Deadly Medicine

I have talked about going to the Texas Tech Museum to see the traveling exhibit "Deadly Medicine" http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/traveling/details/index.php?content=deadly_medicine&type=current from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  I went today to hear a guided tour.  The tour was okay, and then I went through part of the exhibit. I did not complete it due to time constraints, and am hoping to return, maybe even tomorrow, to complete it. There is a LOT of information in this fairly small exhibit. It is in Lubbock until August 7, 2011, so there is time. And, it travels elsewhere around the country, including Boston.

The sadness of this exhibit is that we do not learn:  since World War II, there have been so many incidents of genocide in Europe, Asia and Africa.  The United States was slow to desegregate the Afro-Americans, and even slower to elevate the Native Americans to a respected group.  We still have racism, and we still have prejudice, lessons we have not learned from our own history and the history of the world.  We are trying. I can not say how much better we are doing. Many of the women in one of my book discussion clubs thinks we are treating Muslims much the same.  In many ways, I agree. 

I think we have some personal and political hysteria that every Muslim is bad, and we are vulnerable to attack from them.  Lubbock has a mosque, and on multiple occasions, it has been vandalized. http://lubbockonline.com/stories/102606/loc_102606030.shtml The community as a whole despairs at these attacks, but obviously, they have happened.  Many of the larger Christian churches in the community, after 9-11-2001, spent Sunday School time studying Islam.  That is such an enlightened response to that attack, it made me proud. 

I have learned some about Islam as many prisoners are Islamic. And, I am just interested in being more aware and open minded, if I can be, and education helps.

So, I am grateful to be able to view the "Deadly Medicine" display. I am grateful to learn about more about the horrors I of which I already knew, so maybe I can be more mindful if dignity, respect, civil and human rights as I deal with disenfranchised people in the course of my life.  I am grateful to keep alive the message we must work to stop people from going there again. 

Changing Plans

I had an plan to attend a mystery reading book last night.  I even read the book.  But I also had the opportunity to attend a lecture about the Roma,  "The Genocide of the Roma in the Holocaust," lecture by Ian Hancock, at the Museum of Texas Tech University http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people.   Do you know who the Roma are?  I have heard about gypsies before, and occasionally in writings, I have heard characters described as of Romany decent. But I never really understood what that was referring to.  I knew they were dark, and often described as swarthy.  But beyond that, I did not understand.  I also knew that Hitler and the Nazi regime wanted to eliminate them along with the Jews.  I had no idea how widespread they were. I went to the lecture. It opened a new part of the world to me, something I had little, peripheral information about.  Wow!  That was really exciting.

The lecturer last night explained how the people were from the Indian subcontinent, and how they eventually settled in Europe.  He talked about how they are very clannish, and do not encourage education. He also talked about how they do not usually identify themselves in public. He made a distinction between the Roma, and the Irish gypsies who are Irish and travel in wagons, hence the name gypsy.  He said the Roma were called Gypsies, because people thought they originally came from Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_people;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people. These articles explain about the Roma. They are consistent with what the speaker said last night. He is a college professor, and he is a Roma.

The Way We Treat Americans

I went to a book discussion group 4/21/11, and we talked about the book: "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. http://www.jamieford.com/novels/.  It is a very good story about the Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans in America during World War II, when, if you remember, the Japanese were interred due to their heritage.

We talked about this a lot: Most of us were not exposed to this part of American history as we were growing up. We seemed to be aware that there was a period in history when children of immigrants were encouraged to learn the new language (American English) but we did not know about the overzealous atrocities of the government to confine the people of Japanese heritage, during the war.

Our government has treated other peoples, as a whole, unwholesomely.  Certainly, the Native Americans fit into this category.  So too, the African-Americans. Jewish Americans.  The Germans, especially during World War I.

Most of the book group echoed the same sentiment: we are now doing the same to the Muslims. This is sad. We do not need to treat people of different heritage as the enemy, just because they are different.

We need to learn from our past, that our differences do not make us enemies, and although we have differences, our similarities are more prevalent.

