loving art, science and creative kids
11/30/2024 3:21:27 PM
Holliday sale of art. 30% off through December 7th. Contact the artist at [email protected] to receive discount.
ALDER TREES CANVAS PRINT
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE --IT AIN'T EASY
All You Need is Love was introduced by The Beatles during the Summer of Love. The song was broadcast via satellite in June 1967 to 400 million people in 26 countries. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics and music, expressing an idealism that resonated with young people who wanted to change the world through love and peace. To most people, it’s a clear message saying that love is everything, though some view it to mean that to achieve the impossible, all you need is love. A line in the song says there’s nothing in the realm of doing that can’t be done if you have love. Others interpret it to say you don’t have to be great and shouldn’t feel the need to do anything special. All that’s needed for a fulfilled life is love.
My Unitarian minister always ends a service by saying, “Go in peace, practice love.” I understand the peace part; I can be peaceful. But she makes me wonder how love can be a practice. The Bible says to love thy neighbors as thyself. I don’t know many people who follow that commandment. If there were more, there probably wouldn’t be wars in Gaza, Sudan, or the Ukraine. The Beetles sing “It’s Easy,” but is it?
Webster’s Dictionary defines love as intense, deep affection involving warmth, tenderness, intimacy, fondness, and attachment. Religious gurus add devotion to the list, while K-pop fans add obsession. Some consider love to be the most important of the human emotions. Yet other people use it to describe almost anything. OMG, I love this Bing cherry ice cream! Your cooking is fantastic; I love the way you made the potatoes! Couples in long-term relationships are strong on the loyalty and commitment side of the definition, while young adults in their first real relationship find love messy and complicated. Their love may be based on infatuation or short-lived passion. Unrequited love can break a person’s spirit, sending them into a tailspin.
When told to practice love, what am I supposed to do? Psychologists say love is influenced by both biology and culture. Numerous research studies say romantic love exists in all cultures, indicating a strong biological component. Yet culture influences how individuals think about, experience, and express romantic love.
I’ve become addicted to Korean Netflix series where parents will go to great lengths to help their adult children find a compatible mate. This includes going to matchmakers and arranging their dates. When someone decides to take the next step, they courageously say, “I like you.” This is usually followed with, “Would you like to date?” or “I’d like to date you with the object being marriage.” Parents and relatives have great sway at this point. The word “love” is only expressed after the couple has gone through and survived the ups and downs of their relationship.
There isn’t a single way to practice love. Every relationship is unique, and each person has their own history and needs. I was surprised when I found suggestions to show and develop loving relationships. Cultivating a lasting relationship is marked by trust, commitment, and intimacy. It means communicating to meet your and your loved ones’ needs. It involves tackling conflicts in a healthy way that moves the relationship forward. Some people try loving-kindness meditation, which promotes self-acceptance and reduces stress. At the same time, you concentrate on warm feelings toward the person you care about and your desire for them to be happy.
Be willing to be vulnerable.
Be willing to forgive.
Do your best, and be willing to apologize for mistakes.
Let the person know that you care.
Listen to what they have to say.
Prioritize spending time with the person.
Reciprocate loving gestures and acts of kindness.
Recognize and acknowledge their good qualities.
Share things about yourself.
Show affection.
Make it unconditional.
Love impacts mental health. Loving relationships are linked to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, stress levels, better health habits, and increased longevity. When love is practiced conscientiously, it can turn into the emotion we call love, providing a sense of security and well-being. Being in a loving relationship makes it easier to take the occasional risks necessary for achieve your goals. Do I think love is easy, as the song says? Not really. It is a practice that must be nurtured again and again. Having such a wonderful result is worth the effort.
This holiday season is an excellent time to practice love.
References:
K, MSEd, (2024) Do You Know What Love Really Is? Verywell Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-love-2795343#:~:text
Website. American Psychological Association. APA Dictionary of Psychology.
Teo AR, Choi H, Valenstein M. Social Relationships and Depression: Ten-Year Follow-Up from a Nationally Representative Study.
Wong CW, Kwok CS, Narain A, et al. Marital status and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Winston R, Chicot R. The importance of early bonding on the long-term mental health and resilience of children.
