Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Mea Culpa



When confronting the darkness witnin my own heart,
it feels to me as a melting of inner spirit, or an
empty, aching hole that cries for love.
Love came and went
in my life. It will come again.

 
"Man in the Moon"

Thursday, December 20, 2012

"Where on Earth is the Earth?



Biocentrism.
It's a word I recently heard to describe the pantheistic
world view that is taking hold of America in a big way.
Whales are more respected than unborn children.
Tuna cans boast that no dolphins were hurt to provide you with that
can of tasty fish. But what about the tuna?
Environmentalists gripe about the depletion of the rain forests and
over harvesting of the world's woods.
But they never tackle the issue that every household in the
country does when their mailboxes
are stuffed with trash (paper) each
and every day.
What if the fetuses of seals were being harvested
for scientific research? Would not PETA be alarmed?
But human fetuses seem to be less, "sacred" than animals.
Let those that are concerned with the planet
become realistic and less hypocritical.
Why not end the greed?
The lust for more, "stuff."
What do you think?
 
 
Photo by J. Peter Hansen
 
 




Thursday, December 13, 2012

"THE TIME DRAWS NEAR"

In these post Vatican II days I would hope that the Catholic Church would rise up to condemn the horrors as seen in today's world and not make the mistakes she made in World War II. Although Pope Pius XII had his hands tied behind his back and valiantly saved thousands of Jews world wide by hiding them in Churches, Monasteries, Convents and private homes, he and ALL THE WORLD stood by, and knowing in their hearts and minds the hellish terrors being unleashed upon millions, they quietly continued their mindless daily routines. Some, like The Pope (covertly), Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, Oscar Schindler, and later Simon Wiesenthal and many others did what they could. Others slunk back into the shadows saying to themselves, "I know what is happening. There is nothing I can do about it. I will keep safe and shut my mouth."

Look around you. Do you see it? Do you smell strange and acrid chemical fumes in the foyer of your apartment building or see people at 4AM racing down the highway as if they were escaping from (or were) Satan himself?

There are two warnings that I want to leave you with. "Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean there's no one following me." And a quote from the ancient, Chinese sage, Lau Tzu, "When trying to take on the tools of the master carpenter, one will usually cut off ones hand instead."

http://youtu.be/qoHMm5vctIM






Sunday, December 9, 2012

"The Crooked Paths Made Plain"



I have a friend who is a linguist. He told me that the word, "Crisis" is made from two other words. Danger and opportunity.

When facing a crisis like the recent, "Hurricane Sandy," the danger of physical harm was obvious. Yet in situations like that there is also the danger of, "Loosing one's cool" or letting one's self be ruled by selfish motives. A healthy self centeredness is useful as a tool toward self preservation, which is one of the most basic of human drives, but when one is tempted to curse out a fellow driver for cutting in on a line for rationed gasoline, or worse yet pulls a gun on him, which was reported in the news in the midst of the storm, one's soul is damaged, which is immanently worse that any physical harm.

The "opportunity" is to get in touch with ones heroic and charitable side at times like that. I'm sure that others saw people performing acts of kindness, empathy and compassion as
I did. People were going to visit the elderly and ask if they needed anything at the supermarket, etc. There were those that took a gas can to the filling station for a friend.

At times like these one sees the best and the worse in mankind.
It has always been that way.

There is a song that was recorded by Arlo Guthrie called, "Which Side Are You On?" I have always loved that song, because it reminds me that there is a straight and narrow road and a crooked and wide road and we must choose which one will become our life's path. The one that most are traveling on, or the road less travelled. Choose wisely.