When you watch old movies, old advertising on TV and magazines etc, instead of thinking how we have progressed these days or that what you see is old, consider the difference in clothing, how people spoke the, the lack of bad language, and even how different the church people were, what they did, how they act react and live.
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Porn, bad language, gambling, indecency, lack of good values and moral standards are not signs of progress, they are signs of society becoming more apathetic, and weak. When the so called progressive, educated and titled people want what makes people weak and slaves of products, drugs and addictions, then we are heading for disaster- if we let them lead us that way.
Materialism and Carnal Acceptance has taken many decades, and in the past a large amount of what is accepted today that is destroying the lives of so many people was not acceptable and the people stood up against it – but fear of standing up and being judged, conforming to society, minority rule, and fear of looking silly, has the people of today basically allowing anything and then they become what they allow and what was once seen as evil and bad for us, is now seen as fun and a progressive society.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution – how about you?
Strong Moral Fibre.
the inner strength to do what you believe to be right in difficult situations. – Oxford.
the ability or strength to do what you believe to be right when making decisions in difficult situations – Cambridge.
“Sufficient moral fibre” refers to having enough inner strength and integrity to consistently make ethical decisions, especially in challenging situations. It implies a strong sense of what is right and the resolve to act accordingly, even when faced with temptation or pressure. It’s about having the character to stand by one’s principles and do what one believes is morally correct. – Google AI.
Strong moral character refers to an individual’s consistent tendency to act ethically and with integrity.
When martin Luther went up against the most powerful man of his times, the Pope of Rome, he had strong moral character, and even facing death he did not back down.
Strong Moral Character:
Honesty and Integrity:
Being truthful, acting trustworthy, and living with sincerity in all interactions with all people.
Respect:
A good soul will show consideration to all as best is possible, and valuing the dignity of all individuals - noting that with dignity we act fair, regardless of their background or beliefs.
Responsibility:
Taking ownership of one's actions, past, harm of others and the consequences of what he or she has done.
Compassion:
Showing, thinking, and acting with empathy and concern for the well-being of others, especially those who are suffering or vulnerable, like the poor, innocent, those in need.
Justice and Fairness:
Treating others in a fair and impartial manner, and upholding the principles of fairness.
Courage:
Having the strength to stand up for what is right because we value Justice, fairness, and the need to stand up and do and say what needs doing and saying to help the people of our times and those who come in the future, even in the face of adversity or opposition.
What needs doing, we best be doing it.
Humility:
Living life in as peaceful manner as we can, being fair, gentle, honest, and good - but also rising up to face the challenges that come our way and protecting those who cannot protect themselves. Humble people see where they fail, recognizing one's own limitations, accepting human character is good and evil and then refusing to be a coward, evil or dishonest, able to understand the great rewards of being decent honourable soul and a good example for the young.
Showing generosity, considering others, selfless, and being helpful (they don't mind caring, sharing, helping and getting no return for their own personal sacrifices or efforts.
Courage.
This is nice.
Amen!
These are heavy. If you start out knowing you can do it, then when it gets hard to do, say just after you lift, then you just keep lifting and refuse to listen to the voice in your head that says that you will fail, just keep exerting effort over and over again, bit by bit, until you do the job.
Other people’s lives may depend on your succeeding.
There are people who are evil, pretend to not be evil, yet are treated well by those who they victimized and seduced.
These evil doers will continue to be evil, seduce and abuse the innocent, because their victims continue to protect them from the law.
If you spare the wolf, you sacrifice the sheep.
The saying “If you spare the wolf, you sacrifice the sheep” means that being lenient with dangerous or malicious individuals can lead to harm for those who are vulnerable or innocent.
It highlights the idea that protecting the weak requires confronting or restraining those who would prey on them
The Wolf:
Represents individuals or forces that are dangerous, aggressive, or harmful. They might be criminals, aggressors, or those who exploit others.
The Sheep:
Represents those who are vulnerable, innocent, or defenseless. They could be victims of violence, exploitation, or injustice.
Spare the Wolf:
Refers to being lenient, tolerant, or forgiving towards the wolf-like individuals or forces.
Sacrifice the Sheep:
Implies that by not confronting or restraining the wolf, the sheep will inevitably suffer or be harmed.
In essence, the saying emphasizes the need to protect the vulnerable by confronting or restraining those who pose a threat. It suggests that a lack of action against the harmful can lead to negative consequences for the innocent. This idea is echoed in the biblical passage in John 10:12-13, which contrasts the good shepherd who protects his sheep from the wolf with the hired hand who abandons them. The saying also appears in pop culture, such as in a quote attributed to Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, who says, “Leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe,” according to a Reddit thread.
from Google AI.
Now all they need to do is to put this ion my work car.
Dobey does this, limps, shivers, pretends to be injured and cold to get int he house, or for food, or hugs 🙂
Had a nice ride around the lake.
I welded using gas for years. Its my favorite way to weld. You can cut, form/shape the steel, and weld it all with the same equipment, but to cut you need the cutting torch, seen here.
If you did someone wrong, then got upset because that person is angry at you, you need to get an idea of what went wrong, your part in it, and truth be known, you will understand that it is you who can change things for the better, but only if you are honest with yourself.
I should be allowed to be pissed off at you because you did me wrong. Because I am angry at you, you should not play the victim to pass the blame from you to me.
Change Your Thrills
We people tend to have a few bad habits that are sometimes not respectfully or morally good. We get a big boost when we do these things and a feeling that could be called good, but obviously in many other ways is not good. You need to look deeply into your heart to know what is good and what is bad. Please try to be honest with yourself as this is the only way that you can learn to be a better person. Being honest with yourself will help you find the truth about yourself.
We can change these feelings from bad to good by readjusting our thoughts. If you have a habit that currently thrills you but you know that it is not a good thing to do then try to concentrate on those things that you know are good. By doing this you can exchange the thrilling feeling from one thing to another thing. This may not be easy at the start, but as time goes by and you tell yourself that the change is for the better for you then you will eventually win.
If you are a Mother or Father who has some bad habits that you get a thrill from you can learn to exchange those thrills towards your children’s lives. With lots of happy, loving, encouragement towards your children you can build up a deep love for all the activities that involve them. You can take them on camping trips or ride horses or motorbikes with them. Take them for a hike, ride with them on bicycles. Get the idea? You are transferring the past thrills for new more encouraging thrills and you are involving other people who will in turn bounce their appreciation of your love back to you.
If you are single consider changing your lifestyle in ways that will excite you and cause you to feel triumph. Do things that you have never done before. Let the world know that you are valuable and worth being with. You may have to change your friends but that’s alright because your gain will easily outweigh that small sacrifice.
Lets fill our lives with joy and fun. Being popular is fun so lets try to do that in a happy, honest, popular way. Look for ways that you can boost your life with the joy of living. Your present financial state does limit your fun to a degree, but it does not stop you having good old fashioned honest fun or a happy life.
See, the thing to do is to take people on, and in this day and age most of them use words to be tough, few ar actually tough.
