OK this is a special day...mostly for me because my oh so sweet and wise daughter turns 20 today (woulda been a little cooler if she turned 12 or 21...and of course she would prefer 21!)...her name is Sophie (meen's wisdom and she is wise beyond her years...maybe beyond her mama!!!) as embarassing and silly as I sometimes think this is....I am going to post it in honor of my Sophie! and maybe someday someone will read it!! I already have more addendums but that will wait!
Linda’s
Manifesto for a Good Life
1. I am alone. When I shut my eyes at
night no matter who else is around it's just me in here. Yet I crave the
company of others.
2. Someday I will die. It's part of the
agreement coming into this existence.
3. I am a social creature living on planet
earth. Social creatures must work together to survive as a species...call
it "government"...it's only evil if you let it be.
4. Every human has a dark side--keep it in
check--for me it has mostly been sexual in nature invloving desire and
trust. If I truly want to hurt other humans I may have a problem
and there are plenty of resources to help me. The legal system is
our means of trusting other people to judge who might want to harm us. I
think a major flaw in our legal system is the practice of pleading guilty to a
lesser crime...one that a person maybe didn't even commit, to reduce a
potential punishment. I think it encourages lying. I think it is a
simple language problem that could be fixed by making different levels of
crime. (for example I was told by the judge in a court of law, where you
are supposed to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to
plead guilty to "defective headlights" instead of reckless
driving...truth was I was guilty of innattentive driving...) so you could have
say murder 1, murder 2, murder 3, murder 4, and murder 5...with associated
definitions and punishment levels.
5. The only control I have is my response to
stimuli. Controlling other people is impossible and the desire to do it
stems from fear and insecurity. I can influence other people but not control
them, even my own children.
6. When another human says something hurtful (or
anything for that matter) to or about me, it really says more about the disher
outer than the receiver... I will listen carefully to what others say in
attempt to understand them and I will try to state clearly what I want to say.
7. I want to be "somebody" amongst the
every bodies and so do most other humans.
8. Intentions are only known to to others when
they are acted upon...again I will try to communicate my intentions clearly.
9. It is helpful to apologize if I have hurt
another living being...plant, animal or human.
10. Money is a tool humans use to help live
their lives. It is only a tool and I don't want to love it or hoard
it for it's own sake. It can provide a sense of security and help me
function in this capitalistic society we have created. If I'm not
financially independent I'd better be comfortable with the ties that bind.
11. The best sex for me is loving sex and
involves very few words...I find magic in that...but I will not judge what is
good sex for others...it's not my business...I will be as responsible as I can
be sexually, getting tested for stds etc...what spreads faster amongst our
species than a virus?? Love is the most positive emotion and it is
positively self-serving if I give it out freely and abundantly but that is OK
because it is a win-win. It seems to me the happiest humans are those
that give love freely. Compassion...say no more.
12. Beauty is good for my soul and there is alot
of beauty in the outside world (not to mention vitamin D)... I want to
make the world a more beautiful place...my best source of this seems to be
visual art.
13. I will have physical pain, and learn to
manage it.
14. I have addiction in my DNA be careful.
15. Most things that seem bad for me probably
are...balance in things like wine, chocolate, butter, cigars, pain killers
etc...seems to be the best bet for a long good life on planet earth.
16. Judging other people is a waste of time and
good judgment...however we do need to separate people who truly want to harm
other people safely from the rest of us and I have to trust other to make those
judgments, see number 4.
17. I will make lots of mistakes, hopefully I
will learn from them.
18. Material goods will definitely outlive
me...having to many seems unhealthy and an attempt at some sort of security
or one upsmanship...I want to surround myself with a few beautiful things...I
believe to much greed is not good for the spirit and the corporate business
model fuels greed. It cannot be sustained without exponential
growth.
19. I believe in a spiritual world, mostly
because I desperately miss people who have died and eternity seems
apealling. No one has proof of what really happens after we die, no one
has been dead truly and come back to tell us...even JC...there is a lot of
evidence t to suggest he "a son of god" not THE son of god" and
wasn't dead on the cross...(were you there? did you see it?)all religious texts
have been written by humans and are therefore a leap of faith...I sometimes
wonder if we would all do better not to talk about this subject...I do believe
there are clues everywhere to a spiritual world, perfect rhythms, patterns,
miracles, etc . I believe we should all respect each others spiritual
beliefs and not fight over it...I really wonder why some humans have to
convince other that they are RIGHT about this. I believe some humans use
existing spiritual texts to hold power over and attempt to control other
humans...I don't think this is a positive thing. History is history...we
can only move for and attempt to correct the wrongs we have learned from
history.
20. I believe the breath is the spirit or at
least the vehicle to the spiritual world...I have seen the breath enter a
living human for the first time and leave a human being the last time...I
don't expect other humans to believe this.
21. I also think the breath is an important way
we are all interconnected but not the only way.
20. I believe we need to save the planet to save
humanity as we know it.
