Hey guys.
It's been a very long time since I've blogged... a very very very long time. Because I have been in limbo. Well, I still am in limbo, but I have been inspired. So... A blog...
My adopted little sister, Maggie, thinks that I am long-lost twins with Kirsten Dunst. Mostly, apparently, because of her character in "Elizabethtown." I had only seen the movie once, a long time ago when it first came out on DVD, so I decided to watch it again tonight. And I cried. A lot. And not for the reasons you are thinking.
Yes, it is a jerk-at-your-heartstrings sort of film. Ask anyone who's ever watched a movie with me, and they'll tell you that I cry easily, but this was not my normal movie cry. See, I think maybe Maggie's a little wrong... I'm not so sure that I am a "Claire" (Kirsten Dunsts' character), but she is amazing. She is someone I would love to be like. And Maggie, who, let's face it, is pretty much marvelous, thinks I'm like her. And that means something pretty damn special.
I like to think that, because I am eleven and a half years older than her, that maybe Mags looks up to me a little... Or that, at least, I should be behaving myself as if she does. And she thinks I'm like "Claire", someone I would look up to. (You know, if she were real.) And that gives me something important to do. To be. I can strive to be more of the things that Maggie thinks she sees in me already. I can be more fully me, there-by, become better than the me I am now. I can become the me that Maggie sees. And that feels like a great purpose.
So, now a little challenge for the few of you who will read this: Think about the "Maggie" in your life. Think about someone who sees great things in you... the things you can't see in yourself... and become that person they see.
And always remember that the people who might look up to you often have so much more to teach you, than you have to teach them.
Dream big dreams,
K
Monday, March 15, 2010
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Misinformation... Or the "Wage" War...
I finally found something worth blogging about...
According to the Department of Labor website (FLSA Act), minimum wage went up 10% last July, putting it at a whopping $6.55 p/h. And it is going up another 10% on July 24 to make it $7.25 p/h. (This is sometimes higher in certain states or metropolitan areas.) About half of the workers earning these wages are under 25, most have never been married, and most work in service industries (food prep, hospitality, leisure, retail, etc.) Many of these are students, or individuals who have not had a chance to finish their education. There is an almost even percentage of these workers across ethnic lines. Those are the statistics.
There are many who believe that the economy will suffer if minimum wage goes up. The arguments for this are varied. One is that, as minimum wage goes up, businesses will increase their prices to cover what they are giving out in increased wages. This, unfortunately, is probably true. So, the argument continues, you aren't helping the workers because they will still be paying more for products.
But most minimum wage workers aren't buying all the extras that they Average Middle-income American family buys. They don't (usually) want a wage increase so they can get plasma TVs and $200 jeans. They want a wage increase so they can stop eating Ramen for every other meal, so they can give their kids lunch money, so they can pay for the gas they need to get to their job and so they can have a little heat in the winter. As prices for food and electricity go up, an increase in wages has to happen so that people can meet their basic needs. If this means that the wall street exec pays a little more for his morning latte, then so be it.
Others would say that a minimum wage job is only meant to be a "spring-board" or starting place, and that you should "better yourself" and seek a higher paying job. Basically, that if you stay, you are a loser, who deserves less money. This sounds logical, but life is so much more complicated than that. Many minimum wage workers haven't finished school, usually because of a lack of finances, and so there isn't much opportunity to "move up." Many are single parents, who don't have time between working full time and parenting full time to get more education or training. And many have finished college, but often with degrees that won't get them higher paying jobs unless they complete graduate studies as well. And usually these grads are so steeped in debt by the time they leave college, that they can't begin to comprehend getting MORE loans that they will have to pay off. And one by one, in very little time at all, these people fall into poverty.
Poverty is a nasty little trap. And minimum wage is the chain that very often holds you there. I think the best way for me to describe all this is just to tell you my experience...
I went to college. I studied theatre, because no one told me that that was a surefire way to NOT get a job after school. There was nothing else I wanted to do, and, I assumed, I would just teach theatre if nothing else worked out. I wracked up thousands and thousands in loans, which feels like free money when you are 19 and not thinking farther into the future than whether that cute guy in English Lit noticed your new dress. I also wracked up the credit card bills, because everyone told me that I'd just pay them all off with the amazing well paying job my degree would get me... After all, "If you have letters by your name, you can get better jobs, even if they aren't in your field." (Too bad the letters I acquired were a Bachelor of Behavioral Science... or a BBS... emphasis on the BS.)
So I left college with a piece of paper and a lot of debt... and I found a job...at Mr. Gatti's. This was followed by a paper route, a nanny job, a long-term substitute teacher position, and more babysitting. Then I got accepted to another school... A prestigious (I thought) theatre arts school in NYC. Needless to say, more debt... but no "great job." Since then I've worked for an off Broadway show, at Starbucks, and in many, many nanny/housekeeping jobs... most minimum wage or minimum hours. And many nanny jobs will start out great, but your income depends on their income, so you usually end up screwed.
I am always looking for a better job... ALWAYS. Most jobs that are not minimum wage require money for specialized training... money that I don't have. Or, in this city, require previous experience that I, once again, don't have. And there have been times when I have had to go without in ways that most people don't understand... without food, without heat, walking around in shoes with holes, wearing the same two outfits because I can't get new clothes. It's hard to go to job interviews when you don't have clothes that will get you the job. And sometimes... you can't even think about looking for something new because you are working so hard just to SURVIVE that you have no energy left for anything else. Right now I'm not getting much nanny work, so I spend most of my days looking for ANYTHING that will pay the bills. But I have to be picky, because I actually can't live on a minimum wage job in this city... I have to find something that pays more... and those jobs are scarce right now.
I'm not actually complaining here, just stating the facts. My story is no different from countless other people, and many of us form lasting friendships, dig in, and give what we do have to each other. I have learned empathy for others in similar situations, and to actually care and understand those who have far less than me. I have so many people who love me... my roommate of the last four years and I have each had better money than the other at different times, so we take care of things like food and bills when the other one can't. And most of my clothes were given to me by others... still, I wash those clothes in my bathtub because I can't afford to do laundry and bathe with cheap shampoo, cause it's less money than soap. We get our channels on an antenna and watch them on a 13 inch screen that's eight years old. We do without... and we get by... and we still eat... and when the electricity gets turned off, it only takes about a day to scrape money together and get it back on... But still, it IS getting turned off.
So, now I want to give you a minimum wage money break down for one month in Brooklyn. (And I mean almost-in-the-ghetto Brooklyn.) Avg. rent is $500, bills (phone/gas/electric) $115, metro-card (our equivalent to gas money) $81, food $300 (and that's bargain shopping), groceries (toilet paper, soap, cleaning supplies) $100 (at least), laundry $50 (if you do it once a week), extras $100 (that would be: 1 movie, one restaurant meal, one item of clothing, and maybe a book or DVD.) This is a reasonable assessment of just survving with one or two comforts a month, and it comes to $1246 per month... that's not including medical expenses or emergencies, any sort of travel, home repairs, cable television, Internet (a necessity if you want to find a new job), pet care, etc.
