Happiness

      Today I was thinking about the words that I would put into the blog post and the thought came to me that there are so many today who are desperately trying to improve their lives in some fashion or another.  Many of them think that their lives would be better off and they would be happier if they had more money in their lives.

     About a year ago multi-billionaire business man, David Koch passed away from cancer.  According to an article posted at that time (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/david-koch-death-dead-billionaire-businessman-richest-a9076186.html ) “Twenty-seven years ago, David was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given a grim prognosis of a few years to live”, the statement continued.  “David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay.”  In a statement his brother Charles said that “David has always been a fighter.”  He said his brother was “dealing with this challenge in the same way,” while discussing his declining health.

     While this individual amassed a huge fortune during his lifetime, how happy could his life truly have been for those 27 years of struggling with the decline of his health due to the cancer?  True, he may have been able to avail himself of medical technologies and treatments that others perhaps would have not been able to have, but in the end, he fell prey to death just as anyone else would have done.

     There are others who feel their life would be better off and they would be happier if they lived in a different area.  Perhaps they have a desire to immigrate to another country to “make their life better.”  What they generally find out is where they go to is not the “paradise” they thought it to be!  According to The UN Refugee Agency (https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html ) at the end of 2019 “At least 79.5 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes.  Among them are nearly 26 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.  There are also millions of stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.”

     This certainly shows that trying to make a change in ones’ location for many has not led to a better life!  This doesn’t include the fact that wherever they go, crime, violence, hatred, health problems, and other circumstances have followed along with them.

     Many young individuals feel that if they have a “higher education” they will put themselves into a position of having a better life and being happier.  However, in the “real” world today, there are many individuals with college degrees who are trying to hold on to their jobs of flipping burgers or waiting tables in restaurants.  There are no guarantees that any college degree will get you that “dream” job you have been hoping for.  And often, after you have finished your education, you find that you are left paying a huge stack of college loans that you had to get while trying to get that education!

     So, what can make a person happier in his life?  That’s really a difficult question because of several reasons.  What is making the person unhappy? Can anything be done under the current circumstances to improve the outlook of ones’ future prospects?  And probably many other questions.  The problem usually comes down to the fact that a person has to recognize that some things simply cannot be changed at the present time and they are looking for happiness from outside sources when they should be looking within.  Real happiness comes from an inner peace of mind that you cannot gain or change by some outside influence.  We generally want to put blame on outside sources instead of facing the truth that at times our not having happiness in our lives is because of us!  Then, again, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Be happy on the inside

and let it shine through."

Mystery

      It seems to be built into our very human nature to be compelled to solve a mystery.  We cannot understand why some things cannot be explained or even be reproduced.  ANY mystery requires a solution.  And if we cannot find one, we become frustrated.  We demand that a solution be presented to us or we may begin to form our own whether it is the correct solution of not!

     Let me give you an example:  Many of us love a good murder mystery, a real “who dunnit” type of show.  We enjoy them by reading novels, or watching them as a movie.  In some areas they have become extremely popular as “diner murder mysteries” where you get to be included in the events while partaking of a nice meal with a group of other people.

     However, in the end, you want to know WHO committed the murder.  You want the mystery solved!  If you went through a two-hour meal or sat at the theatre for two hours watching a movie and then where told it was over, but no solution had been presented to the murder, you would almost feel that you had been cheated.  The same could be said about any type of mystery situation.

     Imagine you are sitting in the audience watching a sleight-of-hand professional on stage.  He comes down into the audience and performs his tricks directly in front of several people who can watch closely to “catch” him in his moment of deception.  You KNOW what you are watching is a trick!  However, you are still mystified by what you are seeing.  This performance of prestidigitation and legerdemain that is taking place before your very eyes is dumbfounding.  You are fully aware that this collection of dexterous hand movements is designed to manipulate objects and deceive you as a spectator. Fully aware of this you are still baffled by the “mystery” because you are unable to figure out how it is being done!  And in most cases once you do figure out the solution to this mystery (if you ever do) you are no longer impressed by the presentation.  You have taken the joy out of your watching the performance.

     You can thereby understand the human reaction when someone tells you they have seen a certain movie, or read a certain book, or perhaps gone to a specific performance, their friends quickly say: “Don’t tell me what happens!”  They are very adamant that you not reveal to them the “mystery” that they want to experience for themselves.  I think most of us can understand that type of feeling.  Some of you will have NO idea what I am talking about but it’s like watching the old Disney movie “Old Yeller.”  This was a 1957 drama film about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas.  It almost tugs at your heart-strings from the beginning to the end. However, when you often mention it to older ones who can remember the story plot, they will reply: “They kill Old Yeller at the end, don’t they?”  That really takes the mystery out of the entire movie.

