Thoughts for a New Year

The year is quickly coming to an end, and a new year awaits. At one time I looked forward with hope and happy anticipation to a new year. Now after many new years, I see little of new hope. We live in a time of hard lines drawn in the sand and no room for sensible compromise. A time when initiative and hard work are rewarded by big government taking away any gain and redistributing it to the lazy and slothful, or the rich and political elite. 

The country seems to be rushing headlong into an even greater dependency on government to solve their problems, when we really need to slow down and evaluate what brought this nation so far from a few colonies to a world power. At the center of that success was personal initiative and the inalienable right to succeed or to fail while attempting something new and better, all the while working to support and improve oneself. 

Growing up in the post World War II era of the 50’s and 60’s, I began to see a shift away from the “can do” attitude that made this country great, to an attitude of “I want mine, now”. That started the shift away from a willingness to work for success and reward, to waiting on government to rob the working class so that the new class of entitled lazy could benefit from the hard work of others. The early 60’s began a time of transition that has rapidly accelerated, with only a couple pauses of sanity reigning in this headlong rush. Now the age of sensibility and reason, based on earning one’s way to success, is rapidly waning, under the crushing weight of big government, cronyism, and entitlement. 

Politicos on one side want to rob the working class of ever larger percentages of their hard earned incomes, to pay for social programs that reward laziness and a growing part of society that is unwilling to work day after day to succeed. On the other side is a group of stalwarts for the rich and politically connected that are unwilling to require those with greater wealth to pay their fair share. 

When a multi-millionaire running for president pays a lower percentage of taxes than I do on comparatively meager earnings, it is evident that sensibility has fallen by the wayside. The old rhetoric of the rich provide jobs through their investments, and therefore are entitled to receive protection through loopholes in the tax system, is a bald face lie. For several decades now the investments creating jobs, have been supporting the economies of other nations rather than this country.

Conversely, those unwilling to work for their rewards, are becoming even more greedy and expecting equality of resources with those that have worked hard and earned everything they own. The “social programs” forced upon us by the opposite side of the government, have created a huge percentage of government dependent population, unable and unwilling to function, without a handout. 

It is time for some tough love in this country. You want material things, then get a job and earn them. Work hard, smart, and diligently save for the things you treasure. Have pride in working and earning your way through life, rather than sitting around like all the other “victims”, waiting for big government to provide for you from their big coffers, built off the backs, sweat, and toil of the working middle class.

It is time for some tough love in this country. You have been blessed with much and been fortunate to accumulate wealth, then pay your fair share. If your “work” is investing the money you have been blessed with, then show me that you are creating jobs in this country. Show me the ways you have provided benefits to the working middle class of this country, and if they are real then your tax break can be based on that benefit. 

It is time for some tough love in this country. Politicos on both sides of the aisle wake up, listen to the voices of reason and history of a great nation based on personal initiative and earning your way through life. Get your hands out of the pockets of the working middle class, and reach out to your opponents across the aisle, in a spirit of compromise for the good of this country. Ensure the rights of all citizens to earn to their potential are protected, and the rewards of one’s labor are protected from unfair taxation to empower laziness and cronyism.

Jobs in this country and around the world, are provided not by the rich or the lazy, but by the working middle class, who spend their hard earned dollars on goods and services, provided by other working class people. There is truly no free lunch, and the sooner the politicos on both sides of the aisle embrace this thought, and protect the working middle class, through taxation equality and respect for personal initiative and responsibility; the sooner we will begin to provide hope for a strong and prosperous country. Fail to protect the working class and continue to encourage the concept of something for nothing, and the United States will swiftly go the way of much of the European community now teetering on the brink of economic failure.

In this time where so much rhetoric is spewed forth concerning sustainability, we need to also include working class America in the endangered species list along with the loss of sustainability of the world power status of this country. Rewarding personal responsibility, initiative, and diligent labor, with fair retention of the fruits of one’s labor is sustainable. Big government, political cronyism, and the unwillingness to work diligently for what one wants, are not sustainable over the long term. Accept and empower these concepts and the people of this country may yet one day look forward to a happier, sustainable, and more prosperous new year!

© Copyright 2012, by David Posival

Rainy Saturday

A busy day despite the constant light rain. We needed the rain, and it will save watering the yard for awhile. The garden at the old home-place in the country was needing a good rain also. It appears that the garden got a very good soaking.

Did not get out and run or bike today, but spent the time catching up on some reading and writing. After a hectic day of work during the workweek, it is difficult to write well. Today I was able to accomplish that and some other necessary chores. I am planning on running and maybe biking in the morning, since it should stop raining by then.

Wishing all a great rest of the weekend.

Dave

Why Bother with a Garden?

