My Sunday Thought for 020517: A Right to Live

“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion
has already been born.”

-- Ronald Reagan

My daughter critiqued my blog recently, wishing that I would, more often, post happier, lighter subjects.  Would that I could; unfortunately the ugliness of this world prohibits me from sticking my head in the sand by screaming at me for someone, anyone, not forget.  My entire life I have been surrounded by teachers, friends, and even members of family, who have found it easier to ignore an emotional issue in favor of rose colored glasses.

Looking at the world through rose colored glasses accomplishes little except to suck the color from reality and make us, somehow, feel better for the lie, in this case, about our passive complicity in allowing the murder of innocence to continue unabated as we exercise our "divine" right to decide whether innocence will also be allowed to enjoy the self-evident truths, guaranteed by the United States Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,"  unless you are the least among us, that is, unable to speak for yourself, protect yourself, or cry out in fear of your impending death.  If Thomas Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress had any idea Americans would be intentionally condoning wholesale slaughter of our unborn young, en masse, for convenience and the almighty dollar, I wonder who would stand in protest to the wording of this venerated document?

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

-- Thomas Jefferson

There is a stark lack of morality in marching for the murder of innocence, which transcends religion and politics. The specific murder of one’s own child I find particularly abhorrent. Being a man, I have no point of reference to a woman’s view in perpetrating this heinous crime upon herself and her unborn child. I was raised to honor a woman as a mother, and as a man it was my duty to put her on a pedestal, and to her and her child. I suppose my point of reference would then fall to a belief in my moral duty as a man – to protect.  After all, a man who can't wrap his mind around this one responsibility, is not a real man.  Our society has forgotten how to raise boys to be real men.

“Lost indeed are those who kill their own children out of folly, with no basis in knowledge, forbidding what God has provided for them...”

-- The Qur'an

When we look at the "business" of abortion, we too often see evidence of the financial corruption which comes from volume of clients served.  Where there is financial corruption you will also find moral corruption.  Planned Parenthood derives 90% of its funds from abortions, which fairly explains their tactic of steering women toward the "choice" of abortion.  If 90% of any business is one item, then refer to the business as that in which they excel; in this case, abortion.  The last thing Planned Parenthood wants is for women to plan parenthood when the real money is in aborting the baby.  It isn't rocket science, its marketing.  So it bodes the question, why they don't call it what it is, like, Abortions 'R' Us.  The answer is obvious to all who want to pull their head out of the sand and open their eyes.  The business is murder of the innocent.  The business is immoral, the business is wrong, and the market is booming.  The last thing Murder, Inc. wants is to be scrutinized by a public which they know are waking up to their criminal bullshit.

Don't believe me?  Still have your head buried deep in the sandbox (and, by the way, cats crap in those)?  I invite you to view this well documented interview with Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director, and listen to some revelations of what our tax dollars funded:  Western Journalism Interview - Abby Johnson

And, speaking of crap, serial killer Dr. Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murdering three infants, manslaughter of one, twenty-one felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating the informed consent law.  Gee, sounds a lot like Planned Parenthood.  Gosnell waived his right to appeal in exchange for the courts not seeking the death penalty.  So much an admission of guilt, yet we see the liberal Hollywood elite blackballing production of the film concerning Gosnell because it doesn't serve their agenda of legal murdering of life.  The producer of the movie, Phelim McAleer, had this to say:  "This is one of the biggest crime sprees in American history.  The book and movie will ensure that the cover-up is ended and the truth will be known.”  Well, not if Hollywood can keep the truth buried in the sand, right next to most of society's ignorant heads.  Hey, Hollywood!  Remember John Lennon?

“It’s alright, all of us all living, saying ‘oh well there’s enough of us so we won’t have anymore, don’t let anybody else live.’ I don’t believe in that.” 

-- John Lennon

Gee, and people wonder why even us old folks were saddened by John's passing; a voice of reason in a sea of stupidity.

The Women's March, or the  League of the Perpetually Offended, participated in 670 marches across this great country, and accomplished nada, because most people have awakened to the historical drone of same-o, same-o, which is of so much less importance than the message of murdering innocent babies which the March for Life was touting.  Really?  Let's consider the rant of selfish women against the rant of women concerned about the murder of innocence.  I'm sorry; I just have no tolerance for people that sanction murdering babies as a way to make them feel more womanly.

