I Believe...

*this image was taken from thesuperstitiousnakedape. Click the link to discover even more fun.*

(The Bible is pretty messed up at times, but than it calls us to something radical like loving one another, being humble and telling us to watch our damn mouths. Yes, people pick and choose the verses they like and those they do not, but when have we ever fully accepted everything we have heard from another's lips or read from the pages of a book, or dare I say it.. seen on 'social media'. If we are even slightly honest with ourselves we would admit that we are, all of us, a little full of shit.)

I believe in marriage. I believe in the union of two consenting people committed to each other through hardship and good times. Whether man and woman, woman and woman, or man and man let them be married and let them be welded one to the other, ever striving to keep that bond joined. For a good read with similarities to this check out, The World We Create "The Art of Living". 

Let them be married, I say, and let no one tear asunder. 

Can You Escape?

Is it bad to want to escape? To check out from time to time? To shut down the ol' think machine?

For the love of God…No! 

It is not a bad thing to escape. It is not cowardly. It is not failure. It is the re-compositioning of an individual in order that they may return with courage and boldness to a world that can so often be unrelenting and unforgiving.

Escaping is wanting to retreat, from what ever it is that life has being throwing at you, in order to recuperate or just plain survive and thus renewing yourself in the process. To escape away from something solely because you wish not to do it is called avoidance. Avoidance will always find you retreating, while escaping will always find you returning. Those who wish to conquer will at times need to escape, however those who continually avoid will fail to acquire.
Do not allow escapism to turn into avoidance. 

 If you need renewal than quit avoiding escaping. Set aside time during each day to purposefully and intentionally shut down. Escape into another world and renew your mind. Whether you set a timer on how long you'll read or you set a limit of watching two episodes of your favourite Netflix series, know that this is your time to reboot. When your done be grateful for the break and go forth into the world and continue being intentional.

"I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which “Escape”is now so often used: a tone for which the uses of the word outside literary criticism give no warrant at all. In what the misusers are fond of calling Real Life, Escape is evidently as a rule very practical, and may even be heroic. In real life it is difficult to blame it, unless it fails; in criticism it would seem to be the worse the better it succeeds. Evidently we are faced by a misuse  of words, and also by a confusion of thought. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it. In using escape in this way the critics have chosen the wrong word,and, what is more, they are confusing, not always by sincere error, the Escape of the Prisoner with the Flight of the Deserter." - J.R.R.Tolkien

Trump's Wall Has Got Nothing On God's

If you are a Christian you believe in a God. You believe God sent his son to die in order to take upon the sins of mankind. You believe in an eternal destination after this life on earth. Now you may have differing opinions than others on the many theological areas of Christianity, but for the most part you all agree with the statements just made about God, God's son and eternal destinations. If you believe these things then we are going to run into a bit of a complication in just a moment. You see many Christians I know have denounced, outcried and protested some recent actions of President Donald Trump. For the most part this is just fine by me, I am no supporter nor, however, a denouncer of Mr. Trump. What irks me most is the contradiction of these Christians and their beliefs particularly when it comes to the eternal destination of Heaven. Have you read what the bible states about heaven? About who and how people get into heaven? About what happens to those who do not get in?  Where my annoyance gets heightened, is when these Christians become enraged by Trump's ban or Trump's wall. They denounce it. They scream out at what they call an injustice. They speak out about the love and care of Jesus, about caring for the alien, the poor, and the needy. 

So, I am Curious? 

What right does any Christian have to oppose Trump's ban or wall while along beleiving in a God that turns people away. A God that tells people who call him Lord that he does not know them and not only turns them away but sends them to a place of eternal torment that he created for them. At least Trump is not torturing anyone(at least not yet). God has created the biggest wall and the greatest ban. Where are the riots for that? What about the man who begged to enter Heaven after he had already died? Was he not thirsty? Was he not in pain? Where is the Justice there? Where is the love? If you think Trump is bad, I can point you to one who is so much worse. And they call him a God of Love. 

Curious, indeed.

"Stink...Stank...Stunk."

"Stink...Stank...Stunk."

In regards to K.K's letter to the Editor:

You speak of the myths and man made fictions of Christmas, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and more  making reference to their idolatry. Tell me, do you use a calendar? Do you speak of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or the Precious Sabbath 'Sun'day, the day to worship the Sun, not the 'Son'. Each of those days have been titled after "pagan" non-Christian ideas. Hope you don't call those days by name. How about the months of the year? Should we go there. No, there is not much point as it seems you have already made up your mind. So glad that your belief is somehow not a myth, that somehow all the others are just crazy ideas made up by man but not yours. I mean by the sounds of it your God sounds totally legit. No mythology involved with that myth.
Speaking of Myths. I never did believe in the Grinch who stole Christmas, but after reading your letter to the editor, I now do believe. It seems the Grinch has taken residence here with plans of stealing away Christmas spirit by means of writing cheerless letters to the editor. Fear not as I have heard that the Grinch has yet to grow a heart. Hopefully sometime soon, before the Christmas Spirit is gone.

In the spirit of Dr. Suess;
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Gentle...Me?

I awake from my nights slumber. Another day begins. The sun begins its drowsy ascension in the east. It has work to do. What will this day entail? What will be it's outcome? The answers to these questions, no one can discern. For all that we have is the time that has been given to us. The here. The now. 
How often do I ponder how to live out my day? Not what I will accomplish. Not where I might end up being. Rather, it is in the how that I must place my attention. How might I accomplish? How might I arrive? How might I be. I am not considering a process of steps as though life can be accomplished through the following of a play by play guide. No, I am considering the How, as important as considering the Now. How might I love or not love? How might I play or not play?. How might I work or not work? I must ask myself "What would I be?" and as Epictetus encourages, I must then do what I have to do. 

I would like to be gentle this day. 

Gentle: Mild in temperament or behaviour, kind or tender. 

Kind, Tender, Sympathetic, considerate, understanding, compassionate, benevolent, good-natured, humane, lenient, merciful, clement, mild, placid, serene, sweet-tempered 

"His manner was gentle."

I am a passionate person. It can be a difficult thing being gentle when so much of me wants to either explode with rage, love, sorrow or joy. There is, of course, times for these but there is always time to be gentle. I imagine that in all things gentleness should be the base of all emotion. Gentleness should be the master of all feeling and action. It is good to rage from time to time, but to do so gently. It is good to love but better to do it in gentleness. To be gentle is to stop and consider. The gentle person decides what they should do after examining the current situation through the lens of what they are, gentle. The answer of the gentle is well received whether the answer is agreed upon or not. On the other hand, an answer from the uncontrolled is often disregarded and the giver of the answer held in contempt. 

I want to be gentle. Now I must do what I can in order to be so.