Questioning Learning, Balance, and Touching

 

“My point is, life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada.”

-- Ellen DeGeneres

Is learning by doing better than studying?

Generally, neither is better than the other, and both should be done in conjunction with each other, if possible. You learn much by studying, but the hands-on application can drive home concepts you learn from books or verbal classroom instruction.

What life lessons can you learn in college?

Socialist indoctrination?

Why do people do and say things they regret when they are truly enraged?

When we’re angry, right and wrong are harder to understand since we have a death grip on the bone of our opinion of righteousness. There is a reason people tell you not to discuss anything when you’re angry. You can find yourself, albeit temporarily, an unwitting member of the League of the Perpetually Offended. Better to go calm down, take a breath, think about the issues, and then have a calm discussion with the intent of listening to the other side. You may get nowhere by doing this, but you will gain some insight and, in all probability, impress your opponent and, certainly, any witnesses. 

"Be careful what you say. You can say something hurtful in ten seconds, but ten years later, the wounds are still there."

-- Joel Osteen

How do you find a balance between caring for your health and non-attachment to your health?

Why would you look for a balance, unless you like gambling? One should always strive to care for their health, not lose their attachment to it. Why brush your teeth or bathe? Why wash your hair? Why not eat crap and gain several hundred pounds? Why not pile on the salt and eat fatty meat? Why not just eat a bullet? Well, most of us would really like to live longer, healthier, lives. It is hard enough to live healthier if we’re wrapped up in finding some excuse for balance between caring and turning to crap. And this coming from a guy that has a hard time staying on the side of healthy. I don’t want balance. I want healthy. I just can’t seem to get there. Just saying.

What are some tips for living with a major regret from the past that still haunts you today?

Let it go.

Is the human being by nature good or bad?

If you believe we are born without sin, then it is in our nature to be good. What evil happens to us after we arrive is why we are supposed to have nurturing parents. This doesn’t always pan out the way we’d like. Then, there is always a belief in an evil we bring with us from a previous life. Unfinished business we need to work on or be mentored through, if possible. And, there is always the demonic entity that simply hitches a ride with newborn innocence. But, I’d like to think that most children are born with a blank slate to be filled in with life.

“There was only one guy in the whole Bible Jesus ever personally promised a place with him in Paradise. Not Peter, not Paul, not any of those guys. He was a convicted thief, being executed. So don't knock the guys on death row. Maybe they know something you don't.”

-- Neil Gaiman

In retrospect, have you ever been grateful for a lie you've been told? If you want to let us know, which was the lie?

Not at all. I’d be grateful to get the truth, regardless of how painful. This is a lesson I learned before and during my divorce.

How common is it for hot water to run out in the USA?

Depends on the size of your hot water heater, and how many people are using it.

If you had to be visited by one of the Christmas spirits, which one would you see, and what would happen?

Christmas Present, because the present is all we really have. The past is memory, and the future is yet to be. I would be exceedingly happy, as I strive to be always!

"The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care, and concern to do good to others - and not just their own friends - in whatever way there seems need."

-- J.I. Packer

My girlfriend and I never built a relationship. What can I do?

First off, I’d have to assume she isn’t really your steady girlfriend because you’ve never built a relationship with her, which, to my way of thinking, really sucks. I’d be sitting down with her and asking her about all this. Women are pretty insightful, or so my girlfriend says. I have no reason to question her because we’ve been together for almost 19 years.

How can I stop being scared of dying?

It is what it is. Being scared isn’t going to change the inevitable. The good news, however, is that, unless you're an atheist, there might be an afterlife in store for you. Stop worrying about those things over which you have little or no control. What’s the point?

Aren't we better off without religion?

Yes! We should develop our personal faith and worship our God in our own way. Religion always seems to have a hidden agenda.

“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.”

-- Garrison Keillor

How can I tell my boyfriend that I want to touch him in the dick?

Crude, but... okay.  Don’t tell him, just do it. He’ll either get the message, or you’ll be looking for a new boyfriend.

Who was the least likely to succeed but proved them all wrong?

Me. There is no reason I was able to retire early with two careers under my belt. I was the least likely for anything, maturity, careers, success, women, et al. And, yet, I matured in the military, excelled at my jobs, I consider myself happy and, therefore, successful, and I have had great relationships with women if we discount the horrible marriage.

"What else you got?"

I’ve always been more than enough, or so my mother says. I think she’s slammin' me, though.

"It's not what you've got, it's what you use that makes a difference."

-- Zig Ziglar

Would it be karma farming if you sort posts by new so you could have a higher chance to have more top comments?

What? Sounds a bit egotistical to me. “Karma farming” will fail if this is the plan. How about just selflessly answering questions, you know, the right thing to do. This way good karma might just seek you out for your selfless actions.

Have you been bullied for being knowledgeable about different topics?

Constantly, but, I’ve learned to ignore the lack of cogent thought and insulting vulgarities that spew from the pie holes of the League of the Perpetually Offended.

To what extent did a person go (unethically) for their revenge?

Do you mean, like, murder? Revenge, regardless of how it is carried out, crosses the line into “unethical” behavior. Murder, in my view, is the epitome of unethical behavior.

“If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.”

-- Shannon L. Alder

What is the meaning of the phrase "the only stupid questions that exist are the ones you don't ask"?

It goes along with, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.” Basically, if you don’t ask the question, it can’t be answered. If you don’t ask questions, therefore, you remain ignorant. So, I think the phrase is trying to be nice by indirectly calling the person, not asking a question, stupid.

If you were a social media platform, which one would you be?

TRUTH Social. It might be a breath of fresh air, you know, telling people the truth for a change. The only people I can see balking at the truth would be the League of the Perpetually Offended. We’ll see what the site offers up.

Can good luck be real?

Luck is real, but it has little to do with the intangible. Louis Pasteur quipped, 'Fortune favors the prepared mind.' Good fortune, good luck, is all about how prepared you are for the task at hand. If someone says you encountered some bad luck, they’re actually saying you weren’t well prepared or you didn’t think the issue through very well.

You can lose at gambling, bad luck, but why did you sit down at the table knowing you were ill-prepared to win? Was it really “bad luck” or simply a bad decision on your part.

I suppose I view “luck” as an excuse for something that happened, good or bad. Things happen, and we like to find a reason for it even if there is none. Do we choose to call it “luck” instead of destiny? Maybe. But, how real it is, has more to do with the belief, the faith, we put into it. Faith is a belief in something for which there is little or no proof. I find more proof in bad and good choices or being prepared or ill-prepared than I do in luck.

“Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony:  tolerantpastor@gmail.com