  

https://youtu.be/LulOZAkJX-0

It’s the midnight hour and time to change your frequency?

 ThTHE FREQUENCY MATTERS—DON’T BE AFRAID TO TURNTHE DIAL FROM TIME TO TIME

Some time ago I put together an entry about my first transistor radio.  Of course KBUR—1490 AM our local station came in loud and clear during its broadcast day.  I would spin the dial to get other stations at various parts of the day and at night I would point the little antenna  in various directions to pull in stations from  all over the Midwest and a little south.  A lot of people. I knew then and some I know now may as well have bought a radio without a tuner as their radio dial was  set. On the same frequency minute after minute, hour after hour, day, after day, week after week—you get  the idea.  These folks might not have ever missed a thing that  their station played and yet how many voices didn’t they hear, learn from, and enjoy?  How many ideas were limited to what their ears heard in the fackground?  

Well...recently I experienced a reminder of how limited my youthful local radio  listening was  when I  was fortunate enough to experience “THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.  This “radio experience” had many  of the elements of. Local radio but...instead of being comepletely retro it took the best of podcasting, wrapped it up  in a creative  bundle reminding mew of Monty Python mixed with a little bit of Bob and Doug McKenzie.  

You can find this listening experience at www.huroncityradio.com where all eight  episodes of this show are now posted.  

This show has all the familiar elements of every radio show you have ever loved and it stretches them in a manner that makes you think and laugh at the talent and maybe at yourself.   

To summarize we all might benefit from changing the frequency and maybe not just on our radio....

I was fortunate to come across a place where  som local artists  have created a radio experience that stretches the “norm” just enough to be enlightening.  

Oh and I interviewed two of the people behind this project for. My recent podcast.  You can hear that interview by clicking the link  RIGHT AFTER YOU CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Well I think I hear quiet strains of the national  anthem so it’s time to end my broadcast/writing day...more soon 

Enter the world of Huron City Radio today!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-and-joy-505/id1479883739?i=1000513946527

Or search your favorite podcast platform for these two shows

Maybe everyone could use a little madness now and then

A LITTLE MADNESS COULD GO A LONG WAY

Well after a year of anticipation and stumbling through what will be known as the most confusing and deadly health challenge many will ever face, “March Madness—otherwise known as the Men’s NCAA Basketball tournament returned this weekendish.  

Millions of Americans from all walks of life fill out a bracket making educated and not as educated guesses about who will win each of the games that will eventually produce a national champion.  

Now here’s the interesting part ... People  consider decisions with incomplete  information and make choices.  A lot of people  take risks thinking it might  be the time in the tournament when something magical and unexpectedly wonderful could happen for a team they know little about or one they. Would have little faith in sometimes.  They dare to believe.  As the number of “recorded or entered” brackets mounts into the millions any given person entering. The fray almost without exception dismisses the notion that his or her brackets/decisions will be perfect and yet there is no anxiety—no shame—boreal hesitation in picking an underdog or two.  

As the tourney goes forward everyone cheers for their  picks with enthusiasm, however, even when someone’s particular favorite goes down folks don’t seem to stay distraught.  Or. Not distraught for  years and years anyway... 

Personally, I was thinking the Big Ten.would do better in the early rounds than they have so far...ohwellthat’slife—- OR IS IT?  OR SHOULD IT BE?

You see seeking. Peace and joy might go a bit smoother if we  were’nt afraid and were more curious to see what might happen if we took a flyer, a risk and threw  our hope behind it.  What if we didn’t  crave perfection to the point we were afraid to stand and say  I’m for  peace instead of competitive/selfish status building? Who knows what might result if the lack of perfection wasn’t theon-ramp to shame?  What if we spent some time reflecting on our “joy” bracket instead of looking at other people’s “happiness bracket” every time a experience. Was underway.  What if we didn’t care who else won or lost when  we moved forward or helped  someone move forward by cheering them on? 

What if we found  joy in just getting to the “dance” and realized that every single day is a “new dance?”  

In short, the  ball is probably in our court most. The time and maybes little madness wouldn’t hurt.   I think I hear a whistle...the ball is in the air...

Let’s Dance!

