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It’s time to greet Spring and freshen up our look in honor of the new flowers popping out of the ground. I opt for us to consider wearing ribbons pasted to our faces like the models shown here, or trailing the ribbons from our fingertips. We can use different colors for each day and also to suit our moods – say, green for a day when you’re angry, red when you’re in love, green when you’re feeling lively and ready to burst with joy.

Cheek or finger ribbons would provide a new way to greet the new season and also a good reason to spend a little time looking in the mirror as we figure out how to attach our colorful ribbons. (Must be a little like affixing false eye lashes, which isn’t a bad idea either – perhaps the eye lashes could be different colors, too).

I know all this sounds a little loopy, but I have wondered at times what it would be like to have a flashing badge on our persons that would either flash colors or messages showing others how we feel that particular day. It might provide a good caution sign for when you want to be left alone and not bothered by others, or it might invite others to communicate with you. Maybe the different colored ribbons would accomplish that. What do you think – see any possibilities here for you?

(And, by the way, the ribbon look can be for all of us, not just for women! I wonder now what it would be like to wear colored fake eye lashes or a beaded mustache. I need a change in look, too.)

(As you can see, I really got into this makebeliefs.)

`Are You Ready to Undertake a Darkness Retreat?`

Sky Cave Retreats, nestled in the Cascade-Siskiyou wilderness, in Southern Oregon, offers darkness retreats.

‘‘’For four days recently, home for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a pitch-black room. There were no phones, no television, no lights or distractions. Just Rodgers, alone with his thoughts, in a cabin built specifically for prolonged isolation in the dark. The football star said he has done “many meditation and yoga retreats” in the past and defended his decision to try darkness therapy as one of several practices “that have stimulated my mind and helped me get in a better headspace and have a greater peace in my life.”’

A darkness retreat is a prolonged stay in a space completely devoid of light. One of the centers offering the practice is Sky Cave Retreats, nestled in the Cascade-Siskiyou wilderness in Southern Oregon. “The reasons for doing this range from people wanting to know themselves more, to people who want to rest, reset and relax, to those who want to explore consciousness and deepen their meditation practice,” said Scott Berman, who owns Sky Cave Retreats along with his wife Jill.

‘“When someone goes into the darkness, all these things that were important to them like money, fame, power, status, being worthy – they all become insignificant and meaningless in the dark,” Berman said. “In the dark, all you have is the present moment which reveals what is truly meaningful – whether it’s love, forgiveness, peace – and it begins to transform you as you truly authentically touch what is most important to you.”’

Sounds reasonable, but what do you think? Could you, would you stay in a darkened room for three or four days to try to get in deep touch with yourself? Or, would you run out of the cave screaming? Would it be too hard, too lonely, too frightening for you to be alone with yourself -- or would it actually provide a moment of light in your life when you come to recognize the deepest, buried things within you, your personal insights?

I don’t think I would be up to it. Yes, I like quiet and I like the peace of night, but for so many days, I think it might be too much for me. Actually, at this point in my life I seek only the light and sun; I want to shine light on my thoughts and life. But I do admire the efforts by Aaron Rogers to understand himself better. I hope he succeeds in his quest for personal happiness and clarity. Each of us should seek our own way of searching for personal truths. God Bless Mr. Rogers in his self-seeking. What an adventure!

`Or, Instead of Retreating to a Dark Cave Abode, How About Going Underwater for 100 Days (another way to find peace and contemplation)?`

Fascinating report from NPR:

‘’Retired Navy officer Joseph Dituri — or "Dr. Deep Sea" — is attempting to break the world record for continuous time spent living in a fixed underwater habitat. He’s not just spending 100 days underwater for fun — he wants his experience to spark scientific curiosity and make strides in biomedical research… Listen to how he’ll spend his time as an undersea guinea pig, or read his story.’’

Good luck to you, Dr. Deep Sea! May you be blessed.

`What An Imaginative Way of Looking at Such Harsh Reality!`

I wish I was as creative as cartoonist Michael De Adder. Coming off this week’s Academy Awards, De Adder of The Washington Post created this brilliant cartoon talking about an important subject – the harsh imprisonment of Russian democratic activist Alexei Navalny.

“Navalny,” a film that explores the plot to kill Russian anti-corruption campaigner and former presidential candidate Navalny won the Oscar for best documentary feature at the Academy Awards.

The real-life thriller follows Navalny’s political rise, his survival of an assassination attempt against him in 2020 by poisoning, his investigation of the act, and his subsequent imprisonment in Russia. Directed by Daniel Roher and presented by CNN Films and HBO Max, “Navalny” documents a methodical investigation by CNN Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward, and journalist group, Bellingcat, to unmask Navalny’s would-be killers.

“There’s one person who couldn’t be with us here tonight,” Roher said as he accepted the Oscar. “ ... Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition, remains in solitary confinement for what he calls ‘Vladimir Putin’s unjust war of aggression in Ukraine.’’

Dasha Navalnaya, Navalny’s daughter, said the “main goal” of her father’s work and anti-corruption foundation “is for Russia to become a free state, to have open elections, to have freedom of press, freedom of speech, and just you know, to have the opportunity to become a part of the normal Western democratized community.”

Wearing his fashionable prison track suit, perhaps Navalny may at some point have the last laugh.

Have you seen the movie? What do you think of it? I found it fascinating and so frightening.

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Create A Shockingly New Look for Spring!