The Next Mountain

crossposted saturday 24 may 2008 firedoglake as Pull Up A Chair

What comes next? In a week full of changes, including here at FDL, it seems difficult to keep track of it all. New political developments, new ideas, things happening quickly.

It would be nice to have some time to rest, to take a good look at that next mountain ahead, and figure out what we are going to need to get there.

Sometimes I feel like FDL is the base camp, with the good food and supplies, that prepares us to go on up and scale the heights. Our fellow climbers can be out of sight sometimes, but every once in a while we get reports of a breathtaking view.

Have any of you gone through changes recently that you want to share with the pups? We had a good discussion last Saturday about joys and concerns in the community, let's keep it going.

What is the next mountain you are thinking about climbing? What do you think of the new things we are trying here?

I would especially love to hear from some of you readers who have never commented or rarely commented. Here's your chance to chime in.

So grab a cup of coffee or tea to go with your homemade cookies, and pull up a chair.... 

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photo taken by PhillipC

Mental health open house

What's on your mind?

My goals for today include trying to stay calm, getting an outside walk of any length [freezing] and sticking with my drinking plan. It's gone well for the last 3 days.

Dreams of the future

Talking with one of my children about the future. It makes all those years of peanut butter sandwiches and carpools worth it. Don't ask me about the teenage arguments :)

What they want to do in the future...so many possibilities. Addressing egregious social problems, raising children, making money to provide for a comfortable life, trying to make the world better for the future. How to make all goals work out.

I have to look back with some satisfaction that I have already made these decisions, and for me they worked out. I did have ferrari children [don't ask me about their bipolar/teenage crises], I did make enough money to have a comfortable living, and I have had the privilege to address larger issues i.e. saving the lives of children in Russia while working for peace there.

Making things better here in the US? Slow going. Molasses. Donating/killing brain cells thru alcoholic madness. What the bloody hell---literally---ARE we doing in Iraq/Iran. Are we the Matrix, carrying out the will of another country? I hope I'm wrong.

There are terrorist threats from Iraq and Iran, yes, but for others, not for the United States. What does it mean, "existential threat." I am more sympathetic to that than you might imagine, being depressed, I am all over existential threats. But how does that translate into sending our young men and women into battle?