“The fight for the right to life is not the cause of a special few, but the cause of every man, woman and child who cares not only about his or her own family, but the whole family of man.” 

-- Dr. Mildred Jefferson

Our society bases its legal definition of human life on time in womb, brain activity, whether the fetus has taken a breath, cried, and such.  Our society gauges our legal definition of life by our desires to end it.  Does this require we look at the evidence subjectively or objectively?  Some would say a moral belief is subjective in that it is a belief not based on measureable evidence.  Yet, the objectivity of measurable evidence is, itself, colored by our own desire for legalized abortion of a living organism.  Our definition of how old a fetus needs to be in order to be view as alive seems to change with the political winds.  I'll make it easy for those with too much college education:  If you can change a definition as more information becomes available, the decision you make is, by definition, subjective.  Life, on the other hand, is life.

We all know the story of the surgeon working on a fetus, in the mother's womb, and the photo of the baby's hand seemingly grasping the doctor's finger.  I have a link to the Snopes interpretation, and another article of it here.  Please take a moment to read them: 

http://www.snopes.com/photos/medical/thehand.asp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2256376/Fathers-photo-daughter-reaching-mothers-womb-C-section-grab-doctors-finger-takes-web-storm.html

The event was emotional.  It was evidence for "right to life" folks as they saw it as proof of life.  It was evidence for "freedom of choice" folks as the medical community says the arm just shot out due to a spasm and the surgeon was simply putting it back when the photo was taken.  We miss the point that a medical professional was performing surgery on a non-living organism.  My question is why would a surgeon be concerned with correcting an abnormality on a non-living entity?  Why put the mother at risk if the fetus is not alive?  Is it because it would continue to develop poorly?  Continue to develop?  I wasn't aware non-living organisms continued to develop.  I suppose you have to be a lawyer, or a Dr. Mengele, to define life as death for some selfish, immoral, reason.

Having said all of this, I hold my own beliefs to be totally subjective.  I am opposed to the killing of innocent human life.  My definition of life starts when a science can determine a fetus has a heartbeat which, in my opinion, evidences life, if not brain activity. I hold this definition for only one purpose - if a woman is raped, we have a pill to ensure the pregnancy never begins.  Stupidity is not a reason to murder.  Also, I think the mother has a right of choice, when a doctor determines her life is at serious risk because of the fetus to terminate said fetus, or if the fetus is evidenced to be so corrupted as to be "non-viable" and if the quality of "life" will be so miserable as to be defined as cruel and inhuman punishment to allow it to continue.

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

-- Thomas Jefferson

“I do not believe the promises of the Declaration of Independence are just for the strong, the independent, the healthy. They are for everyone-including unborn children.”

-- George W. Bush

“Our values call upon us to care about the lives of people we will never meet.”

-- Barack Obama

“If you look at it, I said, ‘It really, really troubles me, and it really, really bothers me, the whole concept of abortion.’ This was years ago, and even then it really bothered me, but I went on the other side of the line. But in thinking about it over the years, I’ve had instances, and one instance in particular, a friend had a child who they were going to abort, and now they have it, and the child is incredible. And the man, he changed his views also because of that.”

-- Donald J. Trump

As much as politics pull, tear, and try to morph the issue, Presidents since the beginning of our country have believed that life deserves every chance, and this chance "is the first and only object of good government."  

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, "You can judge a society by how well it treats its prisoners."  I think it would be a better, more inclusive measurement to use Mahatma Gandhi's definition, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members."  We bury our heads in the sand and choose expediency and convenience in lieu of morality.  We want expediency for our murderers, so they get what's coming to them for what they have done against society and yet this same society murders innocents by the thousands with no thought of justice for these unborn children.  What is our definition of moral decay?

“And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?

-- Mother Teresa

E.A. Bucchianeri says, "Abortion should be listed as a weapon of mass destruction against the voiceless."  We decried the crimes of Nazis against humanity.  We decry the crimes of so many governments and terrorist regimes which practice genocide and "ethnic cleansing."  We decry these crimes even while we revel in legal excuses to practice our own brand of immoral crimes against innocence and humanity.

