Solutions over blame (#1643)

It wasn't me, I didn't do it! The usual response from those who have no clue as to how to try to fix a problem. They spend their time telling you who made the problem without ever telling you how they would fix it. Well, they will say that there is nothing to be done and leave it at that. But doing nothing and hoping time and space will solve a problem is a cop out. I suppose having no imagination to create solutions is the problem but how do we get people with imagination to be leaders in our country? There are some and I appreciate them dearly but most of our leaders are clueless and are only in positions of leadership due to ego and/or allegiance to more nefarious causes. It is common now in our society to have some run for election on platforms or promises that they abandon as soon as they are elected. This is a sad state of affairs when we cannot tell the liars from the honest persons. However we must be more circumspect into who is offering promises by aligning those promises with other factors like how have they had acted and spoken in the past and who is their more active donor base. The liars would be easy enough to uncover since to get elected to a high ranking office nowadays one must have some public/private background that can be accessed readily. It is whether we believe or not some story they may try to spin about having a change of heart. I doubt most who have had such "revelations" since there is little track record to prove it and taking a political figure's word for something that is so important as our representation is not to be done without an abundance of evidence proving their claim to change. 

Something to live for (#1642)

We all need some form of motivation besides fear of dying to help push us through our lives. Some great hope or desire to journey towards to keep us happy. When the founders of our country established the idea that "...the pursuit of happiness." was an essential component in declaring our independence from foreign rule, they foresaw that we all need to have something worthy to occupy ourselves. Nothing has changed over the years in this idea and furthermore it's importance is even more a priority. There are so many of us now occupying a smaller defined space that often our hopes and dreams must reconcile limits that blunt their possibilities. So instead of having many hopes and dreams to pursue I have found that focusing on fewer more attainable goals are more satisfying and just as motivating, regardless of whether I attain them. It has and will always be about the journey toward them that is where most all the living takes place and the living of my life and it's small steps forward that bring me another day of pursuing my happiness. Being pragmatic about life helps to keep me in the right perspective since there are no simple solutions or easy conquests of mind over matter. Yet despite the inevitable failures I confront, my pragmatism has helped to strengthen my resolve instead of discouraging it. I know that life is hard and very few things should come easy if it has value. The greatest exception to this is love, which is something one cannot buy but must be freely given. 

The bigger picture (#1641)

I am happy enough that some folks are seeing the picture around them instead of not paying attention and remaining clueless. Seeing the picture around us is the first step toward understanding how we are doing as a society. But that is just the first step toward understanding our society, not the last step. There is a bigger picture that must be understood as well. My little microcosm is just a tiny study in the larger equation of how our society is functioning. I had someone tell me that his world was great and jobs were plenty and he couldn't understand why everyone else wasn't as fortunate in their life, blaming them for their own failure to achieve. In his world that may well be the conclusion to his understanding, however his world is filled with greater opportunities than most and his perspective confirms that. What he is not seeing is macrocosm and the utter lack of opportunity for most folks who don't exist in his microcosm. Instead of being grateful for his good fortune, he chooses instead to condescend a disparagement for others who are not as fortunate as he is. I know that naivete is much to blame and that his heart is better than that but there it is, the confusion that underlies so many problems we face as a society yet to achieve equality in mostly significant areas. The bigger picture relays too many regions in our country and in the world where labor is held in low esteem and instead carpetbagging and manipulative economic practices that pay off are held in higher esteem. The old "get yours anyway you can" syndrome deviates us from the greater promise that all work is good and the opportunity to express that good should be more plentiful in our macrocosm society. 

Reason does not exist for some folks (#1640)

"The true critic is a scrupulous avoider of formulae; he refrains from statements which pretend to be literally true; he finds facts nowhere and approximation always."-T. S. Elliot. For these folks the intellectual revolution was less informative than tragic. It only confuses most people from the truth of a belief system than any logic could ever produce. At least these critics would have us believe. What is so surprising is that too many critics of logic and actual common sense are allowed to control much of our society through political representation and the power that wealth can buy. I will never surrender to a paradigm of governing that relents on the ideal of progressive intellectualism. Your, and my nature and all of history point toward our species advancing through time and space so when the critics of our society bellicose their objection to the lessening of pain, suffering and the disrespect and humiliation those situations bring about, I myself come up stalwart to proclaim their intent and bulwark my defenses against their lack of empathy and clarity of vision. I have also found that using reason to attempt to debate their propositions is useless solely for the reason T. S. so succinctly elucidated. An inevitability of consternation has been my conclusion as to understanding their lack of focus on any issue for more than the time it takes for them to evade answering a legitimate question. They don't think and speak in reality, instead they think and speak from the moment without the moment having any strings to the past, present and future through connection. Suffer the fools who are too unimaginative to realize that fools only lead fools to foolery.

