My Sunday Thought for 021917: Terror in Small Packages

We never worry about the big things,
just the small things.

-- Travis Barker

I just knew this would morph from a comment on Facebook to My Sunday Thought for this weekend.

Anyone ever been nipped by one of these small devil dogs? Painful as hell! Makes one wonder if they realize how vulnerable they are to contact sports, like football, or to the fast food giants like... oh, Pit Bulls. Just the look of this thing has me reaching for a crucifix... and a wooden stake. But, "Aren't they adorable?" the girl asks. "I'm not sure how to answer that," I answer. "Have you had one eat your face yet?"

I would like to think, as with most thinking creatures, they are what they're taught. Of course, as per my last My Sunday Thought, this might be dependent on whether they're terminally stupid and don't want to be taught. Then again, these little buggers might belong to those members of the League of the Perpetually Offended who seem to always be angry at something or someone.  I don't think we worry about the big things because we realize it's the little things that are going to bite us in the ass.

The older I get, the more I'm conscious of ways very small things can make a change in the world. Tiny little things, but the world is made up of tiny matters, isn't it?

-- Sandra Cisneros

Big things are important, like government intrusion into our private lives and decisions, gun control, open borders, and the like.  But these we work on together, because we made the messes together.  The small things are more personal in nature.  The small things are mistakes we made alone, messes we've made of our personal lives.  It's the choice of taking the mortgage you know you can't afford, because the house has a pool, not thinking what'll happen if you lose your job.  It's the choice of dating the person you know is a player and buying into the bullshit that "you're the one."  It's sleeping around with five guys and then wondering who you accuse of being the father, or sleeping around with five women and your only answer when asked to man up is, "Whoops."

How many little things have to bite us in the ass and chew on our conscience, if we're lucky enough to have one, before we realize it isn't the little things, these outcomes of bad decisions, which are terminally stupid, it's the person making the decisions.  Maybe it's time to look in the mirror and start learning some lessons from our mistakes, do some moral housecleaning and have a garage sale for all the crap we've accumulated that we really don't need and that continues to suck the life blood out of our true happiness.  How many lovers do you have to go through before it penetrates your thick skull that it isn't them having the problem?  So, is the only plus to your relationship that the person loves you?  Try thinking of this love as a big ticket item, and the rest of what you think you're after, the stuff or people you think will make you happy, is simply small bullshit waiting to bite you in the ass - again.

Notice the small things. The rewards are inversely proportional.

-- Liz Vassey

Doris Lessing (1919-2013), British novelist and poet, once said, "Small things amuse small minds."  I have to disagree.  Small things amuse great minds, because we've realized how insignificant they are, have rid ourselves of their tediousness, and amuse ourselves watching how the parade of humanity drown in their pool desires which is only three feet deep.  For God's sake, stand up!  

It is incumbent upon us to watch our ass, lest it get bit.  The more little shit we allow into our lives the more little shit we have to watch out for.  Hey, one plus one equals two, go figure.  The only little ass biters you need to have around is those necessary to your survival, and those are the ones you need to be the 'alpha dog' over.  If you can't control it, change it until you can.  If your friends don't act like friends, unfriend them.  If you can't afford it, don't buy it.  If a lie bothers you, don't lie.  If it's illegal, don't do it.  What the hell?  Is it really this simple?  Ever ask yourself why we have a Bible when we have ten very easy to understand black and white, do or do not, commandments?  We make our own lives miserable, and we let those we look to for guidance create thousands of pages of confusion when ten simple lines are enough to govern us, of for us to govern ourselves.  Confusion is simply a tool used to control, and if you feel you're not in control then maybe you need to find out who is, and deal with it.

"Don't worry about things that you have no control over, because you have no control over them. Don't worry about things that you have control over, because you have control over them."

-- Mickey Rivers

I relinquish control, to a point, in two facets of life, and total control only in one.  I allow control to be shared by my employer and my lover, and I give total control over my entire life to God knowing that God gives it back each and every morning when I awake to another glorious day in paradise, and another chance to excel.  Don't sweat the small stuff; just keep your fingers away from the teeth. 

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.