JESsUS & Buddha Talk Post Corona

 POST CORONA—A “METAPHORICAL?” CONVERSATION/CONCLUSION

CAVEAT!!!!

THE “CONVERSATION” BELOW REPRESENTS THE SYNTHESIZED THOUGHTS OF THE AUTHOR AND IN NO WAY PRETENDS TO REPRESENT THE WORDS  OF THE CHARACTERS INTRODUCED OR THE SPIRITS THAT INSPIRES THEM.  ANY REBROADCAST REPRODUCTION. OR USE OF THE DESCRIPTIONS IMAGES OR ACCOUNTS OF THIS ENTRY  WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THIS AUTHOR OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED—AND MIGHT BE JUST PLAIN FOOLISH.  WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN IS CALLED A LITERARY DEVICE MIXED WITH A LIBERAL USE OFCREATIVE LICENSE.  

Note to reader... The words of Jesus will follow a “J” and the Buddha will be marked with a “b”.  

J— So Buddy.. B— No that’s Buddha—J[[ Look Buddyyou’re a prophet if you are going to get upset  about a little thing like what people call you seeing yourself hanging from a cross all the time with some fake news  tacked above  is going to be a real problem for you.  Oh what’s that you haven’t had that yet?  Well..then... B—You make a good point there... just call me bud for short J—As I did in the beginning, do now, and forever you got it Bud.

B—Would you like to sit and eat? J—I shall certainly sit and talkwhat’s on the menu?  B Well I believe in simplicity so it’s just some bread and wine”. J—J— Hmmm thelasttimeI  had that for supper the rest of the week was kind of a bummer how about  I whip us up some loaves and fishes?   B—Let it Be J—OkI’m glad  you said that...when John and Paul ... B—the apostles?  J—no the Beatles. Said that it went. Over big..lets get down to it shall we?

J—Bud, a couple days ago thiswriterI checking every now and again started writing aboutwhatmighthappenorwhatmightbelearnedfromthislittlepandemic have you see these little commentaries?  B—Well unlike you I can’t see and hear everything all the time, however I’ve given this guy some attention and I’m tired of him spelling my name wrong.  J— yet another reason to go by Buddy? —B —anyway I’ve seen a few of the words.   J—so what do you think?

B— Let’s talk about  this “work” thing.  J— Well Bud, you should take the lead on this...after all my Dad kinda wanted me to be a carpenter, build tables and stuff but I just  kept hitting my thumb with the mallet little  did I know those  hammer and nail  combinations would come back to get me.  So  I chose to be a teacher and public speaker and holy me teachers as you know aren’t valued in their time but a few students catch on. having said this....

I’m not sure the whole matching people with types gives human enough wiggle room just like the guy says because it doesn’t leave room for change and inspiration.  B— yep and it certainly take in account someonebecoming enlightened mid-stream oh and this whole thing of making work a major identity indicator sells complicated human way short. J— agreed and the things that need done in the world change too so folks  need to get over being what other people will pay them to be.  -J—and people do a lot of rotten stuff for like 30 pieces of silver. B— so what about that “ladder or growth/development model?  You no I think it keeps people focused on times other than right now and it emphasizes comparing and competing rather than understanding  one’s current purposes and choices.  J—yep...and it sort of limits what folks see as the gifts that are valuable...that’s why this pandemic thing might be valuable...a bunch of values get all mixed up and leak out at strange times when  we work in new/confusing environments.  It’s a lesson about compartmentalizing  life roles.   B—so this. whole blurring of boundaries was your intent?  J— well free will is over rated right?  Oh and employers  were starting to get all “Roman” thinking  that workers were something known as “costs” rather than purposeful partners who have real lives  at and away from work.  B—wait Jesus did you give the world “zoom” to hurry this along. “no that was Satan or Bill Gates I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet,and now like that water. I turned into wine I’m working on helping folks learn about the value of connections through these tools.  b— I see well according to my sources it was Bill Gates Satan is far too busy  with politics these days.  Anyway...so  how do we get  folks to think wholistically. and in the moment about work?  J— well for the next few years I’m just. going to keep jobs away till identifying solely as a worker  becomes the biggest waste of time in the history of mankind.  B—wow that’s radical.  Won’t that create massive insecurity?  J— change is the only constant Bud and this over valued illusion of control has to go...Humans are great at working together when they give up just a little. and loosen their grip on being  labeled as experts.  Have you ever noticed people don’t hold  conferences on being an expert at noticing when the kitchen needs cleaned or when the garbage  is two items from full?  B—true and the whole putting the seat down and toilet paper position thing...well not one seminar really?  J—right.  So Bud any final thoughts on work?  B—well maybe folks need to experiment with “work” and not only jobs..but with how they value it in the context of all the rest  of life.  J—exactly and cut the crap of labeling people by their job titles  most the time—that’s probably a good start.  

