Questions on Life's Complexity

“Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple.”

-- Pete Seeger (1919-2014), singer

 

Do you consider yourself an encouraging person?

Absolutely. Situationally, I will encourage you to do something as much as I will encourage you, in another circumstance, not to do something.

Have you ever seen a new employee stealing from the workplace?

I have, and I was the “rat fink” that turned them in. Employment is all about trust, on both sides. I have moved on from jobs where trust was in question. Why did I turn them in? Nobody has the right to jeopardize my pay or the pay of others by stealing from the hand that feeds us.

Is it better to be one person over another, or is life more complex than that?

Be who you are, just make certain that who you are is capable of handling the complexities of life.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

-- Confucius (551 BC-479 BC), philosopher, politician

Do you think teenagers of today have greater hardship than the ones of the past?

Yes. I don’t think most of them have been parented to have “clue one” how to handle the hardships thrown at them, and probably because the parents were also not trained to handle them. Welfare tends to beget welfare, hardship begets hardship, spoiled begets spoiled, good ethics tends to beget good ethics, and righteousness tends to beget righteousness. We tend to become what we are brought up to be.

What does the phrase "Heaven is gonna burn your eyes" mean?

You need to stop looking at sinful stuff.

What do you like about the glass half empty mentality?

Nothing. The glass is always half full until you fill it. Work harder.

“Discouragers are the folks who regularly see the glass as half-empty, and they do not want anyone else to get one that's half full.”

-- Cathy Burnham Martin, author, actress, news anchor 

Would you sacrifice your life for someone you don't know?

Self-preservation is tough to overcome. It would not be my first choice, to simply sacrifice my life, but I think it would be driven by the circumstances as to whether I would risk my life. If risking my life for another were to come to pass, I would most probably jump, especially if the victim in danger was a child or the more vulnerable in our population. John 15:13 tells us, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” Sometimes we don’t know who our future friends are. Better we should reach out and touch everyone.

What state or country can a light-skinned person move to rebuild his life and go to college then maybe get rich with good health and less crime? I’m coming alone to start over again.

Mississippi. We welcome everyone down here.

Why is happiness possible and easy for most but unattainable for me?

Happiness is a choice we must make for ourselves. Regardless of our circumstances, we can choose to be happy or miserable. Our happiness and misery are driven by the choices we make for our lives. If you choose to be happy, it is much easier if you make good choices. Regardless, however, you should always strive to be happy, understanding that your state of mind is what you make of it by the choices and decisions you choose. If you’ve made bad choices, change your choices and you will change your circumstances.

“Inventory:

"Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.
Four be the things I'd been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.”

-- Dorothy Parker (1893-1967), poet

Is everything in life a gamble?

Everything in life is a choice. If you choose to gamble, it is totally up to you. It is your choice.

Are you already capable of thinking deeply? Yes or no?

Definitely! Oh, I’m sorry. Yes!

What should I say while breaking up?

Bye? You should really give some good, cogent reasons for your decision. People like to know the why, who, what, and how of things. With this information, they will be able to determine why you’re doing it, if it concerns someone else, what they did wrong, and how they will view you moving on. It is always better to part on good terms, if possible.

“Lots of things can be fixed. Things can be fixed. But many times, relationships between people cannot be fixed, because they should not be fixed. You're aboard a ship setting sail, and the other person has joined the inland circus, or is boarding a different ship, and you just can't be with each other anymore. Because you shouldn't be.”

-- C. JoyBell C., author, poet, philosopher 

What if you are starting to like a guy but I am scared to fall in love again? What should I do?

If you stop paying attention to who I’m falling in love with, you’ll probably find it easier. Just saying.

How do you come up with something original?

You need to find something nobody else has thought of. Is this a trick question?

What does it mean to foster love?

Love is a living emotion. It needs to be nurtured in order to sustain life. Fostering love is doing nothing to inhibit growth. If you constantly piss on a plant, what are the chances it will bear fruit? And, would you really want to partake of the fruit?

Maybe, one night, after thirty years of searching

for what love means, we will sit outside -

you and I -

amidst the debris of our meanderings,

our bent backs resting

on the rusted iron railing,

our skin pimpled, throats scratched

from prayers uttered to absent gods and

we would be in love and believe that love is this:

love is all the spaces, non-events,

the unspoken words and everything

in between the first second of these

thirty years to this. Love is this.”

-- Don Mihsill, poet, writer

Would you rather die in the next 5 seconds or be erased from existence right now?

And… the difference is what? 5 seconds? It takes that long just to ask the question.

How do I know if my bf is deeply in love with me?

If you don’t know, he either isn’t or he has no clue how to treat someone he is deeply in love with. My view is that virtually no one is that clueless.

What do we mean when we say "division of labor"?

Just what it says. How you divide up the labor between multiple people, units, or organizations. Will you divide it up equally, or will those with more ability get the lion’s share due to the capabilities? Will those doing more get paid accordingly? All of this is important in dividing up labor.

Reading this means you got a life. Why were you born?

Oops…

“There are two great days in a person’s life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”

-- Mark Twain (1835-1910), author, humorist, publisher

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.