Flourish Foundation
Dayle in Limoux – Day #11
July 15, 2022First, this.
Hard praying Joe Manchin is her first case. If he’s still alive. If we are.
NYTimes
How One Senator Doomed the Democrats’ Climate Plan
Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia led his party and his president through months of tortured talks, with nothing to show for it as the planet dangerously heats up. [Click image for article-paywall removed.]
Sidebar. When Lebron James made the comment about Brittney Griner I said out loud, “Right on.” He backtracked because of the flack. But he spoke truth. 100%.
“Now, how could she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?'”
Same.
Las fleurs from the marche in Limoux!
Lovely market in the square today and every Friday morning. This market is a little more utilitarian than the Tuesday markets, i.e., local produce, fabrics, flowers, clothes, eye glasses…incense! I was able to stroll through the market and drink two cafe au lait’s before the 100 + degree mark. Yikes. Europe is burning. In France, literally.
French President Emmanuel Macron today:
Solidarity is national: three thousand firefighters from all over France are fighting the fires that are hitting the south of the country. I salute their courage and their commitment alongside elected officials. At the front, they save lives. We are thinking of them and of the evacuated residents.
Solidarity is European: a year ago, when Greece was facing terrible fires, we mobilized as Europeans. This noon, aircraft from the Greek rescue forces arrived in the south to support the action of our firefighters.
REUTERS
Wildfires rage in southwestern France with over 1,700 hectares burnt
About 600 firefighters, supported by six water-bomber aircraft, were on Wednesday battling to bring under control two wildfires in southwestern France, which have already burnt more than 1,700 hectares [4,200 acres] and prompted the evacuation of thousands of tourists.
“Important human and material resources are being deployed to master the fires (…) local and national reinforcements are expected,” said the local authority for the Gironde department, where the blazes are raging.
France, already hit by a series of wildfires over the last few weeks, is suffering – like the rest of Europe – from a second heatwave in as many months. [It’s brutal. -dayle]
The biggest of the two Gironde fires is around the town of Landiras, south of Bordeaux, where roads have been closed and 500 residents evacuated, with the blaze having already burnt more than 1,000 hectares.
The other one is along the Atlantic Coast, close to the iconic “Dune du Pilat” – the tallest sand dune in Europe – located in the Arcachon Bay area, above which heavy clouds of dark smoke were seen rising in the sky.
That fire has already burnt 700 hectares and led to the preventive evacuation of 6,000 people from five surrounding campsites. They were brought for shelter to a local exhibition centre.
“Other campers woke us up at around 0430 in the morning. We had to leave immediately and quickly choose what to take with us. I had forgotten my ID, luckily someone took it for me. But I don’t have my phone (…) and we don’t know what is going to happen,” Christelle, one of the evacuated tourists, told BFM TV.
[Those villages and towns close to forests were not allowed to display fireworks for Bastille Day.]
Wildfires raged across tinder-dry country in Portugal, Spain, France and Croatia, burning homes and threatening livelihoods, as much of Europe baked in a heatwave that has pushed temperatures into the mid 40Cs in some countries. [Reuters] 40C is equivalent to 104 in Fahrenheit. -dayle
From NBC NEWS:
Over 20 wildfires are burning in Portugal and Spain, and around half of Portugal has been placed under a red weather alert.
~
More captures from the marche today. Love Limoux.
And a very hot kitty. ღ
Yes, please. Want!
Le Tour is getting closer! Tuesday, étape 16. Can’t wait. 🚴🏻
From étape 12 yesterday, Alpe d’Huez. Good thing Covid is over. 😐
It’s like a Where’s Waldo’ image. Try to find Sepp, Jonas, and Tadej.
#Anxiety #Why #Sepp’sFace
In the newsletter from the Flourish Foundation this month, a social-profit in Sun Valley, Idaho [Hailey], Harry Dreyfuss, the creative director at Flourish Foundation, shares his quarantine epiphany on love, relationships, and self…all ONE.
I inadvertently ‘met’ Harry once when I opened the door of his home thinking it was my book club’s meeting place that month. I remember seeing this amazing light blue guitar lying on the dining room table. Cool. Then Harry came down the stairs. Oops. Yikes. Awkward. He couldn’t have been k i n d e r. “I think you want the house next door.” Yep. :)
This is a sweet message I read today from Harry; wanted to share.
More on Kindness…
Marrying Yourself There was a moment during quarantine when I had an epiphany concerning love and relationships: whether I ever find a long-term romantic partner or not, there is one person to whom I am already in an arranged marriage—myself. Myself and I are stuck together, and like it or not, I need to make this relationship work. I have no other choice.
