Spiritual Places -- What if...

 Mural, one of many painted on Tucson walls. Photo ours as are the rest below.

Editing is a large portion of a writer's life, like it or not. Recently, for me, that began with a book I had edited multiple times. The need for this edit was wanting information for the manuscript that I had abandoned when Covid hit. Rereading and considering where it went next, I discovered I needed more information about characters that would inhabit it-- those of spirit and earthly natures. 

So, back to the book ahead of it, which was much longer than I intended the new one to be. They are all part of a series, which I call Mystic Shadows because of its a mix of mysticism, romance along with darkness. 

There are two earlier ones in that series, which are not telling the stories of the Hemstreet/Cordova families. All Mystic Shadows stories go into the personalities on both sides of the spiritual divide.  I enjoy writing those kinds of books, using my imagination for what might be-- or not be.

The Hemstreet series idea came from the time I drove with Ranch Boss through Barrio Viejo again (we'd been through there years earlier, when it was in much different condition). On one of our times, in 1965, it wasn't as safe. It was though very interesting as we'd see older folks, many of diverse races, sitting in doorways smoking or drinking. I have to say that back then, it had its own level of interest. With many of the doors wide open, there likely wasn't much air conditioning back then. The smells of food cooking made their way to the street.

In 2015, it had changed. I saw the potential for characters and a series involving modern witches. The homes in that barrio had been modernized and yet kept the historic nature. Younger, professional people do things like that. 

Two other things, for me, that always had added to the neighborhood's charm, are shrines, one with a history, El Teradito, and one with some spiritual figures in the altar (years earlier it had had a madonna sculpture. (Unfortunately, I can't remember its name). The shrines add to the mystique of that barrio. Do they have power for believers? Some believe so, as el Teradito also is known as the Wishing Shrine. The desert Southwest has a lot of those kinds of places, often tucked into hillsides with no names, and where you'd only see them if you knew to look for them. 

So, this neighborhood of mysticism, history, and modernization seemed a perfect setting for my imaginary witches to live, work, and find love. They are like ordinary people only born with magical powers. Their goal always is to right wrongs for the benefit of a culture that rejects them. 

Finding where these books fit in the novel, genre world has been a challenge. You can give your own books their genre, but others may not agree. What I have found with my current research is my view of spirituality is out there, but not necessarily in fiction books. More, of it, comes from those who share their culture's own spiritual truths. 

My thinking for these books came also from what I grew up thinking as a little girl living at the end of a gravel road on a hill that abutted wilderness. Lots of space for imagination to grow... or to see more than I might have if I had been busy in a town. Mystical thinking yes, but not part of a total fantasy world, rather our world with secrets most of us are not privy to-- unless we go seeking.

Should we seek? There can be risks, I think, depending on motivations. But, if you have a curious mind, you already may have looked various places to understand the mysteries of life. Perhaps you found an answer or answers that suited you and you quit right there. Or maybe you are a spiritual seeker. If so, you might like my Mystic Shadows series that combines place, spirits, families, romance, adventure, purpose, with questions of what might be here, IF we looked. 

More coming on these books. If such explorations, which will be in the blogs, makes you uneasy, you, you might drop mine for a while, as I delve into our world and that of the spirit-- not one of any particular religion, but maybe a mix of many. Everyone should do what suits best for their lives. Is there one answer for us all? Maybe... or maybe that truth goes beyond an answer to something bigger. Maybe...

 

Debt

 After writing the blog for Saturday, I woke up with another subject on my mind. It was in a different direction, but not from what I have been seeing whenever I come to the Internet. What I decided was to write it, move the blog I'd written to the next Saturday, and see how I felt about it. I do not see this as partisan but more cultural. It could fill a book, but it won't here-- just a hopefully provocative blog. It's not about answers so much as questions. I am good at that...

Debt and does it matter? I've heard it said that government is different than our personal experience with debt. I do not believe that. I want to start with a letter my mother had saved from her Senator, years ago. She had a concern about government debt then. He wrote that he shared that concern. My mother obviously treasured his reply as it was among her things when she died.

Just think (if you can read the numbers) what the concern for that growing  debt was in 1957, versus the numbers today-- $36.22 trillion with it continuing to grow. When will that become unmanageable, if it isn't already, given how they often deal with it. Here is one belief:

"Unless current revenue and spending policies change, by 2027 debt will reach its historical high of 106 percent of GDP, according to our simulation. If unaddressed, it will grow more than twice as fast as the economy and reach 200 percent of GDP by 2047."

I hear fear over programs being cut to get the debt in control. Very nice programs (some of them) but how are they being paid for? Printing money is one popular method. which makes the dollars you saved worth less and less-- some call that inflation but it's not that simple, is it? Well, it is for some who seem not worried about how we manage that debt. 

To many, the debt seems unrelatable. If they can't relate to it, it has no meaning, but will it eventually when it's greater than our GNP, which is coming.

What I've read a lot is trying to get Americans to feel guilty when jobs are cut, jobs that can't be paid for, but sound nice. If the federal government becomes the main employment, how does that grow the GDP? Again, I see protestors down on corporations, send their jobs all overseas, like Apple has done, cheaper labor and more profits right?

