Who You Are (Updated post from 1/26/2016)

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-- Marianne Williamson

 

"Where you're from determines who you are." Have you heard this commercial? Who comes up with this crappy pseudo-psychobabble? If we accept this premise, then if you grow up in the ghetto, you are, therefore, the ghetto. If you're from a welfare family, therefore you'll always be on welfare. You're a white person from Mississippi; therefore you must be a bigot. If you're a gang-banger, you'll always be a gang-banger, right?  Please join me in stating that this premise is bullshit.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

-- Maya Angelou

Who and what you want to be, determines your destiny, and where you're from.  What you've done in life, or what you want to do, determines who you are, and where you can go, not your circumstances, not the media, and certainly not an agenda pushed by a political party that makes promises they never intend to deliver on in order to keep you down so they can continue to have a large, ignorant, voting base.  Where you're from is simply the beginning of your path, just as where you are going will be the end or the beginning of another.

"You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who'll decide where to GO..."

-- Dr. Seuss

The most important attribute each of us is born with is free choice.  We have the ability to choose who and what we wish to be.  Our freedom of choice is something no one can take from us.  If the Holocaust teaches us anything it would be the human capacity to choose whether to live free or die.  We have the moral fortitude to choose not to live as slaves.  It is one attribute that guarantees mankind will never willingly submit to evil.  If you are enslaved, rebel, and die a free person.

You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

-- Maya Angelou

Anyone who believes that where you're from determines who you are will always be is lost.  They will always be a victim of their own inaction and never become more than they are.  They will always be the slave of some master, some heretical extremist religious cult, some credit company, some state aid or federal aid agency (aka, welfare),  or someone's lapdog, someone's bitch, someone else's idea of who they should be.  Basically, they will remain a victim of everything they should be trying to escape.  But, then, it has become a well-understood fact that you can't cure stupid.  The afflicted have to want to change, and as long as they are offered a way to remain complacent burdens on society, they will continue to delude themselves that they are anything but.  You can't save people from themselves.  Like any other addiction, being something less than your potential is just, well... easier.  Socialists use this to great effect.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

-- Maya Angelou

There are those that will read this and become inflamed over my comments instead of looking passed the comments to see who and what they are.  They will say, "But, I'm trying."  Are you holding down three part-time jobs?  "The schools aren't offering me, or my children, the education to better our lot."  Are you making them, or yourself, learn at home, or is the computer for email and playing games?  "I need the food stamps or we'll starve."  And the entirety of your basket at checkout is comprised of healthy foodstuffs?  Probably not.

The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.

-- Vince Lombardi

Past Presidential candidate, Ben Carson, offers us some insight into what a poor, fairly illiterate mother, can accomplish, with very little, when her priorities are in proper alignment.  She can work her fingers to the bone, working two jobs, as an example to her children.  She can ensure they toe the line in school.  And, when all is said and done, she can offer the world a renowned neurosurgeon and political candidate for change.   She can accomplish wonders, for the betterment of her children, and mankind, albeit unknown to her at the time. Those that would find fault with her accomplishments, or Ben Carson's, are the same people that hold minorities, or themselves, down.  They're the same people that make excuses for why things never change and why the government needs to control their thinking, which isn't really difficult when you're dealing with lemmings.  But do you have to be a neurosurgeon?  Is it really rocket science?  No, it really isn't. 

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.

-- Maya Angelou

It is what the intelligentsia now refer to as making a "paradigm shift," a shift in our basic concepts and practices; a profound change in our life model, our thinking, and our perception of our reality.  Basically, we simply have to make a conscious effort to say no to all things we are doing wrong in our lives and take ownership of all the negativity.  We have either created our circumstances or made the conscious decision to remain in our circumstances.  We have done this, not someone else.  It is our bad, and we have only ourselves to blame.  

This doesn't mean you can go off on a crusade against what, or who, you feel is the cause of ills in your life in an effort to solve the issues.  This would be, again, simply assigning blame to the decision you made to allow these causes to rule your decision-making.  We have to wrap our minds around us accepting full responsibility for our lives.  We have to, finally, become aware that we are in charge of our lives.  Only when we do this can we finally see the positive path that has always been before us.

We are free to choose who and what we wish to be. We are Light alone. We are shape-shifters. We become what we choose to become in an effort to discover the Truth of who we are. We grow into our Truth. We grow into our soul.

-- Lauren Zimmerman

There is nothing I find more disagreeable than someone I work with being dissatisfied with their situation.  You have a job, lucky you, so do it.  If you don't like the job, leave.  If you can't leave, ask yourself why?  Bills?  Mortgage?  Ah!  Decisions you made that prevent you from living a happy, productive, life.  Now you find yourself in the less than enviable position of an indentured servant (aka, slave) until you pay off the bills... which will never be paid off.  Your new master will see to that.

Who are you?  You are what you want to be, and if you aren't... then you must be satisfied with what you are.  Don't bitch, moan, and complain about the circumstance you put yourself into.  Don't try to shift the blame on others for the bad decisions you, yourself, have made that keep you down or miserable, because the people around you see right through this immature attempt to look "blameless" for your circumstances.  

Accept responsibility for your choices and decisions, the good and the bad.  Accept responsibility for who and what you are.  Accept that you owe, and are indebted, for mistakes you've made, and the luxuries you wanted or needed.  Accept that you have to pay for the mistakes or debts.  Accept responsibility for your life, even if your assets belong to someone else due to your decisions, until they are paid off.  Accept responsibility for your life, the life you've made, even if it isn't perfect, and you'll find there is some pride in ownership.  Then, and only then,  you might learn to understand.

I'd seen my father. He was a poor man, and I watched him do astonishing things.

-- Sidney Poitier

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, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western 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 the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

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