Tag Archives: humanity

Blueprint

Blueprint: (n) a design plan or other technical drawing.

Dictionary BI don’t often take time with this particular essay to discuss current events or natural happenings. It’s really more a primer on what is primary.

But I find myself in an interesting dilemma.

I have set a blueprint for my life, my work, my mission, my writing and my sharing with humanity–to stay away from politics. To me, politics is taking what might be a good idea and hammering on it until it’s pleasing to as many people as possible.

But in this particular political season, I am stymied.

My blueprint is threatened.

For if I talk about kindness, courtesy, gentleness and tolerance, it will appear to my reader that I am preaching against Donald Trump.

On the other hand, if I write an essay on honesty, being forthcoming, freshness of ideas or even gaining the acumen of using the Internet and email–doggone it, it would appear that I’m striking out against Hillary Clinton.

So I find myself squeezed like a tube of toothpaste which should have been replaced four days ago.

When you can’t speak a virtue without attacking one or the other candidate, what you have is a commentary on the lack of virtue in our candidates.

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Big Bang

Big Bang: (n) the supposed origin of the Universe.

“Choose your poison.”Dictionary B

I know that sounds like a cynical statement, but the truth of the matter is, if you were going to die by consuming a substance, it might be nice to be able to pick the one that was the least painful.

That’s what I feel about those who believe in Creationism, and others who assert the Big Bang theory.

Both story lines seem comically intricate and equally unlikely.

First, the faith it takes to believe in a supernatural Creator of the Universe is beyond the capacity of any living human soul. We are all perpetually in doubt that God actually exists, let alone holds a viable position.

On the other hand, the notion that some convergence of energy created an explosion which splattered matter across the darkened sky, to begin a festeringly long incubation towards life, which culminates with a kidney in a human body which knows how to regulate poisons out while maintaining blood pressure, is equally wild and wacky.

So for me it becomes a case of whether it’s all of one, a combination of both, or even the aggravating “neither.”

I do gyrate toward a belief in God simply because I am hopeful of seeing humanity grow sensitive to itself and one another, in order to prolong our stay on Earth instead of hastening our departure to unknown shorelines.

Yet I will never reject the discoveries of science, which help me to understand how our Universe came to be.

So when asked if I believe in evolution, my response is, “Evolution seems to believe in me. Thank God.”

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Best

Best: (adj) of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality.

Dictionary B

The most miserable, unfulfilling, angry, jealous and confusing moments in my life were when I believed I was pursuing the “best.”

I suppose that’s because I feel they’re always moving my keys.

Do you know what I mean?

You come home, you lay your keys on the counter (and you’re damn sure you did) and you come back and they’re gone. Your first instinct is to believe that someone has come and taken your keys and placed them somewhere that they thought would be best.

Truth is, most of humanity does not pursue their own best, but only feels they have insight on what I should pursue to get my best.

So politicians, preachers, pundits and personalities of all shapes and forms preach to me their permutation of what is really perfect.

I’m tired of perfect.

I hate perfect.

Matter of fact, if I believed Jesus was perfect, I would completely comprehend the crucifixion. He would have been too annoying to keep around.

Candidly, I have spent so much time worrying about the best that I’ve often missed the chance … to just get better.

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Beneath

Beneath: (prep) at a lower level or layer than.

Dictionary B

“Beneath” is where we always end up when we become impatient with life’s insistence that we be involved.

Many people have been clamoring in my direction, expressing their anger over the present political situation in our country. They seem to be offended by the notion that the turmoil being caused by the rhetoric of politicians is bringing out the demons of our worst nature.

They possess an optimism which contends that these vices, prejudices and bigotries should be in our past, and somehow or another are beneath us.

Obviously they aren’t.

If you can get one person to state a mistruth, and then create a whole line of others to agree, you don’t have a resolution, but rather, a hidden iniquity.

Nothing is beneath us.

We are capable of delusion, which opens the door to all sorts of meaningless proclamations and even vicious actions.

So should we give up on humanity?

Should we pridefully sit on our perch of self-righteousness and peer down in disapproval at the imbeciles below?

