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Such human qualities as morality, compassion, decency, wisdom and so forth have been the foundations of all civilizations. These qualities must be cultivated and sustained through systematic moral education in a conductive social environment, so that a more humane world may emerge.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
"Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely, or to think sanely, under the influence of a great fear."
-Bertrand Russell
HEROES UNAWARE
I first saw him on a park bench
I've seen him every day
Sitting in a shady grove
Where my children come to play
Sometimes he feeds the birds and squirrels
Or whittles little toys
Sometimes he just sits and smiles
At the laughing girls and boys
And I never paid him any mind
'Till one day just this year
I noticed that he wore a frown
And on his cheek ... a tear.
Well I asked him why he seemed so down
He looked up, began to say
I lost half my friends 60 years ago today
He told me of the terror
As he fought to reach dry land
By the time the beachhead was secure
Half his friends lay in the sand
That was just in one long day
He fought on for 4 years more
And the 60 years from then to now
Have not dimmed His sights of war
He said they have reunions
Just to keep in touch and share
And for each comrade who has gone on
They leave an empty chair
Well, His park bench has been empty now
About 6 months or so
And if I'd never took the time
Then I never would've known
That sitting on that simple bench
With bread crumbs and little toys
Was a man who gave his all
To guarantee my daily joys
So give thanks to all the men and women
Who're still here or have gone before
And made the highest sacrifice
In both Peace time and in War
Because they bought our freedom
Paid their own blood, sweat, and tears
Then endured the heartache of those empty chairs
For all these years
So please do not ignore them
Or speed by without a care
'Cause you never know
When you might pass by
A hero, unaware
- By Mark A. Wright
22 June, 2000
http://www.silverhorsestudios.com/markspoempage.html
...an old soldier would know best.
The powers in charge keep us in a perpetual state of fear keep us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.
- General Douglas MacArthur
Wow, does that ever tug at the heart - to hear it sung must be absolutely beautiful.
This, too, goes on my refrig. Thanks much.
communication without pretense..
is the key..
casey lynn..
our energy force is with thee..
through the power..
that is beyond..
us all..
Tell mother I’ll be there
When I was but a little child how well I recollect
How I would grieve my mother with my folly and neglect;
And now that she has gone to Heav’n I miss her tender care:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
Tell mother I’ll be there, in answer to her prayer;
This message, blessèd Savior, to her bear!
Tell mother I’ll be there, Heav’n’s joys with her to share;
Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there.
Though I was often wayward, she was always kind and good;
So patient, gentle, loving when I acted rough and rude;
My childhood griefs and trials she would gladly with me share:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
When I became a prodigal, and left the old rooftree,
She almost broke her loving heart in mourning after me;
And day and night she prayed to God to keep me in His care:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
One day a message came to me, it bade me quickly come
If I would see my mother ere the Savior took her home;
I promised her, before she died, for heaven to prepare:
O Savior, tell my mother, I’ll be there!
Refrain
Words: Charles M. Fillmore, 1898; Fillmore wrote this song upon reading of the death of the mother of American president William McKinley.
McKinley had a special relationship with his mother, who was very proud of him; in his youth, she boasted he would become a Methodist bishop (little did she know he would go somewhat farther). When “Mother McKinley” fell ill in the winter of 1897, she lived some distance from the capital, so the president had a special telegraph line installed between Washington and her home town. When word finally came of her impending death, he quickly wired back, “Tell mother I’ll be there!”
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/m/tmibther.htm
I had never heard this hymn until today when I attended a funeral for a friend of mine's mom.
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
- Chinese Epigram
We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together and if we are to live together we have to talk.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
One of my neighbors daughters had Leukemia. Fortunately they were able to treat it successfully. One thing everyone can do to help kids like this is to sign up to be a bone marrow donor.
Will do :)
OT/ PLEASE HELP GUYS.
