Inner Voice

 

Yes, there is such a thing as inner voice, I've discovered that after retiring from the workforce. It doesn't control me, but I listen to it.

Here are some examples of what it says:

quotes

Sometimes I wish to introduce in my posts a few well-known quotations as other bloggers do. Well, here's my inner voice's reaction to that: 'At your age, you should have your own pearls of wisdom, not use those of other people'.

flowers

I ocassionally get flowers, but rarely offer flowers to others. My inner voice says: 'Leave them in their natural bed, don't kill them. Flowers are not like fruit and edible plants. They are not needed in nutrition; they exist mainly to delight our eyes with their beauty, colors , and shape. Prolong their life by leaving them in their  growing place'.

climate

A lot of bloggers write about the weather. 'Don't,  says my inner voice. It's God's domain. You may write, if you wish about pollution - that's more like Man's domain. Complaining about the weather might make God angry'.

Warnings

I'm all for freedom of speech and thought. I don't mind differences of opinion; I can cope with that.

'Beware! says my inner voice, you are in the minority. You'd better keep your mouth shut if you don't want to lose friends and even family. They might  cut off relationship with you'.

Well, here my inner voice has a conflict with my self. I'm not willing to give up  the basic value of freedom. If the above, wish to leave me because I think differently, well, so be it.

Corruption

Corruption is everywhere, even at the most unexpected places  such as Help/Volunteering organizations. (I became suspicious after I noticed the huge number of such organizations. I found out they get significant funds from the government and from various philanthropic bodies with almost non existing supervision. Where there's big money, there's always corruption).

'You cannot and should not trust anyone but God , says  my inner voice, and I know from daily experience that this is so.

Health

'Try homemade remedies first, before rushing to the clinic / hospital ; don't make yourself dependent on doctors and medical procedures. Dependence is slow death' - says my inner voice.

'Keep it small and simple! Save your energy!  No  upstairs, downstairs house, no big garden.  Even hiring and employing people like a gardener or a cleaning lady - is Work, and at a certain age (usually after crossing 70), any work becomes hard to do'.

*

I tend to tell people that, in my opinion, Retirement,  which marks the beginning of the third and last phase in  life, is our only chance to have some kind of dialogue with our body and soul. This dialogue benefits us, and we wish we had done that earlier.

 

 

April's Major Events

Heads of the electoral parties - from "Haaretz" newspaper

On the 9th of April we had the General Elections;  on the 19th we will be  celebrating Passover (Pesach).. Both April  events are a bit of a madness thing.

the polling station in my neighborhood

'blue evil eye'  poster on the wall, in the entrance hall 

There were 47(!!) registered political groups  (including the regular parties) participating in the elections. That hardly looks to me like democracy,  more like anarchy.
I went "to do my duty" as a law-abiding citizen, in the evening hours, when  it's quieter, with less people waiting in line to enter the polling room.  

inside the booth with the ballots

election workers;  the blue box where we cast the ballot

 voter handing in his ID and after check, getting an envelope

After the elections, forming a coalition is not an easy task. The largest parties rarely get more than 30-35 seats each (61 is needed for a government). so negotiations start, and this is a real circus or nightmare - depends on the beholder.

I'm rather indifferent to all this  'more of the same' show. 
Politicians see only the votes that will assure them a seat in Parliament, with all the power that comes with it; they don't care about the people, or the country.

*

Passover (Pesach), commemorates the journey from slavery to freedom. What sort of freedom?! We are slaves to cleaning, scrubbing, burning , spending, cooking - before, during, and after the holiday.

Plate for the symbolic essentials (egg, horseraddish, charoset etc)

Moreover, during Passover, we, the people in the land of the glorious Pita bread, have to abstain from bread made with raising flour, and from grains and their derivates (beer). We are said to eat  unleavened bread, called  'matza'. One gets used to that, but it's not the greatest of eating pleasures. 

Matza, near the green bottle

The weather is fine and drags people out to trips and picnics.
Kids have vacation during the Passover week ; many adults also take the days off, so places are crowded, traffic is congested.
And yet, we don't stay at home. As long as we can stand on our feet, we are all out and about.