what does it mean to be alive?

If you are in your seventies, you've lost your husband, your children don't need you anymore, your grandchildren are in the house playing card games, the daughter who took on the caregiving spends every minute working. Who is to blame? No-one. You are unable to walk or even stand up without anything to lean on, you are concerned about the children and the women of this world, you are concerned about the lack of social awareness and the voice that gets airtime is fame. Either by spectacular achievement or wealth.

The family here are good people. Daughter's husband makes lunch and supper. You think about the years you've had, cared for by a husband who claimed you are an intellect. This means your brain is so busy worrying about the greed and violence that fills the news report you have no time to do anything about.

Well at least you can write! Maybe even save the world with worry and poems. You know you can't save the world because you've tried for most of your life. And all you achieve is more worry.

You understand that life has no meaning for those too worried to think.

The past doesn't offer much hope. Wars created by men who have dedicated their lives to controlling whatever is possible. This means more violence, more war, more research on how to rule an unstable world which you fear only creates more violence and war. Your grandchildren do what they can to prove they are worthy of learning everything they can to be competent in this world.

Teachers, thinkers and lovers offer everything they have to improve a world dominated by the love for power. Mostly we can't know everything if we are nervous of losing the status we have worshipped, studied, fought and obeyed.

How can we stop the bad thoughts? How can we love a world that doesn't want us?

Love Everyone, Hate No-one, Move To The Edge

Women are joining groups to fight back the misogynists. And here's how to do it.

Don't hate or insult anyone or anything. Yes the slave trade and witch hunts were despicable. Yes the gun trades are harmful. Yes the words that come out of some mouths are toxic. But life is so much more than any of these things.

There are no guarantees any of this will work but it's all I have. For now.

Yes Jesus suffered. Yes women have suffered. Yes children suffer. Yes the climate is suffering and our future is not bright even for the billionaires.

But first take care of your mental health because it doesn't look like bears are winning.

Remember women are born with the ability to nurture a fetus to its birth. It's dangerous as any life supporting life is.

I enjoy using the sciences that have been invented.

Looking at life in general I understand whatever is valuable is fragile. Life is hard then you die.

And we cannot choose who or what brings us into this world as hungry helpless babies. I understand why Hitler did what he did. I understand why some of us carry the anger that silences most into game-playing.

The gold true gold of life is power to get everything we want. Anyone who brags he/she can get everything they want and life itself bends down in adoration for us. When we can't get everything we want we become bitter and blame someone or something. We make fun of those who offer "answers" or alternate schemes. We often can't see how we become angry, lose hope and ridicule all who offer ideas for healing and hope. Rage enlarges rage, anger dismisses beauty.

While Hitler attempted to erase everything that didn't glorify his ideas he could not see how he was unable to see beauty in his world so he, and others who felt no hope for the future, decided to glorify violence.

A violent world is more than war, cruelty and lovelessness. I have grandsons who have amazing ideas about how to live, how to create a better world, but in the evening they watch TV dramas that glorify machismo, which would be okay if it was okay for men to be caring and invest in healing, but that would make a very complicated show.

So it's common for us to believe we must have power. Power over everything and everyone. I've never won anything with power. I help and support healing, kindness and love for all living creatures. Yes Jesus of Nazareth tried and lost his life because of it.

Women were burned at the stake as witches by trying to bring love (and other things)  back into the world.

Parents suffer when they see the babies they gave birth to and nurtured for twenty years, as they struggle to feed and guide them. Worlds create wars because to watch the cruelty that power demands is too hard to take. So nations that have been successful seek ways to channel that power.

Yes we have entertainments. Battles played out on screens. Hate turned into religion. History turned into examples of how to win. Control played out as human nature.

And our world becomes more and more tangled in mystery.

What I have chosen to do is love everyone and hate no-one.

Imagine A Better World “Imagining is Resistance”: Tareq Baconi with Naomi Klein

What Gaza is being used to test and why freeing Palestine is the unfinished business of the last century. NAOMI KLEIN OCT 29, 2026