Try winning for a chance, and do it on your own terms with the things hat you want in life, get your life-deal going how you want it to be.
Before you say that there are no good men out there make sure that you are a good woman – make sure hat you are:
Not insecure.
Easily led.
Suffer addictions.
On mental health drugs etc.
Do recreational drugs and/or alcohol.
Because all these things are what stop you thinking, they lso stop you protecting yourself, they also strop you from making good choices and good decisions and so on.
Sucking up to people will not give you good friends, it will give you soul-sucking leaches who will drain all your life out of you leaving a pathetic dead shell of a soul.
Sympathy is one of the most popular tools used to groom/seduce a victim.
Say you go on a trip in a car or bus. The groomers will put you in a seat next to a carefully chosen person who will kindly and even shyly start up a conversation with you. You you eager for friends will comply.
As the trip goes on that person shares fun stories, excitement, hopes, just like you feel (they have been told of your hopes, dreams and desires) but as the trip develops he or she will tell you some sad either true or lies to gain your sympathy, and thus the “Bonding ” starts, or at lest you bond and the other person doesn’t, that other person controls, you, the conversations, and your emotions.
The new “friendship” grow from this point and you learn to trust this person as the bonding, laughing and sad moments continue over the weeks and months, until you are hooked on something, someone, or have become the filth that you were of the past in a narc relationship. One day in the future you wake up and wonder how this could have happened, and even then you cannot see the connection
between your fake friend who you still think was a good person and your foolish choices and addictions.
Have you ever noticed how some people will be nice, encouraging, helpful, but when you don’t agree with them you have “issues” – the reality is that all the nice things that they do for you and the encouragement is to make you think one way, and they get upset when you don’t think as they are grooming you to think because of all the money, tie and grooming that they have done to make you a puppet.
Jesus never wrote The Holy Prayer, although it makes for a wonderful song, and has meaning, the Old Testament makes it clear, pray all day.
Pray all day means that because Satan is the great deceiver so are all his people on Earth. They trick, deceive, groom, manipulate and so on.
Pray all day means that when you are in a bad situation you ask immediately for God’s help, you do not need to say “Dear God…” or “Amen”, those are there to make you a church hypocrite.
If you are being confronted by someone who you are not sure is trustworthy you pray, “God, please show me some sign that this person can or can’t be trusted.” and then listen watch, learn and don’t let that person know what you prayed, its between you and God, and God will show you stuff, but f you deny it you fool yourself.
Make your prayers practical with no hypocrisy in them.
When something good happens, especially those wonderful small blessings God gives you, pray in your mind between only you and God, “Thank you God.” that’s all you need to say, and say it as if you were thanking a very good friend, because God is a very good friend.
When you are confused pray, “Show me God, what do I need to learn and know here?”
And then be aware that a lesson or new truth is coming, be wide awake, clear headed, watch, wait, listen, and then when God makes it clear, accept it for what it is, please don’t lie to yourself and pretend you saw nothing because you don’t want to face the truth about somebody or your group of friends.
When you get new friends don’t pray to God with joy that they are wonderful, first do your homework – anyone can have fake Facebook pages to seduce victims like you, like drug groups or grooming groups, and those pages could have been on Facebook for years and have groomed many people. God may leave you with bad people to show you something or to show you what they can lie and trick and deceive you and then God exposes them. New friends are not a delight, because the world is 100% materialistic, you will get people after something form you, sex, partying, another sucker like them, and so on, the foolish hate to be alone, and sure they will offer advice, tell you that they care, crate a new Friendship-Comfort-Zone to seduce you into their fun times, of which there will be many – of course their will, thats what grooming is, faking happiness, promises and good times, and then they stab you in the back and use and abuse you whn you can’t get away.
Who is the God of this world a it currently is? The Prince of Darkness.
And Satan has a huge amount of devious people who are apathetic, selfish, can be easily bought to be your new “friends”.
Pray, ask God about these people, ask that He expose them for who they are so that you can learn, grow, understand, and the next time the fake s take you out and work on your boundaries you will know and recognise them. You were no born to be a fool, so follow your instincts, and never ever worry about upsetting these people, let them go and be ever so grateful you put them in the trash where they belong.
And do not ever tell new friends your plans, emotions, idea,s who you trust etc, because if the are bad people they will feed this back to people who you cannot trust.
When you sit at the table with liars, for every lie you prove is a lie, they will cover that lie with a new lie, and all their success is given to them because of your loyalty to liars.
I was just talking to a young woman who works at a place we check and she was shocked about a door that they had left unlocked at 11pm and I found it. I locked the door for her but she was upset because it was unlocked, but she is new to the job, and I told her how for 8 years I have been trying to get the women staff to lock the doors before it gets dark because they could be raped or attacked, but the staff still leaves vehicles (I found a van unlocked when I did my first check there) unlocked, or keys in the ignition, or windows and doors open or not locked late at night. So far they have not been attacked, but they are kinda asking for trouble.
Probably the first I studied when starting in electronics.
Watching
The Man Who Knew Too Much – 1956
Things A Man Needs To See In A Woman
Although it is very acceptable these days for woman to have an incredible liking for chocolates and flowers they can be very inconvenient, such as when a man is broke.Today (many) woman state with no shame that flowers and chocolates will “change her mind” or they joke “You can buy me with flowers”, what I have seen in real life is that its basically true.I brought up my daughters mainly by myself and I had to be a father and a mother to them most of the time, as a male this was and is very rewarding but hard. As you can imagine I brought up all my children to be practical and learn many facts about life.When my two oldest teenagers saw the “flowers thing” for the first time they were both appalled at how a woman “changes” her attitude after she receives them.
The modern society that we have created has over time become a complex non-natural environment for the human being, and at the same time is destroying the planet and the animal life on the planet. Because of its complex nature it can be hard to see the damage being done and a way out of it.
There are many mistakes happening right now that are the cause for the broken homes, suicides, depression, and mental illnesses that are causing havoc and are seen in these times at a rate far more than has ever been seen before.Before addressing the changes needed today to change the world let us look at what humankind has been like since the begining of the human race.For instance this is the first time in history that, in mass, the woman of the family has left her place as mother, comforter and strength of the family to become a force of her own in society. In the past the woman worked alongside her husband, and he worked alongside of her.
Someone once said that if you removed the mother from the home then the home would collapse because the mother is needed and her importance in the family is what held the families of the past together.History books often concentrate on negative events or what events made the news. They didn’t have newspapers as we have them now, and neither did they have TV and movies, so there were no documentaries made about the family of the middle ages and while some knowledge has been gathered we must also take into account that a lot was written according to the beliefs of the writer of that time period, his religious beliefs, and opinions with politics or about royalty etc.
Sometimes we bite an apple and the core is rotten and we spit it out in disgust. Rot can enter into the core and it isn’t noticed on the outside because the outside looks good. A person who is said to be rotten to the core would be people like Hitler and Charles Manson, people who were more of a curse to humanity than an asset.
