Morphing to a Better State of Being (Updated from 10/20/2014)

 

As an introduction to this post, I offer up a short note from an avid reader:

"Good beautiful Sunday morning Tony!  As I leave Bob to sleep a little more, I am having my coffee, reading The Path, writing, and realizing that being happy is really a choice, a state of mind that we can choose to be in when we open our eyes every day.  Feeling loved is a most amazing feeling!

You mentioned the word "morph" in today’s "sermon" and, yes, The Path is MY sermon, so there.  People always say that people don't change, but we do. Maybe "morph" is a better word than change. People grow. We are capable of changing ways, habits, and beliefs. Understanding is important, but acceptance is the key to tolerance.  Only when we accept that we are "different, yet all the same," maybe then we can be tolerant." 

The fact my friend finds "The Path" worthy of consideration, humbles me.  She humbles me often, as I stand as witness to the hand life deals her.  I have watched, and listened, while my friend has journeyed down the latest fork in her path.  She has encountered some bumps and bruises, and she has initiated change to simplify her life and solve issues.  She has sold her house, changed jobs, and she has discovered a "work in progress"... her significant other.  

What she speaks, in her message to me, she has learned in the school of hard knocks.  She doesn't seem to act humble, but she will, probably, be the first to deny that she actually knows as much about life as she does.  What has helped her along her path?  She reads and listens.  She debates and is able to admit her errors.  She goes it alone, and yet, she is able to ask for guidance.  She has found the best use of the internet - finding sites and motivational speakers that offer her positive ideas and reinforcement on living life and dealing with roadblocks and issues life throws in front of her.  But, is she right in what she says about change?

I'm going to share someone's words, from my own life.  These are words of wisdom that have guided me since I was a young airman.  He is gone now, a tragic loss to mankind.  I stumbled upon Leo Buscaglia on a television special, probably PBS, when I was in my early twenties.  He was discussing love, happiness, and relationships.  I found myself laughing, and then crying, grabbing for the tissue box because I could stop the emotional rollercoaster, the "truth" I found in the words he spoke.  If I could name one person in this world who has had the greatest effect on who I have become, other than my parents, it would certainly be Leo Buscaglia.  

He appeals to the very young and old, alike.  His love is boundless.  He was not an ordained minister, and one would wonder why not, yet, listening to him, we realize he is, and always shall be, a "minister of life" to those who care to listen.

I want to share with you a link to a short video of him.  Along the right side of this video site, you will find many more clips to choose from.  Please take the time to come back and watch those clips as well.  Bookmark the site, and purchase his books.  He is worth having in your life.  Even though he is no longer with us, he has left us a legacy of information, understanding, and love, that can change our world: Leo Buscaglia: "The Time Is Now".

Leo taught me about change, this sense of morphing from what we are into what we are supposed to become; caterpillar to chrysalis, to butterfly.  Crap to fertilizer, for seeds yet to grow; change is the only true constant in the universe, and creation is the one true miracle.  I forgot his words during the years I watched my marriage dissolve, as I was fighting the losing battle, trying to hold it all together.  I was so much better than that, and I had so much more to offer to so many others.  Why do we fight battles against those we love, when they don't love us?  Because we're selfish, or, because we care.  Maybe, because we're afraid... to let go.  

Change is inevitable, so why fight it? 

"I believe that you control your destiny... that you can be what you want to be. You can also stop and say, 'No I won't do it. I won't behave this way anymore. I'm lonely and I need people around me, maybe I have to change my methods of behaving,' and then you do it. 

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.

-- Leo Bucaglia (1924-1998)

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 view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, 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.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a 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 United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

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 a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He 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 personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

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