Priorities within time (#1186)

The older I get the sooner I know my time will have run out. When will it happen? I don't know yet but certainly the time I have already spent is gone and nothing will change that. I don't mind thinking about my end time very much. It is a reality whose "time" will come. I suppose that my earlier idea of ignoring my eventual impending demise was covering up the fact that I was scared and unable to deal with not being alive. Today however, I am a new man who sees life for what it is, a grand experience that should be lived with wide-eyed wonder. The harshness of our environment does not dictate the harshness of our attitudes. We can take the sunrise with the renewing energy it provides and make our world a better place. We have to work at something during our lives otherwise we become complacent and less positively evolutionary. So our work must count for some good concept that at least makes life more fulfilling and opportunistic for our offspring. We all must think outside the box of our current behaviors and adjust our ambitions to new paradigms. My life is on the downside and I have written before about this, and it is easier for me to be critical about what we should be doing. I was not shown how to live like I should when I was growing up and today that cycle continues. We need to change the dynamic of how we perceive life and provide the foundations that advance the future to the present. Change who we were and are into what we should and could be. A mighty heft in behavior and thought processes but doable when considered against the inevitability we all face. Better to live with a purpose than to just exist without one.

The virtue of humanitarianism (#1185)

The constant improvement of the human social condition. That is what humanitarianism is defined as. There is no other definition of lesser actions prescribed to what it is to be a humanitarian. Many have robed themselves in the term because of some isolated form of social help but they are looking for accolades and or justification for their lives. Humanitarianism is a lifestyle, not a sleep-over. It is sad to watch public figures proclaim some great act on their part when they spend the bulk of their time tearing down humanitarian concepts. It is as if they don't realize we can see what they are doing. Which then begs the question, are they lying about being a humanitarian in an effort to mask their non-humanitarian agendas? It seems that deception is at the heart of those who claim a virtue for themselves while living a selfish existence. When those who have power and/or wealth live under the assumption that there is no sovereign above them, even while they claim they respect the concept of a God, they disregard the virtuous life for the self-satisfying one. I personally know what it is to be selfish. It has a drunken incoherency to it that serves to empower the ego. What I have also found is that this "ego trip" has no soulful fulfillment component to it. That is why I have disregarded my selfish concepts and have instead embraced those principles surrounding humanitarianism and just as much, animal awareness and care. All the life forms on this planet as well as the physical nature of our Universe has my attention. The days of putting myself first are long gone and the days of humanity are omnipresent for me.

Freedom of thought under assault (#1184)

Historically, my lifetime here in existence has been relatively short. However, in that short time my perspective has been keen. I have remained aware of my surroundings and what is happening in the world around me through the technologies we all generally have available to us. Certainly, there has been much information that has crossed my path and in my usual way I sort and categorize it into compartments of similar subject matter. However, what I am finding lately with information gathering and storing is that more and more, information is blatantly false and when the source of such information is called out on it's fallacy, they just refuse to admit they are wrong. So I am now compiling a storage system in my head for information that is garbled as to factuality. It is important not to just dismiss this information. It is evidence of an ongoing collusion by some who would tell us that reality is not reality. I analyze information, it is what I do to find out truth. When I am given less and less information that leads me to truth I begin to think that there are those out there who don't want me to think for myself, but rather, would think for me instead. Now that is just my conclusion, but again, I am evaluating my own experience. No one is better at knowing what I do than me. I am concerned that our society is changing from the concept of freedom of thought, you know logic, premise to premise to premise to conclusion, and instead I am given conclusions that are obviously against my comprehensive reasonings and intuition. When knowledge for thought is restricted and processes set up for obeyance are implemented, we are not being human we are being less than human.

What we should do with obsession (#1183)

Now this subject is one I have had to deal with a few times in my life. I have handled it badly and I have handled it well. Let me be perfectly clear, either way was difficult, but handling it badly was by far much more difficult for me and for others. So, of course I suggest handling obsessive impulses with as little difficulty as possible. Normally obsession is all consuming and therefore not easily recognizable as a thought and behavioral negative. In fact, many obsessions are viewed, at least in my case, as only slightly abnormal instinctual responses. I could justify my obsession with very clear logic at the time. Which makes us who are in the throes of obsession not the wisest judge of our thoughts and behaviors. It is at times like this that we need to communicate with trusted ones about what we are doing in an open and honest way. Always remember, if an obsession cannot stand the light of day in honest conversation, then it is most probably a negative impulse, it still may likely be a negative impulse when shared in honest conversation, but it is for sure if it must remain a secret. We are all subject to obsessions and it is in how we handle them that shows whether we have a problem or not. I prefer to balance any feeling of thought and action against virtue. Honestly, it kills off many would be obsessions before they get started. lol. I am a human and therefore prone to unrealistic imaginings, so the importance of having a check and balance system about what I think and do is highly critical. Most of the mistakes I have made in my life can be directly related to me acting on obsessive impulses before understanding the consequences and virtue of those obsessive impulses.

