Responsible Living

A blog focusing on resilient communities, permaculture, sustainability, social responsibility, human rights and community engagement. Find out more about me here: about.me/iwalker

[getinvolvedyoulivehere]

School-to-Prison Pipeline Complete -- New Law Makes Schoolyard Fights a Felony

A draconian new state law turns the common school fight into a felony. Instead of detention, children will now face up to 4 years in prison.

Children can now face 4 years in prison for a schoolyard fight..

[mypubliclands]

#ICYMI: This week’s supermoon was spectacular!

In case you weren’t able to catch this year’s Supermoon, we’ve got a couple photos from it rising this past Sunday evening. The Cronan Ranch, pictured here is under the stewardship of the BLM California Mother Lode Field Office and contains 12 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, bird watching and more near Pilot Hill, California. 

The area is part of the South Fork American River corridor. It was once home to riches with the discovery of gold just upstream at Sutter’s Ranch, which started the famed California Gold Rush. The area is now one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the United States with visitors coming from far and wide to enjoy the class 3+ rapids.

[artruby]

Miguel Chevalier. 

[daveinmoldova]

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Fall in love with Moldova all year long.

[motivational]

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. -Abraham Lincoln

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. -Abraham Lincoln

[abcnews-deactivated20251106]

Children all over the world who are battling cancer are getting the chance to design colorful art for NASA space suits. They can “paint, write and do whatever they want with that canvas,” organizers of the Space Suit Art Project say. http://abcn.ws/2daKT6m

[livingresponsibly]

This is simply too awesome to not share.

[psych-facts]

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Soren Kierkegaard (via psych-facts)

[fyp-psychology]

Thinking is difficult; that’s why most people judge.

Carl Jung (via fyp-psychology)

Well, that's a mistake I fall into

[wordsnquotes]

I firmly believe in small gestures: pay for their coffee, hold the door for strangers, over tip, smile or try to be kind even when you don’t feel like it, pay compliments, chase the kid’s runaway ball down the sidewalk and throw it back to him, try to be larger than you are— particularly when it’s difficult. People do notice, people appreciate. I appreciate it when it’s done to (for) me. Small gestures can be an effort, or actually go against our grain (I’m not a big one for paying compliments…), but the irony is that almost every time you make them, you feel better about yourself. For a moment life suddenly feels lighter….

Jonathan Carroll (via wordsnquotes)

[dailynietzsche]

“If anything has been achieved in the nineteenth century against the eighteenth century, it is a more innocuous relation to the senses, a more joyous, Goethean attitude toward sensuality, and a prouder feeling regarding the search for knowledge.”

—F. Nietzsche, The Will to Power, §118 (edited excerpt).

[livingresponsibly]

Early Ending

Well, my program has ended much earlier than originally planned.  I have decided to do an “early termination” (ET) of my service with Peace Corps. This is because I have been having many problems which I have kept quiet.  In short though, I was not successfully integrating into my community.  Being uncomfortable in the village was severely hindering my ability to do what little work I had in the…

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[nikadampoems-deactivated2017021]

Деньги приходят, уходят, не в них счастье. Самым важным на свете всегда будут люди, которые были с вами в самые трудные времена.

Фридрих Ницше (via nikadampoems)

[livingresponsibly]

6 Kilometers From the Nearest Onion

Dear readers,  I apologize for taking such a long hiatus. There is a reason for it though, namely, going through some serious growing pains here.  Dealing with culture shock, disappointments, required meetings at provincial level, more training etc really takes away the time one devotes to writing blog posts. From here on I will be trying to keep more abreast here though. Here I am going to be…

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[livingresponsibly]

It Has Been A While

So it has been about a month since I last wrote.  Basically because I have been too busy loving the experience to be able to take the time to write a blog post. Two weeks ago was provincial meetings at the Peace Corps Provincial House, I got to learn more about my place in the organization and finally meet some of the other volunteers!  They are all absolutely amazing people and I am so happy…

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[livingresponsibly]

One Week In

I was officially posted exactly a week ago today.  If the weeks go by as fast as this one did I will be headed back to the U.S. tomorrow, it feels like anyway.  So far my main accomplishments have been small; holding some sort of a conversation in Bemba, almost having organization/unpacking done in my hut and getting my paper trail almost completed and up-to-date.  Along with the basics of…

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[livingresponsibly]

A Day in the Life of a Trainee

This is mostly for future peace corps volunteers and others to know what my day is like in training, even though I am almost finished now. I wake up at about 5 a.m. to do a short workout and get warmed up for running around 5:45 a.m. with one of the other trainees. We get back to our homes at about 6:30, if all is going well, the water for my bath is warm and I quickly get to move into the bath…

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[livingresponsibly]

Almost Done

I have only recently returned from what is called “site visit” in Peace Corps parlance.  Basically, we get to  see where it is we are going to live for the next two years since up unto this point, we have not had much of an idea of what life will be like for us after training.  I think that I learned more in those 10 days, 2 nights at provincial capitals, 5 nights with a current host and 3 at my…

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