Today is all we have. There is an old drinker's toast that goes, 'here's to today, tomorrow is only a promise." Will tomorrow come? Odds are it will. Will you still be here? Who knows?
Jesus said that 'man is caught in an evil net and knows not his time.' Philosophers as diverse as Heraclitus and the Buddha taught the impermanence of everything in the realm of time and space. You, as you are, will not exist tomorrow. Cells will die and be replace. The events of the day will change your thoughts. The day itself, no matter how familiar it seems, will not be the same/ Creatures will have aged, the trees and flowers will be continuing their slow parade through their cycle, and the Earth will have undergone countless shifts in its structure.
Will any of us still be here tomorrow? Most likely, but certainly not all of us. Yet, this is not a sad fact. It is just a fact. What you do with that fact is up to you.
Some, realizing this constant change, which includes their own mortality, will sink into despair, a somewhat understandable, but ultimately childish. response. The wise will simply celebrate the day. You celebrate, not just with a party, although that may not be a bad idea, but also by doing your work and taking pride in doing well. You celebrate by doing right by your family and friends. You celebrate simply by enjoying the amazing beauty of this world.
WE have today. And, if we do it right, that's enough.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
Anger
Anger is an overly maligned emotion. I, here and there, see remnants of the 'New Age' religious movements and they seem to want to live in a world of fluffy inane 'love,' a world never darkened by such coarse emotions as anger. I heard the same nonsense form the 60s hippies, idiocy like John Lennon's All You Need Is Love. This in one of the arguments I have with Buddhists, at least some of them, who view anger as a base emotion.
Anger is a perfectly valid emotion. There are things in this world that you should be angry about. The way that others are often treated is inexcusable. Sometime the way you are treated justifies anger. The real problem is how we channel the energy that comes from anger.
If you are mistreated, go ahead and be angry, but, don't turn that anger into violent rage. Instead,
use it to prod you into some positive action that will overcome the malice of those who hurt you. If you see another being mistreated, try to help them. Sometimes, just a kind word or two to show them that they are appreciated is sufficient. Sometimes a kind deed is required and sometimes a sharp rebuke of the person who harmed them is needed. Use the anger to promote a good deed on your part.
Anger that festers into rage is counterproductive. There is certainly a lot to be angry about these days, but, consider our current political campaigns. Hillary and Donald are descending rapidly into a pit of nastiness that would embarrass a 3 year old. She, instead of making positive proposals, seems angry at Americans who don't support her, resorting to name calling and inane attacks on her opponent. Donald has backed a way from the vitriol a little but his whole campaign is now tainted by the nastiness he displayed in the primaries. Both have allowed personal anger to take them in very negative directions when it should have led them to firm up and substantiate their positive proposals for fixing the Nation's problems.
In short, anger is not the problem. It's what you do with it that counts.
Anger is a perfectly valid emotion. There are things in this world that you should be angry about. The way that others are often treated is inexcusable. Sometime the way you are treated justifies anger. The real problem is how we channel the energy that comes from anger.
If you are mistreated, go ahead and be angry, but, don't turn that anger into violent rage. Instead,
use it to prod you into some positive action that will overcome the malice of those who hurt you. If you see another being mistreated, try to help them. Sometimes, just a kind word or two to show them that they are appreciated is sufficient. Sometimes a kind deed is required and sometimes a sharp rebuke of the person who harmed them is needed. Use the anger to promote a good deed on your part.
Anger that festers into rage is counterproductive. There is certainly a lot to be angry about these days, but, consider our current political campaigns. Hillary and Donald are descending rapidly into a pit of nastiness that would embarrass a 3 year old. She, instead of making positive proposals, seems angry at Americans who don't support her, resorting to name calling and inane attacks on her opponent. Donald has backed a way from the vitriol a little but his whole campaign is now tainted by the nastiness he displayed in the primaries. Both have allowed personal anger to take them in very negative directions when it should have led them to firm up and substantiate their positive proposals for fixing the Nation's problems.
In short, anger is not the problem. It's what you do with it that counts.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Worry
Jesus asked if worrying could add one second to your life, The answer, obviously, was and is 'no.' There are problems in the World, but all worry does is cloud the mind. Like fear, worry is natural. We don't know the future. Jesus also addressed this when he said, 'man is caught in an evil net and knows not his time.' He said that the World would go through times of earthquakes, volcanos, and 'wars and rumors of wars.' But, again, he said, fear not.
