Category Archives: Personal Values

Barriers

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Posted by on in Community, Personal Values, Poetry, Striving

October 25, 2016, Prescott-

I abhor barriers.

Walls between nations,

fences between yards,

fingers in ears,

eyes forced shut,

minds and hearts closed.

We are all created unique,

yet we are all created of value.

I am blessed with friends

who are conservative,

who are liberal,

who are Christian,

Baha’i,

Buddhist,

Muslim,

Jewish,

Hindu,

atheist,

Wiccan,

none of the above.

I cherish friends

who are Democrat,

Republican,

Socialist,

Libertarian,

apolitical.

Barriers choke

the life

out of those

on either side.

I value life.

 

 

Embrace

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Posted by on in Community, Inner Struggles, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Spiritual

October 22, 2016, Prescott-

A number of things happened today, far and wide.  Here, I was part of a large group who celebrated faith in God, and the healing that often results from commitment, both spiritual and emotional.

There were testimonies galore, at the fifth annual Hope Fest, a fine blend of vendor booths, children’s play sites and sound stages.  There were a number of self-help groups present, a puppet theatre,  well-trained young singers who belted out show and movie tunes and inspiring musicians and performers.

There was Todd, an accomplished country and Christian singer, a living testimony to Celebrate Recovery.  There were Mia and Bill, who have weathered one emotional storm after another, to stand before a thoroughly-supportive crowd and bask in our admiration.  There was Vanessa, an immensely-gifted young lady, who painted two portraits of Jesus the Christ, to the accompaniment of the two fine acts mentioned above.  She painted Him from images in her mind.  One was Christ in the Passion and the second was the Shroud of Turin.

As with last year, my larger role was to provide moral support and physical assistance to the sound crew at the Main Stage.  This work started when Todd thanked everyone for attending and the audience began to head home, at 8:20 PM.   We finished with everything at 12:30 A.M.  That is almost two hours less than we took last year.  We certainly had  more people helping, than last year.

So, I helped good friends accomplish a  major public event- and continue to honour both Spirit and Body, in becoming far more unified.

 

Gen Z Charades

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Posted by on in children, Community, Personal Values, Social, Striving

October 20, 2016, Prescott-

A little boy and his sister greeted me, when I sat down behind their table, this evening, in a local pizza shop.

As time went on, and their father continued to talk with their uncle, the kids and their two cousins engaged in a game of charades.  There was no whining about when they were about to leave, just four children enjoying one another’s company.  The girl was the most inventive of the group, portraying everything from a softball pitcher to Nemo, the cartoon fish.

This is a bit of irony, compared with what I see lying ahead for the generation that will both follow the Millennials and will need to work, hand in glove with their immediate elders, in cleaning up so many of the messes that are being left them.  There will be no pretending for Generation Z, when they come of age.

Ways of solving problems will be found, the likes of which will seem as exotic, to any Baby Boomers who live into our eighties and nineties, as the i-Pad, solar energy and electronic music did, to those of the GI Generation.  Humanity will prevail, for many reasons, not the least of which is the hard-wired internal technology of the two rising generations.

Charades will be seen for what they are:  A parlour game, not a ruse for ignoring pressing issues.

Prominence, Entitlement, Insecurity

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Posted by on in collaborating, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Striving

October 18, 2016, Prescott-

In the past week, every prominent male political figure, it seems, has had to endure a fine-toothed comb scrutiny of his record, vis-a-vis behaviour towards women.  It’s only fair, I suppose, for the spotlight to shine across the spectrum.

I can’t say my thinking, over the years, has met the gold standard set by former President Jimmy Carter- but I have indeed long since gotten past lusting in my heart.  It would not have ended well, with all that Penny meant, and means, to me. I could never operate as certain men in the public eye are said to move. The difference is, I am not a man of prominence or entitlement.  I am also secure in my own skin.

Truth be known, having women as friends is, as I have said several times, far more satisfying, in and of itself, than a trail of “conquests” could ever be.  Placing shackles on another being requires endless vigilance.  Helping to liberate and elevate another, frees oneself, in ways that no Lothario could even begin to imagine.

I see a far brighter future for both men and women, as the dust settles on the crash of SS Misogyny.

Attraction

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Personal Values, Social, Striving

October 13, 2016, Prescott- After a worthwhile five days, assisting my son in getting his recovery from a foot injury into routine mode, I drove back here yesterday.  The whole mess surrounding how one Presidential candidate treats women and girls, followed by how filthy his main opponent’s language is, was kept at bay, during my time in Chula Vista.

These issues, however, do need to be addressed by anyone with a conscience.  So, here goes:  Objectifying anyone, based on one’s own lusts and proclivities, is understandable, in seeing human behaviour from the standpoint of the animal.  Yet, we are, primarily, much more than animals, are we not?  The most sensuous, loveliest of women is entitled to the same respect and consideration a man gives to himself.  Her dreams and hopes for her life are not to be overlooked, or minimized. That makes her the same as a person of average countenance, or a homely individual. This is a basic human right, and has nothing to do with a person’s attributes- physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.

It goes without saying that my friends are of all ages, shapes, sizes, levels of mental acuity, and any other category one can name.  They have one thing in common:  Humanity.  Many could not be in the same room together, but oh, well.  They each have at least one attribute to which I am attracted.

Initially, I have to say that the first thing I notice about a person, physically, is her/his eyes.  They tell me much of what I need to know.  Then, the person’s  facial cast, and the level of relaxation/tension in the body as a whole, come into view.  Are the person’s hands tense or relaxed (fisted up or open)? Is he/she tight and tense, from top to bottom, or laid back and engaged with the world?  Is she/he talkative, shy, or a mix of the two?

