Aug
27
2010
Its been a busy time this late August and today I stopped to ponder a question on my mind for quite some time. Who do my thoughts really belong to? A simple question with a seemingly difficult answer.
As we progress through time (we’re not getting older..!) many concepts and dogmas creep into our mental storehouse. Oftentimes we’re unaware where we pick up certain habits and beliefs, we just begin using them. Case in point: when I lived in Florida for awhile I began speaking with a slight accent of people who had grown up there. Was it intentional? Not really. Because I was being ‘influenced’ by those around me I picked up the local accent in my speech. Moving back North later ‘cured’ me pretty much although at times a word or two will slip out in a Southern accent.
So I wonder how many people don’t like certain ethnic groups just because family and those around them didn’t like that group? How many times will we condemn an individual because of their position in the community? Why do we blame God when something seemingly goes wrong but turn around and take all the credit when things go right? We blame The Devil when we have a moment of judgment lapse or observe someone doing something we don’t believe to be of outstanding character just like us.
Instead, why don’t we start doing this: Chill Out. Just BE. Take care of yourself and in this way you will be allowing others to do the same. Now, I’m not saying withdraw and let others fend for themselves. No. But when we start paying attention to our behavior and feelings and allowing others to do the same, we won’t have time to judge another on what we feel is inappropriate. Who made you the Judge and all others lesser than you? My parents used to say this: “Mind your own business.”
Our children learn by watching us. If we continually judge and condemn others, how do you think they are going to be when they mature? Opinionated and Judgmental just like they were taught.
Perhaps that’s why the kids today are as they are. A bit rebellious having little time to conform into a system that constantly believes they need distractions in order to keep from looking at – Themselves. ADD and ADHD are just convenient labels invented so we have an excuse to drug up the non-conformers to comply with what the old system installed decades ago. And we as parents have allowed it because it was easier. Plus we believed what the Experts told us without question. But it appears not any more. Things are Changing and the old system is getting panicked. They are loosing control and that is sending a wave of Fear through the rest of the world. What if the power balance goes ‘out of balance’? I’ll clue you in on something – it was never balanced to begin with. And you know that deep down – and that’s what frightens you. Soon you may have to actually take Responsibility for your own life with no one else to lay blame on as in the past. Scary, huh? However, it’s been only You all along so try to see that through the blinders the power ‘balance’ attempted to fool you with all this time.
It’s been You all along. Take charge of your own life – starting today. Take back Your thoughts and beliefs and see who will be the one to Panic. You or Them? It won’t take long before you have your answer…
Until next time…
George 
Aug
9
2010
I received this in email today and wanted to share…
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When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough; remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee…
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the desk and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else — The small stuff.’
‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
So…
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.’
‘Take care of the golf balls first — The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. ‘I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’
Beth
Jul
27
2010
So once again I received one of those emails that could make my toes curl. I won’t go into its contents but below is a ‘story’ of what was included in the fear mongering, separatist correspondence.
The Story of the Scammers and the Fire Chief
Once upon a time a few Scam Artists decided they could make some bucks by setting fire to one of the buildings where they held a Fire Insurance Policy. One night while everyone slept, they quietly sneaked into the building, doused it with alcohol and lit it on fire. Quickly they ran so they wouldn’t be detected and slithered back to their Scammers Lair.
Soon the alarm was raised! The local Fire Department along with their newly appointed Fire Chief raced to the scene. As they arrived they began unrolling hoses and connected to the nearest source of water. They all worked very hard but most of the building sustained quite a bit of damage, pretty much destroyed.
The next day some of the townspeople were up in arms. They began questioning the Fire Chief as to why he wasn’t able to save the building – after all he was sworn to do his duty and save burning buildings. He attempted to explain that the building was fully engulfed when he arrived and he did the best he could under the circumstances. “Not good enough,” they replied. They called for his resignation – in fact a number of townspeople were demanding he step down now since his seeming incompetence allowed the building to be destroyed.
And as any good tragedy will tend to do, Lawyers flooded out of the woodwork whipping up a furor causing a bunch of people to begin protests against the Fire Chief who was doing his best. After all, the building was set on fire by a bunch of experts who had experience in those sorts of things and they always seemed to get away with their little schemes too.
