Questioning the Most Satisfying Moments

 

What was your most satisfying moment this year?

One of my "old" compatriots from the Air Force surprised me with a drawing I did back in the mid-eighties. I did it for the front of t-shirts we were selling to raise money for the Intelligence Division of a B-52 squadron. We didn't change the logo enough, it seems. Miller Brewing told us to stop. Fun while it lasted. I couldn’t believe she held onto it for so long.

A lady claimed that you should not be complacent about what you achieved because what you know is little, but I found that she was no more than her smug words. What should I do?

Ignore her. What other people think about us is just their opinion and, occasionally, we will find they’re just “smug” words. I’m usually complacent about what I achieve because achieving is the entire point of life in this existence. I’m complacent about it because achieving is what I expect of myself. No big deal. Failure, on the other hand, is an opportunity for a "learning experience" and will take a bit more of my effort. In this failure, then, I am a bit less complacent.

What makes older people trust others less?

Experience.

“There are some questions that shouldn't be asked until a person is mature enough to appreciate the answers.”

-- Anne Bishop, author

What does this quote mean, "No path started as a path. Someone must walk on it for it to become a path? You must pound and break the hard land and pierce through it for the water to flow out."?

I back up using my shovel, hoe, and rake, leaving in my wake a clear, narrow, “something” with the intent that someone will walk on it can be called a path? I didn’t intentionally make a “path,” I just cleared “something” that resembles a path? So, I can’t see an easy path before me, I must blaze my own path? In a perfect world, perhaps. Many times we put our young people onto a “path” for success, but what they do with what we give them is a choice they must make. Follow the path set before them, take a fork in the road to determine a different destiny, or strike out across the country, blazing their own trail.

There are many paths for us to choose from. We can take the easy route and walk the path others have laid out. They may not have walked it, but they have given us an easy route to success. It is a path because they call it a path. It is a choice whether we take the path created for us, or make another.

Oh, and as far as piercing through the hard land for water? Why go through all that trouble if there’s an easily accessible stream? Just saying. 

Reader Comment: I like the way you got into the metaphorical stuff, then wore the novelty off it and you went for the literal spring. Well done!

What should I do to make my baby cat love me?

Get a dog. Dogs are pretty much about unconditional love and loyalty, cats not so much. I’ve always had a cat. They love you when they feel like it. The best thing to do is feed them, pet them, play with them, and don’t mess with their heads. Cats are all about payback.

“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”

-- Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), writer, polemicist, socio-political critic

When was the moment when you said to yourself "He/She is not the one."?

Twenty years after I married her when she had me arrested for something I didn’t do. I finally woke up to the fact that she really never loved me and was just using me as an escape and for security. Yeah, I was a bit slow where relationships were concerned. I never really understood how she could have children with someone she didn’t love, though.

What is the meaning of 12:00?

The beginning of a new day, or lunch. You didn’t differentiate whether it was noon or midnight. Is this a trick question, or were you seeking a more in-depth analysis?

When was the last time you found yourself thinking “you learn something new every day”?

Every day. I actually do learn something new every day. It’s the “I’ll be damned. I did not know that” moment that I relish. I try not to be a member of the League of the Perpetually Offended who find something to constantly complain about instead of listening and trying to understand. They usually begin their response to comments with “Bollocks!” or something equally intelligent.

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.”

-- Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author

How do you deal with humble braggers?

There’s no such thing as a “humble bragger.” I equate this to “truthful liars” or “caring rapists.” If you’re bragging there is little humility in it. If you’re lying, where is the truth? And if you’re raping a woman you certainly don’t care about her.

Reader Comment:   The correct term is “humblebragger”, and it refers to someone who uses fake self-deprecation and fake self-modesty as an excuse to draw people’s attention to something they’re actually proud of.

My Response:  Now, this makes much more sense. We learn something every day. Thank you.

I don't look in the mirror; don't like what I see; never have. I am not my idea of a beauty. Never was. This is not false modesty. I've just never been enamored of my face, which of course is magnified umpteen times on screen. 

--Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), actress

What can you say about this statement, "every person in the world needs some of the same things I need"?

We all require the same things for our survival, so in this context, the statement is a truism. Anything else we might need is more of a desire than a need. Not everyone in the world will “need” some of the same things I desire, nor will I desire some or any of the things they think they need.

What do you think, is it us that makes a choice or the choice makes us?

The choice is always ours to make, and by making that choice we risk it defining us. This is a good reason for always making good, moral, and ethical, choices.

My boyfriend has been out of town for almost six months and he’s finally back. He told me that he is back and then haven’t gotten a message or call since then. What does this mean?

It might be time to find a new boyfriend.

My boyfriend keeps saying I don’t love him or care about him when he knows I do. He keeps guilt-tripping me too. What does this mean?

Too much drama. Time to trade up. 

(I was on another posting when this question was put to me.  Since it was so similar to the "boyfriend" question, just above, I thought placing it here more appropriate  My bet?  It's the same young lady.)

Winning a woman's heart doesn't make someone a man, learning to treasure that heart after it's won is what makes someone a real man.

-- Unknown

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.