Thoughts on Independence day

Today is July 4th, Independence day. This means so many things to so many people. I think of the freedoms we have to choose our faith, our fate, our jobs, our lives, our knowledge. We get to choose. Thinking along these lines I think of the choices I made. Seems today is a day of reflection. As usual these never turn our terribly well. We focus on the negative. We just can’t seem to help it. I think I have figure out why. I look back at “mistakes” that I now call learning experiences. I have passed these experiences down when applicable. Not because I am kind or loving, but because there has to be some kind of meaning behind the lesson. Some were easy, some were not so easy. The harder they were the more likely I would share. After all, why would we be put through such things if there wasn’t a reason, any reason! I look back at the differences that I now see in myself and throughout my life. Some people call them flaws, but we are all flawed and that word just seems a bit brutal. So to me they are differences. I was thinking today I didn’t keep track of my old friends, nor do they contact me. I have new friends, and they are wonderful people, but I lost touch with those I grew up with. I wonder how much of that is me, time and/or convenience. I wonder sometimes if I am too much, or not enough. Either way it is not my call. But I still wonder. I thought about all the things I have learned the last 10 years. Off the wall things, interesting things, all things that can help myself and others. Reiki, aroma therapy, tarot, palm reading, I Ching, Critical Incidence Stress Management, Chaplaincy, things all over the board. Seems I want to help people. But do I want to because I am loving and kind? No. I want to because I feel it is my duty. I feel the human race is off the rails. I feel the varying moral code, the inability to keep things simple, the need we have to expand, explain, justify has lead us down a slippery slope. We are confused, we don’t know the rules anymore and this brings on insecurity. It has made us ugly towards each other. We can be happy in our world and have one person tell us we are missing out, or confused, or doing it wrong and it can bring doubt. We want to fit in after all. So we let others, movie stars, “professionals” tell us what we need to be complete. Because we are all “different” no one person knows what it takes to make us whole. But we listen to them anyway and get off our own track. Do you have any idea how simple it is to turn someone’s day around? One complement, one sentence of kind words. That is it! Do we do it for them? Not really. Do we do it for us? No. We do it for the collective, the humans on this planet that are fighting for understanding, to be seen. Yep, something as simple as just to be noticed. I am not young anymore. I have noticed the older I get, the more invisible I become. I forget I am older. I act like I always have, and have become that creepy old lady that doesn’t know her place. I say inappropriate things, tell off color jokes. No one wants to hear the wisdom of the older people. After all, things are different now, it’s all changed, how could my knowledge be of any value? But people haven’t changed. We are still driven the same way, we still need the same things, and we still act out when depleted. They say the world has changed. I am here to tell you it hasn’t. There has always been in-crowds, cool kids, smart kids, lucky kids, struggling kids. These all turn into adults that either learn how to accept and overcome or they don’t. The reason we focus on the negative is because that is what we need to overcome. We don’t need to put energy into the positive, it is fine just how it is. But the negative, that takes some work, some energy, some understanding. But when you learn the lesson, you feel yourself becoming more complete and most times vow never to make that mistake again. So we remember, we mull it over, we let it define our growth. But never should a “lesson” define who we are. We are a sum total of all our lessons, the good and the bad. So what does this rambling mess have to do with Independence Day? Plenty. We have the right to make our choices, this is call Freedom. And we should humbly thank those that fought and died for us to be able to make our mistakes, enjoy our differences and revel in our joys. We take these things for granted, and today is a great reminder of how fortunate we truly are.

Common Enemy

Rev. Wonder – common enemy Have you ever noticed that there is nothing that brings people closer together than a common enemy? Its like we all have that one thing in common, we all hate _____________… fill in the blank. When I was young it was the communists. They were the bad guys, they were the ones trying to take peoples freedom away, and they totally dissed our way of life. Now bring this to a faith stand point. We all have our faith base. No two are the same. You may argue that statement at will, but no two are the same. It is impossible as we all perceive things differently. You may all read the same book and get totally different things out of it depending on what you have to perceive it with. Okay so we have this faith war going on. If you don’t believe in Christ you are not going to heaven. If you don’t believe in Allah, you should be killed. If you don’t believe in Krishna you don’t get to come back and make things right. But think about this. What if all this finger pointing and chest pounding is just to divert you from what is really happening. Many people don’t believe in spiritual warfare. The tale of the two wolves is the most accurate way I have found to explain it. The Story of Two Wolves An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he told the young boy, “a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil, full of anger, sorrow, regret, greed, self-pity and false pride. The other is good, full of joy, peace, love, humility, kindness and faith.” “This same fight is going on inside of you, grandson…and inside of every other person on this earth.” The grandson ponders this for a moment and then asks, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” The old man smiled and simply said, “The one you feed.” So with this in mind, fighting over what faith to believe in isn’t feeding the right wolf. It is growing that distance between human beings, not allowing for the closeness we all strive for. We will all never be the same, it isn’t in the plan. I have issue with things that distance some people, things like believe systems, politics and things of that nature. People should have the right to feel their own hearts. To examine their souls and KNOW what is right for them and what is wrong for them. No one has the right to take that away from you. It is not the God of light that calls for these conflicts. He or She as you may see it, knows your heart! God knows no matter what you call the Divine; you are in good company with all the others that call to the Devine. It is the evil, (I really don’t like that word, but I don’t know a better one), that separates us, through ego and self-righteousness. It’s like the great slight of hand; argue over what to call the Divine so the darkness in your heart can grow. I see it often, too often. It is really close to me. There was this place where I thought everyone was welcome, every faith, every belief. But someone somehow decided that all were welcome except one. Do not call on that one for your strength, not in front of me. It didn’t’ matter if that strength helped them or not. It didn’t matter if the purity of the faith base was true to that person or not. Then I saw good people rally, we must fight they all cried, they are wrong, we are right. Love and light shall win the day! Anger, hatred, judgment from those that I never thought would fall. You see, you have already lost. It got you. I walked away, I couldn’t watch it anymore. Am I any better? Oh hell no. I like to fight, I love to argue and debate. But in this war I couldn’t choose a side. Both are wrong. Stack the deck, play the game, but never did anyone say, I have faith things will work out. I have faith that people will see the light and allow for all to be welcome once again. Faith was taken out of the equation, just as God has been taken out of our society. We pray, we meditate, we ask for guidance. Never have I had that guidance tell me to judge people unfairly just so my thinking was right. In a time when you are given two options and neither are right, then you must seek a third, fourth or fifth option until you find the right one. Just because someone says there are only two ways to look at things doesn’t mean that is true. I have issue with things that separate us. I am not a great people person either. But I believe we are all created equal in the heart of the Divine. We talk about getting closer to the Divine, about ascension, but I believe that no one gets closer until we all do. We are all connected. Even to those we disagree with, those that want to harm others, those that hate, those that want to help, those that love, those that do agree. We are all connected. So remember that when you are climbing your mountain of awareness, reach behind you and help those following, those working so hard to do the right things, to learn, to grow. And if they pass you up, be thankful, cheer them on, for it will be their hand that helps lift you to the next stage. We are only as strong as our weakest among us. And when all are ready, we will reach the top together.