“May Days!!”

It’s Friday today for 24 hours!  Have you noticed how they accumulate so fast?  This is each of our lives.  Hold that gift seriously, and remember how you got where you are today.  Real gratitude!  TGIF, even!

May is usually a spiritually challenging month for me.  Between my Mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day, I can be seen bouncing off the walls or just standing in a hall at work with tears in my eyes!  While I remember playing trombone with the Highlands Jr. High marching band during a huge parade held annually in my hometown of White Plains, NY, for Memorial Day, that celebration has taken on a different meaning in these times of war and destruction.  It is more important for me to remember that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  Last Monday on Mother’s Day, I felt very alone … strange even.  When no more tears were left to cry, I found myself searching a lot inside.  While I have a daughter, she has chosen to keep my grandson away from me for some petty, childish reason.  I can handle that because I didn’t harm or bother either of them.  There were NO family members of mine to wish a Happy Mother’s Day.  I could only celebrate that special day by remembering the love, help, and tireless support from my Mother, who would be 107 on her birthday on May 20th.  I stayed alone with my puppy Mila, who had her first birthday on the weekend of May 3rd.  May she continue to rest in Eternal Peace.

May is also considered to be Mental Health Awareness Month!  While I have never been diagnosed to visit a mental health facility, nor have I ever been “depressed,” as I hear many people say, somehow, after contemplating suicide once in my teenage life when I got shipped off to a boarding school, my Mother has often served as my mental health specialist.  When I taught at White Plains High School for ten years, I became aware of the challenges that poor mental health can create.  I’m sure some conversations I had with some of my students helped them over that chasm.  You see, I have been extraordinarily blessed or fortunate, if you will, to have made it with the guidance and love of my Creator through some extremely difficult times with substance abuse and just pure anger, to come out on the “other side” with minimal repercussions and damage.  To this day, I carry my Mother’s love with me so that when I need a dose of “unconditional love,” I can find peace and solace with the memories of her … and my Dad … my Rock!

To this day, I meditate and pray to get heavy things off my chest and out into the universe to be handled by my Creator and the universe.  It’s something that I have learned through experiences from incarceration to divorce, broken relationships, and the like.  Nowadays, I feel fortified spiritually and can stand up to average trials and tribulations.  I have an open heart to those who struggle with such things, and I seek to be “a power of example!”  “You can make it if you try!”

There is such a thing for me as mental health conditioning.  That’s why I write and try to illuminate such situations as being bullied or lied to.  One cannot allow such things while caring for one’s mental health.  I also have learned that some mental health conditions require the expertise of a professional.  When I first attended Princeton, I dabbled in psychology courses to see if that was something that I wanted to pursue.  I stayed with education courses and dabbled in social psychology.  Nowadays, I don’t try to “people please” nor surround myself with people who seem a bit off balance in their approach to life.  Talk with someone close to you who you know is mentally balanced and can serve as a sounding board for you in critical times.  It’s not an easy job, but be humble enough to care for yourself and your mental health.  There’s no shame in admitting (and seeking) the need for assistance with your mental health issues.  I had one older brother who took his own life and a sister who was murdered.  When those issues arise, I get to work … on myself.  It seems that I missed or messed up opportunities to have a vibrant partner, so I try to work things out on my own and with good friends!

In closing, I want to take this opportunity to wish my Mother, Marietta Dolores Cook (Watkins) a Happy Heavenly Birthday!  I know that’s where you’re at!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

I’m Just Sayin’

Another great day, and it’s morning where I am!  So, back to basics … TGIF!

I hope some of you follow what Gore Vidal said in my last piece about the decay and ultimate manipulation of the use of language to confuse or mislead each other. I mean, that’s all many folks have: the use of language to communicate with each other.  We all have unique, specific, individualized experiences in our lives.  The lessons learned, and events experienced undoubtedly differ and are variable.  So, how do we continue our society’s functioning so well?  A system of shared values is how.  Yet, when language is used to deceive and mislead each other, those shared values get lost.  With people like Netanyahu, Putin, and even #45, many of the values that once served as a common cohesive for civilization, we can see the change in the continued downward direction of the world and the major countries.