Minimum wage in NYC is $7.15 p/h. If you worked a 40 hour week that would come to $1144 before taxes... So lets take out $200 ($50 a week toward taxes) and that leaves$944. Wait! That's not nearly enough to pay the $1246 we motioned above. Lets take out the extras and the laundry. That will leave us with $1096. Okay, lets not eat three meals a day and take $100 off, and then, I can clean less and shower less and take another $50 off groceries... so that leaves $946... so now we forgo one more meal... and we can just get by with a roof over our heads and the basic bills paid. That's what living on minimum wage is... it's pouring over every penny to be sure you can almost get by, it's showering less, and laundry in the tub, and skipping meals. I don't think minimum wage should allow people to buy flat screens and iPhones, I just think it should be enough to pay the bills and keep food on the table with one or two comforts a month. That's what every human deserves, even inmates on death row are afforded that much.
(Let me add, cause I know it might come up... I, and many like me, don't use welfare, or medicare, or food stamps... we survive on our own, without living on tax-payers money... even though we COULD. That should tell you something. We are not looking for handouts. What we are looking for is for million/billions dollar companies like Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Starbucks and so many more to have to pay us a LIVABLE wage. We keep this country going, we deserve to be treated humanely.)
((Yes, I have a better "paying" job right now, but I get only about 16 hours a week avg... so it still evens out... If minimum wage jobs were $10 an hour, I'd get one of those if meant full-time work.)) Sorry, sidebar...
What irks me the most, is that the people who are against minimum wage increases, are people who truly don't understand what it's like to be forced to work in minimum wage jobs. They may have had one in college, but they were lucky enough to get something better right after. These are people who think its a normal part of life to have a television in every room of the house and to have real furniture (not a futon for a couch and a mattress on the floor.) If you have never truly had to struggle, if you have never had the electricity turned off, and gone without meals, and not gotten necessary medical care... if you can afford new clothes every month, and to do your laundry weekly, and to eat out three times a week... YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE JUDGMENTS ON THIS. Because you just don't know... Just as I am not allowed to complain, because at least I have had a roof over my head and some sort of food in the pantry through every season of my life.
The reality is, if we do not allow for wage increase, and if we do not create new jobs in the country, the poverty line will continue to rise. Camelot we may have been, but even in Camelot there were hungry children and sick and dying people everywhere... So, if we tighten our belts, all of us, as a society, we can make a change... Remember, someone has to make that vanilla latte you get on your way to work, someone has to fill your gas pump and bag your groceries... don't they deserve to have the same things you do.
Which is better... a new flat-screen plasma TV... or feeding a family of four for a month?
Be a Change,
K
According to the Department of Labor website (FLSA Act), minimum wage went up 10% last July, putting it at a whopping $6.55 p/h. And it is going up another 10% on July 24 to make it $7.25 p/h. (This is sometimes higher in certain states or metropolitan areas.) About half of the workers earning these wages are under 25, most have never been married, and most work in service industries (food prep, hospitality, leisure, retail, etc.) Many of these are students, or individuals who have not had a chance to finish their education. There is an almost even percentage of these workers across ethnic lines. Those are the statistics.
There are many who believe that the economy will suffer if minimum wage goes up. The arguments for this are varied. One is that, as minimum wage goes up, businesses will increase their prices to cover what they are giving out in increased wages. This, unfortunately, is probably true. So, the argument continues, you aren't helping the workers because they will still be paying more for products.
But most minimum wage workers aren't buying all the extras that they Average Middle-income American family buys. They don't (usually) want a wage increase so they can get plasma TVs and $200 jeans. They want a wage increase so they can stop eating Ramen for every other meal, so they can give their kids lunch money, so they can pay for the gas they need to get to their job and so they can have a little heat in the winter. As prices for food and electricity go up, an increase in wages has to happen so that people can meet their basic needs. If this means that the wall street exec pays a little more for his morning latte, then so be it.
Others would say that a minimum wage job is only meant to be a "spring-board" or starting place, and that you should "better yourself" and seek a higher paying job. Basically, that if you stay, you are a loser, who deserves less money. This sounds logical, but life is so much more complicated than that. Many minimum wage workers haven't finished school, usually because of a lack of finances, and so there isn't much opportunity to "move up." Many are single parents, who don't have time between working full time and parenting full time to get more education or training. And many have finished college, but often with degrees that won't get them higher paying jobs unless they complete graduate studies as well. And usually these grads are so steeped in debt by the time they leave college, that they can't begin to comprehend getting MORE loans that they will have to pay off. And one by one, in very little time at all, these people fall into poverty.
Poverty is a nasty little trap. And minimum wage is the chain that very often holds you there. I think the best way for me to describe all this is just to tell you my experience...
I went to college. I studied theatre, because no one told me that that was a surefire way to NOT get a job after school. There was nothing else I wanted to do, and, I assumed, I would just teach theatre if nothing else worked out. I wracked up thousands and thousands in loans, which feels like free money when you are 19 and not thinking farther into the future than whether that cute guy in English Lit noticed your new dress. I also wracked up the credit card bills, because everyone told me that I'd just pay them all off with the amazing well paying job my degree would get me... After all, "If you have letters by your name, you can get better jobs, even if they aren't in your field." (Too bad the letters I acquired were a Bachelor of Behavioral Science... or a BBS... emphasis on the BS.)
So I left college with a piece of paper and a lot of debt... and I found a job...at Mr. Gatti's. This was followed by a paper route, a nanny job, a long-term substitute teacher position, and more babysitting. Then I got accepted to another school... A prestigious (I thought) theatre arts school in NYC. Needless to say, more debt... but no "great job." Since then I've worked for an off Broadway show, at Starbucks, and in many, many nanny/housekeeping jobs... most minimum wage or minimum hours. And many nanny jobs will start out great, but your income depends on their income, so you usually end up screwed.
I am always looking for a better job... ALWAYS. Most jobs that are not minimum wage require money for specialized training... money that I don't have. Or, in this city, require previous experience that I, once again, don't have. And there have been times when I have had to go without in ways that most people don't understand... without food, without heat, walking around in shoes with holes, wearing the same two outfits because I can't get new clothes. It's hard to go to job interviews when you don't have clothes that will get you the job. And sometimes... you can't even think about looking for something new because you are working so hard just to SURVIVE that you have no energy left for anything else. Right now I'm not getting much nanny work, so I spend most of my days looking for ANYTHING that will pay the bills. But I have to be picky, because I actually can't live on a minimum wage job in this city... I have to find something that pays more... and those jobs are scarce right now.
I'm not actually complaining here, just stating the facts. My story is no different from countless other people, and many of us form lasting friendships, dig in, and give what we do have to each other. I have learned empathy for others in similar situations, and to actually care and understand those who have far less than me. I have so many people who love me... my roommate of the last four years and I have each had better money than the other at different times, so we take care of things like food and bills when the other one can't. And most of my clothes were given to me by others... still, I wash those clothes in my bathtub because I can't afford to do laundry and bathe with cheap shampoo, cause it's less money than soap. We get our channels on an antenna and watch them on a 13 inch screen that's eight years old. We do without... and we get by... and we still eat... and when the electricity gets turned off, it only takes about a day to scrape money together and get it back on... But still, it IS getting turned off.
