Looking for the light: The rise in oil prices, if it lasts long enough, will bring a much needed global increase in:
People switching to EV cars. Yay. When I read about the gas pump rise, I can't help but feel a little happy that I have an EV car and it doesn't affect me. EV's run off electricity, and our electricity runs on wind energy.
People switching to heat pumps to cool and heat their homes. Our town is about to vote on incentives to get people to switch to heat pumps. The rise in oil is going to shut up the group of republicans in my town who always protest anything involving using sustainable fuel. We will be voting on these measures this month and I CAN'T WAIT.
More veggie gardens to keep food prices down. The waiting list now for a sunny community garden has doubled in my town. I am going to propose that our town double the availability of community garden space.
More veganism to eat the food we raise ourselves.
I'd also wonder if we will see a new demand for rail, over truck, transport, and truckers beginning to switch over to EV trucks.
Looking for the light: The rise in oil prices, if it lasts long enough, will bring a much needed global increase in:
People switching to EV cars. Yay. When I read about the gas pump rise, I can't help but feel a little happy that I have an EV car and it doesn't affect me. EV's run off electricity, and our electricity runs on wind energy.
So - I'm still a good 5-6 years away from coming to a point with my Cherokee that it's going to need to be replaced. I purchased it new in 2019 to get out of a lemon of a GMC Acadia - the last GM based purchase I will ever make in my life again after every new vehicle I had from them had the transmission blow the day after my warranty expired.
BUT - while I'm not in the market to trade in Apollo (I name my vehicles) I am considering the purchase of an eBike from my local bike shop. They sell Specialized brand bikes and we've got my selection narrowed down to 2 bikes.
I only live 11 miles from work and it's essentially a straight shot from where I live. The problem is 2/3 of the trip is extremely hilly. It's a Northern Michigan thing. I biked to work a few times before. The first time I did it, I had to have my inlaws come and get me and take me back to my house so I could grab my car. The first 6 miles are terrible hills and I ran out of steam about a mile from their house.
The second time I did it I made it all the way to work (I was not going to admit defeat again) but had to have a co-worker bring me and my bike home because while the first 6 miles are hilly, 4.5 of the remaining miles are flat. The final hill is a monster of an incline and I just couldn't do the other side of it, up again.
The perk of the eBike is it will essentially treat my ride as one level experience. When I get to those hills, as long as I'm pedaling the bike motor kicks in to assist and keep me going at the same speed without the extra effort.
The one I think I'm going to end up with is $4,000 and I'm going to have to finance it as I don't have that just laying around, but I really, really think I can commit to 2-3 days a week (weather permitting) cutting my car out of the equation. Hell - if it ends up as easy on the hills as I think it's going to be, I could be doing every non-rainy day by the end of the school year. Between work and the usual "run the kids around" one tank of gas lasts me one two week paycheck. If my calculations are correct it could change my fill up from April-June, and August-November 1st to once a month. That just leaves December-March as the "no way in hell" months when I can't ride due to the weather.
It'll take a few weeks to get one my size in. I'm 6' 5" so the one they had in stock was a M and I need an XL height wise. I'm excited to take this plunge!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0a5sDM1pjg
A composer I like put this up on Youtube for Ukraine.
We snagged a Kia Niro EV 3 weeks ago - "just in the nick of time" - as our second car. We love it. So far only issue is that the range is still only around 200 miles per charge and there are not enough super-fast chargers around, so sometimes you have to drive far afield to find one, kinda defeating the purpose. We are having a charger installed in our garage. Good news is that a full charge at a station is around $15. Filling up my Forester with gas is now about $75. Other silver lining is that the car's software can show you the closest public chargers with the press of a button.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/opinion/ukraine-war-prayers.html
I hope you are able to access this opinion piece by Tish Harrison Warren in today's New York Times. Warren asked people to send her the prayers they are praying for Ukraine. Here is an example from a Ukrainian pastor's wife whose family is in harm's way:
"Father-God, may the attackers’ fingers freeze; may they drop things; may they not see clearly; may their equipment malfunction; may they experience overwhelming hopelessness, enormous fatigue and a complete loss of any desire to fight; may their communication be broken; may there be confusion. Lead them to surrender. Stretch the kilometers before them into endless kilometers of nonadvancement. Remove their leadership and replace them with people who make decisions that reflect a fear of you.
Oh, God, infuse defenders with incredible surges of renewed alertness, strength, hope, courage. Inspire those who want to help. Show them specific, effective ideas. Move them swiftly and safely.
