The Release of My New Book

Featured

Hi Everyone,

First, I want to thank all of you for your reading, support and for what you do for our mom the earth, (no matter how small, it does make a difference). Many small steps add up to great things.

With that, I am pleased to announce the release of my new book The Irony of the Well

This is part 2 of the story. If you’ve read The Wellness Diaries book you already understand why two parts were necessary since that part of the journey spanned 15 years.

Keep eating, working, studying, hoping and living it.

Here’s to the well-being of people and planet,

-O

Suicide Prevention with a Local Chapter

Stand for the Silent
Stand for the Silent is a suicide prevention non-profit that I was made aware of during the holidays.

You can donate online or in person when you see the organization as I did. This way it goes to the Utah chapter. Please donate. Help foster awareness. Suicide is a complex issue that is multi-layered, and it is 100% preventable. Nobody should reach that point. Ample help and support is available. Life is available. I am glad to have personally crossed paths with this organization.

Love, Well-being and happiness in 2024,

Owen

Related writings:
Prison Project
http://wellnessdiaries.com/orphanage-that-grows-organic-vegetables/

A Rose By Any Other Name…

This is a mimosa flower. Not only are the blossoms and trees impressive looking but they smell amazing! Continue to rename the plants I will. This is Rose of Persia. The name Desert Rose also seems to fit, but that name has already been taken (Adenium obesum). Everyone knows the classic rose fragrance, and I am certainly not knocking a classic. Who doesn’t love roses? And of the many that do, who hasn’t been pricked by their thorns?? There is not one without the other. With this, and perhaps many aspects of life, there is that sweet sting, that ringing in your mind and ears. Roses stand as a stark even if beautiful reminder of that truth. You will certainly feel it.

But the smell of Rose of Persia (the new name for this tree) escapes description; it is one of those that requires you to invite your friends over to experience it. Many a cosmetics company tries to duplicate the fragrance of mimosa tree but to no avail. They are disguised, perfumed synthetic chemicals at best, “imitations, copies of creation,”, (Staples, O. 2013). Nothing but nothing compares to the real scent of mimosa blossom, one of the precious gifts that only nature can provide.

Knock knock at the door.

“What happens here?”

“Hey man, the rose of Persia is in bloom. After all, what a 365 this particular revolution has been. Need we borrow and beg?”

“Ah, well played sir; well played, and it is all play-with our hands-music. My desert tribe shall bring the grander things, the cliff tribe, the rustic things, and the sea tribe, filtration. You may bring the juice of the vine of your choice and color. Beer of barley, or brandy of apple for those who partake. While it may be the desert tribes’ time to play our song on behalf of the desert, it is your turn to sleep while the garden grows. Please rest easy; my people stand by prepared to give to you juice of the vine of your choice of the finest make, and cool your heat with peacock feathers eager to cool, calm and comfort you and yours. You really are an amusing sort; thought you’d have a go at occupying the desert you did, being in no way prepared for the sun’s rays of the high desert. You are not equipped in clothing, genetics, supplies, water usage and conservation, and certainly not skin type {background giggling}. In this desert sun, we see daily that white turns to red even quicker than mushrooms sprout from your Kentucky bluegrass lawns, another of your curious additions to the desert. We are equipped, however; and we are so in every way. We like you, and our people will help you. So let us cooperate and enjoy it together.

A rose by any other name? Red, yellow, purple, white, orange which; tickle, twitch. Flower of passion. We welcome you to creature-universal precision. The universe is love. And even choking on the dust and burning the eyes as it settles, the please, the sorry, the thank you and help of it is heard. Trust in the diversity, the goodness that still exists. Through pure instrumentation the play is even higher. For our climb, our crawl, even our fall is our universal expansion. For only planted do we stand. Thank you for this invitation in abasement; we shall see you there. We await these joyous songs of the highest melody with keenest anticipation. It is well and aligned. Rose and rose laterally will ye as promised.”

-O
Related writings:
Speaking of Your Wellness Diary
More than Surviving, Thriving!
Human Diversity and Biodiversity, Two Essentials
Are You Loing the Snow?