So, now I want to give you a minimum wage money break down for one month in Brooklyn. (And I mean almost-in-the-ghetto Brooklyn.) Avg. rent is $500, bills (phone/gas/electric) $115, metro-card (our equivalent to gas money) $81, food $300 (and that's bargain shopping), groceries (toilet paper, soap, cleaning supplies) $100 (at least), laundry $50 (if you do it once a week), extras $100 (that would be: 1 movie, one restaurant meal, one item of clothing, and maybe a book or DVD.) This is a reasonable assessment of just survving with one or two comforts a month, and it comes to $1246 per month... that's not including medical expenses or emergencies, any sort of travel, home repairs, cable television, Internet (a necessity if you want to find a new job), pet care, etc.
Minimum wage in NYC is $7.15 p/h. If you worked a 40 hour week that would come to $1144 before taxes... So lets take out $200 ($50 a week toward taxes) and that leaves$944. Wait! That's not nearly enough to pay the $1246 we motioned above. Lets take out the extras and the laundry. That will leave us with $1096. Okay, lets not eat three meals a day and take $100 off, and then, I can clean less and shower less and take another $50 off groceries... so that leaves $946... so now we forgo one more meal... and we can just get by with a roof over our heads and the basic bills paid. That's what living on minimum wage is... it's pouring over every penny to be sure you can almost get by, it's showering less, and laundry in the tub, and skipping meals. I don't think minimum wage should allow people to buy flat screens and iPhones, I just think it should be enough to pay the bills and keep food on the table with one or two comforts a month. That's what every human deserves, even inmates on death row are afforded that much.
(Let me add, cause I know it might come up... I, and many like me, don't use welfare, or medicare, or food stamps... we survive on our own, without living on tax-payers money... even though we COULD. That should tell you something. We are not looking for handouts. What we are looking for is for million/billions dollar companies like Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Starbucks and so many more to have to pay us a LIVABLE wage. We keep this country going, we deserve to be treated humanely.)
((Yes, I have a better "paying" job right now, but I get only about 16 hours a week avg... so it still evens out... If minimum wage jobs were $10 an hour, I'd get one of those if meant full-time work.)) Sorry, sidebar...
What irks me the most, is that the people who are against minimum wage increases, are people who truly don't understand what it's like to be forced to work in minimum wage jobs. They may have had one in college, but they were lucky enough to get something better right after. These are people who think its a normal part of life to have a television in every room of the house and to have real furniture (not a futon for a couch and a mattress on the floor.) If you have never truly had to struggle, if you have never had the electricity turned off, and gone without meals, and not gotten necessary medical care... if you can afford new clothes every month, and to do your laundry weekly, and to eat out three times a week... YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE JUDGMENTS ON THIS. Because you just don't know... Just as I am not allowed to complain, because at least I have had a roof over my head and some sort of food in the pantry through every season of my life.
The reality is, if we do not allow for wage increase, and if we do not create new jobs in the country, the poverty line will continue to rise. Camelot we may have been, but even in Camelot there were hungry children and sick and dying people everywhere... So, if we tighten our belts, all of us, as a society, we can make a change... Remember, someone has to make that vanilla latte you get on your way to work, someone has to fill your gas pump and bag your groceries... don't they deserve to have the same things you do.
Which is better... a new flat-screen plasma TV... or feeding a family of four for a month?
Be a Change,
K
Friday, January 9, 2009
There's So Much More To Loving You...
This will be a short one... I just wanted to answer a "universal question."
Where is God?
He's there. And here. In my cats face. In the screetch of Subway on tracks. In sunsets and thunderclouds. Within the abysmal fear of being murdered. And the joy of a first kiss. In the black places in the heart that we try to hide. Everything good and painful and in between. In the abscence of evil. In the healing of wounds. He resides in confusion and strives to clarify. He is in the places we would least expect to find Him. He is in the obvious. As Creator, He is within His creation. Always.
We often hear, "God doesn't go to that church." or "A great evil occured there, so God can't be there." or even "That place belongs to the devil." Many who truly love God believe this, but it is contradictary to the nature of God. If we truly believe He is Omnipresent, then He must be, as the word implies, present EVERYWHERE at the same time. (If we think about it, He could even be in Hell... but that needs more research before I put my name to it...) But definitly, on Earth, He is everywhere. It is our AWARENESS of His pressence that is often lacking.
You may ask, what about the distinct feeling I get that I shouldn't be in certain places. You know, the nervous feeling that starts in your center and spreads outward, telling you to get out of a place, or not go there anyway. Well, my friends, that is God... or, the Holy Spirit, for those of you who know. The sense of needing to stay away is not because God isn't there, but rather, because He is there and knows it would be better for you if you weren't there. Amazing. There are places that have been given over to evil. Places that are not good for the soul and spirit. But God is still there, able to warn us away. Really, really Amazing. (Remember... He's God... so even places of evil cannot phase Him.)
As far as churches go, I don't believe God ever leaves a place where people are seeking truth. Because even in a church where a lie is being taught He is still wooing all there to draw closer to truth. Sometimes we need to see a lie exposed to grasp a truth revealed. Anyway, I think it may be dangerous to say things like, "God isn't in that church." Often, when we feel a 'deadness' in a church it is simply fear on the part of the people to allow God to get too close. I cannot condemn another for fear when I have lived there so long. And God's great love encompasses their fear. He knows where they are better than we do. We must be careful about how we use our words, especially when declaring the motives of the Almighty. "The earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof." (Ps 24:1) (Side note: if you are not comfortable in a church, it may just mean you aren't called or created to worship there.)
He is everywhere, why fear anyplace. If we listen to His voice whispering to our spirit then there isn't a need. So I implore you to do 3 things: 1) Beware of generalizations on the nature of God... He is bigger than your box. 2) Continue to listen to Him and grow in your understanding of His nature and TRUE truth. 3) Approach the world, all of it, with unconditional love. Reside in a place of relationship. And then you will be closer to the heart of God.
Your slightly inspired, adoring, sis,
K
Where is God?
He's there. And here. In my cats face. In the screetch of Subway on tracks. In sunsets and thunderclouds. Within the abysmal fear of being murdered. And the joy of a first kiss. In the black places in the heart that we try to hide. Everything good and painful and in between. In the abscence of evil. In the healing of wounds. He resides in confusion and strives to clarify. He is in the places we would least expect to find Him. He is in the obvious. As Creator, He is within His creation. Always.
We often hear, "God doesn't go to that church." or "A great evil occured there, so God can't be there." or even "That place belongs to the devil." Many who truly love God believe this, but it is contradictary to the nature of God. If we truly believe He is Omnipresent, then He must be, as the word implies, present EVERYWHERE at the same time. (If we think about it, He could even be in Hell... but that needs more research before I put my name to it...) But definitly, on Earth, He is everywhere. It is our AWARENESS of His pressence that is often lacking.
