If It Weren't For Steve Jobs .... Life Would Be Very Different!

Though we knew that it was coming - and though we know that no one ever gets out of this life alive, like so many other people around the world, I'm feeling sad tonight. The man who made this Clueless Mom excited about using a computer, and whose vision changed so much around the world, has moved on.

If it weren't for Steve Jobs, this mom would probably never even be using a computer. Even with the urging of my first born son, I would still probably be living in the dark ages.

My first computer was a Mac. Because Apple products are so easy to use, even someone like me got excited about learning more. The amazing advances in how we communicate with one another has been purely astounding! Now the AMAZING seems commonplace. Now we send e-mail, we blog, we text one another in an instant, and we are used to getting instant information with a few keystrokes - so to say.

This mom is writing this tribute on my iPad. My iPhone keeps me tuned into the world, Maybe I would be getting more done these days if if weren't for Steve Jobs, but I don't think I would know half of what I know or be having quite as much fun.

So Thank You For Living, Steve Jobs, Thank you for creating Apple. Your vision has changed the world and you will be missed.

The occupy demonstrations are starting up all over the country. It's all over the news media. Today on local TV, there was news coverage of the fledgling movement in LA. It made me laugh to see that the protesters here are wearing shorts and lying around on the lawn of City Hall.

The LA protesters have brought with them their sleeping bags, generators, computers and all their wireless devices. Apparently there was a faction who wanted to do something to annoy the police, but they were overruled by the majority. I'm not sure what this is all about or if it will accomplish anything. Lots of disparate voices. Lots of Agendas.

But, I can't help but wonder if the demonstrations are simply diversions to move our minds away from actually dealing with the problems we face. The problems seem so big, but I think we could move forward by passing President Obama's "jobs bill" and getting people to work. It also seems to me that we had better get busy instead of fighting one another, and work toward getting more support for our President in Congress.

Yeah, I too worry about the powerful multinational corporations, and the fact that these organizations have been declared by our Supreme Court to be persons with the same rights as the individual. I worry too that these entities can donate as much as they want to any candidate or group without disclosure. I don't think that the 99 per cent of us want less regulation of the very industries that got us into this mess.

There are so many problems. So much to do. So few ideas about how to move ahead. I'm not sure if it isn't already too late to do anything about all of it.

Yet all of this Occupying makes me uneasy. it all seems somewhat disquieting to me. So many people with so many different grievances, and no clear unifying idea about exactly what they want. And some the the publicity for the events by the bloggers at Anonymous just seem downright SCARY. People in masks always make me afraid.

I'm generally OK with demonstrating on the streets as long as I can understand the purpose and the goal. I've participated in a few myself. But. I don't understand this movement, or exactly what they think they might achieve. I know people are hurting and people are afraid. Maybe the Occupy People just want to bring attention to the plight of so many who are unemployed, underemployed, loosing their homes and have no medical insurance. Maybe that's it, but there are always those who have darker ideas.

Years ago, I met some people at a neighborhood party who I would describe as "Gun-Toting-Right-Wing-Wingnuts". These people frightened me with their talk about being prepared for an upcoming Revolution and Civil War. They were afraid of a one world government. They were afraid of "Liberal" ideas and multiculturalism. They were sure we would have a Race War and that we would all have to choose sides. I said I couldn't do that, but I got the idea that they simply thought that people like me and mine would simply be swept aside in the coming tide.

Try as I can to meditate on peace, there is so much noise out there. Maybe someone can explain all of this to me so that I can better understand. I'd be grateful for that.

There are so many things that i wish i were better at, and one of them is punctuation. No doubt the previous sentence could use much better constuction. But, be that as it may, I write anyway --- often wishing I could better remember the rules (if I ever learned them correctly in the first place) or could instantly see alternate suggestions that could express the same thought better than I do.

The problem with striving for perfection in this (or in anything) is that the effort to be perfect in whatever one might attempt can be crippling. Perfectionists often get less done than those who simply do their best and accept their limitations.. That's not to say that we shouldn't try for excellence. Certainly we should. And, even though I am keenly aware that my efforts in this medium are far from perfect, and I wish I had the talent to communicate better, at least once in a while I find the courage to hit "publish" button anyway -- as I intend to do with this little post.

Maybe if I knew that The National Punctuation Day website existed before this, more of the unpublished posts I have written would have actually appeared.

Just as Spellcheck can actually be a great learning tool and make the user a better speller, so could a really good punctuation tool help anyone write more clearly and convincingly. The trouble that learning anything new or developing better competency in any effort takes time. But it is worth it. Learning is fun. Learning anything new or learning to do anything better is good for the brain.

As of midnight last night, DADT is over. Finally, more people in the military will be able to be honest about who they are.

Like many around the world and in this country, my feelings and beliefs about sexual orientation have evolved in many ways. Little did I know that there must have been a number of people all around me who didn't feel safe about revealing essential aspects of themselves. Most had to hide who they were from almost everybody. Not only did they have to conceal so much of themselves, but they must have lived with a constant fear that they would be "outed" by someone else.

It's not that getting rid of DADT will make everything better, but it is a step forward in extending civil rights to a distinct minority of our citizens. I have no illusions that the fight is over. There is still is a lot of bigotry out there. Unfortunately few of us are completely free of this terrible aspect. We all must be alert and search our hearts to see how we must change.

I have a fear that the "churches of hate" around our country and around the world who have been so vocal about this subject will now move into a higher gear and increase their rhetoric to condemn what they consider as deviant behavior. They are very good at inducing fear in people about the "other". It always seems so sad to me that so many churches preach about an "other" who is to blame for every ill and catastropy. There is always an enemy in their book.

This makes me sad because I believe with all my heart that there really is no Other. It isn't "us" or "them". It is "we". The truth is that We Are All One.

So tonight, while I am feeling so very glad about this small victory for equality, to combat my fear, I am drawing an ever increasing and welcoming Circle of Light within my heart. This is circle of inclusion. The borders of my circle are flexible and pliable, and not so completely solid as to keep anyone out. Everyone is In. Even those who violently disagree with me and my opinions are not out. In my circle, All are In the Light.

Out of many, we are one!

One thing I believe more firmly than almost anything else is that everything that is, is connected. In truth, we are not separate from anyone else. Whether we like it not, no matter what appearances might seem to be, there is no us and them. It is We.

As a nation, As a people, As part of the Human Race, to move forward, we must work together to do what needs to be done.

No matter how much we disagree, we still must pull together to accomplish the great tasks ahead. We are not separate from one another, nor are we separate from the universe. All is truly One.

If a child in Somalia dies from hunger, we are all affected, even though we may not see the connection at the time. If a star goes Super Nova, I have no doubt that there is an affect everywhere, even if the affect is so subtle that we cannot perceive it with our limited human understanding.

There can be peace. There can be harmony. We don't have to get caught up in the drama and the controversies. In oneness, we can accomplish anything. Lets do it..