Something Barrowed

I am not the smartest person on the planet and I know that. As a matter of fact all of the people that I consider friends are far smarter than I in some way or another, or mostly many ways. The below is from one such person in response to one of my blogs. What she has to say is very powerful, but how she says it is what is amazing to me...far beyond eloquent...enjoy.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen. ~Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

I agree. A high "moral code", or whatever name it is given, should be the standard of humans relating. Muffled under the vogue of acceptance .. this cheaper version of freedom appears to allow everything in a denied reality of bondage. If I stand for nothing, I fall for anything ... that's not freedom, it's chains of compliance. If each perspective maintains a reality in and of itself and I am to accept perspectives as individual truths, where as a communal body of individuals may we possibly relate without harm?

Morals, manners, human relationships are the outpouring of our inner lives. How and what I think about has direct correlation to whom and how I interact. If I think positively with gratitude for the people & gifts God has placed & will place in my path, then my actions and words will reflect. If my mind lingers on lewd fantasy, negative responses & darkness, again my actions and words will reflect. I wil not stand to be subject to bondage. Fall the walls of vain acceptance and stand up for what is uplifting, that is what is right. Bring back the moral code.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"There is something else I am after, out here in the wild. I am searching for an even more elusive prey ... something that can only be found through the help of the wilderness. I am looking for my heart." ~ John Eldredge Wild at Heart

Follow the winds that be, fly your kite, sail it high, let it lead, flitter by.
A search, a quest, unsettled yet certain ... run fast, run wild, run
Without baggage, worry free, it's all as it's supposed to be
Blocks of building, buildings demolished, closer now, beautifully polished

The Winds They Are a Changing

Destination Boise, ID.

Wanderlust. Into the wild. Go West my son.

Who knows how many different ways people have expressed the want for adventure, the yearning for the great unknown. We are a strange animal humans. People don't like change. People are afraid of change. People resist change...and yet...

I don't know what I am searching for, and I don't know if I will ever find it, but if I stop looking I am pretty sure one of two things will happen, it will find me, or my spirit will die and me along with it. Not exactly sure which it is, but as soon as I know I will share the answer with you...depending I guess.

For now, I know the next stop is Boise, ID. For how long...

As a consultant I have seen all the resistance to change you can imagine. In my life, I have been a constant contradiction, both resisting and thirsting. I hope that when I find the middle I will know.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

It Is Not About You

For another steadfast and overly consistent friend.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."

I know, Star Trek quotes are not exactly literary, but this one is so profoundly true, at least in my mind, that I have to throw this out there for you to chew on.

When people act in such a fashion as to improve their own situation, standing, comfort level, and do so in utter conflict to what is best for those around them, something needs to be done, said, to right that wrong. Too many times in today's world are people allowed to build their own little kingdoms, or "queendoms," because it is easier for all those involved. Unfortunately more often than not those in the crossfire get hurt, and lose far more than they gain and hardly ever even know what they have lost.

We should all be held to a standard that forces us to put others first, and others' best interest first. We should all be forced to recognize that nothing is ever as it seems, or at least not exactly as it seems, and that there is most likely a truer, more important truth out there for all to see and learn from.

Too often today people are allowed, especially young people (ok, now I am officially old), to take the easy route, not finish what they start, not see things through, not attempt to be better people, better citizens, better colleagues, better "teammates," in the process of becoming successful. We let them feel as though they have won some mystical battle, when all that has happened is that no one wants the responsibility, or the personal discomfort of telling them they are wrong, or of showing them the "real" truth, the true lesson.

"Perception is reality." A much used phrase, a very popular phrase among those that are in a position to manage, guide, teach, and one that is only true because we allowed it to be so.

At some point the world has to scream ENOUGH, and start taking absolute responsibility for what we have all created, or the "kings" and queens" of the world will be allowed to muddle on as they always have, and continue to do so much harm and damage that our country and our world will never recover.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

Moral Code

This was not the plan. Every day, then every week, now once a month. I plan to get better at this again and more consistent, but for now here we are.

This one is pretty simple, and for a friend that has always been consistent, never faded, always been in my corner and believes a great deal more in me than I do.

I have said before that I not perfect, not even close, and when it comes to living by a "moral code," I have slipped more often than I like to think, but my friend is right about the basic concept.

I do believe, very much so, that there are very clear lines between right and wrong, and while the ones the line that exists for big things, like how to be a human being and be kind, caring and respectful of others, is very important.

There are things that should never be said, period. There are things that should never be done, no matter what, ever. There is a way to act in the privacy of your own home, and then a higher standard in public, and then an even higher standard in "mixed" company.

Is this "old fashioned?" Sure, I guess. Has the world changed? Yes. Has it changed for the better? In this sense, not at all, in any way, or any fashion. Is it better in some parts of our country and the world than others? Unfortunately, yes.

I was recently allowed the opportunity to spend some time observing a great man, and a great coach, and someone that has endured a great deal in his life, and persevered. This man very much lives by this code, and he instills this in his players, and in every player, student, young man, that he has the opportunity to come in contact with. I watched this Gentlemen address a group of young people, and college players, and youth and college coaches, and his message was, to paraphrase, be a good person, and be a good teammate, "open a door for a teammate." I am not certain, but fairly much so, that he meant that figuratively, as well as quite literally.