While traveling through Western Europe six years ago, I was surprised to see how the people of Paris, Barcelona, and even Amsterdam viewed “the land of the free, home of the brave.”  They thought that “we” were indeed “the dumb Americans.”  Recalling my situation and lifestyle as I looked for a comfortable place to retire, I could see the layers of each country’s people as they struggled with bare existence or survival.  In Paris, for example, there were families with make-shift mattresses strewn in storefronts where they slept together overnight!  The poverty was visible, and as far as I could tell, “wealthy” people still went to The Louvre and Moulin Rouge, spending lots of money!  “Capitalism” American style had spread far and wide!  Nowadays, these monuments of capitalism are a gentle reminder of what many of us wish for.  Why do people want more and more when they already have a lot?  Is it greed or desire to say, “I’ve got more material things than others do!”

Not only was Western Europe too expensive for me to live and retire as a single senior citizen, but the average city like Hamburg or Barcelona was too crowded—too many people trying to claw their way up the capitalist ladder. Yet, in places like Paris, less affluent people dressed in stylish clothing, though many shared a house where rent was as much as 4-600 Euro for each bedroom – no closets or separate bathrooms – just a room!  Things looked interestingly challenging for me to retire there, not to mention my osteoarthritis!  It was challenging for me to get around the city.  To this day, I believe the universe bestowed me with this ailment to slow down and “smell the flowers” before I expire!  Maybe even live near the Caribbean beaches and enjoy the ambiance of a natural jungle-like environment.  There are some gringos as we are called by locals, who have adjusted and adapted to a less affluent lifestyle and can enjoy the natural simplicity out here!  I love waking up out here where I live, where one can still hear the morning chatter of birds and wildlife like howler monkeys and Tucans.  I can even smell the fresh-cut grass!

So, it breaks my heart to see places like New York City, Atlanta, and even cities like LA and Chicago fighting for their lives due to excesses of guns and related crimes and drugs on the streets of San Francisco and Venice Beach, CA.  What are Americans doing?  Have we lost the desire for “freedom and justice for all?”  Do we even care about stuff like that anymore?  Even in the courtrooms where a former president spends time on trial, we can see no freedom or justice for all!  Just a chosen few with money, power, and friends in high places like judges!  I was thinking, “Does Judge Canon have a boss who can be sure she is being fair?”  One can see how everything is skewed to benefit the criminal defendant, the former president.  It annoys me to no end how people, both professional and non-professional, keep referring to this monster as “President!”  Give that crap a rest and un-brainwash yourself.  Like everyone else charged with a crime, he’s a criminal defendant.

I remember a friend from Norway who, when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, said to me one day, “It is what it is!”  I got upset and fussed with her, stating that this was false – we can change it!  Each day I watch these morons in the Republican party trying to upstage each other, I realize that they, too, have lost the focus on making fair laws and governing the way it seemed both parties did in the past when I was growing up.  So, Solveig was right …  “It is what it is!”  Isn’t anybody worried yet?  Maybe it’s just me! Some folks may accept the new normal, which is that rich and powerful people who took advantage of the American way of life are the beneficiaries of America.  It’s a hell of a movie to be watching and co-starring in!  How far will we let this reality TV show consume American life?  The people in European countries are realizing that the USA is corrupted with the manipulation of language to wage war … on each other! We are losing our grip on a former reality we once advocated and represented.  “I’m just sayin’!”

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

The Peculiar Art of Gaslighting

Well, we’ve done it again! A week’s worth of life is valuable to me nowadays! While I’ve often tried to be the best person I could be, I must admit that there were times when I fell short. Don’t get it twisted because we can figure out that some of us have different obstacles, perhaps even more obstacles than others. Pay attention to those basic, simple facts! So, TGIF!

These times, it seems, are a bit of a world with “a war of words!”  Everyone not only wants to one-up each other, but it doesn’t even matter how they do it … with the truth or with a bunch of lies!  This is the main reason I mostly stay to myself!  I’ve learned not to lie to myself.  It’s not always a battle whenever I say something or think something.  I try to be my own best friend.  In essence, I “know myself” because I don’t entertain the latest gossip!  Some folks live off of that stuff while others get all “convoluted” (should there be such a thing!) and swallow the “lies” hook, line, and sinker!  I don’t get involved in gossip; the last person I talk to is a gossiper.  If someone can find an excuse to be “upset” or mad with me, they choose to make something up about me because they have never met anyone like me, and their level of jealousy has reached a zenith that they can’t control!  Sometimes, I can see the envy in their faces and hear it in their voices!