So, I made a vow to my brain. It went something like this. “I may wish you were smarter, and kinder, and full of better angels, but I can’t actually force you to do anything. Instead, I must live with the ideas you have, the impulses you have, and the body that you have. What I can do, however, is make a vow to honor those creative ideas, good or bad. You churn out the ideas, and I promise to act upon them.”
I did this mainly concerning writing. I vowed to write down all my brain’s ideas as an act of loyalty, without judgment about how bad or good they were. There’s a kind of mantra created by Julia Cameron for artists to use towards their inner muse: “You take care of the quality; I’ll take care of the quantity.” This means you will guarantee to actualize all the ideas your muse creates, and your muse will try to ensure that at least 20% of those ideas are actually usable.
I was made to think about that vow and that internal wedding as I read Ryan’s piece about kindness last week. As he puts it, there are constantly moments where our minds generate an urge to do a kind thing, but it is then up to our conscious mind to actualize that impulse or not. My vow concerned artistic impulses, but there is a similar relationship possible here. Your mind—your bride or groom—is offering you an idea for how you can best love the world in that moment. What would happen if you made a vow to honor those ideas when they cropped up?
It may be a hassle. It involves interrupting your day, your business as usual. But the interruption is a sweet one, hazardous and vulnerable as it may be. And we all know what it is like to get into a groove of kindness. Taking those risks, allowing yourself to creatively engage in a loving way with the world, ultimately can lead to an ecstatic feeling, a minor form of bliss, which can make each day an exciting one.
Perhaps the most inspiring thing I’ve ever heard said about love comes from Toni Morrison, who is urging people to recognize the ecstatic and moral obligation we have to honor our need to love one another:
People say, “‘I didn’t ask to be born.’ I think we did, and that’s why we’re here. We are here, and we have to do something nurturing that we respect before we go. We must. It is more interesting, more complicated, more intellectually demanding and more morally demanding to love somebody, to take care of somebody, to make one other person feel good… Love just seems to make life not just livable, but a gallant, gallant event.
Have a nice life,
Harry
❀
Friday, February 18th, 2022
February 18, 2022
From the Flourish Foundation:
‘With this shift in feeling, we soften the illusory crust of independence and begin to sense a natural belonging with all of life—interdependence. From this place of infinite belonging a deeper sense of care awakens and inspires us to consider our role in the co-creation of reality. More simply, we may choose clothes that support humane working conditions, foods that replenish the planet, a circular economy, and love toward those of a different race, country, or political party.’
“Only the grace of Spirit can enable us to let go of our fears. True prayer (spiritual dialogue) is fundamental for life in Spirit. It is that grace of conversion that opens up our hearts to realize the humble presence in our lives. Prayer of the heart is unceasing prayer, where Spirit breathes in us and our hearts are turned. This deepening of our lives in the divine life is the path to self-discovery. In and through prayer we discover our true selves, the self that Spirit has created each of us to be. . . .
Life in <Divine Presence> should be a daring adventure of love but often we settle for mediocrity. We follow the daily practice of prayer but we are unwilling or, for various reasons, unable to give ourselves totally…to settle on the plain of mediocrity is to settle for something les…”
-Franciscan theologian Ilia Delio
Unconditional Compassion
June 22, 2021Since 2010, Flourish Foundation has innovated and facilitated programs that nurture life skills and transformation through ethics and values, meditation and experiential Inquiry.
The heart of our work focuses on revealing our human potential for leading a wise, moral and compassionate life. Through our tenure as a social-profit we have seen that nurturing this potential individually and collectively empowers us all to naturally care for ourselves, each other and the planet.
“Safeguarding the future is not just a matter of laws and government regulations: it also requires individual initiative. We need to change our way of thinking and to close the gap between perception and reality. — Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama
“Having mindfulness as a regular part of our week has gone a long way to making it a regular part of our lives. That we take and make this time to work on focus, clarity, and relaxation, that we discuss kindness and intentionality- these are all key elements of our school, and key components of how we think we can help develop teenagers who are thoughtful and engaged — Harry Weekes, Head of School, The Sage School
Idaho & Blaine County COVID Updates
April 23, 2020The time-line of Idaho’s state government 4-part economic plan seems to be formed on logic the virus will acquiesce to mandated phases. It is careless and could be dangerous. Idaho does not have the COVID-#’s, testing, or tracing, to support re-opening at this time. -dayle
[Getty Images]
‘FDA Comm Scott Gottlieb said that the country will need to initially conduct up to 3 million tests per week to reopen. A separate estimate from Harvard researchers says the U.S. must conduct b/t 500-700,000 tests per day by mid-May to begin reopening.
