It's A Wonderful World...

There are many things that are wrong in the world today, and a lot of reasons (if you choose) to despair.

If we choose to.

Or, we can work on ourselves to be the change that we want to see in the world. To eliminate the cruelty, selfishness, predjudice in ourselves. To be kinder, more understanding, and generous with one another.

Even people that we don't know. Or don't look like us. Or don't live in our neighborhood/city/country.

No matter where we live, there is something to be grateful for.

Having a home, clothes to wear, food to eat, and water to drink. If you live in the West, there are all kinds of labor-saving devices that make your life easier. All kinds of gadgets to use to work, play, communicate, and other things. Just about all of them are within the financial reach of the average person. Physically, life doesn't get much better than this.

With all that we have physically, there is still the emotional and spiritual to work on. Can we become better people, so that our inner reality matches our physical reality? I think that we can. I think that I can; I'm willing to do my best to do so.

Can we start with our families? Can we treat our families with the respect that we extend to strangers? Before you flame me, think about this: Haven't you noticed that when someone want you to do something because 'we are family', that it is something that is usually not in your best interest? It will cost you, and not the other person, in terms of time, effort, money, and trouble. (This principle extends to any request that falls under the 'we have ____ in common, so you should do this' category)

Can we remember to use 'please', 'thank you', 'may I', and be kind, thoughtful and helpful to our immediate family members? Spread the love :-)!

It's A Wonderful World...

Just for Today...

I will relax.

I'll stop worrying about the things that I don't know the whole story about. All will be revealed, in due time, if I am meant to know.

I will let other people handle their own problems without my input.

I will remember that I am okay, even though I am not perfect.

I will love the people around me, whether they love me back or not.

I will establish and respect the boundaries that keep me safe, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I will take a NAP!!

See you tomorrow!

Just for Today...

Bad Things Happen...

I've been asked why I write about when bad things happen.

Because, it is easy to be upbeat and positive and spiritual when things are going well.

It's when things are not going well that you find out how deep your convictions are.

Sometimes, you stand firm and do the right thing, sometimes you waffle, and sometimes you crumble.

And (this is the worst), the laughable thing is, that you don't always know what you will do. Or when.

All you can do is keep exercising your character muscles, and work on your personality and discipline issues so that when a challenge comes, your training will hold firm.

©2007 LaVeda H. Mason All Rights Reserved.

Bad Things Happen...

Religion ≠ Spirituality

Religion and spirituality are not the same. At best, they are complementary; at worst, they are antagonistic to one another.

It's taken me a while to sort this one out; my main confusion was that I'd go to church, listen to the sermon, and the better the sermon was (care for one another, stop doing things that hurt ourselves and each other, etc.), the faster the knives came out after service was over! It made my head spin! Why on earth was this happening?!? Doesn't our religion say that we are supposed to treat one another better than this?

Of course it does. But, being the formula-seeking creatures we are, we want an exact recipe for holiness, purity, and happiness. We forget that what we seek is in our heart when we connect with others, not in empty rituals that are followed mindlessly.

So, we execute our rituals, and express our disdain for anyone who does not see the need for, or understand, our rituals. We consign to unpleasant endings those who have different rituals than our own. We have even murdured for our rituals (we meaning 'the human race', not you personally )!!

After many years of confusion, it occurs to me that maybe the focus is in the wrong place. The religion is to focus our energies and emotions on our spiritual side. The rituals help us to remember our connection to other human beings. It is that focus that brings us closer to being the ideal person that our religion is trying to get us to be. But, sometimes you meet people that have it mixed up. Their focus is on the rituals - the letter, not the spirit, of the law, so to speak.

That focus on the letter of the law, while ignoring its spirit, breeds hypocrisy... if everything looks 'perfect' on the outside, then it doesn't matter about the rottenness going on on the inside. But you can't really hide that kind of thing, not for very long, anyway... and it is repellent. It turns away both the religious and the non-religious alike, and it leads to discouragement, despair, and it can prevent the spiritual enlightenment that the person claims to seek, because on a deep level, the person knows that what they are doing is not real, if that makes any sense.

Some of this stuff makes my head hurt, because to me, it makes no sense for people to behave this way, and yet that's what I see. But then again, it took me years to understand why they voted the strongest people off of the island on Survivor!

©2007 LaVeda H. Mason All Rights Reserved.

Religion ≠ Spirituality