The best we can do is take what we see around us and make sure that none of it is in us.

This precautionary act will allow us a more gentle spirit–to be forgiving of those who are misled when they finally are in need … of coming home.

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Below

Below: (prep) at a lower level

Dictionary B

It takes guts.

It probably shouldn’t.

Honesty, by its very definition, should be a statement of the reality that we presently know.

But since reality tends to scare us, we develop stories. We conjure excuses. And we fail to realize that our character–and ultimately, our popularity–is determined by how well we recognize when our efforts are below standard, and admit the shortage instead of denying responsibility.

How wonderful it would be if I could convince myself, and maybe therefore others around me, that the only way to be truly diminished is to insist that I never fall below the best.

  • We all do.
  • We all will.

And we all have an opportunity to be considered valuable by admitting this deficiency instead of covering it up.

It baffles me that I don’t know this. Why I pause before telling the truth of the matter is a great source of mystery to my soul.

Because when I am candid, the world rushes to my side to lift up my spirits and encourage me to do better.

When I lie, I make humanity around me turn into my enemies so they can honor the traditions of candor.

My efforts are often below the quality I am capable of achieving.

I have never improved my status … by lying about it. 

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Begotten

Begotten: (v) past participle of beget: to procreate or generate offspring.

Dictionary B

“His only begotten son.”

It is a phrase within a verse from the Good Book which describes the master plan of a loving God who is trying to redeem the people He created.

Perhaps the most unfortunate situation in the world is the misunderstanding that bubbles up over the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Some people, in a desire to create the solemnity of holiness, generate the image of a half-god, half-man–or all-god, all-man–individual, who was present in flesh but mostly absent in true humanity.

There are others who try to turn Jesus into a common Jewish prophet or teacher–someone who expounded with great wisdom and suffered the consequences of his idealism.

There are even those who insist there is no historical evidence that such a human ever walked the Earth.

But the source of all the misconceptions is always grounded in a desire to promote an idea which suits us instead of a truth which saves us.

Maybe Jesus was exactly who he said he was.

Maybe God, who was able to forge a Universe, was also able to initiate a human life which was completely susceptible to difficulties and struggles, while internally inspired by the freshness of heaven.

Why not?

If God wanted to make Himself totally human, why couldn’t He?

There are only two reasons He couldn’t: either He didn’t, or He doesn’t exist.

And since Jesus made it clear through his words that he was the Son of Man, the “didn’t” reason is unlikely.

So we are left with a choice:

Is Jesus a human being who was also begotten of God, or is it all just a horrible Middle-Eastern joke? 

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Bearable

Bearable: (adj) able to be endured.Dictionary B

Politics without attack ads and lies.

Entertainment that attempts to be both relevant and inspiring.

Religion that includes humanity.

Sexuality without violence.

Education that becomes wisdom.

Men and women finding common ground.

Reasons to get along promoted.

Selfishness unmasked.

Common sense revered.

Gentleness acclaimed.

Peace-makers considered brave.

Money a way to assist.

Comedy humorous.

Food as fuel.

Respect for the Earth.

Intelligence pursued.

Judgment removed.

Mercy studied.

Loyalty with a sense of history.

Flag-waving with introspection.

Debate with control.

Deceit exposed.

Self-righteousness ridiculed.

Yes, these things are bearable.

. 

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Barbiturate

Barbiturate: (n) a class of drugs used as sedatives and hypnoticsDictionary B

The classic two are religion and politics. Those are the subjects to avoid at the dinner table.

Let me add a third: drugs.

It certainly is difficult to make a firm stand on the issue of drugs, which to some people are viewed as medication, others as recreational and to many ailing, salvation. Almost any statement you make about drugs will offend someone, somewhere.

So it is with tippy-toes and fairy feet that I step into this discussion, understanding that everything I’m about to say could be erroneous and disagreeable.

I believe in God, therefore I contend that He made Earth. Since He made our Earth and He is a wise and just Creator, He placed within the confines of this magical puzzle clues on how to make our lives work and become better. That includes roots, berries, twigs, branches and any variety of natural substances which can be curried, melted and configured to treat humanity.