Self Talk

Do you know what self talk is?  It is the internal messages we send and give to ourselves, about our selves, that impacts our self esteem, self worth, self image, and general self. 

But in my way of thinking, it is more. It is also the gathering in of messages from other people, messages that we internalize to describe ourselves: What my boss says about me; what my lover says about me; what my family says about me; what my friends say about me.  This internal messaging system helps to create our self image and helps to develop the person we become.

Many of us grow up with negative, or at best, neutral self talk: we are quick to hear about our mistakes, failures, how we disappoint people, what we have done wrong. When we do okay, average, mediocre or as expected, we seldom get positive feedback. We are fortunate when we are recognized for very good effort, accomplishments and activities.

But positive input and feedback are very important to who we are. With positive input, we develop confidence, the desire to achieve more, strive harder, stretch our comfort zones and try new things.

Some thirty years ago, I attended a workshop and learned that what I thought was positive self talk was not: we often give ourselves negative messages, thinking they are positive.  For example, I start to have a conflict with someone, and I decide "it's not worth it."  Well that is really negative self talk. What I can positively decide is that I am worth more than belittling myself by getting into a conflict with this person over a petty argument. Or, if the argument is over a power issue, I can decide that I am worth more than trying to prove my dominance over that person by behaving in a socially unacceptable way.

So, self talk can help us to behave in a more pro-social manner.

Additionally, it is important to remember that when we use self talk, the brain does not process the word "not."  "Not" is not a concrete. The brain processes the concrete.  So, if I say to myself "I am not going to overeat,", my brain processes the overeat part of the statement.  This is weird, but true.   So, if I want to eat less, my self talk needs to be "I eat small portions." 

The example I use with my patients at work is a bowling example:  I can stand at the bowling lane, and tell myself I want to throw a strike.  I can do this one of several ways:  I can tell myself I do not want to throw a gutter ball, but the likelihood of doing so is great.  My mind is in the gutter. Or, I can tell myself I want to throw a strike, or throw the ball down the middle. The likelihood of success has just increased. I have taken my mind out of the gutter.

This is a very good graphic way to teach about negative self talk:  we can have self talk that is in the gutter, or we can have self talk that is straight up the middle.  

Expanding Your Limits

Recently, I was asked to work on a knitting project for someone. The request included selecting a pattern which I had not worked on before, and which required me to expand my skills and capabilities as a knitter. Although I felt I was up to the task, I faced the project with some trepidation.  However, it has gone much more smoothly than I had anticipated.  I faced some blocks along the way, when I felt sure the project was not going to turn out as I had hoped.  But, ultimately, it seems to have gone well.  I am not done, I have a little more knitting to do. But what remains to be done is well within my skill level and past experience.

It is good to be challenged to expand one's limits and horizons. It helps to build self esteem. It helps to foster creativity. And it certainly can develop a sense of accomplishment.  Additionally, if the experience is positive it can add to a sense of pleasure and even well being.

If the experience does not turn out so well, we can still use it as a positive learning experience. Perhaps it becomes a matter of knowing what we do not like, once we try something. Or, acknowledging what we learned, what we learned not to do, what we learned to do differently next time. Experience, positive or negative,  is still growth and life expanding.

The News is Depressing

I am reminded tonight why I do not watch a lot of news shows on TV, or the semi-news shows. Tonight, for an hour, I watched a show on PBS about for profit universities. This may not be the exact link to the show, but you will get the drift: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/view/. 

It was really depressing.  Although the for profits offer opportunities, they offer the pitfalls of higher education at much greater the price than public education.  And there was indication that their recruiters are under even higher pressure than the pressure placed on government or religious based institutes of higher education recruiters. And, they may not be above board about their outcomes and accreditation.  So people who use them may not obtain the results that they were lead to believe they would obtain.

This did not surprise me.  I think I am discerning enough to recognize that for profit education runs some risks, and while I may not have stated all of them, intuitively, these are some of the risks that I would have expected.

The sad part about this story is that it is a story of people who are honestly and earnestly trying to better themselves so they can enter into the job market, develop a career, make something of themselves, and otherwise improve their lot in life. And the scamsters may or may not be taking advantage of them, and their desperation, but it is a fine line. And, as with any fine line, many will cross either way.

