Opportunities To Love And Nurture Our Neglected Self

Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world. Pema Chodron

What is the relationship you have with yourself? Are you aware of your inner dialogue related with your self-worth? How do you treat yourself when youre angry, fearful or sad? How we relate to ourselves during our darkest moments shows what type of relationship we with ourselves. Everyone experiences positive emotions when things are going right, but what about when life isnt going according to plan? These are opportunities to love and nurture our neglected self because the disowned self is the one we must come home to. What do I mean by coming home to ourselves? It means creating a place to honour our emotions, especially the difficult ones which call for our attention.

Many people run away from their negative emotions, and I used to be one of them. Besides, who wants to experience negative states regularly? We want to feel alive and happy and negative emotions dont fit into that plan. Or do they? Negative emotions serve a purpose and we mustnt run away from them but deal with them with openness and compassion. Because they are important messengers and running away delays our emotional well-being. Think about the negative emotions you experience from time to time? How do you process them? Do you journal your feelings while paying attention to what theyre trying to tell you?

Consider the following scenario as an example of why we must love and nurture our neglected self. Your boss constantly criticises you on your work performance, and you feel a sense of: sadness, frustration and anger. Over time, you bottle these emotions because they remind you of the disparaging comments from your boss. But what if theres an underlying message contained within these emotions? Perhaps by connecting with them on a deeper level, you learn not to take the criticism personally but improve respective areas of your work, thus leading to a promotion.

When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives.Kristin Neff

Emotions are transitory events that come and go from our nervous system, hundreds of times a day. Most people are not mindful of them because theres so much going on inside their heads. That is why we should listen to what is taking place beneath the surface of our lives, otherwise we will succumb to the negative emotions like a tsunami. Connecting with our emotional life means checking in with ourselves to see how were doing. It means stopping, feeling and listening to what the emotions are trying to convey. A practice I undertake when anger, frustration or fear emerges is to stop what Im doing and place my hands on my heart to observe my emotions. I sit and feel them, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable they are. I know these emotions will pass, and my job is to connect with them through an embodied experience.

An embodied experience means to somatically perceive through our nervous system, the emotion/s without deferring them. Many people distract themselves via: drinking, drugs, food, shopping, etc. when negative emotions surface. But eventually the emotion will seep through and grab our attention, when we least expect it. Our emotions are our souls calling card. They dont have an agenda other than to communicate the essence of our true selves. They help us make sense of life, so we can live in congruency with our authentic self. For example, if youre not receiving adequate love and affection from your partner, your emotions will tell you something isnt right. Some people try to rationalise it by telling themselves their partner is busy at work or has a lot on their plate. But our emotions dont lie because they are the foundation of our intuition, if we care to listen. Perhaps were afraid to tell our partner we need more intimacy in the relationship? We might fear putting our demands on them will make them think were being demanding, and so we hold back.

Have you experienced something like this before? It might start out as a gut feeling that grows and turns into confrontation because you havent communicated yourself properly. Therefore, we must love and nurture our neglected self because it is the part of us we need to come home to. The neglected self is the comfortable sofa we lay our weary body after a long day at work. It is the comfy pyjamas we wear on a cold winters day. But like all emotions, we must also make room for negative emotions and process them with openness. The key is to be with your emotions and feel them in your body. Simply, stop what youre doing, and breathe into that area until the emotion dissolves or transforms.

I did this exercise recently after experiencing anger and tension from a busy day that didnt go as planned. I was sitting down late one evening, looking forward to reading, and was repeatedly interrupted, which led to anger and stress. I remember a thought entering my mind that said: I dont have time for this right now. In the next moment, I dropped what I was doing and breathed deeply for three or four minutes, whilst moving my awareness to my chest where the anger was situated. What took place moments later was the most exquisite love I have experienced. Its presence was reassuring and comforting, and I didnt want to return to what I was doing. Ive since experienced many more moments like this because what I learned is that on the other side of our negative emotions is a pure and abiding love that beckons us to come home to. It is this love we must nurture often, instead of neglecting coming home to our true self.

