Tag Archives: souls

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Daniel in the lion’s den: Bible story about bravery.

Mark, Sandra, Jackson, Benjamin, Bartholomew, Crystal, Jesse and Thomasina also found themselves cast into the lion’s den.

They were just as brave as Daniel.

They were equally as faithful to their God and their purposes.

But they got eaten.

The writer of the book felt that their stories would not be quite as dramatic as Daniel—who survived a full night with lions without being devoured.

We don’t know why.

It could have been that the lions picked up a stomach virus and couldn’t keep anything on their tummies.

It could be that the cave he was thrown into was darker that evening because of a rainstorm outside.

Yet we choose to believe that Daniel was spared because Daniel was special.

But if you choose to believe that scenario, then you have to assume that all the good saints and souls who have lost their lives for a cause selected to be self-sacrificing on a week when God found them somewhat mediocre.

I don’t think that’s the way it works.

The big stories always make the news–and a man surviving a night with lions is certainly worth some print.

But let us not forget those who were faithful, whose deeds were not rewarded on this side of mortality—did hopefully receive great prominence in eternity.

Crystal Ball

Crystal ball: (n) a method or means of predicting the future.

Take a walk with me.

You don’t even have to leave your chair.

Let us consider it a mental exercise—a stretching of our reason.

Just answer me a few questions:

  1. Do human beings have free will?

By the way, it’s kind of a yes or no question. If you answered no, you probably don’t need to go any further on this little thoughtful jaunt. I will just assume that you respect free will.

  1. Are human beings unpredictable?

Even though we think we gain insight on the character and reactions of others, our closest friends can still surprise us from time to time by turning left when we’re accustomed to their “right ways.”

  1. Since humans have free will, we cannot guarantee what choices, decisions or options they pursue. Do you agree?

I certainly do.

I think the worst thing I do in my life is when I try to second guess people who haven’t really invited me to guess in the first place.

  1. Taking all this into consideration, is it possible that people, life, institutions and circumstances can surprise us?

I know it’s a foolish query. Of course they can.

So final question:

  1. Since we don’t know what people are going to do and we don’t know what’s going to happen, how can the future even exist—except as a hazy space of possibility awaiting our whim?

How about that?

So since there is no future until free-will creatures live it out, how could a crystal ball define what that’s going to be when the unpredictability is just downright unpredictable?

So if you want to find identify a hoax or confirm that something is completely out of whack, feel free to run away from all souls who think they can tell you the future.

funny wisdom on words that begin with a C

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Consume

Consume: (v) to eat, drink, or ingest food or drink

Last night, in the spirit of the holidays and expressing great affection, one of my sons made me a huge shrimp cocktail and regally paraded it to the table and set it down in front of me as if I were Henry VIII himself.

It was a beautiful sight. It took time to put together. It was gorgeous (if can bestow such a title upon impaled shrimp).

Yet less than ten minutes later it was consumed. The little fellows had departed, and all that was left behind were little tiny pieces of tail.funny wisdom on words that begin with a C

I was not sad. Matter of fact, I was quite satisfied with the offering and how it landed deep within my innards.

But it was gone.

I began to look around to see if there were friends of the shrimp which might be available for further consuming.

There were.

I soon forgot the sacrifice of the initial “little swimmers,” as I consumed more and more of their family members.

I felt no guilt whatsoever at destroying a whole generation of crustacea. Appalling.

Certainly to them, I must seem a monster, invading their safe place in the bay, lodging right next door to their pals, the scallops.

But one thing was sure–after my second, and even third, pursuit…

They were gone.

Consumed.

The only thing I took from that experience is that even though shrimp probably do not have souls (at least I hope not), I do have to be careful not to consume people–human brothers and sisters–who do possess such a gift from God.

We are all consumers.

But every once in a while, we need to realize what we’re consuming–and try to put a little back into the sea.

 

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Blink

Blink: (v) to shut and open the eyes quickly.

Dictionary B

“Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!”

The standard comedic line to describe a tiny town with only one stoplight. By now, the joke has been worn out, but obviously, the inner-office memo has not reached every outpost.

It’s amazing: a practice which is essential to our well-being and extremely frequent–that of blinking–is considered to be a sign of weakness, lack of attention or cowardice.

“Don’t blink!”

“Don’t be the first to blink!”

So I would like to step in and say, “I blink.”

Yes, there are things that shock me.

I do not want to become so worldly and road-weary that I pretend that my cynicism has freed me from the instinct to blink.

I do blink:

  • I’m still appalled at lying.
  • I find pornography to be a safari into a human zoo.
  • Hearing profanity in public makes me wince along with my blink.

I’m not a prude, but I’m not proud of exaggerating my level of tolerance.

I like gentleness, I like kindness and I blink when I see people abuse each other or curse at one another because the traffic light turned green and no one moved.

I think to be alive, caring and willing to embrace humankind, the natural blinking that the eyes perform numerous times in a minute … should also be duplicated in our souls.

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Apropos

dictionary with letter A

Apropos (adj): very appropriate to a particular situation.

Mr.Torrence had an aggravating mannerism which put people off and made them eventually despise him for his short-sightedness.

He was one of my eighth-grade teachers and the faculty advisor for our student council.

Every time we gathered, got into the midst of what we considered to be a fruitful discussion about some things that needed to be changed in the school, or about various projects we wanted to pursue, which seemed to be in line with the wishes of our friends, he would interrupt and say, “That’s not apropos.”

The first couple of times he said the word, we were all chilled to silence, because no one wanted to admit that we were unfamiliar with the idea. But finally, one of the braver members piped up, “What do you mean by apropos?”

He chucked at our ignorance and replied, “It’s off-point.”

Well, I’ve never been one to accept the authority of a figure simply because he’s had more birthdays and wears a tie, so I piped back, “It’s not off-point if we don’t think it’s off-point.”

He furrowed his brow in disapproval and sternly warned, “I am the adult here and I know what’s apropos and what’s not.”

Once again we all cowered in fear.

No one said anything else, and truthfully, our little organization was completely unable to back any idea or complete a project.

I had this abiding belief in my soul that eventually I would get old enough that I would escape the “Mr. Torrences” and be able to make my own decisions. But no matter how many bites of birthday cake I consume, marking the passing of my years, there continue to be these creatures, like Mr. Torrence, who want to decide for everybody else what is apropos.

Some do it claiming a reverence for God or a moral code; others do it because they have an inherent fear of change. And then, a vast majority put forth this profile simply to be controlling assholes.

Our entire country is stymied by a “spirit of apropos.”

We are stalled on the entrance ramp of the highway of life.

We are inundated by individuals who want us all to shiver in silence, never able to build up the speed to enter the stream of traffic.

Throughout the march of humankind, people have tried to chloroform new life by making us all afraid that what we’re about to do is out of line–and certainly not apropos.

Without the souls who are rebellious to the “Mr. Torrences” who come along, we still would be owning slaves, raising cattle, treating women like donkeys…and eating our dinner in the darkness of a cave.

 

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