B— Now this guy had the nerve to compare you with Google how do you feel about that?  J—well itpissesme off but I’m not sending him directly to hell for it...he does enough other  stuff ... On the other hand the key here is getting hover substituting  information for wisdom and “answers” for questions... B—yep and you know there are many answers to the important questions in facts if the answer is at the top of a hill there is probably an eight fold-path maybe more but folks can only remember about eight things at any one time.   J—Well done Bud... if I’d have given  people like 14 fingers maybe people could remember more.  On the other hand a catcher’s mit would have had to be the size of a window fan and probably would have taken a half cow to make.  That would have  brought up real problems in some religions you know....using half a cow for a glove and you know that sign I’ve provided  to folks that indicates someone should bugger off?  if people had  more fingers it would have made that way too cumbersome.  B—okay that’s a good point. and keeping a simple way to express a diverse  way of thinking of solutions is helpful.  So how do we get through the whole Google/God mess? J- we can’t blame everything onGates can we. now?  No, the way Isee it is we give people. the chance to learn the narrative is more. important than it’s component  facts.  You see I said  love one another not execute actions and thoughts that make your cardiac rhythm increase by 4.2 iterations per minute in the presence of another.  Also I have no fear of Google because I have wisdom about how the “log rhythm  works.  B—please continue..you are not afraid?  J— no... you see about 7 billion humans ago I stopped worrying about what each and every one was doing  every moment of every day and how I was going to  be in every space they were in... I simply shared a little  bit of my spirit with each one and so they carry me around with them kinda like a divine smart phone and Gabriel has a “find my sinners app so I’ve deligated that to the angels and saints.  Besides Gooogle is just the latest to see people  when they are sleeping and when they are awake.  Santa got int that a long time ago and his elves have regretted it ever since...oh and now the naughty list is massive and none of the elves wants to take on the forgiveness list so it’s just all an administrative nightmare for the devil.  B—the devil?  aren’t we talking about  St/Nick? J—oh... Bud let’s  take a second look...he’s no saint and how about that name I nailed him with...  Santa and Satan that’s no coincidence  and “he sees you when your sleeping” that’s a little creepy don’t you think...that’s Satan all the way..I let my children rest.  Oh  and if you are wondering about facebook and YouTube let that go...those are just “self-reporting” tools I’veimplemented to let people show me all the behaviors they used to try to hide.  Now they put stuff right. out in the open it makes my covert work so much simpler.  ...and again the political stuff on there keeps the dark angels so blessed busy I’m surprised they even have time to inspire folks to J-walk.  Anyway until you can type “why” into the search bar and come with a variety of useful  and teachable answers Google can have it.  What does need to happen after the pandemic is folks need to regain an appreciation for the collective human spirit and worry less about what  “image” or “brand” they are....after all toilet paper and rat poison have a brand and nobody writes books about that so some self-help gurus and marketing folks may want to give it a rest.  B—thumbs up  to that