Feeling Good

There are many things we can do to make ourselves feel better or good about ourselves: thanking people, helping people, teaching people, learning something new, for example. We can decide to make changes in our lives and follow through with changing bad habits, working on improving nutrition, exercise or sleep.  We can develop personal growth activities such as going to classes, self help groups, substance abuse treatment or religious support activities.  We can participate in book group discussions, craft activities and charitable activities. We can participate in community development activities, animal protection activities. We can participate historical re-enactment activities as they teach us about the past.

What will you do to feel better about yourself?

The Museum

I remember when I first moved to Lubbock, one of the first things I did was go to the Museum of Texas Tech http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/. It had a powerful display of the destruction that occurred during the May 11, 1970 tornado that was very destructive and killed many people. (I moved to Lubbock in 1977, and people talked about the tornado as if it had happened last week or last month.)  It also had a wonderful display of the "Llano Estacado" and the early explorations by Coronado.

Over the years, I have spent less time than I should have at the Museum...They have permanent and traveling displays.  About a year and a half ago, a colleague of mine mentioned that he had been to an exhibit at the Museum... Hmmm. I went, it was good.  About the same time, I saw an advertisement about a series of nature films, promoting the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative http://www.y2y.net/.  The premise is that establishing a wildlife corridor between the Yellowstone and the Yukon will allow species to travel safely between the two territories in response to changes in climate, food supply, and other factors.  The corrider would allow the creatures to naturally adapt to changes in circumstances by moving between the two areas, and foster better maintenance of species.  

I have been back to the museum several times since then, when I hear about an exhibit. Or, today, because it sounded like a good thing to do.  I checked the website, and was interested in the patent model exhibit. I had previously seen the photograph of dogs exhibit. The playtime memories exhibit also sounded interesting.  When I got to the museum, the docent also mentioned an exhibit on trains.  I really enjoyed that...It included a PBS show, probably filmed in 2001, that presented information about railroad stations in Pennsylvania, that have been salvaged and revitalized.  It was very good.

Another museum of Texas Tech is the National Ranching Heritage Center http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/.  I really enjoy that museum, and go about once a year or at least every other year.   They have days when they have re-enactors who share information about the museum exhibits.  They have Candlelight at the Ranch, in December.  They line the paths with luminarias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminaria and have re-enactors at the various buildings.

Perhaps my most favored Texas Tech Museum is the Lubbock Lakesite Landmark
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/lll/index.html.  This museum is established at the site of an archeological dig.  I think I like this museum the best because in addition to the interpretive center, there are hiking trails.  And they have some special days when they have demonstrations and exhibits. 

Lubbock has other museums, not associated with the Texas Tech Museum. The most notable in my mind is the Silent Wings Museum http://www.silentwingsmuseum.com/info.htm.  This museum commemorates the glider pilots who served in World War II.

And, there is the Buddy Holly Center http://www.buddyhollycenter.org/. Shamefully, the City of Lubbock backed this project, which involved ruining the Lubbock Railroad Depot (which is the shameful part, and which was a restaurant that really exhibited the character of a railroad station, and changed it into a tasteless building. The Buddy Holly Museum is fine, but there is no evidence of the beautiful railroad station.)

Additionally, there is the Science Spectrum http://www.sciencespectrum.org/new/home.shtml.  This was started with an infusion of city money, as was the Buddy Holly Center, due to the influence of politics in the city. But it is really a neat museum, with a permanent exhibit of the Brazos River, and some wonderful "perpetual motion machines."   Additionally, it has an Omnimax Theater.  And, the National Weather Service in Lubbock has its offices in the same building. 

So, in the course of your life, do not forget the museum.  Museums help us to remember what is important.  They help us to learn from the present and the past.  Museums cover many subjects: history, art, science, the military, wildlife, natural history, animals to name a few.  They have more information than we can absorb, and they often change and grow.  This is good.  We learn from the past, and the more museums can help us, the more we can learn about ourselves and others.