What does a person think of another person they ultimately enjoy lying to or about?  They feel very little respect for that person who even entertains those lies.  I can’t continue a conversation with someone intentionally “gaslighting.”  This has become an art for ignorant people in our world today.  Who can you trust?  Yourself.  Do some research and find the truth.  I mean, where would I be today if I believed the names that hate-filled others had called me?  Now, I don’t have much of anything except pride in myself.  Imagine wanting someone who has cheated on his wife, lied to her, and lied to the entire country and the world about any and everything.  One has got to be mentally ill to want a person like this to become president of the USA … again.  Much of the civilized world is horrified as “Americans” even entertain voting for a complete value-less moron.  “I can’t …”  It’s hard for me to be around people like that with so little self-esteem that they CHOOSE to be a liar and spread the lies far and wide!  Someone like #45 has chosen this lifestyle.  And some “Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey” idiots believe he is qualified to be anything, let alone president of the United States.  He uses the backdrop of a courthouse to pedal his lies.  He touts that Joe Biden and the “deep state” are bringing charges against him as he walks out of the courthouse facing criminal charges.  But, some folks embrace this “gaslighting” technique and brainwash themselves to support a lying bully.  It is indeed an art form used on weak-minded people.

What’s happening is the dumbing down of American people who would instead choose to believe a lie as opposed to the obvious truth – the moron is not fit to be president of a third-grade classroom of children!  It has become the preferred way of communication by some people, especially bullies, who fare better if one believes (and spreads) their lies.  As Jimi Hendrix sang, “There must be some kind of way out of here!” said the joker to the thief.  “There’s so much confusion, I can’t get no relief!”  Many people can’t figure out which “side” to support as we let mayhem and division into our lives … our words … our world!  It will come down to whether or not we support “truth tellers.”  This is where we get the argument from the gaslighter about “What is truth!”  Some say … and believe that everyone has their own truth.  Yet if one sees raindrops falling from the sky, it should be hard to say, “Oh!  What a sunny day!”

Mr. Vidal is alluding to the fact that language is no longer used to communicate between some of us. Instead, it is used to manipulate others. “Believe it … or not!”  I have often heard unfortunate people utter, “If I didn’t believe the lies I tell myself, I wouldn’t be able to survive out here!”  What a shame. All I can say is, “Pray for them!”

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend, even with the international drama!

Thanks for reading something to contemplate!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Be Careful What Credit You Give to People

Good day, good people! Thanks for joining me in disseminating this message. I appreciate your readership and am grateful for each of you and us!

What’s the first thing you do when you meet someone new?  We usually relate to them based on similar types of people we already know.  For me, I typically think of what the “new” person looks like (old church, school, or college buddy) and immediately bestow credit (characteristics) of those “friends” I had made over the years. I hope you’ll catch my drift.  Often, I am wrong to give such a person so much credit!  It’s impossible to “take that credit” back.  It’s like the supporters of #45 …  So many people gave too much credit to this monster in hopes of getting what “they” had been dreaming about …  But “they” were wrong.  Now that one has displayed so much credit and support for an idiot, “the bamboozled” person doesn’t want to admit they were wrong!  So they keep calling this mofo “President Whatever” when he is not the president!  It’s like self-brainwashing, if you will.  While #45 claims that President Biden’s administration is attacking him, he gets to talk to “the world” before and after each day in court.  I am so sick of hearing this crybaby lie that I almost want to turn the television off whenever I see his face! 

 In our daily lives, when we give someone undue credit, so to speak, we can’t take it back! I usually distance myself from these people to indicate to them that I now see their actual characteristics.  It’s not easy, but I prefer thinking positively first rather than immediately thinking this “new” friend is a devout racist bully.  This has happened to me here, too. It’s a sad story to see someone so racist that they can’t snap out of it even when they know that they were wrong about me.  It comes back to the element of self-esteem that some people lack.  In other words, the person doesn’t care that they were wrong!  At this moment, I observe this mofo’s hideous condition.  It’s like the supporters of #45 who KNOW that this monster is unfit to be president and continue to support a nonsense-talking idiot.

Reflecting on my early collegiate education, I am grateful to have had professors and mentors like the late Professor Howard Taylor, whom I studied under at Princeton.  We students (and women) of color knew that Princeton was initially designed for the offspring of wealthy, powerful white men (and women).  Yet, we carried on and rose to the challenge of being able to experience being at the same school as these other “entitled” fellow students.  I took advantage of every opportunity while fulfilling my “work/study” role.  Professor Taylor was young then. He looked like a student.  Yet, he was a hard-working professional who simultaneously tackled such issues as the nature-nurture dichotomy of IQ testing.  Professor Taylor was a light-skinned mixed “brother” who represented his African American roots and even started “The Black Studies Program.”  I enrolled in one of the first courses he taught at Princeton, and he became a role model for me and many others.  He passed away last year, and the university is holding a special dedication program in his honor on campus this year. I am saddened and humbled to have had the opportunity to study under him!  He made sociology relevant to this young African American buck!  Thank you, Sir!