J—so Bud you didn’t have all these robots, machines, and networks when you walked on the dirt...what thoughts do you have about that?  B—Well I think the pandemic  will force people to recognize how machines are being used and how much reflection has been eliminated from everyday activities.  So maybe in times when we are forced to be apart from others. we can find some moments to either sit. in themoment or do some innerreflecting.  You know forget about worrying  so much about what things look like.  J—yep you know I let people get inspired to make things and then I regret them.  Take television...I wanted kids to see sesame street andMr.Fred ‘s neighborhood. We only needed a few channels and the evil crept in and nowchampionshipfishingis a thing and “Sharknado 4?”  Really? B—yep...way back in. the day I helped  the ancestors of Fred find calm and it carried through...imagine if Jerry Springer  could stay calm or even Dr. Phil? J—Well Dr. Phil comes from a long line of high priests, sadducees, and Pharisees....he can’t help himself. and having said thatI may have let the TV thing get out of control.  B—Point taken,however,I do so like the cooking shows and the shows where. people pay big money for old stuff...as if they understand  time....oh well back to machines...will artificial intelligence eclipse  humans?  J—have you ever heard a toaster tell a light switch “I love you?”  If that happens I’ll send a massive thunderstorm from the tropics and shutdown every grid on the planet or maybe a giant solar flair to shake the machine etch a sketch and things will be back into balance  in a hot minute after that. So relax...and enjoy the love stuff and by the way I’ve allowed hate to take rootinmany automated phone systems  just to keep people on their emotional toes.  

B—So Jesus...what about the teaching/learning  deal?  J—well that’s a tough one... we are both teachers and have never  worked  in a school thank Dad.  My primary lessons have been out there for thousands of years and have gotten to a lot of people even without PowerPoint.I think that this guy has a good point about teaching each other. how to teach and learning how to learn.   b—but should we scrap our whole approach?  I mean after all we have millions of books about hundreds of sciences and gooozillions  of facts that can be taught  and learned.  J—yes however, how many of these notions turns out to be wrong?  A lot of people including some of my finest swore to me that the Earth was at the center of the universe for quite some time. It seems we need to encourage questions and experiments and admitting  a failure is a lesson at all levels of “education.  We also need to confess that everything we try to teach comes attached to a purpose and be open about it so learners can make choices.  You know everyone can learn something but no one can learn everything.   B—so we need to all working his way way of reforming  and valuing  togetherness  learning together?  That makes a good deal of sense.   J— and there has to be wiggle room for things we know  but don’t exactly know how we know like love and faith.   Oh and I think I’llkeep throwing. some curve balls out for people just to help...like the whole algebra cult needs some teasing now and again.  B—what ...isn’t  math and chemistry. pretty cut and dried the formulas seem pretty solid?  J—Oh Bud Oh Bud...what’s the chemical formula for turning water into wine?  Yep and here’s the mother of all story problems...

12 apostles started out with five loaves and two fishes... they passed these  food products down  an unknown number let’s call that x of rows with y number of people in each row. Just then a slow boat left on the sea of Galatea heading for Chicago.  How many liars had to add their McNuggets to each basket to feed  a crowqd of thousands  with food left over? You see what that was  was a show of faith in the crowd that good people wouldn’t let someone  starve if they believed everyone would  give just a little.  The best math teachers understand the power of their tools and their limits—as for statisticians... we’re back to the tenth level of hell for that.   but enough  from me what do you think?  b— learning takes a loop. of thinking, doing, reflecting and doing some more and worrying  less about. the quantity  of facts than the quality of our dreams. You see I honk our dreams including the daydreams create the stage where our ideas do their best work and when we share them with others the ideas work even harder and get even stronger.  Wo whatever we can do to plant that into our education settings  might be well worth it.  Also  like you said...reward people  for good questions more often than exactlyrehearsed and remembered  answers. Pie is something to be eaten not a really long fraction to find out how big around a circle is...  If you want to know how  big a circle is get out and walk around it.  

J—So  should I let this  writer. keep putting  thoughts about the pandemic and other stuff out  there?  B-  well that’s up to you...I think you give him his best ideas and he sneaks some stinky  ones in  but that is what humans do. Also it gives us both something to laugh about when he gets all confident right?   J—I suspect you nailed that.  Oh and he does  know that seeking peace and joy rather than preaching  happiness  and success is valuable—probably means he’ll ever be rich in monetary terms but ... so let’s keep letting  him share until he gets it perfect...

Jesus and Buddha both fall to the ground laughing. 