You may ask, what about the distinct feeling I get that I shouldn't be in certain places. You know, the nervous feeling that starts in your center and spreads outward, telling you to get out of a place, or not go there anyway. Well, my friends, that is God... or, the Holy Spirit, for those of you who know. The sense of needing to stay away is not because God isn't there, but rather, because He is there and knows it would be better for you if you weren't there. Amazing. There are places that have been given over to evil. Places that are not good for the soul and spirit. But God is still there, able to warn us away. Really, really Amazing. (Remember... He's God... so even places of evil cannot phase Him.)
As far as churches go, I don't believe God ever leaves a place where people are seeking truth. Because even in a church where a lie is being taught He is still wooing all there to draw closer to truth. Sometimes we need to see a lie exposed to grasp a truth revealed. Anyway, I think it may be dangerous to say things like, "God isn't in that church." Often, when we feel a 'deadness' in a church it is simply fear on the part of the people to allow God to get too close. I cannot condemn another for fear when I have lived there so long. And God's great love encompasses their fear. He knows where they are better than we do. We must be careful about how we use our words, especially when declaring the motives of the Almighty. "The earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof." (Ps 24:1) (Side note: if you are not comfortable in a church, it may just mean you aren't called or created to worship there.)
He is everywhere, why fear anyplace. If we listen to His voice whispering to our spirit then there isn't a need. So I implore you to do 3 things: 1) Beware of generalizations on the nature of God... He is bigger than your box. 2) Continue to listen to Him and grow in your understanding of His nature and TRUE truth. 3) Approach the world, all of it, with unconditional love. Reside in a place of relationship. And then you will be closer to the heart of God.
Your slightly inspired, adoring, sis,
K
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
No Life Lived In Fear For Me... (Or, Why I shouldn't watch YouTube after 12 AM...)
I know I've been absent for a bit. I have a blog I'm working on about the nature of the human condition and whether or not we are, as Anne Frank mused, "truly good at heart." I'm still in the research phase.
This is not that blog.
This one will be short, and slightly angry.
I'm tired of "prophets" who predict when the end of the world, or Armageddon, will be. (The latest I heard was 2032.) Matthew 24:36 states plainly that no one will know the hour or day of His second coming. Not a person. Not the angels. Not even the Son.
Only the Father.
So stop it! That's all I really want to say here. Stop scaring people. You aren't actually scaring anyone out of Hell, you're just scaring Christians into either fevered over-action, or petrified inaction. Stop giving the name "Christian" a sour taste in the mouths of people who weren't (or sometimes were) raised in the church. We look bad enough right now as it is.
Yes, we should be aware that there will be an end to our world as we know it. But living as if today could be the last should be joyful. It should make us want to live larger, give more and love better. If you are living in fear of the end, how can you fully be alive in the present moment?
Also, those who dwell too much on predicting Armageddon and decifering the "end times" prophecies are dwelling on unanswerables. (Yup... I just made that word up.) If we are explictly told that we won't know, then prediction is futile.
Tomorrow... the world could end... or you could walk in front of a car. Anything is possible. So live to the fullest... and live without fear.
Fear is evil. Live in love.
Your slightly angry, Youtube wathin' friend,
K
This is not that blog.
This one will be short, and slightly angry.
I'm tired of "prophets" who predict when the end of the world, or Armageddon, will be. (The latest I heard was 2032.) Matthew 24:36 states plainly that no one will know the hour or day of His second coming. Not a person. Not the angels. Not even the Son.
Only the Father.
So stop it! That's all I really want to say here. Stop scaring people. You aren't actually scaring anyone out of Hell, you're just scaring Christians into either fevered over-action, or petrified inaction. Stop giving the name "Christian" a sour taste in the mouths of people who weren't (or sometimes were) raised in the church. We look bad enough right now as it is.
Yes, we should be aware that there will be an end to our world as we know it. But living as if today could be the last should be joyful. It should make us want to live larger, give more and love better. If you are living in fear of the end, how can you fully be alive in the present moment?
Also, those who dwell too much on predicting Armageddon and decifering the "end times" prophecies are dwelling on unanswerables. (Yup... I just made that word up.) If we are explictly told that we won't know, then prediction is futile.
Tomorrow... the world could end... or you could walk in front of a car. Anything is possible. So live to the fullest... and live without fear.
Fear is evil. Live in love.
Your slightly angry, Youtube wathin' friend,
K
Thursday, November 13, 2008
"Hope is a thing with feathers..."
I took a walk in the rain tonight. Not necessarily on purpose, but sort of. I had to walk the ten minutes from the train to my door anyway, so I left my umbrella in my bag. (I don't really like the added encumbrance of an umbrella anyway. They're awkward and force you to hold your arm at angles it was never meant to sustain long term.)
The rain was glorious. Not too heavy, but not a light mist either. The low clouds lightened the dark streets of Brooklyn and the curtain of wetness softened the harsh lines of the dirty Bushwick streets I call home. It was a melancholic, moody scene: reminiscent of a 1940's romance flick. The sort of night that made you feel you could possibly meet the person of your dreams beneath a sputtering street light and then wander off, hand in hand, into the gathering fog.
I love the way my hair feels, hanging damply in my face... The startling contrast between a cold wet head and the warmth of my body wrapped in coat and pants and shoes. It feels timeless... like it always ought to have been this way: raw and unprotected and simple. Natural. The rain gives me hope that life can still occasionally be gloriously uncomplicated. Just two feet, walking home, in the rain.
These days, the word hope is being casually thrown around like a summer-time baseball. Obama supporters purporting that NOW they have hope. NOW their children have hope. NOW this country has hope. And McCain supporters swearing that all hope is gone... that they should just move to Canada or Europe... or that Texas should secede from the Union. Such big responsibilities thrust willy-nilly on such a little word. Do we even know what it means, this word hope? What is the origin of hope, and where should it be legitimately placed?
Hope means, in the simplest definition I can provide, a wish or desire coupled with the confident expectancy that it will come true. The ancient Hebrews, early Christians, and those of Muslim faith viewed hope as a virtue: a valuable individual characteristic that leads to communal well-being. To all three subgroups of people, it is a moral value, a habitual behavior and a spiritual truth. Buddhists, on the other hand, seek to reach a state of Nirvana, in which there is no desire or suffering. In this state, hope is unnecessary, since it is a key component of both. (Desire is synonymous with hope, and implicit in suffering is the hope that it will end.)
The ancient Greeks took a more ambivalent stance on hope. In Greek mythology, hope, or Elpis, is one of the "evils" trapped in Pandora's jar. (Not a box, that's a modern interpretation.) Pandora was the first woman, and, as many women have been portrayed before her, was seen as beautiful but cunning. She was created as a punishment for Prometheus, and was showered with gifts from all the gods. When Zeus sent her to earth she was given a jar that contained all the evils the world had never seen. Mythology is vague as to why she opens the jar, but whether out of curiosity or malice, open it she does. Evil is released into the world, the only thing remaining in the jar is Elpis, or, hope. Many stories stop here, but several later versions claim that she returned to the jar and let hope out, because man could not survive the despair of living without it. (Food for thought: Hope left the jar weakly, but it's power was more potent than any other evil.)
