John Guthrie's Ready Room

Trying To Keep Calm

“I will always find something to worry about.” Those words from my therapist race around my mind on days like this. I keep the news turned off, because I worry that the propaganda machine is gearing us up for something catastrophic in the Middle East. I haven’t seen anything

Welcome to my newest follower

Welcome to my newest follower Amethysta Herrick I’m glad you’re here. I look forward to sharing with you ❤️

A Massive Weight Has Been Lifted From My Shoulders

Friday, October 6, 2023 started like every other Friday. Hal and I went to the chiropractor and then picked up groceries. We had a minor scare when the low tire pressure light came on in the car, so I drove to the neighborhood AAA service center and they quickly determined

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Tom Petty really nailed how I felt on Wednesday at the doctor’s office. The waiting is the hardest part. We drove. Fifty miles to get to the office, and my appointment was scheduled for 1045. Naturally, it was nearly 1130 by the time I was led from the waiting

Cruel To Be Kind

A song title from the past came to be when I was meditating. The artist was Nick Lowe, and the song was titled "Cruel To Be Kind." I always draw strength from that title because it teaches a valuable lesson about Kindness. There are times when you cannot

Dungeons, Dragons, and Disaster…. Well, There Was Beer Involved

Someone I genuinely admire and consider a friend commented in one of his stories about his younger years and playing Zelda. Jason reminded me of something that happened to me many years ago. My story involves Dungeons and Dragons, nerds, and beer. I forgot everything until Jason's story

Dysfunctional Is The New Normal

Republicans love to tell everyone how they are completely opposed to Communism and Fascism, that they stand for law and order over chaos, yet behave like spoiled children when they don’t get everything they want. Republicans today follow Lenin’s idea about a small group leading others. I predict

I Just Created My Own Discord Server

I have existed on the periphery of Discord for over a year. Honestly, it seemed so disjointed that I never thought about putting effort into it. Then I started finding friends from Medium who used Discord, and that got me interested again. I sat on the sidelines and tried to

And The Stupidity Just Keeps Getting Worse

When I woke up Wednesday morning, Hal greeted me with the “news” that House Nazis have decided to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. I consciously tried to avoid the infoporn that the media shovels at us every day, but my serenity was only slightly disturbed by what Hal

I Can’t Stand Watching The News Anymore

The constant repetition is so annoying I always wonder what we're not being told as the washed-up wannabe actors try to emote until they wet themselves. To make things even worse, they repeat the same nonsense every hour. I believe that this endless repetition will eventually kill the

9/11 Meh

I remember that terrible day. The morning news bulletins started out reporting a tragedy, and right before our eyes, cane the proof that we were under attack. Time moved at a different pace that day. Fear was tangible everywhere. People at work were glued to TVs or their computers, or

Kindness - Pass It On

I follow the Kindness lifestyle as closely as I can. Kindness is a gentle teacher who forgives our blunders and always gives us another chance to prove ourselves. Kindness doesn't judge, but it provides our conscience with a clear foundation for guiding us. I feel that gentle tug

Moving Slowly Through The Pain

Right now, it feels like my life is starting over while I recover from last month when I had to ration my medications due to an insurance screw-up. I made it through without any significant complications, at least none that I know of so far, and I can feel myself

Gaining Inspiration

I was recovering from my recent medical travails when I browsed through YouTube one evening and saw a post involving two of my favorite Medium personalities: Robin Wilding who interviewed Jason Provencio. I have interacted with both of those people in my time on Medium, and I highly recommend subscribing

Putting My Life Back Together

I am so glad that September is here at last. I usually don't have any problems with August. It is the month of Hal's birthday, which we always celebrate. The dog days of summer seem to go on forever, and in the far distance, we can

A Minor Setback

I honestly thought I would write more on Friday. I felt great after we visited the chiropractor and then stocked up on necessities at Costco. We had a lovely Chinese lunch and came home. Then I made the mistake of lying on the bed. The next thing I knew, our

Embracing The Now

There is so much to experience in life. We always rush to do something to get somewhere for some important reason. I am guilty like everyone else; I wanted so much of my life and health, running like a chicken with its head cut off, that I forgot the importance

Step by Step

Writing can be overpowering at times. Inspiration took an unscheduled holiday and is on a tropical beach, nursing a Corona or a Daquiri in the recesses of my mind with his cell phone turned off. I'm left to cope with the world solely as it exists while secretly

Coping Without My Anxiety Meds

The month of August has been interesting, to say the least, because of an administrative error that delayed my Medicaid renewal. I pushed my appointments back into September, and thankfully I filled almost all my prescriptions before August except for one of my anxiety medications. That particular medicine wasn’t

Words of Encouragement

A new friend on Medium recently made my day when he sent me the following message. "Don't say you're "not the best writer." You're the writer you need to be right now. You're adding value to my day."

New Priorities

How important is it to re-evaluate priorities and change them? Is it something we do to break up the monotony of life? Is it an obligation we have to someone else? Or do we find a new interest or rediscover an old one? Do we pay lip service to the

Creating My Own Personal Obstacles

August is a rough month for me this year. I’m still fighting about my health insurance renewal, and no matter how hard I push, it looks like nothing changes until the first of September. This problem has passed beyond my control, so I do my best to focus on

My Writing Journey

Writing always came naturally to me, if not always easily. As a child, my parents taught me to read and write before kindergarten. I fell in love with books and started reading well beyond my age group. Unlike the overbearing atmosphere of today, my parents never told me a book

Looking for the Silver Lining

Constantly thinking about what goes wrong is a recipe for a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is so easy to let the world drag me down, to give up the struggle to find Kindness during all the chaos, but I won’t give up. I’ve started more than five articles and

Rationing My Medication

Why is it that in the most powerful country in the world, I have to ration my essential medications? At the same time, I am waiting for the paperwork snafu to be corrected so my Medicaid and insurance coverage resume. I don’t particularly appreciate talking about politics or controversial