We have a pandemic and our education system is sick

 PC: THIS IS THE SEASON TO==LEARN, LEARN, LEARN

The pandemic has disrupted education.  Thanks captain obvious.  Now what  do we do?   So...post corona where do we go?  Back seems like a completely  absurd direction.  our current education systems at all levels were developed  for the industrial  age. In recent years our youth have been funneled into “no Child” and Common Core” barrels that absolutely guarantee mediocre levels of knowledge and thinking in a widely accepted majority promoted seat of ideas that students and teachers are not permitted to bend, staple, or mutilate into anything that might be useful for a changing world.  The task of teaching everything to all students has been thrust upon the classroom teacher along with the need to teach discipline and human relations.  The pandemic  has exposed that classroom teaching is the best arena to accomplish these things and yet we as a culture don’t spend enough resources to come close to making this a reasonable expectation.  We are also discovering that our schools are not equipped to create “distance” alternatives that are efficient.  What  may be worse is that we are finding out that parents and those providing primary care for children regardless of familial relationships have not been taught anything  about learning styles and teaching their children.  Talk about crimes against humanity and it’s no game.

Why so harsh?

We  have a whole generation of learners who are social media competent  and students are using this social media  at remarkable rates.  Most boomers” never  watched a “how-to” video in their life while this generation is constantly tuned in.  Still we have done. Almost no teaching about how to teach so we are missing a golden oppportunity to take advantage of peer to peer learning and teaching.  This is the societal equivalent of giving everyone a car but teaching no one how to drive or giving everyone a gun and teaching no one how to shoot or who to shoot at.  

At The Very Least...

Post Corona  we should have learned that it is important to recognize that students thrive. Using various identifiable learning styles regardless of the socially approved materials they are  shoveled using the label of common core.  We should also learn that teachers have to come from outside the school—that means  in the home and family—and those teaching should be given the tools to create materials and routines that work for those they  must teach.  In short this pandemic has shown us that our culture  knows very little and shares less when it comes to learning how to  learn and teaching  how to teach.  

In short we need to learn how to learn, learn how to teach, and teach how to teach in order to move ahead at this point.  

Oh and how about  higher ed?  

Due to the rising cost of higher education and the reduced  mobility the average college degree affords to recent graduates we are in essence creating a debt-controlled wage slavery system.  The job tasks that graduates must complete upon graduation are largely beyond or grossly beneath the level of their training.  Students who attend higher ranked university options are often linked into mentor  networks before or during college years, however,others see the jobs they hoped for as they graduated high school change to a point where thy are no longer  available or recognizable as they cross the stage five years later.  Some students learn critical thinking skills in higher education and some students experience cutting edge  skill training yet rarely do these two things meet.  Students. Living on or around campus do get to do a lot in terms of identity development and that is very important.  On the other hand things like “my major” and what I’m going to be when I graduate” have far lesss relevance than ever before.  

What is the biggest rip off?  

Students are being rewarded for gathering and presenting.  Information.  This is so,[;u not adequate for the best minds or for any mind.  The key to Post Corona growth is making the effort to encourage students to gather  information to form interesting questions and then being able to form  project groups who can be solution-generating machines.  

Okay... I have dragged this about far enough for one entry thus here’s the summary...

Learning how to learn and teaching how to teach are critical.  Understanding  that we  only really teach information. Seeking and presentation in higher education when we might. Be training people as curiousity machines. 

Seeing peace and joy means working together and doing so in ways that require learning and teaching and questioning... we have to learn about the limits of our current  ways and do more right now for this is the season to learn, learn, learn..

And Yes. There will be more in the conversation between Jesus and Buddha

That will be the next entry....

Blurring the lines between mankind in the matrix post corona

 PC: The Mankind/Matrix “Mystery”

I woke up this morning, like most mornings,  and popped. In my headphones to listen to a book.  This was on my smart phone.  I checked to see my alarm was set on the same device.  In a few minutes I asked  the phone or it’s automated assistant what the weather was like.  I had now heard the voice of three humans but hadn’t spent one moment in a real conversation.  Next, I pulled on my sweatshirt and some light gloves to head out on a walk.  My trusty phone  played music from my digital library and the phone also tracked my every step to tell me just how far I had walked, the speed of my walk and the approximate length of each stride.  This begs the question—am I using th phone or am I doing things the way the phone would have me do them, motivated by the numbers the phone spits out?  We’ll come back. To that.... let’s see what other connected machines  I used this morning and what other machines I used instead of doing something by hand?   Following my walk I put  about 10 celery  stalks and 12 carrot sticks in my blender along with an orange and a spot of cranberry justice and a spot of tea.  I hit super-liquify  and in a couple minutes had an interesting and somewhat  healthy breakfast drink.  After  rinsing and putting the blender away I sat in front of the television set—well the monitor that can be a cable tv, a streaming device and a projection screen for my phone.  It can do these things because it is connected. To my home network.  Now my home network has a printer, 2 televisions, a game system, two tablets, one desktop and two laptops connected along with four  phones.  These devices have no fewer than 7 or 8 Bluetooth devices  connected to them.  All these things serve as digital replacements for things people once did and several of them Ionce did.  