Breaking the cycle (#1639)

I am not my friends, my parents, uncles and aunts nor my grandparents. It seems that we all tend to being like those who came before us or exist with us now in ways that deny who we really are. Accepting paradigms of the past out of custom and allegiance is fine but not if they counter what we are inside. As an example, when I was younger and most impressionable the boys I hung out with were mean and tended toward violence against those they saw as weak or different. I came to the conclusion early on that although I did like these boys for other reasons, I could not associate with them because they represented something antithetical to who I am. Even with family I choose to accept those in my present life who represent the same types of principles that I do. I cannot abide those who have stubbornly clung to the old ways of treating people with masked disrespect and bias. I choose to live a life that represents me and my understanding of existence. Notwithstanding, I must and will always choose to be what is best about life over even the sacred bonds of blood. To lessen myself to paradigms that are unhealthy to my soul is to sell a piece of me for the sake of contrition. I won't nor will I do it! Those who are still practicing thoughts and behaviors that in the light of day would be abhorrent need only recognize that having me in their lives will not happen in their present form.

Even fear starts to grow old (#1638)

The politics of fear has been an obstruction for the last 4 years like no other strategy I have seen in my 57 years here on Earth. That it is happening within our politics is unsettling. I have seen the two parties disagree over policies before and argue for the merits on both sides. Usually the victor has presented enough evidence to persuade a majority to vote to implement these bills into law and move on to other concerns within our society. But not so since our first African/American president has been elected. As a Democrat he is mostly following the policies of the Democratic plank and has tried vigorously to compromise in a gentlemanly manner with the Republicans to satisfy moving legislation forward toward becoming law. His extraordinary attempts to reach compromise has for the most part gone unanswered. The minority Republican party has refused to allow the majority democratically elected Democrat party to advance it's ideas for the future of our country. They have instead employed scare and fear tactics as their rebuttal to most all of our president's and his party's legislation. Using fear to debate a policy is nonsense when facts are there for all to see. But nonetheless the Republican party has no wish to argue facts since the facts go against the grain of their ideal of "survival of the fittest" policies. As time continues to move forward and the old paradigms of ignorance and blind observance become less attractive, more and more citizens are becoming immune to the Republican tactic of fear as a replacement for debate.

Prosperity or poverty (#1637)

Very few of us here in America, percentage wise, are living the dream of pursuing our happiness. We are caught between a force for democratic principles and a force for capitalist forces. They do not co-exist in harmony in their purer forms thus the resistance we average souls here face. In a democracy we are all afforded opportunities to create and be part of progress, Surely that is the best of what can be for us. With capitalism as the highest priority, only a few may survive the struggle to dominate markets while the rest of us are left to fend for the scraps that are left. With almost 99% of us left to share in what is about 40% of what resources are left, while the top 1% get to control about 60% of the resources. This is the current state of affairs in our American economy. Not an enviable model to emulate, unless of course you only care to be one of the top 1%. The battle lines have fallen along political lines in general, with the Democrats wanting more for the 99% while the Republicans believing that the top 1% could and should continue with it's policy of trickle down economics. Trickle down is the idea that if you give wealthy people more money and resources they will create more opportunity for others. What we have learned though over the past 30 plus years is that when the wealthy receive more they keep it for themselves instead. I can clearly see the effects of this and have lived through it with the rest of us. Changing our politics from a capitalistic dominated "survival of the fittest" paradigm to a more inclusive stance can only begin to create the reality of equality, fairness and opportunity inherent within democratic principles.

Psychological warfare or is it welfare? (#1636)

I do daily battle in defense of myself from the old behaviors I am moving past, but is it a battle I do or is it a life I know live in order to keep myself in good mental and physical condition? I may be splitting hairs here metaphorically but it is an interesting thought that has me contemplating it. My new behavior is to protect me from old behavior and that is how we should all go about progressing through our lives. It isn't so much a battle, not quite, since it does not have an enemy per se but instead my new behavior only replaces the old. As more time passes in my applying new and better behavior to my life it becomes more automatic for me and less a consideration of necessity. I just do actions differently not only in my movements but in the thoughts that proceed the movements. Today I celebrate another milestone in the changing of myself into a being of far more communal note than the person I was previously whom I only compared myself to what I wanted and how I could get it. I live a behavior now that has some excellence to it that has benefits to those outside of me who at times come into my sphere. I am no saintly person nor am I no exception to the rule, I am just someone now who cares less about just satisfying my own desires and more about the greater good for all of us who exist and who will exist. By changing my behavior I am not just defending myself from the old behavior that is always challenging me to come back toward it but I am living a life that generally uplifts my welfare to a place I had not previously hoped to attain.