When we give a moron undue credit, they don’t think we are amicable.  In fact, they usually end up thinking “we” are stupid!  So, check yourself and these tainted souls before they make us do something silly!  As the whole world watches the USA cater to the most “Hitler-like” person in the world today, make sure that you understand his game.  You, too, may have to back out of some unhealthy “friendships” you thought you had!  Don’t allow yourself to continue to be bamboozled.  Give a person enough time and space, and they will show you who they really are!  Pay attention.

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

What’s Up With These Bullies?

Wow! Everything happening in our world today is labeled as “unprecedented!” Yet, I have enough courage and desire to say something. That’s a blessing, though managing the side effects is tricky. I’m grateful to represent still and disrobe the bully!  TGIF, even!

Have you ever interacted with a bully? Have you ever wondered what they want from you? Have you ever wondered what they are missing in their own lives? It must be something, especially if the bully is not your parent(s).  Why are they trying to push their way into your life?  GTFOOH!!  Being a “smart” youth in elementary school made me a target.  Some kids would go as far as to tell me to put my hand DOWN in class!  I was even followed home to the Projects one day and told to throw my books away by a bully from the Projects.  (My Dad had to take me to the bushes to retrieve them and scold me for letting a little boy bully threaten me!) The Winbrook Apartment complex was formidable growing up, and we had a bully or two here and there.  We were also blessed with young adult role models who encouraged the youth to be themselves and excel at what they were good at.  Thanks, everyone!  

Bullies are usually insecure people who crave attention, even to a disastrous level.  Some people are perfect to be bullied and made a follower of someone else.  The followers of bullies lack insight and almost NEED to be told what to do and what to think—sad stories like the bully themself.  Now, in the USA, as #45’s first trial is underway, people who are jurors are concerned about their identities being exposed.  And in the courtroom, the garbage bag looks at potential jurors with scorn!  Facing a bully requires courage, self-esteem, and a desire to be authentic and yourself!  Bullies are usually people with poor social skills and low self-esteem.  They also may lack the discipline to make themselves better people.  When they find someone “better” than them, they want to punish that person, gossip about them, and even lie!  Look at how #45 deals with Mr. Alvin Bragg or Ms. Fani Willis!  He couldn’t accomplish what either of them has and feels upstaged because he supposedly has or had more money.  He has NO PLAN for governing and “wings” everything but ALWAYS tries to put down someone else to appear better than others.

As a retired educator, I often have to stand up for my skills and talents and stand up to the bullies I’ve encountered even here.  Like Dr. Dre says in one of his song lyrics, “How much Tupac in you YOU got?  And I ain’t no bitch either!”  I keep my goals in focus like Mr. Bragg did after #45 posted an image of him holding a baseball bat and swinging it toward an image of Mr. Bragg’s head.  People who like bullies also have low self-esteem and have been absent or bullied most of their lives.  When a New Yorker who has damn near seen it all comes to a small town like this, he stands out!  Some people are self-confident enough to “let me be me,” while others start rumors and gossip about me out of jealousy!  I usually smile and keep it moving since I didn’t retire here to please them.  “Know Thyself!”

As Ms. Willis says, “The train is coming!”  I want to see it in ALL of his cases.  Yet, as a student of American history with a Master of Science in Education specializing in American History, I stand firmly and proudly defending the well-educated people who have earned everything they have!  Stay tuned, and don’t let a bully ruin your life!  Stand up to that driveling mofo!

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

The Case for Mental Health … and You!

It’s Friday, Y’all.  I’ve been holding it down, hanging in there, and still making some progress.  Mila, my 11-month-old puppy, no longer rides in a crate on my e-bike scooter but has learned to balance herself on the floorboard!  Life is beautiful, rustic even, yet moving along!  Greetings and blessings!

I visited the Migracion Office in San Jose this past Monday to turn in some essential documents. All required documents from the States must be authenticated, which I just learned, and then translated before submission. I am awaiting the verification of my background check, which I will be sending to be translated here in Costa Rica before entering it into my residency application.  The last document is my birth certificate from New York, which must be verified and translated.  So I am feeling very decent.

