The End of 2012 and It's February!

Sure seems like it was just.....   :-)

Ah, well, does it matter if another year is gone if we feel that we did something useful and productive with it?

I love my life these days.  Of course, I wasted some time doing some stupid things along the way, but not now so much as I grow older and wiser....    ;-)

One of my favorite quotes is this:  "Never regret yesterday.  Life is in you today and you make your tomorrow. "*

What a brilliant man.  Thank you, Sir.

L. Ron Hubbard

*The Code of Honor, 26 November 1954.

My Good Old Dog

JOLIE KLEIN NEWHOUSE

2000 - February 25, 2013

Jolie was a stray, about two years old, when she found my daughter's house and wouldn't leave the front stoop.  They had a dog and so they didn't feed her but she still wouldn't go away.

No chip, no signs around the neighborhood and no one looking for her.  I saw her and despite her low warning growl, I fell in love.  She stayed at my daughter's until our house was built and then I brought her home.  I told her she was pretty so many times, that her name became "Jolie."

She had probably been mistreated and then just dumped.  She made things difficult around here because she bared her teeth or growled and even snapped at friendly hands reaching out to her.  She dug under the fence I invested in in a different spot every day.  She learned how to get through an electronic fence.  But she never left for long.  I would find her curled up on our front porch, making no sound but just waiting for the door to open so she could come back in to us.

She followed me from from room to room for over 10 years, often being disturbingly in the way as she tried to figure out which way we were going.  She slept right next to my husband's side of the bed every night, but she parked under my desk all day long.

I loved her in spite of everything.

But she got old and had many body problems.  Most recently the vet wanted to remove part of her front paw because of an ugly tumor.  I just couldn't put her through it.  Her hips were giving out causing her to drag her back paw to the point of bleeding -- inside and outside the house.  We put a bootie on her.  

Sometimes she ran through the house like a puppy, chasing a toy or just acting goofy.  Other times I winced watching her back legs slide out from under her.

It was agonizing to watch her age and hurt.

I wished that she would just go to sleep one day and find a brand new happy puppy body.  With a wagging tail.  It didn't happen and we couldn't watch her get worse.

On Saturday we made a decision and yesterday we had to stop her pain.
But ours isn't gone yet.
Jolie is everywhere around the house and she is nowhere at the same time.

I'm thankful that I have a compassionate and caring family and friends who have made this very rough time easier for us.  I love you all.  I love you, Jolie.

My Novel -- Timely....

IN THE NAME OF HELP, a novel exposing psychiatric abuse

Perhaps a difficult piece of fiction to confront, but you will love the ending.

Can good triumph over evil?  

Amazon

Paperback ($11.50):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967855209/qid=963430892/sr=1-5/102-3912621-1696150

Kindle e-book ($1.99):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=in+the+name+of+help

Barnes and Noble (Nook e-book $1.99)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-name-of-help-diane-klein/1004109716?ean=2940013761995

 www.dianeklein.com

The Hardest Task One Can Have

"The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not.

And the true sign of sanity and greatness is to so continue.

For the one who can achieve this, there is abundant hope.
...
A primary trap is to succumb to invitations to hate.
...
It requires real strength to love Man.  And to love him, despite all invitations to do otherwise, all provocations and all reasons why one should not."

These are excerpts from a brilliant and beautiful article entitled, "WHAT IS GREATNESS," by L. Ron Hubbard and it cam be found in a book that virtually saved my life:  A NEW SLANT ON LIFE.

Contact me and I'll gladly send you the entire essay.  I aspire to its message every day of my life.  And sometimes, with some people, it isn't always easy....

Stupid? Apathetic? Greedy? What the hell....

There is so much information available to us that leads to what's really contributing to much of the violence in our society today.

Are we too stupid to understand it?
Too apathetic to feel we can do something about it?
Or are there too many of us who are too greedy and who are benefiting from the devastation?

Now, that's hard to confront.  More greedy evil people than the good guys?  No, not true.

I know that, personally, I cannot stand it when I feel that there is nothing I can do about something.

So, I ask myself, "What can I do about this."
Then I believe that there is always something.
Then I find what that is.
Then I do it.
Dammit.

Working For Peace on Earth

Why would anyone read a BLOG?

Almost wanted to give up this BLOG idea today.

I found myself wondering why anyone would want to read what I wrote.  But, oh, well, I still need to do the writing.

I learned yesterday that Hemingway did 70% of his writing in a short period of just nine years.  Amazing.  And everything he wrote was from what was happening around him. So unfortunate that he was put in the hands of those who destroy in the name of help.

Okay.  It has been a bit of a tough morning.  Our pooch is 13 years old and not doing so well.  This part of pet ownership is the hardest.  Got to decide what is the best thing to do....   ;-(

My daughter gave me some words of wisdom that I think I have used on her before and it really helped a lot.  She reminded me that I have to 'use what I know.'

Hmmm, I think I have definitely used that on others.  :-)

So, I believe that we are not our bodies, anymore than we are our cars or our clothes. We are spiritual and eternal beings, just like all great religions thought -- before the ridiculousness and destructiveness of the 'mental health field' began to tell us that we are all animals and that we only live once and blah blah blah blah.

I remember my one psychology class at the University of Illinois.  Made no sense.  I thought it was me. It wasn't.  It made no sense.  And none of the dozens of psychology books and articles that I read during those years gave any answers to anything.  None.

I believe that we can become more aware, more intelligent and more able.  Every single day.  I aspire to that and I want to share my joy and comfort at this stage of my life with anyone who cares to listen.  So, with sincere love and warmth, I wish you an excellent day.

JOLIE KLEIN NEWHOUSE

Diane's Blog: My Blue Bloods Dinners....,

Diane's Blog: My Blue Bloods Dinners....,: If you haven't watched this TV show, you may not get what I'm after here. Family is hugely important to me.  Always has been and always wi...