Wisdom, courage and strength (#1635)

First of all we have to know what it is before us. That is the wisdom part where we analyze all the possibilities and make an informed decision based upon common sense and logic. Sometimes we can still be unwise even with common sense and logic so we have to make sure that some greater good isn't being ignored in favor of some intellectual/emotional dishonesty on our part. We are humans and by that fact are incapable of being perfect, however that does not excuse us from applying all our effort toward trying to be perfect. Next is the courage needed to enact our wisdom into action. This is a very difficult paradigm since taking a stand and rightly defending or advocating for it can cause us many foreseen and unforeseen discomforts. It all boils down to whether we want to have a life filled with virtue or some lesser form of that. Courage is the will to express our own individualism in ways that cannot necessarily be controlled by ourselves. Courage is rarely safe and instead many times it is bravery in the face of a dangerous unknown. We all know what it takes for us to protect what we see as justice, it then becomes whether we have the strength to do it. Strength, is the last factor in this equation. Do we have the strength to carry out the wisdom and the courage we feel when it comes time for the strength to be expressed? I have heard many surmise a situation correctly, tell me that they would be it's champion and then fail to express the strength to make it so. Strength is the actual doing of the action needed to justify our best intent. I know what is right, I have the mentality of will to defend what is right, therefore I need the strength to actually conclude the ideal.

The illusion of birthplace (#1634)

It would seem that too many people believe somehow that being born into a more advanced society equates them with being special or privileged in some way. A thought process that has no basis in reality but nonetheless many feel a sense of privilege because they were born into a more affluent situation than the many others who are born into poorer ones. Like somehow the God(s) have ordained our specialness merely by placing our births in families or communities where advantage is the normal. As an American I am humbled by my fortunate birthplace here. Although our country is far from ideal it is far enough ahead of other places on our planet that offer far less opportunity and equality. However, the act of being born is not some calculated equation that we can point to in order to confirm we are better humans than others, on the contrary, it is more chaotic in nature than ordered. So when too many of us never come to terms with our advantages, at the beginning of life and then later down the road, we begin to assimilate some concept of irrationality that allows us to believe we were born where we were by destiny and that we are more rightly due our lives than others. I can see where many think they are a Demigod by the outlook and behavior they choose to display. Forgetting or never learning that we are all human and that no matter where on this planet we are born, we are still all the same.

Hodegpodge (#1633)

I really don't have anything much to discuss this morning so I will just ramble on about whatever comes into my mind while I am typing this. Still nothing much except of course all the world's problems I seem to carry with me wherever I go. I do find the time not to think about them but that time doesn't last very long before they come back into the forefront of my thoughts. It is hard to just relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the early morning despite all of it's golden silences. I know my time on Earth is short because let's face it we are all getting older and closer to not being here anymore. Sometimes I almost feel desperate in that I haven't done or accomplished nearly enough to satisfy my conscious but I also realize that I am on the right side of things since I am no longer part of the problems we face but a willing contributor to the solutions wherever they may be found. For the moment though I will put down my crusade for the betterment of our society and our species and take the time to consider the blessings I have around me. My parents are still with me and for that I am most fortunate indeed. In fact, I feel guilty for it because I know so many who don't have their parents and they are much younger than I am. It seems that even the blessings in life have a side to them that diminishes there value on whole. Yet be that as it may, I would still rather have my parents than be commiserating about not having them. I will share them with others and that makes me feel better about others not having theirs anymore. Anyway, I think I have rambled enough for today, since tomorrow I may need to ramble on some more. lol. 

Life from my soul (#1632)

Everything about me comes from within me, at least that is my goal. I know that outside influences are constantly battering my senses in order to assuage me to other thoughts and actions but I must for the sake of my own sanity rebuff those things that are not "right" with my soul. I say sanity because I have been close to losing my true perspective of life from the moment I first became conscious. If I don't keep my mind clear and focused on the reality of life in front of me I can easily be swayed toward understandings that are not wholly based in reality. I have been there before and put my trust in others because I was too lazy and arrogant to do my own realizations on the circumstances that I cared little for. I allowed myself a smug sense of satisfaction of taking what others said was true and amplifying it out as my own. Like all things involved with taking shortcuts or through one form or another of plagiarism, I paid a price to my respectability from others and to my own accountability to reality. Now I take a measured approach as an attempt to keep myself within the paradigm of being an honest broker when the complexities are such that no perfectly correct answer is available. My core demands that I pause in the face of the unknown and analyze the very next step I take. I don't always step correctly but I am aware of why I stepped and whether my action aligns with my best intention. Nothing on this planet will ever take from me my free will to decide how to follow my best instincts about what serves as my present existence within the troubled times we live.

