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Posts Tagged ‘kindness’

Be Nice

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on May 15, 2022| 1 Comment »

I was taught, when I was growing up, that it wasn’t polite to talk politics. But perhaps it’s time “nice” people should start doing it. — Photo by Pat Bean

“I want a kindle, gentler nation,” Geroge W.H. Bush

I Agree

Where are all these hate mongers coming from? People like the 18-year-old guy who just killed 11 people because he believed only whites should occupy this planet.

As a former journalist, it goes against my grain to call him a killer instead of an alleged killer before a jury convicted him, but this sadist filmed himself committing the murders.

And I’ll probably read in the news tomorrow something just as horrible. It’s disheartening.

There is no one in my circle of friends who spouts such hate as that coming from the mouths of some of our politicians and white supremacists these days – and they’re not all bleeding-heart liberals either. While I consider myself a moderate independent, I have friends – and family members – who lean far to the right. They’re still nice people.

Maybe it’s time we threw this partisan bullshit into a garbage bin and started basing our voting choices on whether candidates believe in the Golden Rule or not — the only one in my opinion that matters. Even if they support our own political agenda, we shouldn’t be electing bullies, racists, liars or narcissists, especially those who encourage, or commit violence to get their way.

I can’t help but think that we nice people are handing over control of this planet – I say planet because America isn’t the only country being destroyed by hateful actions. It’s way too easy for those of us who don’t have goals of a world ruled by a single class of people to just go about our daily business, hoping things are going to change.

It’s time for nice people to let their voices be heard. And for those of us who are nice, which the optimist in me still wants to believe is the majority of us, to take back control.

Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

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Silence is the Sound of Time Passing

Posted in aging, Dogs, Journeys, Writing, tagged , , on December 27, 2021| 4 Comments »

Happy holidays to all.

          It’s that time of year again. The time when I start thinking about resolutions for the New Year – even though I’ll probably break them before the first week of January has passed.

          The past two years, 2020 and 2021, haven’t been particularly great years for me because of Covid, but then that’s true for just about everybody. And being retired, 82 and with a small but adequate fixed income, I’ve fared far better than most. So, I’ll quit my whining and look for the silver linings.

          That’s harder this morning because the virus reared its ugly head and stared me straight in the face. My granddaughter and I had planned a road trip to Whitewater Draw two hours outside of Tucson to watch sandhill cranes. That was canceled because my granddaughter was with a friend who had been exposed to the virus. Since she loves me, she canceled our outing.

          Sh-ee-t! (I was raised in the South so this is how my favorite consternation word comes out sounding) I’ll be eating the picnic lunch that I had already prepared for the trip by myself today. Of course, there’s a silver lining with that. I won’t have to cook.

          Meanwhile, I love my own company and sharing that solitude with my canine companion Scamp – so I never feel lonely. That’s two more silver linings right there.

          But as a mother and working woman who once never had a moment to spare, I have now become the sole CEO of my own life. And while at my age, one has learned to let a lot of things go, I still want to make my days meaningful. Time, which passes so silently – and quickly – is very precious to me.

          That’s why I’ll be spending the next few days making a list of my New Year’s resolutions. I want to write more, learn more and be more. But I especially want to spread a message of kindness, which I believe the world is sadly in need of these days.

          Will you help?

          Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

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It’s World Kindness day

Posted in Art, Birds, Journeys, tagged on November 13, 2020| 2 Comments »

Just aa it took many tiles to create this mural, so it will take many acts of kindness to create a better world. — Photo of St. Louis Zoo aviary mural by Pat Bean

“Together we can change the world, just one random act of kindness at a time.” – Ron Hall.

I noted in my journal this morning that it was Friday the 13th, but I didn’t know until I opened my email that November 13 is also World Kindness Day.

          What a great idea, was my first thought. When did this happen was my second? I’ve been aware in recent years that something is being celebrated every day of the year, but this was a new one for me.

          With a little research, I learned that the day had been designated 22 years ago by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations’ kindness NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and is now celebrated in numerous countries, including the United States.

          My third thought was that every day should be World Kindness Day.

          Bean Pat: Check out this CNN post on ways to be kind. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/health/world-kindness-day-acts-wellness/index.html

          Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

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Morning Coffee Rant

Posted in Journeys, Morning Thoughts, Nature, tagged , , , on April 19, 2020| 7 Comments »

Blue Herons on a cold morning at Farmington Bay in Utah. Nature is what helps keep my blood pressure in check during these days of isolation, even if it’s just remembering past moments spent in the outdoors. — Photo by Pat Bean

“The survival of democracy depends on the ability of large numbers of people to make realistic choices in the light of adequate information.” – Aldous Huxley

From a Moderate Independent

I’m sick and tired of the blame game, politicians’ personal and hateful attacks on their opponents, and no one standing up and taking responsibility for their own acts when they’ve made a mistake.

I don’t expect the leaders of this country to be perfect, but I do think they should put what’s best for all of this country’s people ahead of their own welfare and personal agendas.

And I want to hear exactly what today’s candidates for office would do to improve things if they do gain leadership power, not just that they think their opponent is a slug, or whatever else name-calling they decide will get them elected.

As a former journalist who believed that it was not my duty to change the world but to inform the world, I’m sickened by those in the media today who distort facts, repeat lies, and take sides. These tactics weaken the real media’s role as a government watchdog, a role which some journalists still take seriously.