For me, that question prompts many responses. From a sustainability point of view it makes sense to grow as much as possible of our own food. The carbon footprint of the food grown there is much less than food which has been grown half way across the country or in some cases half way around the world. Generally a garden produces more than enough for the family doing the work, so there is excess to give away. That covers the social responsibility aspect of our global citizenship.

When planning a garden, we can include enough output to preserve food for the rest of the year. Once we have learned the proper and safe ways of preserving food, we not only have an ample supply of wholesome food for the off season, but we have the satisfaction of knowing this was something we did with our own hands. 

I mentioned wholesome or healthy food. The healthiness of the food will depend on our treatment of it while growing and once harvested. To preserve it we have to learn the proper methods and ingredients to include. That takes care of food safety. But there is also the matter of preserving and then consuming foods that we preserve such as jams and jellies, with large amounts of sugar, which is not a good thing. 

There are artificial sugar substitutes, but my feeling is that they are worse than sugar due to their synthetic composition. I am not sure that our bodies know quiet how to handle some of the synthetic additives being promoted as healthy in the various media. There are natural sweeteners such as stevia, that do not have the glycemic loading of sugar and other similar products. You might want to investigate this further to see if it will suit your palate. 

Of course there are also endless adulterations to food stuffs through the use of toxic chemicals and genetically modified (GMO) seed. While there is still much debate about the safety of GMO foods, I prefer to err on the side of caution. Not enough independent scientific information is available to prove GMO food safety, especially over a persons lifetime. I try to stay away from such material.

With one’s own garden it is possible to procure non-GMO and even heirloom seeds and plants, many of which are produced organically, and grow healthy crops. I am not a certified organic producer, but that is because I refuse to have the government tell me what is or is not organic. 

I have watched the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), reduce the standards for organic crops, solely to placate one big chemical company or another. My feeling is that if you have to wash something several times before consuming it, after it was treated with a “safe” chemical, then the chemical is not safe. One of my greatest pleasures in the garden is to pick and eat my produce without washing and worry about what chemical(s) I may be ingesting. 

Now other health benefits of raising your own food, might include getting you off the couch and outside.Doing this instead of sitting in the house eating junk food while watching the mindless drivel, which usually is the standard fare on the television, certainly would seem to be a health improvement. Fresh air and sunshine at least for a short time every day can go a long way to helping us feel better physically and better about ourselves. According to some research we need some small amounts of direct sunlight every day to help fight cancer and depression.

The activity, provided we have good enough health initially to do physical work, is great for our bodies and overall health. I know personally that my physical and mental well-being is much improved by physical work and play in the sunshine. The fresh air we breath that is cleansed even more by the presence of trees and a large chemical-free garden, help clear the body of toxics we accumulate each day cooped up in an office or worse yet an industrial facility. Offices and industrial facilities where our exposure to all manner of toxics can be extreme, even with the best controls and regulations in the world, account for so much poor health that it is no wonder that those costs continue to skyrocket and health related lost workdays continue to rise. 

While all of us having gardens will not solve all these problems, having your own garden can go a long way towards helping you improve your life, and well-being. The sense of accomplishment every time you harvest and either prepare and eat or give away something that you grew with your own hands and the help of the Almighty, can by itself be worth the expense and effort of growing your own garden. 

Since I have made some comments above about health and things relating to improving your health, I have to also advise you that any claims or opinions expressed about the healthfulness of any food or activity are purely my own and have not been evaluated by the FDA or any other big-business controlled government bureaucracy. Of course, before embarking on any strenuous activity or work, be sure to check with your health care provider to ensure you can do so safely.

Now that we have that housekeeping chore out of the way, all that remains is to wish you, happy gardening! And remember a great spring garden begins with great preparation in the autumn.

All the best,

Dave

© August 2012 By David Posival, Post Oak Enterprises

Autumn Thoughts - 2012

I have not posted as frequently as I would have liked, because of work and not making a decision on my next great endeavor in life. I intended to work this journal around to the subject of sustainability and simplicity. I have much to learn and do in that area, but have some thoughts to share.

Recently, I revisited some of the writing of Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond. Even though his assumptions on the speed of inventiveness of the American industrialists was flawed in many respects, his ideas of person freedom and simple life style are attractive to me.

In the “sustainable” world I hear thoughts such as “living sustainably with plenty”, which on the surface sounds nice. Everyone has plenty and yet we are not living beyond the ability of the ecology to continue to produce at a level of plenty forever. Yet the word plenty will mean as many different things as the number of people you as to give it their definition.

Took the plunge yesterday and purchased a tiller to break up some of my old garden area, after several years of neglect. I will blog and even post some short videos on doing a fall garden in South central Texas. If you are from a different climate, please do not be too hasty to judge my methods and reasons for the way I garden.

Next time, I will give some thoughts on why bother with a garden.