The new report, released by Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics on Monday, emphasized the need for a massive scaling up of testing coupled with a robust contact-tracing program in order to reopen the U.S. in a way that avoids future shutdowns. Its top recommendations include a call for the nation to deliver 5 million tests per day by early June in order to ensure a safe reopening of portions of the economy.
Their call for 20 million daily tests is in line with recommendations from Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer, who said earlier this month the U.S. needs to administer 20 million to 30 million tests per day.
Gottlieb said the the country likely wouldn’t reach broad-based testing capacity until September.’
Governor Brad Little encouraging ‘peer pressure’ to follow guidelines, not state-wide enforcement.
Don Day at BoiseDev:
Gov. Little: “We will not progress through the stages of reopening if people do not take personal measures to limit their exposure to coronavirus. That means stay home as much as you can.”
The four-phase plan starts to reopen the state, but Litlte stresses Idahoans should wear protective face coverings, remain six feet apart from others, and continue to wash their hands.
Stage 1
This phase will start May 1 at the end of the current stay at home order.
- Businesses should maintain six feet distance for employees and customers. Any businesses that open should have sanitation protocols in place.
- Most retail businesses could reopen, except:
- Bars & nightclubs
- Restaurant dining rooms
- Indoor gyms
- Hair salons
- Large venues like movie theaters and sports theaters.
- Houses of worship can reopen.
- Daycares can also reopen.
- Employers should continue telework where possible.
- Visits to senior living facilities and facilities like jails are prohibited.
- Minimize travel.
- Out-of-state visitors should self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Vulnerable Idahoans should avoid interacting with the public.
[For additional stages, follow the link.]
Stage 2 May 16th.
Stage 3 May 30th.
Stage 4 June 13th.
Blaine County
“If you missed the second Virtual Town Hall, you can watch the recording from the Blaine County webiste here – co.blaine.id.us/CivicAlerts.as
Summary
Harry Griffith from Sun Valley Economic Development [SVED]:
- Buy Local
- Share Ideas
- Embrace Change
Recovery could take two years in a new 2.0 local economy.
2nd home owners will help our local economy.
We will see developments of new business models in the valley.
Some businesses will not be able to recover, others will scale back.
Teleworking could increase across the valley bringing in new teleworking businesses.
We will see periods of ⬇️ wages & hours.
LOT receipts are ⬇️.
At least eight large community events cancelled valued at $20 (m) into the valley; also affected are smaller events and non-profit fundraisers.
We are looking at a “devastated economy.”
The summer will look very different from past summers.
2,000 unemployment claims in the valley…23% unemployment rate right now.
Medical
Blaine County could see another wave of COVID in the fall.
Must stay diligent to hygiene and physical distancing guidelines, or #’s will increase quickly again.
[Getty Images]
‘A fatigued health care worker takes a moment outside the Brooklyn Hospital Center in April. Many hospital workers these days have to cope with horrific tragedies playing out multiple times on a single, 12-hour shift.’
“Appreciate the 8 pm howling.”
5% of the county has been tested…approximately 1,300 tested.
Questions remain:
How many may have been impacted by the virus and not know?
Will some become sick again?
Need more testing and contact tracing.
Elective surgeries will be phased in again.
COVID doesn’t “flip a switch”…we need to “turn the dial.”
[dayle: Some health care models and economists illustrate COVID and infections as a ‘W’, with peaks and valley’s dependent upon future infections and economic fallout.]
Possibility: Surveillance tracking and testing not beholden to bias, i.e., those who can afford testing, or have access to testing…want to be tested.
Sun Valley Institute/Blaine County Recovery Committee
https://www.blainerecovery.org
Blaine County has been disproportionately hit by COVID-19 and associated economic collapse, with some of the highest per capita infection rates and an economy primarily dependent upon tourism in a rural, isolated community with tremendous income disparity – nearly half of county school district students receive reduced-cost or free school lunches, and 1 in 3 residents is food insecure.
“Pulling TOGETHER to come through the COVID-19 crisis stronger, wiser and more resilient than ever!
Blaine Recovery presents available resources to help individuals, businesses and organizations with recovery –a coming together of our community, for our community.
THANK YOU to all who participate – giving and receiving, supporting and sharing – strengthening the fabric of our community.”
Blaine County community leaders joined to create a long-term recovery team, the Blaine Recovery Committee, to develop a recovery plan and coordinate local resources in response to the COVID crisis
Aimée Christensen, BRC Steering Committee and Executive Director of Sun Valley Institute, who is coordinating the effort.
