Today ended on a bum note. Besides that, two time-sensitive items didn’t get done like I intended.

What’s needed is a good night’s sleep. But I’m like a calm person on fire.

There’s so much going on. It started all at once last week and suddenly. Supposedly there’s something broader happening outside too. Some woo-woo folks are feeling it. For those aware of astrology, major shifts are occurring. Cycles have ended and new ones have begun.

So much energy flowing through me that it’s almost counterproductive.

Living Compassion offers four Cheri Huber audiobooks at no charge. The page has a donation link if anyone is inclined and able.

I plan on listening to all four books, even if they don’t necessarily speak to where I am right now. Cheri comes from a Zen perspective. It’s not clear if she has studied psychology or some other discipline as well. She is new to me, more or less.

Her voice is soothing, and I can’t seem to get past the first 12 minutes of There is Nothing Wrong with You. Based on what I’ve heard, and the previous audiobook I’ve listened to, it would benefit humankind if everyone listened to this 3 hour book.

Anything nice you wanna share, gentle reader?

There’s a baby in the building. With the windows open at this time of year, sound travels far and easily. The baby vocalizes but doesn’t talk yet. I like it: the screeching is direct and natural. You don’t know exactly what’s on their mind but you know something is.

I’ve had very little exposure to babies. I think this is the most I’ve experienced with this vocalizing non-speech phase.

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I know there’s no schedule for “getting over” sensitive experiences but I wonder if I’m faring poorly.

It looks to me I’ll never see the country the same after 2020’s spike in hate crimes and bias incidents against a group I happen to be part of. There’s no going back to pre-pandemic times for me.

I also happen to be a member of another group who was an “easy target” for thugs back then. Oh no, they don’t try to take the purse/bag of a 6-foot-something guy who weighs 180+ pounds. Oh, and they had no qualms going after the elderly; it wasn’t beneath them.

Maybe the negatives from 2020-2021 have captured too much of my attention. I do know that since 2020, my safety has been my conscious priority.

I might make this post private later, as this venting might be too exposing.

Gentle reader, did the CV-19 years change you to some degree, or have you carried on almost like it didn’t happen?

“Whoever said that love is blind was dead wrong. Love is the only thing on this earth that lets us see each other with the remotest accuracy.” – Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck

Like usual, I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I began this book. From Martha’s weekly podcast I knew she had a son with Down Syndrome and that she had chosen not to terminate the pregnancy when the diagnosis was made 5-6 months into gestation. I had no idea how much there was to the story though. A number of miraculous incidents occurred. Regardless of whether they’re true or accurately described, I choked up a few times for other reasons.

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Did my vibe somehow stop things from functioning? Did my laptop, whom I thanked a few days ago for being so good (it has worked for me a long time), do me a favor?

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The student I am tutoring has an older sibling and the age gap is the same as my gap with my older siblings. Some kind of signpost from the universe or no? The gap is more than seven years. I haven’t researched it but this doesn’t seem common.

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There’s something called written expression disorder. I suspect the child I am tutoring has it, not severely but enough to warrant some support. I say this without formal training in teaching or neurology or other relevant discipline, and on top of that I have very little experience with children. Even so, I have abilities and I’m certain something is off with my tutee’s sentence writing.

At this point, does such a disorder really matter? With the availability of AI, no one has to write a sentence anymore, right? Just type three or four keywords and the machine will do the rest for you.

Anyway, I have equipped myself with three strategies for the next tutoring session. Depending on how it goes, I’ll speak up or not about my suspicion.

I find it fascinating that the first grade student I am tutoring can read and comprehend well but struggles to create sentences. Using pictures as prompts that give the tutee something to talk and write about doesn’t seem like enough. My latest effort included some fill-in-the-blank sentences as a form of scaffolding and even that wasn’t the slam dunk I thought it would be. Next session I plan on reviewing – maybe introducing? – the foundation of sentence construction like who, what, why, how, etc.

I thought writing ability, most of the time, hitched onto reading ability, so this situation is rather baffling to me.

P.S. This is one of the ways I resist the messiness of our political environment and the decline of the nation. Volunteering as a tutor helps develop community and positive vibes. One point of light to counter the dark.

Having a life purpose is an idea that has regularly appeared in my various meanderings in psychology, religion, and personal development. I never felt I had a purpose. How about you? Do you believe such a thing exists?

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