Read more here:
How To Love And Nurture Your Neglected Self - Thrive Global

DANIEL McCLOUD

Certain words evoke certain feelings and generate specific thought processes. For instance, when you hear the word marginalized, underrepresented, and at-risk. One immediately tends to think, poor, people of color. But cant anyone be marginalized, underrepresented, and viewed as at-risk when not provided with adequate resources? Terms such as these lead people to stereotype and incorrectly reason that these must be individuals who are lazy, criminal, and uneducated. Perhaps we should redefine this terminology. What if when we hear these words, instead of them invoking negative stereotypes about people of color, they instead remind us of the inequities and oppressive systems that are present in America. We must realize that these inequities are the reasons for the labeling or branding of groups of people, unjustly based on their skin color and not rightfully because of social injustice.

Instead of invoking victim-blaming and apathetic behavior, when we hear these words, we instead seek to become more empathetic, attempting to get inside another persons feelings and worldview. What if these words then lead us to seek self-knowledge and to take inventory of our own implicit biases and prejudices. To redefine these words also requires a level of respect for all people, particularly those who may be different than us. According to Wiggins & McTighe (1998), respect can lead to open-mindedness regarding the views of others.

Yes, words and language are powerful, but actions are even more powerful. We must choose to change the written narrative that has, for years, been used as a tool of oppression. How we describe the human condition has always been critical to identifying injustice and moving towards solutions. As the late Toni Morrison once said, We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.

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The Lion's Den | Sticks and stones - The Community Word

TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Last week on the show, we covered the sentencing of Roger Stone, who is perhaps the most undeserving of all the many casualties of the Russian collusion hysteria.

Stone received more than three years in prison. He will be over 70 when he gets out. Officially, his crime was lying about e-mails, e-mails that were themselves entirely harmless.

From the first days, Stone's prosecution was a transparentpolitical hit job. Washington wanted him imprisoned because for 40 years, he was Donald Trump's closest political adviser.

Amy Berman Jackson is the federal judge who oversaw the case, she was appointed by Barack Obama. She is an openly partisan Democrat. She's made no attempt to hide that.

Jackson allowed the foreman of the jury to lie about her political background, which in a normal court of law would have disqualified her immediately, but Jackson let her stay and then defended her.

Then, Jackson herself lied about the case. She claimed that Stone had been prosecuted because he, quote, "covered up for the president," when in fact the charges against Roger Stone had nothing to do that. Amy Berman Jackson is a disgrace to the judiciary. It's frightening that in a country like ours she has power, and she does.

We said that on this show last week. Today during a hearing, Jackson attacked us, and once again she lied as she did it. Jackson accused the show of, quote, "invading the privacy of the foreman of the jury," when in fact, the juror herself has spoken publicly and revealed her own identity.

Many media outlets published her name including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN, all of which of course Jackson approves of because they're on her side. Then, Jackson accused the show of, quote, "harassing the jurors," even encouraging violence against them. That is insane. Of course, we did no such thing.

Finally, Jackson called our criticism of her, quote, antithetical to our system of justice, end quote, which proves that not only is Amy Berman Jackson corrupt, dishonest and authoritarian -- and she is definitely all of those things -- she also has no sense of self-awareness whatsoever.

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Tucker Carlson calls judge in Roger Stone case corrupt, dishonest, and authoritarian and a disgrace to the judiciary - Media Matters for America

A Trojan horse for trashy television ... Love Is Blinds Giannina. Photograph: Netflix

By now, in the final days of Netflixs three-week event, you will have at least heard of Love Is Blind. You may well have watched all of it, suppressing your horror and self-loathing for just one more 50-minute episode. If not, then here is the premise: 30 men and women date each other, in rotation, from isolated pods where sight unseen they pair off, which is obviously to say, they get engaged. Only then do they see each other for the first time one month before their wedding day.

Then, they must zip through relationship milestones first holiday together, cohabitation, meeting the parents before they decide, at the altar, whether or not to say: I do. The weddings episode, the finale, will be available on Netflix from Thursday.