The worst is yet to come, Lord, if you do not stop it. But please, no peace where there is no peace. We ask for peace united with righteousness and truth.
God of all comfort, be physically present with all the mothers, fathers, grandparents and children who are hiding, hearing, smelling, enduring. Warm them; fill them with food; give them water, toilets, communication with their loved ones, the Gospel, hope in you.
We repent of making idols of political leaders and news outlets. Forgive us for wanting them to be our gods and saviors. Forgive us for being unreasonable, for not wanting to admit both the good and bad in all of our leaders. It is this spirit that leads us to dictators because we abandon responsibility and reason. We confess the seeds of war that live in our own hearts.
We humble our hearts, our bodies. We ask you for mercy. Thank you that you love mercy and have all power."
Amen.
@lowtide, thank you for this wondrous article of people's prayers for Ukraine. Due to The NY Times paywall, I would like to add some more of the prayers in the article to those wonderful prayers you posted:
People’s Prayers for Ukraine
- Dustin Valero in California wrote that he uses his tradition’s prayer book. He prays “for the Ukrainians, including the church in Ukraine,” that they would have “a deep resolve and a deep sense of togetherness in the midst of trauma.”
- Sam Rood in Brooklyn wrote, “My co-workers in Odessa have been praying that ‘a holy fear’ would fall upon the Russian soldiers so that they have an overpowering desire to go home. I’ve adopted that prayer.”
- He continued, “My Ukrainian brothers and sisters understand that the Russian soldiers are not their true enemy. Their desire isn’t that they suffer or die but that they return home and they can all live in peace. Though fighting and even killing may be necessary, we remember our common humanity and shared need for peace.”
- The Rev. Canon Patrick Genereux from Iowa wrote: “When reflecting on Ukraine, I begin by being mindful of the murder and mayhem that we, the U.S., inflicted on Vietnam, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and any other places in the world, just as the Russians are doing in Ukraine. I pray for the forgiveness of these people for what we have done to them. I pray for the church in its blessing of war out of fear of reprisals. I pray to be forgiven for my part in these sins as both a priest and at one time a member of the military.”
- He also wrote, “My prayers focus on all those whose lives will be forever changed — Ukrainians, Russians, Europeans, and in the end, us all. I pray for the most innocent victims of all wars, the children.”
- Many readers said that they are praying for Putin to repent of his actions and turn away from pursuing war. Here is an excerpt from a prayer from Pamela Thacher in New York: “God, please allow Putin to reject his thirst for war and punishment and greed, and whatever goal he had for his war, let him pursue it through other means. I pray for their leaders, of course, and especially the extraordinary President Zelensky.”
- She continued, with gorgeous specificity, “I pray for the humans, the pets, the horses, the cows, the farms, the fields, the rivers, the very earth of Ukraine.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/opinion/ukraine-war-prayers.html
What a fascinating prayer. Thank you for posting.
Thank you for posting the other prayers as well.
I always love hearing about uplifitng spiritual experiences, and I saw this video about Ukraine where they talk about at the beginning of the video about a flash of light which affected the Russian equipment. Given that people here have talked about seeing Ukraine enveloped in white light, I couldn't help but wonder if this was connected in some way to some divine intervention and work at play... Certainly, we do know Ukraine is receiving a lot of prayers right now, that we can be sure of. I know people have commented about Archangel Michael watching over as well.
I wonder how many more little miracles like this are happening that we don't know about?
So I think this https://www.jeannemayell.com/community/international-predictions/russia-us-situation/paged/16/#post-54035 also goes here!
I know you all can feel this. Switzerland (!!!) got on board with financial sanctions. It's a sea change.
Ya know you done f*ed up when the Swiss are all "We keeping your money!"
There is a lot of good in the world if we could look past the negative. Thank goodness for the helpers (Mr. Rogers).
Ukraine Inspires Us With Humanity and Hope: 8 Positive Stories From the Conflict
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ukraine-inspires-humanity-and-hope-8-positive-stories-from-the-conflict/
A long poem but worth the read.
This is how they bury their soldiers in this Ukraine village. In this ceremony shown on Twitter, the people paid their respects in silence and bowed heads while watching a parade honoring the soldiers. https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1510943987783409669?s=10&t=nwziR4azgj2NR1002uN0Xg
@jeanne-mayell I just posted this same Twitter thread in the Hits! I had not seen that you posted this earlier.
The photos in this, particularly the red flowers people are holding, reminded me of my prediction of "red daisies" as a tribute (from the Read the Future Night in Jan.)