I JUST HEARD THAT A OLD TIME NVEI LONG GOT BAD NEWS THAT HIS LOVELY LIL ANGEL 2 1/2 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER MIGHT HAVE LEUKEMIA. PLEASE LETS ALL UNITE AND SAY A PRAYER FOR HER. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PRAYER....HER NAME IS CASEY LYNN.....THANK YOU GUYS AND GALS
scars in life..
some years ago on a hot summer day in south florida..
a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house..
in a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went..
he flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore..
his mother in the house was looking out the window saw the two as they got closer and closer together..
in utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could..
hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U~turn to swim to his mother..
it was too late..
just as he reached her, the alligator reached him..
from the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs..
that began an incredible tug~of~war between the two..
the alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the other was much too passionate to let go..
a farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator..
remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. his legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal..
and, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved..
the newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars..
the boy lifted his pant legs. and then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter,
"but look at my arms. i have great scars on my arms, too. i have them because my mom wouldn't let go.."
you and i can identify with that little boy..
we have scars, too..
no, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past..
some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret..
but, some wounds, my friend, are because god has refused to let go..
in the midst of your struggle, he's been there holding on to you..
the scripture teaches that god loves you. you are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way..
but sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead..
the swimming hole of life is filled with peril ~ and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack..
that's when the tug~of-war begins ~ and if you have the scars of his love on your arms be very, very grateful..
he did not and will not ever let you go..
god has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others..
you just never know where a person is in his or her life and what they are going through..
never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they got them..
right now, someone needs to know that god loves them, and you love them too..
enough to not let them go..
"Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually.
Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness."
~ The Dalai Lama
"Your cultivation of love and great compassion should not be left in a state of mere imagination or wish alone; rather, a sense of responsibility, a genuine intention to engage in the task of relieving sentient beings of their sufferings and providing them with happiness, should be developed. It is important for a practitioner to work for and take upon himself or herself the responsibility of fulfilling this intention. The stronger your cultivation of compassion is, the more committed you will feel to taking this responsibility. Because of their ignorance, sentient beings do not know the right methods by which they can fulfill their aims. It is the responsibility of those who are equipped with this knowledge to fulfill the intention of working for their benefit."
~ The Dalai Lama
#msg-3075468
This is meant for all..
May it bring a sense of tranquillity..
Of knowing that what ever lies beyond the next turn..
There is still love..
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html
We shall not be given burdens..
Too much for one to bear..
Be patient..
Fore love..
Will conquer all..
love is the rule by which mankind shall live..
controlled by the light of day..
so that it's actions can speak..
louder than any words uttered..
the darkness of evil..
with greed as it's pretense..
shall forever hide behind the curtain of deceit..
clouding the minds of those..
that do not know love..
~ vex ~
"The greatest danger to liberty lurks in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." - Former Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis
War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that he too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost. Karl Kraus
War on the other hand is such a terrible thing, that no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it. Leo Tolstoy
War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves. Leo Tolstoy
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. Buddha
History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. Ronald Reagan
I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a method of settling international disputes. Ernest Hemingway
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. Dwight D. Eisenhower
War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. John F. Kennedy
War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses. - Thomas Jefferson
#77 on your wireless phone..
Lauren was 19~year old college student..
This story takes place over the Christmas/New Year's holiday break. It was the Saturday before New Year's Day and it was about 1PM in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend..
An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on..
Lauren's parents have 4 children (high school and college age) and have always told them never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather wait until they get a
gas station, etc..
So Lauren had actually listened to her parents' advice, and promptly called #77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away..
She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her..
The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there wasn't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way..
Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind..
They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground..
Turns out the man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes..
This is the first time I've learned about the #77 Cell Phone Feature..
Everyone, especially a woman alone, should know that one is not required to pull over for an unmarked car..
Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place..
You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e., put on your hazard lights) or call #77 like Lauren did..
Too bad the cell phone companies don't give you this little bit of wonderful information..
This is beautiful..
Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?"
The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it."
Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?"
The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university."
Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good~bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair.
"Would you like a lock of his hair?" the nurse asked.
Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally. The mother said, "It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else. "I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom."
She went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could."
Sally walked out of Children's mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She laid down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.
It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Laying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said..
"Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say I LOVE YOU. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day.
Someday we will see each other again.
Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.
Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything.
The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him.
Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important.
That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good~bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter.
I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'Where was He when I needed him?' "God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.
Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn' t that cool? I have to give God His pen back now. He needs it to write some more names in! the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm, sure the food will be great.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?
Signed with Love from: God, Jesus & Me..
It is one's perspective in life..
As it relates to individual insecurities..
That leads one to be who they are..
Whether it be by the perspectives of others..
(truly a ship without a rudder)
Or lead by one's own experiences in life..