Regarding language, I am, as a rule, put off by an excess of profanity.  It is not so much a sense of prudery on my part, as it is that profanity is a filler, for those whose vocabulary is self-limited.  It is also insulting to those at whom it is directed.  I would prefer a leader, as I prefer friends, whose speech is respectful and elevated.  Profanity as a regular part of speech is degrading, both to the speaker and to all hearers.

 

Fear Itself

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Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Personal Values, Social

October 9, 2016, Chula Vista-

I did a few errands and cleared out the trash and recyclables, this morning.  The rest of the day revolved around binge-watching of the TV show, “Supernatural”, a throwback to the mid- 2000’s and some reading, of some Baha’i documents and a couple more chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird”, my early Fall re-read.

I am not watching this evening’s debate.  The guys are both on a group video game, and that makes for enough noise.  I am fully aware, courtesy of Sirius XM, of the controversy about  DJT’s vulgarities- which makes him about 1 1/2 degrees lower than a certain former President of recent vintage.  I am also aware that there are all kinds of accusations about how American women love to read about crassness and sexual proclivities- “except when it involves political conservatives.”

There is way too much fear going around, and it will likely lead people, on both ends of the political spectrum, to make bad choices. The fact is, no one person is going to do much of anything to derail our Constitutional way of governance.  If Congress is hog-tied, even a short-handed Supreme Court is going to step up- and we, the people, have ways- peaceful ways, mind you- of curbing executive excess.  Lyndon Johnson knew this, and pulled out of a re-election battle, in January, 1968.  Richard Nixon grudgingly accepted it, in August, 1974.

Fear is a healthy emotion, when it causes a person to pause, and take the measure of a situation, rather than engage in mindless cliff-jumping.  It is unhealthy, when it leads to paralysis and circular firing squads, such as we are seeing on one side of the political divide, and may see across the board, yet.

I have only one thing to say, regarding vulgar treatment of others:  Two wrongs, or twenty, do not make a right.

Unless and Until-Education

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Posted by on in children, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual

October 4, 2016, Prescott- 

As our little classroom was not the right fit for a troubled child, I have to voice a few thoughts.

Unless and until:

Adult educators consistently place the well-being of children first;

People on a team eschew oneupmanship;

Children are empowered, according to their developmental levels;

Communication across hierarchical levels, and between colleagues, becomes and remains clear and consistent;

Downtime is minimized to almost nothing;

Spiritual (not sectarian) principles are infused into education, so as to strengthen character;

Cooperative learning becomes the norm;

Children are seen as a valid constituency, by elected officials;

Society places education at the highest priority;

We will continue to face repeated and familiar issues, in our collective mirror.

 

Octane

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Posted by on in Personal Values, Poetry, Striving

October 3, 2016, Prescott-

The once powerful octogenarian,

having survived and beaten cancer,

shuffles and gingerly steps his way

across the floor.

He will be around, for his family

and others who revere him,

for quite some time yet.

Another elder,

in a place far from here,

left this earthly plane,

this morning,

after an extended time

of palliative care.

He leaves a legacy

of civic pride and

overcoming disability,

in his midlife.

My blessed son,

in late youth,

is facing,

and overcoming,

an injury that

has him somewhat

laid up.

He is setting up a

a network,

that will see him

through these six weeks

of sedentariness.

Each of us survives

until its time

for a different setting.

Charlie Brown’s Teacher

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Posted by on in Education, Personal Values

September 27, 2016, Prescott- I was handed an ad hoc lesson, on Newton’s First 3 Laws of Physics, and told to teach it, just after lunch today.  We watched two videos on the topic, one a simple cartoon and the other, a more detailed, but still well-illustrated, presentation.

Afterward, the discussion portion revealed that the students had grasped the basic points, but had not internalized the sequence of the Laws.  We arrived at the order in which the Laws are considered, by considering Cause and Effect.

Another aspect which was noted was the way that people are resistant to change, the same way that living things tend to seek familiarity and conservation of energy.  In other words,  Sir Isaac Newton viewed us as essentially lazy.

I am waiting for the first kid to cite Newton’s First Law of Physics as a reason for his/her laziness.  My answer, of course, would be that the resulting grades would be subject to the Law of Gravity.

I was struck by the way, though, that the students paid closer attention to my presentation than they often do to the lead teacher, who has herself raised the whole “WAA, WAA. WAA”, heard by the kids in the “Peanuts” series of feature-length cartoons.

It occurs to me that people rise to expectations- something Newton never addressed, but Charles Schulz did.

Equinox

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Posted by on in collaborating, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

September 22, 2016, Prescott- 

The Moon keeps us on our toes.

Calendar dates change,

based on its phases,

year to year,

for equinoxes and solstices;

for Baha’i Holy Days;

for Ramadan and Eid;

for Lent and Easter;

for the Jewish High Holy Days

and Passover.

The hearts who celebrate

do not change,

with the phases of the Moon,

or even with the climate’s fickleness.

We remain connected,

even across thousands of miles

and hectares of fenced-in fields.

We remain unified,

soul to soul,

in the face of contrived divisions,

of walls which no one really wants.

Walls and fences,

that delude us.

The only real safety

lies in connection.

Blessed be Charlotte,

Tulsa, Milwaukee,

St. Louis, Manhattan,

Elizabeth, Seaside Park.

God, be watchful,

over Pakistan, Syria,

Afghanistan, Iraq,

Yemen, South Sudan.

Stay the hands of the dividers,

wherever they may be.