Love Is Blind is, undeniably, wildly addictive as you would expect of a show that combines some of the most controversial reality concepts of the last 20 years with the data and resources of the worlds most powerful streaming platform. Take the close confines and body-con of Love Island, the sensorial restriction of Dating in the Dark, the shonky pseudoscience of Naked Attraction, the prom-y pageantry of The Bachelor franchise and the stakes of Married at First Sight. Throw in Nick and Vanessa Lachey as hosts and a group of extremely free-feeling Americans (some with acoustic guitars) and you have Love Is Blind.

No wonder you cant look away Netflix has its Frankensteins monster of trash TV. In a crowded field, Love Is Blind is reality television at its most compelling and its most repellent; an unparalleled push-pull of programming that you can hardly bring yourself to watch through splayed fingers. For eight straight hours.

The idea we are regularly reminded, especially by the participant who is a scientist is to test the working hypothesis of the title: is love blind? The unhappy singletons complain of a distracted, superficial dating culture (the much-moaned-about apps are not singled out, but we know which ones they are talking about). Without exception, they are ready to meet the person they will spend the rest of their life with.

But the setup of Love Is Blind does not grapple with the question suggested by its title. For a start, all the contestants are highly photogenic. The time spent blind dating, too, is so short as to barely commit to testing the premise: our cautious scientist Cameron proposes to Lauren from behind a wall after just five days.

Ive had meals in my refrigerator longer than that, gushes his charming bride-to-be, with some self-awareness but not enough to save her.

Just as Naked Attraction justifies the gleeful scrutiny of genitalia by posing the question: Can chemistry be judged on physical attraction alone? (before always finding that the answer is no), the faux-scientific experiment of Love Is Blind is in fact a Trojan horse for trashy television of a potency previously unseen.

By one metric (and probably many of Netflixs), that makes it a success. But in some ways Love Is Blind is less than the sum of even its parts.

No one watches a reality TV show for its insights into modern life and love but sometimes you do pick them up along the way. In 2019, the US Bachelor franchise got its first same-sex proposal, four years after same-sex marriage was legalised by the supreme court. A contestant is embroiled in furore for her alleged support of White Lives Matter memorabilia; past seasons have taken in questions of consent, same-sex attraction, consensual non-monogamy, and abuse.

In the UK, love it or hate it, Love Island is an accurate reflection of some part of modern British culture, from fashion, slang and beauty standards to societys social media-centricity and sexual mores.

Conversely, Love Is Blind says curiously little while claiming to say a lot. In fact, the picture of love and dating that can be extrapolated from its contestants musings through the wall is conservative and weirdly anachronistic. The playboy Barnett dreams of a wife in no more specific detail than a woman whose face lights up when he returns home. Ex-tank mechanic Amber speaks with regret about her abortion. Carlton worries that his bisexuality and past same-sex relationships will repel his future wife on the other side of the wall.

The conservatism of the US means its reality television has never quite managed to separate sex with love but still, all this talk of happily ever after and honey, Im home lands oddly from isolated dating pods. If Love Is Blind really is as has been suggested the final blow to the final nail in the coffin of civilisation, and possibly humanity, it is of a piece with the so-called boring dystopia, where we may not even see the end coming. If we could bring ourselves to look away.

Hugely compelling for containing nothing of substance, Love Is Blind is the output of an algorithm catering to our worst selves. Really, all it tells us is that Netflix knows what we want, in our heart of hearts, better than we do ourselves. Thats the real relationship behind its success dare I say: the only one.

Link:
Love Is Blind: Netflix's hit is dating TV at its most awful and compelling - The Guardian

For the "dominant species" human beings sure do a lot of dumb stuff.

Reddit user HastyTallGuy asked:

What's the dumbest sh*t you think humans have done as a species?

We're not talking about your small-scale-stupid here, folks. The responses people came up with were typically some seriously massive faux pas on our part. It's almost like we have absolutely no self awareness as a species.

