Confusion

 

     Confusion is the lack of understanding or uncertainty.  It is the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.  With all that is going on in the world today it amazes me that more people don’t admit to being at least a little bit confused.

     Consider just a few examples.  We’re told that the current pandemic is a “fake.”  That things are getting better.  Yet, when you look at the figures, the outbreak is spreading faster, more cases are popping up in more locations, more people are having to go to the hospital, and a greater number are dying from the virus.  How can anyone look at these statistics and not believe that the pandemic is not only real, but is getting worse and not better?  That’s confusing!

     How can someone want better conditions in their life, wanting to improve the conditions they are currently living under, but they continue to do the same things they’ve always done and yet expect to get different results?  Continuing to do the same negative things and thinking things are going to come out better if you do them often enough is nothing but foolishness.  It’s like continuing to plant apple seeds in your orchard expecting that one day an orange tree is going to grow.  That’s confusing!

     It’s a lot like saying you have faith and yet your daily actions and coarse of life show that you really don’t believe in what you are saying.  Faith without works is dead!  You must have actions that positively support the things you believe in.  You can sit in your favorite chair and believe that the ceiling light is going to come on.  You can believe that all you want, but if you don’t get up and turn on the light switch there is going to be NO light!  To think otherwise is crazy.  That’s confusing!

     Reminds me of a time a number of years ago we had a bad blizzard in the area.  It was about four foot of snow with drifts up to seven or eight feet depending upon where you were in the city.  We were trapped in our homes for a couple of days until we could dig out.  The local radio DJ got trapped at the radio station overnight.  I guess to help in the storm reporting he continued to broadcast all night.  The next morning all streets were impassible and nothing was able to open!  Some guy (I think to try and impress his boss) called the radio station and told the DJ that if he could have somebody from the City come by and clear his alley, he would be able to get to work! 

     This was confusing!  But the DJ came back with a very wise reply.  He said: “You can believe in the Easter Bunny and you can believe in Santa Claus.  You can also believe that someone is coming by and clear your alley, but it AIN’T going to happen!”

     Many of us become confused by many things.  I guess to some degree we just have to chalk it up to the fact that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Challenge assumptions,

test all possibilities,

but never be confused about the truth!"

Disappointment

  

   All of us at one time are another will be disappointed by something or someone.  Very often the larger part of the problem comes with how we deal with that disappointment.  It could be that our response to the disappointment actually creates for us a more serious problem than the disappointment itself.

     Disappointment is generally defined as the sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations.  It might also refer to a person, event, or thing that causes disappointment.

     We could be disappointed at a person because they don’t live up to our expectations.  I remember once when I was younger a movie crew came to my hometown to shoot a remake of a very famous movie.  The stars were there to do their filming only a block from my house in an old school yard and building that has since been torn down.  The female star was a person that I had watched grow up in a popular television program.  I felt thrilled that I would have the opportunity to see this person live working in this movie remake.  However, how disappointed I was when between every shot that was done, this actress would be puffing on a cigarette!  In my mind it crushed the image of this person that I had gained watching her perform on her previous television program.

     There are times when we can become disappointed even in ourselves.  It could happen because of any number of reasons, but the results are the same.  We didn’t loose the weight we had purposed to lose because we didn’t allow ourselves to remain on the diet we had prepared.  We didn’t get the grades we wanted in school because we didn’t put in the proper time in study.  We didn’t put in the time necessary for preparation for a job interview and thereby didn’t get the job offer.  The list of disappointing events could go on and on, but it the end we become frustrated with ourselves and very disappointed!

     The same disappointment could come about due to the results of some event in our lives.  It could be that we have been employed at a firm or company for many years and always seem to be “passed over” when it comes to getting some promotion.  Maybe we feel that we deserve the promotion merely due to the number of years we have worked there not realizing that the position requires certain qualifications that we have failed to obtain. 

     All the above-mentioned situations can be the reasons that we become disappointed however, we should not accept those disappointments and continue to wallow in self-piety.  We should learn from those situations and make the necessary adjustments as we can to place ourselves in a better position to achieve success in the future.  We must however realize that we can make such changes within ourselves, but we may not be able to make such changes to another individual.

     The facts being known, we may not be able to do anything about the situations.  We may have to learn to live with that particular disappointment.  How can we do that?  According to Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understand-other-people/201705/dealing-disappointment-in-life ) you may want to consider the following:

“There are things you can do to relieve yourself of disappointment from a past event, and prepare yourself for any disappointments that are likely to come in the future. How can you move out of disappointment and into more peace and happiness?

1.      Accept that disappointment happens to everyone – and it happened to you. It can be helpful to start by normalizing the situation. No one gets through this life without disappointment; some are bigger than others, but everyone experiences it. Know that you are in good company and accept your state as perfectly normal.