That determines the path one will take..
It only takes one with the proper..
to positively change another's..for life..
It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose..
It's key to understand this about life. There's always something that's not right but people expect that at some point everything all falls into place and you live happily ever after... but it doesn't work that way. I think once a person accepts that there will always be some part of your life that needs work, you'll be alot more at peace.
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee..
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again..
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her..
She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up..
She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose..
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire..
Soon the pots came to boil..
In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans..
She let them sit and boil, without saying a word..
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners..
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl..
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied..
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft..
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg..
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity ... boiling water ... each reacted differently..
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak..
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened..
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water..
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter..
"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this...Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean?
The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you..
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
with no spiritual meaning..
~ on religion ~
unless the essence of what is taught can be maintained and applied spiritually for the benefit of one's self and others..
the point is missed..
and the result is slavery to a myth..
with no spiritual meaning..
~ vex ~
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=GRENSPAN&read=54714
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids..
that we made them worse..
For my grandchildren, I'd like better..
I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches..
I really would..
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated..
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car..
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen..
It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep..
I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in..
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister.. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him..
When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her..
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely..
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom..
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one..
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books..
When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head..
I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like..
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole..
I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend..
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle..
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays..
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hannukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand..
These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life..
Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you..
Send this to all of your friends. We secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them..
Paul Harvey riddle..
When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of StanfordUniversityseniors..
What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?
~ Paul Harvey ~
It is the life force of our energy that leads each one of us..
Many times when we run aground..
We ignore the pull of the tides to go forward..
And wallow in it's shallows..
Take heed to the gift of one's life energy..
And the sun can only shine..
~ vex ~
The most important things..
are the hardest to say..
They are things you gets ashamed of because words diminish them..
Words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out..
But it is more than that isn't it?
The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure one's enemies would love to steal away..
And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it..
That is the worst, I think..
When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller, but for want of an understanding heart..
~ Stephen King ~
Love without Condition..
I love you as you are, as you seek to find your own special way to relate to the world..
I honor your choices to learn in the way you feel is right for you..
I know it is important that you are the person you want to be and not someone that others or I think you "should" be..
I realize that I cannot know what is best for you, although perhaps sometimes I think I do. I have not been where you have been, viewing life from the angle you have..
I do not know what you have chosen to learn how you have chosen to learn it, with whom or in what time period..
I have not walked life looking through your eyes, so how can I know what you need..
In this place where I am, I see that there are many ways to perceive and experience the different facets of our world..
I allow without reservation the choices you make in each moment..
I make no judgement of this, for if I would deny your right to your evolution, then I would deny that right for all others and myself..
To those who would choose a way I cannot walk, whilst I may not choose to add my power and my energy to this way, I will never deny you the gift of love that god has bestowed within me, for all creation..
As I love you, so I shall be loved..
As I sow, so shall I reap..
For it is the inalienable right of all life to choose their own evolution and with great love I acknowledge your right to determine your future..
In humility I bow to the realization that the way I see as best for me does not have to mean it is also right for you..
I know that you are led as I am, following the inner excitement to know your own path..
I know that the many races, religions, customs, nationalities and beliefs within our world, bring us richness and allow us the benefit and teachings of such diverseness..
I know we each learn in our own unique way in order to bring that love and wisdom back to the whole..
I know that if there were only one way to do something, there would need only be one person..
I will not only love you if you behave in a way I think you should or believe in those things I believe in..
I understand you are truly my brother and my sister, though you may have been born in a different place and believe in another god than I..
The love I feel is for all of god's world..
I know that every living thing is a part of god and I feel a love deep within for every person, animal, tree and flower, every bird, river and ocean and for all the creatures in all the world..
I live my life in loving service, being the best me I can, becoming wiser in the perfection of divine truth, becoming happier in the joy of..
Unconditional Love..
~ Sandy Stevenson ~
LOVE AND SELFISHNESS..
The False View of Love as Selfless and Unconditional Destroys its Sublime Value..
By Gary Hull
Every Valentine's Day a certain philosophic crime is perpetrated. Actually, it is committed year~round, but its destructiveness is magnified on this holiday..
The crime is the propagation of a widely accepted falsehood.. the idea that love is selfless..
