POLITICS | ART | SPIRITUALITY
Random Thoughts & Jumbled Notes
Getting back into the groove
Random Political Thoughts
How many times must history repeat itself before we collectively GET IT? This battle to conquer or transform Afghanistan has been going on since Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army first attempted to subjugate these nomadic people. He failed. The Great Huns and the Mongols also attempted to conquer and control these people. Although initially successful, they could not hold them and ultimately failed. Then the British tried in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They too failed. And then Russia, who’d been battling on the opposite side of the British for nearly two centuries over Afghanistan, decided to try in the 20th century after the British left. And guess what? They also failed.
So why did the US believe they would succeed? They failed in Pakistan and Iran. Seriously screwed up Iraq. Is it any surprise with the history of defeats in Afghanistan that the US also would fail? None at all. We are not very good at policing other countries nor nation building.
So there is no reason to place all the blame for what is happening in Afghanistan right now on Biden’s shoulders alone. Bush got us into that disaster, Trump made promises and Biden is merely keeping those promises. After 20 yrs and TRILLIONS of dollars creating, equipping and training an Afghani military and Air Force, it should be up to them to protect their own country from the Taliban. And yet, they are not willing to save themselves.
So what’s next for Afghanistan? Well, apparently China has ignored history too and plans to ‘assist’ the Taliban in reworking Afghanistan’s economy, road-building, etc. My prediction — China too will fail.
The lesson here — stay the hell out of Afghanistan and let them fend for themselves.
Random Art Notes
I’ve been doing a lot of pastel painting and have learned a few nifty tricks about using them — soft pastels are great for backgrounds and large areas where you want a lot of color. Hard pastels work better for fine details or areas where you will need to layer lots of pastels on top of one another, such using pastel pencils for fur or fine grass, etc. I am also getting into oil pastels. Not bad for someone who has only been using pastels since April — I do have a lot left to learn though.
Watercolors was my thing back in college in the late-90s. I took a couple classes and did a few lovely art pieces and then life got in the way and painting became a thing of the past. Until recently…
Watercolors is still my favorite medium, but I am having to relearn all over again how to use them. I am still in practice-mode with them. Tonight, I will begin playing around with Glazing — building up multiple layers of detail colors to create more realistic art work. This is the slow, tedious part of watercolor painting as you need to let each section thoroughly dry before adding a new layer. Watercolor painting is my new ZEN. I am learning patience. I do hope to complete a few paintings soon to show-off my hard work of relearning.
Random Spiritual Thoughts
Today would have been my brother’s 50th birthday, but he committed suicide in December 2019. I always thought it would have been me to leave this rock first since I’ve battled with depression and suicidal ideation for most of my adult life.
It’s strange, but it was a Cancer scare back in 2012 that made me fight to live and my brother’s suicide that made me fight to understand where my own depression really stemmed from. It is even stranger to admit that I am a happy, content person now. Spiritually, I live almost entirely in the NOW and it is only days like today — my brother’s birthday — that cause me to leave the Now and reminisce, but the biggest difference is that I no longer remain in the past and dwell there for days and weeks. I can easily snap back to the NOW. Finding the cause of my own pain has even helped me physically and mentally. I wish I could have had this epitome before my brother’s death so I could have shared it with him.
Lori Carlson writes Poetry, Fiction, Articles, Creative Non-Fiction and Personal Essays. Most of her topics are centered around Relationships, Spirituality, Life Lessons, Mental Health, Nature, Loss, Death, and the LGBTQ+ community.
