Addicted to Everything
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010Okay, this may not be what you want to hear but I am convinced that you can excuse all behaviors to addictions. The latest card that has been played is the “sex addiction” one with the likes of Tiger Woods and Jessie James. Sex seems to get a lot of attention but there are many other addictions that I hear about that don’t get the big media hype. One my brother in law uses is the “sugar addiction” and the “fast food addiction” to deflect anyone trying to talk to him about his 458 pound frame.
A friend of my wife’s is addicted to “bad men”. She’s also addicted to Oprah but Oprah doesn’t get the talk time or attention like the bad men do. Then there is the TV and Internet addictions and the addiction to exercise, pot, booze, work and more. It’s just getting to the point that I can go out and do anything and then say, “Oh, I’m addicted”.
I feel this is bad for all of us because it really does diminish real addictions and turns them into lame excuses. It’s hard to see or to know the difference and makes it easier for all of us to dismiss real issues. When one cannot take responsibility and see truth in a problem then addiction might be the problem. Everything else is just an excuse for really bad behavior.
The Fear Caller
Thursday, December 24th, 2009Many years ago I saw an old woman at a market in Mexico tell a story about “the fear caller”. It was very simple as the story talked about a rabbit that goes around to each one of his forest friends asking them to be kind to him because he is so afraid. As the end of the story unfolds and the wolf ends up eating the rabbit the question the old lady asked was this; did the rabbit get eaten by the wolf because he was a rabbit or because he was afraid? She went on to say that the since the rabbit told everyone in the forest that he was afraid he actually called the wolf to his door as there is always a wolf waiting for those who are full of fear.
With this in mind, I have watched two children, one a boy and the other a girl, who are opposite when it comes to how they approach life. They are now both three and one attacks life as it comes while the other hides behind their mother’s coattails and retreats. I see how the one gets along with just about everyone, afraid of nothing and ready for what comes along next while the other would rather stay in their own environment and not be faced with anything new. I wonder as I watch what each of us calls to our lives; fear, happiness, complaining, etc. and if we could change our life once we change our ways.
Contemplation
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009I watched the President’s speech tonight and the one word that came to mind was contemplation. It was great, rather you agree with President Obama or not, that he really thought about and contemplated the decision of sending more troops to Afghanistan. Sending our men and women in the military into a war should always take this much thought and I appreciated the fact that time was taken to consider all the options.
I also cannot imagine how you make a decision when there really is no good option. We can discuss and argue, yell and scream whether the decision was the right one or not; or we can bind together as a nation and finish what was started nine years ago and abandoned along the way. With every decision made on a national or local level, there is monetary as well as an emotional cost that we all have to pay. To think we can accomplish something without putting in the work is like believing you can loose weight by eating a gallon of ice cream every night before bed; it’s ain’t going to happen. I hope you take the time and contemplate your next big decision so you can make it with confidence and grace.
What Would Jesus Do?
Friday, September 11th, 2009I find myself in a very difficult position these days. Maybe it’s because I was taught at an early age to pay attention to what Jesus would think about and do in the situations I find myself in throughout my life. One of my treasured memories from my relationship with my grandfather is a conversation where he offered me some very sound advice; “stay in the red letters (What Jesus said in the Bible) and you will be fine”. This is where I find myself these days as I listen to the debate on healthcare.
I have looked through the red letters and nowhere do I see that we should live in fear of everything being taken from us, paying taxes or listening to each other. In contrast I read about having a “spirit of love and power”, “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is Gods” as well as to strive to “love your neighbor”. The fact is Jesus spent the vast majority of his ministry doing three things; teaching, healing and feeding people. I find it somewhat ironic that so many on the righteous right who profess believing in Jesus are not for providing healing for their fellow man. Are we asking what would Jesus do when debating healthcare? From what I am reading the answer is no.
The Death of Ted Kennedy
Monday, August 31st, 2009No matter what side of the political isle you sit on you have to give Teddy Kennedy his due. As the only Kennedy brother to live long enough to make long lasting change in America, he was revered and well respected by people from both parties and from all kinds of backgrounds. Teddy Kennedy will be sorely missed in the Senate as someone who would fight the good fight and compromise to get a deal done as long as it moved forward and progressed the cause.
Listening to all the fine words that were spoken throughout his funeral by so many, you would think that those individuals would come together in his honor to pass a health reform bill that would make him proud. However, the one thing that even Teddy Kennedy’s death cannot do is unit the parties in this ever divided congress. Though the powerful spout their pretty words, as they should, and as Ted Kennedy is laid to rest with honor, the battle rages on for dignified change to a healthcare system that does not work for everyone in this country. Will Senator Kennedy really rest in piece until the rest of congress wakes up and faces reality? While I hope so, it is doubtful that he can, considering how much he fought for this throughout his career.