We joke about lemmings following each other off cliffs (which isn't actually a natural behavior for lemmings, but we will let you Google the horrific backstory behind that belief. Spoiler alert: Humans caused it because we're terrible.) but if you really study it, we've got a track record for some serious self-destruction.

Don't believe me? Take a look. The whole cliff lemming thing is honestly one of the least awful things we have come up with.

Burning the Library of Alexandria was pretty dumb.

- TatsumakiRonyk

The burning of the Library of Alexandria is nothing compared to the Siege of Baghdad by the Mongol empire, when the vast contents of the House of Wisdom were dumped into the river. One scholar managed to save approximately 400,000 books from destruction and that was apparently a drop in the bucket of what was kept there. The Mongols also killed the majority of scholars, academics, and philosophers that had congregated in Baghdad as it was a major center of learning.

It abruptly ended an age of scientific advancement and destabilized the region in ways that are still being felt 600 years later.

- apathyczar

We're anti-nuclear during a climate crisis. We're anti-GMO while producing 8 billion hungry mouths. We make things we use for ten minutes out of stuff that lasts for thousands of years. We even screwed up something as straightforwardly life-bettering as vaccination. There's fierce competition for dumbest.

- carbonetc

Naming one of the members of our evolutionary tree "Homo Erectus"

- hulidoshi

Well, at a certain point about 40-50 years ago we studied what the impacts of our industry were on the planet, and the results were horrifying. We realized that at the rate we were moving, we would drive ourselves to extinction along with the majority of other species. Luckily, we knew what would need to be done to stop it. We still had time.

We buried those reports and doubled down on the behaviors that are going to kill us all. To this day, even after all the reports are public, the scientific consensus is that we're f*cked, and we're already seeing early impacts of climate change, there are people who make a living simultaneously arguing that it isn't real, and if it is it's not a big deal. And they're preventing us from taking action against it.

So yeah, I pick that one. Deliberate self extinction seems pretty dumb.

- LotusFlare

Putting so many consumer goods in one-time use plastic containers. There's plastic everywhere, and no great way to get rid of it.

- Don_Day_Elbano

I'm always amazed that as a planet we have the knowledge/resources/funding to invent literally anything yet we cant figure out a way to dispose of a plastic bag.

- night_breed

We can literally make biodegradable plastic, but we don't because of lobbying. I think lobbying can be great if done properly, but corporations with too much power keep sustainable economies illegal.

- Future_Jared

Producing electric, hybrid and/or solar cars should have been a priority a very long time ago.

How to limit, process and/or eliminate garbage from the planet/ocean should have been a priority a very long time ago.

Allowing and voting in a bunch of Boomer politicians to decide what our world should look like when most of them are at the end of their lifespans. They really don't care what the environment, national debts, AIDS or cancer looks like, because they won't be alive long enough for it to affect them. If you can ask someone "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" and they can honestly answer "The Grave", why do we vote them into office?

- gampeegamp

The constant effort to prolong lives of people that are dying or should be dead. For the most part we do this for the well being of friends and family not the individual that is dying.

I also don't think we should use paramedicals to prolong the life of people who can simply change their lifestyle and/or diet to be healthier. If they cant make the effort to take care of themselves, why should they continue to be here other than to support pharmaceutical companies?

Harsh, I know, but logical to me.

- BodhiBill

Falling for snake oil salesmen in the 1800s, apparently forgetting about it, then once again believing oils have magical powers in 2000 with the advent of the essential oil fad.

It's like every 100 years or so we are doomed to forget that various oils are not magical.

- UnlikelyPerogi

Listen you all are going way to high for dumb how about when WE WERE EATING TIDE PODS?

- CrazeCranium

Honestly, this is a good answer. A lot of the other answers on this topic are explainable, or even justifiable.

For example - why do we pollute? Because we created a lot of ridiculously convenient inventions that produce waste, and it wasn't clear until later just how bad that waste was for the planet. By the time it became clear, most of the population was dead-set in using those conveniences so now it's really hard to go back.

But eating Tide Pods? People should've known better.

- Tesla__Coil

The USA insisting that all other countries ban hemp because of the racist fear of jazz musicians.