     Regardless of what questions our minds my conceive, we are always looking for the answers to those questions.  Why is the sky blue?  Why is grass green?  Why do we get old?  Why do good people have so many problems?  And the list could go on and on.  It is almost as if we can not be content without knowing the answer to anything that is a mystery to us.

     Why is the sun so hot and yet it is so cold in outer space?   Why?  How?  When?  We always want to know the things that we presently do not.  To a great degree this is a good thing.  But, at the same time, it tends to take away the mystery of our believing in miracles.  By their very nature miracles are a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

     By removing the mystery within any event, we, in actuality, lower our ability to believe that things can and do happen that we simply have not been designed to understand.  We cannot even fathom that wrapped within the confines of several pounds of muscle, organs, tissue, and flesh is one of the greatest miracles of all time - - - US!  But, then again, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Enjoy the wonderment 

of what you cannot explain."

Procrastination

 

     Have you found that when you enjoy something, no matter what it is, you never have any problem with not procrastinating about getting it done?  This certainly applies to the type of employment or career that someone may choose to do every day of their lives.

     Sometimes we are simply looking for a job so that we can make money.  We need money to care for our daily needs of food, clothing, and shelter.  We need money also if we are providing these things for a family or for another person in our lives.  So, it might be that we will accept employment so that we can have this steady supply of funds coming in.  However, in reality, we don’t enjoy the work we are doing.  We complain every day about what we have to do.  Things are never right.  We are always thinking we should be doing something else rather than what we are doing.  And by doing this we really never give ourselves the chance to fine that “something” within our work that is going to be the motivation that keeps us going.  We show up!  We get the job done!  But it’s not really what we want to be doing.

     On the other hand, there are some of those people we really enjoy what they are doing for work or for a profession.  They are not bound by the hands on the clock.  They work when the need is there and they would continue to work until the work is finished.  Some people have such working motivations that they would do what they enjoy so much even if they were not receiving any monetary compensation for it!  You know the type of individuals I am talking about.  You may have some at the place where you work.  In fact, you may very well be one of those people yourself.  You come to work with a smile.  You enjoy being there.  You try to make the day a little bit better for anyone you come into contact with. 

     There are ways that if you find yourself in the category that I mentioned above in paragraph two that you can transform yourself into the type of person that I mentioned in paragraph three.  How could you do that?

     Find that motivational spark that keeps you coming to work and doing your job.  It may be that you truly enjoy what you do.  That would be great!  But if that is not the case with you, look deep inside yourself and find that spark.  Even if the reason for your work is that you must provide for yourself and your family.  Make that an enjoyable aspect of your work experience.  You are accomplishing that important goal.  You are being successful at what you attempt to do.  Your efforts to reach your goal are paying off. 

     Never put off the efforts you are making to realize the expectations of what you are doing to accomplish your and reach your goals. To enjoy your everyday life, you must not to fall prey to the insidious habit of procrastination!

    Let’s consider a break-down of the word:  PRO/CRAS/TI/NATION. 

1.       What is a PRO?  This is the shortened form of professional.  It is someone who is at the top of their activity.  They are playing the game at a superior level.  Such a person is “tops” at doing what they do.

2.      Let’s look at CRAS.  We will make the word appear as “crase.”  This means to break to pieces, or to crack.  So, such a person would not be uniting their workday activities, but they would be pulling them apart into pieces.

3.      Now we come to the portion of the word: TI.  We will look at this as “tie.”  Now we are making the opposite connection, that is, not breaking apart, but binding, fastening, or attaching with a cord, string, or the like.  Therefore, on occasion, a person may be trying to bring their work habits back into harmony and keep together their reasons for doing their job.  They may want to make things work out for the best, but there is still that uncertainty of their actions.

4.      Finally, we come to the end of the word: NATION.  This is a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture or language inhabiting a particular country or territory.  Yes, such a person who falls prey to procrastination is not alone in their poor working habits, but they are joined together with many who have the same problem of putting off activities until another more convenient time.

    What do we find?  Most people may not be happy with their working conditions because they continue with an attitude of procrastination in getting their priorities in order so that they can find their motivational spark and the true reason for their working at all.  We must continue to do what we can to find that joy and approach any work project with the motivation that we will find that joy with the successful completion of what we are doing.  The major obstacle in fully achieving that point in our lives remains to be the fact: we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"When time runs out, it is too late to get the job done."