The continual rejuvenation of will power (#1631)

It seems that every day I awake from my nightly sleep I am refreshed on the subject of my will. I start my day with a renewed energy that from the previous day often is sapped and worn. I respect the dynamic of sleep to re-energize my consciousness and it's goal of creating a society of humans worthy of any outside observation. I do like the idea of a sovereign being over looking our progress here on Earth. Now I know that I cannot produce a sovereign being but I do act as if there is one. I want to be proud of who we are as a species. I want to know that I am doing what I can to help that cause. The great unknown yet to be discovered may well include life beyond our planet that has intelligence and innovative creativity. I can assume the possibility since we exist with the same qualities. So if there is life beyond our knowing and it is advanced beyond ours, then what we show them of our capabilities should reflect the better and best of who we are. Not only as a reference for them, if they exist, but to advance our societies toward a future that endears itself to our hopes and wishes. My will power is but a motivation, an engine to ignite my forward thinking and actions that would make me full of pride to having been part of. I live for the opportunity to advance our species into a new and more logical paradigm and that is only going to be possible for me as long as I can keep the movement of my will power going in the direction that justifies equality, fairness and opportunity.

Intolerance festers fear! (#1630)

When we fail to respect our differences we begin our own demise. Everything in this existence happens in a vacuum. One large giant vacuum called our Universe. So nothing happens on it's own without causing another reaction because if it. So on it goes with the physical nature of our existence. So when we deny the fact of our existence within the totality of everything, we are diminishing our ability to live in harmony with everything. That brings about fear and fear is the general disruption of attaining peace. I cannot judge you through the lens of prejudice or bias if I am an honest soul. I can judge your actions and statements but not your existence. My existence is no different than anyone else's so we all have that respect due. From there we find out how we survive together by our words and actions. If my initial act or thought is to separate myself from others due to a fear or an intolerant concept then I am the sole party to fear dominating my life. There are times when, because of our broken society, caution is wise, but not intolerance as caution. I know the difference between an act of intolerance and an act of apprehension or trepidation. In my mind I differentiate the facts of my choices and in my mind I create the solutions that allow me to proceed. In the past, the act of intolerance was illogically ameliorated in my mind as a mechanism to keep me from being under the tremendous weight of the guilt associated with my bias or prejudice and instead eventually exacerbated my fear. I know these scenarios because I have lived them and for me moving past the indignities of fear and it's malignancies has been a tremendous boost to the clarity and focus of my well being going forward.

Never forgetting my weaknesses (#1629)

I will say this with every ounce of earnestness I have in my soul, I absolutely respect my weaknesses as the real enemy to my well being. I have tried recognizing them and using mind over matter to conquer them and banish them from my life but what I have learned is that I forget over time just how destructive certain behaviors are and then they sneak back into my life and cause even more damage to my well being. No amount of ego has helped in the past so the time for that type of process has come to an end. Now I apply a daily attitude adjustment to my thinking that reminds me of just how vulnerable I am to the pitfalls of forgetting what is the real danger for my life. I am like all others, there are things that can knock me off the path of being the most conscientious person I can be and the path for my life journey. I have and will continue to stay on the path that suits me most but not without keeping my guard up against the wily temptations that surely continue to assault my decision. I had to change my life to suit who I want to be and with that have been some costs. I can no longer freely enjoy life like I did in the past with little to no concern for the consequences to myself and others. I have responsibility today to myself that transcends just me and reaches out to more than myself. I love that I do that now instead of only satisfying my own whims. I no longer fear as much as I did when I was younger so that allows me to slow down and do the things that I respect as much as others of good like mind. 

