My Sunday "New Year" Thought for 123117: Thank you, God!

"How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?"

-- Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), author, cartoonist, poet

Thank you, God!  Thank you so very much for this past year in your paradise.  Thank you for tempering beauty with a smattering of ugly to keep me humbled... which I'm sure was the point.  Thank you for new friends I've met, for family, for those I love, and for taking care of all those who have passed on to your care, animal and human alike.  Thank you for the blessing of another year with those dear to me, especially my father who continues to rage against the dying of the light.

On New Year's morning I will wake up, knock twice, and give my usual praise:  "Thank you, God, for another beautiful day in paradise and another chance to excel in life!"  The more things change, the more they stay the same; for those of us who have learned to make the most of experiences along our journey, this is not a bad thing.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

-- Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa, 1910-1997), Nobel laureate

Time is a human construct which we mark by the passing of the sun, moon, and stars.  We march to the ticking of the clock; the nanoseconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years of our lives.  Like the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, those of us in the know are only certain of what we don't know, and we're not really sure of that.  We use to say that the only thing certain in life was death, but for those of us believing in a life after death, even this adage seems unable to stand in the face of faith, for we are, indeed, timeless beings bound to this realm by organic prisons which are slowly putrefying under the blessing of a shelf life, a "use by" date which reminds us to make the most of our short existence in this ethereal plane.

Time is a created thing. To say "I don’t have time," is like saying, "I don’t want to.”

-- Lao Tzu

In October of 2018 I will turn 65 years of age.  I plan on celebrating that day with friends, a good cigar, and a glass of bourbon; nothing much different than what I do every week, and this is a good thing.  Birthdays come and go; I've never held them in any great regard.  I prefer to mark time with the people I love, my friends, my family, and my faith in things greater than myself.

We pay way to much attention to ensuring the continuation of senseless drama in life.  I really don't care who you voted for, for better or worse, we have to live with the result.  I really don't care if you have racial or sexual identity issues, everyone has shit to deal with - no one really cares what you want to be so shut your pie hole and suck it up so we can move on.  We're all in this together, and if you really think being a racist is the answer you're going to be crushed under the senseless weight of your own asinine bigotry.

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

-- William Faulkner

We have real problems in the world that we all need to pull together and confront, like late-term abortions, the murder of innocence for the almighty dollar.  We continue to redefine when life begins as a way to excuse the killing of the unborn.  The First Lady was correct when she stated there is a "special place in hell" for people who intentionally harm children.  The perpetrators of genocide continue to fill other special places in hell, just not fast enough to suit most of us.  And religious persecution continues, even as the mainstream religions build new multi-million dollar churches and icons to the greater glory of God with money better used to feed, clothe, and house the poor and homeless, or to teach them all to fish; you know, all those things religion was suppose to pay attention to.

These are just a few of the lessons we, the people of earth, have been tasked with.  We will not persevere in these tasks through religion, though many would believe so.  No, we will overcome these obstacles to becoming more than we are through our faith in everything which is good.  Through faith we can move mountains, but we have to pick up a rock to start.

"I believe in the light at the end of the tunnel, I believe in a brighter future, I believe faith can move mountains. I believe in hope."

-- Anonymous

We are timeless, spiritual beings and, as such, have an eternity to set things right.  Of course, we might blow the planet up first, but we'll deal with that little unpleasantness when it occurs, or after.  Reality is a funny thing that way; it happens whether time exists, or not, and regardless of our how we define the passage of it.  

If we had no concept of time we would still exist; reality simply is, and we have a power greater than ourselves to thank for it; a power greater than ourselves to thank for all that has ever been, is now, and forever shall be.  It is existence without end.  All matter in the universe exists because of it and is created in its image.  Nothing in the universe ever ceases to exist, it simply morphs into something else or returns to its natural state as part of the power from whence it came.  We are, all of us, created from this power, in its image, utilizing its atomic structure to create what we are.  When we return to the origin we will bring with us all which we have learned and experienced.  We will share our knowledge and await our next iteration, our next life, version umpteen-point-whatever.  How marvelous is this, a life without end?

“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice."

-- T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), playwright, social critic, poet

Happy New Year!  How did it get so late so soon?  We keep looking at the clock, living by the ticks of it instead of between them.  Time exists because we haven't accepted that it doesn't.  Reality isn't late so soon, it simply is... in tune.

So, I wish you all another happy tomorrow and the all the best for the next 365 days until I get to wish you all the same, yet again.  Most of all, I will, each morning when I wake, thank God for another glorious day in paradise and another chance to excel in life.

What say you?

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”

-- G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), theologian, philosopher, poet

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 while 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 as a response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen.  He wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, for 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 waiting for us all. He is currently retired on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and volunteers as the Chaplain Program Liaison at a major regional medical center.