Heroes

     Today you can’t watch a movie or a television program without wanting to know who the hero is!  There are so many characters available for you to choose from.  There are super heroes galore.  You can have crime solving heroes, sleuths like Sherlock Holmes, and other characters to look up to.  You can have western heroes, although not too many western programs are produced today.

     When I was growing up the old western was the main stay of television programming.  You may have had your favorite: starting in 1949, Hopalong Cassidy rode into the homes of western film lovers on the small screen.  Soon to follow were such shows as Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, and many others.  By the late 1950s the western was so popular that they dominated other prime time TV shows.

     One of my personal favorites was The Lone Ranger.  This lone Texas Ranger donned the mask to preserve justice in the old west.  He personified all that was good in people.  Along with his faithful Indian companion Tonto they would also save the day without sticking around for a “thank you.”  They felt it their moral obligation to help those that needed their assistance and had a strong sense of civil responsibility and humanitarianism.  I would make sure that I was glued to the family television set on Saturday mornings.  While others were entertaining themselves with cartoons, I was enthralled with the escapades of The Lone Ranger and Tonto.  It was much later that I learned that the Saturday morning programs were actually reruns of the program that had aired for years on Thursday nights.

     Something that I have always remembered about those programs is that regardless of what happened the “good guys” (who always wore the white hats) always had to win by the end of the program.  The “bad guys” (who always wore the black hats) were never presented as being wealthy or successful in any way.  Today you would have a hard time finding a program that carried that kind of moral character within its framework.  At times most of the movies today (western or otherwise) portray the scheming “bad guys” as very successful and wealthy.  By their actions you may have trouble telling the “good guys” from the “bad” for most of the program.

     Heroes have certainly changed over the years.  At least, within the movie industry.  But something that hasn’t changed is that a hero is still admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.  Real-life heroes can be found within every community in the country.  They are the ones, who despite their own circumstances, put their lives or needs below the needs of others.

     We see them everywhere!  They are firemen, policemen, school teachers, medical personnel and others in the community who have, like The Lone Ranger and Tonto, have no desire or need to hear a “thank you” for what they do, because they are more concerned with their own moral obligations to assist those who are in need.

     These are the individuals who have presented themselves to serve in behalf of others when things are not going as smoothly as they should be.  Today that includes many others that at one time we may not have thought of as a hero, but have shown that they respond when the circumstances call for it.  Even if we personally don’t have the opportunity to say “thank you” with words, let us always keep them close to our hearts and think of them often.  Sadly, many times we fail to do this, because we’re only human.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"There is no life 

that is not worth saving."

Reflections

 

     There was a time many years ago that I had different thoughts about many things.  I saw the world through the eyes of a younger man and faced the challenges in a younger body. 

     When I first moved to the Washington DC area, I gave very little thought to going to places that now I wonder how I got into them without any difficulties and more importantly how I was able to get out of them with my life.  Now the thought of visiting these places even during the middle of the day with a body guard brings shivers down my spine!

     There were circumstances that I had to face and never gave a thought to what might happen.  I Just walked into places and thought that it was the way everyone was doing things so I did the same.  There was no fear or trepidation about what the outcome might be.  When things seemed like they may be taking a turn for the worse, I just dealt with what was happening and moved on.  There was no inner hesitation or doubt about what should be done.  I just did it!

     With the energy and “happy go lucky” attitude of my youth I did things and got into situations that I don’t even want to think about now.  When faced with changes I just did what I thought was expected and never gave it a second thought.  As an example, when I was in the military, I got orders that I was being assigned to an Air Force base in Turkey.  I made the arrangements, got on the plane, and was on my way to Turkey, never really giving any thought to the changes that I would be required to make.

     Now that I exist in the body and have the mind of an older man, I am constantly giving thought to even how I am going to take my next step.  I know that sounds strange, but if you don’t get your footing just right when you are older it is very easy to trip and fall.  Even if you are only tripping on air!

     Life experiences change you.  You begin to look at things from a different perspective.  Your thinking patterns are different.  Some times even the way you do things on a daily routine have had to change. 

     When you are in the younger person’s body and mind you might have the feelings of being invincible!  There is no situation that you cannot face without perceiving that the outcome will only be success.  You know that life is a course that will take you many years to complete.  You feel that there is nothing that you can’t accomplish!