But sometimes in an effort to make all people happy it is seen as progress when we allow and accept behavior that is actually detrimental to the core of the human soul or society as a whole. In recent year the acceptance of bad language, bad manners, pornography, and the sex industry have caused people to question what is right or wrong. We are told not to offend others and if we do we are judged by it. That tends to make people nervous about standing up for what is obvious to then that is hurting modern society.
On The Milk Run
by J M Sandbrook
Many years ago in New Zealand it was popular for the Milk Man to pay young boys in their early teens to push milk trolleys around delivering milk.
I was one of these boys for a while and I thought I would write about some of the events that happened to me during these milk runs as we called them.
We had to push large steel trolleys full of full glass 1 pint milk bottles up and down streets, going from house to house on our run. The trolleys were heavy and strong and to stop them we had to lift the handle bars upwards to jam the front on the ground so that a large piece of steel would scrape on the concrete footpath.
It was lots of fun but it had its down moments and its up moments.We met more than a few dogs on our run and these meeting varied from dangerous to funny.This was always a problem on the milk run and we always made an effort to try to be friends with any dogs that belonged to the houses that wanted the milk delivered. This was the safe way to be but on some occasions the dogs didn’t want to be friends or their owners didn’t want you patting their dogs.Most dogs are very friendly and want to make friends so it wasn’t really a problem at all and I sem to have a way with dogs and they tend to like me.This is a story about a white dog with a stout head. This dog was about 2 feet high with big sharpe teeth.I had reached the end of a street which is always a small celebration because it meant that another street was finished, and I had stopped the trolley and I headed to the mail box. The mail box was where the empty glass milk bottles were put.yf 5 empty bottle were in the letter box then the people who lived in this house wanted 5 filled milk bottles in exchange for the empty bottles and some money.A one pint glass milk bottle cost 4 cents back then.I was walking to the letter box which was only about 5 feet away when this dog came running down the driveway. I thought “Darn, I wonder if its going to try to bite me”.Then the strangest thing happened instead of lifting its head to get a good look at me to bite me it lowered its head and rammed into my right leg.Thump!I just stared, it didn’t hurt much but it seemed a strange thing for a dog to do.
The dog stared and growled quietly with a mean menancing look on its stern face.
He wasn’t here to make friends.This was a strong stocky built dog with lots of muscle over his body, and big thick strong legs, as well as a hard head. He may be short but he wasn’t lacking in courage.
And anything I said didn’t seem to put him off his task at all.Thump!It did it again, now I was getting a bit worried, I needed to get to the letter box to see how many bottles of milk these people wanted. More than likely the people that lived in this house were this dogs owners.Thump!This was getting really silly.Then I realized how silly I must have looked at that moment, here I was baled up against my milk trolley by a head butting dog who wouldn’t let me do my job and deliver his owners milk.
I new that if I moved forward the dog was going to have another go at me, he decided to have a go anyway.Thump!I was starting to get a tad mad, I figured that it was safe to get mad because the dog hadn’t bitten me yet and happily it didn’t look like it was going to bite me.
But every time I walked toward the letter box…Thump!My legs were getting a bit sore by now.My efforts were not in vain though because finally somebody called to the dog and he ran back up the drive to his home, but not before he gave me a stern look just to let me know that he was watching and I had better keep my distance from his families home.Needless to say I delivered their milk and was quick to get away.As I walked away I wondered how many people in the street were entertained by me and this head butting dog!I cannot remember ever seeing the dog again so I assume that they made sure it was inside whenever the milk run boys were delivering milk.On The Run Again!There was this house that was well known because it had lots of Chihuahua’s.
Yes you know those small dogs that it is said that they come from Mexico many centuries ago.They have a small roundish head, pointed ears, are about 6 to 9 inches high and only weight around 2 to 5 pounds, but they have very sharp teeth. The teeth are what I remember most, in fact only a few years ago I was talking to a friend who was in a car and I was standing by the window talking to him when he said “What do you think of my dog”, he put it on his lap for me to look at and I reached in to give it a pat because it had such a sweet face and it promptly bit my finger, you would think I had learnt my lesson by now Chihuahua’s just don’t like me.Anyway the house I mentioned at the beginning of this story was on a hill, the letter box was at the bottom of the hill. The hill was steep and so was the driveway.I got to the letter box, stopped my milk trolley and like many people back then they had not left the right amount of money in the letter box. Many people did this on purpose in those days because of teenagers and young children were often stealing the milk money out of the letterboxes so some people would only leave some money in the letter box and then us milk boys would have to go to the door and knock on it and politely ask about the rest of the money.
It was a real hassle especially when it was winter and we were cold and it was pouring with rain.
The fact was no matter what the weather was like we had to deliver the milk and that was that.So if the weather was bad like it was a thunderstorm we were not to pleased to have to go up drive ways trying to get the rest of the money.This day the weather was cold but otherwise good weather, it was in the afternoon at about 4 to 5 o’clock.I started up the driveway, and then cut across the grass because it meant I would get to the front door faster.I knocked on the door and the people gave eme the rest of the money and I said “Thank you” and started back down the hill on the grass.
This was when the fun started!Out came the Chihuahua’s about 5 to 10 of them, maybe only 8 but it seemed like dozens of them and they all went for my ankles.
I “shoooed” them away but it did no good as anyone who has been chased by Chihuahua’s would know, they just keep coming even if its only one of them.
In my experience Chihuahua’s are a very brave and fearless dog and sometimes they take on opponents much bigger than themselves which is a tad silly let alone dangerous for them.I was at the end of the flat part of the hill, where the hill starts curving downwards and across the road was a busy shopping center with people everywhere, I tried to keep my footong, but alas it wasn’t going to be my day.At my ankles they went and down I went, tripped by raving mad minuture dogs who decided that I shouldn’t be there. I hit the dirt so to speak and they still didn’t stop they must have figured that they had got me down and now it was time to finish the job.I started rolling down the hill without my dignity, and by this time i was rolling to get away from the dogs.It was a mad pack of yapping Chihuahua’s with small sharp lethal teeth and they must have thought that they were some wolf pack of old times after there prey.Its give you some idea how little dogs have survived so long.I rolled all the way down the hill much to the laughter of all the people watching and when I hit the bottom I jumped up and the Chihuahua’s ran back up the hill and back to the house.
I guess they were not allowed to attack stranger off their property.Needless to say I got many a small “nip” that afternoon and as far as I can recall I never had to go back up that hill to that house again because they always left the right amount of money out after that.I suppose the Chihuahua’s owners were watching!
Understanding Men in the Workplace
by Stefanie Coutinho
Working with men can be great – once you’ve figured them out. It doesn’t take a woman too long to realize that they are, in fact, another species altogether.Gender differences, especially with regard to communication, have been the cause for much laughter and interesting conversation where I work. Yet it has also helped me to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the way God has built men.My intention is not to generalize about gender differences. There are always exceptions to the rule because of the diversity of human beings. Yet there are certain generalities than can be helpful to us if we are willing to take note of them. Most of all, gender differences are a lot of fun – especially in the workplace!
Here are some differences we can learn from.