Almost 100 years of scientific research delayed by a few old white men trying to make a dollar. The medical, industrial and chemical uses could have greatly advanced humanity. Not to mention a biodegradable alternative to all the plastics currently choking our oceans.

- ALinIndy

View original post here:
People Share The Dumbest Things Humans Have Done As A Species - Comic Sands

Standing up unapologetically for your company's culture will help you zero in on mismatches that could become liabilities later.

February 20, 2020 5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Hiring isnt just about grabbing the best talent, and job hunting isnt only about landing the gig. Both sides should be considering the best fit to set everyone up for success. After all, even a candidates most admirable qualities may be incompatible with how your company operates.

I've hired hundreds of people. Heres why they got the job plus some guiding principles to help you determine whether candidates are a good fit for your company.

The perfect candidate for one position, or one company's culture, could be a terrible fit for another. While its tempting to seek out the seemingly sparkling resume or perfect technical skills and let the rest take care of itself, this can be an expensive and frustrating mistake. Asking the right questions during the interview will help you determine whether the candidate youre considering could be more likely to help you meet goals or drag you off track. If youre interviewing an ambitious team lead who wants a specific number of direct reports and an office with a door, they could feel undervalued from the start by your agile start-up with its open-floor layout. Someone who depends on written procedures and rigid hierarchies mightfeel unmoored and undervalued by your more laid-back culture. That doesnt mean theyre bad candidates, but not every candidate is self-aware or forthcoming enough to tell you those are their top priorities.

Interview questions to determine cultural fit cant be downloaded from a template or duplicated from your competitors; that would only tell you if a candidate would be a good fit for another company, not yours. Knowing your culture (or the culture you want to create) and standing up for it unapologetically will help you zero in on mismatches that could become liabilities later.

No one should expectemployees to be perfectwith no weaknesses. Failing to answer the classic interview question Whats your biggest weakness? (or worse, dodging with a humblebrag like"Im a workaholic and never leave the office")shows immaturity, if not outright narcissism. An honest answer that shows some humility, self-awareness and a strategy to improve can be more telling than any "strength." The ability to identify your own shortcomings is a critical component of self-improvement, and hiring for values over skills at any organization will help lead to a team well-positioned to grow with the company.

For better or worse, who gets hired is a subset of who gets interviewed. If you want to hire more diverse candidates, be deliberate about seeking out candidates who complement rather than duplicate your current team.

Diversity isnt just nice to have;its essential to maximizing your teams potential. Be intentional about it. For the company I'm with in particular,working in fintech makes this particularly challenging because were at the intersection of two industries (financial services and technology) that, historically, are bothrelatively homogenous. No matter your industry, it's important to make a conscious commitment to finding and cultivating a demographically diverse workforce by prioritizing strategies such asrecruiting from historically black colleges and universities, attending community career fairs, hosting meet-ups and offering visa sponsorship to anyone, of any background, who shares your values. Diversity doesnt just make us better; it makes us who we are.

One example that stands out in my experience? A few years ago, I hired a young woman who was a former convict. Sheknew her strengths and shortcomings, and shehad a strong self-awareness that I believed would thrive at my company. Within two years, she was an adored team manager and eventually left to start her own business to give opportunities to other women with criminal histories. Her successful business is now one of my company's trusted vendors.

Authenticity is an important part of company culture; it's a good idea to prioritize that team members feel they can bring their whole selves to work. For example, my company asks in panel interviews about candidates favorite curse wordsand what one word theyd want on their tombstone, since our culture is irreverent and we want people to be both comfortable and vulnerable at work. It's okay if your interview questions deter some qualified applicants because thats part of the process, too. Not everyone is right for the job, and no job is right for everyone. The trick is to find out before you hire.

When my company had just launched, we tended to hire generalists people who could get things done quickly and turn on a dime when a test strategy fell flat. But as we grew past 100 employees, we were eager to hire team members who possessed niche knowledge who coulddive deep into very specific skills needed at critical points in projects. Now we rely on an internal farm system of flexible, fast learners, who can be put onto specific tasks and build expertise as needed.