Of course some see the answer is to tax the rich more.  Who though are the rich? "According to the latest IRS data, the top 1% of earners paid 40.4% of all federal income taxes in 2022. This underscores the extent to which the burden of the income tax system falls on taxpayers from the highest income groups."

There is always the accusation that the rich get out of paying their share. I know from our own taxes, which we still pay even on Social Security as there are many ways to get taxed. What you do is get a good accountant, who keeps it legal, but also the least possible is declared, as it is explained to IRS, who looks it over. Yes, there are deductions for charities, investments, infrastructure development, costs of doing business. Is that all done honorably? I can only speak for us as we definitely do not want to get in trouble with the legal requirements. 

People want something for nothing and it seems the human way. Nothing is free, though some want to think there is. For anyone in heavy debt themselves, start figuring a way out of it. Paying interest is buying nothing except profiting someone else. This is true of governments also.

 I do not know about other countries except very few don't have debt. How many have too much? Might be a good idea to research your own countries to see where they stand now.

 This by the way is a photo of my mother, the one who worried about the nation's spending way back when. Does she look like a bad person as some want to think anyone, who thinks that way, must be?

 

Discussions or Arguments

 

Tonto National Monument, Arizona, April 2011

I had some ideas for this blog; then read what is below. I don't know for sure if the person it claims said it (you never do these days), but the words are right on for our times. Don't avoid all difficult discussions, when they are discussions where you can both express your thoughts and when needed, let it go at the end. 

This image of a hanging garden, on the trail down to the natural bridge, seemed apropos about a discussion that bears fruit.