The importance of foresight (#1182)

I cannot overestimate the importance of having a dream and finding a way to have your dream come true. There is nothing wrong with believing that anything is possible. In a world that has too much cynicism already, the counter is to remain resolved to a steady push toward your dream's realization. No easy task but the reward for staying steadfast and achieving a lifelong dream is unquantifiable. We all have our wishes for some wonderful things, yet most of the time these wishes get lost in our society, which demands so many things from us. We tend to forget them or push them from our minds as unachievable. As if our maturing process steals from us our youth. However, on the contrary, our maturing process should strengthen the hubris of our youth. We should never lose sight of our view and the wishes and dreams that comprise them. I know of my own history on this subject. I have been told to "grow up" or "get real" enough times to push my fragile mind into the rigorous mindset of competition to not only survive but to attain through consumption. I was realistically moved from my vision of a world where we all could have the dignity of creating a majestic society to a vision of self-aggrandizement. A few decades back I reclaimed the dreams of my youth and started following another path toward fulfilling them. I did a major overhaul on my thoughts and behaviors to the point where now I am living like the young man who had the world in front of him and goodness in his heart. My dreams for life are ongoing and that is how it should be.

I have a dangerous mind (#1181)

It is true, my mind is dangerous to those who don't want me to use it for thinking. When I think about life and our living in it, that cannot be good for those who want to do all the thinking for not only me, but the rest of us as well. We are to be led around by those who think they are our betters and told what to think and not how to think. The assault on education by some in our country is evidence enough that they fear those who can rationalize their own conclusions. It is perplexing that in this great existence of so many unknowns, there are those who would tell us that they know and that we should believe them. What is even more perplexing is that many others would believe them. I know in this existence there is much that can be feared, however, allowing fear to leverage us to others' thoughts for us is timid and lacking of human spirit. I have a dangerous mind because I am not afraid of those who would try to bully me into a philosophy that undermines the nature of my curiosity. I am alive only for a short time and learning and observing phenomenon is how I live. To do anything different is to give over the will of my life to another. All of us have the potential to be the greatest of who we think we can be. All it takes is effort and a determined will. Despite the fear and naysayers, we, each of us, is a force of nature. Equipped with the ability to understand what is in our souls and what is right in front of us. If we allow others to dictate the parameters of our lives based upon any myth or superstitional premise, we are in reality, allocating our present selves over to the whims of others who are no different than us. A capitulation of our will is a choice we should abrogate.  

Freedom from religious persecution (#1180)

All too often these days I hear the right wing political advocates decrying that America has lost it's identity because we have strayed from our roots of being founded upon as a nation of Christians. I have no doubt that there were many in our new country who were Christians, but the fact that we were founded upon the ideal of Christianity is absurd. On the contrary, we were founded upon the ideal that we were free from religious dogma and institutionalization. We emigrated to America to escape the metaphorical shackles and chains that were part of everyday religious life in Europe. To have so distorted this fundamental truth about our history is emblematic of how corrupt and deceitful the powers that be who would turn our secular nation into a theocracy. Secularism is the separation between free, democratic governance and religious affiliation. Anyone who would advocate for the dismantling of our democracy in order to install a religious governance is trying to emigrate the religious persecution our founding fathers so adamantly opposed by fleeing Europe to settle in our new land. When the British attacked us before and after we declared our independence from foreign rule, we also stood upon our natural rights as free individuals to form our own society. In our first amendment to our Constitution, we stated unequivocally that no law respecting an establishment of religion be allowed nor the free choice to exercise religion be denied. Unequivocal, yet there are forces who cannot abide our constitution and will force whatever effort needed to make our democracy fail for their ideal of a theocratic nation.

No love, no conscious (#1179)

This is something that can be in little dispute, no love, no conscious. Those who are raised without the tender care of love in their lives have no experience in how to express love to others. Love is a learned behavior in it's expression. We are all capable of love and I would guess that we all want to be loved and to love others. It is in the not knowing how to love that breaks us from continuing to try to love. We give up and instead become less compassionate and more critical about life. It is essential that parents have children with the mindset that love will be there for their children no matter what happens in the future. The unconditional love and it's expression toward our children is a major part of the heritage we pass on from generation to generation. Nothing else is more important to our children than that they are able to have a healthy expression of love throughout their lives. It all starts with the parents. Children are not a property or some convoluted existence to support the parents status hierarchy. Children are the best thing we will ever create from ourselves and giving them all that we have and the opportunity to have even more is our destiny. We do have a duty to raise our children so that not only do they know that they are loved but that they are able to share love with others. I thought about this subject in the context of why some adults are so insensitive to the pains and harms they do to others. What I have concluded is that those who have walled off their hearts don't have the capacity to love. They were not taught or shown enough love in their early lives for them to have a foundation to build strong loving relationships upon.

