WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?

WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?

?????

First of all, this is strictly my own opinion. I don't have 'the answers.' After all, it is my blog...with that being said, I always let comments come through, whether you agree or disagree. I just wanted to clarify that I am not posting this blog for the purpose of debate. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We all must at least agree that we need to come up with 'the answers.' At least a start to help solve this chaotic mess going on in our society.

The question is, when will all of these mass shootings stop? It seems as if they are happening more and more often. They are in high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, public schools, private schools, universities, churches, Walmarts, grocery stores, hardware stores, manufacturing plants, military bases...and the list goes on.

I have come to the conclusion that it is a multitude of actions that should take place. Doing what we are doing now is not helping. And as the saying goes, if we continue doing the same thing, then nothing is going to change. 

First, it truly is a gun control issue. I already know that many have already turned me off. I don't mean to take away the guns that hunters use to legally hunt with a license. I don't mean the individuals who legally have their own private handguns for personal safety taken away. I am talking about individuals owning semi-automatic weapons or the kind that have a Glock switch. For what reason do private individuals need this kind of gun? And I can hear the naysayers talking about the fact that they are out there now, so how are you going to stop them? Well, we have to start somewhere. Make those illegal. Then, if someone uses one for a crime, the jail time is increased, and that gun is then removed. Yes, it is one at a time, step by step, gun by gun.

The next step is to make sure that proper measures are taken when an individual wants to purchase a gun. All of the background checks are completed thoroughly. (even if it takes longer than a couple of days) When red flags go up in the background check, then it is a no sale. There could be ways to dispute it, however, it will take time to find out the reasons for these red flags. 

In a perfect world, we would not need all of the mental health facilities that we are missing from our society today. Let's face facts. We do not live in a perfect world. There are a lot of angry people out there, and many times they write or tell someone about their issues, yet nothing is done to help them. There are times these ideas are put on social media. Yet, no one reports what they see until after the fact. IT is past time that we all need to get involved.

There has even been actual discussion that the reason for the last horrible mass shooting at a Mass inside a Catholic school happened outside through the windows into the pew areas with the gunman never even entering the building. And the reasons I have heard is that he was a male turned female. Really? It does not matter if he is a he or she is a she or they are purple with pink polka dots. That has nothing to do with the horrible fact that innocent children lost their lives. The fact goes back to mental health issues, and this individual needed to be with a therapist and possibly in an institutional setting until his anger and hostility were under control (if it could be). I am not a psychiatrist. I just know that we are all dealing with unstable individuals who need help before they go on a wild rampage of mass shooting.

I am sure that many of you have other ideas that could help deter the mass shootings. Let's all get ideas together and actually do something. Sitting back and watching time after time the killing of innocent people is NOT the answer. It has not worked so far. Even when actions are taken, it will take time for them to help. There is no overnight answer to this problem. 

So my blog is now coming to an end. My one hope is that it makes more people aware that when the whole village comes together with ideas to try, these ideas are brought before those who have the power to change some of the laws to help find the answers. I know that we all agree that something must be done. 

CHOOSE YOURSELF

CHOOSE YOURSELF

 

Many of us need to work on creating more positive inner narrative fuelings toward ourselves. Negative talk will come back to bite us by allowing us think this is the way it will be. When all we must do, is take responsibility for what things are not working in our lives and believe that we CAN give ourselves the gift of love. Take in what it is that we really want in our lives. It can awaken us to a whole new beginning of a more vibrant kind of life. One that we all deserve!

In all of our hustle and bustle of everyday life, we need a reminder that it is ok to choose to focus our attention on what it is that we want and appreciate. Whatever we give our attention to will grow; therefore, we want to be intentional about choosing for ourselves. It is not selfish to practice self-love and follow whatever it is that we need to help us grow as individuals.

There are times that we should be observers as long as we are aware that observers may allow uncertainty to block them. They end up staying where they are, even when they know it is not where they want to be. It is the doers who choose differently. They don't wait for the perfect moment or allow their inner critic to run their show. They almost always choose to connect to what lights them up, to get support, and take imperfect action to create what may be next. If you don't have a specific plan of action, it will be ok. Let it happen. Try new things. Be open to what may come.

Examples that I have read about involve people who retired and thought that their best years were behind them. Many discover a way to launch a new beginning to their lives that working 9 - 5 would not allow before. Now is the time to choose a new YOU to feel more energized and confident within yourself. 

For myself, it happens to be something that I love to spend time on and gives me total relaxation. This happens to be writing and painting. I quickly learned that compared to what I did when I was working, my daily step count lowered considerably. And, we all have heard that 'sitting is the new smoking!' Moving makes us stronger, but writing and painting had me sitting way too much. After some research, I learned that prolonged sitting causes many problems.

Because this is hard on the eyes to read, I will put bullets to list the problems too much sitting can cause:

• Higher risk of depression
• Stagnation in lymph movement
• Low bone density
• Lack of joint lubrication
• Computer vision syndrome
• Increased risk of heart failure and blood clots
• Decreased lung capacity
• Compromised digestive tract
• Sluggish metabolism
• Increased risk of diabetes

After learning all of these possible risks, I decided to set my smartwatch with an alarm every hour to give me a signal to get up and walk. If it is nice outside, then it is outside, which is even better for us. If not my kind of weather, then just a ten-minute walk around the house. Some can be taking the dogs out and finishing up in the house - just movement. Our bodies are meant to move.

The main idea of this blog is to just do it for yourself. Find what makes you happy and always keep the "YOU" in your plans.