Worry binds you up. It causes your body to release an abundance of hormones, in a fight or flight reaction. Now, if you are in a situation when fighting or fleeing were appropriate responses, great. But, it you are just thinking of future possibilities, this reaction is not yet necessary and your nervous system goes a bit crazy. To make matters worse, some of those hormones, when unnecessarily released, degrade into harmful chemicals, and even worse, since the body can only produce so much of these chemical signals, when you need them, they may not be there.
When you find yourself worrying, ask yourself what good is it doing. The answer will generally be, none. Breathe deeply, then force your brain to think logically and try to weigh all options and possibilities. Your brain is a great servant, but a lousy master, and it can be controlled. This is where logic and reason come into play. Your forebrain can and will over ride the reptilian brain and the old mammalian brain and take charge.
Worrying about what has not yet happened is a poor strategy; planning is not. Use your head.
Worry binds you up. It causes your body to release an abundance of hormones, in a fight or flight reaction. Now, if you are in a situation when fighting or fleeing were appropriate responses, great. But, it you are just thinking of future possibilities, this reaction is not yet necessary and your nervous system goes a bit crazy. To make matters worse, some of those hormones, when unnecessarily released, degrade into harmful chemicals, and even worse, since the body can only produce so much of these chemical signals, when you need them, they may not be there.
When you find yourself worrying, ask yourself what good is it doing. The answer will generally be, none. Breathe deeply, then force your brain to think logically and try to weigh all options and possibilities. Your brain is a great servant, but a lousy master, and it can be controlled. This is where logic and reason come into play. Your forebrain can and will over ride the reptilian brain and the old mammalian brain and take charge.
Worrying about what has not yet happened is a poor strategy; planning is not. Use your head.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Fear
Frank Herbert, in his brilliant science fiction novel Dune, used a phrase, 'fear is the mind killer,' as a sort of mantra that several characters used. I will go a step further. Fear is the soul killer.
Fear is an automatic response, based on a perceived threat to the body. All well and good. The body should try to survive, at least for a reasonable length of time. But, the mind can and should be able to override the body. It just takes discipline. This is necessary for the species. otherwise, a mother, sensing danger, would seek her own deliverance and ignore the dangers to her offspring. The mind, and all creatures have some sort of mental processes going on, overcomes the body's fears and from this come displays of courage.
However, we don't end there. The mind fears anything that threatens its existence. When we enter a new pattern of thought, different from old patterns that it was taught, it recoils. Now, there is no threat to the body, only to the ego, the sense of self, that is invested in the old ways.
The soul, to gain, must expand, and, in doing so, it greatly troubles the mind. Just read St. John of the Cross' Dark Night of the Soul. This is a battle, and it is fought on 3 fronts. mind, body and soul. The weapons used are fear, in various guises. When you conquer those fears, the 3 fronts become united and, you feel whole. At least for a while, because there will always be room for growth and that requires upset and travail. But, the further along you get, the easier the passage.
Now, you don't have to be idiotic. If the dangers outweigh the potential benefits, you don't have to leap in. This is what Jesus meant when he refused Satan's challenge to jump off a tower and have God send angels to catch Him ( tempt not the Lord). What is an unreasonable risk? Ah, that's the question that only you can answer, but here's a clue. You can answer that question effectively only when you begin to conquer those fears.
Fear is an automatic response, based on a perceived threat to the body. All well and good. The body should try to survive, at least for a reasonable length of time. But, the mind can and should be able to override the body. It just takes discipline. This is necessary for the species. otherwise, a mother, sensing danger, would seek her own deliverance and ignore the dangers to her offspring. The mind, and all creatures have some sort of mental processes going on, overcomes the body's fears and from this come displays of courage.
However, we don't end there. The mind fears anything that threatens its existence. When we enter a new pattern of thought, different from old patterns that it was taught, it recoils. Now, there is no threat to the body, only to the ego, the sense of self, that is invested in the old ways.
The soul, to gain, must expand, and, in doing so, it greatly troubles the mind. Just read St. John of the Cross' Dark Night of the Soul. This is a battle, and it is fought on 3 fronts. mind, body and soul. The weapons used are fear, in various guises. When you conquer those fears, the 3 fronts become united and, you feel whole. At least for a while, because there will always be room for growth and that requires upset and travail. But, the further along you get, the easier the passage.
Now, you don't have to be idiotic. If the dangers outweigh the potential benefits, you don't have to leap in. This is what Jesus meant when he refused Satan's challenge to jump off a tower and have God send angels to catch Him ( tempt not the Lord). What is an unreasonable risk? Ah, that's the question that only you can answer, but here's a clue. You can answer that question effectively only when you begin to conquer those fears.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Time
St. Augustine said that when he did not think about time, he understood it , but, when he thought about it, he realized that he did not understand it. Einstein called time 'a stubbornly persistent illusion.' There is certainly a problem when it comes to this concept.