The ego behind suppressing education (#1178)

This topic has been formulating in my head for some time now. I look at the Republican candidates for all offices in our country and I see a concerted attempt to obstruct or discontinue efforts at helping our children in our American society to receive the best opportunities to be educated. It is hard enough on children when they are in school for most of their youth to want to continue in educational settings after they reach the age of 18. To make it even harder for them to continue on is the subject of what I am trying to get at here. Certainly, our job economy is terrible for those who do not have the luxury of a higher education, but in many cases the alternative to finding low paying jobs is the enormous amount of debt our children must be willing to accept with no guarantee that they will be able to find a job to pay for the debt. The default position of many is to not go to school and therefore not be under the weight of loans that seem impossible to repay. They instead decide to go work out in the workforce where their options for more than a minimum wage job are slim. This all brings me back to why our conservative politicians feel it is necessary to eliminate national programs and departments aimed at making college education a reality. I fear that it is because the right wing in our country see America as not a melting pot of opportunity for all but only a melting pot for those who can prove they are worthy of receiving special consideration. Put judiciously, our children are guilty before they are proven innocent. I mentioned ego in the title so that I could clearly distinguish what the mindset is in those who advance the survival of the fittest regimen. They prefer a society that has to struggle and fight for what little there is as opposed to strengthening society for all our children. When education is suppressed, knowledge goes bankrupt, and those who have knowledge, lord over those who don't. A very dark and brutish right wing, conservative, Republican view.

Conquering the shackles of fear (#1177)

Left to our own choices, would our lives be different or the same? I have been manipulated my whole life. Some for reasons that did not benefit me but most for what others thought would be best for me. Regardless, this has been my life and as I have struggled against the pressures of doing what others expect of me, I have mostly succeeded in being who I am and what I am trying to become. The one constant in being pressured to do things that were not my initial intent of purpose, has been fear. I was afraid of disappointing people, I was afraid that if I went against my family or friends that I would be left out on my own. I was afraid in so many ways that I forced my mind to accept that the limited choices in front of me were all that I had. I succumbed to expectations of others because I was not strong enough to fight for my vision of my life. Certainly, I was stubborn about implementing my acquiesced choices but being against what I already had defaulted toward still does not define for me the courage I needed at the beginning. Once the pressure was off, is when I then began to resist, not while the pressure was on. I was afraid to stand up for myself and afraid to disappoint those who had expectations in me. Mostly, those days are behind me now. I am not the young man who seemed full of promise and could raise the level of hoped for dreams of those around me. I am now just another simple soul who sits at a computer screen now and then to type in some words that matter to me. No expectations, no fulfilling of others' desires, just me and the little bit I do to recognize the nature of us all and the better and best of our natures in thought and action.

The battle against enlightenment (#1176)

As an older child I used to marvel at how the Renaissance period came about and the enlightenment that flowed from it. New sciences were being promoted and new rights for humans were being advanced. It was a period where the populace could no longer sit back and let superstition and myth divine their lives any longer without question. Modern concepts began to take form with little doubt that the results lifted our species to a new level of understanding. Our history from the Renaissance period has followed the same path, along with technology and innovation, and have advanced our societies and our species to never before heights. What is most rewarding is that our world has come to the path of advancing and protecting human rights as a rule. There are a few communities of humans who are very restrictive of human rights but they are under pressure to allow more in this area. Through human rights as a natural law, we find fewer wars and skirmishes than previously in our planets history. We also find that communication has made it possible for many different cultures to learn of tolerance and diversity. I bring this little effort at history up to highlight that since the middle ages we have been on a course of enlightenment. We are only on the course and despite the wonderful advances we have made, there are forces within our societies that feel that enlightenment has caused harm and should be reversed in favor of the old superstitions and myths that prevailed before the Renaissance. In fact these backward looking forces have become such a force that a real battle is in play as to whether enlightenment, and it's inherent knowledge gathering process, will continue as a reality. Know this, I will battle back against the forces that see our world through the eyes of "gaining power through fear" and with my last breath I will fight their illogical premises and the dark conclusions they advocate!