Contrast #1: Thought processes
Men are more linear and factual thinkers, while women, on the other hand, tend to think more conceptually and with associations. Women’s minds are like underground subway systems – everything is connected. Men’s minds are like ships sailing along the ocean, going from point A to point B.
Contrast #2: Giving orders
Men tend to be more direct, while women give orders using softened demands and tag lines. Women are naturally disposed to maintain harmony, so they will follow up a demand with something like, “If you don’t mind.”
Contrast #3: Compartmentalizing
Men can work with people they don’t like. Women generally can’t. This is because men can compartmentalize – work is work. But women naturally make associations (see contrast #1). Joan will find it harder to work with Steve on Tuesday if she witnessed him being needlessly rude to the waiter at the restaurant on
Monday night.
Contrast #4: Expressing feelings
If a man wants to express his feelings, he’ll talk to his wife or girlfriend. Women are willing to talk to more than just close friends about their feelings – coworkers, hairdressers, doctors, people on the bus, the other lady standing in line at the store, call-in radio hosts, Oprah…
Contrast #5: Handling problems
If there’s a problem, men think about it. For women, it isn’t enough to just think about the problem on their own. They need to articulate their thoughts without even necessarily wanting solutions. They want to discuss it and have someone lend an ear and their time to them. Men want solutions. They like to fix problems and not just discuss them. So when you’re talking to a man, you can expect some sort of solution, even if all you intended was simply to be heard.
Contrast #6: Goals
While men and women are both dedicated to achieving goals, they do so in their own way. Men tend to focus more on the end result. They are task-oriented.
Women are more concerned with the process involved in accomplishing those goals and tend to be more people-oriented. So if you’re at a meeting where two men are involved in a heated discussion about something, remember that it doesn’t always imply a bad relationship.
Contrast #7: Feedback
Men can be more direct and blunt when giving feedback about something, whereas women tend to use more tact and sensitivity. That’s why when you ask a man for an opinion about your idea, and he says something to the effect of, “It stinks!” he wonders why you’re upset. Expect a brutally honest response. And remember that they’re responding to the idea and not the person – it’s not a personal attack.Joan: “I was thinking we should implement the program in the various departments before scheduling so that way we can save production costs. What do you think?
”Steve: “Yeah, right – and then what? Wait until everyone’s done testing it? That won’t help us in any way.”At this point Joan is thinking to herself that Steve just called her an idiot when he really didn’t.
Contrast #8: Asking questions
Men rarely ask questions. Even if they do, it’s usually to gather information. Women ask questions more frequently, but for two purposes – to gather information and to cultivate the relationship. That’s why women sometimes ask questions they know the answer to, such as, “So you’re back from vacation?”
Contrast #9: Phone calls
Men like to keep calls brief. Women prefer to chat. See how Joan and Steve ask another coworker about packaging.Joan: “Hi, Claire. How are you? So I heard you began your sailing lessons this week. Mmmhmm. My dad used to compete, y’know. Yes. That’s wonderful. So I was talking to Steve and we were wondering about the packaging and how you’ve been coming along with all of that…”Steve: “Hey, Claire, packaging done yet?”
Contrast #10: Coffee breaks
Ever wondered why men don’t take coffee breaks?For the 3rd time in a row…Joan: “Coffee break?”Steve: “No.”Meanwhile, to themselves:Joan: He never wants to chat; he must not like me very much.Steve: I can’t believe she wants me to stop drinking coffee!
As you observe these and other contrasts between men and women in the workplace, remember neither one gender’s style is better than the other. Men are perfectly right to be more direct while women are perfectly right to be people-oriented, even in the workplace. Women are nurturers, and this quality can enhance any work situation. Men are natural providers. They are task-oriented and like to get the job done. These two styles compliment each other perfectly, as long as
there is an openness and understanding on each part.
Vive la difference!~ Stefanie Coutinho is an editorial intern with Christian Women Today. Raised in the Middle East, she arrived in British Columbia, Canada four years ago and is currently in her fourth year at Simon Fraser University, pursuing a BA in Communication.
Meditation
There are many reasons for which people meditate. In order to reach the state you are aiming for you must start your meditation with a ‘reason’.
Be comfortable with the position in which you meditate. Bring your body in to harmony with your mind, build peace within yourself by taking several deep breaths and exhaling slowly until your heart beat has slowed and the deep breaths become natural. Close your eyes and note the distractions around you and then accept them, one by one, slowly moving to each one until you have accepted them all as part of the environment you are in. Maintain the slow deep breathing while you do this.Once you have done this, focus your attention on your own body. Moving from the feet up towards the top of your head, register every muscle separately and relax it. If you can not tell if the muscle is tense or relaxed then flex that muscle and slowly release the tension until you feel it is as relaxed as you can make it. Take your time. When you reach the top of your head your body should be slightly leaning because it is in a relaxed state. If you find that you wish to tip over then now is the time to alter your position, noting the muscles you use to do this and then relaxing them again once you are in a stable position for your meditation. Throughout this you should still be breathing long slow breaths.Focus on the inside of your eyelids. Patterns and colors will emerge. Try not to follow them with your eyes just let them come and go as they will. Thoughts may also come to you and you will loose your focus when you concentrate on them. If this happens just relax and let the thoughts come and go as they will and eventually it will stop. In this state you should now think about why you are meditating. If you have questions, now is the time to ask them. Recite them slowly in your mind. If you are seeking guidance from those spirits who love and surround you then recite this. If you are merely reaching for a state of wellbeing and harmony then recite this instead.
Sacred SpacePeople design a ‘sacred space’ for the purpose of mediation. In this space they are comforted by an environment of their own making. It is a secure place that is open only to those whom you give permission to enter. It can be whatever you want and contain anything you wish. Ideally, it should be a place of living things because you will attract the energy of the living things you choose to habitat your sacred space with and in turn, their attracted energy will help maintain it and you. Sunlight is a living thing, water contains life-giving properties like oxygen, hills and mountains are homes for small and large creatures.To build your sacred space requires imagination and strength of spirit. You need to be able to reach for this place with your heart as well as your mind. It is not like taking a photograph and placing it in the spirit world so it stands in front of you in full color the moment you close your eyes. It is an imprint on your soul as intangible as the wind. Your heart and your spirit gives it the strength and the power it needs to exist. If you are mentally distressed and burdened by reality, your sacred space may diminish in size, or it may be twilight when you want full summer sun. There may not be as many animals as you want or the colors of their fur and eyes not as rich as you first made them. These things in your sacred space is a reflection of your heart. The energy of living things that you have attracted to your sacred space are only as strong as you are and if your heart is sore or you are distressed, the attracted energies will be less able to contribute to your sacred space. The ‘state’ of your sacred space will tell you the state ‘you’ are in.To build your sacred space, imagine the perfect place for you.