Love, we are repeatedly taught, consists of self~sacrifice. Love based on self~interest, we are admonished, is cheap and sordid..
True love, we are told, is altruistic..
But is it?
Imagine a Valentine's Day card which takes this premise seriously..
Imagine receiving a card with the following message..
I get no pleasure from your existence. I obtain no personal enjoyment from the way you look, dress, move, act or think. Our relationship profits me not. You satisfy no sexual, emotional or intellectual needs of mine. You're a charity case, and I'm with you only out of pity. Love, XXX.
Needless to say, you would be indignant to learn that you are being loved, not for anything positive you offer your lover, but ~ like any recipient of alms ~ for what you lack..
Yet that is the perverse view of love entailed in the belief that it is self~sacrificial..
Genuine love is the exact opposite..
It is the most selfish experience possible, in the true sense of the term..it benefits your life in a way that involves no sacrifice of others to yourself or of yourself to others..
To love a person is selfish because it means that you value that particular person, that he or she makes your life better, that he or she is an intense source of joy ~ to you..
A disinterested love is a contradiction in terms..
One cannot be neutral to that which one values..
The time, effort and money you spend on behalf of someone you love are not sacrifices, but actions taken because his or her happiness is crucially important to your own..
Such actions would constitute sacrifices only if they were done for a stranger ~ or for an enemy..
Those who argue that love demands self~denial must hold the bizarre belief that it makes no personal difference whether your loved one is healthy or sick, feels pleasure or pain, is alive or dead..
It is regularly asserted that love should be unconditional, and
that we should love everyone as a brother..
We see this view advocated by the non~judgmental grade~school teacher who tells his class that whoever brings a Valentine's Day card for one student must bring cards for everyone..
We see it in the appalling dictum of Hate the sin, but love the sinner ~ which would have us condemn death camps
but send Hitler a box of Godiva chocolates..
Most people would agree that having sex with a person one despises is debased. Yet somehow, when the same underlying idea is applied to love, people consider it noble..
Love is far too precious to be offered indiscriminately..
It is above all in the area of love that egalitarianism ought to be repudiated. Love represents an exalted exchange ~ a spiritual exchange ~ between two people, for the purpose of mutual benefit..
You love someone because he or she is a value ~ a selfish value to you, as determined by your standards j~ ust as you are a value to him or her..
It is the view that you ought to be given love unconditionally ~ the view that you do not deserve it any more than some random bum, the view that it is not a response to anything particular in you, the view that it is causeless which exemplifies the most ignoble conception of this sublime experience..
The nature of love places certain demands on those who wish to enjoy it..
You must regard yourself as worthy of being loved..
Those who expect to be loved, not because they offer some positive value, but because they don't ~ i.e., those who demand love as altruistic duty ~ are parasites..
Someone who says Love me just because I need it seeks an unearned spiritual value ~ in the same way that a thief seeks unearned wealth..
To quote a famous line from The Fountainhead..
To say 'I love you,' one must know first how to say the 'I.'
Valentine's Day ~ with its colorful cards, mouth~watering chocolates and silky lingerie ~ gives material form to this spiritual value..
It is a moment for you to pause, to ignore the trivialities of life ~ and to celebrate the selfish pleasure of being worthy of someone's love and of having found someone worthy of yours..
Gary Hull, Ph.D. in philosophy, is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute (www.aynrand.org) in Irvine, Calif..
The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead..
Copyright © 2004 Ayn Rand® Institute, 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA, 92606. All rights reserved..
Really like that one BnB :)
offering peace..
a father's letter..
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html
To laugh often and much, to win the respect
of intelligent people and the affection of children,to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false
friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a
healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed
social condition, to know even one life has
breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Choices and Wounds..
"The best way to help others is to help yourself.
Each wound allowed to exist within anyone
is the acknowledgement that any of you,
any Soul, must live with wounds.
When you heal your own wounds you blaze
an energetic path for others to follow."
~~ Mary ~~
The other day I was walking, thinking of how to help a friend. I had, I thought, exhausted all options and was at a total loss as to what to do next. Suddenly I felt a movement beside me. It was the presence of Mary. As she walked beside me, the quote above was what she gave to me. I took these words to heart, making the choice, in that instant, to renew my healing efforts on myself.