Many claim that Elpis was actually the greatest evil of all... That without it, mankind would have the strength to end his own suffering but that Zeus created it as a cruel sort of joke, to keep him living on in terrible pain. Others believed that without it, the despondency of life would be awful... a crippling despair, leaving them too distressed to keep going and too tired to seek an end. We can't be sure what Elpis's role was in the original mythology... what we do know was that it was contained in a jar of evils, and seen in that light, must not have been viewed as a definitively good thing.
I think it's important to look at hope in a two way mirror. To see the front and back, if you will... the good and the bad. Hope can spur us on to great things. The hope for a better future can create in us the drive to work hard, to be creative, and to lend a hand to our fellow humans. It can enliven our dreams, and give us the impetus to achieve them. Hope can form strong community bonds, by bringing groups of people together to reach for common goals. It can give the injured, depressed and desperate a way to do the hardest thing humanly imaginable: survive through grossly adverse conditions.
Hope at its worst can cause division and discord. If I hope to construct a new theatre in Columbus Circle, and you hope to construct an Ice-skating rink, our hopes will clash. Sort of like each side of an election hoping that "their" side will win, and believing they are right. But which is actually right? Which side should have the right to have their hopes realized? And if you pin too much on a false hope, a hope that is bound to be disproved or forfeited, what then? There is no worse feeling than that hope is lost. Maybe, some things are better not hoped for at all. Where do we draw the line?
In the middle is something that ranges from slightly lazy to truly evil. It is the form of hope that leads to inaction. "If I hope and pray for ___________ it will just happen without my having to do anything." In its simplest form it is the actress who goes to eat at a restaurant where directors dine, hoping to be discovered. At it's worst is the mass mentality that allows a group of people to stand by and watch as a person is murdered in broad daylight, each hoping that someone else will do something about it.
How do we know then, where our hope should lie, now that a new person has been elected to take charge of this country. The answer is simple: in God and in our ability to love. It really has nothing to do with Obama, unless of course you have the power to actually work with him to change things politically. Hope is as solid or elusive as we choose to make it. Obama cannot, essentially, give or take away hope. We are responsible for that in our own lives. If he inspires you to hope, fantastic! If not, then find something out there that does. But do not impart divine abilities to someone who is as human as you or I.
What we need to do is boil down our usage of the word hope. What do we really hope for? A better world or country? How so... through economic changes, social reform, a more peaceful coexistence? How can we achieve these things ourselves? Can I recycle more, or give some of my time or resources to those who have less? Am I in a position to get involved in a political way, or should I practice peace in my own home by yelling less and listening more? What do I hope for for my children? Good food and homes and a better education than I had? How can I provide this? What do they hope for? Don't just say that this person or that is giving you hope or taking it away... Define your personal hopes and channel them into action.
I can't answer any of these questions for you, I'm still asking them myself. In fact, my job as a writer is to give you more and more to question. You have to find the answers for yourself.
So... Don't pin your hopes on someone else. Find what or who inspires you and Be Inspired! Then use this inspiration as a way to go after your hopes and dreams yourself. And pray, a lot. God is in the business of hope as an extension of Love, which is the greatest virtue we can attain. Or, if you don't believe in God, seek Truth. You can never go astray in the earnest pursuit of truth... It is out there...
Oh, a sort of P.S. I have, in the past few weeks, figured out another, very important reason why it was good that I did not vote. It allows me the complete impartiality to write without bias about what I observe in the next four years of Obama's presidency. If say something good, no one can say it's because that's who I voted for. Contrariwise, if I say something not in support of him, no one can say it's because I voted McCain.
Love from your hopeful, impartial, (slightly subversive),
K
The rain was glorious. Not too heavy, but not a light mist either. The low clouds lightened the dark streets of Brooklyn and the curtain of wetness softened the harsh lines of the dirty Bushwick streets I call home. It was a melancholic, moody scene: reminiscent of a 1940's romance flick. The sort of night that made you feel you could possibly meet the person of your dreams beneath a sputtering street light and then wander off, hand in hand, into the gathering fog.
I love the way my hair feels, hanging damply in my face... The startling contrast between a cold wet head and the warmth of my body wrapped in coat and pants and shoes. It feels timeless... like it always ought to have been this way: raw and unprotected and simple. Natural. The rain gives me hope that life can still occasionally be gloriously uncomplicated. Just two feet, walking home, in the rain.
These days, the word hope is being casually thrown around like a summer-time baseball. Obama supporters purporting that NOW they have hope. NOW their children have hope. NOW this country has hope. And McCain supporters swearing that all hope is gone... that they should just move to Canada or Europe... or that Texas should secede from the Union. Such big responsibilities thrust willy-nilly on such a little word. Do we even know what it means, this word hope? What is the origin of hope, and where should it be legitimately placed?
Hope means, in the simplest definition I can provide, a wish or desire coupled with the confident expectancy that it will come true. The ancient Hebrews, early Christians, and those of Muslim faith viewed hope as a virtue: a valuable individual characteristic that leads to communal well-being. To all three subgroups of people, it is a moral value, a habitual behavior and a spiritual truth. Buddhists, on the other hand, seek to reach a state of Nirvana, in which there is no desire or suffering. In this state, hope is unnecessary, since it is a key component of both. (Desire is synonymous with hope, and implicit in suffering is the hope that it will end.)
The ancient Greeks took a more ambivalent stance on hope. In Greek mythology, hope, or Elpis, is one of the "evils" trapped in Pandora's jar. (Not a box, that's a modern interpretation.) Pandora was the first woman, and, as many women have been portrayed before her, was seen as beautiful but cunning. She was created as a punishment for Prometheus, and was showered with gifts from all the gods. When Zeus sent her to earth she was given a jar that contained all the evils the world had never seen. Mythology is vague as to why she opens the jar, but whether out of curiosity or malice, open it she does. Evil is released into the world, the only thing remaining in the jar is Elpis, or, hope. Many stories stop here, but several later versions claim that she returned to the jar and let hope out, because man could not survive the despair of living without it. (Food for thought: Hope left the jar weakly, but it's power was more potent than any other evil.)
Many claim that Elpis was actually the greatest evil of all... That without it, mankind would have the strength to end his own suffering but that Zeus created it as a cruel sort of joke, to keep him living on in terrible pain. Others believed that without it, the despondency of life would be awful... a crippling despair, leaving them too distressed to keep going and too tired to seek an end. We can't be sure what Elpis's role was in the original mythology... what we do know was that it was contained in a jar of evils, and seen in that light, must not have been viewed as a definitively good thing.
I think it's important to look at hope in a two way mirror. To see the front and back, if you will... the good and the bad. Hope can spur us on to great things. The hope for a better future can create in us the drive to work hard, to be creative, and to lend a hand to our fellow humans. It can enliven our dreams, and give us the impetus to achieve them. Hope can form strong community bonds, by bringing groups of people together to reach for common goals. It can give the injured, depressed and desperate a way to do the hardest thing humanly imaginable: survive through grossly adverse conditions.
