We've got Entirely too many Troublemakers here!

Red Squirrels

British Wildlife Centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Macavity"

Scottish Wildcat

British Wildlife Centre

Papa Hemingway: SoulCraftsman

Ernest Miller Hemingway

21 July 1899 - 2 July 1961

 

 

 

 

The Art of Manliness is authored by husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay. It features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men. In our search to uncover the lost art of manliness, we’ll look to the past to find examples of manliness in action. We’ll analyse the lives of great men who knew what it meant to “man up” and hopefully learn from them. And we’ll talk about the skills, manners, and principles that every man should know.

 

 

My idea for the Art of Manliness came about as I was standing in Borders bookstore looking at the men’s magazines. It seemed to me that the content in these magazines were continually going downhill, with more and more articles about sex and how to get six pack abs. Was this all there was to being a man?


And as I looked around at the men my age, it seemed to me that many were shirking responsibility and refusing to grow up. They had lost the confidence, focus, skills, and virtues that men of the past had embodied and were a little lost. The feminism movement did some great things, but it also made men confused about their role and no longer proud of the virtues of manliness. This, coupled with the fact that many men were raised without the influence of a good father, has left a generation adrift as to what it means to be an honourable, well-rounded man.



Shop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite common, but now seems to be receding from society: making and fixing things. Those of us who sit in an office often feel a lack of connection to the material world and find it difficult to say exactly what we do all day. For anyone who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honour of the manual trades as a life worth choosing.

Huldah That Thought...........

Huldah

a figurative quilt by

Textile Artist: Julie Dushack

 

 

 

'Tell Josiah, king of Judah, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord I truly have heard you."

 

 

Huldah is an incredible woman of God. She was called by God to be a prophet. She had a great reputation in ancient Israel. She did in fact exercise authority by the very nature of her ministry. She is the first person to declare a text scripture but she also interpreted and applied it to her day. She stands at the very heart of the Josiah narrative and in fact his reform movement was the result of her prophetic work. But the Chronicler also uses her to articulate one the central motifs of his entire work . . . The theme of mercy given to those who humbly seek the Lord.

Source: Stoned-Campbell Disciple

 

The Pals Regiment: 14-18

"Gassed"

John Singer Sargent

 1918

 

 

 

I'm waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
I'm breathing in the chemicals

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa

I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive

I raise my flags, don my clothes
It's a revolution, I suppose
We're painted red to fit right in
Whoa

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa

 ~ lyrics Radioactive

Imagine Dragon

Country Home for Fallen & Friendless Women

 Lady Macbeth,

John Singer Sargent c.1889

 

 

 

 

Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming 'bout the things that we could be
But baby I been, I been prayin' hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Yeah, we'll be counting stars

I see this life
Like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
In my faces flashing signs
Seek it out and ye shall find
The old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I, feel something so right
But doing the wrong thing
I, feel something so wrong
But doing the right thing
I could lie, could lie, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

~ lyrics Counting Stars

OneRepublic

 

 

Legacy of Soldier's Heart: Shot at Dawn

Rumpled earth, east of Bernafay Woods,

British Cemetery

My paternal grandfather served with the Royal Garrison Artillery during WWI.  After the Armistice, the brigade was kept in France and informed they were now going to be sent to Russia to fight on the side of the White Russians against the Red Bolsheviks (a futile cause as we now know).  After being told of this new posting, most of the brigade, including my grandfather and his two brothers; deserted and made their way back to England; knowing well that if they were caught, they would be shot.

The authorities later caught up with some of the deserters and although they were not court-martialled, because public opinion was against British involvement in the Russian War, they were denied the right to return to their pre-war employment and they never received their war medals. 

Upon returning to England, my grandfather would sire a second son: my father, who at the conclusion of his service in WWII, would emigrate to Australia and live there for the rest of his life.

I am here - a daughter - because my grandfather was as clever as a fox with eluding capture. For the last twenty years, from time to time, I have found myself in a dream of my grandfathers: we are walking by a forest and there is a body.  I do not see it and then there are people who come to collect it.

I feel it is the body I wore in my past-life.....    the woods remember me, their roots were nourished by my flesh, and my essence mingled with the earth.  It was a good death.  .

14:18

World War One soldiers knew their king and country expected them to fight to the death. Such was the expectation of their military commanders, their political leaders and even their loved ones that there was no question that if mortal danger came, they should face it like men. It was the only way for good to triumph over evil.