It's good to hear your thoughts. Please comment below.
Lyrics to Love,Love, Love.
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
There is nothing you can say, but you can learn
How to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do, but you can learn
How to be you in time
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where
You're meant to be
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
All you need is love
Over the Peanut Fence provides insight into what happens when you practice love.
11/23/2024 1:59:00 PM
HOLIDAY SALE
EICHINGER FINE ART STUDIO ONLINE
11/23 THROUGH 12/8, 2024
30% off Original Acrylic Paintings
16" by 20" Canvas Arboretum Prints only $99
EXPLORE THE GALLERY UNDER THE WORKS TAB OF THE WEBSITE
HTTPS://WWW.EICHINGERFINEART.COM/WORKS
Free shipping for most paintings. Additional fee for oversized paintings.
To purchase at a 30% discount, contact the artist at [email protected]
|
11/16/2024 11:57:03 AM
EMERGING
It may appear chaotic, but if you look carefully, form emerges where least expected.
Distraught About “Distraught
”When I shared last week’s post on Nextdoor, it generated over 250 responses before being removed. Very few comments were related to the article. The first response was from someone who grabbed onto the word distraught and used it as a bait-and-switch opportunity to crow about Trump winning the election. From there, it was downhill, with vitriolic comments for and against his victory.
I desired to share the excitement of completing a video trailer for The Water Factor after several false starts. Though only a minute and a half long, seeing my words put into action was amazing. It was a good week. I was also happy to have received a Literary Titan Award for best thriller, giving me hope that my novel would influence the public to pay closer attention to managing their water system. Though it’s not a very sexy topic, it is an essential one. For romance and adventure, you have to read the book. If I can’t share good tidings with friends and neighbors, who can I share them with?
Last week’s article encouraged people to pay more attention to their neighbors rather than waste time hating them. Your neighbor will likely be the first responder to your needs in a crisis. Their children are the ones to befriend yours. They form carpools and arrange for playdates that make parental life easier.
There’s an advantage to taking a morning walk or having an afternoon coffee with someone living nearby. They understand your complaint about potholes, gas-powered leaf blowers, and drivers who speed down your street. Neighbors are also the ones to join in bringing about change—getting those potholes repaired, lobbying for a go-slow street sign, and seeking better access to public transportation. There are many local and state issues to solve without party politics getting in the way. What’s needed is a willingness to listen and compromise on solutions.
I used The Water Factor as an example of an issue that affects us all. We all need clean water piped into our homes at a reasonable price. The novel shows what happens when people don’t pay close enough attention to oversight committees. Though written as a thriller, the book is based on published events.
When water and waste management is subcontracted to a private company, allegiance shifts from the public to shareholders who want to reap a profit. They devise ways to make transparency difficult. Complicated bookkeeping makes expenses and payments challenging to monitor and makes graft harder to detect. Subcontractors are why water bills have become so high that people can’t pay them. More families are being thrown into poverty. Added to rising costs is the theft of water sold illegally without public knowledge.
A central California water manager was recently imprisoned for stealing over $25 million worth of water from a federal irrigation canal and selling it to farmers and other water districts. If that happened in your town, would you know? My city has an oversight committee that makes recommendations but doesn’t have the power to implement them. Andrew Selsky, a Salem, Oregon correspondent, revealed that illegal marijuana growers take water in uncontrolled amounts by draining wells and aquifers and breaking into water lines used by farmers and landowners—and that overstretched law enforcement can do little about it. These are problems that could be solved if neighbors paid attention and worked together for solutions to keep such things from occurring.
Local issues matter. But if neighbors can’t find common ground and act civilly to solve problems, why should we expect more from the nation’s leaders? The political divide is a myth that makes ordinary people contribute their hard-earned dollars to never-ending campaigns. I’ve already received requests for contributions to the 2026 election.
Find ways to improve your community rather than gloat or mourn about the past election. Get personally involved in local issues and give money to national organizations that lobby for issues that matter to you. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, are wise words to follow.