My First 10 K Run - A story of small successes

It was not an official 10K event, but this morning I accomplished another goal in my return to health and fitness training. I completed a 10K run (6.2 miles) in 01:19:33. The actual distance based on my iPhone GPS and Pedometer Ultimate App was actually 6.365 miles, which is slightly over a 10K, but I wanted to ensure I had a full workout. Average pace for the run was 12:25 minutes per mile.

I have been training, mostly walking and running at first, for about 5 months. For the first few weeks I did about 30% or less running and about 70% of walking. My initial distances were generally 2 miles or less. Through persistence and listening to my body, over the next few months I worked up to first about a 50%-50% split of running to walking.

Once I reached this point, it slowly became easier to run more than walk. A major goal for me was to run without stopping or walking, for two miles. I accomplished this and then determined that I could possibly complete a 5K (3.1 miles) run, based on my performance improvement. Over several weeks my distance and pace gradually increased to where in February 2012 I ran in the Cowtown Marathon - 5K event. It was an incredible experience and provided a sense of accomplishment, and pride.

During the months since that 5K I have added weight training, body weight/resistance training, and more recently bicycling, to augment the running program. Today's performance has been the focus of training now for a couple of months since I learned of a 10K Wounded Warrior running event in the Irving/ Los Colinas area. It supports our wounded fighting people and reservists called to active duty since 9-11. With today's run I have reached a point in my training where I am seriously considering running in the Wounded Warrior event.

It was physically impossible for me to run 10 kilometers at a pace of 12:25 per mile, or any pace for that matter, the first time I took on the "runner" moniker and laced up the running shoes. I have learned from this experience that success and reaching goals requires a couple of crucial intangibles. The first is setting a realistic goal that provides a great opportunity for success, if one applies himself or herself. Once goals are set or defined, it is necessary to have patience and diligently work toward their being accomplished. For someone like myself, who has little patience, the process involved setting mini-goals or milestones. As each of these were accomplished, it built incentive to continue, and motivation to further success.

The one other necessity for success, is getting started. If I had never taken that first step, there would be no success. Each day I had to make a decision to run, and then I had to start. While I cannot say it was always easy or fun, it became a simple matter of placing one foot ahead of the other, once I made the first step. While I may have changed my plan for the run, because of the message my body was sending, it did not stop the run once I had started.

Please remember dear reader/friends, that what I have said here is not offered as medical advice or personal training direction, but simply my story at this time in my life. Before beginning any exercise program get professional direction from your health care provider and if necessary a qualified trainer.

Health Problems and Getting in Shape

Following is a post I had drafted in January 2012, but neglected to post. Well here it is:

"Recently I was diagnosed with a few medical problems. I had already been on a weight loss regimen of my own, prior to the doctor's diagnosis, but with little sense of urgency. After all the news from the doctor. the sense of urgency grew. The diagnosis of the problems actually was a blessing since it occurred early in the progression of the health issue, and allowed time to begin to get into better physical and mental shape. I realize now that a diagnosis of some health problems, is generally good and can get our attention and allow a change that could extend our lives.

When giving a little more thought to this, I realized that maintaining one's health has a significant connection to sustainability. In just about anything we do our actions have an impact on sustainability. However, with personal health, to me sustainability means living healthy without a lot of inputs. By inputs I mean for the most part, drugs, medications, hospital confinement, etc.

I have for several years used supplements to help maintain my health, and that has probably contributed to  some extent, to not having problems much earlier. Most supplements that I take are primarily organic herb and plant based. However some like the Omega 3 fish oils, come from animal materials, harvested from the ocean. Most of the herbs and plants have a growing cycle of less than three years. The same may not be true for fish.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), created a list of fish oil products that were supposed to be healthy and sustainably harvested. The EDF site indicates that they no longer solicit information from the fish oil manufacturers, but will accept updated information voluntarily submitted by the various companies. The list can be found at this LINK. The brand I use was a "Best Choice" selection. Now I guess the next step is to follow up the same process for other supplements I use.

For more information Google: "how sustainable is fish oil as a supplement", and a whole plethora of additional links will be displayed. Incidentally, I generally trust ".org" sites more than ".com"

Have a great healthy day,

Dave"

Next time, perhaps I will go into exercise as a sustainable method of health maintenance.

It's been a long time.

I have been trying to post to the blog for a few months, but just like all the months before since my last post, higher priority issues seemed to get in the way. I had indicated in an earlier post that I was no longer involved in the copywriting service. I have been very blessed to have moved into a field of work that I believe in very strongly. I am speaking of course, of the field of sustainability. I will not try and provide a definition in this post, but promise to give it some attention in the near future.

For the moment, I just wanted to post a note to inform readers that I will try and make this a more valuable blog in the future. Hopefully this will begin a new and much more interesting discussion area, in the very near future.

Dave