When we make a conscious choice to do something, the Universe responds. Sometimes we recognize that what is happening around us is the effect of our choice. Sometimes we don’t. At least not instantly. But this time I recognized the instantaneous response. It led into a brief "dark night of the Soul" but within 24 hours the whole thing turned around. It showed me that, clearly, the energy of this 3-D planet and reality has moved into a position where cause and effect, instant karma, and instant manifestation are all occurring.
Because we are participating in this Earth-experience for the purpose of learning to create, and our manifestation energies are accelerating and quickening, it’s becoming necessary to learn more about the ways of the Universe and the laws of the original plan of creation. These are things we know on a Soul level but often don’t recall here in the 3-D energy of Earth. But as the energies of the 3-D illusion are being broken down by more and more energies of Light and people drawing upon the energy of Soul, the energy surrounding Earth is becoming less dense and we’re becoming more proficient at receiving answers and insight into our questions and our issues.
Here are a few insights that are vital for each of us to understand.
If someone else’s choices cause you pain you have unhealed wounds.
If something is "lost" to you through someone else’s choice and you experience pain,
you hold the belief that there is lack in the Universe
and you have a subconscious lack of faith in the presence of the Divine
and its ability to provide for you and answer your needs and desires.
Heal yourself and you blaze an energetic path for others to follow.
One of the key accomplishments of the present evolutionary process happening on Earth is the ability to fully comprehend that all things are existing as one energy. Yes, we are individuals but there is no separation between one expression of energy and another. As energy, all events, thoughts, people, and situations, impact all other energy. As an energetic be-ing, each person then becomes responsible for monitoring his or her own energy. As we persist in holding onto our unhealed wounds, we perpetuate the belief that the energy of pain and suffering is valid and is the true state of be-ing that we deserve and must live in. In union with Soul, this is the opposite of the Truth.
Many of us have spent years working on our personal healing process. We have uncovered and transmuted masses of painful memories. Many of us have moved beyond pain to such a degree that we’ve surprised ourselves. We recuperate much more quickly when we do suffer. But still, once in a while, we have a reaction that seems out of alignment with the internal peace that we know is ours. These reactions are the display of the more subtle, the more long-lived, the less evident wounds, now coming to the surface to be understood, accepted, and released.
The next step in this incredibly powerful step of healing our reality and ourselves is to acknowledge that we are the primary power that governs our lives. We, as creators of our own reality, must accept that it is time to step away from that which we know and step into the arena of the unknown. We have incarnated in various places, times, and forms as we explore existence. We have experienced almost everything in the history of the Universe. And we have taught ourselves "patterns of behavior," ways in which we learned to deal with what we experience.
But as we move into the realization that we have the power and ability to create new realities, the behaviors and reactions of our past will not serve us. We cannot take the "old" into the "new." If we are to build a new reality, what we have experienced in the past, if taken into the new reality, will energetically taint it. We have to have an entirely new foundation on which to build. Where do we find the knowledge to do this? In the wisdom of the Soul.
Throughout most 3-D incarnations we exist in a state of forgetfulness, created subconsciously so that we will fully delve into all avenues of existence in an effort to understand what everything is about. But now, as this current 3-D reality accelerates its energy and heightens its vibration, we have the opportunity to begin to remember. We have the opportunity to draw upon the wisdom of the Soul and change our thoughts and behaviors. Before we remember all wisdom of Soul we must first remember what we’ve done to protect ourselves from pain and suffering and deal with that which we experience. Throughout history, we’ve established patterns of belief and behavior that were based upon believing that we are separate from Soul, that pain is a reality we must accept, and that we have no power over the reality we live. The Truth of the Soul is the opposite, which is why I live with the statement that we are living in an illusionary world when we believe that we victims of this reality.
All things outside of Soul are an illusion created for the purpose of learning and understanding existence.
All energies which do not resonate with the Truth and Grace of Soul are capable of being healed and transmuted.
There is no energy in existence that can overpower the energy of your Soul.
Your beliefs are energetic forms which you are giving your power to if they block you from your Soul’s Truth.
You have the power to change your beliefs. You have the power to change your reality. Your reality is built of energy and you have the power to change the energy around you by changing your beliefs, your thoughts, and your reactions.
Your exterior world will resist your internal changes as it fights to retain control over you. Persist and succeed.