We need to find our wavelength (#1628)

Whenever I find myself sort of floating in no space, metaphorically, I turn on some music in order to find my center again. Yes, occasionally I use music to tune myself back in. It is the vibrations of the sounds that seem to do the trick. Maybe it is just me and my continual love for music that works for me but it does and for that I am fortunate to have discovered it. Actually it was by default since I had nothing else to do but to go to something that pleases me when I didn't know where else to go. I am no wise old owl just a man who knows enough about himself and by extension others, to understand that we need harmony in our lives in more ways than one. Vibrations are the vessels of sound and through those vibrations my reset takes place. Almost like a reboot for my computer-like mind and body. Understandably since all of us are individual data recorders, using our 5 senses to acquire information and our minds to process it and then our bodies to act upon it. Notwithstanding our common sense and intuition as wild cards in the experience of life. So it is no great wonder that occasionally a re-charge is in order. For me it is definitely music and I expect for many others as well it is the same. I have more than one wavelength that inspires me to be refreshed and that is helpful as well. I don't count on just on genre of music, I enjoy many different instruments and their differing wavelengths. This will be an odd little post but it does help to explain the connection I have with the Universe I inhabit and the sounds and impressions it leaves on me.

Moral rectitude (#1627)

"Of good conscience". Where do we find our idea of morality? For me it is everywhere, philosophy, psychology, sociology, religion etc.... I take from what I learn and combine what is right to make my own idea come to life for me. I do the same with most things. I take the best and combine them. I don't have to take the garbage with the perfect. We are all individual thinking beings who don't have to be cookie cut in mass to be able to understand life. We instead have to be unique and allow our uniqueness to flourish despite any others who have more to say about us then they do about themselves. We truly are the masters of our lives and as such we should be aware that our lives do not last very long. Taking the time to grab what is good and great in life and apply it to our own lives is wise and comforting. My life should have happiness in it, my life should have peace in it and my life should have value to be expressed in my living of it. I am not beholden to others for their understandings, I am beholden to me and my understandings of what is a good and purposeful life. My moral rectitude is strong and powerful enough to sustain me when it is tested. I can lean on my understanding of what is good and right for me and for all of us as well. I am not one who believes in being a separated island, I am one who believes that we are all islands linked together in a most positive way and for that I am fulfilled in my purpose and desire to find the best of who I can be as well as the best of who I hope to be in and among all of us.

When fear overrides justice (#1626)

We all lose! It is shameful that we allow for our fears to have a place of priority in our calculations of circumstances. The current era of our human species is awash with selfishness and greed that placates our fears instead of ameliorating them. We come from nothing and we are afraid of going back to nothing! Why? It is insanity that we don't recognize we all have a date with nothing regardless of how afraid we are of it. Life is a window of opportunity to be perfect. We won't be perfect in most our attempts but in some we get mighty close and that is a reflection of the best of who we are. Our society makes it tough on us because we place so many barriers to the ideals of justice, equality and fairness on ourselves that rarely do we get to experience a sublime moment. Yet it is there for the taking when we will ourselves beyond the ordinary of expectations. I suspect that we are not taught from birth to respect and defend our species' highest principles as a duty because we are caught up in a society that values success in other areas of living that have little to do with natural human values and more to do with conceptual ones that glorify our baser instincts. We triumph over each other in so many ways that the competition of it is more valued than the idea of eliminating suffering and inhumanity. We would rather amuse ourselves with entertainment than to look out into our world and actually see the death and destruction going on right under our noses. We all are culpable because we have resigned ourselves to ignoring reality and thus we are all guilty of reality's continued effect.

Standing strong for what's right! (#1625)

I always think back to one of our famous American patriots during our Revolutionary War, Nathan Hale, who was hung to death by the British as a traitor to the British Empire, and his dying quote of; "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." I only have one life to lose is quite a strong standing phrase to use as one's last statement, but it does reflect an intensity of purpose that is overwhelmingly unmistakable. So it is with how I try to live, although I am not facing some hanging tribunal or firing squad, I do recognize that if I don't stand up for what is right in this world I am not utilizing such a perfect example Nathan Hale set out for us. Everywhere around us our sense of right and good is being contested in ways that are embarrassing, unjust and undignified. As if our society has too mush individual responsibility to contest we do not see the attack on our community as a whole. Our society needs to have compassion and curiosity at it's core and when those two elements of our nature are being suppressed or dwindled, we are lessening ourselves as individuals as well. Surely we fight for our persons and loved ones but we must also fight for those whom we don't know. Not so much as a protection for ourselves but as a protection for the foundation of our society. When we all share in opportunity, fairness and justice we all preserve for each other those rights as well. I only regret..., such a statement from a man who would gladly come back from death to defend principles of democracy as many times as necessary. What an honorable concept that deserves our respect and duty to uphold. 

