‘The Four Agreements’
This January seemed unusually long and dark to me. Walking the dogs in the morning and evening with my headlamp and their flashing necklaces lost its novelty for me a few weeks ago as personal and national controversy took over my thoughts.
In the midst of my angst, I remembered to pull out a little book that a wise friend turned me on to: “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The subtitle is “A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.” Its timely messages are: Be impeccable with your word; don’t take anything personally; don’t make assumptions; and always do your best.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Not so much. “Black magicians,” as he calls them, are everywhere, nationally as well as closer to home: From narcissistic bullies to a seemingly friendly acquaintance that suddenly turns sour, it’s easy to feel personally targeted.
“The Four Agreements” can help to liberate you from this depressing predicament. It can help you to manage the pervasive fear that these people feed to you every day, and to block those people’s spread of personal poison — anger, jealousy, envy and hate.
So, I would suggest to you to read and live the suggestions brought to us by Don Miguel Ruiz.
It’s a lot of work and a lifetime of practice, but it will change your life and the lives of those around you.
Peace to you. Peace to the dogs.
Diana Beterbide
Hood River
Earth Month
April 22 will be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For 2020, Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network (CGCAN) is joining with others to celebrate our Earth and the Columbia River Gorge, not just for a day or even a week, but for the entire month of April.
Using the Gorge Happiness Month concept (www.gorgehappiness.org), we will list earth centered events and shareable ideas from throughout the Gorge on our website for the month of April.
The goal is to celebrate, honor and show our love for the Earth and build community.
To list events, go to www.CGCAN.org and click on the “List Earth Month Events” link. To share ideas, media or podcasts that could be used for Earth Month, click on the “Share Earth Month Ideas” link.
We are holding the next organizing meeting at the Hood River Library Meeting Room, downstairs, this Saturday, Feb. 15 from 3-4:30 p.m.
Please show up to volunteer or to share potential events or ideas. We will also be discussing Earth Month at our monthly CGCAN potluck and meeting at Riverside Church in Hood River on Monday Feb. 17 from 6-8 p.m.
You are welcome to come to either meeting.
Peter Cornelison
Hood River
‘Our Country’
The United States is a Democracy, it’s form of government is a is a Republic. We still have both. But thanks to Trump, his administration and today’s Republicans our country is now become just another Banana Republic.
It saddens me to see this great country fall so low over a single regressive political ideology.
Gary Fields
Hood River
‘Reps, make ERA happen’
As we know all too well, women continue to face discrimination on the basis of sex. Finally, a long-overdue constitutional treatment for this pervasive illness is within reach — the Equal Rights Amendment. Virginia recently became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, crossing the three-fourths threshold of support required of states for the amendment to become law.
When the ERA passed Congress in 1972, lawmakers attached a 1977 ratification deadline to it, which they later extended to 1982.
Removing that deadline is the final obstacle to accepting the ERA as part of the US Constitution. HJ Res. 79 has been introduced in Congress to do just that. It is heading to the House for consideration and, hopefully, passage — at long last.
It is hard to imagine in 2020 that any legislator would vote against finally passing the ERA. How could an elected official really vote to continue unequal pay, workplace harassment, pregnancy discrimination, domestic violence, and limited access to comprehensive healthcare for 51 percent of his/her constituents? I encourage all Oregonians to write to your U.S. Representative and encourage him to vote YES on HJ Res. 79, the ERA bill that is coming before them.
Hopefully your representative in the House will make history happen with the ERA.
Daniel Fritz
Mosier
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