September Bees

Upon noticing that the bees seem to be extra busy in September, the remember the bees motto was born. I am happy to say that I plan the yard here as a chemical-free sanctuary for beneficial insects including bees. It is a great thing to go out regardless of the time of day and see them buzzing about, hundreds of them! It is rewarding to see even a small patch of healthy nature-doing what it is supposed to do. Keep in mind the essential role played by bees and other pollinators. The native bees seem to prefer the sunflowers and the honeybees (not native) seem to prefer others such as Salvia, Caryopteris etc., They may be picky about flowers, but we aren’t picky about bees. The above photo is an example of at least one type of ornamental plant-Stonecrop, or Sedum, (a drought-tolerant plant also), that both honeybees and native bees visit regularly. It is rewarding to see all of them swarming around it. The photo shown is a honeybee. The native bees that favor this plant are very tiny, too hard to see here. No matter; they’re all welcome here!

You might enjoy making a beneficial insect sanctuary in your yard as I have. Salvia, Russian sage, Caryopteris, butterfly bush, Agastache, are a few plants that they tend to favor and will swarm them.There are ample options of plants that attract them.

Have a good one.

-O

Related writings:
Speaking of Your Wellness Diary
Helping the Native Bees to Thrive

Sampled Products

You’ll have to excuse the fuzzy photos taken with my stoneage camera ha ha, but I’m always ready to share and review a product aligned to the philosophy here. This tissue company is not only tree free, but also helps to ensure equal rights for women, being a women owned company. I hope they get rich! I’m glad to help them do so. They’re doing a good thing for humanity and the planet. After all, true abundance is not at the expense of another and doesn’t take away from others, but adds to, helping other lives/beings to thrive also. Diversity. I love finding creative, smaller, independent businesses like this, so I’m always eager to share when I do
https://truegreenpaper.com/

Also, as promised, I said that I am wanting to reduce the amount of plastic that I use; here are some plastic free kitchen bags; they’re made of plants! While they are a bit more expensive and not as strong as plastic, to me that is worth it, living lightly.
https://repurpose.com/



Reducing plastic and sustainable paper. Bamboo is awesome! it grows right back.
Feel it with me! It feels good and right for a reason.

-O

Similar writings:
Food Recommendation
Speaking of Your Wellness Diary

All In a Word

The word is called gentrification. I invite you to look it up. You will see exactly what is happening here. This is a photo of that old, historic church I mentioned; notice the wrecking crane. I called it in 2020. I wrote about this in my second memoir; I mentioned that it’s only a matter of time until that iconic building is torn down. I may have called it, but honestly, it happened even faster than I thought it would.

Being a young country, America doesn’t have a long history anyway, but we can’t build one because icons of history are constantly being torn down for the next shallow addition to the ever sprawling metropolis. You used to say “God’s green earth.” But it is actually God’s gray earth because it is all being covered in asphalt and parking lots. I’m no gambler, but I will bet money that this historic building (one of the oldest in the area) will be replaced by more medical buildings, so more disease mongering. After all, everybody knows there aren’t enough city-sized medical plazas.

This is a major change with multiple ripple effects. By that old church was an open field where your kids could go play. In the paved area there was room to ride bikes, skateboards and scooters. If you are local to the area, you probably have your own childhood memories on and around these very grounds. Kids today get blamed for spending too much time inside playing video games, etc., Yet, I’ve said it before; the alternatives are all being taken away. It’s not like your kids will be allowed to play in the parking lot of the new medical plaza. Security would be on them in a flash telling them to leave and play elsewhere. Elsewhere. “There’s a park on the south side of the city; go there.”

America has become a materialistic nation full of shallow, and conflicted interests. We like to refer to our constitution “we the people” yet, what does that even mean anymore? And what exactly is left for “we the people?” You already know the answer. The remaining leftovers (that word makes my skin crawl; trickle down economics is a yucky term by itself-medieval) can go away at a developer’s word.
Now you are seeing why I have written about this complex maze of issues of individual, societal and global health for years and I’m opting out of some of this hogwash that we are spoonfed on a daily basis. There is too much of it to not add insult to injury.

Well anyway, I hope you will study the meaning of the word gentrification, be willing to take a look around and truly see. It is yet another thing that we aren’t told about American capitalism, (which needs a leash like other countries have wisely put into place) that you will be obsolete by the time you are 40. It is my sincere hope that “we the people” can stop the denial and pull them together in time to make real change, the kind that lasts.
Owen


Related writings:
Rooted to Ground and Center
Speaking of Your Wellness Diary
Words of Wisdom from the Coffee Shop
The New Empire; Marriage??
The Tesla and the Camel
http://wellnessdiaries.com/p-post/
An Age to Stop Driving?