When backed into a corner the only way out is forward (#1624)

It is natural and correct to go on the offensive when there is no more hope for defense. When all hope is lost on a situation changing on it's own or through others then the right course of action is to launch out on one's own. This idea is synonymous with being under duress much like what a bully would try to make one do or feel. I remember in my own youthful past a bully was relentless in his verbal denigration of me until I had to respond regardless of how much fear I was feeling. I felt like a coward for days until finally I steeled myself and hardened my focus and when he came and pushed me I unleashed an all out attack on him in the shape of a wild man fighting for his last breath. I didn't hurt him when it was done but I did repair my courage and in that the respect of those who were previously glorifying him for his bullying. I learned my lesson the way most kids of an early age do, through having to find the inner courage to overcome whatever fear we have been saddled with. I was not a mean kid nor a trouble maker but in life there are mean kids who prey upon the ones who aren't. What we find is that unless we stand up and either beat back the bully or take a beating while fighting back with all our might and move on to the next round if that is the case, we will never find our inner peace. Life is too precious to have someone else telling us what to do or belittling our idea of it. I have found that by opening my eyes wide with focus and making myself ready for a battle is the only way I can get out from under someone else disrespecting my right to be myself.

People of principle (#1623)

None of us is perfect. At times we all fail in our hopes of doing what we think is best. I have my regrets even though I know I could do worse. I trust my principles and when I cannot hold them as dear as I know I want to I am just reminded of how difficult it is to maintain a perfect existence. However hard it is to be consistently aligned in my hope to be the better and best human I can possibly be, there is no excuse for me when I fail. I just admit that I have failed and try to do better. That is the formula for me and I find it does work over time to keep me from having the same failings occur over and over again. Since I am not seeking vain glory or an illusion of my ego's best attempts, life's mistakes in my life are easier for me to admit and to move forward from. That is the one thing in life I can control, my choices. I can choose to not do something or to do something. Every bit of my life is surrounded by choices I decide to make or not make. I have a purpose for myself and thinking of ways to shortcut or shirk that purpose is not to be allowed. I am human and at times I forget what matters to me most so that I can partake in some momentary pleasure or self satisfying opportunity. It is at those times that I find myself judging myself against what I know is right for me in my life against what I am thinking to do or what I want to do. For the most part I do win out with my principles but not always and that is why I am writing about this. I am flawed and I know it but that does not mean I cannot continue to improve nor that I am not a value to existence and to a better future.

A hoped for outcome is not a fact (#1622)

I always leave myself open to new ideas and the promise they may bring about. However I do not place them in a higher priority than fact. Fact is real and is what it is. As much as I would like to believe something could be great for all of us, I know that me thinking it would be great is not enough to make it a fact. There are so many of us who live in an illusion of how we would like things to be instead of the reality of actually how things are. Hoping and wishing are powerful forces we use to motivate ourselves and to give us reason to imagine a brighter future, but again, hoping and wishing are not facts. Ifs, ands or buts are nice in theory however reality is where we live. accepting reality on realty's terms is logical and a necessary foundation for us to begin from. I want the special and fantastical in life to reveal itself as much as anyone but not at the expense of suspending reality in order to create a special or fantastical illusion. Most of us live with some form of fear and to allay that fear we devise some form of idea or concept that for the most part diminishes that fear. However, fear is a part of our lives since we live in an uncertain existence in which we cannot wholly explain through fact. So we make our way through life as best we can when facing our fears is not within our understanding. It is part of life to be afraid. No one is immune to being afraid except those who are incapable of other emotions as well. So accepting that we don't know and allowing ourselves to move forward into time and space with an adventurers heart is a most human-like quality.

Egoism as a harm (#1621)

Too many, who have enjoyed economic success, find themselves with an idea that they are somehow wise to this existence and it's purpose. they feel that somehow because of their good fortune they are somehow elevated to a form of demigod that they earned. They often confuse economic success with wisdom and are never short on criticism or advice on how others should live their lives. The often puzzling privilege of attaining wealth is not wisdom, it is only a strategy aimed at controlling as much wealth as one can. That is not wisdom it is capitalizing on hard work as well as on the failures of others. It has more to do with opportunity, privilege and luck than it does with wisdom. I would never go to a successful Wall Street trader and ask him/her about philosophy or political good for all. Yet when those same folks end up wealthy beyond the dreams of most Americans they somehow transfer their ability to barter paper as the golden rule for being a wise person. They may know the tricks of the trade, but like any good charlatan, they are not magically more human than anyone else. In fact those who know they are only human are more human than those who think they are more than human. Our egos are not much good if we cannot utilize them for a proper purpose. I like the egoism of being motivated to endure toward a goal. That is the proper function of egoism, not some illusory imagining of being above others of our species. Our individual character and personality are most obvious when compared to our humility, especially when we are blessed more than others.