But this conflict quickly became the most brutal war in history and not even the most seasoned serviceman was prepared for the scale of carnage that unfolded before him. For many the horror proved too much. Hundreds were unable to cope, many were driven insane and several simply ran away.

But the army could no more afford to carry cowards than it could traitors, and many of those who did flee faced instant retribution with a court martial and death by firing squad.

British and Commonwealth military command executed 306 of its own men during the Great War. Those shot brought such shame on their country that nearly a century on, their names still do not appear on official war memorials.

A Heavy Battery of the RGA tows its 60-pounder guns along the roads of Northern France.

 

Granny Smith:

"Son of Man"

Rene Magritte

 

 

Maria Ann Smith arrived in Australia with her husband Thomas in 1830 aged 30.
She had already three children when they established their family home and orchard in North Road.
Maria would to on to conceive another 13 children!  Maria bought a case of French Crab apples from Tasmania.  On finding the last of these in the case had gone bad, she tipped them out down by the creek course that ran through the family property. From seed that germinated a new fruit tree grew up along the creek course. Mrs Smith knew that this was not a French Crab apple and distinctively different to any other apple she had seen.  Mrs Smith recognised she had something that was very special...........

  

 

The patriarchal values which deny the body, women and feminine values based more on being than doing, which relates to the superiority of the head, logic, rules and rightness, sabotages a slower and deeper self of the body's natural wisdom, natural organization and alignment, and even heart space.  What's more, the inner voice condemning your life, your body and your most innate self will be projected into your relationships with your spouse, partner or significant other, your children, your employer/employees, your government, and the other important people and teachers in your life.  This voice goes undetected and is buried so deep in the core tissues of your body that you are unable to even detect it.  It has been operating so long in our culture and lives that we do not even know that as men and women, children and elders, that we are being ruled by values, thoughts and nervous system patterning which denigrate our lives and innate biological functioning.

 

Since the self is a reflection of a spiritual energetic soul AND THE BODY WHICH HAS MANIFESTED THIS SOUL, by working directly with the innate aspects of the body we are able to begin to restructure a self which is intrinsically in alignment with its own soul, its own sense of rightness and direction of real and spiritual life.

Sidra Stone, PhD has named this voice "the Inner Patriarch".  Her book, The Shadow King:  The Invisible Force that Holds Women Back is a very constructive psychology book to help both men and women understand the values of our culture and the voices which are at play in our many psychological selves.

Umbrellas

Pierre Auguste Renoir

The "Inner Patriarch" voice is a voice of stress to the body as well.  The relationships we experience in life are mostly based on child psychology and we keep recreating the mother-to-son and father-to-daughter configuration which keeps a person from ever truly growing up into adulthood.  So few of us have cleared this stage into a maturely sexual functioning that we do not really ever know this innate mature self.  We get involved in pair bonding relationships based on the unfulfilled and unfinished psychological and body-physical patterning that we recreate the very wound we keep trying to heal.  Since the pattern is part of the body and its neurological patterning, you cannot help but project that outward into life and hence attract a partner who fits the pattern.  Its like your body is the key hole and you find just the right key.  In my work, I am changing the "keyhole" so that you are reflecting more maturity and true alignment to self, hence you attract increasingly better life situations to yourself.

 

Extracts from Struggle With Patriarchy

Rebecca Coursey

Bozeman, MT

 

 



To Whomever it Concerns in Purgatory; James is an actor. He was just pretending to be a bad motherfucker

James Joseph Gandolfini Jr.

1961-2013

 

 

It must be acknowledged that the Church has a very limited understanding of the specifics related to Purgatory, yet Church teaching on the existence of Purgatory is made clear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, articles 1030-32, which begins with “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (1030). The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned (1031)”.

 

Ancient Christians believed in the practice of praying for the dead.   Many locations in the ancient catacombs reveal passages marked into the walls reminding the living to pray for the dead.  St. Monica begged her son, St. Augustine, to pray for her after her own death.   In 1439, the Second Council of Florence acknowledged that some souls must still expiate for past sins after their death and they do so in Purgatory.   The 16^th Century Council of Trent, legislated “that purgatory exists, and that the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar.”