Then build or imagine it in your mind one piece at a time. For every piece, tell yourself why it belongs there and why you want it. If your thoughts are clean, clear and loving you will give this piece ‘permanence’ and it will always be there. It may change color and size depending on your heart when you go there but it will always be there. If you wish to sit on a sandy beach in the summer sun dressed in appropriate clothing then you must see yourself doing this. This is not a third-party mind game, you must be yourself, on that beach as part of the place as you would be if you were sitting there in the full physical sense. You add reality to your sacred space by feeling it as real. You know that summer sun full in your face would hurt your eyes so imagine a sun hat on top of your head. Feel the heat of that sun on your skin, feel the sand beneath your feet, hear the waves break on the shore and see the light of the sun shimmer in the waves before you. When you look at your sacred place you are looking with the eyes of the person you ‘are’ in this place.If you are in a forest glade with a stream running gently through it you must feel that water in the palm of your hand as you scoop it up and on your tongue when you drink it. You must feel everything, and in doing so, you give your sacred space ‘life’.
When you want to remove a piece of your sacred place you must say why it is no longer right for you and give thanks to the energies that have sustained it. Then you simply imagine your sacred space without it and this will remove it permanently. To close a sacred place completely because you have reached a higher level of consciousness that requires a completely different sacred place you must dismantle it one piece at a time in the same manner as you would remove one piece. Don’t leave a sacred space in limbo while you go build or imagine another one. The energies that you attract to your sacred space are attracted there primarily because they want to be a part of you. If you just abandon it the energies will simply die when their purpose is to contribute to your greater enlightenment. The energies are a gift and should not be abandoned in this way.By treating external energies with respect, you will gain their help easily when you need it, even in the physical world.If you find that you have trouble building your sacred space because you can not imagine what you want or need there or you can not ‘see and feel it’ as a reality then you have not reached the level of ability that is required. This could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps the heart is willing but the mind is not fully accepting of what you want from it. Or maybe your mind is willing but your heart is not strong because you doubt yourself. You can still meditate without a sacred place. Ask for help while you are in a meditative state. Be specific about the guides and spirits you want assistance from don’t simply ask for help because you will also get the attention of spirits who don’t care about you and their advice could harm you. You want the assistance of guides and spirits who love you and want to be a part of your spiritual development in a caring way. One day, you will find yourself in a place not of your own making and it will seem as real to you as anything can be. When this happens, it is your spirit guides showing you that you are ready to build a sacred place of your own. this place you see is merely a picture granted to you to show you you are ready and does not have to be dismantled in the normal way. It will dissipate on its own as you come to realise that this is your green light to go build your own place.
Meditating will bring you closer to the balance and harmony we all aspire to. A state of ‘being’ when our physical reality is enhanced by our spiritual awareness.The Universe is divided into two pieces; the physical and the non-physical. We live with the physical every day of our lives but the non-physical has lost its prominence because the physical world demands so much of our attention. Yet the Universe has made allowances for the two states of being by matching us with it, giving us two sides to our living brain. Its ultimate purpose is to synchronise with us so that the two sides of ‘its’ being matches the two sides of ‘our’ being. Even though people have lost the balance, in each of us it is still waiting to be used.
Some people have found the non-physical side of themselves and have openly explored it and sought to develop it. Yet the same imbalance is created when people turn so wholly to the non-physical that they disregard the physical. Sometimes people use the necessity of their spiritual development to make excuses for the lack of productivity in their physical lives. This is not the answer either.To create balance it is first necessary to accept that both the physical and the non-physical have a place in our lives. The next step is to accept both for what they represent in our own individual state of being. Each part of our existence is sustainable. We eat food to sustain our physical body, we utilize positive energy to sustain our non-physical body. What is bad for the physical body is bad for the spiritual body and what is good for the physical body is good for the spiritual body. We must find the positives in our physical world and translate them into a spiritual equivalent so that each part of us grows and develops at a balanced rate. Colors that we enjoy with our physical senses create rainbows of energy for our spiritual body’s, music that is pleasant to our ears becomes a harmony in our heart that creates positive energy we share with those around us.Food is a source of physical energy for our physical bodies, without it we will die. Non-physical Energy sustains our spirit body and we continually soak this up from our environment. Negative people carry negative energy and if they are around you, you will soak up that energy like a sponge. Not because you want to but simply because it is the way in which your spiritual body feeds. You can protect your spiritual body by globing yourself in white light. You ask your loving guides for this globe to surround and protect you from negative energy. But your spiritual body still needs to feed. You feed your spiritual body with positive energy and you get this from the places; activities; people you love and who love you. Natural phenomena is positive and immeasurable energy; rain, sunlight, growing and living things. If you are spiritually lacking in energy you will feel drained of purpose, lacking in spiritual warmth, unable to enjoy the simplest things. It is time for you to feed your spirit.
The Material World
Do we really know who we are? Do you?
Or are you dealing with the person who was created for you by society?What does that mean?Simply that the world you have been born into is not the “real world” – at least not the world humans are supposed to know when they are born.
Please take the time to think of the above.
This is the big technological age and we have had the great industrial age, these are times of great mental knowledge where psychiatrists and therapists state they know how you think and they know what your problems are. Peoples achievements have been big.Yet something’s missing.
All the psychiatrists and therapists cannot stop a person going to the loony-bin, after all the great achievements have been made by people. Why? And why are so many people on Prozac?Why are we so confused and lonely?
Because we are not being who we really are. Our friends are telling us what we should be.
The television shows have ‘experts’ to tell you who you are, the world is packed with so called brilliant “experts”, but what have they really done for us?
How can we find ourselves?
The answer seems to be easier than you may think.Whether humans came from apes or God doesn’t make much difference here, but since scientists have not proved beyond doubt that we came from apes because they have not found the “missing link” between people and apes or animals it can easily be discounted.The point is that we need to find ourselves as humans and not modern day people.
This can be done easily with a bit of imagination and some spare time. If you are always in a rush you will not find the answer and a simple holiday probably won’t do it either.
Running off to mothers for three weeks won’t help you either.Finding who you really are is something you must do in order for you to be what you want to be. And everyone wants to be happy, which you won’t be, until you find yourself.
When you were born your soul (as we shall put it) had certain attributes that made it different from everyone else, you had a ‘makeup’ or a ‘map’ inside your soul and this map is who you really are. How can you read this map?
This may take some time and it depends on how much you are connected with the material world. You need to at least mentally take yourself away from the real-world and get a breathe of fresh air. The material world is what ‘takes’ you away from being who you really are. It has a huge effect on your entire life, and you need to get away from it first.
As a baby in your mothers womb you had no material world. After you were born you were slowly dazzled by it, presents, flashing lights, loud music, television, all sorts of amazing things.
The map got clouded over and blurry.
To get it back here are some suggestions.Get a pencil and pad and find a quiet place preferably somewhere where lots of nature is around you – like grass, trees, lakes, rivers, etc. Nature is where we all belong. Its where people can relax, nature is a cure all by itself.
Silence is another answer, when you have silence you can hear the answers your brain is trying to give you. Noise is the killer of the imagination, it destroys achievements and success.Sit down or lay down and relax, by relax I mean try to forget all the stress in your life, turn all your muscles off and let yourself “sink” into the grass or chair.
