Reflections on Tyranny

“Caging people is neither a
Democrat nor Republican policy.
It is unadulterated evil.
Silence only serves to bolster
tyranny and condone evil.”
- Anonymous

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"When government fears the people, there is liberty.
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism"

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

"When injustice becomes law,
resistance becomes duty."

"If a law is unjust,
a man is not only right to disobey it,
he is obligated to do so."

"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free,
it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."

"Tyranny is defined as
that which is legal for the government
but illegal for the citizenry."

"When the speech condemns a free press,
you are hearing the words of a tyrant."

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is
for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

“I have sworn upon the altar of god,
eternal hostility against every form of
tyranny over the mind of man.”

- Quotes attributed to Thomas Jefferson

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A Trail's Diversion

A Trail's Diversion - Reflections on Alzheimer's

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Sometimes the tough things

That happen in our lives

Put us directly on the path

To the best thing

That will ever happen to us.

- Unknown

Difficult roads

Often lead to

Beautiful destinations.

- Unknown

Nothing prepares you for this disease.  

No one is prepared for the isolation. 

Friends disappear because 

The person they knew is no longer there. 

The caregiver gets trapped with the patient.

It is very lonely and isolating.

- Meryl Comer

We don't know how strong we are

until being strong is the only

choice we have.

- Alzheimer's Awareness

Survival is not how you end an experience,

But how you live through an experience. 

It means not being a victim of the circumstance,

But taking hold of the experience, the circumstance,

And turning it into an achievement." 

- Dorothy Webb

When you forget I will remember for us both

When you get lost I will find you

When you are sad I will be sad with you

When the fear comes I will comfort you

When you cry I will dry your tears

When you lash out at me I will not be angry

When you repeat I will have patience

When you forget my name I will understand

When you cannot eat I will feed you

When your legs fail I will carry you

When you long for home I will be your safe place

When your journey is ending I will be by your side

I will love you for eternity

I will ...

- Michata DeSocio

Those with dementia are still people

And they still have stories

And they still have character

And they are all individuals

And they are all unique. 

And they just need to be 

Interacted with on a human level." 

- Carey Mulligan

Do not ask me to remember,

Don't try to make me understand. 

Let me rest and know you're with me,

Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I'm confused beyond your concept,

I'm sad and sick and lost. 

All I know is that I need you,

To be with me at all cost.

Do not lose your patience with me,

Do not scold or curse or cry. 

I can't help the way I'm acting,

I can't be different though I try. 

Just remember that I need you,

That the best of me is gone. 

Please don't fail to stand beside me,

Love me 'til my life is gone."

- Unknown

What the mind can't remember,
the heart never forgets.
- Unknown

There is one thing
Alzheimer's cannot take
away, and that is love.
Love is not a memory - it's 
a feeling that resides in 
your heart and soul.
- Unknown

 When Caring Takes Courage

Today I will stay with you.

I will be right here, right now.

I will fight my desire to retreat to our 

yesterday's where I can still find us.

I will resist the pull of practicality that

keeps me worried about our tomorrows.

Today I will stay with you.

I will be right here, right now.

- Mara Botonis

Remember that in the long run
you will benefit ...
You will have no regrets knowing that
you did what you could and 
what was right.
-Gail L.

Your Mother is always with you.  She's the 

whisper of the leaves as you walk down the 

street, she's the smell of certain foods you

remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of

life itself. She's the cool hand on your brow

when you're not feeling well, she's your breath

in the air on a cold witer's day.  She is the

sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the

colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.  She's

the place you came from, your first home, and 

she's the map you follow with every step you

take.  She's your first love, your first friend.

Nothing on earth can separate you.  

Not time, not space

not even death.

- Unknown

"The ache for home lives in all of us. 
The safe place where we can go, as
we are, and not be questioned."
- Maya Angelou

"If you learn to listen for
clues as to how I feel
instead of what I say
you will be able to
understand me
much better."
— Mara Botonis

That You Remember Me

I've learned so much throughout my life
but there's much I don't recall.
I know it's in there somewhere
but it's hard to find it all.
It's not that I've forgotten you,
or the things I said I'd do;
I remember everything
but it's hidden somewhere I can't see
just beyond my view.

You see, there is a shadow where
there didn't used to be,
and sometimes when I look right there
it just confuses me.

My mind has ways of taking me
where I don't want to go.
I know I know your name, you see;
just right now it's hard for me
to think of things I really know,
and to know what really is,
and what may not be so.

Though I may forget you,
it's important that you see
just how much it means to me
that you remember me.
- Danel Mark Extrom

“Dementia does not
rob someone of their
dignity, it's our
reaction to them that
does.”
-Teep Snow

"Courage doesn't always roar, 
sometimes courage is a quiet voice 
at the end of the day saying 
'I will try again tomorrow.'"
- Mary Ann Radmacher

"Don't let the fear of tomorrow 
take away the joy of today."
- Unknown

"Things turn out best 
for people who make the best 
of the way things turn out."
- Art Linkletter

"Caregiving often calls us 
to lean into love 
we didn't know possible." 
- Tia Walker

"A hero is an ordinary individual 
who finds the strength to persevere and endure 
in spite of overwhelming obstacles."  
- Christoper Reeve

Time Measured by Moments

Time is not measured by clocks but by moments.

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I had better start this thing before I get any older. 

"Time is very slow for 

those who wait.  

Very fast for those who 

are scared.  Very long for 

those who lament.  

Very short for those who celebrate.  

But for those who love, 

time is eternal."

-William Shakespeare

Common Ground

Common Ground

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"Always in big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging dread--You are undertaking the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place. It is an experience of our essential loneliness, for nobody can discover the world for anybody else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves that it becomes a common ground and a common bond, and we cease to be alone."
-- Wendell Berry

"It may be when we no longer know what we have to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey." 
-- Wendell Berry

Cathedral

God whispers to us in the cathedral of His wilderness.

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Be assured the almighty teaches and lectures along the trail. Yes, I am playing hooky from church walking the Appalachian Trail on a Sunday morning when my rear end should be parked in a pew. God in his grace keeps watch and uses every experience to give guidance and instruction. It is not by coincidence that the trail runs through a nasty two mile stretch of scree demanding my attentive focus on each step. Daring to look ahead is to risk injury or worst a broken limb. The lesson: “My child, you focus on the next step and insure secure footing. Don’t bother thinking long-term. That is something I have already worked out. The going in this stretch is rough. Your chief concern is to make sure you do not stumble and fall or injure yourself. Head down my son and focus on your next step.” The corollary to life: Stop worrying about trying to make long-range decisions. Look at what you are up against at the moment and act accordingly.

Persistence

Persistence

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"A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence." 
- Jim Watkins

"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak." 
-Thomas Carlyle

High Aspirations

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” - John Wesley

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For my friends who worry that somehow I have become absent without leave (AWOL) on the Appalachian Trail: Houses of worship literally intersect the AT. It is but for the grace of God I do not stumble off the side of a mountain. I am headed once again to the Great Smoky Mountains to continue a sabbatical of discernment and bold decisions. I am not AWOL, but a dreamer determined to make something of my dreams. I hike the trail. When I finish, I will return to the trail.

Lord, let the high aspirations and goals I set be demanding of myself and not of other people.