Occasionally you can feel a sense of the passage of time. There have been many incidents that placed bookmarks in the pages history so we could remember where we were then. As you age certainly there are more marks to remember simple because you lived that long.
Think back over the past decade at the incident stands out the brightest. I suppose for many of us that would be the tragedy of 9/11 event. For others it could be the election of America’s first African-American President. Even though there were many more notable events these two stands out quite vividly.
Go back to the decade of the 90s, what stands out the most? Perhaps the scandal of our President with what’s her name stands out? During the 80s we had a boom in the housing market with interest rates as high as 19%. The 70s was the dance fever, disco, and a shifting of racial currents after the turbulent 60s. Of course the 60s was the assassination of the Kennedy brothers, MLK, and several civil rights leaders, along with the Vietnam War. This was certainly an age of revolution against the status-quo establishment.
To go back any further would precede most of you, but I think the point has been made about how time seems to have many notable bookmarks that keeps us conscious of its movement. I am one of the baby-boomers of the 40s with the last World War and my parents could go back even further to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Each decade has at least one shinning bookmark.
As we get ready to enter the second decade of the 21st Century I wonder what’s in store for us. Currently we are in one of the greatest financial recessions since the Great Depression. Could a recovery out of these bad times be a coming bookmark?
Will we enter into a new age of green technology essentially ousting the combustive engines that have been killing our planet for over a hundred years? Will we finally get sick enough of partisan politics and let the politicians know whom they work for? Will people finally wake up and began to understand that we are the ones that must bring in the change we want to experience, otherwise we must rely upon the darker days to bookmark this time for us.
Time and history are not all that particular about what they record. Whatever we give is recorded and stored indelibly in their annals. On the other hand as conscious being we have the ability to look ahead and plant seeds that can grow into good things. The seeds we are planting today will produce the fruit that will be gathered tomorrow. That brings a question to mind; what type of seeds are we planting?
In this day of rapid technological advancements certainly our society should be more transparent? If only we open our eyes we would see what goes on behind the scenes much better than we could see before. The days of back-door politics and under-handed dealings should be out. Devious people used to do their dastardly deeds in private and the people were forced to deal with their stuff. It doesn’t have to be that way now.
We shouldn’t continue fall for the stranglehold the gas companies have over us. We should find a way to end the political wars we are fighting for the interest of some pie-in-the-sky, deep, secret, hidden agenda. We should spend our available funds in order to re-build our infrastructure rather than spending one more dime on anyone’s war? We could easily calculate the total daily cost of fighting both wars we are currently fighting and see what this country could do with that much money by putting it back into our system. We must stop the bleeding before we can rebuild.
Think about this!
Where in the hell are we?
If we are not planting seeds that we know will produce good fruit then we are vulnerable to the dark days that will certainly bookmark this very time we are passing through. Do we need another tragedy to remember the second decade of the 21st century? Dare we consciously do something positive that could be remembered for the next few hundred years?
Certainly the fact that we elected our first African-American President will be remembered for a long time, but the jury is still out on what his legacy will become.
We can come together as the people of these United States and finish a great mark in history as was proclaimed by the crafters of our nation. Or, we can place just another dark stain on history as we have done in the past. We can come together as people and do what is right and decent for the sake of the country and for our future, or, we can continue to do as we have always done, business as usual. What will it be folks; the call is ours.
Where are we now?
Perhaps a better question is:
Where do we want to be?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Life is an Illusion and Somewhat Delusional
Although this blog deal primarily with male issues, this one is for all.
Have you noticed that life is rarely what it appears to be on the surface? Most of it was intended to make you dig under the surface of things in order to find its true meaning. For this reason most go through their lives in somewhat of a fog. This is because they don’t care to work that hard for wisdom. Wisdom is usually hidden in plain view because of the delusion that life depicts.
Too bad we are not like the fowl that know instinctively to dig under the straw in order to find their goodies. If we had such an outlook about life we would certainly find the most precious of goods right before our very eyes; however, because we focus on the delusion of things, we don’t see what is right there. We live primarily upon perceptions and assumptions. Under this façade is the reality.