Oh and I loaded the dryer and started the washer each of which have “smart” features, however, we still push the buttons even if that’s the equivalent of going to the river and beating my jeans on a rock.  As I launched  the email app on my phone, I imagined thousands of people fitting their heads in front of little cameras to be centered up for “zoom” meetingsThis is yet another machine oriented activity that the pandemic encouraged and has become a part of our culture.  

All this tech/machine interaction has some impact on life—good or bad—who can say.  One thing for certain there is a gap between those who are tech “savvy”  and those who are tech averse.  For some the tech creates access and for others it creates anxiety.  In short some folks see the man/machine  matrix as a play ground that expands creativity and connections while others cringe at the way they must depend upon devices that they don’t really understand or trust.  One possible opportunity  in this new era is that “the general population” may now understand the complex relationships people with disabilities have with assistive technology.  It can greatly increase access and opportunities and when it doesn’t work it is incredibly  disruptive.  

What does this all mean for seeking peace and joy?  Well ... just one more detour and then Jesus  and the Buddha will provide some possible enlightenment.  

For now here’s a musical salute to th man machine turmoils people with some disabilities  )and some others) are coping with in the pandemic and beyond.  Enjoy. https://youtu.be/CX8dbZbEtfQ

Google versus God the post corona vanishing difference

 PC: CONTINUED— THE VANISHING  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND GOOGLE—

yes we are walking right up to line called blasphemy and spitting on the ground here, however, there is always forgiveness and once some basic definitions are put out in the open... well things will become clearer and perhaps fuzzier all at once.  After all this is something to reflect upon  not a fact sheet.

Okay let’s begin with  God...

For the purposes of this little enterprise—no not a mini starship piloted by Jimmy Kirk from Riverside Iowa—God represents all of the formal religions, the rules promoted. By these organizations, the role played by religion in society past and present and so on... 

Google represents the internet, social media networking apps such as facebook, instagram etc...Oh and throw in Amazon and online shopping...food delivery too.  

Let’s move ahead.  

For most of human. History as we know it mankind has wandered around trying to survive and improve.  We have tried to gather what is needed to live physically and attempted to understand why things are the way they are.  

When we  bump up against the unknown we turn to things outside  our personal mental and emotional bubble to find explanations and guidance. .  Now let’s do a side by side comparison between google and God.

Well in most any religion there are members in the church, followers, and the Quakers  of course have “friends Twitter has followers. Facebook has friends and followers and Amazon has members. In fact we have member discounts in just about every industry anymore.   

So both God and google  are teere to make you feel like you belong to something  bigger than yourself.  

That was the easy one...now here’s more...

God  is everywhere and sees everything.  God is infinite you can ask god for answers about anything.  God will not decide for you but the rules of  religion will put forth some strong suggestions.  Well how about gooogle?  Google seems to have information about  anything. And if not there it maybe on YouTube or somewhere else on the web.  There is google earth and gPs and your phone! Those things show up in p track you everywhere.  Google tracks where you go on the web and on the ground and  bang! There are the places you drive by and the things you are shopping for right there on your little phone...Google is watching and seems to be about everywhere and the Goddess Siri is also there to answer almost anyquestion.  

We have people  trying to figure out the algarythms to get on the first page of Google and YouTube and to come up in the Twitter feed.  Of all the possible sins and rules leaders had to believe that Moses  had talked directly to the formula provider and set up the primary rules known as the Ten Commandments.  While  rather broad there are social norms on almost all social media sites/apps.  

Rules are used to keep people’s behavior in check and shame those who don’t quite know how to follow them.  

Look...this could go on and on... yet for now  let’s end up with “give us today our daily bread” or tap on door dash...

Does the gap between god  and google  just keeep getting  smaller post corona?