     Now that you have advanced further down that course of life you begin to recognize that you are closer to the finish line than you want to admit.  You are now more dependent upon others to help you with routine things that you used to do for yourself without a second thought.  You understand that all the great things that you wanted to accomplish you may not be able to get completed.  The unfortunate reality sets in and you recognize that you’re only human!   

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Look back on all that you have done in your life,

not at what you have not done."

   

Anniversary

      I was sitting in my office at work on that Tuesday morning when one of my fellow employees ran down the hall shouting that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  All of us dropped what we were doing and heading up to the showroom floor and fixed our eyes on the television.  This was horrifying as we watched the smoke bellow out of the side of the building. 

     What could have happened to cause such a terrible accident?  That was the thought that was going through my mind.  As our minds were trying to wrap themselves around what was happening suddenly another place crashed into the other tower.  At that moment, although not fully knowing what was going on, I told myself this was no accident.  For some reason those planes had intentionally crashed into those towers!  Then in utter shock, within less than 2 hours after the original impact, both towers came collapsing to the street.

     Later it was explained that two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, which departed the northeastern United States bound for California had been hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists and had been forced to crash into the towers of the World Trade Center.

     A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77 had also been hijacked and forced to crash into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia.  A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93 was initially forced to fly toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers thwarted the hijacker’s plans.

    When all had been considered almost 3,000 people had lost their lives and many more thousands were injured.  It had been unthinkable that such a tragedy as this could have taken place on US soil.  The lives of many of people were torn apart having been family members, neighbors, and acquaintances of those who had died in this terrible act.

     Those events were 19 years ago today.  Many people can still remember where they were and what they were doing when those terrifying hijackings took place.  However, there has been an entire generation that has grown up since that time who only remember this event as a story that they hear told from time to time by other family members.    

     Anniversaries are meant as a time of remembrance.  Normally they are of enjoyable times that everyone is eager to share.  But, some, like the events of September 11, 2001, are a remembrance of terrible times in our history.  But times that must be recalled to remind us that as humans we are capable of horrific actions.  Reminders that we must control the hatred that is within us.  Reminders that things of this nature should never happen again.  Sadly, reminders that we’re only human!   

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Some things that should be remembered

should be impossible to forget."

  

Simple

 

     Why is it that whatever we may be doing we seem to want to find the most difficult way to accomplish it?  We’re always desiring to let others know how smart we are or how clever we can be by solving some type of difficult problem or puzzle.  Do you watch a murder mystery and try to see how fast you can deduct “who dunnit?”

     We are always getting ourselves involved in so many situations during our daily lives and making them so complicated that we almost don’t know how to handle something very simple!  If it appears easy or simple, we tend to think that it can’t possibly be solved that way: “It’s too simple!”

     However, if we stop and think for just a moment, we find out that it is often the simple things that give us the most pleasure and enjoyment.  Yet, these are the very things that we want to shy away from because we don’t want them to make us look: simple!

     Take this comment as an example: A friend of mine once told me that he sat in his rocking chair on the front porch of his home and watched as his dog was chasing his tail.  My friend couldn’t believe that for 10 minutes that dog was simply fascinated by continually going in a circle trying to catch his tail.  Then my friend realized that for 10 minutes he had been fascinated sitting there in his chair watching his dog chase his tail!

     We’ve all done it!  Haven’t you enjoyed watching kittens play with a ball of yarn or with some other item.  The way they find the simplest of things that will entertain them for a long time.  And yet we enjoy simply sitting there and watching them do it.  I have often enjoyed sitting on the porch while the rain is gently falling in the yard.  The hypnotic sounds that are made when it hits the porch or something that is in the yard.  The fresh smell in the air that is generated when the lightning strikes across the sky.  Or maybe you are one who likes to sit comfortably on your couch or favorite chair and watch the fire crackle in the fireplace.  The soothing feeling you get by such simple acts relaxes your mind and eases your worries about all the activities that have taken place during the day.

     If we would take the time, we would see that it is the simple things in life that bring us joy. Myself I enjoy simply being with my wife and doing nothing, but being together.  I think most of us would acknowledge that we are often our worse enemies about making our lives complicated.  Then when a major disaster occurs in our life, we often come to that realization too late to find the time to really enjoy it.  We will never be able to “go back” and do things over.  Our lives do not have a “reset” button where time lost can be regained.  We must choose to enjoy those moments as we live them.  One of our largest obstacles is the fact that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Keeping things simple is

generally the key to happiness."

Compassion

      It seems today with all that is going on in the world --- with all the madness that is taking place --- with all the unrest and confusing rhetoric, there is something very needed but is terribly lacking with human kind:  COMPASSION!