Behind thing that are seen there are the unseen forces that causes the seen things to appear. Beyond the physical existence are powers and forces at the spiritual and even the physical subatomic level that are unseen to the naked eye. By the time you physically see things happen the cause has already passed through the seen vortex.
When we see the leaves move on a tree it is after the wind has passed through it. When we experience one of nature’s storms it is after the cause has created the effect. In a similar way there are mostly unseen forces in the universe that creates the seen outcomes.
If you go about your normal day making critical judgments based upon what is revealed rather than probing deeper into what caused the revelation you are at least one step behind what “IS.” That alone is not a problem for us. But our unawareness of the initial causes can be a problem for us. It is like working on the sickness rather than the cause. An aspirin works on the symptom but not the cause.
Headaches are our body’s way of telling our minds that something is wrong within our body’s system. If you merely take the pain reliever without exploring what the body may be telling you the problem may be still hidden within. If you had too much to drink the night before and have a bad headache the next morning chances are you know the cause. In this case the aspirin should do the trick to relieve the pain until the alcohol passes through your system. If you choose to drink too much the next day perhaps you didn’t learn a lesson (wisdom) from the headache. If you continue to do so the body may choose to breakdown in another way like a liver or kidney problem.
As we experience the unwanted things of life we need to try to use our invisible eyes rather than the visible ones. The cause is usually hidden in plain view but often we are not looking just under the surface of things. Behind every action there is a cause. If you want to make changes try looking beyond the action into the cause. Be like the fowl that realizes how much goodies are hidden just under the surface. Make this a regular practice.
Don’t live in the delusion merely following the illusion that life reveals. It wants you to dig deeper where true wisdom is stored. Open your spiritual eyes and stop allowing your physical eyesight to rule your mind. “Be in control over the mind.”
This is food for thought for those who seek. May those with eyes to see and ears to hear receive this message.
Have you noticed that life is rarely what it appears to be on the surface? Most of it was intended to make you dig under the surface of things in order to find its true meaning. For this reason most go through their lives in somewhat of a fog. This is because they don’t care to work that hard for wisdom. Wisdom is usually hidden in plain view because of the delusion that life depicts.
Too bad we are not like the fowl that know instinctively to dig under the straw in order to find their goodies. If we had such an outlook about life we would certainly find the most precious of goods right before our very eyes; however, because we focus on the delusion of things, we don’t see what is right there. We live primarily upon perceptions and assumptions. Under this façade is the reality.
Behind thing that are seen there are the unseen forces that causes the seen things to appear. Beyond the physical existence are powers and forces at the spiritual and even the physical subatomic level that are unseen to the naked eye. By the time you physically see things happen the cause has already passed through the seen vortex.
When we see the leaves move on a tree it is after the wind has passed through it. When we experience one of nature’s storms it is after the cause has created the effect. In a similar way there are mostly unseen forces in the universe that creates the seen outcomes.
If you go about your normal day making critical judgments based upon what is revealed rather than probing deeper into what caused the revelation you are at least one step behind what “IS.” That alone is not a problem for us. But our unawareness of the initial causes can be a problem for us. It is like working on the sickness rather than the cause. An aspirin works on the symptom but not the cause.
Headaches are our body’s way of telling our minds that something is wrong within our body’s system. If you merely take the pain reliever without exploring what the body may be telling you the problem may be still hidden within. If you had too much to drink the night before and have a bad headache the next morning chances are you know the cause. In this case the aspirin should do the trick to relieve the pain until the alcohol passes through your system. If you choose to drink too much the next day perhaps you didn’t learn a lesson (wisdom) from the headache. If you continue to do so the body may choose to breakdown in another way like a liver or kidney problem.
As we experience the unwanted things of life we need to try to use our invisible eyes rather than the visible ones. The cause is usually hidden in plain view but often we are not looking just under the surface of things. Behind every action there is a cause. If you want to make changes try looking beyond the action into the cause. Be like the fowl that realizes how much goodies are hidden just under the surface. Make this a regular practice.
Don’t live in the delusion merely following the illusion that life reveals. It wants you to dig deeper where true wisdom is stored. Open your spiritual eyes and stop allowing your physical eyesight to rule your mind. “Be in control over the mind.”