Your exterior world will change as your internal world changes. Because you have the power to shape your reality, the changes must begin within. Remember, like attracts like. If you have wounds and beliefs that do not resonate with Soul, these wounds and beliefs will attract to you any event or situation in order to get your attention in order to show you that you are not resonating with your Soul’s Truth.
As each of us takes responsibility for, and ownership of, our personal reality, we impact the world around us. As the Seeker that I am, I can tell you that thoughts and actions I take can be felt by friends who live thousands of miles from me. To believe that we are separate from each other is a falsity. To believe that we are powerless to change our world is to give our power away to the illusion that we are separate from Soul.
We are powerful Souls having a human experience – complete with the opportunity to fill the experience with Grace.
Why We Love Children
1. A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he'd found a cat, but it was dead.
"How do you know that the cat was dead?" she asked her pupil.
"Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move," answered the child innocently.
You did WHAT ? ! ?" the teacher exclaimed in surprise.
"You know,"explained the boy, "I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it
didn't move."
2. A small boy is sent to bed by his father.
Five minutes later....."Da-ad...."
"What?"
"I'm thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?"
"No, You had your chance. Lights out."
Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad....."
"WHAT?"
"I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??"
I told you NO! If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!!"
Five minutes later......"Daaaa-aaaad....."
"WHAT!"
"When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?"
3. An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief,
finally asked him "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"
The boy thought it over and said,
"Well, I'll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door
until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!'"
4. One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm
a mother was tucking her son into bed.
She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"
The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug.
"I can't dear," she said. "I have to sleep in Daddy's room."
A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice:
"The big sissy."
5. It was that time, during the Sunday morning service, for the children's
sermon. All the children were invited to come forward.
One little girl was wearing a particularly pretty dress and,
as she sat down, the pastor leaned over and said,
"That is a very pretty dress. Is it your Easter Dress?"
The little girl replied, directly into the pastor's clip-on microphone,
"Yes, and my Mom says it's a b i t c h to iron."
6 When I was six months pregnant with my third child, my three year old
came into the room when I was just getting ready to get into
the shower. She said, "Mommy, you are getting fat!"
I replied, "Yes, honey, remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy."
"I know," she replied, but what's growing in your butt?"
7 A little boy was doing his math homework. He said to himself,
"Two plus five, that son of a b i t c h is seven.
Three plus six, that son of a b i t c h is nine...."
His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?"
The little boy answered, "I'm doing my math homework, Mom."
"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked.
"Yes," he answered.
Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you
teaching my son in math?"
The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition."
The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus two, that son of a b i t c h is four?"
After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was,
two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH, is four."
8. One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little
to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried
to warn the farmer. She read, ".... and so Chicken
Little went up to the farmer and said, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"
The teacher paused then asked the class,
"And what do you think that farmer said?"
One little girl raised her hand and said,
"I think he said: 'Holy S h i t! A talking chicken!'"
The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.
9. A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply,
"I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter."
Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown."
The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday School, and said,
"Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?"
She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not."
10 A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?"
Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough."
The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked,
"If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"
11. A little girl goes to the barber shop with her father.
She stands next to the barber chair, while her dad gets his hair cut,
eating a snack cake
The barber says to her, "Sweetheart, you're gonna get hair on your Twinkie."
She says, "Yes, I know, and I'm gonna get b o o bs too."
Now keep that smile on your face and pass it on to someone else!!
The Dead Father..
But have you noticed the slight curl at the end of Sam II's mouth, when he looks at you?.
It means that he didn't want you to name him Sam II, for one thing, and for the other things it means that he has a sawed~off in his left pant leg, and a baling hook in his right pant leg and is ready to kill you with either one of them given the opportunity..
The father is taken aback.
What he usually says, in such a confrontation, is..
"I changed your diapers for you, little snot.."
This is not the right thing to say..
First, it is not true (mothers change nine diapers out of ten) and second, it instantly reminds Sam II of what he is mad about..
He is mad about being small when you were big..
But no, that's not it..
He is mad about being helpless when you were powerful..
But no, not that either..
He is mad about being contingent when you were necessary..
Not quite it..
He is insane because when he loved you..
You did not notice..
~ Donald Barthelme ~
The Dead Father
I've heard that before and think there is some truth to it, but don't you hate admitting when that happens? I do :)
Another good one. Things are never as important as the people in our lives.
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