And since this same God gave human beings free will, what was meant for good can certainly be perverted for evil.

So what is our responsibility?

If marijuana helps young children who are suffering with terminal diseases to endure their treatments, then we must understand that it is not innately evil, but rather, in need of the wisdom of purpose.

Matter of fact, when I look in the mirror, I see a natural substance called “me,” which is equally in need of the wisdom of purpose. After all, I can abuse myself or I can use the elements of my chemistry to create an abundant life.

So the same heroin that is sold on the street which addicts, is given to those in pain so they have a chance to recuperate instead of dying in agony.

The same caffeine that we enjoy in coffee, that peps us up, when taken in extremes, can create heart palpitations and high blood pressure.

Why did God believe that He could give us such a mixed bag of possibilities, and that we would somehow eventually find the better choices?

It is the same reason that He placed, in the Garden of Eden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil right next to the Tree of Life:

He loves us, believes in us … and trusts us to take our barbiturates and use them for needed sleep, instead of overdosing and destroying ourselves.

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Await

Await: (v) to wait fordictionary with letter A

There is a contingency of humanity which believes that as long as any issue can receive a majority of approval, then that particular subject in question is proven truthful.

What hogwash.

There are times in our history when chasing witches and killing them, owning slaves, beating women and human sacrifice certainly gained a 51% range of acceptance.

It didn’t make it right.

So I become concerned when religious and secular people agree.

I suppose that sounds odd, but it tells me that the subject matter has some sort of copout, because these two worlds don’t normally coincide.

  • In the religious world, it’s called Calvinism–the contention that our lives are predestined and therefore pretty much out of our control.
  • In the secular community, it is blissfully proclaimed to be destiny. “We were born a certain way, therefore we’re committed to be a certain way, and the more we fight it, the more miserable we become.”

But I happen to be of a school of thought that there is a universal truth from which all founts of blessing pour:

It’s called free will. And when you remove free will, you shake your fist at the sky and insist the Earth is flat.

So I make my decisions about life, spirituality and social change based upon free will.

The removal of free will is the institution of stupidity.

The institution of free will is the only way to fight stupidity.

So even though I am not favorable to abortion, I live in a Republic where a woman has a free-will right to decide that for herself.

Even though I don’t understand all the ins and outs of the gay community, I am thoroughly convinced of their free-will authority to pursue their own path.

So when I saw the word “await” today, it reminded me of a common phrase I’ve always found distasteful: “Await your fate.”

If you don’t mind, I shall not do that.

If it turns out that I was destined to be one way or another, then so be it. But my understanding of God and His universe is that He has granted us the power to will and do … thus opening the door to changing our circumstance.

 

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Attention

Attention: (n) notice taken of someone or something dictionary with letter A

After a handful of decades of public speaking, I will tell you that human beings are not interested unless they’re interested.

That may sound silly, but if you stop to think about it, all of us are inundated with information which has little use to us in the moment. But we are challenged to believe that someday, at some place, it will become valuable.

So unfortunately, this puts us all in a conformity of boredom, feeling mature by enduring speeches instead of enjoying the now.

Here’s what I think about attention. It goes really well with two ideas:

  • Attention to detail
  • Attention span

I think these go together as a pair.

If I go into a lot of detail and lose the attention span of my audience, then no matter how righteous I feel in sharing my data, it is absolutely worthless because no one’s listening.

On the other hand, if I take some time and find out what really does interest people and put it in the context of what will actually help them, then I can use my attention to detail effectively.

People may have a limited interest in government, but they really want it to work and not interfere.

Folks may want to go to heaven, but nobody’s in a big hurry to get there.

And people are only interested in following instructions when it means they can put together something that will be fun.

I think we’re in danger of hating humanity because they’re so human instead of studying humanity and loving them for being human.

My attention is held by what seems to be pleasurable. If I can make love, generosity, tenderness and creativity a pleasant experience, then I have brought a great gift to my generation.

 

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