Yes, I wanted to retire outside of the States so I wouldn’t end up like Mr. Floyd or be a victim of some jerks like “The Goon Squad” out of Jackson, MS.  How exciting, right?  What great options for a black man in the USA!  So many humans enjoy playing “the devil’s advocate” nowadays or just plain old obstinate instead of using common sense.  People who support #45 can easily be seduced into believing or just repeating hateful, nonsensical, even racist, and sexist ideas.  Worse of all, some folks allow themselves to be motivated to violence, especially after hearing dog whistles like the “blood bath phrase.”  In other words, people who have unstable mental illness can be pushed over the edge, like on January 6th!  #45 goes as far as to call them “hostages” rather than domestic terrorists, as well as promising to release them from jail if and when elected.  This person is absolutely deranged, ignorant, and mentally ill.  He is a horrible creature who knows no limits on attacking people verbally.  Thus, judges have found it necessary to place “gag orders” on his conversations regarding the multiple cases he faces.  He is dangerous and enjoys manipulating and controlling weak-minded people.  People like that should not be trusted to occupy the highest positions in the USA, not to mention a top world leader.  Everyone should be concerned with this.

On July 4th, 2015, I faced a law enforcement officer in Ft. Lauderdale Beach who wanted to arrest me but couldn’t find any probable cause.  I was given a ticket for “walking in the street when a sidewalk was available.”  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  If I hadn’t remained cool, calm, and collected, the officer would have done so.  Yet, like with Mr. Floyd, there were way too many celebratory onlookers for him to get away with such overtly racist behavior.  Even nowadays, I experience interactions with people who have no idea who they are dealing with.  I will safeguard my peace, sense of well-being, and mental balance.  I know what triggers me, and I must walk away to avoid a confrontation occasionally.  In looking back at the O.J. Simpson Trial, we can see how the country was divided by the concept of race, as well as the fact that a GROUP of law enforcement officers mercilessly beat Rodney King just weeks before Mr. Simpson’s trial.  The stuff that the “Goon Squad” was found guilty of took place behind closed doors as they held these two African Americans hostage in their own home and tortured them.  One officer, it was discovered, urinated in the closet so the occupants would smell urine when they got out of jail.  Isn’t that a bit mentally unstable behavior for anyone, not to mention law enforcement officials?

We live in a somewhat broken world where people are conditioned to take advantage of any opportunity they encounter. Some people get desperate to prove an ignominious point and do inhumane things to others. The States, as leaders of the “free world,” cannot make a mistake on this one!  Check your mental health issues before voting this time!  We must get this one right to preserve the remnants of democracy!

Thank you for reading!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

“Do The Right Thing!”

Oh my goodness!  It’s Friday again out here, and I’ve witnessed the “power!” Does anybody remember that song?  It was hip-hop-type, hard-core dance music that would have me jumping up and down in the club!  It was called “I’ve Got the Power!” I’ve discovered it, especially when humble and giving of myself.  And I don’t do that with everybody!  I’m grateful I’ve found it inside of me!

It’s hard to figure out things sometimes, like what to do with your life and how to do it!  I’ve found that things go a lot smoother when I let go of “people, places, and things” that don’t help me feel better about myself and my life.  One of filmmaker Spike Lee’s movies, “Do The Right Thing!” addresses the premise of this anecdote.  I have concluded that some folks don’t want to do the right things.  They become accustomed to failure and not moving ahead or progressing in their own lives, and they have become content with being a bully, a liar, and a thief!  When I see how much literally BULLSHIT comes out of ex-president #45’s mouth and his followers, it becomes apparent that is all that they can do!  They’re on a messed up, inconceivable frequency that they can’t even think properly.  Since living here, I can achieve that quantum field where viable options are available and often present themselves to me!

I traveled to the main Migracion office in San Jose two weeks ago to start my residency paperwork again.  I needed help accepting that I had to follow what the office administrator wanted strictly.  My comfort zone was interrupted, and I was out of whack, if you will.  Yet, I promised myself—yes, MYSELF—that I would get this done right this time.  Again, it’s not hard—you must do the right things!  Sometimes, we must embrace that others don’t want to and cannot do the right things because they don’t acknowledge the quantum field of options and would rather stay “stuck on stupid!”  Most authoritarian world leaders suffer from this myopia and can’t see things clearly.  Their hearts and minds are not in the right place, so those viable options never come to mind.  When I showed up at the main office, the administrator asked me why I returned to San Jose instead of going a shorter distance to the satellite office in Limon.  I gave her an honest, humble, and precise answer.  