Depends on where you stand on “free will”  I suppose... 

Look for “peace and joy” conclusions  in a few days...when Jesus  and Buddha have a chat or maybe just  text? question.google question.google 

Post pandemic work the fairytale is over

 POST CORONA—WORK MIGHT REALLY BE A FOUR-LETTERED WORD?

First—all the caveats— no wait..you can supply your own.  Now, let’s  start with a set of fairly safe assumptions.  

1. Not everyone views work and career matters through the same set of lenses—in fact that’s something  that one might  really need to be aware of PDQ.
2. Next What our culture has  taught us about work will influence how much awareness must be stretched.
3. Transgenrational challenges in parent/child, student/training, and employer/employee relationship and career  narratives and going to be sticky and slippery all at once

this post is going. To make some general representations based upon long standing notions. Regarding  work and careers and how many people think of them...  The implications for seeking peace and joy in several contexts are going to be thrown out. In the form of descriptions and questions for your consideration... Here we go...

Pre-Corona  Career  “development”  notions.  There  have been three dominant  conceptual frameworks used to understand and in some cases predict career choice and development as well as how employers view employees.  Most people and actions/thinking  surrounding  work/career life  was dominated and is still dominated by the “”matching” framework.  Theorists give this  “matching” idea fancier  names like “trait-factor” theory or personality/job congruence.  In this kingdom we have been taught that jobs fall into certain. Types. Based upon tasks and work environments while people  fall into categories based upon skills, interests, and other personality “traits”.  We have been taught to “stereotype  certain. People as “just the type for that or this. Job and that we will find peace and joy in the world of work if we can identify and achieve. Our perfect match.  On the employer side efforts are made to recruit the right type of person for each job because you don’t want an artist in charge of accounting or an engineer  leading public relations or a clown in charge of government?  So ..in post corona land jobs, work environments, and skills sets  will be changing at light speed.  By the time some folks figure out what type of. Person they are and what types of jobs they. Will be great at...the job is likely to change or disappear completely and the person may change too—but that’ probably  a bit less likely unless learning takes place....the topic for another entry. Coming soon.  

Now this matching formula  worked well  for most people for a century beginning with the industrial revolution which means every one of our grandparents, parents, and some of us believe in this idea and are probably walking around with these lenses on.as we try to mentor future gbenerations.   This model assumes stability  that just doesn’t exist anymore and probably hasn’t for  at least a generation but we cling to it because. It seems to make sense and  doesn’t produce anxiety...but believing doesn’t make it so.  Chances  are your parents think or though He’s a Round Peg and Let’s get him  trained. To find a round hole job.  They also thought  every round hole job would  be there to pound you into and that you would be happy.  Trouble is...just as you are recognizing and perfecting your  roundness (my diet strategy) the holes are wobbling into at best ovals and sometimes protractor shaped things with one curved side and one long straight side.  These shape shifting and disappearing holes will be shifting and disappearing at an alarming rate because the COVID changed the work. World forever and the employe/employer relationship in. Terms of a network has been diversified.  Most office workers. Don’t have to work in offices and many food servers only see Toyotas instead of tables.  Car mechanics are  more like electronic repair technicians than “grease monkeys.” Working with your hands  will mean “pointing, clicking, and typing ...or dictating more than cutting, welding, painting, and the like.  

The seeking peace and joy impact here is that  we will will have to find a new working  narrative  for career stability or abandon it as the speed of change will not ever be slower than  our capacity to change shapes again.  It will be a generation or two. More before. Our culture catches up with this so when seeking peace and joy expect  a bit of turbulence  in the force for a while to come.  

Another popular framework in career development  is the “development”  idea where a person sort of starts at the bottom of a career ladder and continues to learn and grow (much like a tree grows from a seed) and so seeking peace and joy means  keeping on the path—moving step by step up the. Ladder.  You know. A pre-schooler  becomes an elementary student and then a junior high kid then high school then work or college and if you enter a “profession” its junior associate, associate, supervising associate, assistant department  manager, department manger etc. etc. etc.You pick up some skills and social trimmings along the way and your self-talk narrative is one that encourages you to compare where you are to where “people  like you” are in the employment  setting.  