"More than 900 of you joined me live this week for a conversation with Tareq Baconi, the Palestinian writer and scholar who leads Al-Shabaka: the Palestinian Policy Network. We talked about his breathtaking new book, What Now: On Palestine, Freedom and Our Global Future, coming out November 3rd. It was the first book I read after finishing End Times Fascism, and it changed me. Here’s what I wrote for the book’s jacket:If you feel like the powerful dont want to save the world they just want to have the last word you could be right. But what about you? Are you part of this planet with its long history of errors yet beautiful. You can imagine a time when there was no people, no animals or trees or even flies. You understand that all our trees, plants, families could die off and not be missed because humans would be gone too. This would mean no memory of life as it adorns our planet with diversity. So much we humans have become careless. If this planet dies we will not be here. So what? There will be no more laughter, no paintings, no music, no birds. I know there is this vanity in my heart as if life depends on humans. Depends on stories, songs, movies, love and children. And diamonds, cows and sheep? Do you wonder why a few humans spend their energy on getting rid of people, birds and bees? Why we keep wanting more of what is useful to us. We need trees, plants, flowers and a sky above. Naomi Klein and ...... have thought deeply about us. Breathers. More have laughed at our attachment to the idea of a future. The Israelites have been here the longest. Naomi wonders why we are careless in our greed for more. Are we greedy? Are we stupid not to see that our survival depends on taking care of this planet and its gifts. And that we cannot take it all for granted. But not everyone has the ability to see how much we depend on others. We are so anxious about the little world we have built around us. Callous self interest. We forget the teachings. Math, History, Writing, Reading. Our education was not presented as instruction to save ourselves our family. In fact we are so taken by winning. We invent a story about life that starts and ends with winning. Soccer, Wealth, Philosophy, History all for the sake of winning but few instructions on how to win. Our entertainment is who wins and who loses. In a shallow collection of stories on the subject as if it is a game. forever The people who have money, history, intelligence and concern. Also have a history and vanity. Those with power have the time to ponder

No matter what others choose

You have particular gifts. If no-one complements you it could mean your gifts are unique. They don't get noticed much, or are above the common language of those around you, or simply not on the radar of the common conveyors. It could mean you need to publish them. Or it coult mean your posts are not interesting. No stress, maybe even deep. Too deep. Whatever it is, ask your self, morning, noon and evening.

Dear Human Beings

😘😘😘😘

I Want To Apologize

I doubt you will remember me. I remember the first time I shattered any hope of being popular when I started at Ruislip Manner School.

Yes this is my first endeavour to be popular. I had watched sitcoms on TV and the plot was routinely repeated. At school I thought I was nobody. There were friends who were kind but I came from a family where aunts kept telling me I would never amount to anything.

It was not their fault. They were recent immigrants from France after WWII. When they entered the church there were whisperings "here come the frogs".

They were a family of a father known as a winner in the yearly boat race on the Thames at Marlow. Four girls. 

My grandmother was a fighter. She did not let anyone get the better of her. Most Mother's had to be fighters to protect their family. My grandfather won the Regatta Races. That's all I know. He was well liked. But he didn't have a son. All his children were daughters so they had to get a man.

A woman, a girl had no power other than to win a husband. This meant you had to be pretty and you had to have that mysterious power of getting a man to fall in love with you.

My mother kept on top of the house. Morning to night. 

As I observed. Her clothes had to fit perfectly, her eyebrows plucked, her house spotless, her garden green. There was to be no thing out of place in her domain. 

I apologize to my family who have read this a hundred times.

The result by the time I met you as a boy in my class, was that I HAD to win. You were always kind to me but I had this one opportunity to elevate my status as a popular girl.

When we walked to the local playground during lunch you felt free to kiss me. Which was lovely - the first boy to like me.  Then SLAM! It occurred to be in the bliss this was how a girl got pregnant? 

Suddenly I said STOP! GET OFF!

Then walked back to school. Asked my friend if I was right to break off with him. She said yes.

So I sent you a note to say I couldn't be your girlfriend. Put it in an envelope. Then asked her to give it to you.

By this time word got out to all those in my class.

After that no other boys would have anything to do with me. I was the fool, the villain, the danger and the tart.

No-one in that class would talk to me even when we moved to Canada. I said I would write and I did but there was never any mention of my letters from you. In fact no one talked to me. I didn't win. I lost. I felt foolish.

Later I saw an email that said you were a gynacologist. Didn't think it would be received gladly if I wrote then, as you clearly had status and I didn't.

Also I see now how popularity is manufactured. Not real!

To those who did not become the popular girl, remember you have integrity, and even though integrity is rarely mentioned in our hurry to get degrees, homes, fashion and status, beware of the tricks every society used to get you to follow.

We Are In The Age of Showy Capitalism

Reading through some posts it looks like the purpose of buying gifts is to create jealousy in your friends and neighbours, not to send a gift to someone you love. According to AI. Saving money, sowing beautiful things, buying flashy diamonds, and all other shopping, is to create jealousy in your loved ones. No pleasure, no need, no beauty ... just to make someone else rage with anger, jealousy and disapointment. Buy a car that costs thousands, a dress that makes you look like a beauty queen, a house that is more like a castle than a comfy home. This is how we destroy the world with jealousy, hatred and poverty. But then what would anyone expect from AI, the internet and the corporate world?

Dear Tony ...Last night we celebrated your birthday

We went to the pub and ordered supper ... Karen, Simon, Lucas, Gabriel and myself it was a lovely evening although something was missing you of course even though we knew you couldn't make it we missed the jokes the knowledge you had and shared about food, soccer and love of course you knew how to bring warmth to every meal every gathering knew how to play soccer how to cook eat and drink for maximum pleasure we missed you still miss and love you