“I wanted to thank you for your patience with me!” I replied.  She asked, “Did you return here to pay the necessary fees, too?”  I responded affirmatively and looked into her face.  She smiled briefly as she stamped the “Expediente” form, which gives the holder permission to travel outside of Costa Rica and more time to complete the application process.  Fortunately, I only have to get my background check authenticated by a company for a fee of $200.00 and then have it translated into Spanish.  It arrived last week from the FBI, and I sent it to get the apostille in PDF format.  I am waiting for my birth certificate to arrive at a dear friend’s home in Broward County, which must have a capture date within the past six months.  He will then forward it to an office in Georgia for me, which authenticates the document as required by the Immigration Office in San Jose.  So, I will have one more trip to deliver the documents to the office in San Jose and then wait patiently for their reply.  

In closing, it requires more effort and thought to “do the right thing.”  Yet, when a person’s vibrations and attitude reflect the kindness and goodness of the universe, things go a lot smoother.  I’m just opining here, not preaching!

Thanks for reading and pondering my observations!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

Keep Your Guard Rails Up!

Great Day wherever you are!  I wish the best for you ALL!  These days, we have to learn to pull together in positive ways!  TGIF, if you dare!

I’m sure by now that the readers of my work can see that I am motivated by positivity.  I’ve mentioned before that I am an anti-racist and a social scientist of sorts.  I have been equipped as a learning manager based on experience and need.  In some situations I’ve found myself in, I have had to come out swinging, not physically!  I can recognize a racist or sexist person immediately because I’ve been exposed to it over and over!  The thing about stuff that happens today, like school shootings, white collar crime (Sam Bankman-Fried), attacks by law enforcement on people of color, even climate change spoils and bridge collapses … our response is, “We have to make sure that this doesn’t happen again!”  Don’t vote for “scrump.” … talk about something that the world can’t let happen again!?

It’s great to see former Presidents Obama and Clinton teaming up with President Biden to spare the nation from anything related to #45.  I remember canvassing for Mr. Obama when I worked as a community organizer.  It requires a lot of work and dedication to support any candidate properly.  Most “intelligent” citizens understand that this is more than an election for president of the USA.  It is also an election to support the democratic system of government, perhaps an election for the next leader of the free world.  There are others like #45 worldwide, such as Putin and Netanyahu!  These creatures are pretty near crazy, not to mention their governing techniques.  I write my pieces on Educational Excellence and my blog to reach even more readers than those on my e-mail list.  Thanks for reading them!  It’s incredible to hear some young people say, “I’m for Trump because he is anti-establishment!”  I mean, damn, y’all!  Is that all it takes to get a person’s vote?  You’re kidding me.  Right?

Scrump has no “guard rails” and is an eternal con artist.  Most weak-minded or just ignorant, rebellious people gravitate towards people like him!  I am interested in keeping my retirement money flowing through Social Security.  When I hear that a person running for the presidency of the USA wants to “cut” those benefits, I get fidgety and nervous.  I am still pursuing my temporary residency here in Costa Rica so I don’t have to try to live in the States again!  Of course, “people” have so many suggestions on what I should do, but I like the road of my journey thus far.  

When I taught social studies at White Plains High School in New York, I used to assign what I called “current events” every Friday.  This was an assignment where each student in the classroom would select an article from a renowned newspaper.  They would prepare a paraphrased synopsis in their own words to be read to the entire class on a piece of notebook paper, which I would collect at the end of class.  Not only did we learn about international news from each other in a classroom usually with thirty students, but EACH student got a chance to stand up at their seats and act as a news announcer, providing our classroom members with information that we may not have been aware of unless we pay attention to each of the brief presentations.  Many students developed their style while working on their self-confidence and delivery.  Most students appreciated the activity, and the grades were “check plus, check, or check minus.”  It was not only a confidence-building activity, but if a student’s grade was on the borderline of a traditional “A,” “B,” “C,” or “D,” this assignment could move the student’s grade up or down!  We had fun, built self-confidence, and developed the discipline to prepare this assignment to be presented like a journalist every Friday.