Women politic for “freedom of choice” in order to legally murder their unborn children, while men are asked to condone their choice.  As a real man I see no dignity in that. As a Christian, I see no morality in that. 

It makes we wonder what a real woman sees. 

“This is a debate about our understanding of human dignity, what it means to be a member of the human family, even though tiny, powerless and unwanted”

-- Henry Hyde

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research.  Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage battle in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain, and Chaplain Liaison, at a regional medical center.

My Sunday Thought for 01292017: Man from Mars

I was recently asked by a young man how I lived life as a "man from mars". That was a phrase he had heard at work to describe me (I take no offense at their characterization of me). I have often said I look at life from a slightly off center view point and I make no apologies about it. 

He [the young man] is a very interesting person and has a lot views on things that differ greatly from his age group, which at times has caused him problems. I told him it took me decades to come to terms with who I am. I told him how I struggled to be "normal" without even having any idea of what normal might be. 

I changed my personality to please whomever I might be around. Life was a constant struggle to get others to "like" me. Then I read a book titled "Slow Walk in a Sad Rain," by John P. MacAfee. The book is about a group of men serving in Vietnam and as a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran it touched a chord with me. One thing that really stood out for me though was a description of a sign that the soldiers had posted that read, "Normal ain't nothing but a cycle on a washing machine." It's true and I have held to that idea ever since. 

I explained to my young friend that normal is what makes him happy, that normal is who he is, and not who others think he should be. I told him that if someone calls you weird, say "Thank you for noticing!". I told him to own his individuality, that being one of a kind is a fantastic way to walk through life. Not cherishing individuality is my biggest gripe with many religions. They don't accept people as they find them. Instead, they insist that we become "normal," by their standards, if we want to be part of their religion. They don't understand that they lose many interesting, valuable people with those standards. Be yourself. It's the best way to be. 

Posted by Pastor David Martin

January 20, 2017

When I read this post by David Martin, I was struck by how I have managed to live my own life as a "man from Mars."  Our talent seems to be one of survival.  At first you morph into the chameleon, blending in with the crowd as best you can; becoming what they want to see or what they think you should be.  

There comes an "Ah ha!" moment when you realize they're the ones who have bought into your bullshit, the moment when you realize you're the one pulling the strings, fooling them into accepting what you want them to see, and they see because they are just shallow people with little or no grasp on reality.  It is the moment in your life when you discover "weird" is in the eye of the beholder and "normal ain't nothing but a cycle on a washing machine."

Others will come and follow the crowd, more than happy to walk through the door marked "normal" and drink their cyanide laced fruit punch, like lemmings off a cliff, they follow some faceless leader.

At that moment in time you discover you are truly different, and that difference is not a bad thing.  Your difference makes you who you are, deeper than shallow, more colorful than the black and white around you.  Like a man out of time, or not of this world, you become a man apart from the crowd; you become your own man, and return home - to your self.  

"Fifty millions miles apart, and no way to bridge the gap, no way to return my body and my soul to their true home."

-- John Carter (2012)

Being an individual is not a bad thing.  People are afraid of what they don't understand.  They prefer life to be one of structure and uniformity, and if you don't fit the mold, if you aren't their round peg for the round hole, they will look for another peg.  Maybe it's because, they know accepting difference will disrupt their uniformity, their constant.  

Square pegs and round holes is where hammers come in handy.  I've learned to think of myself as a hammer.  Don't concern yourself with what other people think, follow your own path.  If there's a brick wall blocking your path, make a door.  You're only beaten when you quit.  It's how we roll on the red planet.

“A man's deepest fear is that he is not good enough or that he is incompetent. He compensates for this fear by focusing on increasing his power and competence. Success, achievement, and efficiency are foremost in his life ... A man appears most uncaring when he is afraid.”

-- John Gray, "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus"

Should one ask if the only constant in the universe is change, or if the only constant is things that need changing?  Perhaps, in the end, we will find it is wiser to just be.  Until that time, however, never let it be said there aren't individuals among us who just can't leave well enough alone.  We are the difference which makes other people consider their own sameness.  We're the nondescript ones in the corner, the geeks in the basement office, and the folks that see the universe differently.  We tolerate, we understand, we love, and we follow our own path.

