THINGS TOO BIG
There are things which are too big to talk about in a short paper. They involve subjects too complicated to be summarized. Here are a few…
MENTAL HEALTH
My wife is a mental health therapist. We know the myriad of ways a person’s life can go sideways. Often we will share an “Ann Landers” type of article and guess how the advice columnist should answer. Here’s a clue…sometimes they give the worst advice. The reason is simple even if the issues are not. There is no one-size-fits-all advice. Family history, genetics, bad people, strained relationships, toxic partners … too many, too much, too often.
There are times when there is absolutely no answer. This I know from experience: Never give up. There may be no medication that works NOW, but in a year (or 14) something new will come on the market that hits the mark. It did for a close relative. She had deep depression for two decades including several trips to in-patient mental health treatment centers. She couldn’t hold down a job. When she had a rare day without depression you couldn’t stop her from deep cleaning every room in her house. Some people like that want a way out and WILL take that way. Then at one appointment her doctor prescribed a medicine which had been around a while, but was just approved for treating her condition. Less than 4 days later she was sane, happy, and able to engage with others. She has had a fairly normal life now for two decades.
What if she had been prescribed a suicide pill a month before? There would have been a funeral. But they didn’t, and instead she had a life. Never give up.
SPIRITUALITY
Fewer people attend church post-COVID. Interestingly, the number of people who claim to be atheist has not risen. Spirituality is not religion or a religious service. Spirituality is a relationship.
One cannot talk about spirituality without talking about the relationship. “I’m one with nature” is talking about a relationship. “I’m just being true to myself” is a relationship. “I’m a Christian” is a relationship.
If it isn’t a relationship then it isn’t spirituality. You don’t experience spirituality by reading a funny book. You don’t get it by buying jewelry. It isn’t found by posting a meme. You won’t find your spirit by using a computer, or driving.
Relationships are involved and evolving. One cannot have a relationship unless one is willing to make a commitment of time and energy.
Its really too big to discuss here, although I might try to deal with a few small pieces from time to time.
PHYSICS
Yes. All of these things mentioned are knowable. However, knowing them takes specialized study and understanding. Over the years I have seriously tried to understand quarks and other phenomena in the realm of physics. Nope. I get lost. My brain has the capacity to understand physics, but not the training. Some may understand this, I won CLEP credits for science in college. Therefore, I could take more courses in my areas of concentration. There was no science included in my later master’s program, either.
To be fair to ME, even if I had taken college science, most of the “exciting” and “new” stuff wasn’t even being studied then. The solution to the Pioneer Anomaly wasn’t even discovered until 2012 (it was launched in 1972, when I was in high school). The Pioneer spacecraft wasn’t leaving our solar system as quickly as predicted and scientists didn’t know why. It turns out that space moved. Even our solar system expands due to “dark energy.” Do tell!
HOW EVs ARE SUPPOSED TO SAVE THE PLANET
Every time I ask that question the answers are so convoluted and full of spurious flow-charts that it becomes an unknowable. Again, I would guess that someone might know. However, I learned long ago that if you can’t explain it to a 4th grader, you don’t know it well enough. Those in charge of this technology don’t do a very good job of explaining it. Plus, I have found, they use tons of generalizations, like they compare EV to gas cars (ALL gasoline vehicles, even full size pickups) and then claim that EVs are a much better solution than the AVERAGE gas car. That’s not helpful. How much better is an EV than a gas Volkswagen Jetta (they get 36 mpg)?
This shouldn’t be in THIS list, should it?
Yet, every time I ask a simple question, I get a 17 page answer. “How fast does an EV charge?“ It takes 17 pages to explain this. I can explain how long it takes to refuel a gas engine car in about 30 words.
“How soon will an EV begin to save the planet?” 17 pages along with diagrams and charts.
“How many miles or years will an EV go?” 17 pages.
In the end, I still don’t know an answer to any of the questions. Do you? If the average citizen doesn’t know, why are they making us buy them? 17 pages.
I think this subject will kill a lot of trees.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
I have two creative writings I will be sharing. In June a short-short called “The Winner.”
In July I have one I am writing for Independence Day. I like to invite others to share their creativity from time to time. If you have a poem, artwork, or a writing which fits Independence Day please submit it to Owly’s email (label it for “July 4.”) She has some standards for submissions. I am not in charge of her site, I’m merely a guest.
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
See more GUEST POSTS from Don!
Just read a story about the high cost of EV. Since people who own them travel fewer miles, and since the purchase price for them is higher than gas engine cars, and since the interest rate is the same … etc. The cost of owning an EV is about 60% higher per mile driven than a gasoline engine version. The story was about 17 pages. Why is that?