Experiencing my strengths (#1175)

What are my strengths? Not just my physical abilities but my inner strengths, my character and will. My soul has the distinction within me of being where right and wrong are divined and my heart has it's place as possessing my incredible passion for life and the subjects and objects within existence. As most of us have done, I assume, is to spend a good part of our earlier life just trying to understand what life is to us. That old saying of "finding yourself" seems like a good analogy. But once we have hit upon our understanding of how we live in this world and settle upon a process that best comports to our realities, then what? Is it to sit back and only just ride out the storms of situations and circumstances that come our way? Personally, I had to get past my fears of the unknown and the power some tried to exude over me, but once I was successful at laughing at life and overcoming it's obstructors, I realized that I was free to live life as the strengths of my heart and soul would allow me. I have never been more content in that I have fought my demons and fears and found them lacking compared to the virtuous courage I had within me. My strengths guide my life not my fears. In fact I have come to find that my fears are mostly a mirage of my own mind and as such I have few of them today because my mind has no room for them. It doesn't matter what subject title I use for my daily discussions, my ulterior motive is to help all of us to see beyond and through our own fears. I do my seeing through my fears with my strengths, and believe me on this, my strengths leave all fears lacking any substance. Because of the strength of my soul and my heart, life is fun and allows me to be a sentinel, standing firmly with my convictions and principles against any enemy of our human species, even our own minds.

The days of being ignorant to our Democracy are over (#1174)

The free ride of not having to understand what makes our democracy work are over. Every child and adult must begin to be tutored or taught what it means to live in a democracy. How the government functions and how a law is passed throughout the process of forming a bill. We must all be made aware of how special interests affect how our representatives decide how to proceed with writing bills and voting on them as well. If our democracy is going to work then we must have a clear understanding of the implications these bills present. Our agenda as a society is to prosper and defend our way of life. If we are only defending a way of life that only prospers a few then our democracy has been infiltrated by factors that allow a less than prosperous outcome for most to all of us. These factors need to be identified and then explained in order for all to have an understanding of their negative effects. Much like ailments in our body, we have ailments in our body politic. As when we seek to heal our ownselves with a cure, much the same is required when treating the body politic with a cure. Always first though we need to conclude the ailment before we start the cure. To conclude the ailment, we need to understand how it has affected our body politic. This is all just common sense but all of us must be made aware of the premises that lead us to our conclusions. Our country was founded and defended for a couple of centuries on the principles espoused in democratic ideals. Everything within our body politic must also correlate with democratic ideals, otherwise, we are mutating our society to form something less that is not wholly equal to all in opportunity and stunts the pursuit of happiness, health and general welfare. None of us has the luxury to sit out our democracy anymore, lest we are willing to let it die.

The time we have (#1173)

It is at times likes these that I am reminded of just how short and quick life is. My experience keeps telling me that putting things off for later is a fool's decision. I need to do now what I think is worthy and not let anything impede me, especially my own mind and it's constant cautions and fears. We welcomed in a new life into our family this morning and regrettably, before we know it, some of our family will be leaving us from either illness or natural causes. Although we can reliably predict our beginnings, we don't know our end times with any real certainty. That is why it is most important to define, within our own minds, who we are and live our lives with all the hubris we can. There is no second chance or do-overs when it concerns life as we all know through losses that inflicted unbearable emotion. The time we have is special and should always be safeguarded, generally, from the cavalier idiosyncrasies of power. We should also live our lives with passionate care and not let our emotions dwindle or dry up. All of us are gifted with this existence and the proud accomplishments of our forebears to enjoy and also improve on. That should be our goal in life, to enjoy what has been created for us and to help sustain that creation with as many improvements we can muster. Time is a tricky thing. It seems to move as slow as an ice age but before you know it, the face in the mirror has changed and time has gotten behind us. Once we have lost that time, there is no getting it back. I don't want to sound alarmist here but I also don't want to be lulled into an illusion that there will always be time later to do those things that I can't seem to find time for now out of some duty to an imagined higher priority. The time we have is limited and what will we do with it?

All of us are forgiven (#1172)

There is something within our mind and soul that requires us to be forgiven when we have transgressed our, and society's, laws and mores. When we do fall short or are reminded of a past bad behavior, we acquire a low self-esteem that can be inhibiting to our present and future. Most use religion to salve this ailment but for those who need to find an answer to forgiveness without prescribing a hoped for solution, understanding human nature may be the true solution. We are not a perfect species as we all should know. That right there makes the allowance that we will fall short of thought and behavior we would expect from ourselves. I have tried very hard to keep my mind and body in tune with doing the right things for some time now and despite my consistent effort to monitor my thoughts and actions, I am still making mistakes that make me feel I need forgiveness. However, I don't necessarily need to be forgiven for things that I fall short of in my life. As long as I try to do what is right with the intent to do right then the conditioning I have been inculcated with through society, that being, asking for forgiveness when I do what is wrong, becomes moot. I am not advocating for everyone to dismiss the concept of forgiveness, what I am advocating instead is that we don't need to seek out a person or place to go to in order to find the peace that comes with justification. We validate our own lives through learning from our mistakes and moving forward without continuing the practice of circular behavior that ends with the continual need to be forgiven. Everyone on this planet who has ever lived has been a failure at being a perfect human being. Our course in life is to eliminate the need to beat ourselves up for all the inevitable mistakes we will surely make.