“I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and experiment where wiser men would have left well enough alone.”

-- Edgar Rice Burroughs, "A Princess of Mars"

Sometimes, when I'm bored, I begin to write of things not of here; flights of imagination which entertains as much as they bring clarity.  These are selfish moments for me; moments which help me remember why we're all here, and who we ultimately serve.  Are we men from Mars, children of God, both?  Sunday is a great time to practice being who we really are, and to consider why we're really here. 

“Whatever I may do to serve you will be prompted solely from selfish motives, since it gives me more pleasure to serve you than not.”

-- Edgar Rice Burroughs, "A Princess of Mars"

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

My Sunday Thought for 01222016: Time - The Transcendence of Love

Time has no dominion over love.

Love is the one thing that transcends time.

-- Jeaniene Frost, "One Foot in the Grave"

I wrote a post in 2015 called, Time Has No Dominion over Love.  I recently began a series of posts concerning time, and see no reason not to include some of those thoughts concerning the dimensions of time and love.  Emotions as a whole might better to be addressed in the context of time.  We'll see where this path leads.

I am a hopeless romantic.  I have to be.  Love and I have always been strange bedfellows.  It isn't that I don't know what love is, I have a pretty good grasp on the emotion... and exercise it often.  I have a deep philosophy concerning it; I simply refuse to invest myself fully in it.  Could this be due to painful relationships of the past?  Those are very possibly the cause and, if so, I worked hard to make them that way.  This bodes my favorite question, "Why?"  

Deep in my heart I have always known the answer, but the significance of this answer is for another time.

“Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance”

-- Leo Buscaglia

There isn't enough time in the day, not if we look at time in the usual way.  We have defined time and possibly defined it poorly.  We spend the majority of time trying to understand what we are, or trying to be more than we are, or better than we are, without ever understanding that it is enough just to be.  We are.  There is nothing more important to the universe than our recognition of being.  It is enough, yet we refuse to recognize the fact.

Of what use is time if, at the end of it, we look back to realize we learned nothing of any importance?  We jump at the clock's alarm going off so we aren't late for so many appointments of such little value to our eternal soul.  We find ourselves rushing around to pack as much as we can into life, never realizing that life is eternal.

“We created time, and now we have become the slave of time.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

Whether we've loved yesterday, loved today, or hope to love tomorrow, is of so much less importance than simply loving, everyone, and always.  We are here to be custodians of our planet.  Our reward from God is companionship of each other, and children which will carry on as we pass.

It is safe to say, we have failed miserably at the task God levied upon us.  We have failed miserably as companions for each other.  We are struggling not to fail our children.  Many cry out that God has abandoned us, but I think it is more appropriate to step up and take ownership of the fact that we have abandoned each other.

All is lost?  God does not make mistakes.  What we are going through is nothing but an abject lesson in selfishness which began when the first of us ate the forbidden fruit.  What we are going through is an ass whipping which will last until we get a clue.  As with any father, this surely hurts God more than it hurts us.  God, being omnipotent and eternal, has patience.  God, being a good parent, will continue to pick us up and put us back on our path regardless of how many lives we have to live before we get said clue.  God's love transcends time and, since we were created in the image of God, one must assume our love also transcends time.

"Love isn't something we invented. It’s observable, powerful; it has to mean something... Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space."

-- Dr. Amelia Brand, "Interstellar" (2014)

As I wrote in my previous post in 2015, "Can love be defined as a dimension of its own, or, perhaps, part of a dimension of emotion that can transcend time and space? Why is it some have dreams of love lost with people they have never met, yet, when they awake they feel as if they have known them forever? Why do we bump into perfect strangers and feel we know them, or meet new people and find fast friends in them which seem to finish our sentences like lifelong buddies? Why do some meet a man or woman and know instantly they have loved them before? Can it be possible that emotion really can transcend death? Being a hopeless romantic, I can't help but consider the possibilities."

If love can be defined as a dimension, then so should emotion as a whole.  If Christian philosophy would hold that forgiveness is paramount and hate should be released in order to find peace in salvation, then we should also accept that evil also possesses dimension.  If we can accept that out love transcends death to exist beyond the confines of this realm, then evil also has the ability to transcend time and space.  It must in order to maintain God's own balance in our universe, the balance required of our reality, for there can be no good without evil, and no love without hate.  This is a balance which has been with us since the beginning of time.  It is a balance we see in the story of Adam and Eve, and the forbidden fruit.