Take some deep breathes in your nose and slowly out your mouth, relax, smile and relax.It’s time to think. Imagine who you would be if you were living by yourself, back in time, in a cottage in the wild countryside, maybe in a forest clearing. You live by yourself. The nearest neighbour is about 50 miles away, you have no phone, no television, no radio, you are truly by yourself. You depend on yourself for survival and entertainment.
Believe it or not but some people would be frightened at this point. Don’t be, you are only imagining this and letting your thoughts wander and wonder. There is no “real” threat to you.Imagine that you are a teenager or in your twenties.What are you like?
Think about it for a while, imagine yourself like this without straining or trying to hard, write some notes, when you feel you know the person you are thinking about.
Imagine that you are moving around the cottage or outside doing things, even relaxing.No two people who do this can come up with the same thoughts because we are different, all of us. If you didn’t have television then what would you do at the cottage?How would you entertain yourself.What would be your interests?
If your family and friends, therapists and psychiatrists, television had never been in your life telling you who you are and what you should be doing, who would you be?You have to rely on yourself – what are you like?You have no shops to buy clothes and whether you are a man or woman makes no difference… you have to make your own clothes, what kind of clothes would you make?
Remember there is nobody to try and tell you what the latest fashion is, and you only go to town once every six months (you sometime buy material or trade for it) so you only need one set of good clothes.If you are currently wearing dreadlocks or beads in your hair or you have earrings in your nose etc. then you are doing modern day material things. You must imagine yourself without any of todays influences.You do have books, but what books would you read?
Try this often and you should be surprised at the results.By discovering what you would be like in the above situation then you can see who you are without other influences. If you made clothes that were different from the ones you wear today then you can ask yourself why?Some people have “found themselves” in the Church or by reading the Bible, it’s a spiritual thing and it has worked for millions..
Whether you believe in God or not you have to admit that the Bible has “saved” many people who were on the path to destruction, so maybe you could consider taking that path to help get more guidance.As always its up to you, only you can make changes to your life.
Maori Arts And History
Maori people are dark skinned, dark haired, thick lipped race of people who wore grass skirts and lived a primitive life in the small country called New Zealand. They have either brown or black eyes.
About 15% of New Zealand’s population of 3.8 million are of Maori descent, it is said that no full blooded Maori people exists anymore. Maori are a tribal people and their tribes are known as iwi.
Dutch Navigator Abel Tasman, the first European discoverer, arrived in 1642 and named the north and south islands, New Zealand.There have been some noticeable differences between the different Maori tribes, some members tribes were tall (over 6 feet in height) while others were known (about one hundred years ago) to be short in stature.
Maori tribes of over one hundred years ago had many different shades of brown with some being so light that a blush can be seen and others so dark it was hard to see the tattoo on their faces and body.According to history the only people in New Zealand before or around the same time as the Maori people were the Mori Oris, recent discoveries are suggesting that another race of people could have been in New Zealand as well.The Maori (Polynesian’s) say they came to New Zealand in canoes from a land they called Hawaiki, many people have tried to figure out where Hawaiki is and even the modern day Maori people do not know.
It has been said that the Maori were great navigators yet they remember nothing of high sea navigating in modern times. It appears the Maori’s navigating skills have disappeared over time.Some other small differences have been noted over time such as some tribes having almost oriental eyes (Northern Maori) and some with flat noses while other with stout or pointy noses.
Some Rotorua Maori have been known to have Jewish features and in general it has been noted that some Maori customs have Hebrew similarities.
Also different tribes had different ways of pronouncing some words in the Maori language.The Maori people kept slaves and the slaves normally came from wars or battles with other Maori tribes after they were captured. When a chief died slaves were killed so that they could attend to the chief in the next world. Sometimes the slaves were killed and eaten for other reasons and when they were ill they were not looked after.The Maori people made fortified villages and when Captain Cook arrived in New Zealand he found that the Maori people were living like this he said that New Zealand was one big battlefield due to the many different Maori tribes at war with each other.As a child in New Zealand I was taught to try many Maori arts and crafts. We also got to play many Maori games. In New Zealand these days the recent Governments have been pushing for many people in New Zealand to try Maori arts and crafts. Billions and billions of dollars have been poured into the Maori arts and crafts business in an attempt to keep the Maori’s arts alive and turn them into a thriving industry in New Zealand.The Maori people were very good carvers and they carved great wooden images of people (or maybe gods) in wood and these can be seen on the Maori marae’s.
The Maori people were well known for the shrunken heads that they made from real peoples heads. This gory business was very popular hundreds of years ago, the heads were sometimes made from enemies or chiefs.The clothing worn by the male and female Maori were very colorful with delightful patterns and mostly made of flax. Many chiefs cloaks were made of dogs skin, the dog that the Maori brought to New Zealand, and bird feathers. The normal material for cloaks was flax, but they could also be made from the tough fibre from the cabbage tree or even leaves from the kiekie.Flax (Phormium Tenax – harakeke, korari) was very useful to the Maori people and they used it in many of their arts and crafts. The Maori people were famous for the different ways they used flax.
Flax skirts were popular, flax baskets and the list goes on, its obvious that the Maori people put a lot of thought into how they could use flax and what could be made of it.The Maori family is called whanau and this included many other relations such and aunts and uncles, grandparents, grandchildren etc.Often you will hear the words “Come and eat your kai” in New Zealand. The word ‘kai’ means food in the Maori language. The Maori people have always been well known for the great feasts they like to eat and the many occasions they get together for some ‘kai’ and festivities.Music and dance are a vital part of Maori culture. Traditionally, Maori enjoy waiata (song), dance and
kapa haka (traditional performance). The well-known Maori haka is a fierce dance-chant that has become internationally recognized among sports fans who follow New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks.Maori culture has been passed on from generation to generation like other races through music, art, carvings, story-telling and reciting genealogies (whakapapa). The beauty of Maori art can be seen in the carving and interior designs of marae (meeting houses), and in ornate wood and whakairo (bone carvings), greenstone and jade pendants.Carving and weaving skills arose from the practical requirements of traditional Maori lifestyle of the past.
The hard New Zealand greenstone or jade (pounamu) was originally made into weapons and carving implements and served a purpose at the time.
Native New Zealand wood was carved into spiritual objects that adorned Maori meeting houses (wharenui) and the famous waka (canoes).If you visit New Zealand we hope you will take the time to look at some of New Zealand Maori arts and crafts.
Catherine Luther
Formerly Catherine von Bora
Born the 29th of January, 1499. Died the 20th of December, 1546Wife of Martin Luther, reformist of the Catholic Church in the fourteenth centuryCatherine Luther was a wonderful woman. For such a man as Martin Luther, who would change the world and rock the Popes comfortable little seat, who would be persecuted, threatened with death and filled with depression and doubt, God required a very special woman. Catherine von Bora was that very special woman. Catherine was a wife, and as such she supported her husband, kept the home fires burning for him while he was away, endured trials, and most importantly had her own walk with God. Through studying the life of this woman, we find her strength, patience and intelligence an excellent example of a Woman Used Of God.Martin Luther himself was one of the greatest reformists history has in her books. Martin Luthers early religious teaching was of the Catholic doctrine, taught to him at an early age. ‘My religious instruction was imparted with the same severity as my secular; I turned pale and terrified at the very name of Christ. I regarded Christ as nothing more than a strict and angry judge.’