Anyway, here's  who said it (maybe) and the quote.

~~~~~~~~~~

Helen Mirren once said:

Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. Because if not, there's absolutely no point.

 

Not every argument is worth your energy. Sometimes, no matter how clearly you express yourself, the other person isn’t listening to understand—they’re listening to react. They’re stuck in their own perspective, unwilling to consider another viewpoint, and engaging with them only drains you.

 

There’s a difference between a healthy discussion and a pointless debate. A conversation with someone who is open-minded, who values growth and understanding, can be enlightening—even if you don’t agree. But trying to reason with someone who refuses to see beyond their own beliefs? That’s like talking to a wall. No matter how much logic or truth you present, they will twist, deflect, or dismiss your words, not because you’re wrong, but because they’re unwilling to see another side.

 

Maturity isn’t about who wins an argument—it’s about knowing when an argument isn’t worth having. It’s realizing that your peace is more valuable than proving a point to someone who has already decided they won’t change their mind. Not every battle needs to be fought. Not every person deserves your explanation.

 

Sometimes, the strongest thing you can do is walk away—not because you have nothing to say, but because you recognize that some people aren’t ready to listen. And that’s not your burden to carry.

Dilemma

 

 Since I am editing one of my paranormal, Tucson romances, I should not be paying attention to world news, but it's hard not to check in and then go uh oh, or whatever I end up feeling, with so much of what happens on the world stage impacts us little folks far below it.

My immediate thought, when I awoke one morning this week, was definitely an uh oh. Not so much for what I read but what it meant for the world, little and big countries. After a sip of vodka (never mind that I am off of alcohol). I felt up to writing something about it. Maybe...

The world is not evenly divided. This is not just about wealth but about resources, like water. It never has been from the time humans became humans.

Resources are more than the land and what it holds. It's also the kind of people, who live there and what they can and will do with their own resources. Exactly how the earth worked out that way, who can know.

First of all, with natural resources, when humans first figured out they could exploit such, is that how we settled where we did? Climate probably controlled a lot of it, easy to live there and oh boy. The next thing humans looked around to find what might not be where they lived, but where they could bring usable products to their homes. In short, they wanted what had grown or could be grown above ground-- basically food. They also continued to hunt for animals where their pelts or bodies could be used.

Then came a search for fossil fuels, like coal, iron, oil, etc. Much of the earth was not and still is not as rich with such things. Wars could then be fought to attain what a more powerful tribe or country might want. Humans also wanted slaves as not all of them seemed suitable for such uses. 

Does any of that sound fair? Cross 'fair' out of your vocabulary where humans, of all colors and races, were concerned or are concerned. Humans took what they needed and wanted whether that was desirable minerals, like diamonds, or what would fuel their lives. To the victor went the spoils and to a degree, that still goes on.

Is that bad? Does that mean humans are the bad mammals? Maybe, but again and again, it goes back to that quote-- to the victor go the spoils. It is how it has always gone.

So, for those who find fault with that and try to take it away from the victors, check out how that ends up, where that comes to wealth and yes, that means charitable... supposedly organizations. Do those who run it or support it end up with the funds or does it go where it was intended?

Where does that leave us 'pawns'? What can we do about it in today's supposedly more civilized world?

The future fight and and contests are more likely over what is needed for technology-- rare earth minerals. These are often in places no one had seen of having value. But now, want to use your computer or technology, those minerals are the key. They turn up often in what are seen as poorer countries or regions within a country. If those populations can't exploit that wealth to mine their own 'in-the-ground' wealth, like, lithium, coltan, cobalt, titanium,etc. you can bet others will try to. 

So, poor countries should get wealthy, right? Not how it seems to work out with the human species. Again, are we evil or bad? Not really. Just mammals. 

It is the age of the mammals. Will it stay our age? Not likely given the nature of evolution. Should the mammals who have found the riches, exploit them, then help others that have none? A few claim they should, but they barely do it themselves. If you have two coats, do you give one to someone who doesn't have one. Some do... Very few.

What do we do as humans, who have a compassionate nature (at least how we feel inside)? Donate a few dollars? Feel righteous? Or find a real answer to the imbalance of life on this earth? If the latter is the answer, it doesn't appear to have been the answer, so far. 

Wars have been fought over taking above and in ground resources. Might happen again. We could hope not, but history offers no reassurance. 

The photo at the top gives you a clue how it works in nature-- with no guilt. It's our front yard here in Arizona. For years, to us, the saguaros looked like they were growing equally. Turns out not where it came to the resources they needed. Not fair how it worked out. Is life fair? If you think it is, I do not think you've had much experience. 

To the victor go the spoils. That doesn't require wars. It's just who is strongest, and empathy doesn't appear to weigh in-- sad as that might be to say. Is that fair? If a greater power intervenes, guess who ends up with that desired wealth. The only real thing we can count on is that life is not all physical. There may be spiritual consequences. Not very comforting for those suffering in the here and now.

Upping Your Game

image from Stencil

One place, where for me, my life comes together with fiction is in writing. My books are, of course, total fiction for the characters, what happens to them, but it blends together my beliefs on life as I have lived it. I have seen what works, not only for me, but for others. How could that not influence my writing? Likely does for all those who write fiction. Of course, those who write non-fiction claim their books are true-- even if some will see it more as how they want it to be, than how it is.

It leads to this blog and its subject, which is on the title. It's how, I believe, we benefit most from life. Some get somewhere and they are stuck there. Maybe not stuck but figure they made it except made it to what?  I was talking about this with my husband and later my brother, who have worked all their lives in what I'd call expertises. 

In Ranch Boss's case, it was as an engineer, a technician, someone who figures out problems to fix. Following is one good example of how it worked for him. In the corporation where he worked, a technical problem arose, maybe more a breakthrough than a problem. He didn't know much about it. What then did he do? He studied with reading a lot of technical books in that area and then took an online class to refine what he knew and could use. He upped his game. He actually did that many times in his career and even now when retired.

Then with my brother, who is a mechanic with a gift. He ran into a new problem with engines. He could have sat back and expected someone else to take care of it. Or said, it's just how life goes today. Instead, he got books and studied what it would take to fix that new problem. He upped his game

Upping my game recently where it comes to my writing, one of my novellas (27,000 words) seemed finished. Fine story as it was, maybe even more popular where folks like shorter reads. The thing was that I had the opportunity to upgrade it to more story, more character development, and I went for it. This one ended up 82,000+ words. Now, it's a full novel, or will be when it comes out maybe in May or June. I upped its game and mine. 

I didn't know if readers would like delving into the deeper more challenging aspects of a relationship, as well as more action. Well, it's what this book now offers. 

When you bring two people together, who come from different worlds, it can take some doing to make it believable that it will yield a happy ending. I saw the extended potential with these two characters and wanted to have the enjoyment of writing about it. In different ways, they each had to up their games. They didn't do it to entice the other person, but because the relationship allowed them to see who they truly wanted to be.

It is not changing to fit, but upping your game. Upping your game is being more of who you actually are. To me, upping your game is to feel proud of yourself, not because you have to. While, it could work out that you got a better job because the boss saw you upping your game and admired that quality of worker. Could be, but I don't think it's why it's part of a satisfying life. You do it for yourself.  In most every type of work, there are ways to up your game to feel better about what you're doing.

If you are out in the world and have to look good, upping your game might mean going to used stores to improve your wardrobe, when you can't afford new. I know about that as I had a very stylish aunt who taught me. I needed to up my game in my high school as a lot of the girls dressed really well. I couldn't afford what they probably spent, but used worked and who knew the difference. Kind of fun to bargain shop too.

I see a lot of folks who get somewhere in life and expect it to hold them there, until the end of their time. Some could get to thinking-- that boss is mean and does not deserve me to improve myself. Well, the job might still stay there, life could indeed go on, but a culture is better off when more folks up their games. There even is a New Testament scripture that fits this scenario: Matthew 25:14-30. I know not all look to the Bible for wisdom, but I'll bet you can find similar beliefs in other scriptures regarded as holy.

It is rewarding to look around for new answers and ask the question-- what would it take? It is good for our own body, brain and emotions, rather than being like Scrooge in the novella, A Christmas Story, where he wants to hold onto what he thinks he has. He found out otherwise for true joy in his life.

Guess what! And you know this one. We actually have nothing material from earth that we take with us when we go... just our souls and what we have done with them. So, up your game.

 February 23, 2025 -- Nikon CoolPix P900 camera -- photo by Ranch Boss