Hope at its worst can cause division and discord. If I hope to construct a new theatre in Columbus Circle, and you hope to construct an Ice-skating rink, our hopes will clash. Sort of like each side of an election hoping that "their" side will win, and believing they are right. But which is actually right? Which side should have the right to have their hopes realized? And if you pin too much on a false hope, a hope that is bound to be disproved or forfeited, what then? There is no worse feeling than that hope is lost. Maybe, some things are better not hoped for at all. Where do we draw the line?
In the middle is something that ranges from slightly lazy to truly evil. It is the form of hope that leads to inaction. "If I hope and pray for ___________ it will just happen without my having to do anything." In its simplest form it is the actress who goes to eat at a restaurant where directors dine, hoping to be discovered. At it's worst is the mass mentality that allows a group of people to stand by and watch as a person is murdered in broad daylight, each hoping that someone else will do something about it.
How do we know then, where our hope should lie, now that a new person has been elected to take charge of this country. The answer is simple: in God and in our ability to love. It really has nothing to do with Obama, unless of course you have the power to actually work with him to change things politically. Hope is as solid or elusive as we choose to make it. Obama cannot, essentially, give or take away hope. We are responsible for that in our own lives. If he inspires you to hope, fantastic! If not, then find something out there that does. But do not impart divine abilities to someone who is as human as you or I.
What we need to do is boil down our usage of the word hope. What do we really hope for? A better world or country? How so... through economic changes, social reform, a more peaceful coexistence? How can we achieve these things ourselves? Can I recycle more, or give some of my time or resources to those who have less? Am I in a position to get involved in a political way, or should I practice peace in my own home by yelling less and listening more? What do I hope for for my children? Good food and homes and a better education than I had? How can I provide this? What do they hope for? Don't just say that this person or that is giving you hope or taking it away... Define your personal hopes and channel them into action.
I can't answer any of these questions for you, I'm still asking them myself. In fact, my job as a writer is to give you more and more to question. You have to find the answers for yourself.
So... Don't pin your hopes on someone else. Find what or who inspires you and Be Inspired! Then use this inspiration as a way to go after your hopes and dreams yourself. And pray, a lot. God is in the business of hope as an extension of Love, which is the greatest virtue we can attain. Or, if you don't believe in God, seek Truth. You can never go astray in the earnest pursuit of truth... It is out there...
Oh, a sort of P.S. I have, in the past few weeks, figured out another, very important reason why it was good that I did not vote. It allows me the complete impartiality to write without bias about what I observe in the next four years of Obama's presidency. If say something good, no one can say it's because that's who I voted for. Contrariwise, if I say something not in support of him, no one can say it's because I voted McCain.
Love from your hopeful, impartial, (slightly subversive),
K
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Fleeting Inconsequential...
This blog may be deliciously random... I don't really have one point to make, I just want to get some stuff out.
I want to respond to a note left on the first blog.
"Hey lady im proud to know you and see progress in your journey! My opinion is that you should vote and ask the father who to vote for! If you believe He will tell you what to vote. Voting is our responsibility and God will judge us according to our works. Search your heart and seek the Fathers will. i believe that inaction is the work of the devil. The bible says "to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin". I know doing the Fathers will does not include doing nothing. With love and respect D!"
I appreciate the opinion of the author... I did what I said I would, I prayed about this, contemplated and considered whether I should change my view about voting. And I come to the conclusion that I can't. Now for a little dissection...
First, I have prayed and prayed about this whole election. And still I hear the same thing... that it isn't as big as everyone thinks. Or, not big in the way we see "big" from human eyes and minds. What is huge to us, is not as important to Him. He knows the outcome, and our directives are still the same: Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself. I cannot see how voting or not is going to effect these directives, at least for me. I need to think about this some more...
I do not think that voting is a responsibility, so much as a privilege and an exercise in free will. Our responsibility is to pray for the person in office, whomever that may be. Also, we aren't judged by our works... we are judged by our faith. (Protestantism 101... read some of Martin Luther's pamphlets.) Our works are an extension of our faith, an opportunity to show the love that nestles within us, an outpouring of something glorious and mysterious. We do works because we love God so much that we just cannot help but show His love to others.
Also, if you read my blog, it is the opposite of inaction. It is about a concentrated social effort to do good. However you feel led to do good, just do. For some it is political: voting and activism. For some it is religious: Mother Teresa giving her life to serve the underprivileged. For me personally, it is done through writing, and encouraging, and random acts of kindness. This all ties into a deeper understanding of the quoted verse.
"to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin" (This is James 4:17, if you want to read it in context.) I'm not a Theologian, so I preface this by saying that I may be wrong and am open to correction. That said, I think this verse must be taken a little deeper than the face value. I like the way the Message puts it... "In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil." "For you"... Each person has a different "good" ,or right, thing to do. And in fact, to deny the good that we are called to do, in the pursuit of doing what others tell us is good... this may be a greater evil. Let's see if I can illustrate this.
A man is called to go open a soup kitchen; that is the good he knows to do, so if he turns Jonah and refuses, this is "sinning"... this is evil. He was once poverty stricken himself, so he can relate to the destitute state of the people who eat there. He knows in his heart that it is right for him to work there, and this heart-knowledge compels him to go. His best friend is called to wall street to be a light there. He is busy balancing stocks all day, and is so tired on the weekends that he doesn't have time to volunteer in the soup kitchen. Does this mean he is sinning? He sees his friend doing it, and he knows that his friend is doing a good thing, but he doesn't feel God calling him to do that. You see, his "good" is the way his presence keeps the others in his office calm through market fluctuations... the way he always has something positive to say... the way he can smooth over inter-office conflict. He needs his rest and free time on the weekends to rejuvenate, so that he can be calm and effective in his calling. It would possibly be more evil for him to sped all day Saturday volunteering, get little rest, and then be grumpy and ill-tempered at work the next week.
What I'm trying to get at, is that each of us is called to do different good. What is right for me, may not be what is right for you. And the other way around, as well. The way we truly, as God followers, can make a difference... is by honing in on what God calls us to individually. This is how we fulfill the directive to "go into ALL the world". If we all work in soup kitchens, who will love wall street? Right?
This does tie into voting... For some, voting is thrilling. They believe in their candidate and they want to have a part in seeing him enter office. This is fantastic! As a democratic society we need this sort of ardent enthusiasm. I would never tell someone not to vote... I think its wonderful that there are people who love politics, understand them, and want to be involved in the government of this country. (These blogs are not meant to discourage these people. They are meant to encourage the few of us who do feel opposite... We are not un-American, we are exercising our democratic free will to abstain from voting.)
I'm feeling no compulsion to spend hours of my day waiting in line at a voting booth. New York's electoral votes already go to Obama, so one more vote in either direction isn't going to effect that. There are many better things I can do with those hours. The same goes for a mail-in ballot to Texas. The electorals there belong to McCain already. I'll spend the 42 cents better somewhere else. And when this whole mess is over, I'll support and pray for whomever is in office. Because that is right and good.