With reason to celebrate, I was pleased to share the results of four years of hard work. The trailer, audiobook, ebook, and paperback versions are available. Letting friends and neighbors into my life feels good, inviting them to celebrate achievements and life’s passages. I am also thankful they are there to provide comfort when I fail and offer help during bad times. I feel honored when they share happy occasions and hold them in my heart when they fail or fall ill.
Art is always for sale. Emerging is a 31” by 48” acrylic painting on canvas. It is available for $895, which includes shipping within the continental U.S. Contact me at [email protected] to make arrangements.
I look forward to reading your comments below.
11/10/2024 4:09:30 PM
ACT LOCAL
Friends and Family: I'm excited to share the trailer for The Water Factor that was completed this week. Click on the image below to be among the first to see it. I appreciate the comments many of you shared after reading the first of my Rightfully Mine novels. I have a lot of fun ZOOMING into book clubs when invited to comment. Discussions have been inciteful and lively. A question asked most often is how to get the younger generation to become actively involved in shaping their future.
Though half the country is upset by the election, there is a great deal that can be done by putting national politics aside and helping improve your community. Neighbors who get to know each other tend to seek out commonality. They enjoy dinners together, celebrate age milestones, are there when their neighbor needs them, and can easily organize. It is easier to focus on local issues that affect you directly than on national and international problems beyond your control. The reason I decided to write a series of environmental thrillers is to explain how easily the public is manipulated when they don't pay attention.
The Water Factor was written to entertain, yet it provides insight into the consequences of water being treated as a commodity that's traded on Wall Street rather than as a public right. Turning control of local water systems over to private companies results in escalating water rates. But change is happening. Throughout the U.S., more communities are taking back control of systems subcontracted to private companies. I hope the novel inspires readers to pay attention to how utilities in their communities are managed. Ask yourself if you think taxpayers should pay for private entities to make a profit or if local utilities should be operated by PUDs (public utility districts). Studies show that private companies are not better at managing utilities than those under government control.
The book makes a great holiday present for those who like dystopian novels. It is also a gripping coming-of-age story for young adults. According to the UN, water is at the center of the climate crisis. THE WATER FACTOR, A RIGHTFULLY MINE NOVEL, is your chance to peer into the near future to a time of water scarcity controls by corporate criminals. It is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Could you ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram?
11/1/2024 8:34:18 PM
Fractured America
America may not be as fractured as you think. People still get along with neighbors and family members who have opposing views. They help them during crises and celebrate milestones in their children’s lives.
When Congress Gets it Right!
ow for decades. During Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson's reign, trust was nearly 80 percent. It began to decline with the Vietnam War except for a blip during World War. It fell during Bush's term in office, remaining low ever since, with Trump at an overall low of 17 percent. It increased modestly in 2023, but as of last April, only 22 percent of Americans said they trust the government to do what is right.
I was inspired by Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley's announcement of the largest dam removal project in U.S. History. Completed in October, four dams were deconstructed, three in California and one in Oregon. The Klamath River ran free for the first time in a hundred years. Four hundred miles opened for salmon and other native fish to return to their native habitat. A Chinook salmon was spotted in Californians swimming upstream, and a fall run of Chinook returned on the Oregon side of the Kamath Bason. The success of the project was "a testament to local Tribes, government partners, businesses, landowners, farmers and ranchers coming to deter to listen, learn, compromise, and beat the odds to remove dams. Merkley says it's his greatest accomplishment since taking public office. Kudos to Jeff and those who rallied around the cause. After reading about his accomplishments, I wondered what other legislators did.
1) The 1921 success of the COVID-19 vaccine is the first thing that ccame to mind. It was made possible after decades of long-term government investment in basic science, preclinical development, and trials. When the pandemic hit, additional funds were directed to the NIH, which enabled them to work with Moderna to develop one of the vaccines. Billions of federal funds went into research and manufacturing capacity, allowing private companies to roll out the vaccine in record time. Without swift government action, the pandemic would have been much worse.