Many cultures view time as cyclical, to the point of almost discounting linear time. Western Civilization reverses that, linear time becoming all important. Then, I suppose, you can turn to the Buddhists and the various esoteric/gnostic forms of Christianity which almost view time as simply unimportant.
All 3 are true and I believe that we need to develop a kind of thinking in which ideas are not conflicting, but complimentary. Modern science views space and time, not as separate, but as a unity, space-time, and it would be useful to learn to view time as cyclical, linear and not overly important, all at the same time. It would certainly stretch the mind a bit, but that is a healthy thing. Then, we need to place all of this against a backdrop of Eternity, which is outside all concepts of time.
Think a bit about that backdrop, Eternity, and you realize that words have their limit. To say 'eternal' or 'infinite' has no real meaning to the human mind, it is just a way of speaking about the unspeakable. Get used to that idea and you begin to see that any words we use to describe time are woefully inadequate. Then, it becomes easy to hold 3 different views of time in your mind at the same time without feeling conflicted.
Play with those ideas and you begin to see that words are never enough to convey the essence of anything. They are just signs pointing in certain directions. The finger pointing at the Moon is not the Moon.
Many cultures view time as cyclical, to the point of almost discounting linear time. Western Civilization reverses that, linear time becoming all important. Then, I suppose, you can turn to the Buddhists and the various esoteric/gnostic forms of Christianity which almost view time as simply unimportant.
All 3 are true and I believe that we need to develop a kind of thinking in which ideas are not conflicting, but complimentary. Modern science views space and time, not as separate, but as a unity, space-time, and it would be useful to learn to view time as cyclical, linear and not overly important, all at the same time. It would certainly stretch the mind a bit, but that is a healthy thing. Then, we need to place all of this against a backdrop of Eternity, which is outside all concepts of time.
Think a bit about that backdrop, Eternity, and you realize that words have their limit. To say 'eternal' or 'infinite' has no real meaning to the human mind, it is just a way of speaking about the unspeakable. Get used to that idea and you begin to see that any words we use to describe time are woefully inadequate. Then, it becomes easy to hold 3 different views of time in your mind at the same time without feeling conflicted.
Play with those ideas and you begin to see that words are never enough to convey the essence of anything. They are just signs pointing in certain directions. The finger pointing at the Moon is not the Moon.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Sin
I do not talk a lot about sin. Those who study such things say that the Hebrew word we translate as sin literally means 'to miss the mark.' Thus, there is no implication of evil. It just means you have made a mistake.
That is not to say that there is never evil intent involved in a mistake, sometimes there is, and, at that point, the sin becomes something very serious. But, sometimes, we simply do not get things right.
For example, an alcoholic borrows your car. He/she is completely sober and has no intention of having a drink until he/ she returns that car. Now, suppose, they, while sober, overlook a stop sign and wreck your car. That is a mistake, and thus a sin, but no evil intent is there.
Second scenario. That same person borrows your car. It's a hot day, they finish their errand early and stop to have a quick beer, fully intending to have just one. They run into a friend, wind up having four beers and are buzzed, but not drunk. They think, 'oh I'm fine,' and, on the way back, their attention wavers and they wreck your car. This is a far more serious mistake, a more serious sin, but, there still was no evil intent.
Third scenario. Same person borrows your car, fully intending to head to the nearest bar and get hammered. They do so, and wreck your car. Here, there is evil intent. True, they did not intend to wreck your car, but they knew that driving drunk greatly increased the risk. This is an even more serious mistake, a worse sin.
Fourth scenario. This may seem unlikely, but such things do happen/ Same person borrows your car, fully intending to get drunk and, after doing so, they fully intend to wreck that car because they are mad at you. Here there is definitely an evil intent, and the sin is very serious.
Fifth scenario. The same as the last one except, in wrecking your car, they hit a nearby pedestrian and kill them, accidently. Obviously, the sin is worse, but wait.
Sixth scenario. As they are about to wreck your car, they see someone they hate standing nearby and deliberately hit them and kill them. Now, you are into deep evil.
Still, everything listed above is a sin, a mistake. Even deliberately killing the person in the last scenario is, at the most basic level, a mistake. The Buddhists quite rightly point out that all evil is the result of ignorance, saying that if you saw the world properly and knew your right relationship to everything and everyone else, you would not do these stupid things.