Daring to

I attend a mystery book club, and currently, the selection to read is made by a different member each month... This is interesting, because we get to critique or at least comment on the selection, and each selector provides a variety of offerings.  If the selector is thin skinned, it will be difficult for that person to accept any negative comments by the members of the group. Yet, we are quite a diverse group, and usually, the comments each month vary from really enjoying to really not enjoying a book.


If the selector is ego involved in the selection, this would be a very difficult if not damaging experience. But if the selector dares to just say: "I offer this for what it is worth," then there should be no ego damage involved...

But of course, we are all human, and we all want to be validated... Yet, we are all individual, so what validates each of us might be different:


Some might want to select a book that is generally well received and popular.
Some might want to select a book that is conceived of as unique.
Some might want to select a book that generates controversy and discussion.
Some might want to select a book that provides shock value.
Some might want to select a book that has a "feel good" aura

Or what have you.....

Each of us chooses a book for various reasons:
It was one I wanted to read, so I put it on the group list, so I would get to it.
It was one I have already read, and wanted to share with the group.

The reason I want to share with the group is because:
I want their reactions;
I enjoyed the book, and hope the group will, too;
I did not enjoy it and am wondering if someone can redeem the book for me.
I did not enjoy the book, and I want my negative thoughts to be validated.

Discussing the book is just a good activity: no socially involved value... Just pure intellectual exercise...

Changes

I hate changes.  I really want the status quo to prevail.

However, changes happen. 

Especially electronic changes.

At work, we have an electronic medical record.  For the past several months, preparations have been made to update the software of this application... I was honored to be invited to be a point person to help with this:   each unit was asked to designate a representative to spearhead the change, coordinate and disseminate information, and be available to help hands one, when the changed occurred.

When I was asked to do this, I was told that the sole responsibility did not rest on me:  the training coordinator would disseminate training information and track it, as that is his job.  The administrative coordinator would do administrative paperwork and tracking.  The department heads would disseminate department information, and develop departmental strategies to deal with this...

It happened that way, with a few glitches (minor) along the way... I was gratified that the administrator, and my immediate supervisor agreed with me that proactive (extensive, expensive and time consuming) measures needed to be taken in case the transition was not as short termed and smooth as we all hoped.  I have been ongoingly gratified that everyone has done their job, pitched in and made things happen the way they were supposed to.

This has required some time from me, from a couple of hours a week to many hours a week. But I have enjoyed it: I have enjoyed knowing what is going on, I have enjoyed helping people prepare for the process.

As the transition approached, anxious staff have had many questions. I have enjoyed spending time telling them what to expect and assuring them that I was available for help.  Today, a coworker thanked me for that, and said (quite correctly) sometimes help is not available.

The change happens next Sunday and Monday, if all goes well... I hope it does.  We are prepared if it does not.. 

Gozaic

I was watching PBS tonight, and they talked about the website Gozaic http://gozaic.com/Connect/.  It is supposed to be a website that can connect you with information about various cultural and historic events.  I have spent a few minutes on the site... It seems a little busy, and too overloaded to be much help, but maybe I will get better at refining my searches.

Adult Learning

Two years ago, I joined the Texas Tech Osher Life Long Learning Institute, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/outreach/ , which is a series of mini-classes, lunch and learn, reading circles, symphony and dinner for adults over 50.  The topics vary, there are no grades, no homework.  They take input regarding topics. 

I have really enjoyed the various classes I have taken: astrology, archeology of the Lubbock area, the reading circle, comparative religion, reading and mystery books seminars, printing, symphony and a pre-symphony meal, to name a few.

I will be signing up for more classes tomorrow: there is an orientation/sign up session at the Frazier Pavilion on the Texas Tech Campus. I am looking forward to more classes this fall and next spring... This is exciting.

I recently joined Elderhostel, which has changed it's name to Roads Scholar http://www.roadscholar.org/ . They have a large number of travel/educational experiences both in the United States, and internationally.  Many of the trips are longer than I want to take: I like 3-4 day trips, and many trips are 5 or more days. But some of them look very exciting.  I wish my travel budget was bigger.