21. I believe humans and all living things must
consume other living creatures or at one time living creatures to live, plant
or animal...I believe it is hardest for us to kill other creatures that are the
most like us to sustain life.
22. I believe we might learn something from the
other social creatures that inhabit our planet but I'm not sure what...partly
this belief led me to my bird project.
23. I believe humans crave the company of other
humans...and other living things.
24. I believe there are many humans who can't or
won't (but I'm not sure it matters) take care of themselves and it is our duty
and mostly for females our nature to take care of them. But remember
"Can't lives on won't street"-Tim Smith...I believe it feels better
to takecare of oneself.
25. I believe I will experience profound
sadness, it is part of the human condition.
26. I believe most humans want the same basic
things...warm in summer, cool in winter, to love and be loved, to be somebody
(some more than others), to feel safe from physical harm, to feel a lot of
happiness and to be nourished.
27. I think is is almost unbearably sad to bury
our children...the "natural order" seems more tolerable...suicide of
a loved one is also almost unbearable because we feel responsible for other
peoples' happeiness...suicide of a child is the most unbearable thing.
28. I believe cleanliness feels good and
protects me from most diseases.
29. For some reason exercise makes everything
feel better and it boosts the immune system.
30. Taking care of other people can be messy
unpleasant business...I will be extremely grateful to anyone who helps take
care of me.
31. I am ashamed of most fighting I have done
with other people and want them to know I am sorry.
32. I believe their is a mate or companion out
there for everyone...it take some people a long time ti find the right one...it
seems like people often physically look like their correct mate or companion or
come to look like them over time which is downright weird.
33. Children are our greatest asset for the
future and should always be treated with loving kindness...they are
fragile...they should never be abused sexually or in any other way.
34. I don't believe it is right to kill other
humans once they have become spiritual creatures.
35. I don't think war is ever OK...I don't think
it is possible to draw an exact line between war crimes and other kinds of
killing. I REALLY believe it is not OK to tell our young people it is OK
to kill each other...I am not sure if I even believe in killing another human
in self defense but I know I would do it to protect my children or someone else
I love. We will never kill every terrorist or bad person...the best way
to deal with them is to separate them from other humans. There are
enough things on planet earth that can wipe out our own species without us
being the ones to do it. I sometimes think aggression is simply human
nature and we will never rise above it but I have hope that we can.
36. Our only still safe freedom is freedom of
thought and that should be protected. I think that is what National
Defense should be about.
37. I believe all humans are equal in
"moral" value but we are all very different in color, size, shape,
mentally, etc. I believe most predjudices arise out of fear and
misunderstanding or simply ignorance.
38. I believe we should all have choice about
our own bodies and what we do with them...but I believe we should take good
care....they are the vessels for the spirit.
39. I believe in magic.
40.I believe western medicine and eastern medicine are
both of great value...I think some western products are prescribed excessively
and might be fueled by greed...most healers seem to be true nurturers but there
are a lot of egotistical healers too...seems to me almost every nurse I've
encountered is close to sainthood...they do some of the messiest caretaking
with a smile on their face and put up with huge Dr. ego's...not that all Drs.'
have huge egos.
41. Special thoughts for my children...tattoos
are supposed to be permanent on human skin ( so long as the skin lasts) and
don't age very well, they are painful to remove....putting extra holes in your
body (piercings) seems like a bad idea…you are both very good looking and will
attract many people of the opposite sex...be careful in how you handle those
relationships and remember other humans carry viruses that can be fatal...try
to protect yourself from those if you want to live a good long life...jumping
out of airplanes is more risky than flying them...if someone wants to break up
with you let them go...if you are meant to be together they will come back (same
rules apply to dictators...if your people don't want you around go away) no one
likes an overly needy boyfriend, girlfriend or dictator...it's hard to get laid
living in your parents basement...remember that financial dependence always
results in ties that bind (same can be said for countries )…all people
should not look alike and doctors who help them do that are scary and probably
greedy…government conspiracies (or any conspiracies for that matter) are
probably not true because people, including me are shitty at keeping secrets,
most things are OK and even fun in moderation, probiotics seem to be very good
for you and gluten seems less and less tolerated (GMO’s?)…and Max too many
cigars will probably give you cancer and I worry about too much hot sauce
burning a hole in your gut…cool is not important, focusing hard on what you
want is…if I grew up with all of your circumstances I might be you (stole this
thought from a girl in my yoga class and if I knew her name I would quote
her)…maybe an enlightened society has something to do with the strength and
beauty of each individual and the power of them working together for a common
good (I learned this from the birds)…financial security is never certain but
you should plan for the future, I think it is our nature…OK I think that's
it...I have lived a good life...I have found my mate...I worry about the
sadness I will leave behind for people who love me...but I have lived a really
good life and plan on doing it for a while longer....mucho love...Linda Gleitz
oh yeah and if I ever do make BANK I'm going to open a
chain of homeless shelters with very few rules....no violence, clean up after yourself...and if you want
help for you addiction or mental illness we will try...AND small private rooms.