Economics do not define who we are (#1171)

Economics does, in many ways, define what we allow ourselves to become. There is a big difference between who and what. Who is the generalized nature of humanity. We have senses, we can think, imagine, we are able to survive as a rule and we care for each other and other species as well. When we focus less on who we are and instead allow the what we become scenario to dominate, it is then that we have allowed ourselves to be swept up in a dynamic that literally strips of us our humanity and replaces it with an illusion and attraction of being more special than others. An ego trip, if you will. Often we we are guided by the thought that what we have become is destined and that the proof of that destiny is that it happens to us and not to many others. We were some how ordained by fate to be of "nobler" status because of our ability to proceed through life with little effort and great reward. I often think of the economic systems most societies use, which are the most lop-sided paradigms in not granting equal opportunity, favored over granting opportunity. That in itself is the beginning of the destruction of who we are, and the growth of what we allow ourselves to become. There are a few examples of exceptions, like in any equation of life circumstances, that defy the rule but only on the surface. Tactics that are used to keep ourselves from being who we are, sometimes are used to allow for some to get through and defy the rule of opportunity granted. Yet, as a few do survive into an economic system that favors us losing our humanity, the rest of us are swallowed up into a gray morass of inequality. We who are still who we are have at least the comfort of truly being human, yet is that the hallmark of a society that calls itself civilized? When will we allow the economics of our natures to be the rule and expose the brutal inequality of economics as the exception. Soon I hope!

Reigning in my intent (#1170)

My intentions are what drive my actions, even to the point of inaction. As long as I can keep my intentions from causing adverse effects then my actions are justified, however, in my world, unless I am being unselfish, my intent does cause less good than I hope for. I am not much of a "religious" sort of person, but there is one line in the Bible that does vibrate through me with absolute clarity. It being "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth"-Matthew 5:5. I bring this up as a definition of humility. For me, meek and humility are closely aligned and in meekness we have strength under control and with humility we have a virtue which lacks ego and which denotes self-worth. Both inspire a confidence of being. In our society we are bombarded with the aspect of having strength and confidence without actually being instructed to the virtuous nature of either. Bullies are feared and therefore emulated for their ability to gain power while the psychopathic leaning among us are rewarded for their ruthlessness. it makes me wonder if our educational approach is slanted toward policies that advance enlightenment or crude primeval human behavior. That I have intentions is a good thing. It shows that I am thinking of things that offer conclusions. All of this is still in my head however, and until I can rationalize the effect of my intent, it is best left waiting to be applied. The only true test I have for my intent is if it is unselfish. Is it about me or is it about all of us. Does it advantage some or does it advantage everyone. As I seek to have the meek/humility of unselfishness in my life, I know I am getting very close to having the actions of all my intentions being worthy of expression.

My moral obligation (#1169)

What is it that I owe to the Universe and to myself. Many would say nothing, as the Universe is just a place I dwell and myself has already been paid some price for as I am already in existence. I would counter the Universe is a greater entity than I and that I am totally made up of just some of the elements that are within the Universe. The Universe is my sovereign and as such I owe an allegiance to it for my very existence. Now, I am not saying that I worship the Universe as a God or that nothing else can exist outside what is known as the Universe, but to be very clear, I am saying that I have a moral obligation to the ideal the Universe allows me to comprehend. It has also been my assertion that the complete human nature in it's purest form is compassion, ie... care; and curiosity in the form of wonder and knowledge attainment. I also stipulate that a third dynamic exists within us that has to do with our need to survive. In understanding what I think is right about what it is to be human, I do also owe a moral obligation to myself to being that purest from of human. So, not only do I owe the Universe homage but I also owe humanity homage as well. I have a form of sovereign over me that transcends our emerging civilized society and any form of belief system. This is the check and balance I have within my life. So the question of what comes around goes around is very real to me and serves to help me define what it is that displays and respects the best of me. So for those who think that consequences of actions do not matter and that getting away with whatever one chooses to succeed at is always a worthy endeavor, I just have this to say, living life without striving to make it the most virtuous is a failure of character and moral dignity, which is marked in the record of the Universe as such.

Validation does not have to be an insecurity (#1168)

I remember when I was younger and felt less than everyone else. It was a phase I was going through when it seemed that my life was clearly unworthy. In my mind, I needed to be validated as a human being so I tried to be good at many things in an illusory way rather than in a real way. In other words, I would lie about being smart on difficult subjects. Clearly, I was wrong in doing so and some wise people who actually knew the truth about things called me out on it. As smart as I was about my ulterior motives, I could not extricate myself from them and those exposing the truth about my deceptions. That was long ago and it was about finding some validation for me as a unique individual. I quickly learned that I have always been a unique individual and regardless of what I did or thought, I would always be one. I think of it as a growth period for me when the opening of my eyes by those who told the truth over the top of my lies moved me from a small world perspective to a much larger world perspective. I have found that setting aside all my likes and dislikes frees me to just being in the position to tell the truth. Now, what is the truth? Simple, it is what is actually happening without me interpreting it. Basic reality. Now on occasion, as has been evinced by me, I do subscribe to objective interpretation, however, I do so in the quest for truth and not with any intentional subjective motive. I must dissect arguments for the foundational premise of their truth. For me, the only validation worthy of my time and place here in existence is truth and not just truth to fit a narrative but truth as it relates to our natures and the best of our abilities.