Quite a few people in the town were now so angry they weren’t seeing straight anymore and the whole incident blossomed way out of proportion. From that day the Fire Chief continued to have difficulty in accomplishing just about anything since the group of nay-sayers were constantly pointing out his inability of putting out the fire in the building owned by the Scammers, never offering praise for all the other structures he had been able to save since that time.
But the Fire Chief hung in there and soon the level thinking townspeople began seeing the injustice that was being piled on the Fire Chief. They allowed him to continue attempting to save all the other structures under his charge and they found even with that one loss he was able to save more than was being destroyed.
Soon all the noise of the brain-washed townspeople began to subside as more of the details of how the fire originally started was brought to light. The Scammers businesses began to waver and shake. More and more began to crumble under the weight of the deceit and greed they were built upon. And the Fire Chief allowed them to crumble since the pain and sorrow the other townspeople endured began coming to a close. Some people began loosing all they owned due to the Scammers hooking them by their schemes and some continued to blame the Fire Chief for their own poor judgment and greed. Whining and gnashing of teeth could be heard by the noisy people who had bought into the propaganda and brain-washing of the Scammers. Fingers flailed in all directions except the direction where the real blame originated. Those who had been quietly building their resolve were able to cope. Those who were constantly playing the Blame Game went slowly insane, stammering and mumbling something about being cheated and forced to share nicely.
And soon Peace returned to the majority of the townspeople while small pockets of angry, fearful souls lingered on porches waiting to die. Prosperity began returning and those too angry and fearful to notice continued to live in the past, still wanting to blame the Fire Chief for all their woes, whimpering something about how the changes took everything from them. The fearful were never able to understand what they were seeing as ‘The End’ was being looked at by the majority as ‘The Beginning’.
Until next time…
George
Jul
14
2010
I guess it’s a byproduct of the current reality that so many are becoming dependent on pharmaceuticals in order to ‘feel good’. When we in the ‘Western World’ awaken each morning, often by a clock radio alarm blaring out the maladies of the Planet, we are almost immediately lead to a position of perceived helplessness and despair. And all too often we don’t even know why or how such a thing could happen after such a fun time as a little kid with no concerns other than which toy or game we chose to occupy our world with at the moment. Then ‘Adulthood’ sets in – obligations and pressures imposed upon us from controlling groups outside our little world and the fun of life fades. Off to the cabinet to grab the little pills that will make it all feel good again – until the effects wear off and the hamster wheel drug dispenser supplies another dose that keeps us moving. What went wrong? Where did my little child world disappear to? The answer is…
It’s still right where you left it but the imposed ‘required’ behavior from others has hidden your ‘safe place’ from your sight and you have forgotten how to just BE.
That is why I wish to post this short 7 minute video now in hopes it will help even one person to have a better day today. Stop now for just a few minutes and click the Play button below and return to a time when BEing a child was all that was required of you today…
George
Jul
7
2010
I was just looking through our cabinet looking for Bouillon for an idea I have to concoct another ‘Magical Kitchen Creation’. I found a small container with ‘Beef’ Bouillon cubes and read the ingredients – and so help me I’d be better off eating the container than what’s inside. But I digress, as usual.
After deciding I should journey to the local Health Food Store in search of something resembling real foodstuff and as I was returning the container to the cabinet (God help me, I don’t know why) I noticed a little boast claiming the small cubes inside have been made with Real Beef. That statement got me wondering…
What is Real Beef? As soon as the little life form emerges into the world it gets injected with a growth hormone and is continually being given drugs to promote growth and a ‘healthful’ existence with pharmaceuticals designed to keep any disease from taking hold. So here we have a calf, soon to be a cow full of drugs for various purposes. Then there is the issue of what the poor animal is being fed. Let’s see, how about a variety of Genetically Modified grains and vegetables that have been sprayed with Pest Killer then Irradiated and Gassed so they could be stored in a containment structure for as long as they need to be. Then the cows are set out to pasture where they can eat grass sprayed with more weed killer and other pesticides. I’m sure there are other wonderful experiences these cows encounter but I’ll stop here in the interest of time. So it makes me consider – just what is ‘Real Beef’?
It makes me wonder if there is such a thing available anymore today…
Until next time…
George