Predestination

Predestination, the idea that your future is all laid out and inevitable, is an old and tempting concept. True? Well, like most things, yes and no.

The Greeks had the concept of Fate, Hindus and Buddhists have the concept of karmic determination, and among Christians, there is the bizarre concept of election. John Calvin taught that our salvation, or lack there of, was determined by God before our birth.

If all of our life is predetermined, this whole life is but a sad joke. The idea that we have no choices is depressing; of course, Calvin was not known to be a barrel of laughs.

The concept seems to have validity because we look back, see how things went, and have an idea that it seems a logical progression. Event A caused Event B, and so on. Hindsight, however, is not 20-20; other possibilities existed and simply were not taken up.

What of concepts like karma? They certainly exist and it is true that your circumstances propel you down certain paths but, propel is not the same as compel. You can vary the path to a great extent can even leave it. It may be difficult, so difficult that it is unlikely, but you so have options.

You do not, however, have unlimited free will. I may decide tomorrow that I am going to play center for the Lakers next year, but no matter how much will I have, it is not going to happen.

Remember when Cain was about to bash Abel; a voice told him that he 'may choose to do what is right.' He did not, but the option was there.

I like to look on life as a nice bit of jazz, There is a theme, a melody, but, within that melody, there is a lot of room for improvisation.

Thankgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It starts off a few weeks when we take time for tradition. It should be a time of joy, but, all too often, it becomes a nightmare, simply because we get sidetracked with unimportant nonsense.

You do not have to overdo things. Yes, I love all the great food, but it's preparation should not be stressful. You don't have to cook everything in the world, a few dishes are sufficient. Just be sure to have something for folks with dietary restrictions. If you find a difficult recipe, trust me; Thanksgiving is not the time to try it out. If you and your guests like tradition, a ham or turkey is fine, but, if your crowd is a bit more daring, try something else. What? Anything. Fish, lasagna, game hens, a nice beef or pork roast, or, one of my favorites, lamb.

For one day, put aside old family arguments and grudges. You can manage it for one day out of the year and it is possible that just that one day is sufficient to forget the issue forever.

If some members of the group want, after the meal, to watch football and doze,  fine. It's a tradition and it won't hurt anyone to do that for a day. If others like to go hit those early after Thanksgiving sales, let them. If others want to hike to throw a football around, fine. You don't have to all be together the whole day. Besides, later in the day, you can all get together to have a drink and nibble left overs.

The key, in fact the only important thing, is still the gathering together in a spirit of thanks. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

By Their Fruits

Perhaps the greatest spiritual advice is an admonition from Jesus; 'by their fruits shall you know them." This holds in almost every circumstance in life. Now that I think about it, that is not surprising since all of life is spiritual, although we often forget that.

Many people you run into in life will promise various things and deliver something else. We expect this in business and politics, although the fact that we do shows how degenerate society has become. Most do not expect that in religious matters. I have known hard core atheists who, for some reason, expected clergymen to be sincere, if incorrect. Many times, all too often, folks learn that those clergymen, and they can be of any belief system, are just as dishonest and avaricious as any hedge fund manager, actually worse, since more is expected of those in the religion business. This revelation of dishonesty and greed, not just for money, but also for power, id horribly disillusioning and, often this is what turns folks away from religion.

Okay, I have no problem with turning from formal religion, but, all too often, people throw out the baby with the bathwater and lose interest in all spirituality and that makes life far more difficult and bleak than it need be.

Whenever you are looking into anything, spiritual or otherwise, take some time and look into what is being done, not what is being said. Does a spokesman speak of deep spiritual matters while devoting all income to building a luxurious chap?  Be careful. Is great morality being preached while the preacher is leering at the young folks in the congregation? Be careful.

Again, in Jesus' words; 'By their fruits shall you know them.' Let this be your life's guide and your journey will be smoother.

Freedom

Freedom is not a simple concept. Let's start with free will. Do we have free will? Yes and no. We have many choices we can make, and we are free to pick any one, but, which one we choose is often greatly influenced by our personal history and our cultural history. If I am a five foot tall, Saudi Arabian woman, I am not likely to choose to be an NBA power forward. If I am  sixty years old, it is unlikely that I will decide to win next year's Masters Tournament. If I am 90 and never finished high school, it is darn unlikely that I will take up particle physics. I am free in all of those instances to do the unlikely, but odds are, I will not.

There is 'freedom to." We are free to try to do just about anything. If you wish to rob banks, there is no one that can stop you from trying. Now, if you go ahead, there are potentially dire consequences, but there is no prior restraint. This kind of freedom, can be important. We are free to believe any religion we wish to, or none, if that is our preference. However, it is very easy for this kind of freedom to become juvenile, a sort of 'you can't make me,' kind of thing. Or, 'I'll do just as I please.' There is truth and a sort of freedom in both those statements but, they can become childish. No one can stop you from living on ice cream, but it is a terrible idea. Still, there are people who will do something just because they are told they can't.

