a prayer (written February 21st, 2014)

ethereal patchwork quilted of time 
God please bring accord to all that is 
Heaven complete the longing reservoir of my soul 
-with gratitude 

Written February 21st, 2014

a few days of God's gift of spring
defiant to the chill of winter
embellishing my thoughts with illustrious panorama
the days of snow crystals make want for new alleviation
for the world outside my window to flourish
the flux of seasons bring change to all the creatures
somewhere a bunny frolics amidst lavender blossoms
relishing in the day it was blessed with
a fish swims downstream
oblivious to any concerns

on fair trade and made in the usa buying

A few months ago, it came to my attention that some items are made with utter disregard for the workers. Child labor, unpaid wages, abusive treatment, unsturdy labor laws. This made a huge impact on my consumerism. Food, clothing, gadgets, items for the home... my buying decisions have changed majorly. I now search for fair trade items or made in the usa items. I am new to the whole fair trade thing. It has probably been but half a year, if that, since i've realized this is something I need to do. It makes things more perplexing, but the item bought is much more rewarding. Fair trade items often mention charity projects the money is going for with the workers. It is nice to do my part in the world, while also buying things I need. What's really difficult is the lack of information for buying decisions. I am very unsure of electronics. An elaborate list of questions about earphones... where did the elements for components come from? Who mined for it all? What country are they from? What is the minimum wage? What are labor laws there? I've bought Sony recently, but i've also had to buy RCA. There is little info on Sony and it's workers' rights in other countries. From the little info I could scrounge up, they sound more reputable, at least. I very much don't like buying items that i'm so unsure about, but I need them for health reasons. Otherwise, i'd likely pass them up, like I have many products. I have bought some Gypsy Rose fairtrade shirts. I plan to rearrange my wardrobe when funds allow. I have a pair of J. Crew jeans that are made in the USA. It took a while to find these. I have a couple of pairs of GAP pants. Since crackdown on their sweatshops, they were supposedly made to improve. If they have really, I don't know. These are just the only other pants I have that sounded more fairly made. I still have to wonder about these clothes. Was child labor involved? Is the company one who pays workers? Nevermind the unnatural clothing dyes and fibers- something else I have to change in my buying decisions. It has been an adventure in shopping, and it needs to be made easier for everyone. Food is somewhat easier with finding what's fair and what isn't. This should not be a problem, and people need to fix this. It takes enjoyment out of material goods to wonder if they're suitable to own or not. It needs to be made more clear. I have given away a lot of my belongings already, and clothes to thrift shops.

It is unimaginable how much more stuff the U.S. has than some other countries. The people who make some of it, for instance. How much work really went into this computer? The mining for elements. The factory exhaustion? As I look around at nearby objects, I must think of some of the people who don't have such things. People who've never known things like this library building. In America, many grow accustomed to what is had n even become ungrateful. The others involved in making products should be thought of. So often people just peruse hundreds of items at the stores, carefree. Some countries that make their items do not have all these items and stores. Many places cannot afford the items they make. It seems so surreal and unbelievable that someone in the U.S. could be so priveleged, with a brand new pair of kicks, enjoying life, while unbeknownst behind-the-scenes, a starving child in India has made the shoes. Changes have to be made. People have become more aware of this happening and are more able to educate themselves on the matter, but literature is still scarce about the working conditions for many products. This must improve.

an updated list of some free click-to-give pages n other free charity pages that I use

PublicFriendsOnly MeCustomClose FriendsFamSee all lists...Personal FriendsFamilyKnoxville, Tennessee AreaAcquaintancesGo Back

Visit these free click to donate pages:
http://www.care2.com/click-to-donate/
http://www.thehungersite.com/
http://www.clicktogive.com/
http://www.freekibble.com/
http://www.freekibblekat.com/
http://www.caretoclick.com/
http://www.donate1click.com/
http://www.oneclickatatime.org/
(Some pages outdated on oneclickatatime.org)

Earn money for charity when searching the net:
http://www.goodsearch.com/
Play games, give free rice:
http://www.freerice.com/
Watch a video, give 7 days of water:
http://www.clickforyourcharity.org/

Kids On Speed: Your Child Does Not Have ADHD

(written July, 2011) 

What is A.D.H.D.? Is it a real disorder? Is it a reason for doctors to prescribe children amphetamines, such as Adderall and Ritalin? Definitely not. A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) and A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are basically the same idea. They are the categorization of symptoms, such as hyperactivity and inability to concentrate. Hyperactive is how children SHOULD be. They are children. They should be given time to go play outside. Not given amphetamines. Also known as "speed," amphetamines are drugs with high abuse potential. Many have crashed out on these drugs, unable to deal with their addictions. Adderall and Ritalin sell big on the streets. Do parents really want their kids selling their pills at school? Do their really want their kids talking on the playground about how they take speed everyday so they will "act normal"? Meth addicts use meth everyday to normalize. It is often that the type of parents who allow this are severely judgmental and austere in their opinions of their kids. To them, their kids are never smart enough in school, and they are too hyper. How do they get their kids to be quiet? They feed them speed. They agree with the idea of how it, over time, evens out the brain chemistry, so that the child will calm and focus. Antidepressants and other out-of-bounds drugs have also been prescribed to children. All of these drugs are notorious for massive side effects. Any health problem is possibly a side effect with these drugs. Only a few are explained in prescription handout information. The parent brings the child to the doctor. They read from a checklist of symptoms and place it side-by-side with patients. This can be a regular medical doctor, who cannot possibly have learned the entirety of anatomy and psychology. The parent will surely criticize the child, in order to explain their so-called problems. It is often that criticism will be part of the reason the child may act out, or be behind in school. Being slower at assignments than some of the class does absolutely not mean the child has a brain problem that requires speed. Many do not keep up with their assignments for various reasons, such as abusive homelife, boredom, not being challenged enough, and discomfort in the school environment. Also, not everyone learns information the same way. People require different approaches. It cannot be expected of a child to just pick up a book and automatically learn everything they are told to learn. Many feel that being told that they must learn something, by a certain time, is counterproductive. If the perfectionist, unsupportive parent tells the child that they have learning difficulties because of the completely imaginary A.D.H.D. disease, they may very well have a harder time learning the topic. Children need support from their parents. Instead of feeding their children speed, these parents need to find a different approach. Proper diet, taking them outside in the sunshine (instead of letting them always be on a computer, phone, or watching television) are a few things they definitely need to try. The child is not the person with the problem here. It is the parent's judgmental attitude that is a form of abuse. To them, the child is too "this" and not enough "that." The child is thought to be too hyper and not intelligent enough. I'm sure that the same parents also believe that yelling at the child to "shut up," or worse, is a quick fix. It is outrageous that this dope would be handed out to children to pacify them and "make them smarter." This does not need to be going on. Saying these children have a brain problem and feeding them addictive speed is completely not acceptable. Some pets also are given Prozac and Valium. I'm sure they are given other inane drugs as well. Do we really need the youth making meth as their school science project? Methamphetamine is made from these kinds of pills. Stop giving hard drugs to them. Little kids do not need to be on amphetamines.