I’m also quite sick of slogans that mean absolutely nothing but are just words that sound good or patriotic.

To quote a well-known rant, I’m mad as hell and not going to take it anymore — even if all this old broad can do at this point in her life is to speak out against hate and lies and in favor of justice and kindness.

Anyone else out their want to join me?

Bean Pat: Isolation is getting to me. This blog, which looks to nature as a resource for these days, inspired me. https://windbreakhouse.wordpress.com/2020/04/16/spring-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/

 

available on Amazon

Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

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New Year’s Resolutions

Posted in Journeys, tagged , on January 2, 2016| 5 Comments »

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” Neil Gaiman

I want to take time to smell the flowers and enjoy Mother Nature in 2016. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I want to take time to smell the flowers and enjoy Mother Nature in 2016. — Photo by Pat Bean

Kindness

            I toasted the New Year into being with two dear friends and with my last Jack and Coke of the evening; and then the three of us burned our New Year’s resolutions in a bowl on my balcony, sending our intentions smokily drifting up into the cold night air.

And so ended 2015 and 2016 began.

And I want to play more. I'm third from the right floating down the Little Colorado into the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in 1999.

And I want to play more. I’m third from the right floating down the Little Colorado into the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in 1999.

Steven Spielberg says that every single year we’re a different person. I agree 110 percent.

My two friends said the way they wanted to be different in the coming year was that they wanted to be kinder. An admirable resolution for one, an outspoken, cheeky woman whom I treasure, but a redundancy for the other who is one of the kindest people I know.

I think of myself as a kind person, but as the others spoke, I realized I was not that kind as I seldom go out of my way do kind things for others. Perhaps, I thought, this should be one of my New Year’s Resolutions, too.

It’s certainly a resolution that the entire world could use during this time of terrorism, war, beheadings, rapes, and mockery of others on television. We’re all guilty of the latter one. If such atrocities as making fun of how people dress, or look, or are simply different didn’t attract viewers, such media behavior would disappear.

Then there is the recent political rhetoric about Muslims that has made a Muslim friend of mine, one who was born in America and is one of the most peace-loving people I know, afraid to go to the grocery store.

Yes. Purposely and thoughtfully, I added kindness to my New Year’s Resolutions. I believe it is the only way that 2016 can end up being a different and better world.

What do you think?

Blog pick of the Day. Check it out.

Blog pick of the Day. Check it out.

Bean Pat: Daily Essay http://tinyurl.com/z7yu6pe Tongue in cheek about New Year’s Resolutions. If you’re a writer, I bet these will make you laugh

 

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Yes Virginia, There Really are Angels

Posted in Travel, tagged , , , , , , on July 10, 2012| 4 Comments »

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” Seneca

And They Work for Delta Airlines

If I could, I’d give this whole garden of flowers, which I found growing at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens, to my two Delta Airline angels. — Photo by Pat Bean

I have a granddaughter getting married this weekend in Texas.

So about six weeks ago, so as not to leave my campground hosting duties here at Lake Walcott for too long, I made airline reservations that would get me into Texas early Saturday morning for that evening’s wedding. Or so I thought.

The plan was that my son, who lives only a couple of hours away, would pick me up at the airport. But then I got a call from him yesterday asking me to take another look at my flight reservations.

“You’re booked to catch the 8:10 p.m. flight, and not the 8:10 a.m. flight,” he said.

And may their days be full of rainbows, like this one I saw near Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota. — Photo by Pat Bean

He was right – and I was in a panic. My flight wouldn’t arrive in Texas until after all the happenings had ended. And of course I had purchased one of those non-refundable, non-changeable tickets.

Trying very hard to not panic, I called Delta Airlines. After the usual wait for an agent, I was connected to sweet, young, voice, the kind that you just know is not going to be able to help you. Fate, I thought, wasn’t going to be kind to me.

But after I, as calmly as my fast-beating heart would allow, explained my predicament, the honeyed voice asked if I would hold while she talked with a supervisor.

It wasn’t a short hold, but the voice came back several times to let me know she was still working on my problem.

Finally, as if this were a fairy tale where everyone lived happily ever after, she told me that my flight had been changed from an evening one to a morning one, and that there would be no charge.

“Normally it would have cost $350 to change,” she said, “but this was clearly a mistake.”

I wished I could have hugged this delightful young woman, and the supervisor who approved the change, too.

I now believe in Angels.

Bean’s Pat: The Kindness Kronicles http://thekindnesskronicles.wordpress.com I wonder if my angels ever read this bloggers post about daily kindness. Blog pick of the day from this wondering wanderer.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , on May 26, 2012| 7 Comments »

 “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.” – John Lubbock.

Ye Old Swimming Hole

Everyone should have a summer swimming hole in their past This one can be found near Carthage, Missouri. — Photo by Pat Bean

“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” Ada Louise Huxtable.

Bean’s Pat:: The Kindness Kronicles: http://tinyurl.com/bnjcqha Today I simply pass on Debbie’s Irish blessing to my readers. Her blog offers daily inspiration for a kinder world. 

*This recognition is merely this wandering/wondering old broad’s way of bringing attention to a blog I enjoyed – and thought perhaps my readers might, too. The Pat on the back is presented with no strings attached. May 26, patbean.wordpress.com

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