Two challenges  here in the Post Covid Career Jungle.  The big one is that your ladder may have crumbled  as your place of work exported or experiences massive organizational chart revisions.  Steps are getting removed from  ladders all the time and it often means the difference between step  3 and 4 that was once a  two year process becomes  the difference  between step 3 and step 7 and let’s dace it you’ll need a helicopter to bridge the gap.  

The matching story...seems to be an external; one as People in general see the work world that way while the growth/ladder style of thinking often becomes internal because you are doing the comparing  on your own most of the time.  

No matter —post Covid —neither of these may function without some real cognitive behavioral gymnastics—otherwise known as learning to lie to yourself.  

Unfortunately most employers operate using one of the “stories” above neither of which functioned great pre-corona and are even less useful now.  The chasm between reality and these cultural  work concepts leaves employees feeling inadequate and employers feeling like employees aren’t engaged or traditional motivation schemes to accomplish team building and loyalty  don’t work.  Well guess what?  The employees and the employers are both  right.  

More Bad  News—

The most  wealthy  employees in this country now make 312 times the least  compensated ones make.  This means that decision makers live in a world where their work story is just fine.  There is little if any incentive  for the rich to care about  the poor interns  of pay because the class of labor is likely to change. In job task so long term employees are not needed and therefore these short term employees are represented in their spreadsheets as “labor cost” instead of human capital.  Then  add to this the notion that “what one does and where you work” are social labels we  have been taught to use when we build profiles of people and snap... we’ve got employers devaluing workers who then present themselves as low paid and disposable and uninterested.  Since advancement is uncertain and  mostly impossible co-workers aren’t talking to each other’s about that—they are talking about  what they can—common complaints.  Yep..there are a lot of folks running around feeling confused because they were sold a fairy talethat can’t come true and that’s on the inside...while on the outside they are expected to tie their identity to work in the eyes of the world.  

So How  to we seek peace and joy in the post-corona era?

Well my closet economist says “break up the monopolies” so real competition exists...but not only competition  in terms of product....competition in terms of employing  diverse workplace environments, organization structures, and of course there must be a way to redistribute work related wealth because we are near the end of the monopoly game right now and in fact the rich players are lending money  to the poor players just so they can keep collecting enough rent so that the poor  player gets around to  go (payday) one more time.   Yet THAT IS NOT ENOUGH 

To walk with each other seeking peace and joy we are going to  have to exhibit  the strength needed to value “non-work” characteristicss in ourselves and others.  We are going to need to admit that the matching and ladder  stories don’t work with the way work is conducted  post-corona and a collective effort is going to need to be made to help employers admit that too without blaming employees.  Seeking peace will  mean finding people who you can hang with outside of your. Workplace and your work mentality.  In short for the large majority of people who are not working for a cause —work may be best thought of as less who you are or what you are and more what you are doing right now... thinking of work as temporary may not please employers, but many of them have created this need to begin with.  Thinking.of work as temporary however may allow us to assume personal growth that can be focused on a variety of work tasks  may be helpful and teaching each other things so that we all can connect to accomplish things outside of job titles  could empower folks that have been squashed and will be squashed by work for half a century.  

In summary let’s quit spreading these narratives about work culture that will never work post corona... there is no back to normal there.  These just create internal and external stress.  Let’s treat  each other more “holistically” and demand that employers quit using these useless  narratives to structure  work settings and incentive programs.  What if you got paid for the number of co-workers you helped learn a task or for helping someone with an art project outside of the office?  How about we get real about “big business” and admit that our system is bought and paid for by monopolies in all major sectors of our economy?  Social media is controlled by two  global. Companies...Big Pharma  has about 5 players.  Health care and health insurance is dominated by a clinical care model and a handful of companies that set rates and rewards for services and thus premiums.  There is no free market as large retail and nationwide retailers like Amazon control supply side production and distribution through pricing  and processing .  Higher ed financing  creates a ass  of people tied to the company store due to debt.  In short, we are chaining  people to uninspiring things because our traditional narratives don’t work and we don’t want to admit that we have created wage slaves.  

So to seek peace and joy we will need to be curious and experiment liberally with work  environments and attitudes.  Helping each other will be a key.  

Conclusions?  Well those will come when Jesus talks with Buddha in about a week on the blog..