There is right and wrong, and anybody that tells you different, or believes different, is part of the problem we face in the world today. This is not about censoring, or restricting ones right to be free, this is about reeducating the world on what is good, kind, moral human behavior, and what isn't, and how important, necessary, vital, to our planet it is to for everyone to try and be the kindest person on the planet because then even though nobody can be perfect, at least we have a chance if everyone is trying.

"Look out for number 1." I believe that statement should be look out for number 2 because if everyone did that then everyone would be looked out for in return.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

Questions and Answers

A friend sent me these questions today and thought I would include the answers and perhaps some further explanation. The questions from today are italicizd, the original answers in bold.

What is your favorite...

Color?

Have you seen my paintings?? I like blue, and red, but I just like color.

Season of the year?

Fall for the leaves, Winter for the skiing and how crystally everything looks, the reflection of the sun off the ice on the trees, spring for the smell of promise, and summer for the warmth.

Holiday?

Thanksgiving for the food and Christmas for the giving. Although it has been a very long time since Thanksgiving has been as it was once upon a time, and Christmas has lost its spirit.

Activity?

Skiing. Very few people get to know the shear joy of skiing, at level some of us are lucky enough to experience. The quiet of standing on top of a mountain, completely alone, long after all are gone. Looking out across most of Vermont, and some of Hew Hampshire, Lake Champlain with NY in the distance. Gliding down deserted trails catching the last glimpses of light as the day comes to an end. Or, standing, quite literally, on the edge of the Alps seperating Switzerland from Italy in the shadow of das Matterhorn.

Past time?

Isn't this the same as activity?? Cooking. A love, and gift, I got from Ernistine.

Movie?

You are kidding right?? I am watching one now, watch too many probably, but love many. I am watching Sabrina, the remake, with Harrison Ford. Very well done and very funny. The answer is I love movies, not Horror, and not stupid, but other than that, most. There will be a link here soon to my movie suggestions for those that are interested.

Book?

I have to think about this for a while. When I was younger, Old Man and The Sea. Later, Of Mice and Men.

How would you describe yourself?

Crazy. Caring.

If you could do anything in the world what would it be?

Retire. That is not the answer, but I don't want to answer right now.

Teach
Coach
Consult
Mentor (read help others learn from the multiple of listakes I have made)
Write
Paint
Act
Produce
Love

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

Where's the Rush

Just a quick thought about Rush Limbaugh.  The other morning I was listening to the news on a talk radio station, having woken up early to hear this particular show.  I had spent the evening before with the two anchors of the show at a friends wine tasting dinner and they were going to be discussing the dinner and the restaurant on air so I tuned in.  The only problem was that they are on from six to nine AM.

 

I woke up at 5:30, tuned in the station and laid in bed waiting.  I heard them come on the air and surprisingly only one sounded a bit groggy, and was not the one that I would have guessed based on the wine consumption.  Anyway, I was laying in bed listening to the show, and I must have drifted off just before they discussed the event because I missed it.  For the next two hours I drifted in and out hearing their show, but also hearing this commercial for the Rush Limbaugh show which apparently follows theirs each morning.

 

Every time I heard this commercial I simply wanted to pick up the phone, in my half asleep haze, and tell Rush what a moron he is.  Sorry to those that like him, but he is.  His voice has always grated on me, no more so than when trying to fall back to sleep, and he comes up with some of the most aggravating views, or ideas, one could ever come up with, and they are nonsensical.

 

The one from that morning, that was in his commercial each time, was his view that President Obama's redistribution of wealth was hugely unfair to the "super rich," his term not mine, and a huge windfall for the "super poor."  What??  His example was even funnier because mathematically it made no sense.

 

Rush may in fact be right that the super poor will gain an average of $ 2000, and the super rich will lose on average $ 120,000, or whatever number he used for the super rich, again I was half asleep, but $ 2000 to someone that has no money is amazing and will absolutely change a persons life, $120,000, $ 200,000, it does not matter, to the super rich, is pocket change.  If the total annual income for an entire family is $ 20,000 a year than an additional 10 % is real money.  For multi-millionaires, or billionaires, $ 200,000 is at worst 1% of their income, or rounding error.

 

If Mr. Limbaugh wants to make arguments against redistribution, or "big government," or anything else, he should at least use a sound mathematical argument, something that can't be easily defeated by a fifth grader!!

 

Thank you again for getting this far with me.

It Is What It Is

"now a days people really take kindness for weakness"

I have tried to write about this very thought on many occasions, and have not come close to expressing this thought this well. I have never claimed to be eloquent, nor succinct. This is a quote from an e-mail I received last night. This is from a friend that I respect and admire and I thank him for sharing.

I have felt this way for a long time now, "death of common courtesy," and people have been telling me for years that I have to stop being so nice, whatever that means, as if it were possible. I can only be who I am and will never stop, at least not before I stop breathing.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.