Well, this all came through a refreshing mist, beautiful waterfall, and lovely conclusion. As soon as I came here, I went straight to the Member's poetry section, and this thread, where I saw Hillary's name as the last poster. I was, of course, looking for your response to my comments made earlier today.
The first post I read was C2's confirming my suspicions as to his intent, more pointedly, lack of it. Ah! Relief from the get-go. Thanks for making that crystal clear, C2

, and for your choice of affirming words. Ditto

!
Then, Linda ~ how great it is to see you showing up in other threads and discussions. You jumped right in, on-target actually, with the jist of where our exchanges had been and were leading. When I speak of the grid and the filter, I hope my other comments made it clear that, at times, despite my 'best' ~
or lazy ~ efforts make for huge, gaping holes in both grid and filter, and I just plunge on through. However, I do still try to remain conscious of "do unto others . . . ", and specifically picturing Roshi or Leonard really helps in that. I don't compromise the fact of their being my opinions and my expression of them being honest. It's just the condition of the vehicle, in which they travel to their destination, that I try to take care with. Thanks for your "even keel" observation. I'll put that in the column labeled "Proof that 'grid and filter' works."
I felt some consternation when I saw your comment about, "I just became bummed out over a session which I'm obviously letting interfere with my further participation." I came ready to implore Hillary to continue posting; however, if need be, I stand ready to switch my implorations [I doubt Webster's gotten wind of that one, yet

] to you. Contrary to getting bogged down, this comment of yours even bears repeating, "However, if one hangs out in this site long enough - the obvious happens. You begin to see the people behind the post." That's the truth in a nutshell. Actually, for me it's not the extremes of opinions that are concerning, but how those extremes get expressed. Sticking to [attacking?] the issue, not the personality [the Christian expression is "principle over personality"] seems the most important thing in that. I was glad to see your thoughts on all this, as when it comes to opinions in the elections threads, mine are incredibly aligned with your own. I was heavily involved, early-on, when it
felt like we might not be powerless regarding the invasion of Iraq, and now I'm finding the political discussions to just be exhausting.
That's not to say that they shouldn't go on, but rather that that's my own, physiological response to reading them. I ignore the elections thread for a couple days at a time, and then read a bunch of postings at once, figuring, "At least I'll only feel worn out, and like a threadbare dishrag, once every couple days, instead of daily." I expressed my overwhelming visceral reaction to it all when I described my imagined painting. That remains. Nothing other than a new world scene is likely to change it

.
Paula is always Paula. Straightforward and true. We're also a great example of how sticking it out here can result in some amazing transformations

. I do take issue with your comment on not having a spiritual bone in your body, though, Paula. It's just not the kind that happens to show up on x-rays.
"I think the diversity of personalities on the board makes the whole experience richer." You got
that right, Linda!
Love,
Lizzy