After reading other comments about my decision not to publish negative posts, this comment from RP finally got my attention. I’ve decided that within reason I will publish some – like Sheldan Nidle’s – that are never angry or ugly. The angry and ugly ones are the kinds of posts I just do not like, but I do think that different views and opinions do often prove valuable:

Hello Jean,

I have been following your blog for several months, and I have found its diversity of viewpoints (both positive and negative) very interesting. They make your blog the excellent blog that it is.
With regard to removing the “negative”, the choice is ultimately yours, but I would suggest a meditation on positive/negative as seen from the viewpoint of Verse 2 of my all-time favorite book: The Taoteching:

TWO

Beauty is seen as beauty only because there is ugliness.
Good is known as good only because there is evil.
Is and isn’t define each other.

Therefore being and nonbeing birth one another.
Difficult and easy challenge each other.
Long and short measure each other.
High and low rest upon one another.
Sound and silence define each other.
Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage acts without doing, teaches without talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall ceaselessly,
creating, yet not possessing,
working, yet no credit taken.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.

With regards to your recent ideas/directions for your blog, I am extremely enthusiastic of them. As an artist, I look forward to perhaps seeing in the future, ways that I might contribute.

the Best,
bamboo-water (rich pack)

p.s. You have an excellent heart–keep following it!

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RP, thank you so much for this. Your presentation is sensitive and to the point, and all of you who have asked me to change my mind have also made your point. I have begun to think that perhaps I should post articles that express a different point of view. They seem to bring out so much in us that is negative, and sometimes I tire of this. It is difficult with my blog, though, because new people are finding it all the time, so it becomes necessary to accomodate many who are not as skilled at discerning.

Today, when someone spoke in arrogance, for the first time readers stood their own ground, and I did not have to say anything. To my mind, that was a huge step forward for us all as members felt strong enough to respond with their own truth. If that bit of negativity had not appeared here, that opportunity would have been lost. Yes, I think I must change my mind.

Regarding my efforts for creative people, I thank you for your kind offer. While I have many thoughts about how to proceed, there has to come a time, somehow, when my blog is not so demanding, so that I can make a real beginning on this other project. I am not sure when that will be.

Thanks again, and hugs,
~Jean

PS – I find I’m very tired tonight, so I hope I’ve been clear. . .