2) Though the initiative engendered controversy and criticism, the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act was a step toward guaranteeing all Americans access to adequate health care. Uninsured people dropped from 42.7 million to 25.8 million. I'm involved with a low-income family whose father is without insurance. He has been lying flat on his back for months, watching his family descend further into poverty. His ailment is curable but not possible without insurance. Still, the Affordable Care Act has made great strides. According to a study in JAMA Pediatrics, mortality rates have declined for infants and youth.
3) Neither the Republicans nor Democrats got everything they wanted from the Increased Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but the $1.2 trillion bill passed with legislative compromises. The funds represent a serious effort to solve some of the nation's problems.
$55 billion to provide access to clean drinking water
$65 billion to expand access to high-speed broadband internet service
$110 billion for road and bridge repair
$90 billion for public transit
$25 billion for airport improvements and $17 billion for port infrastructure and waterways
$7.5 billion to build out a national network of electric vehicle chargers
The Act is helping to replace a 1917 interstate bridge spanning the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Washington, before it collapses.
The Make It in America Act was added to the Infrastructure Act to make it harder for federal agencies to circumvent Buy America's requirements.
4) Congressman John Garamendi introduced bills leading to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, signed into law in 1922. The bipartisan bill helps clear congestion at US ports and protects American Jobs and manufacturers from foreign competition.
5) Congressman Steve Cohen from Tennessee helped pass into law HR 7339, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Careers Act, directing the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), in coordination with relevant stakeholders, to develop classifications to categorize and describe AI-related work, identify gaps in the artificial intelligence workforce, and create a metric for measuring criteria and credentials for careers in artificial intelligence.
6) The Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act included in the National Defense Authorization Bill in 2022 expedites requests by the National Guard to use Unmanned Aircraft Systems in case of fire, natural disaster search and rescue, and other emergencies. It safeguards human life by better understanding the extent of the tragedy.
7) The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant attempt in U.S. history to combat climate change. It included a $360 billion package of clean-energy funding to curb methane emissions and pollution. The legislation also contained measures to lower prescription drug costs, allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical industry and imposing a $2,000 yearly cap on out-of-pocket prescription expenses.
8) The bipartisan Elector Count Reform Act led by Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, was passed to prevent further presidential candidates from stealing elections. It made clear that the vice president cannot discount electoral votes and prevents competing slates of electors.
9) The most rigid gun law in thirty years was signed. Congress passed the Safer Communities Act, led by Senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to tighten gun laws. It aims to keep firearms away from dating partners convicted of abuse, clarifies gun sellers' requirement to register arms, and calls for background checks of 18- -to 21-year-olds that open the door to examining juvenile records.
10) The CHIPS and Science Act was major legislation to ensure the U.S. doesn't fall behind China regarding global competitiveness. It grew from a bill negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind, with a $280 billion investment in U.S. Semiconductor manufacturing, research, and development.
11) The Respect for Marriage Act, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, enshrines same-sex marriage., ensuring full benefits to couples regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.
Americans wouldn't be as despairing if the media didn't escalate divisiveness to increase advertising sales by luring viewers into their version of the news. Too often, news programs place legislators in boxing rings, cheering on as they fight it out. The reality is that most congressmen and women see their job as caring for the country's business. As in a marriage, compromise is necessary to coexist. In a democracy, there will always be differences that need to be ironed out. But as long as our representatives and senators reach across the aisle, they will improve the lives of the millions residing within our borders. Be sure to vote to achieve the kind of country you want to live in. What you do and how you act counts!
Please share your thoughts on my blog site at eichingerfineart.com/blog
Art is always for sale. Fractured America is a 24" by 24" deep canvas painting. Available shipped for $495. For information, contact me at [email protected]
Books by Marilynne Eichinger can be reviewed and purchased on Amazon at BOOKS
References:
Pew Research Center Website (2025). Public Trust in Government: 1958-2024. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/06/24/public-trust-in-government-1958-2024/
Jeff Merkely’s Friday announcement (2024) Welcoming the salmon home. retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXJszvMKqtGmhRTXWtqtLtqnnH
Website ( 2024) Six Big Government Success Stories of the Past Two Decades. Decades. Government Executive. Retrieved from https://www.govexec.com/management/2022/06/six-big-government-success-stories-last-two-decades/367796/