One of the great challenges of building a business, not just staffing one, is finding high performers who can grow with you and step into new roles as the business's needs change. If you're hiring for the company you're going to be 18 or 24 months from now, for example, you could be looking for talented generalists with can-do attitudes.Your culture and values are unique to your business, but whatever your challenges, dont just hire employees. Find, curate and invest in a team of individuals who exemplify your values in order to make a game-changing impact.

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I've Interviewed and Hired Thousands of People. Here's What to Keep in Mind Before Offering the Job. - Entrepreneur

Ready for the 2020 Census? The Red Bank Public Library can help you respond.

Starting on March 12 through March 20, U.S. households will be asked to respond online or by phone to an invitation issued by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count fulfills a constitution mandate that requires a census of the population be completed every 10 years the results of which establish congressional districts for representation in Congress.

In addition, Response is important because statistics from the census are used in distributing where hundreds of billions in funding for school lunches, hospitals, roads and much more. The invitations will remind respondents to include everyone living in the household, whether they are related or not. This includes young children. Your response will impact communities for the next decade, said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham.

The Red Bank Public Library is ready to assist by providing Internet access for community members to respond online. In fact, the Library was one of only two in the state to receive a $2,000 mini grant from ALA to support its efforts to gather a complete count of the community.

Watch your mailbox and come to the Red Bank Public Library with your Census invitation which will include instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone.

The library is located at 84 West Front Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701. Hours are: Monday: 10am 5pm Tuesday: 10am 9pm Wednesday: 1pm 9pm Thursday: 1pm 9pm Friday: 10am 5pm Saturday: 10am 5pm Sunday: Closed

The mission of The Red Bank Public Library is to provide materials, information, technology and cultural opportunities to enrich, empower, educate and entertain people of all ages and backgrounds.

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RED BANK: CENSUS HELP AT THE LIBRARY - redbankgreen

Public libraries have long since ceased to be just a collection of books. If you have visited us recently, you will have noticed that we also offer videos (DVDs), music (CDs), audiobooks, electronic books, magazines, and digital tablets for the little ones. All of these are within your reach, and all for free.

But today I have not come to tell you about the excellent collection of materials at your disposal. I would like to tell you about all the activities that Yakima Valley Libraries has to offer. Did you know that Yakima Valley Libraries offered more than 1,700 programs to thousands of children, teenagers and adults last year? Surprising, right?

Among the wide variety of free events available right now, we can highlight storytime, visits by writers and relevant people from the community, debates about social and economic news, talks about grants or scholarships, activities with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), 3D printing workshops (three dimensions), reading contests, reading clubs in Spanish (Tertulia) and English (Book Clubs), quilt exhibits, and genealogy programs to assist in the search for historical or family information.

Yakima Valley Libraries also maintains a special collection of original historical documents about the Yakima Valley. We have early maps, journals from the Oregon Trail, a collection of historical newspapers, and an extensive collection of area school yearbooks.

Our librarians already have prepared a series of events that we are sure will be to your liking. We will begin with Storytime Tour, a fun program where Clifford, the big red dog, will read stories about his adventures with Emily Elizabeth and his canine friends Cleo, T-Bone and Mac. Each stop of the Storytime Tour will include stories, songs, games, crafts and, as a final surprise, a Clifford stage appearance. In addition to stories and crafts, children and their families will receive a free photo with Clifford. This is definitely one of our favorite events, and we are sure it will be for you, too.

Of course, we also have events and activities for adults. Everything is ready for you to enjoy a virtual reality (VR) experience. The virtual reality experience programs are designed for adults and teens 13 and older. If you are interested in participating in any of these programs, you can do so in these libraries: Toppenish (March 5-6), Moxee (March 10) and Buena (March 12).

Program participants will have the opportunity to experience a 360-degree 3D simulation. Each Oculus device offers a variety of virtual reality options. You can take a tour of the White House, travel through the human circulatory system, or visit the International Space Station. Sessions last 15 minutes, and participants must register in advance. Teenagers (13-17) must present a permission form signed by their parent or legal guardian. Call us at 509-452-8541 to get more information about this program.