Luthers father was a strict disciplinarian, and, probably due to his gaining his financial security later in life, wished his children to attend Universities and become professional laymen. This, too, was what Luther would have become had he not been riding home on a certain day, when a storm broke and lighting forced him to the ground. In his terror of the thunder and lightening, he felt sure he was to die. “St Anne help me! I will become a monk!”
That was the first of many statements those lips would make that would shock the world. Against his fathers will, he took up the cloth in 1505. Martin Luther’s repentance of sin and desire for the assurance of salvation is overwhelming. His struggles, both mental and spiritual, were intense. His thoughts of God were that the eternal being was unloving and angry, and his own existence sinful and unforgivable. It was not until years after his struggle began, after he was finally given a Bible and he began to read of Paul, that he understood the love of God.
“At last I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith”. Then I understood that the justice of God is that righteousness by which God quite freely and in sheer mercy, justifies us through faith…I felt as if I had been reborn and gone through open doors into paradise.”
The turning point of his, and many other lives, came in 1517, when he nailed his Thesis of ninety-five topics for debate to the church door in Wittenburg’s Castle Church. Thus, one humble monk challenged the authority of the Catholic Church, and stood before the Pope, a lone man, speaking only for God, and challenging the formidable force of the day.Catherine von Bora was born in 1499 on the 29th of January, in Steinlaussig. Much of her early life is unknown, but it is supposed that her mother died while Catherine was yet young and upon her fathers remarrying when she was three, she was sent to a Benedictine convent. She was moved to the convent of Mariethron in Nimptsch at the age of ten, and at the age of sixteen she took the veil. It was when she was in her early twenties that Martin Luthers theses and challenges reached the nuns ears. Martin Luthers controversial debates and publications had begun to disrupt the Catholic empire. Luther assured the public that salvation was by grace alone through faith, which eliminated the need for works.
This caused the nuns to wonder if perhaps their cloister lives would not buy them a place in Gods kingdom? In one of his statements, he assured that Priests and Nuns should be allowed to marry. Luthers teachings caused monastery’s and cloisters to dismantle.
Catherine von Boras convent was one of those effected. Twelve of the nuns decided to escape one night, most against the will of their families. They were transported in the back of a carriage, hidden by herring barrels, to the town of Torgau. Their escape was assisted by Luther and he helped to place the girls into suitable homes or marriages. Although he originally had no intention of marrying one of the run-away nuns, he was eventually convinced to wed the last remaining woman, Catherine. On the 13th of June, 1525, almost two years after their first meeting, Martin Luther and Catherine von Bora were married.What first began as a marriage of perhaps, on Luthers part, convenience, soon became a thing most dear to his heart.
Numerous letters of Luthers describe, in the meagre way words are able, his love for his wife. “Next to Gods Word, the world has no more precious treasure than Holy Matrimony. Gods best gift is a pious, cheerful, God-fearing, wife, with whom you may live peacefully, to whom you may entrust your goods, your body and life”.
It is said that “together, and without the least intending it, they created an open, trusting and caring partnership that left its stamp on German home life for centuries to come.”One must wonder at Catherines tolerance under her persecution. Before she even married her husband, he was pronounced a heretic and excommunicated. It had been demanded of him that he attend numerous debates and stand up in courts before Emperors and noblemen and defend himself, and as such his life and his faith. She had the courage to marry into this situation.
From all accounts, she was a strong woman. Not only did she stand tall during the onslaughts, but she also helped to prop up her husband and help him to keep going. It was said of Catherine Luther that “she made the home a haven of rest for the storm tossed man that was her husband.”It is also obvious from letters written to her by Luther while he was away on his many trips that she was aware of the religious situation at the time and understood her husbands work. One can see from his letters how much he appreciated his wife.
A great deal of this appreciation is likely due to his having someone with whom he could safely converse. His previous existence had been one of tormenting silence, dealing with his own conscience and thoughts. Now, he had a woman that he could share his thoughts with. Catherine was from a similar religious background as he, since they were both from the cloth, and as such would have known a lot of what he knew regarding the sacraments and Catholic doctrine, and at the same time one can imagine the wealth of information she could have gleaned from her husband. No doubt they would have had discussions, tossing ideas back and forth, and one must wonder how many of his principals she helped to shape.Catherine also proved to me a terrific hostess. Because their home was so large (it had been a monastery and contained over forty rooms), Catherine was able to open her doors to children other than her own five, so that in all she had ‘at some time or another’ eleven orphans living with her. Servants were hired to help, especially since there were also students boarding with them. Their dinner table was sometimes a large one, occasionally catering to around one hundred people.
Their living children were all successful. She produced men that would later become the councillor of state to the Elector, John Fredrick II. One of her sons was a doctor, and another, inevitably enough, became a theologian. Their daughter married the son of a Prussian nobleman.Catherine Luther helped the world by helping one man. It is amazing to look at the effects of her life. God gave her to Martin Luther.
After the date of their marriage, Catherine had the opportunity to work with her husband as she felt. God is the potter and the man is the clay, but sometimes God uses the woman as one of his shaping tools for that pot. She could have dented Luther, twisted him, deformed his thoughts, but instead she was patient, she was supportive…and most importantly, she was there when he needed her. She helped to shape and strengthen Luther. Luther shaped and strengthened the people for God, breaking them away from the Catholic Church. Had she not been there to support her husband, he could not have done the things he did, nor could he have ever had such peace as he had during their marriage.Martin Luther died away from home on the 28th of January, 1546.
Catherine’s letters to others show during this time how much she grieved. Her grief though, was not merely for herself. She understood the importance that her husband had had and all that he had done. “Who would not be grieved and full of sorrow over such a precious man as was my dear husband, who served well not town only or even a country but the whole world… if I had had an earldom or a kingdom I would not have felt their loss so deeply as now when our dear Lord God has taken from me, and not from me only but from the whole world, this dear and well-loved man”.
Forced to move about again because the plague once again came to Wittenburg later that same year, Katie, as her husband had called her, was forced to move to Torgau. It was the same year of Luthers death when, as the wagon passed by a lake, she was accidentally thrown from the carriage into the water. Under shock and cold and wet, she was taken the rest of the journey. Her strength had already been lessening, and she progressed to having a fever and then to pneumonia. She died on the 20th of December, 1546.
It is interesting that there are not many who write or tell of Martin Luther without telling of his wife. They tell, centuries later, of her escape from a cloister, but also, they speak of the haven she made for her husband. Martin Luther lived a life of persecution and daring, but also a life of happiness and tranquillity because of that one special woman that was his wife. It was very important that he do his work for God, and it was just as important that she must serve her husband, as he must serve the Lord. Catherine Luther is the reason why her husband lived so long and served so well. She is “one of the few, of the few, to whom so many owe so much”.