Never too old to find love again (#1620)

I am telling myself this as much as anyone who may read this. I have had some powerful emotional relationships that fit within the general description of love. Some were infatuations of a high degree and some were real punch in the gut heart breakers. However, I have not had the one true love yet and for that alone I should never stop looking. As time goes by the idea of finding a love that would thrill me to the bone becomes less certain. It is funny that when I was a lot younger I just knew that I would find my match and all things would be as they should be, according to me that is. lol. I have since found out that there are no promises from life especially to me nor am I anything special in the deserves or privileges arena. What I have discovered is that while I was busy doing whatever, I have gotten older and still have not found the love of my life. Yet, this post is about not giving up and that is how I feel this morning. Not giving up because the odds are against me is stupid. I prefer to think of the maxim that, "it is always darkest before the dawn", or the one about "don't give up right before something special could happen". So now when I have thoughts of self pity or feeling left out I just remember that I am not done yet and things do not happen on my schedule. What I do instead is to think of ways to get out and circulate more to give myself a chance to actually meet new people and maybe increase my odds of finding someone. Anyway, this post is a bit corny but it is very real to me.

Our better natures will succeed (#1619)

Our better natures give us the conviction to stand up to those who display our worst natures. Those who choose to live in the selfish greedy mindset of humanity are there to gain an advantage somehow and not to protect the principles of underhanded behavior. They are carpetbaggers, who come and go as long as there is some advantage to be had. They won't stand and fight to the death for inequality, unfairness and injustice, but they will continue to use those avenues as long as those pathways exist. Then there are those who would rather stand and battle to the death for the better and best of what we humans are and progress from there. I include myself in the latter group as I have seen how cutthroat the worst of our natures have been. I am not ruthless nor am I heartless. I am caring and curious about life and it's possibilities and from that my strength in defending higher principles of virtue is unassailable. As ardent as I am about what reflects out from myself I am also willing and able to defend those who are not as able to be ardent in protecting their conscious to live in a world that comports to all of us and not just some of us. I do advocate on behalf of those who have been denied the equality of opportunity on the most basic levels. I do because I can and because I am willing to be strong in the face of those who would only seek to comfort themselves regardless of the effect it may have on others. Crushing the crass illusions of ignorance and ethical misappropriation is my goal and seeking to replace it with an elevated enlightenment is my hope. I do see a future with the better and best of our natures on display as a rule, not as an exception.

The significance of my insignificance (#1618)

Although I am but a split second speck in the continuum of time and space, I do exist and through that existence I am fortunate to have the utility to think and reason about what my miniscule time and space will be like in this existence. I will not be the cause of some major disruption in this dimension but I will send out a vibration that will have direction. Direction that is based upon my choice. A wave of my existence will be no more than any wave of any other persons but mine will be based on a conscious choice and for that I am completely fortunate. I get to choose the effect of my life based upon choices I am given and principles I adhere my life toward. Again, I say that there is nothing exemplary or special about my life but that it is mine to dictate it's meaning. I am the power behind what it is to be me and that I have an idea of how that power is to be motivated and engineered is my privilege. There are billions of us humans alive today and billions of us humans who have already lived so understanding my insignificance is really not a difficult task. But in that realization of my insignificance I also see the beauty of what could be and if I just make my efforts flow that way, I am getting out of life what I want to leave behind when I am no longer alive. A purpose to strive and redeem the best of who we are as a species that has nothing but further evolution ahead of us. As we are not now "Cavemen/Cavewomen" of the past, surely our present form will continue along the adaptive osmotic process to new environmental challenges. Our evolution will continue and the significance of that will give us a more hoped for future effect.

The sky is no limit (#1617)

That phrase of "the skies the limit" has no relevance when it comes to being curious about what exists out beyond the sky. It seems that the whole of my life has been about wondering what is going on in the universe I see at night. My eyes only allow me a little insight into the vastness of the universe but enough to tempt my wanting to know more. Our species has been able to climb up off our planet and at least step on another orb, our moon, but that is not enough. I need to go further than just a small step out. Of course our technology and innovation must be safe and enduring but we are getting close while not spending a lot of resources to get there. For me the exploration of our universe cannot happen fast enough. First, because if we are to increase our odds of species survival, we will need to be able to find a way to survive on another orb in case our planet comes undone due to forces of nature and chance. Spreading ourselves out to other planets and space stations is smart and calculates that we are destined to manifest ourselves into a larger area than just our planet. I assume we are the only species capable of space travel since there has been no concrete evidence of others, that we know of, to deny our supremacy and uninhibited exploration. As a society we need to find a way to get past our petty squabbles of economy and philosophy and instead focus on working together to move out into the space we have yet to know first hand.