Balance does not transcend time and space as it is a rule of time and space.  It is said, change is the only constant in the universe. I beg to disagree.  I would argue that change occurs because of balance, or a lack of, in which case 'balance' might be defined as the only constant.  If everything is balanced, there is no need for change.  I offer that life has the ultimate ability to bring emotion forward into other realities, passed death, and through time.  One might postulate that by bringing emotion forward, the balance of a particular moment is added to and experiences change.  Change creating an imbalance is what keeps time wound up, and the clock ticking.  Perhaps it is, also, what keeps love alive.  Maybe we should throw our lives out of balance, occasionally, and experience a little change.  It will probably tank the Viagra market.  

"Love has no age, no limit; and no death."

-- John Galsworthy (1867-1933), author

I'd like to end this train of thought, before it derails, by taking another excerpt from the previous post concerning time and love.  "All life is made up of special energy. When we die, the energy that is us, our soul, follows us. Like most energy it possesses a charge, its own unique charge, which defines us from everyone else like fingerprints. This energy attracts "like" particles toward it, unless there is a stronger charge pulling them away like a stronger gravitational field. So, if you were attracted to each other in this life as friends, lovers, or the occasional demented psycho stalker, and the bond was strong enough, it would stand to reason you might find each other in another life.  So you might find yourself bumping into old friends and not even realizing it. It is that moment when you think you've met before, but the face just doesn't ring a bell. Or perhaps you see a person you shouldn't possibly love, look into their eyes and realize, you've loved them before." 

"The body dies but the spirit that transcends; it cannot be touched by death."

--Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), Hindu guru

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

My Sunday Thought for 01152017: Love and Happiness

“When you love someone you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom”

-- Leo Buscaglia (1928-1994), educator

I searched at great length for an image to put at the top of this post, and I fell prey to multiple choices of a man and woman - in this day and age, I knew better.  After a heartfelt self-admonishment I settled on a photo which seems to leave the door open for whichever gender floats your boat.  The League of the Perpetually Offended will see what they wish, and that is, as always, too bad for them.  I choose to keep an open mind and an open heart.

I also settled on a quote from my favorite philosopher on love and happiness, Leo Buscaglia.  He loved virtually everyone he met and the world has been much too long without his gentle, meaningful words.  He was many things; author, professor, and motivational speaker.  For me, he was an educator.  He opened my eyes to emotions I might otherwise have taken for granted.  For those who don't know of him, you are the poorer for it.  I strongly invite you to watch many of his lectures which are still available, several which can be found for free online, and order his books which are still available online as well.  I have sprinkled a bit more of Leo throughout this post.

“Love is life...and if you miss love, you miss life.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

I've learned many lessons of love throughout my life.  I think the biggest lesson, for me, is that you cannot truly know the value of love without having loved and lost.  If you have loved one person your entire life, I find myself torn between saying how lucky you are, sucks being you, or applauding your emotional willpower.

Finding that one special person is an emotional crap shoot.  In today's world of 'love you forever, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, or at least until I leave for another naive loser,' the idea of forever love is filed under the bullshit label by a society which takes relationships with a grain of salt.  many people are opting out of marriage altogether, preferring to live as 'significant others' or 'life partners' as though these titles will prevent the heartbreak of loss.  Hell, it won't even prevent 'common law' from kicking in, so good luck with that.  But, these are the emotional games we play instead of just being happy, and most of it is due to lawyers, ministers, friends and family.  Almost none of it is due to what we truly want - happiness.  

“Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

I had someone tell me once that their father had married his wife young and stayed in love with her until his death many years later.  They told me he never even thought about another woman.  Now, being the consummate hopeless romantic, I so wanted to revel in this tale, but the realist in me couldn't leave it alone.  I said, that he had never so much as looked at another woman because a beautiful, buxom, woman with red, luscious lips, newer pushed him up against a wall and kissed him deeply while grabbing his package before saying, "You and me, right now, big boy!"  My comment was met with a silence crickets love to interrupt.  My point being, how do you know he never thought about it?  But, I was impressed that my friend's Christian view of his Christian father negated any possibility of even having the thought of immorality or impropriety.  I think there was a lot of denial going on in this family, but if it makes them happy...

“Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of happiness lost.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

Even if living a lie happens to make you happy, isn't it better than being unhappy?  Maybe, but it won't feel nearly as good as being truly happy.  Then again, I suppose it depends on your definition of happiness.  For me, happiness is waking up every morning, just that, nothing more.  There comes a time in life when you simply determine that enough actually is... enough, and that, sometimes, even enough can be way too much.  Is you glass half empty or half full?  What's wrong with it being just fine the way it is?

“What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

If you're going to live life, then don't be afraid to love.  Don't worry about slapping a label on it, and don't concern yourself with the permanence of it.  It is what it is, and it is different, every moment of every day, for everyone willing to throw caution to the wind and have a little faith.  You might love for a moment, for a night, a few months, or a lifetime.  What is important is not only that you love, but that you love often.

“Love is life...and if you miss love, you miss life.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

Humans spend much time being someone else.  We take great pains to act a certain way, dress a certain way, look a certain way, and all to attract someone we may or may not find we like.  Some women feel it necessary to get pregnant by every guy they meet as though it's some never ending rite of passage to prove they're good enough, and the question remains, 'For what?'  Men think they're all that, and sleep with every woman they can to try and prove they aren't.  Many are usually successful.  These are people in costumes, acting out their parts as clowns in this circus we call life, not really in touch with who they are, less in touch with whom they think they love, and always hanging with the wrong monkeys.  

“Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

Maybe we should just love.  Maybe we shouldn't worry so much about the elephant shit which surrounds the emotion.  We all know how to act and show respect.  We all know how to be honest and upfront.  How about we try exercising all of that which we know?  How about we start showing people who we are instead of whom we want them to see.  And, just maybe, we should start saying 'I love you' and, on the other side, stop shying away from everyone that says it like the words alone are an STD.  Learn to love, and learn to be happy.  We are born with lots of both, love and happiness, and then try and trade them away as we get older for emotional and material fodder.  We end up wondering what happened, why we can't find love, why we can't be happy.

In life we make choices and receive circumstances.  We forget who we are and where we're going.  We forget how to love and how to be happy.  It is still with us, however, locked away inside of us.  Love and happiness is an integral part of who we are, and when we forget it causes us issues, pain, and confusion.  Take a breath and try letting go of all the bullshit you surround yourself with.  Take off the costume and leave your ego at home.  Be honest, be vulnerable, be human, and be yourself.  No one can take any of who you are away from you, and you should never try to be someone you're not just to impress them.  

Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into yourself, no external circumstances can take it away.

-- Leo Buscaglia

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Time - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

To sleep, perchance to dream?  As the Bard once penned, "Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause."  And how long will that pause be?  I've had plenty of dreams while amongst the living which give me pause, without concerning myself over dreams I might have after I climb that six foot ladder, get put to bed with a shovel, and take my long awaited dirt nap.  With as little as I have on my plate I still wake up screaming at times from a weird dream.  Half the time I can't remember what the dream was, and the half I do remember make me glad I can't remember the other half.  Oh, and don't you just hate it when you wake up relieved it was just a dream, then wake up screaming when you realize waking up the first time was just a continuation of the original dream?  That's when it's time to get up, make a strong pot of coffee, lock the bourbon away, and vow not to eat cold pizza at midnight.

Dreams can last from a few seconds to thirty minutes, or more.  How many of us have experienced a dream only to wake up and fall back into it, and wake up again just to find only minutes have passed since we woke up the first time?  Yet, in those minutes, the continued story seems to have spanned hours?  Our creative minds have the ability to compress time.  Yeah, my mind is capable of compressing time, yet college level math scares the crap out of me.  Sixty-three years old and I haven't taken the one class which would net me a degree, not that I ever needed it.

I've accomplished most everything I've wanted to in life, save for a couple of dreams left hanging, for the future, as circumstances beyond my control overcame those desires.  The best and easiest of dreams can fall prey to reality, and sometimes reality really sucks even if it's for the best.  These are the times between the ticks of the clock when I look up to God and say, "Really?"  I shake my head, smile, and continue down my path knowing all the while I am a part of some perverse Rube Goldberg plan God has for me.  It is yet more proof that God is a woman, as only a woman would have so much humor at my expense.