The days were a wonder and you were to leave,
My heart was crying why was this to be,
Things were bad, not looking good,
At least not the way they should,What could I do,
When I am so in love with you,
Were there shadow warriors in dark shadows,
Preventing us from dancing in sunny meadows,You had a bubble bath,
And you started to laugh,
And things started to change,
From badness to good our lives we could arrange,You got a present of love and hope,
I took it to my heart and felt I could cope,
We talked of the past,
And here was the answer we had wanted at last,We thought here is true love,
The love brought by the white dove,
Of peace and happiness,
A thing we could caress,When I was rejected you came to my rescue,
I thought you were an angel to good to be true,
You understood my fears and my pain,
With that kind of love you made me sane,We talked of good times and of the struggles,
And with that grew lots of love and snuggles,
This is the way that it should be,
The children we have and the love from you to me.
Life?
When I think about my life, I wonder where the complexity started. Any life is merely a series of events within the passage of time. Is it our emotions that turn these snatches of time into something beyond our own understanding?
Regardless of how we mentally feel, time will pass as it always has, slowly and inoxerably towards the ultimate end, death. Is this the passing of the spirit into another realm to begin a different type of existence?
If every earthly life is simply one ‘life’ of many then perhaps fears of common man would be easier to assuage. Whatever trials and tribulations man cannot overcome during their earthly existence may be easier to cope with in the next level of existence. Yet there is no sufficient verifiable knowledge of what comes next for us once we pass on. Is this ‘not known’ quality of life what prevents us from getting comfortable with our earthly lives and simply ‘living’ toward the next stage of existence?
I am troubled by the thought that this ‘life’ I possess may be my only opportunity to enjoy the fruits so bountiful in the physical realm of this earthly body. What if I die and find that there is no more to life at all? that my existence is only the result of the heavily debated ‘big bang’ theory that scientists say was the mother of life? What if I find that the biblical promise of ‘life everlasting’ is merely a fairytale?
Needless to say, if these things will be true I will hardly be aware of it since I will have ceased to exist and will have no conscious thought of these things that trouble me now.
There are many things in my life that I want to change. I make discoveries every day that tantalize me, enlighten me and make me think, discoveries about myself and those around me. Yet these perceptions and thoughts are mine to explore and may not necessarily be those of other people, is this ‘quality’ what makes each of us different? Our ability to think for ourselves? Our ability to imagine and explore and question and decide?When I reach for knowledge, I am seeking understanding of myself and my reason for living and my purpose here on this earth. Every question I have is based on this primary concern. During my journey I choose my companions; children, husband, friends, workmates etc., I choose my level of existence with my behavior, choices and mistakes. Yet at the end of the day, what really matters is what I have learned during that journey.When I die, I want to do so knowing that I never gave up the struggle to live beyond my limitations and that I fought continually against the basest instincts of my physical wants. That I found beauty in the simplest thing and that life everywhere is the better for my existence. I want to know that I have achieved a level of ‘balance’ that gives and takes in equal measure and that I have ‘learned’ all that I could reasonably learn and ‘done’ all that I could reasonably have done. If this is the only comfort available to me then I accept this and will strive all the harder to make these thoughts an everyday part of my life so that I never forget them, that I continually live towards them and at the end when my life has reached its zenith and I must leave this existence I can do so with a clear conscience.
My Lord,Though my existence in this place be brief with pain and happiness
May I die content that I have achieved everything that I was meant to In your Grace may I abide, In your strength may I gain strength, in your sight may my life be pleasing to you.I thank you for this journey, my companions, the beauty of growing things.
I thank you for the bountiful gifts you have bestowed upon me. I thank you for walking with me and lifting me beyond mortal reckoning. I thank you,In the name of Jesus Christ Amen
Quotes
“Those who would defend anti-feminist traditionalism today are like heretics fighting a regnant Inquisition. To become a homemaker, a woman may need the courage of a heretic…. Feminists claimed a woman can find identity and fulfillment only in a career; they are wrong. They claimed a woman can, in that popular expression, ‘have it all’; they are wrong – she can have only some. The experience of being a mother at home is a different experience from being a full-time market producer
who is also a mother. A woman can have one or the other experience, but not both at the same time. Combining a career with motherhood requires a woman to compromise by diminishing her commitment and exertions with respect to one role or the other, or usually, to both.”
~ F. Carolyn Graglia, A Brief Against Feminism, pages 369-370. (Available from Chalcedon.edu.)
”Women are told today they can have it all-career, marriage, children. You need a total commitment to make it work. Take a close look at your child. He doesn’t want you to be bright, talented, chic, or smart-any of those things. He just wants you to love him. He will be the one who pays the price for your wanting to have it all.
Think carefully about having that baby. Not to have it would be a great loss. To have it too late greatly increases the health hazards for you and the child. To have it without a commitment to it would be a great tragedy.”
~ Beverly Sills, addressing a graduating class of Barnard College in New York.
”Seen from the outside, housework can look like a Sisyphean task that gives you no sense of reward or completion. Yet housekeeping actually offers more opportunities for savoring achievement than almost any other work I can think of. Each of its regular routines brings satisfaction when it is completed. These routines echo the rhythm of life, and the housekeeping rhythm is the rhythm of the body. You get satisfaction no only from the sense of order, cleanliness, freshness, peace
and plenty restored, but from the knowledge that you yourself and those you care about are going to enjoy those benefits.”
~ Cheryl Mendelson, Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House, page 10.
”The best happiness would result if women would continue to let this be a man’s world and continue to provide a bower of bliss at home. Her greatest career is to help her husband and to start her children off in the right direction. Women should be reminded that they can have just as much pride saying, ‘Look, I helped my husband and I have raised some decent children.’ I don’t think women can do any better than that. That’s more important than winning the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel
Peace Prize.”
~ Richard Armour, author of My Life with Women: Confessions of a Domesticated Male”Remember this: The strongest sign of the decay of a nation is the feminization of men and the masculinization of women.
It is notable that in Communist nations women are exhorted, and compelled, to do what has traditionally been men’s work. American women, some of them, feel triumphant that they have broken down the ‘barricades’ between the work of the sexes. I hope they will still feel triumphant when some commissar forces a shovel or an axe into their soft hands and compels
them to pound and cut forests and dig ditches. I hope they will be ‘happy’ when a husband deserts them and they must support their children and themselves alone.
(After all, if a woman must be ‘free’ she shouldn’t object to men being free too, should she?) I hope they will feel ‘fulfilled’ when they are given no more courtesies due to their sex and no kindnesses, but are kicked aside on the subways buses by men, and jostled out of the way by men on busy sidewalks and elevators…. I hope, when they look in their mirrors, that they will be pleased to see exhausted, embittered faces, and that they will be consoled by their paychecks.”
~ Taylor Caldwell – September 1970, page 8.
Editor’s Note: Oh, if only it wasn’t true!
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