How we handle adversity (#1167)

There is a certain "air" some exhibit when walking through fear or other obstacles that seem horrendous. A confidence of maturity that withstands the thought of failure. The only way this "air" can be obtained is to stand up for high principles and complete whatever time is necessary to move forward. I have admired many individuals in my life just for the actions they had taken that surprised me and gave me hope. A different way of looking at adversity, a genuine calmness that seemed to place the difficult circumstance into some kind of understandable and doable task. It is the maturation process with a heavy dose of principled strength. The man I always knew I could be is now the man I get to become. I don't have to be selfish or uncaring, I can be there for those who need me and offer what I can when I see things that need my help. A maturity that just doesn't come with age, it must be built with effort. Just because one has grown old, like all of us can attest to, one does not necessarily become wise. Wisdom is a process of understanding that reflects the best of our natures with some hopeful insight into what our future can be. Many do not have this and instead rely upon some concept that age automatically "grows" wisdom. I can attest that wisdom is not "grown" by aging. It is grown through the processes of caring and curiosity, which by the way are also our two foundational natures. The path to having a life filled with happiness and respect is through compassion and curiosity, and when that is obtained over time, then wisdom will naturally flow from the outcome.

An informed society will... (#1166)

What will an informed society do? We don't have the luxury of knowing the answer to this question since we have not been able to have an informed society in the history of our country. Sad really, since the availability of information had been widespread until recently. Now we have organizations that are allowed by law to spread misinformation in the place of information. If having failed at spreading information in hopes of educating our populace, we now retract information and spread disinformation in it's place as another way to educate our citizenry? Absurd logic and even more troubling. Instead of improving on accurate information and finding new ways to help engage our society to learn it, we instead are now in the process of denying information and force feeding our conclusions on people. What a step backward in our evolution. I can only conclude that ulterior motives are in play and these motives are not in our society's benefit as a whole. The momentum toward an elite society overcoming our democratic one is real and should be stopped at once. Getting that information to the ones who have failed to learn as a rule will be difficult as they are blinded by other factors. The real sense that this is a priority of the utmost should give those of us who see our democracy slipping from our founders desire and our real world application, an over-powering hope. Some determination is required, and mandatory to halt the unpatriotic advance of forces allayed against democratic principles. An informed society will or should be aware of how pure and simple our democracy works when it is championed by all of us.

There is only the right side (#1165)

When the truth is told, there is no other truth. What we are made to believe today is that there are two truths and one of them is better than the other. What we really have is two different visions for America and one of them is trying to make life better for all and the other is trying to make life even easier for a few. Now obviously, to the many, this should be simple enough to understand, however it is not. Manipulations and outright lies are misinforming a gullible electorate about what the truth is and many are not seeing through the confusion. Many do not want to for their own ill-held prejudices, fears and loyalties to a previous brand. All this manipulation and half-truth telling has done is to serve up a paradigm of mistrust with combative, illogical, argumentative warfare. The truth can stand on it's own whereas the non-truth has to deceive and confuse in order to overcome truth. All we need to do is judge everything by our own standards of compassion and curiosity to know what the path toward truth is. Everything else is the whirligig of manipulation. That we are still talking about consensus around the foundational beginning of our society over two hundred years ago is indicative of the forces who would want to break our form of government into a form more conducive to elements that are bereft of democratic principles. Our country was fought for and was founded upon democracy and the right of freedom and liberty to be individual rights. We also have been gifted with a will to fulfill our own destinies, through a community of acknowledged processes. To take this dynamic and destroy the undercurrent of it's effectiveness is tantamount to cancer eating at it's host until the host and the cancer survive no more.

Basic principles don't change, people do! (#1164)

The argument that as we get older we get more conservative is a trap. it is a ruse for those of us who hold our principles dear to abandon them because it is natural. It is not natural to abandon those principles that have defined our character. It is shameful for those who otherwise say that getting older is above our sense of justice. For the sake of convenience and maintaining power, those who advocate for a more selfish outlook, are not admitting the truth of our principles, they are instead trying to remake them to fit their narrative of whatever ulterior motive is of late, fashionable. The manipulative powers some hold on others is regrettable and unworthy of our advancement through time and space. What can be so disheartening is that no great promise of enduring pride is the outcome. Instead all there is can be classified as some getting over on many others. Advancing selfishness and greed as a by-product of the human experiment. Such low abilities we allow ourselves to be funneled toward, like unwitting naive's, happily trusting judgments that fail on the "looking under the rock" test of their logic. I suppose that the reality of our inability to judge for ourselves the philosophical and moral attitudes we allow as societal norms is what we should expect from ourselves and any high minded enlightenment is just a mirage to sate our curious natures. Disappointment is what usually awaits us when we do not commandeer the reins of our own thoughts and give the intuition, assuredly, we all most insightfully hope for. What the future of our society and even our very existence will hinge upon is whether we are able to think for ourselves and keep our principles front and center for the full length of our individual existences.