This is food for thought for those who seek. May those with eyes to see and ears to hear receive this message.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
NOW IS ALL THERE IS
There is no better time than the present to do the things that need to be done. The habit of procrastination is one that is very hard to break once it becomes a part of your core being. Most habits take a considerable amount of time to develop and at least that much or more time to break them.
In truth we don’t usually need the amount of time that we think in order to break our habits. Most of the time we spend by way of getting things done is spent on overcoming procrastination. It is like having a roadblock in the mind. Once the mind is in gear to go forward then time is no longer our enemy. When you do things in the NOW moments time is not your obstacle.
How does one learn how to break the tendency of procrastination? Like all things you develop in life you need to make it a constant practice. Each day give yourself a chore to do and see if you can do it immediately, at the moment you think about it. If you are lying in bed in the morning and there is a chill in the air… tell yourself to get up immediately and do it immediately. Or, tell yourself to get up five minutes before the time you originally set… do it on an impulse. Do something spontaneously without giving yourself the time to talk yourself out of doing it. These are just a few examples of ways you can practice breaking the habit of procrastination.
Once you become a proactive person rather than a reactive one you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Most highly successful people are the ones that live actively with life rather than re-actively. They create the action, albeit good or bad, and just do it! They are the ones in charge rather than waiting on others to make the first move. Most highly successful people have found a way to overcome procrastination.
In fact, most ordinary people do not reach a fraction of their potential because they cannot make themselves do what must, or needs to be done, just when it needs to be done. There is usually much more in the “potential tank” than most utilize. Once you overcome the habit of procrastination you will inevitably climb up the ladder of your potential. You will learn to burn more of the fuel in your tank.
Learning to live in and with the current moment is something that we all could do much better. In order to do so we must somehow learn to overcome our own demons. We are at war with ourselves much more than we care to admit. The main battleground is in your mind.
The world is not really holding you back. The system is not really holding you back. People are not responsible for holding you back. We are our own worst enemy. We have to learn how to overcome the hurdle of our own mind. When we win the battle over the “self” is when we are free to reach our highest potential. NOW is the only time that matters. Not a while ago and certainly not in the future. Do what you know needs to be done in the NOW!
The past is eternally gone and the future has not yet arrived, NOW is really all there is. That’s a fact and your truth!
In truth we don’t usually need the amount of time that we think in order to break our habits. Most of the time we spend by way of getting things done is spent on overcoming procrastination. It is like having a roadblock in the mind. Once the mind is in gear to go forward then time is no longer our enemy. When you do things in the NOW moments time is not your obstacle.
How does one learn how to break the tendency of procrastination? Like all things you develop in life you need to make it a constant practice. Each day give yourself a chore to do and see if you can do it immediately, at the moment you think about it. If you are lying in bed in the morning and there is a chill in the air… tell yourself to get up immediately and do it immediately. Or, tell yourself to get up five minutes before the time you originally set… do it on an impulse. Do something spontaneously without giving yourself the time to talk yourself out of doing it. These are just a few examples of ways you can practice breaking the habit of procrastination.
Once you become a proactive person rather than a reactive one you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Most highly successful people are the ones that live actively with life rather than re-actively. They create the action, albeit good or bad, and just do it! They are the ones in charge rather than waiting on others to make the first move. Most highly successful people have found a way to overcome procrastination.
In fact, most ordinary people do not reach a fraction of their potential because they cannot make themselves do what must, or needs to be done, just when it needs to be done. There is usually much more in the “potential tank” than most utilize. Once you overcome the habit of procrastination you will inevitably climb up the ladder of your potential. You will learn to burn more of the fuel in your tank.
Learning to live in and with the current moment is something that we all could do much better. In order to do so we must somehow learn to overcome our own demons. We are at war with ourselves much more than we care to admit. The main battleground is in your mind.
The world is not really holding you back. The system is not really holding you back. People are not responsible for holding you back. We are our own worst enemy. We have to learn how to overcome the hurdle of our own mind. When we win the battle over the “self” is when we are free to reach our highest potential. NOW is the only time that matters. Not a while ago and certainly not in the future. Do what you know needs to be done in the NOW!
The past is eternally gone and the future has not yet arrived, NOW is really all there is. That’s a fact and your truth!
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