The Churches have, over the years, distorted things to the point where some believe that if they fall the least bit outside the Biblical guidelines, they have sinned and that, thus, they have committed a great evil. No, you have just made a mistake, do better.
What of the mistakes that encompass great evil. Jesus teaches that you may not judge them, that is up to God and that God is quite forgiving(remember, the word translated as 'judge, from the Greek text, would be better translated as 'to separate and cast aside,' or 'to shun,' this is what we are told not to do. If you look at what was done and say, 'wow, that was stupid' or 'that was bad,' that's different from shunning the person.). The Buddhists would say that if you are judging them, you do so because you are not seeing your relationship to that person and everything else clearly, and that you judge out of ignorance. Or, back to Christian ethics, 'judge not lest you be judged, for as you judge, so will you be judged.'
We are human, we make mistakes, sometimes terrible mistakes. Try not to waste time thinking about how evil and sinful everyone, including yourself, is. Look at the mistakes, the sins, and figure a way to avoid them in the future.
That is not to say that there is never evil intent involved in a mistake, sometimes there is, and, at that point, the sin becomes something very serious. But, sometimes, we simply do not get things right.
For example, an alcoholic borrows your car. He/she is completely sober and has no intention of having a drink until he/ she returns that car. Now, suppose, they, while sober, overlook a stop sign and wreck your car. That is a mistake, and thus a sin, but no evil intent is there.
Second scenario. That same person borrows your car. It's a hot day, they finish their errand early and stop to have a quick beer, fully intending to have just one. They run into a friend, wind up having four beers and are buzzed, but not drunk. They think, 'oh I'm fine,' and, on the way back, their attention wavers and they wreck your car. This is a far more serious mistake, a more serious sin, but, there still was no evil intent.
Third scenario. Same person borrows your car, fully intending to head to the nearest bar and get hammered. They do so, and wreck your car. Here, there is evil intent. True, they did not intend to wreck your car, but they knew that driving drunk greatly increased the risk. This is an even more serious mistake, a worse sin.
Fourth scenario. This may seem unlikely, but such things do happen/ Same person borrows your car, fully intending to get drunk and, after doing so, they fully intend to wreck that car because they are mad at you. Here there is definitely an evil intent, and the sin is very serious.
Fifth scenario. The same as the last one except, in wrecking your car, they hit a nearby pedestrian and kill them, accidently. Obviously, the sin is worse, but wait.
Sixth scenario. As they are about to wreck your car, they see someone they hate standing nearby and deliberately hit them and kill them. Now, you are into deep evil.
Still, everything listed above is a sin, a mistake. Even deliberately killing the person in the last scenario is, at the most basic level, a mistake. The Buddhists quite rightly point out that all evil is the result of ignorance, saying that if you saw the world properly and knew your right relationship to everything and everyone else, you would not do these stupid things.
The Churches have, over the years, distorted things to the point where some believe that if they fall the least bit outside the Biblical guidelines, they have sinned and that, thus, they have committed a great evil. No, you have just made a mistake, do better.
What of the mistakes that encompass great evil. Jesus teaches that you may not judge them, that is up to God and that God is quite forgiving(remember, the word translated as 'judge, from the Greek text, would be better translated as 'to separate and cast aside,' or 'to shun,' this is what we are told not to do. If you look at what was done and say, 'wow, that was stupid' or 'that was bad,' that's different from shunning the person.). The Buddhists would say that if you are judging them, you do so because you are not seeing your relationship to that person and everything else clearly, and that you judge out of ignorance. Or, back to Christian ethics, 'judge not lest you be judged, for as you judge, so will you be judged.'
We are human, we make mistakes, sometimes terrible mistakes. Try not to waste time thinking about how evil and sinful everyone, including yourself, is. Look at the mistakes, the sins, and figure a way to avoid them in the future.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Where are the Stars
I have been taken recently by the small numbers of stars I see in the night sky. The town I live in, Brunswick, Ga, is hardly a bustling metropolis, yet it seems that as time passes I see fewer and fewer stars/
I know, or rather I am told, that this is because urban lights block the celestial view. I guess that's right but, as I said, I hardly live in a big city. When I was a kid, I lived in Ft Lauderdale, Fl, a much bigger place, the sky, on clear nights, was filled with an overwhelming sea of stars. Now, just a few, sometimes nothing.
Every now and then, I wonder what is really happening. Oh, I'm sure that the stars are still there, but it seems that there must be another reason why we no longer see them.