The good feeling of equality (#1163)

Few things in life have a good feel to them but fighting for equality is one of them. The greatest thing about doing what is right is how it makes you feel. There is nothing like being a champion of what is right in life. It is like fighting for the right to breathe or for freedom and liberty. The true champions in our life are the ones who turn against those who would deny rights to some and not to others. The sheer force of being on the right side of virtue is exhilarating. Nothing that comes from selfishness or greed can remotely compare. My soul is the judge of how I feel not my nerves or lusts. Sensing is what we do as a species. We have the possibility of five senses that are physically manifested in our lives. I like to call us the human data processors who feed our need to be curious, with information. I am not on this world to only spend my time finding ways to gratify my desires, I am here to know and learn more about what I don't know. That is my purpose for being here in this existence and likely it is the same for every other human as well. While I am about my main purpose of learning and discovery, I also wish to feel good about how I am living. I have found that what makes me feel the best is when I stand up for virtuous principles. I am an idealist in ways that effect how I perceive respect and dignity. Neither comes without equality and if equality is not there then I am fighting to get it there. I am able for some dumb luck of reason or serendipity to have the insight that we all deserve to be special and if we are not allowed to be special then I will work my ass off to make it so. I am not god nor worthless, I just understand what makes me feel the best I can feel.

Power in mature hands (#1162)

When the maturity to know the difference between helping society and hurting society is lacking, we get policies that take rights away instead of policies that protect and expand rights. When maturity is lacking we get policies that undermine education as an entitlement instead of policies that see education as a necessary life acquisition. When we have a lack of maturity we get policies that hinder the health of our citizens instead of policies that strive to keep our society healthy. The examples are plentiful when trying to describe the inadequacies associated with immaturity. Yet we have many in power who have never moved past the ritual learning of becoming mature. They have been isolated by elitist paradigms that protect them from knowing factors that effect the maturity process. They are used in ways that glorify their egos instead of the correct method of exalting their humility. Such is our dysfunctional society and the powers that be wish for no change in the structure since the existing structure continues to feed and fuel their power. Instead of chasing power as a rule, power should be given to those who least want it. In that way the power will be respected by those who have no ulterior motive to consolidate power as a strategy. The importance of having power in the hands of those who have no desire for it is that those who are effected by the decisions of those with power are real and have tremendous effect on those who abide under such power. Maturity is the ability to see all the factors involved in a question and contemplating what would be best, even if it meant creating a new policy to replace an inadequate one. Maturity is also the ability to cleave oneself from the equation and decide how power is best utilized in hopes of improving every souls life.

As you wish (#1161)

The famous line from the movie Princess Bride. So much is packed into that small three word statement. it also reminds me of another three word statement that is just as powerful, from the movie Moulin Rouge, Come what may. We determine what we can or won't do. If we set our minds to something then hell nor high water will stop our efforts. We may not achieve what we set out to do or to make not happen, however our spirit to give it our all is up to us. Unfortunately I have conversations with those who can only see how things are bad and cannot get past their idea that they are not going to get better, which seems self-defeating to me. I know how difficult things are, no one has to tell me that most every time we are crushed in our hopes and dreams. yet, we can either accept the losses as just the way things are or we can work to change the paradigm that keeps things the way they are. I want a reality that fulfills our hopes and dreams more often then not. Am I crazy for being optimistic that somehow I can make the present dynamic, shift? I don't think so because this world has taught me one very important lesson, which is that all it takes is one person with enough conviction to never stop fighting for a movement to grow from. A movement that could, if the cause is right, and of our positive nature, to become a force of change. I often think of myself as a catalyst, like in a science experiment, adding to the present mix a new element which will create a new reaction of solution to the same old problems. We must believe, and back our belief, that we humans are worthy of every opportunity and that all of us need to share in those opportunities in the same ways.