The Catholic faith is unambiguous in its belief that those who die without moral sin but with
many of life’s imperfections still unhealed will experience a time of perfect healing from sin and brokenness and a time for whatever expiation from sin the merciful God requires of a soul before that soul may enter Heaven.  Further, the Church has been clarifying for centuries that prayers, sacrifices and most particularly, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, are of assistance to those souls who are in Purgatory.

 

 

Source: Father Michael Monshau, O.P., S.T.L., Ph.D.

 

The Skipping Stone

Jung dipping his feet in Lake Zurich

Exactly how someone's mental illness impacts on those around them depends on the individual and their diagnosis, but many carers find themselves dealing with the effects of the mental illness while continuing to juggle work, family and finances.


A report by Wesley Mission suggests carers often feel the effects on their own mental health, other relationships in their lives and their finances.


Watching a loved one struggle with mental illness is stressful and the additional workload that comes with caring can add to this stress, says Jack Heath, chief executive officer of SANE Australia.


"For some people, caring can be providing emotional support on a daily basis, offering encouragement and ensuring people get the services and treatment they need," he explains. "For illnesses where the incident is more episodic and you don't know when the illness might take hold, it's a question of staying on guard and closely monitoring how your loved one is travelling."

The first steps

Being able to identify mental illness in someone you know and love can be difficult, but Heath says early intervention is critical.


"For the more common mental disorders, like depression and anxiety, treatments are out there and the recovery rates are very high," he says. "The general advice is if someone you know has been unusually low for more than two weeks, or is behaving abnormally, they may need professional help".


Clinical psychologist Dr Suzy Green, from The Positivity Institute, says it's important to approach the person when you're both calm.  "Ask if they have five minutes to talk. Let them know that your intention is not to be nosey or overstep the mark, but to see if they are okay, because you've noticed they're not themselves lately," she says. "Then ask if there is anything you can do to help. They may initially flatly refuse, but if you keep working on the relationship, then over time they may be more willing to open up."


When that happens, Green stresses the importance of recommending they see a GP. "While you can be a good listener, you need to gently encourage them to find a mental health professional – we need to lose the stigma of seeking help," she says.


A GP can then discuss treatment options depending on the diagnosis. If need be, you can offer to go along for support when they have their appointment.

Taking care of you

Given that caring for someone with mental illness increases your own risk of depression, experts say it's important to look after yourself and know your limits.


It's normal to feel a whole range of emotions, such as guilt, fear, anger and sadness under these circumstances; however, learning more about the condition can help you to understand what's going on for your loved one and knowing how you can help.


"You can't be responsible for their recovery as much as you aren't responsible for them," says Green.
"But what you can take responsibility for, is being a key support person in their life. Don't assume you know what they need – ask them. It's also vital to unplug from the situation and maintaining contact with other people in your life.


"It's important you connect with other people and share their experiences on how best to cope," Heath says. "As a carer, you need to enjoy life and not become over-burdened. Take time to reflect on the things you're grateful for; savour things; go and have a nice meal and other small things you really enjoy. If you can't look after yourself, it's hard to help others."


Lifeline recommends carers regularly ask themselves:

• Do I get enough breaks from caring?
• Have I got regular times for relaxation?
• Am I getting regular exercise?
• Am I eating nutritious meals?
• Do I get enough sleep?
• Do I have someone I trust to talk to?

Red flags for carers

Tragically, suicide rates among people with a mental illness remain high and experts say there are certain signals to look for.


"The critical sign is seeing a sudden change in behaviour, particularly when someone had been down, frustrated or consistently angry – and then things are suddenly okay," Heath says.  "That can often be a sign that the person has devised a suicide plan and feels they've got a way out of their dilemma."


He also urges friends and family to be aware of talk about being "a burden".


"Listen out for phrases like 'the world would be better off without me' and if they are withdrawing and not engaging in the normal social connections they usually have," he says.


Mentally unwell men in particular are at risk of hurting other people, especially if they've been self-medicating with drugs or alcohol, says Jonathan Nicholas, chief executive officer of The Inspire Foundation.


"If someone has explosive or persistent anger – a short fuse – that's a real concern and needs to be addressed, because they could cause harm to someone," he explains. "They need to know that it's okay to be angry, but they have to manage their emotions better."


Text sourced from
Mental Illnesses' Ripple Effect on Family & Friends
by Cassie White
ABC Health & Wellbeing