Defining Racism
Monday, August 24th, 2009Here are the three ways racism is defined by dictionary.com;
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
While it seems most people cling to the definition of #3 when we are throwing out accusations of racism, it is the definition of #2 that is getting my interest right now. I saw a clip of one of Fox Televisions talking heads (Bill O’Reilly) where he talked about the challenges of the immigration to the “white, Christian, male power structure”. I find this a fascinating study to think there are people who believe our government has not only been practicing racism but believe that it should continue to do so in favor of this “white, Christian, male power structure”.
Here are a couple of things that come to mind; where are the women mentioned that have died, sacrificed and worked for America; where are the Hispanics and Blacks that have sacrificed and worked for America not to mention the Irish, the Native Americans and the plethora of other believers and non-believers alike that have built this great nation? The issue is fear and nothing else. Fear of loosing some elusive power that white Christian men feel they have. Well, as one white, Christian male to another, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Tim 1:7 I would prefer to see a little more love and self-discipline to go along with the power instead of enacting fear that is not according to the spirit.
Cloning: More Detrimental than Beneficial?
Monday, June 22nd, 2009Cloning can be an expensive process. This expense can be in the loss of not only money but in an entity that is weighted as being more valuable than money: one’s life. Before the production of Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, Ian Wilmut and his associates required 277 tries! This meant that 276 other cells were exterminated. In addition to the loss of potential living entities, approximately $750,000 was used for the project and this amount does not include the sum spent on all the years of research that preceded the Dolly project (Sethi)! Unfortunately for such an investment, Dolly did not live long enough to maximize the full potentials and expectations that were set out for her. The question now is why continue to waste U.S. taxes dollars to support projects that have barely rendered worthwhile effects to benefit mankind as a whole? A more important question from a moral stand point is why continue to take several hundred eggs from a female before one attempt at cloning can be successful?
The less of the arguments but substantial enough to mention due to the fact that it affects so many people, especially in the religious realm is that cloning seems like “playing God.” If cloning is not prohibited, riots can breakout around the nation thus causing civil disorder. Civil disorder threatens the safety and welfare of large populations and can damage million of dollars in property. An example of an issue which has caused an outbreak of civil disobedience was in the event of the Boston Tea Party. Citizens of the colony of Massachusetts trespassed on a British ship and threw its cargo (tea from England) overboard, rather than be forced to pay taxes without representation to Britain. A more recent example of civil disorder is the riot that occurred in the Rodney King incident in which footage showed King getting beaten by four police officers. Thousands of people in Los Angeles rioted over six days. According to Time, the riots yielded the following results: more than 50 dead, over 4,000 injured, and $1 billion in property damage (Gray).
The Creation Myths
Thursday, June 18th, 2009There are many different myths and religious beliefs associated with the creation of the universe. Some view it as one huge cosmic event. Others depict creation as a series of events that happened in stages. No matter what the myth, the original woman and man are always seen as central symbols of primordial humanity. Australian Aboriginal stories, which are more than 150,000 years old, attribute creation to their ancestors living in the mythical space and time known as “The Dreaming.” These dreaming beings lived a lot like their human counterparts – traveling, hunting, loving and fighting. In sleep the ancestors dreamed the events of the next day. They believed that every being shared a fundamental connection with the source of creation.
The Maori and other Polynesians believed the universe originally consisted of an eternal night. Eventually, Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother became a couple. Their coupling created the land and many divine offspring. They lived in the darkness until the parents decided to split apart. In the Sumerian mythology Enki, the fun-loving god of wisdom, molded the first humans out of clay from a river bed. The book of Genesis describes God as single-handedly creating the universe in seven days. He completed his work on the sixth day with his creation of humans and rested on the seventh. In the Biblical account, Adam is created from the dust of the earth by Yaweh, the creator God. Yahweh then gives him a companion female, the mother of all humanity.
Divine Intervention and Smoking
Friday, June 12th, 2009In the early 1990s my mother started showing the signs of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She knew that if she couldn’t quit the disease would progress very fast, but she still was unable to stop. One day, after a very scary incident of not being able move her body or breathe she started to pray. She began to surrender to a Supreme Being, asking for help. “It’s obvious I can’t do this alone,” mom said.
By the next morning things changed. Mom said her bedroom was “filled with the presence of an angel.” Her experience was so profound that she was convinced that an actual angel helped her, although it couldn’t be proven. She insisted that the angel filled her with a healing presence. From that moment on my mother never had a desire for a cigarette. Her addiction was completely lifted.
Inspired by my mother’s story – and unable to kick the smoking habit myself – I decided to pray and ask the angels for help to quit my problem. Although I never was “visited” in person by an angel in quite the same way as my mother, my prayer was answered. One morning, not long after surrendering my own addiction to a Supreme Being and the angels, I woke up with absolutely no desire to smoke. I haven’t had a craving for a cigarette in several years.