(I have a funny inclination that God doesn't care much for human politics anyway. Both sides think their candidate is the one God chose... how can we say which is right? Besides, he gave the Hebrews a perfect system of judges, and they wanted to be like "everyone else" and have a King... free will and all... I just think he cares more about love than law.)
So, to the final comment I say, "AMEN!!" The Father's will does not include doing nothing... so true. By not voting, I'm not doing nothing. Rather, I'm doing something... just something else. Enough said.
Well... I was going to talk about some other stuff, but I think that's enough to marinate in for this time.
Your passive social activist,
K
I want to respond to a note left on the first blog.
"Hey lady im proud to know you and see progress in your journey! My opinion is that you should vote and ask the father who to vote for! If you believe He will tell you what to vote. Voting is our responsibility and God will judge us according to our works. Search your heart and seek the Fathers will. i believe that inaction is the work of the devil. The bible says "to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin". I know doing the Fathers will does not include doing nothing. With love and respect D!"
I appreciate the opinion of the author... I did what I said I would, I prayed about this, contemplated and considered whether I should change my view about voting. And I come to the conclusion that I can't. Now for a little dissection...
First, I have prayed and prayed about this whole election. And still I hear the same thing... that it isn't as big as everyone thinks. Or, not big in the way we see "big" from human eyes and minds. What is huge to us, is not as important to Him. He knows the outcome, and our directives are still the same: Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself. I cannot see how voting or not is going to effect these directives, at least for me. I need to think about this some more...
I do not think that voting is a responsibility, so much as a privilege and an exercise in free will. Our responsibility is to pray for the person in office, whomever that may be. Also, we aren't judged by our works... we are judged by our faith. (Protestantism 101... read some of Martin Luther's pamphlets.) Our works are an extension of our faith, an opportunity to show the love that nestles within us, an outpouring of something glorious and mysterious. We do works because we love God so much that we just cannot help but show His love to others.
Also, if you read my blog, it is the opposite of inaction. It is about a concentrated social effort to do good. However you feel led to do good, just do. For some it is political: voting and activism. For some it is religious: Mother Teresa giving her life to serve the underprivileged. For me personally, it is done through writing, and encouraging, and random acts of kindness. This all ties into a deeper understanding of the quoted verse.
"to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin" (This is James 4:17, if you want to read it in context.) I'm not a Theologian, so I preface this by saying that I may be wrong and am open to correction. That said, I think this verse must be taken a little deeper than the face value. I like the way the Message puts it... "In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil." "For you"... Each person has a different "good" ,or right, thing to do. And in fact, to deny the good that we are called to do, in the pursuit of doing what others tell us is good... this may be a greater evil. Let's see if I can illustrate this.
A man is called to go open a soup kitchen; that is the good he knows to do, so if he turns Jonah and refuses, this is "sinning"... this is evil. He was once poverty stricken himself, so he can relate to the destitute state of the people who eat there. He knows in his heart that it is right for him to work there, and this heart-knowledge compels him to go. His best friend is called to wall street to be a light there. He is busy balancing stocks all day, and is so tired on the weekends that he doesn't have time to volunteer in the soup kitchen. Does this mean he is sinning? He sees his friend doing it, and he knows that his friend is doing a good thing, but he doesn't feel God calling him to do that. You see, his "good" is the way his presence keeps the others in his office calm through market fluctuations... the way he always has something positive to say... the way he can smooth over inter-office conflict. He needs his rest and free time on the weekends to rejuvenate, so that he can be calm and effective in his calling. It would possibly be more evil for him to sped all day Saturday volunteering, get little rest, and then be grumpy and ill-tempered at work the next week.
What I'm trying to get at, is that each of us is called to do different good. What is right for me, may not be what is right for you. And the other way around, as well. The way we truly, as God followers, can make a difference... is by honing in on what God calls us to individually. This is how we fulfill the directive to "go into ALL the world". If we all work in soup kitchens, who will love wall street? Right?
This does tie into voting... For some, voting is thrilling. They believe in their candidate and they want to have a part in seeing him enter office. This is fantastic! As a democratic society we need this sort of ardent enthusiasm. I would never tell someone not to vote... I think its wonderful that there are people who love politics, understand them, and want to be involved in the government of this country. (These blogs are not meant to discourage these people. They are meant to encourage the few of us who do feel opposite... We are not un-American, we are exercising our democratic free will to abstain from voting.)
I'm feeling no compulsion to spend hours of my day waiting in line at a voting booth. New York's electoral votes already go to Obama, so one more vote in either direction isn't going to effect that. There are many better things I can do with those hours. The same goes for a mail-in ballot to Texas. The electorals there belong to McCain already. I'll spend the 42 cents better somewhere else. And when this whole mess is over, I'll support and pray for whomever is in office. Because that is right and good.
(I have a funny inclination that God doesn't care much for human politics anyway. Both sides think their candidate is the one God chose... how can we say which is right? Besides, he gave the Hebrews a perfect system of judges, and they wanted to be like "everyone else" and have a King... free will and all... I just think he cares more about love than law.)
So, to the final comment I say, "AMEN!!" The Father's will does not include doing nothing... so true. By not voting, I'm not doing nothing. Rather, I'm doing something... just something else. Enough said.
Well... I was going to talk about some other stuff, but I think that's enough to marinate in for this time.
Your passive social activist,
K
Monday, October 13, 2008
On Eradicating Hatred...
There are people in my life who I used to look up. Used to see as inspirational because of what I perceived as their passion for equality, individuality and creativity. Used to consider heroes because of their proclaimed belief in the human spirit and the right of every person to have a creative voice.
I don't anymore.
Look up to them, that is. Because... suddenly... or not so suddenly... I see what they truly are beneath the mask of free spirited love. I see their fear of being wrong. I see how they claim equality, but only for themselves, and not for anyone who may not believe in the causes they feel called to fight for. I see them proclaim hatred for people who say they are wrong. And this proclamation of hatred shows me, that they are not heroes any longer. Just fallen humanity, so lost and scared that they feel they must hurt to be heard.
Election years do this to us, especially. Every four years our colors flash brightly in the glaring lights of warring political factions. The gay rights movement, the racial equality movement, the feminists, the Christians... all claim to want equality and love. And all heap hatred on one another. Burning words that leave scalded, blistered wounds on the psyches and souls of assumed enemies. (Not everyone who prescribes to a movement or belief does this, but as a whole, most groups that start out good, end up wounding out of their own woundedness.)
I hear the word hate volleyed around like a mantra for change. But how can positive change ever come from hatred. Hatred, in its very nature, is destructive. It is anger with no outlet. It is energy, bottled and fermented, 'til it turns to turpentine and acid. Hatred eats away at the ego; it strips from us our humanity, so that we become little more than banal beasts tearing at each other to try to preserve what we believe is rightfully ours.
As a follow of Jesus Christ, I see this all too often in the christian community. Misguided church groups marching with signs that proclaim God's hatred... for gays, or Nazis, or abortionists, or Jews, or whatever the next "Great Evil" is. This assumption of God's hatred is the true evil. The God I serve is so much greater than that. He is an all encompassing love that meets us where we are and lifts us up, and instructs and guides and fosters truth and creativity.
