Questioning the Essential and Complicated

 

Why is there not more grasp that truth is objective and gained through persons, and that reality is subjectively gained, and only able to be used through other persons? How can you use others?

Schools, for the most part, don’t teach truth and reality because, if they did, kids would grow up cognizant of the bullshit they’re being fed. Truth needs to be searched out, not simply accepted because “authority” says it is so. If schools were any good they would be teaching how to search for truth, not how to blindly accept it.  

This being said, “reality” is what it is regardless of how it’s attained. Being what it is, though, how one lives reality is totally up to the individual.  Reality doesn’t exist so we can use it through other people, because reality would exist regardless. 

How can you use other people? Don’t. Using other people is simply wrong and should be a violation of one’s personal code of ethics.

What is putting things into perspective like?

It is seeing the reason, asking the “why” behind things. If someone says the world sucks, why did they say it? They might be right, but we’ll never know until we ask who they are and discover why they believe the way they do. Otherwise, the statement stands on its own without context or valid perspective.

What are the keys to continuity and change? Why do we need to evaluate change?

Understanding and acceptance. Change happens. It is the only constant in the universe. Why and how we change depends on our evaluation of the change we are contemplating. Once the change is decided upon, it is good to ensure everyone affected is onboard with the change through understanding and acceptance.

"Mere change is not growth. Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, and where there is no continuity there is no growth."

-- C. S. Lewis

If you interacted w/ with me at work, what did you think of me at the beginning, middle, & end?

In the beginning, I didn’t know you. We met and I made a supposition of who you were. By the middle, I would have found if my supposition was valid or if my mind has changed about who you are. In the end, we are either friendly coworkers, I could care less one way or another about you, or you’re an ass and I simply disavow you as a coworker and do my job. Works out better for both of us if you have a good moral sense of ethics and aren’t an ass.

Which argument wins between, "I really need to see it," and "I can't force her"?

Neither one. “Go ask her,” would put it to rest. Why are they telling someone else that they really need to see it? That is their problem, so don’t buy into them making it your problem. There is way too much drama in either of these statements. Better to just send them on their way and be done with it.

How do you define your sense of place?

I am where I stand unless I am moving forward, and then I am where I am. I am comfortable in my life and I strive to be happy always. I live by my credo, “It is what it is until it isn’t, and then it is what it is again.” It is in our power, by choice, to change our circumstances.

If you feel out of place it is in your power to place yourself where you need to be. Life is about choices. Where we are, our “sense of place,” has much to do with making good choices for ourselves. If you feel out of place, make better choices.

“There is no mysterious essence we can call a 'place'. Place is change. It is motion killed by the mind, and preserved in the amber of memory.”

-- J. A. Baker

Why is it important to emphasize what is essential, and to understand the background of who, or what, we are referring to?

Using an Intelligence perspective, it would depend on the situation. Do you have time to do an in-depth study, or is time short and you can only do a cursory look? Is what you already have considered essential enough for the decision process? It is very important to give emphasis to what is essential and becomes less important to know the background unless that is essential. It is every bit situational and time-sensitive to how deep you research, especially if lives hang in the balance. This is not an easy question to answer.

How much do you really care what people think of you? How much of that criticism, whether self-inflicted, directly or indirectly affect you?

Not very much. I deal with members of the League of the Perpetually Offended all the time, so I’ve learned to let their mindless drivel roll off my back. You have to when you deal with their ilk. Nothing you say is going to deter these bullies from being offended. I leave them for my readers to deal with.  It is what they do. I was also bullied when I was young, so folks have a long way to go before they can really get under my skin. 

Should wisdom be measured by how complicated it is?

My goodness, no! Wisdom should be measured by how simple it is:

“Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel's hub.
The hole in the middle makes it useful.
Mold clay into a bowl.
The empty space makes it useful.
Cut out doors and windows for the house.
The holes make it useful.

Therefore, the value comes from what is there,
But the use comes from what is not there.” 

-- Tao Te Ching, Chapter 11

What is the true meaning of patience?

“Understanding,” comes to mind.

How can I win the fight between me and me?

You must surrender, in order to win.

Should we be afraid of those who fear us?

Only if you fear they might shoot you for no damned good reason. Better that you stop being so frightening to others.

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

-- Plato

What is the illusion of importance?

Being a “legend in your own mind”?

I hate being loved. How do I avoid having to put up with people that love me?

Hate them back! I was married to a woman that didn’t want to put up with being loved, so I started hating her and, voila! Divorce!  It took me twenty years to come up with that solution.

What is the effect of context (a story form) on perception?

What you read will be better understood when you realize the context of what is truly being said. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is constantly quoted out of context in order to push some ill-conceived agenda. Anytime you read a quote that doesn’t sound like something the person would say, they probably didn’t mean it in the context given. Better for you to go back and read the entire speech.

“The frame, the definition, is a type of context. And context, as we said before, determines the meaning of things. There is no such thing as the view from nowhere, or from everywhere for that matter. Our point of view biases our observation, consciously and unconsciously. You cannot understand the view without the point of view.”

-- Noam Shpancer

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.