The flywheel turns

At the present time, I am undergoing a bit of spiritual rebirth. It will be slow. It will be painful. I may even decide, eh, it's not worth it and ask for permission to go back to the womb, warm and secure, of just being. What strikes me about this process of rebirth is that I don't truly know very much about how to live life: what to make of it, how to develop stronger relationships, and how it all functions. It is very complex. It has more than we can ever have of it. Think about that: we can never have all of life. Why do we struggle so to advance just that single notion, knowing full well it is an unrealistic desire never to be filled?

When we bring this to the public stage - this wanting, desire, drive for it all - it really starts to devolve us instead of helping us to evolve. We become focused on rights instead of action. We veer from the right path to the easiest path. We take when we need to give. Extraction is the core theme and not gratitude, benediction, and investment.

Philosophy and religion aside, this is part of the problem with life. The desire to have it all creates so much complexity and agita that we end up with less, in terms of real bliss and happiness, than where we started. Why? That time is gone. Those moments to cherish with family and friends....gone. That decisions to advance the beachhead or stifle the competition or take out a nation had far-reaching and, in some cases, devastating consequences then, now, and tomorrow.

The latter, miraculously, can still be changed. We still have influence. We can still provide leadership. Instead of deciding who has chosen path A or B or C to salvation, and which one is better, why do we not concentrate on acting on the premise that all people are born good and it is our job to help them stay there, or perhaps if they have strayed, which most of us have, to find the path again.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace and happiness for all.

Meh...it's late

I want to go to sleep really bad. But I have several things to say:

1. Don't debate when you can act. Time is wasting.
2. Don't worship when you can teach. I believe there's no greater way to honor God than teaching something to someone. Something good of course.
3. Don't play before you practice. I've tried it. It sucks.
4. Give direction and not pity. A culture of pity leads to many bad things.
5. And this one is for me: I'm full. Say out loud now...I'm full.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Table 1297. U.S. Foreign Economic and Military Aid Programs: 1980 to 2008

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s1296.pdf

It doesn't make me angry. It doesn't even make me sad. It disappoints me that a nation, a nation that espouses the benefits of liberty and the glory of liberty-loving people, entangles itself in many, many side deals. What are we after? Peace? Commerce? Oversight? Unconditional acceptance? It is no wonder that we provide welfare to the world-at-large in much the same way we provide it here at home. It needs to stop. As I wrote about a few days ago, let the real change begin.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

To photo or not to photo

You know, I really don't care. Show us the photos of OBL or don't. Let's stop talking about it. With all the crazy things that have happened in this country over the last 5 decades, perhaps a showing to a group of journalists, as indicated on one of the talk shows I was listening to today, or a small group of chipmunks might be warranted. Whatever! Let's move on. The man is dead, we have an economy to save, and we have much work to do on reforming our own tired, byzantine military-industrial-government complex.

Be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Sabre-rattling is expensive...in many ways

I was listening to POTUS today on SiriusXM. Pete Dominic's show always provides some interesting thoughts to consider. Today, a gentleman indicated that we have only subdued swords with more swords and we should continue to expect the same dysfunctional behavior in the future.

Amen.

When will we learn? My guess is that we'll never learn. The esteemed senator from Georgia was spouting off about how we will hunt down the offenders and finish them off as they sleep or some such spin. And then what? We wonder and worry about what will happen. We are somehow offended when they say the same and rattle sabres at us? We pound our chests some more. We raise our swords high. More sons and daughters will die for what?

And...and it costs a whole heckuva lot of money to keep this going. When is this going to stop? When are the American people going to be repaid? When are we going to stop using the marketing ploy of death traded for freedom? It's crap, folks. We continue to devour others' liberties and freedoms to uphold ours on a planet that provides only one destination for all of us: death. What a pity we will spend life's reserves continuing in this manner. Sad.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Change starts...now!

A quick note this evening on saving us from ourselves. Today proves to be a day that will long be remembered as May Day for Osama bin Laden. He died today. What's more important, if I may be so bold, is that we should learn from this and create a better place. Less war. More free trade. Less aid. More teaching and training. Less regulation. More punitive action. Less subsidy. More subsistence. Less I. More we (voluntarily, of course).

We have the power, each one of us, to make for positive change in this world. I don't always succeed. In fact, I almost always fail. But, from that failure, I learn. I learn that we cannot win when others lose and we cannot tolerate doing to others what we would not want done to us. Our foreign and domestic policies must be simplified and modified to better reflect the straightforward nature of our Constitution. I know. Easier said than done.

Be vigilant out there. Based on most news outlets, the fat lady is just warming up. Eyes and ears open, folks, eyes and ears open.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for PEACE!

Well...then...you die

A couple of weekends ago, a gentleman I've been following spiritually told the following little story (or something close to it):

A man, Robert, walks up to me and asks if I can write his eulogy. The man has heard that I'm a decent writer. He knows little about me, though, and how direct I can be. Regardless, he goes on to ask me to write a great eulogy that is both effective but brief. So, I begin: Here lies Robert, a man that has sought those things that he did not have (Robert looked at me, plainly unamused), a man that fought ferociously to keep what he had; then Robert died. Robert, clearly not happy with my attempt at meeting his needs, walked away embittered.

As you know, we tend to discuss political and socio-economic subjects in this blog. How does this little story relate to our political reality? Well, on the surface, one might conclude that it doesn't really connect. However, if one digs a little deeper, I think there is a vein of tangible wealth.

As a nation, not unlike other nations, we live our political and bureaucratic lives wanting many, many things - things for our people, things for our allies, and things from our enemies. It is only natural that our citizens also fall in step with this approach. This mercantile spirit rages, day and night, throughout the land. The welfare state mushrooms for both the individual and corporation to reap many goodies. The things that we get we work very hard to keep. I guess, as a free-market guy, I'm generally okay with this. However, there is a slight twinge in my side, now and again, every time I see just how far this aggregate mercantilism has gotten us. Debt. War. Corruption. Anxiety. Wash and repeat.

I know there are good things as well: places to see, people to meet, and passions to play through. But, are they enough? Is all of this political aggrandizement good for us? Are we better off? I guess the answer, one that I can't stand to hear, is, "I don't know." That, in itself, has cause for some alarm. Now, where is that bell?

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. On a decidedly different note, I'm very proud of my little brother, the poet, for completing his MFA. That is all.