Some folks, like the average politician, have veered off the humanity path to a path that embraces trickery, nonsense, and any amount of extra money they can acquire.  I have never witnessed a time in my short life where people use lies to manipulate people and their viewpoints.  Knowing the truth about any situation is crucial so one can make an “intelligent decision” about essential issues in their life – not just follow someone because they are anti-establishment.  This is the world we live in today!  Each of us has to keep our guard rails of reality in place so we can each make intelligent choices in our lives and our loved ones’ lives.  When you meet someone hell-bent on disrupting order, like Representative Green in Congress, you … I said you need to know the truth.  Even “truth” gets attacked and mangled by people like #45, who continue to push this dictatorship-style “presidential immunity” to have one of his over 90 cases dismissed!  How does one live like that?  Now, some of us will say, “That’s politics!”  Yet, be educated enough to realize that those are YOUR/MY taxpayer dollars being abused by purported representatives of ours in one of the world’s last democracies.  With the life I can live, I’d like to see it preserved during my lifetime and after!  What about you?

Thanks for reading, and do what you can to keep an obvious dictator out of the White House.

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

The Dangers of Selfishness

Happy Friday, then, Y’all! Sometimes, events in my life humble me and ultimately teach me that I have no reason to be selfish outside of self-preservation! If it’s a “me or you” thing, you already know who I’m choosing! Grateful blessings through lessons learned!

Do you think these events unfolding in the US are affecting you? I remember getting caught up in “fast-paced” mode, which is required if you’re trying to get ahead and keep pace in a competitive, capitalistic society. Sometimes, I wasn’t sure how things would turn out, but I kept the faith! What else would I do?  I just got so, so tired and weary of living like that!  Even here in the slower-paced mode of the Caribbean, I find myself speeding up, occasionally allowing myself to be aggravated enough to go to “fast-paced” mode!  I’ve stumbled across some personality traits that, when combined, can be precarious for me.  So, once I got up and brushed myself off, I identified those “things” that ticked me off, like a taxi driver parked so close to the bus when I got off Monday night after one of the most uncomfortable long trips into and out of San Jose in 24 hours!  After getting up, he handed me my traveling cane. I thanked him, mounted my e-bike parked on the other side of the street, and carried on!

“Slow down!” I stated to myself as I cruised away. “The man has to make a living, too!” I uttered those words after realizing what had triggered my “high-speed” attitude. As people got off the bus, this guy parked near the rear door. There was little space for me to walk by with my cane and slender body! There wasn’t enough space, so I stumbled and fell lightly onto the street.  Did I realize that?  Well, after nearly breaking my neck, yes.  This is the main reason I work out … so I can get up on my own if I fall.

In this piece, I aim to show the dangers of a big ego full of selfishness! I was watching a news broadcast about “super yachts.” I lived and worked in Ft. Lauderdale for 22 years, where they have one of the most flamboyant superyacht sales in the country.  I never realized it until, during a private SAT preparation class at a client’s home in Ft. Lauderdale, the student mentioned that his father has a superyacht in the backyard!  I was like, “Day-umm!” as I realized the height of the vessel from where the private class was held inside the house, looking at the oceanside dock for the superyacht!  The program mentioned the Brooklyn-born man, John Staluppi, who owns the fastest superyachts in the world.  He and his wife both appear to be in their sixties with plenty of cash to go with his yachts and their lifestyle of the super-rich.  When asked by the interviewer what drives him to continue to invest in and live this lifestyle, they both replied, “It’s ego!  That’s what drives us, our egos!”  “Hmmm!” I thought!  “It sounds like they’re enjoying this almost addictive lifestyle … because they can!!”

I’m addicted to hard work and getting things done. I try to be careful (sometimes I’m too kind to others!) not to be or even appear selfish. Of course, I have to be ready to put those manipulators I let close to me in “check” so they can see that I am fully aware of their avarice or attempts to take some potshots at me for whatever reason!  But, after leaving the States and living a high-speeded lifestyle, I had to learn to slow down, calm down, and more!  I say this to my 10-month-old puppy sometimes when she is anxious.  “Calm down!  Relax!” as she tugs on the leash.

As I read an article on social media about meditation posted by a friend who used to live here with her family, I realized that I hadn’t done it in months!  I was always rushing around caring for Mila by myself!  It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!  I decided to meditate around 3:30 am this morning, hoping that it would help me ease back into the routine I had established of meditating each night/morning when I first came here six years ago.  I could feel the difference as it also aids my digestion coupled with a tablespoon full of white apple cider vinegar with the “mother load” before going to sleep.