I have had the privilege of living more than one life in this life.  I live what I consider reality and then I go to sleep and enjoy a multitude of other lives, some of which have been phenomenal.  Realizing you are living another life vicariously through your dreams is an "ah ha!" moment.  It is the moment you become truly cognizant of the reality which exists between the ticks of the clock.

We've all seen the deck of blank playing cards with a drawing on each card which, when all 52 cards are flipped through, create a few seconds of moving drawing, like a cartoon would be drawn.  You can take each of the cards out and examine it, out it back and take another.  Image the time between seconds as the deck of cards, and each card is made up of another deck of cards and so on.  We are so caught up in the frames of the movie zipping by at a speed which prevents us from seeing each frame that we forget life is made up of trillions of frames, and we also forget we have the ability to examine a frame at our leisure, or even to change the script while we sleep.

In seconds and minutes I have learned to jump progressively higher, as if gravity were lessened, and used the talent as we had a game of chase through an alien world.  I have fired a weapon utilizing paintballs for ammo before there were paintball guns, but we were firing them as we hunted criminals.  As a boy I have handed ladles of water from a bucket on the back of a buckboard bouncing over a desert trail as pony soldiers came alongside for a drink, and woke with the smell and taste of horse sweat and trail dust in my nose and mouth, reliving a past life in the time between ticks.

To sleep, perchance to dream?  Oh, most definitely, yes!  With the continued wish, however, it is not "in that sleep of death" such dreams might come.  I have no desire to, once again, shuffle off this mortal coil.  I will give pause as much as possible.  I will smell the roses and tell the occasional woman she is attractive, and their chubby selves will look at me and think I jest simply because I looked passed their weight and into the soul they try unsuccessfully to hide.  They blinked as I took the time to see who and what they're potential was yearning to become.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

My Sunday Thought for 01082017: The Tools You Bring With

You can have all the tools in the world
 but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.

-- Ken Jeong, physician, comedian, actor

I was asked by a good friend to listen to a music video called Wings,  by Macklemore and featuring Ryan Lewis.  She rarely steers me wrong, and her reasoning was sound in this request as well:

"Listen to the words and then we can talk about it.  Pretty deep on how some follow their callings and others follow material callings.  Thought you could do something with that, like what or who is calling you in life."

Discussion was and is not necessary; the video speaks for itself, literally.  I have to admit, the last time I was moved by rap was during Eminem's performing the entire score from the film "Eight Mile," and if you haven't enjoyed the performances by Supaman, check him out on Facebook.

As I said, my friend's reasoning was sound for me.  First off, I haven't put together the follow up to my latest post concerning time, Life Between the Ticks; I have a title and a few quotes, but nothing of real substance (nothing new there).  Second, it is right on target with me and what I write about, ad nauseam, to wit, if you are in control of you, or if your existence driven by your ego and materialism.  Do you follow your own path, are you trying to follow someone else's, or is someone plotting your course for you?  If you think you are your own person, look in your wallet and count the credit cards.  Who's in your wallet, and who do you really serve until all debts are paid?  Who do you belong to?

Computers are magnificent tools for the realization of our dreams, but no machine can replace the human spark of spirit, compassion, love, and understanding.

-- Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., businessman, retired CEO of IBM

Not enough proof?  Ask yourself what you will do tomorrow morning when you find you have lost everything.  What will you do when you find the high paid executive you wanted to be is now a homeless person sleeping on a park bench?  What will you do when you find the tools in your tool chest are for car repair and not carpentry, carpentry and not seamstress?  When you find out the scientific calculator doesn't translate to the foodservice industry at McDonald's?  And, if you think your job is secure, you're not as intelligent as your university of higher education lulled you into believing.  Someone is always looking to climb over you for the greener grass, to steal your job, your hot car, the shallow eye candy hanging onto your already Rolex embellished arm, or, as in the video, your priceless, coveted, basketball shoes - always.

“Accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your truths, and know what tools you have to fulfill your purpose.”