OK... even if you do believe that a gay lifestyle is wrong, or abortion is killing unborn souls... how is a campaign of hatred going to solve anything. It is perpetuating the enemy's agenda. Satan uses "well meaning Christians" to turn more people from God. Instead of marching on Washington, or boycotting Disney... do as Jesus did. Get to know people where they are at, show them the immeasurable love of God, and allow them to make an informed decision for themselves. Respect them. Honor their intelligence to make those difficult decisions. It works. When surrounded by love, love becomes a force that is hard to ignore. Incidentally, Jesus railed much more against the "church" of His day, than He did against the "sinner." Think about it.
That rant was not the point of this blog... It just sort of came out.
What I really want to address is hate in general. And more importantly, Love, in general. If we, as a free nation, continue to chose hate as an internal weapon, we will not need terrorism to destroy us. Al-Qaeda can just watch as we destroy ourselves. And we will. All the anger and injustice and back-biting, back-stabbing, back-breaking has already begun to corrode our foundations. I had a vision, around the time of 9/11, of the American flag falling into the dust. I thought at the time that it was from external forces. But we could very well cause our own demise if we don't step back, take a deep breath, and re-learn love. A president won't cause us to fail... we, the people, of the United States of America... we will cause ourselves to fail.
Hatred kills. It is an evil that is responsible for genocide, war, poverty, holocaust... anything terrible and destructive you can think of, probably started with two words "I hate..." It's definition: prejudiced hostility or animosity. (Prejudiced... so if you're fighting against prejudice... prejudice toward gays, blacks, women... and you say, "I hate straights, whites, men"... you have just contradicted yourself.) Let it stop with me. Let it stop with you.
Do you want peace? Do you want joy? Do you want unbridled creativity and new purpose? Act in love. Reach out and try to understand past our differences. Even if you cannot morally agree with someone else, love beyond it. See that in all our uniqueness, we are all humans. We deserve love. We were created to love and when we fail to love, when we live in hatred, we are failing to live up to our ultimate destiny. And as Americans, privileged people of a powerful nation, we should spread love around. Do you want to win back national and person dignity? Choose love. Choose to be the difference.
I have hated... and for this I am sorry. I have felt hates power burn in me. It feels like strength at the time. But it is weakness. Because it is a fire that becomes unquenchable in its lust for life and revenge. There is another fire I have felt. The hot passion of volcanic love. I do not mean a lusty, physical kind of love. I mean the spiritual love that transcends all things earthly, and when practiced, lifts us to heaven, enabling us to bring heaven back to earth. We must free this love more often. It is our purpose on this planet... our destiny... our call.
So whatever else you decide this election year... choose love. It's the only thing that can save us.
Your liberated love-bunny,
K
I don't anymore.
Look up to them, that is. Because... suddenly... or not so suddenly... I see what they truly are beneath the mask of free spirited love. I see their fear of being wrong. I see how they claim equality, but only for themselves, and not for anyone who may not believe in the causes they feel called to fight for. I see them proclaim hatred for people who say they are wrong. And this proclamation of hatred shows me, that they are not heroes any longer. Just fallen humanity, so lost and scared that they feel they must hurt to be heard.
Election years do this to us, especially. Every four years our colors flash brightly in the glaring lights of warring political factions. The gay rights movement, the racial equality movement, the feminists, the Christians... all claim to want equality and love. And all heap hatred on one another. Burning words that leave scalded, blistered wounds on the psyches and souls of assumed enemies. (Not everyone who prescribes to a movement or belief does this, but as a whole, most groups that start out good, end up wounding out of their own woundedness.)
I hear the word hate volleyed around like a mantra for change. But how can positive change ever come from hatred. Hatred, in its very nature, is destructive. It is anger with no outlet. It is energy, bottled and fermented, 'til it turns to turpentine and acid. Hatred eats away at the ego; it strips from us our humanity, so that we become little more than banal beasts tearing at each other to try to preserve what we believe is rightfully ours.
As a follow of Jesus Christ, I see this all too often in the christian community. Misguided church groups marching with signs that proclaim God's hatred... for gays, or Nazis, or abortionists, or Jews, or whatever the next "Great Evil" is. This assumption of God's hatred is the true evil. The God I serve is so much greater than that. He is an all encompassing love that meets us where we are and lifts us up, and instructs and guides and fosters truth and creativity.
OK... even if you do believe that a gay lifestyle is wrong, or abortion is killing unborn souls... how is a campaign of hatred going to solve anything. It is perpetuating the enemy's agenda. Satan uses "well meaning Christians" to turn more people from God. Instead of marching on Washington, or boycotting Disney... do as Jesus did. Get to know people where they are at, show them the immeasurable love of God, and allow them to make an informed decision for themselves. Respect them. Honor their intelligence to make those difficult decisions. It works. When surrounded by love, love becomes a force that is hard to ignore. Incidentally, Jesus railed much more against the "church" of His day, than He did against the "sinner." Think about it.
That rant was not the point of this blog... It just sort of came out.
What I really want to address is hate in general. And more importantly, Love, in general. If we, as a free nation, continue to chose hate as an internal weapon, we will not need terrorism to destroy us. Al-Qaeda can just watch as we destroy ourselves. And we will. All the anger and injustice and back-biting, back-stabbing, back-breaking has already begun to corrode our foundations. I had a vision, around the time of 9/11, of the American flag falling into the dust. I thought at the time that it was from external forces. But we could very well cause our own demise if we don't step back, take a deep breath, and re-learn love. A president won't cause us to fail... we, the people, of the United States of America... we will cause ourselves to fail.
Hatred kills. It is an evil that is responsible for genocide, war, poverty, holocaust... anything terrible and destructive you can think of, probably started with two words "I hate..." It's definition: prejudiced hostility or animosity. (Prejudiced... so if you're fighting against prejudice... prejudice toward gays, blacks, women... and you say, "I hate straights, whites, men"... you have just contradicted yourself.) Let it stop with me. Let it stop with you.
Do you want peace? Do you want joy? Do you want unbridled creativity and new purpose? Act in love. Reach out and try to understand past our differences. Even if you cannot morally agree with someone else, love beyond it. See that in all our uniqueness, we are all humans. We deserve love. We were created to love and when we fail to love, when we live in hatred, we are failing to live up to our ultimate destiny. And as Americans, privileged people of a powerful nation, we should spread love around. Do you want to win back national and person dignity? Choose love. Choose to be the difference.
I have hated... and for this I am sorry. I have felt hates power burn in me. It feels like strength at the time. But it is weakness. Because it is a fire that becomes unquenchable in its lust for life and revenge. There is another fire I have felt. The hot passion of volcanic love. I do not mean a lusty, physical kind of love. I mean the spiritual love that transcends all things earthly, and when practiced, lifts us to heaven, enabling us to bring heaven back to earth. We must free this love more often. It is our purpose on this planet... our destiny... our call.
So whatever else you decide this election year... choose love. It's the only thing that can save us.
Your liberated love-bunny,
K
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