Contact: Mike Gordon Blaine Recovery Committee Coordination: 208-309-3049.
“Blaine County best-practices for a successful re-opening.”
- Identify
- Mobilize
- Future
Three subcommittees:
- Business Sector
- Non-Profit Sector
- Personal Sector
All information is available in Spanish, thanks to the supportive efforts of Hector Romero.
BRC Steering Committee member, Mike Higgs, Executive Director of Blaine County Chaplaincy, said, “The journey up the river to recovery is one we must take together. The Blaine Recovery Committee will help get more oars in the water, pulling together, so we will get there more quickly without leaving some behind!”
‘The Flourish Foundation announces the Community MasquerAID initiative. Born out of compassion in action, this meets an essential and on-going need for personal use protective face masks in the Wood River Valley during COVID.
Relying on laser-cutting technology from Beyond Wood, the skill and passion of local sewists, engagement of Compassionate Leaders, guidance from Providence Health and other health care providers, all MasquerAID masks are washable and manufactured locally.’
[To learn more and to donate, follow the link.]
flourishfoundation.org/masqueraid
Non-profit news organization ProPublica interviewed experts and frontline officials from Italy, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. “Of all of them, we found more commonalities than differences. So, these are the 7 things we must do before we open up America:
1. Build an army of contact tracers *Every* expert we talked to said it’s important to know exactly where the virus is spreading. The only reliable way to do this is via “contact tracers” who can track down the contacts of anyone who tests positive.
While this sounds like an obvious step, it comes with demanding logistics that few — if any — U.S. states are able to carry out right now, such as:
“It usually takes four or five people over three days to do one full contact trace, on average,” Andy Slavit, former head of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama administration. He said California (40M pop) could need up to 20k contract tracers, depending on circumstances.
2. Test. Constantly. You’re sick of hearing about it, we know. BUT. Our experts agreed that the inability to do widespread testing for the virus is the central reason it has spread so widely in the U.S.
Isolate people w/ suspected infection from their families. This is a really tough one. It goes against everything the family-centered American society supposedly treasures. That said, what we’ve learned in Italy, Taiwan and our country is sobering.
NY authorities originally told anyone with symptoms to “self-isolate” in a single room in their home for 14 days, avoiding contact with other people living in the same place. But that ignores a lot of fundamental facts of life. What about people who:
-live in single-room apartments – don’t have two bathrooms. – aren’t meticulous about wiping down door handles or wearing gloves and masks when they wash dishes The result?
In city after city: horrifying stories about one parent, then a second parent, then the children ending up dead or ill. Separating people for 14 days is tough. It would be massively unpopular. Many experts suggested using hotels to isolate those who test positive.
(Also could be helpful for the hotel industry).
4. Protect health care workers. Protect. Your. Healthcare. Workers. One of the lessons from Wuhan and Italy is that you have to be utterly meticulous about protecting doctors and nurses. If you don’t, the hospitals become a vector for infection and you lose the frontline people. Or worse — If you need them to handle a second wave of infections, even a smaller one, they may stop coming to work. You need to stockpile PPE & supplies before reopening. This is not optional.
5. Don’t try to go back to “normal”. Our goal isn’t to get back to a pre-pandemic way of life, but instead to employ whatever tools it takes to keep transmission as low as possible while restarting your economy. This means:
-masks
-temperature checks
-6-foot distancing
Things that are relatively new concepts for the US, and are already proving unpopular. Too bad, our experts said. These measures save lives.
6. Watch out for the 2nd wave The initial success stories in fighting COVID-19 — Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea — all saw a rise in cases in March. Even after getting new cases down, you have to maintain constant vigilance to keep the rate low. What will this take?
For starters, a national system tracking flu-like symptoms. Epidemiologists call it “sentinel surveillance.” It’s the kind of system we should have had in the first place…
And lastly…
7. Communicate. Clearly. Constantly. ***Governors and other state leaders:*** One thing that came through in many of our interviews around the world was the importance of communicating clearly and consistently about the actions you take. You’re going to have to persuade voters to do things they won’t like at a moment of unparalleled partisan rancor, record unemployment, disarray in your state’s traditional media outlets and divisions among eminent scientists.
After those interviews, we asked American experts If they thought we could do it. Their answer? None of you are close to being ready. All of the above are things that America’s governors need to do and take seriously.
ProPublica is not done investigating the spread of coronavirus and those accountable for saving the American public from further needless deaths.
John Dunne Lecture/Flourish Foundation
September 15, 2015