A Question of Good and Right

“When you truly sing, you sing yourself free. When you truly dance, you dance yourself free. When you walk in the mountains or swim in the sea, again, you set yourself free.”

-- Jay Woodman, author

Would you rather sleep under a wasp nest or swim with orcas?

I wouldn’t get much sleep under a wasp’s nest, but I have always wanted to swim with whales. Generally, if you don’t mess with them, they don’t mess with you. Wasps have no concept of mutual respect.

How has what has taken place so far in 2020 impacted where you thought you wanted to work or to move to prior to this year?

My dad’s third stroke changed my plans, and his death seriously impacted my life. Now, I am here taking care of my mother instead of pursuing any thoughts of touring the country or assisting an archeological dig in the SW desert. However, I am not angry at this. I am doing what a son does. It is payback for everything sacrificed for me over a lifetime. It is what it is until it isn’t, and then it will be what it is again. Change, the only universal constant.

Do we have to achieve something to be good?

No, but then, being good in this day and age is, itself, an achievement.  Better for us to be good, regardless of any achievement, and to be happy always. 

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

-- Dalai Lama XIV

"If you could build it, they will come," is a phrase from a famous movie. With that in mind, if you could build it, what would you build and who would come?

I would build a meditation center, with an expansive garden and park, to promote peace and understanding. I think many people searching for their path would love to have a peaceful retreat they can frequent.

What's the most useful social skill?

Communication. We would all be well served to put down technology and, once again, learn how to talk to one another face to face with understanding and tolerance.

Is the soul prepared to give up things that it has made up in itself?

The soul has no possessions, so the only “things” it could give up would be non-material emotions, like guilt. Everything becomes known when we move on. Our sins, our secrets, our guilt, all become known as truth. We, for all intents and purposes, will find ourselves incapable of lying or concealing. It isn’t that we are being judged as much as it is that we are judging ourselves. We are laying bare our soul for all to see. So what about hauntings?

Some souls don’t move on. Either they don’t know they are supposed to, they’re being held here by evil, or they are evil and refuse to have their soul run up the flagpole for all to see. The latter condemn themselves to hell on earth and, because of their fear of confronting and owning what they’ve done in life, are at the mercy of even stronger evil.

My point being, after a soul makes the choice to move on to what comes next, I don’t think it has a choice to “give up” things, it will just happen. 

“God shows us the path; the Devil shows us the possibilities.”

-- Ljupka Cvetanova, author

What was the most meaningful thing you did this week?

I evacuated my mother to safety from another hurricane that never was, this season. It crawled it’s way into Alabama and left us alone. 

Is subscribing for good luck?

I would suppose it depends on how you’re using the word, but I see no way it can be attributed to luck. I can help to guarantee delivery, agreement, etc., but I’m not sure an expectation of luck falls in there. 

What is the easiest way to be correct about everything all the time?

Kill everyone on the planet so no one can judge you when you’re wrong, and you will be wrong, sooner or later. Life is all about learning, and learning is all about making mistakes. If you are right all the time it would make you God, but you’re not. It is much easier to learn how to be happy always and live a constructive life.

“People who base their self-worth on being right about everything prevent themselves form learning from their mistakes. They lack the ability to take on new perspectives and empathize with others. They close themselves off to new and important information. It's far more helpful to assume that you're ignorant and don't know a whole lot. This keeps you unattached to superstitious or poorly informed beliefs and promotes a constant state of learning and growth.”

--  Mark Manson, self-help author, blogger

I am 31 and have a family. I want to go for a degree in engineering. Can I cope with a younger student?

Are you there to get a degree or socialize? The first thing I’d do is learn to embrace priorities. The younger student might learn something from you, like focus.

Can more people have more Murphy’s law than others?

It depends on how much risk you’re willing to entertain. The more risks you take, the more chances there are that you overlooked something. If it can go wrong, it probably will. People can mitigate this through good planning. Plan for the best outcome, but watch out for the worst.

What’s the most unexpectedly expensive thing to replace?

The airconditioning system in a house. I don’t think many people really consider the cost of replacing it until it fails, and then the shock sets in.

What is success, if not money? I know different people. Some ambitious and some not and they seem happy where they are. I messed up my career I feel bad, I don't think l will get married and have kids. Then my life was a failure?

If you are happy, you are successful in life. If you think your life was a failure then you have made the conscious decision to embrace failure as a negative you can feel bad about.

We don’t teach people how to be happy in failure, how failure is the best way we learn lessons. We don't discuss our failures.  We are not taught how to review why our choice went wrong and then correct it, and learn from it so we don’t make the same mistake twice.

If you messed up your career, why did you do what you did? Learn from it and start again. Wallowing in a pit of misery is also a choice, a choice to give up and learn nothing from your mistake. Life is not a failure until you give up on it.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” 

-- Denis Waitley, motivational speaker, writer, consultant

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 an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those 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 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved 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, and wages his "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 a chaplain at the regional medical center.