A Few Questions of Reflection

 

“Beauty is not who you are on the outside, it is the wisdom and time you gave away to save another struggling soul like you.”

-- Shannon L. Alder

Why can even the most unshakable of self-motivation be undermined by external and unrelated influencers?

What if your “self-motivation” is illegal, based on a schedule, or relies on someone else? Your definition of “unshakable” might be dependent on more than the strength of your personal motivation. However, if your self-motivation is truly “unshakeable,” it can be rescheduled for when external or unrelated influencers are not an issue. Like everything else in life, it is a personal choice.

Why do people say money is not important but then constantly complain about the lack of it?

They have not discovered why they’re here. A hint? Nor have they found true happiness.

Which one will be better, admit you're wrong without adding any reason and say sorry, or admit you're wrong while adding a reason why?

The reason is immaterial unless the person wronged asks you why. Wrong is wrong, and you're admitting to that.  If you’re truly apologizing, it had better be heartfelt, or why admit you’re wrong in the first place?

“Never explain―your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”

-- Elbert Hubbard

How do you convince a dictator that it's in his personal/egoistical interest to start caring about the development of the country and people, instead of just thinking about how to enrich himself and "his people."

Dictators are already operating in their personal “egotistical interest,” which is driven by greed. The last thing a dictator wants to do is truly enrich “his people.” When they loosen their control they risk rebellion. They give just enough to keep the people placated but not enough to give them ideas of real freedom.

Why is it easier to be objective about a situation when one is not inside the situation?

You really have no vested interest in it, one way or another. The minute you think you do, subjectivity becomes a real possibility.

Why are there people who rely too much on the first information article they read when making a decision?

Most people are too lazy to fact-check information. You find these people in those who only watch one news channel to get a version of the news that agrees with their slanted view of reality, a view that probably differs from what is truly happening. Better we should check all the news to ensure they all have the same story and, even then, it is incumbent on us to check what they report against more sources with differing viewpoints to ensure the story is factual and reported in context.  I have found that quotes are most often taken out of context, and those who quote Martin Luther King, Jr., are the worst offenders, which says much about them, personally.

“Believe what you like, but don't believe everything you read without questioning it.”

-- Pauline Baynes

Do you consider yourself a leader, a follower, or a lone wolf?

I have come full circle. When I joined military intelligence I was a lone wolf, and then I became a follower, and then a leader, and then a lone wolf, and then I retired and didn’t give much thought to titles. I did a job. I did it well. My people respected me, which was a bonus. Now I spend my time striving to be happy always. I suppose I’m kind of still the “lone wolf,” because I really like my “me time.”

What inside me makes me stand on my own feet?

Pride, and a sense that you can make it if you don’t give up. 

As an older person, did life move by fast or slow to your perspective?

At what point? When I was young, I thought I would never grow up. When I joined the military, the first 10 years went by so fast that I volunteered for another ten, which went by like cold tar flowing uphill. When I got out after 23 years, the next 17 seemed pretty regular, but then I reached 65 years of age, and, for the past couple of years, I’ve come to the realization that my ultimate demise is right around the corner. I have wrapped my mind around the fact that time really doesn’t exist, and that I will pass from this life into the next with little fanfare, just as we have done for millennia.

We pay too much mind to time, which is a human construct that gives structure to our lives in this dimension. What we should be focused on are the lessons we need to learn, the most important of which is to be happy always.

“I am now 33 years old, and it feels like much time has passed and is passing faster and faster every day. Day to day I have to make all sorts of choices about what is good and important and fun, and then I have to live with the forfeiture of all the other options those choices foreclose. And I'm starting to see how as time gains momentum my choices will narrow and their foreclosures multiply exponentially until I arrive at some point on some branch of all life's sumptuous branching complexity at which I am finally locked in and stuck on one path and time speeds me through stages of stasis and atrophy and decay until I go down for the third time, all struggle for naught, drowned by time. It is dreadful. But since it's my own choices that'll lock me in, it seems unavoidable--if I want to be any kind of grownup, I have to make choices and regret foreclosures and try to live with them.”

-- David Foster Wallace

If the world were perfect, would we be fully responsible for our actions?

Perfect or not, we have always been fully responsible for our actions. Whether we own this fact, or not, is another question. Life is all about the choices and decisions we make for ourselves. Nothing happens in our life without us making a choice concerning it. Many of us find ourselves in constant denial by shifting the blame for the consequences of our choices because we do not want to accept the responsibility for failure.

What is your reflection on the statement “Action indeed is the sole medium for ethics” by Jane Addams?

A medium is “a channel or system of communication.” Having a solid sense of moral ethics is a choice we must make, and that choice is transmitted each time we take an ethical stand. Ethics, in this way, is our impetus for taking action, for displaying who and why we are.

What is your insight about "we should not use other people as means to other people’s ends"?

Besides being immoral, using other people, without their permission, is a display of one’s inability to succeed on their own. Never use people. To do so is just sad. If you need their help, ask them. In this way, they are assisting you more than you are using them, and this assistance reflects well on who they are.

“I too often allow people to become a sterile commodity to be bartered in the service of my greed, and in doing something so absurdly reckless I foolishly barter away everything that meets my need.”

-- Craig D. Lounsbrough

What is your opinion about the quotation "Your self-image is the result of all you have given your subconscious mind as a database, so regardless of your background, what you are willing to become is the only reality that counts" - Paul J. Meyer?

The quote has merit, but I think what we give our conscious mind is also a contributor to this database. I can really get behind, “Regardless of your background, your economic or social status, what you are willing to become is the only reality that counts.”

How do I handle criticism when someone is criticizing me for no apparent reason?

I would confront them in front of the very people they are criticizing you to. Have them explain their reasoning, and then let the other people make their own opinion of you, or of this person criticizing you. Liars have no stomach for confrontation. The truth will win out.

What is your reflection about “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”?

If you have no idea what you’d like to do with your life, selfless service to others can assist you in finding a path. Many times this service can be trying, and it will separate the wheat from the chaff; whether you will succeed, or not. I lost myself in the service to the country, by joining the military. During my career, I discovered much about myself, my capabilities, my shortcomings, my path, and how to always strive for happiness. I grew up.

“While you'll feel compelled to charge forward it's often a gentle step back that will reveal to you where you and what you truly seek.”

-- Rasheed Ogunlaru

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 volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.