Finally, I would like to remind you that the fun at the Yakima Valley Libraries does not end when our doors close. We are always open, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, at our web address (www.yvl.org). Here you can access thousands of e-books, watch movies online on your smart TV or cellphone, read digital magazines, learn English on your computer or phone, and much more. Welcome to your Yakima Valley Libraries! We hope to see you soon.

Francisco Garcia-Ortiz is public library services director for Yakima Valley Libraries. Learn more at http://www.yvl.org.

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At the Library: Clifford and more: Library is more than books - Yakima Herald-Republic

SANDY POINT With all-electronic (cashless) tolling coming to the Bay Bridge this summer, the Maryland Transportation Authoritys E-ZPass Maryland Outreach Team is hosting events to provide free E-ZPass transponders and sign up new customers.

Customers can learn more about all-electronic tolling, what it means for motorists and its benefits and outreach four outreach events at the Queen Annes County Library in March. The first will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. March 3 at the Centreville library. Other sessions are set for 1 to 3 p.m. March 9 and 2 to 4 p.m. at the Kent Island branch, with the final session set for 10 a.m. to noon March 26 back at the Centreville branch.

With all-electronic tolling, cash is not accepted as payment. Drivers do not have to stop to pay tolls, as overhead gantries collect tolls electronically by E-ZPass or video tolling.

Commuters with an E-ZPass discount plan pay as little as $1.40 daily to cross the bridge, compared to $6 for video tolling. Transponders are free, and there is no monthly fee for Maryland residents.

Pre-loaded E-ZPass On the Go transponders are available at these events with a credit or debit card. Customers can use cash to open an account by visiting E-ZPass Maryland Customer Service Centers at MDTA toll facilities.

The benefits of all-electronic tolling include less idling time for better fuel efficiency and reduced vehicle emissions, decreased congestion, increased driver safety and a safer work environment for employees, according to MDTA.

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E-ZPass outreach teams coming to the library - MyEasternShoreMD

To the Editor:

In the 19th century, the nations libraries were more about warehousing and protecting materials than on circulation, making knowledge and information accessible to the elite few. At the end of the century, that model changed based on a vision by Andrew Carnegie to make information such as books, magazines, newspapers easily available to all. He dedicated over 65 million dollars of his money to communities to build public libraries. This vision significantly contributed to the increased general knowledge of all our citizens.

Through the 20th century, the libraries' mission continued to grow to include children's areas, book sharing with other libraries, the Dewey Decimal System to name a few.

Today, due to a digitized world, the library is no longer just about reading materials. It has evolved into a cultural and community center where many services are provided. Our library in North Hampton offers lecture presentations, videos, WIFI computer access, storytimes, book clubs, knitting and crafting groups, movie of the week, tween time, teen time for all to enjoy.

Some would say, with the advent of home computers, IPads, and other electronic devices, a library is not necessary. After all, information is available on Wikipedia and many other sources. The short answer is we dont need libraries under the 20th century model.

I submit that libraries are more important today than ever. It is a place where the community meets for social and learned interactions. Access to high-speed internet services, exposure to a world of knowledge, downloadable eBooks, audio eBooks, videos and music, a mobile app to take it with you, 3D printing (so you can hold what you have imagined), virtual reality, technology applied to a learning environment, innovative learning, creative learning (where you can unleash your imaginings), continued summer reading programs, coordinated learning with the local school system, and a librarian to help you use all these services are and can be available for all. These programs, offerings, and environment are what my family enjoy at our library and cultural center in North Hampton.

On March 10, the citizens of North Hampton have an opportunity to vote for a brand new 21st-century library on the Homestead property. Remember, the library is 6 percent of the town budget. But it is used by more than 1,600 people monthly. Please vote yes on Article 9.

Paul Marquis

North Hampton

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Letter: North Hampton Library- Vote yes on Article 9 - Seacoastonline.com