Philosophy and ideas are important. When I'm writing entries like the last one, my head may seem stuck way up in the clouds but I assure you my feet are on the ground. (Well, let's make that carpet on the second floor but you get the idea.) Those of us who are in pain can end up needing so much help that we don't know exactly what we need at times. In my case, I needed to start from the ground up. I tend to feel better if I have something approaching a normal sleep schedule.
Therefore, I managed to get to sleep last night at a reasonable hour by my standards and then I wrestled myself out of bed before 11 AM. That's a little later than I'd like to sleep but it's a shift in the right direction. Waking up at a "reasonable hour" has put my whole day on schedule more or less. It's funny to think that my first issue with getting out of bed was wondering what I'd do with my day once I was up. It's funny because, one cup of coffee later, I read through my email and did my easy activism for the day. That made me want to write.
My last entry came the day before I read a fascinating article on the lack of ideas in this country right now. Everyone is so fixated on the specifics of things that there is no time for philosophy. Actually, most people fail to pay attention as usual but those who pay attention are focused on specifics. (Remember, politics is a dirty word in this country.) Big ideas are important because they lead to specifics that make sense from that point of view. Everyone has heard of the "big idea" called trickle down economics. Nevermind that it makes very little sense. It leads to certain specific policies which also don't make sense except within the context of the big idea. I think a lot of people believe in it solely because it is the only big idea that gets that sort of promotion.
Today's big idea is that we all need help. I'm writing about disabled people in particular but it applies to everyone else too. Helping people who need or could use a hand is the biggest part of a society based on social justice. A lot of us don't have money to spare for causes we support whether they are political or just going out to see live music at a local club. You get music/food/drink out of the deal, the club gets money to stay open and the band gets their money plus exposure plus the experience that is valuable beyond measure. Some of us don't have money to spend on a lot of different things but it's good to maximize the value of what you do spend.
For a lot of people, the help they need involves that most valuable of all resources, time. Spending time with someone whether listening to them or helping a kid learn to throw a good change-up, is the ultimate hand up. I am trying to spend more time with people whether in person or online. You never know who you're going to meet in this crazy online universe. When I was growing up, I never would have guessed that I'd have a good friend from South Africa much less the dozens of people in the Netherlands who were once such a big part of my life. "Scarey" from South Africa came to mind because I she told me that I'd once saved a bad day for her because I wrote about what a good time I had hanging out with her on the game called "Ancient Anguish." (Also called AA but that can be confusing at first.)
In any case, it's good to recognize that you need help instead of trying to deny it or be embarrassed about it. I'm not exactly the poster child for letting people help me with my history of arguing with nurses about my desire to be independent but I am getting better at letting people do things for me. The little things matter as much as the big things in proportion anyway.
There are people out there who are screaming bloody murder at the idea of people getting help. They claim to be self sufficient in theory and wonder why they should ever have to pay a dime in taxes. I don't have any time for these people who don't realize just how much this society has given them. I don't understand how anyone could claim such ignorance until I remember how shy my side of the political aisle is about beliefs. If people only knew what good government had already done in their lives, they might not be so wrong headed. Then again, they might just be looking for something to be angry about and government serves them in that capacity.
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