Sometimes, I wonder about a lot of things. We are told that all of those stars are light years away and that scientists, using models based on how bright the various stars are, mathematically determine their distance. Are they correct? Probably, but, here and there, I cannot help asking, what if the basic assumptions they are using are incorrect. After all, no one has gone out with a ruler and measured.
Oh well, this is all just silliness on my part. I am sure that they are correct and I am sure that city lights are the reason our local view of these wonders is blocked. Still, I have to ask, just how much do we know and how much are we guessing? What if we are wrong? Does it really matter?
Truth is, it actually does not matter a whole lot. Whatever we know or don't know does not really affect how we should live. While on this Earth, we are called on to be kind and productive, and, astrology aside, the stars have nothing to do with that. Still, being human, I cannot help wondering, just what is true.
I know, or rather I am told, that this is because urban lights block the celestial view. I guess that's right but, as I said, I hardly live in a big city. When I was a kid, I lived in Ft Lauderdale, Fl, a much bigger place, the sky, on clear nights, was filled with an overwhelming sea of stars. Now, just a few, sometimes nothing.
Every now and then, I wonder what is really happening. Oh, I'm sure that the stars are still there, but it seems that there must be another reason why we no longer see them.
Sometimes, I wonder about a lot of things. We are told that all of those stars are light years away and that scientists, using models based on how bright the various stars are, mathematically determine their distance. Are they correct? Probably, but, here and there, I cannot help asking, what if the basic assumptions they are using are incorrect. After all, no one has gone out with a ruler and measured.
Oh well, this is all just silliness on my part. I am sure that they are correct and I am sure that city lights are the reason our local view of these wonders is blocked. Still, I have to ask, just how much do we know and how much are we guessing? What if we are wrong? Does it really matter?
Truth is, it actually does not matter a whole lot. Whatever we know or don't know does not really affect how we should live. While on this Earth, we are called on to be kind and productive, and, astrology aside, the stars have nothing to do with that. Still, being human, I cannot help wondering, just what is true.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Pay Attention to What's Important
We just went through Hurricane Hermine. Well, actually, it passed through SE Georgia as a strong tropical storm. No big problems, no flooding, no trees down (around us), not even a loss of power. However, we lost internet service for about 11 hours and, here the next morning, we are still without cable service.
Now, I love to watch golf and has been looking forward to the coverage of the Deutche Bank Tournament in Boston. For awhile, I was fairly angry that I couldn't watch it. I am still a trifle annoyed, but that is passing quickly.
I just checked the news online and found that many are without electricity, a big chunk of Florida's Gulf Coast is underwater, and from the Carolinas all the way through New England, they are expecting severe weather. There is even a good chance the storm will redevelop into a hurricane, then stall and pound the region for several days. Watching golf should be the least of anyone's worries.
And yet, we humans are funny creatures. Rationally, I know that my wishes are not paramount, yet, there is still a part of me that wants my cable service restored and is a might testy that it has not been fixed. Oh well, perfection is not in us humans. At least I know that what I am feeling is stupid and, as I write this, the annoyance is going away.
I hope that the forecasters are wrong, that this storm fizzles and drifts off into the North Atlantic, but, again, my wishes will not make that so. Natural forces, powerful ones are in play and the desires of humans are nothing compared to them. All we can do is be prepared, when possible, and just roll with the tides. Hang in there, everybody. Ride things out and before you know it, brighter days will come. Be safe.
Now, I love to watch golf and has been looking forward to the coverage of the Deutche Bank Tournament in Boston. For awhile, I was fairly angry that I couldn't watch it. I am still a trifle annoyed, but that is passing quickly.
I just checked the news online and found that many are without electricity, a big chunk of Florida's Gulf Coast is underwater, and from the Carolinas all the way through New England, they are expecting severe weather. There is even a good chance the storm will redevelop into a hurricane, then stall and pound the region for several days. Watching golf should be the least of anyone's worries.
And yet, we humans are funny creatures. Rationally, I know that my wishes are not paramount, yet, there is still a part of me that wants my cable service restored and is a might testy that it has not been fixed. Oh well, perfection is not in us humans. At least I know that what I am feeling is stupid and, as I write this, the annoyance is going away.
I hope that the forecasters are wrong, that this storm fizzles and drifts off into the North Atlantic, but, again, my wishes will not make that so. Natural forces, powerful ones are in play and the desires of humans are nothing compared to them. All we can do is be prepared, when possible, and just roll with the tides. Hang in there, everybody. Ride things out and before you know it, brighter days will come. Be safe.
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