As I look at #45 and his frenzied state of resistance and his continued references to violence in America if he doesn’t get elected, I also realize how that nonsensical talking also stirs up others like him as well as his hopeless supporters.  He looks like a flailing pig thrown overboard a ship into the ocean of “debt, criminal cases, and stupidity!”  Bingo!  That’s why these arseholes rally around him!  They are complete human messes as well!  Losers like other losers!  As my parents used to tell me, “Misery loves company!”  You see, although “scrump” is a particular type of monster, he suffers from an overinflated ego based on the money he used to have and has squandered with his big mouth, greed, and ego … like Mr. and Mrs. Staluppi!  At least the Staluppis are honest and are not running for any office to save themselves from jail and exorbitant fines!  If I pay attention to the signs along the way and don’t let my ego lead me, I can find remedies for my ills and shortcomings.  Yet, I realize that honesty with myself coupled with confession or acknowledgment of my ills and personality defects can heal me.  That’s why I choose to live here with a better quality of life, which provides me with an increased sense of well-being!

In closing, check yourself before you wreck yourself!  I’m getting too old to go out like that!  Pay attention!

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director

“And Away We Go!”

It’s Friday and all that jazz!  Yep!  I’m just taking it one day at a time, though I still plan well in advance out here in the Caribbean!  The culture here is unpredictable; things move somewhat at their own rhythm, and the mixture of people out here is diverse.  Therefore, almost anything goes … if you let it!  So, since I’m up early for this one, I’ve got a TGIF for the World!  I’m glad I am here, thanks to the “universe!”

As things change worldwide to facilitate “human inhumanity to humans,” I cringe a bit!  I could have been born anywhere on the Planet, if you catch my drift!  Yet, due to a hardworking and progressive “Pappy” with no formal education, I was fortunate enough to have been born in New York!  Now, he didn’t give birth to me alone; he chose a magnificent woman to be the mother of his children.  He scooped her up in the sticks of North-Central Florida, caught the next train smoking out of there, and landed in New York City’s Harlem!  How many of us could have done the same and survived it all until his youngest and last son graduated from a boarding school in New Hampshire and after the son had acquired a degree from an Ivy League university?  He and my Mom were both there!  I took it for granted … until I realized what incredible parents I had!  At this point, during my seventieth year around the Sun, I’m not about to give up … or lay down.  I’m grateful for them and all the circumstances that made it possible for them to do it!  It’s my turn to contribute to humanity; this is how I do it!

It is a jungle out there, and nobody seems to care much about the future anymore. We humans have turned to the task of creating and gathering up so many man-made (material) things that most people’s souls are empty! How many of us even believe that we have a soul? That’s a good question!  So, when each of us reaches the point when we realize that we “are on our own,” corrupt government officials on every level in every country, reality sets in!  Either we try to destroy each other and what peace and happiness we may have, even material possessions others may have, and live like “jungle creatures!”  Some of us have learned to do even that with class and style!  What else can I do except count my daily blessings and reflect on what I am inside?

Can you see it now?  Not yet, you may say, because “you don’t watch the news” and don’t care about what is happening worldwide.  Do you care about what is happening in Haiti?  How about in Ukraine? The events of the Gaza Strip may have caught your attention.  I agree that it is an information overload that should be handled carefully when plotting one’s course on the Planet today!  (Some of us aren’t capable of handling this!)  We all have developed a way of looking at things and each other that may serve our individual purposes.  Some seek to tear down fellow human beings and remnants of civilization rather than building each other up with positive, caring energy and actions.  I’m on a mystical journey today after waking up to an unusually soft rain out here!  Yet, I believe this is where I am supposed to be in my life at this time.  I’m okay with that, too!

Even out here in the Caribbean-style jungle, I am managing to hold on to my peace and positivity!  In fact, I have a business trip planned to go to Immigration in San Jose, CR, on Monday.  This is another opportunity to get my application for temporary residency started after acquiring some needed materials that must be authenticated for this process.  It is a challenge that excites me and allows me to meet new people and apply my business and social skills.  I’ve learned to handle the “little demons” out here, too, who are placed in human bodies like mine.  I must recognize that some don’t seek peace and could care less about how and why I got here.  I pay attention to stay clear of such demons and continue to plot my way to making my life meaningful and the spirits of my ancestors proud!  Methinks that those are noble goals for me!  What about you?

As soon as I get this paperwork for residency moving in the right direction again, I will continue with my fourth manuscript!  I thank the universe multiple times daily and repeat to myself, “Life is beautiful!”

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director