There is also 'freedom from.' In our culture, we believe, or say we believe, that people should be free from hunger. We  say that people should be free from violent attacks. We certainly do not live up to these statements, but they are common values and they are important. Just as important is a more personal form of freedom. Freedom from compulsions is, to me, the highest, most mature form of freedom. For example, if I am 100 pounds over weight, and I cannot stop eating 12 Twinkies every day, I have a serious and deadly compulsion, and my life would be better off if I was free from it. If, ever week, I bet half my paycheck on a race horse, I am slave to a compulsion.

In both of these cases, I am free to do these things, but, I would be better off to be free from the compulsion to do them. However, to show you how complex this concept of freedom is, I am free to do them, and, if I come from a culture where these are acceptable behaviors, and there are such cultures, it is unlikely that I will change, and, If I do, I become outcast by that culture.

Freedom and free will are difficult concepts and something we all struggle with. Be gentle with others who are dealing with these issues, and a bit harsh with yourself when you are dealing with them. You cannot force others to change, but you must force yourself if you want to be free.

Repentence

Repenting is more complex than people think.. It is more than admitting sin and asking forgiveness. To repent, you must change your heart, your way of confronting and perceiving the World. Anyone can repent at any time, but ti is not easy.

I am writing this in the wake of our recent election. We had 2 very flawed individuals running for President. Okay, we are all flawed. Here is what I see as the difference. I could be wrong, but this is what I saw.

Ms. Clinton, instead of admitting her misbehavior, in any bit the most cursory fashion, kept trying to duck the issue. She obfuscated, she told blatant lies, and she tried to blame everyone else. This is just compounding the original transgressions.

Donald Trump has done some pretty sleazy things in his career. He admits it and seems to regret it, and seems to be trying to change. Why do I think he is sincere? Because, as the campaign went on, he began to speak with more and more compassion about the plight of the people he was meeting. I do not believe Trump had spent a lot of time around working class American men and women, but his style of campaigning forced him to do just that. I believe that he discovered that he liked us. After all, we are a lovable and admirable lot. As he discovered what we are all about, he, very naturally, began to want to help us solve our problems. In short, he has admitted mistakes, apologized, and changed the ay he interacts with the World. This is the essence of the act of repenting.

It is hard to stand in front of the World and admit your mistakes, and, no matter how his Presidency turns out, he is to be congratulated.

Stay Calm and Focus on the Sacred

The election is tomorrow and, conventional wisdom says that our troubles are just beginning. No matter who wins, this Nation is so divided that neither of these amazingly unpopular candidates will be able to heal the rifts and, as I look around, I honestly believe that people do not want them healed.

We have always been more divided than we cared to admit, but things seem to becoming to a head. I have no idea what will happen. But, I do know how to cope.

Look deeply. The World is still here and will be so long after you and I are worm food. The Divine, the Creator, is still visible in this magnificent World and, although we all act like incredibly stupid children, the spark of Divinity is in all of us. Look beneath the surface lunacy and hunt that spark. You will often have to do a good bit of searching, but it is there.

That essence, you can relate to, maybe not the surface stupidity, but, the underlying essence. When you see this, you have something to work with, to relate to, and then, you can calm down and begin to see a common ground to begin work.

Of course, you also have to be looking inside yourself underneath all the layers of lunacy you have allowed to dominate yourself.

Also, realize that all this will pass and what will be left, ultimately is the soul, the Divine essence. All the rest of this nonsense is just a dog and pony show.

So, when you see your fellow Americans at each other's throats and you hear our leaders screaming like petulant children who have just lost their teddy bears, back off, calm down, and realize that all of this will give way to the Creator's gift of life and soul. At the same time, be practical and, when you see the crap about to hit the fan, duck.

See All Things As New

All too often, we drag ourselves through the days in a sort of bored stupor. We all go through periods like this. As a result, we all wait for the 'big event.' In Claude Brown's wonderful autobiography, Manchild In The Promised Land, he refers to this as 'the Saturday night syndrome.' This is the idea that, after a week of work, and before Sunday church services, something extraordinary had to happen on Saturday.

It can be something great, a new love, a hometown team wins, old friends come by, a party goes well It, oddly enough, can be something bad, losing a fight, getting drunk and winding up in jail, losing your paycheck in a poker game; all terrible things, but they are at least something different, something that breaks the boredom.

This is understandable, in a demented kind of way. However, it is demented, because, if you simply pay attention, you will see that nothing in this World, is ever the same, not from week to week, not from day to day, not even from nanosecond to nanosecond.

All of the World, everything in space and time, is in a state of constant change. To see that you just have to realize the truth of that statement, then pay attention. This is one of those things that, once you see it, your life will change forever and you will always be delighted with all of the little things of everyday life.

Now, I still like good company, a good show, and a good time, but, when nothing much is going on, that's okay too, because I can just slow down and see all the fine little doings of the World. Give it a try and you will make your life richer.