America is 237 years old today (#1616)

I have only been around for 57 of those years but I must say that although we are established in many common ways our country and it's web of interconnections are at a vulnerable point. Not from some enemy who seeks to destroy us, although some actually do, but from internal dissent about what is right and proper for our country to focus it's policies on. We also have some lingering and festering resentments toward ourselves that defies inclusiveness. The tolerances of our better natures are being tested by those who wish to see divides of our peoples instead of the melting pot of souls we had heralded as one of our hallmarks. We have hit a bump in the road in our progress on virtue and have taken a pause and in some cases a step back on our natural journey forward. It is fear and it is greed that allows for some of us to be misguided about the future and until we can move past the stereotypes of our antiquated animal aggression and embrace the hope and nobility of the reasoned logic of our surroundings, we are at greater risk of advancing the principles of democracy that our fore-parents so earnestly and dearly fought to attain for us. Our democracy is our greatest prize here in America and anything else that strips it of it's purpose or interprets it in ways that devalues it's equality, justice and fairness is to be punished in the light of it's nefarious motive. We are destined to be the caretakers of our amazing society but not as a granted privilege but as a duty to our history and the future of our next generations. 

The hypocrisy of expectations we place upon each other (#1615)

This is one of the least talked about phenomenons we humans display in our thinking and behaviors. When I see someone doing something less than what I think they should be doing is what I am talking about. Using myself as an example, in the past I would become critical of those who try to do something good but fall short of it. I didn't necessarily factor in their intent and the abilities they brought to the problem, instead I judged them on their less than stellar result. I was a hypocrite in so many ways! We cannot sit back and judge while others are at least trying. Thinking how to solve a problem is not the same as trying to actually solve a problem. The only expectations we should be placing should be on ourselves to do the best we can. I cannot and should not judge your actions based upon what I think you should be doing. I suppose it is easier to be critical of others when we are faced with a choice between others and ourselves but that is cowardly behavior and not worthy of our species. We are reasoned human beings and even at low levels of cognizance we can distinguish between right and wrong. There is no excuse for behavior that violates the principle that we are most responsible for what we think and do. I learned the hard way that treating others others worse than I treated myself is hypocrisy and not a value worth retaining. A lot of life is trial and error and getting through the lessons as quickly and as correctly as possible is the least we should do if we are not going to use logic and common sense to avoid the pitfalls of trial and error.

Faith in humanity (#1614)

It has been interesting and a bit troubling that some people I have conversed with lately are cognizant of what is unsatisfactory in our society and without thinking about it automatically assume we all are symptoms of that realization. What they don't get is that by highlighting what is wrong with a cynicism of "everyone does it" they actually continue that which they are most troubled about. Instead of only realizing and voicing that there are problems in our behaviors that dismay us, they should also be examples of how not to do what bothers them by encouraging those that do. I lead by example whenever and however I can and I also look to encourage with a positiveness. I am no Pollyanna but I will not add to the woe of a problem by kicking the dirt and shouting at the moon. Instead I continue to show how I deal with whatever comes my way despite the noise of how naive I may be. It is amusing that the knee jerk reaction to my upbeat approach is that I am clueless to the fullness of the problem, which is what amuses me most since I am not one to sit back and complain as a solution but one who sees the despair and hopelessness in others and refuses to accept it. Nothing is set in stone as to what we have to accept in life as our destiny. We can change our destinies in an instance if that is what we choose. As long as there exists a choice I will always be hopeful that our behaviors about what bothers us is only a bump in the road and not utter calamity.

Those who change the world and those who just complain about it (#1613)

I try to spend little time with people who can only sit back and complain about what is wrong and yet never go out and try to change that wrongness they so complain about. It is as if them complaining is all they can do and is good enough to satisfy their souls. lol. I can't take very much of it especially when what they are complaining about is subjective to their interpretation and not objective as to facts over assumptions. Oh well, I can change the world in my little ways and still have an upbeat outlook and for that I am in a better place than those who can only find the time to complain without trying to change anything about it. I live in the modern era as my outlook, not some dystopia where all the wrong that exists is all that can be accepted regardless if it offends their sensibilities and regardless of how much they complain about it. The basic premise of this blog is to define our innocent natures and cultivate those natures to a mature life style. In other words compassion for our fellow living organisms and curiosity about the environment we are entrapped in on our planet and the further reaches of beyond where we eventually hope to explore. I can see our future with much clarity in these terms yet for those who cannot, the sad truth is that they can only grow more bitter with their unresolved understanding of the fundamental structure of the human experience. Blinders are for focus not for shutting out possibilities.