Wrongly placing material wealth over human rights (#1160)

This is the default position for many. The calculation is made that all the things I have worked for and attained outweigh my risking complaining about my rights as they are taken away right in front of me. When the things we surround ourselves with are of a higher priority than our own dignity, we have essentially quit on ourselves and the human race. The fear of losing our job for standing up to those who use the power to fire or let us go when they take from us the very rights they keep for themselves. We are so dependent on that paycheck that we are willing to let most anything happen to us. We, as a rule, don't stand for principles anymore. We stand for just getting by with what we can when we can. For most, when the strategy of cowering or ducking, instead of taking the opportunity to live with honor confronts us, is not even a consideration anymore, it is what we do automatically and then defend. Fear for your life as you know it is real, however living in an illusion to keep your things at the expense of your human rights is not worth it. Why? Because life is short and if you have whiled it away by letting others determine your rights you are in essence less than human. Antithetical to what a human being is by it's own nature. Priorities matter and if your priorities are not principled in thought and action, then what good are you to those who are? Those who stand on the side and watch as others are denied and stripped of rights are souls who have no courage to fight to protect the weaker. Having no courage is shameful and selfish. When all of us decide to stand against those who are psychopathic about ripping our human rights from our skin, it is then that we will be able ground those lost souls into history and move our society from the pessimism of class distinction toward the optimism of community and toward the continued advancement of human rights.

The human experiment (#1159)

How do you see the future of what we humans can be? That is the vision we should all be trying to formulate. Mine is simple enough, be bold and progress with all my ability. Some others also see the future this way and that is good and right in my estimation. Others do not, they tend to want things to stay the same, whatever that is to them. Most fall somewhere in between with greater thought given to their just surviving another day and not so much interested in how our future looks. Yet it is vital that we understand what our future should look like because we are living the present and the present is the last thing that occurs before the future arrives. In other words, we are just seconds from our future and how that is lived is directly beneficial/detrimental to ourselves. Many allow fear, prejudice and a lack of knowledge to comfort them into doing little to continue the evolution of our species into new dynamics and paradigms. Nothing is the same as before, it has all changed and if that changing is the thing that runs us then we are not out in front of it. If however, we boldly embrace that change will occur, and we forge the change ourselves then we are the ones who are creating the new dynamics and paradigms that will represent our futures. I want to be one of the ones who is driving the change and not one of the ones who is stuck with whatever the change surreptitiously becomes. The idea that we can remain the same is captivating, yet unreal. The only true option we humans have is to go forward with our hopes and dreams and make a better world if we can. It is up to us to do the hard work of creating a vision that has at it's heart our two best natures, compassion and curiosity. Let them loose and follow where they lead!

Sharing what we know (#1158)

People who feel the need to keep knowledge to themselves usually do so because they are somehow convinced that being selfish with their knowledge gives them an edge. I know this because I have experienced it myself. When I was younger, I would share things and then those I shared with took advantage of the things I shared. I felt like I was being used. What I didn't understand then was that my feelings were exactly what I was doing to those I learned from. I had to face the fact that we all are in search of an edge when we feel less important than others. I began to see that I was just as important than anyone else and that made it easier for me to then give what I knew to others without a care as to how it affected me. Our society is a really strange one in which we are forced to compete in almost every aspect of it. Certainly competition is good in some areas, but not in most or even many. We are not on this planet to prove how smart we are. We are here to explore our surroundings and to care for each other. What we learn shouldn't come with a price tag and neither should what we share. Can you see how we take advantage of each other in ways that are detrimental to our own natures? For us to grow and mature as a species we have to have a commitment to educating ourselves as much as possible for as long as possible. The quality of our future depends on all of us having the opportunity to contribute in our own unique way. No one can predict who will have the next great idea. We increase the survivability of our species by nurturing knowledge and education as a duty. If we cannot get the community concept of our species as a rule then the hope for us to survive is reduced dramatically. We are strongest when we work together and sharing our learned knowledge is the best way for us to be prepared for whatever nature and the future will bring.

Optimism is the foundation of Hope (#1157)

Optimism is a strategy when it seems that life has turned against us. I find it more a way of life, when looking at how I live. No matter how bad, plain or ordinary anything is, I can always see something better to hope for. Where I am in life, has nothing to do with how I stay positive about life. My optimism is everything to do with life for me. Every day is like a Christmas morning, full of anticipation about what the day may bring. Just having a day to live in, is a great gift and then having hope for something more is truly rewarding. I don't often get what I may hope for but that is beside the point anyway, having an optimism about receiving the hoped for outcome or event is all I could legitimately ask for. An opportunity for optimism to be possible is permeated throughout my thoughts. I sometimes forget that being optimistic is the best outlook when I get down about how things are going. When real life shows it's unkindness in ways that cause pain and emotional hurt, yet nothing I experience is new and for millenniums, humans have experienced these and even worse scenarios. I can honestly say that nothing I experience in my life will ever be as bad as many had experienced in theirs. For me, optimism is about perspective. Some may think that optimism is foolish and just an illusion, however, I would rather think that optimism is about hope and hope is the best I can do in a world that has the potential to bring anything about. When I say optimism is a strategy I mean to convey that given the alternative, I would rather be on the bright side of this existence and being optimistic keeps me there.