-- Steve Maraboli, author

We never teach that it isn't about what we strive to be, it is about the journey to get there. It isn't about what we wear, or what school we attend, or how much money we have, it is about our desire to learn what it takes to succeed at life along our path as we try to attain some goal, or survive if we fail. We may, indeed, fail.  In failure we will find we become so much richer for the journey if we have the tools to survive.  If you fail and find you don't have the tools to survive it, failure is a great motivator for learning, creativity, and humility.  As my friend continued in her message:

"Exactly. The shoes don't make the person. Kids and adults pay for material things that they think will buy them their dreams. Some things just can't be bought, you have to work for them."

I have always been amazed at how hard we work for that which we really don't need.  I always shake my head when an entertainer has to declare bankruptcy as divest themselves of several mansions, ten or so cars, a few castles and an island or two.  Kim Kardashian was robbed of $10,000,000 of jewelry, from her hotel room.  What dumbass takes $10 mil to a hotel room?  Well, Kim Kardashian, I suppose.  Is this really happiness?  They would say yes, and I would say they're full of shit.  If she really wants to impress, show up each morning at a soup kitchen and help out serving the poor.  I won't hold my breath.

People tend to focus on things they could better do without, and pay little if any attention to what is really important.  I've found that what is really important is so much easier to grasp for the simple reason that it is so much more important, like air, food, water, shelter, companionship, and faith.  It seems most of the filthy rich take all of this for granted.  Maybe they've been without and forgot, or would rather forget, what it felt like.  Maybe they've never had to want in their spoiled lives.  

When it comes to survival there are several camps I would fear, these are the camps of "want."  They are the perpetually poor who want what I have and the formerly rich who want what I have, and any other group who wants what I have.  The fact that you are willing to share what you have is of so much less importance than them having it all for themselves, whether it's $10 million dollars' worth of jewelry, or the last potato on earth.  If you don't share, then survival dictates killing you to get it or dying in the attempt.  It is the tool kit they brought with them, and learned to use along the way.  The question is clear:  What will your response be?

“Don't trust children with edge tools. Don't trust man, great God, with more power than he has until he has learned to use that little better. What a hell we should make of the world if we could do what we would!”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), essayist, poet

As the intelligent go through the school of hard knocks, we learn the tools of wisdom.  One tool of wisdom dictates that just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you must do that thing.  We develop the tools and lessons of morality and righteousness.  Morality, for all written on it is simply stated as doing that which is right.  Yet, doing that which is right might cross into immorality.  With great power comes the tools of great responsibility and with great responsibility comes the most important tool in our inventory, the curse of conscience.  Conscience is a personal scale on which morality and righteousness weigh heavily upon those who must choose.

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian professor, philosopher, and public intellectual who once said, "We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us."  Okay, no Canadian jokes.  Do we really become what we behold?  I find it easier to accept that we are, or fall prey to, what we eat.  The good professor then follows bad logic with good philosophy.  It is up to each one of us to take tools given to us by our parents and mentors, or discover what other tools we need, and shape them to accomplish the task at hand.  These are the tools which will assist in defining who we are and shape us.  These tools are our ideas, beliefs, and our faith, our ability to think in the abstract.

Abstraction is one of the greatest visionary tools ever invented by human beings to imagine, decipher, and depict the world.

-- Jerry Saltz, three time nominee, Pulitzer Prize in Criticism

What if your tools fall short when it comes to righteousness and/or morality?  Well, like my mother taught me, there is a great difference between being intelligent and being smart.  We've all seen the people with doctorates which don't deserve our respect because they haven't done anything to deserve it.  Yeah, so you're intelligent, big whoop-de-do.  Now do something to earn my respect.  Sometimes, hell, most times, righteousness and morality aren't something you can just learn from a book.  These are things you learn by falling down and failing, losing your way and getting your hands dirty, and then, through humility and conscience.  It is more about how you feel about what you know, and how you implement those feelings in a moral and righteous manner.  Morality and righteousness, what you feel and what you know, the same and yet... not.

Fiction is not necessarily about what you know, it's about how you feel. That is the truth about fiction, and the other truth is that all science is a tool, and we use our tools not to actualise what we know, but to implement how we feel.

-- Margaret Atwood, poet, novelist, critic

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to the intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, in the guise of the Congregation's official, online, blog, "The Path," of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead chaplain at a regional medical center.