     Compassion is the sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.  According to USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/09/04/coronavirus-stimulus-covid-19-causes-evictions-and-home-buying-boom/5689871002/ ) millions of Americans face evictions, others buy dream homes during COVID-19.  It relates that some people can afford to flee cities and upgrade their life at a time when the median price for a home is at its highest ever.  Others are so confident that they will never own a home.

     However, there are many others who only rent the place where they are residing and they are finding that renting is becoming impossible!  They have lost their jobs, they have no money to pay rent, their landlords are now deciding they don’t want them “freeloading” in their rental properties any longer and are having them evicted.

     What is a person to do when they have only the terrible decision between paying rent or putting food into the mouths of their family?  There seems to be some possible “breathing room” for individuals or families with the new eviction moratorium that the Trump administration put into place to allow many renters to avoid eviction through December 31, 2020.  However, according to the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/your-money/eviction-moratorium-covid.html ) the qualifications to avail yourself of this provision are a bit subjective.

     Then you look at the problem with a lack of food, or at least with the financial conditions such that many people cannot afford to obtain the food that they need.  The USDA and the Food and Drug Administration are closely monitoring the food supply chain (in the United States) for any shortages in collaboration with industry and their federal and state partners.  According to them (https://www.usda.gov/coronavirus/food-supply chain#:~:text=Q%3A%20Will%20there%20be%20food,low%20before%20stores%20can%20restock ) there are no nationwide shortages of food, although in some cases the inventory of certain foods at your grocery store might be temporarily low before stores can restock.

     These are difficult times and there are many people and businesses trying to do something with compassion in their hearts to help their fellow man.  However, we can continue to see that this is not true of many.  The crime and violence that grows within communities is unprecedented. 

     We must search within ourselves and find the quality of compassion that our creator has put within us as we were made in his image.  We are reminded at Romans 9:14, 15, “What are we to say, then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not! For he says to Moses: ‘I will show mercy to whomever I will show mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I will show compassion.’  So, may God have mercy and compassion upon us and may we imitate this quality and have mercy and compassion upon our fellow man.  The major problem with all that is going on is, that we’re only human!    

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"When you suffer and moan,

I feel your pain in my heart."

Courage

 

     At times all of us find ourselves facing a situation that brings a measure of fear into our hearts.  This is only natural for us as humans.  Sometimes the fear is real and at other times it is only fabricated within our own minds.

     There are events in our lives that we may never resolve as to facing them with courage and no longer being afraid to deal with them.  The very meaning of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one” or having the “strength in the face of pain or grief.”  At times we have to deal with these things at a very young age.  There are also some situations that we personally may never have to face.

     One situation that most of us have had to face when younger is attending that first day of school.  We may have read about school and the things that take place there, or we may have talked to friends or even our siblings about their first day of school, and now we think we have a proper understanding of what is going to happen.  But WE have never been to school ourselves.  We have never had to face the differences that we have only heard about.  Today there are even perhaps greater fears about attending school with the COVID-19 presence there.  These are very trying and difficult times and you as young people need courage to face this situation with confidence that those operating these places will have your best interests at heart and keep you as safe as possible.

     Of course, a very similar thing happens at the other end of the education spectrum: graduation!  You have developed for over a decade a routine that you now feel comfortable in and the anticipation of having to change this routine can be very frightening to some.  It takes courage to face the REAL world, as it is called!  Having grown into an adult situation you find that you will begin to make decisions for yourself and you will have to face the rewards or the consequences for those decisions.

     I know when I graduated from high school and left for Washington, DC, the “clothes fairy” didn’t make the move with me.  What I mean is, when I took my clothes off to change, they stayed right where I left them.  They did not magically collect themselves, get washed, and then find their way back into my closet or dresser.  I had to do all those things myself!  The whole idea of being on your own and living the “adult” life that you had been looking forward to can be very frightful.

     The same is true for our lives in general.  When we begin reaching the “winter” of our life we may have to face physical and emotional situations that we had never dreamed would become part of our lives.  We have to face those same situations with our mate if we are married.  I heard it said recently, “You can’t be a wimp and get old!”  That saying has more truth behind it than most people would be willing to admit.  That is, until they begin to get old themselves!  Then they understand the saying a lot better.

     However, whatever we may have to face we can have confidence if our faith is truly strong.  Jesus himself said at John 16:33, “I have said these things to you so that by means of me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.”

     At times our fears are real and at other times they are only real within our own minds.  Often those fears are the most difficult to deal with because we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"He who is not afraid

is not courageous."