2.      Instead of sitting in your state indefinitely, once you have allowed yourself to acknowledge that you are in good company, start the process of reframing. Reframing means taking any situation and putting a more objective “frame” around it. It can be helpful at this step to actually write your disappointment down, like journal notes. Record what happened but capture it like a journalist. Be clinical. Trying to separate the emotions from what happened is helpful to getting some personal power back.

3.      Change your self-talk. Instead of talking to yourself as if this was the worst thing that could happen to you, shift your language to something more powerful (yet still true) – “It happened and now I need to figure out my next steps.” Or “Disappointment happens to everyone but it doesn’t have to stop me from moving on.” Or “I’m disappointed, but who dictates that I have to wallow in it? I can do something differently right now if I choose.” Any time you hear yourself say to yourself, “It’s the end of the world” or “I can’t go on” or “I’m a terrible person with bad luck”, allow these phrases to be a trigger to shift the talk to something more positive.

4.      Make a plan. Having a way to move forward when you’ve been thwarted and feel stuck is important. Don’t make grand plans – “I’m going to move to Costa Rica and start another life” – unless you have the will and the means to do so. Instead, start small; set a goal of something you can accomplish and move confidently in the direction of it. Experiencing some form of accomplishment can send the message to your mind and your emotions that you can do it, so go ahead and do it!”

          So, looking at the BIG picture: The disappointment may be great and personally devastating, but we can get over it perhaps with much effort.  And never forget that disappointing situations will continue to happen to all of us because we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Dealing with success is important.

Dealing with disappointment is more important."

Opinions

      You have probably heard it said that “opinions are like noses; everyone has one.”  What does that actually mean?  To fully understand you must understand what the opinion is making reference to.  An opinion is a belief or judgment that falls short of absolute conviction, certainty, or positive knowledge; it is a conclusion that certain facts, ideas, etc., are probably true or likely to prove so: political opinions; an opinion about art; In my opinion this is true.

     As an example: If I brought home an apple from the store, it would be my opinion that if I cut the apple in two pieces there would be seeds in the apple.  The certain facts that are true would be that I have bought apples from the store before and when I cut them in two there are seeds inside the apple.  Therefore, I can reasonably believe that the same would be true in the example that I posed to you at the beginning of the paragraph.

     However, my example would fall short of an absolute conviction or certainty in this case until I actually sliced the apple in two and discovered the results of my opinion.  However, some people will want to conclude with a certainty that since it has ALWAYS been the case in the past it will ALWAYS be the case any time that the opinion is made.  That however is not always the case!

     Why do you think that legally some companies or firms who are involved in speculative operations have to put a disclaimer on their ads?  Consider the legal profession.  Some attorney may include within his or her advertising that they get their clients an average of $75,000 per case.  But, somewhere within the ad you will a statement such as “past performance does not guarantee future results.”  Why do they have to say that?  Because in their opinion they should be able to do that since they have been fairly consistent in being able to do it in the past for their clients.  However, until your case is handled, they are only assuming that the results will be similar.

     It is also true that the “opinion question” is the easiest to answer because everyone has an opinion and whatever a person should say could not be considered right or wrong because it is only their opinion.  It is also one of the most difficult questions to ask because of the same reasons.  There is no right or wrong answer so a person can say pretty much whatever they would like to say and not be wrong.

    We would also have to remember that an opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts which are true statements.  That means that a person really needs no factual content upon which to base their opinion because they will never have to “back it up” with solid content.

     Therefore, in certain situations, particularly within the legal and political arenas you will constantly hear comments made by being prefaced with the phrase “In my opinion.”  I recall once sitting in a courtroom and the plaintiff’s attorney approached the witness and said: “So, in your opinion, do you think the defendant is capable of committing this crime?”  Boy, is that a loaded question or what?  I sat there thinking anybody would probably be capable of committing a crime, so why not this person?  The attorney’s only objective was to plant in the minds of the jury that the defendant COULD have committed the crime even if he MAY NOT have committed the crime!

     You will also find that a person’s opinion will have a lot to do with their background, their education, their position in life, their economic standing, their moral upbringing, and even their religious views.  When all of these things play together and someone or some group is perhaps applying pressure for you to lean in a certain direction, we can understand how in some cases your opinion may not actually be YOUR opinion, but the opinion of others that has been assimilated into your psyche.  The reason that this can be done is because we’re only human!  

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"We cannot be the person

formed by public opinion."

Beauty

     “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  This statement has been worded or phrased in many various forms however, it still comes up to the basic point that beauty is very subjective and mostly up to the opinion of the person or persons uttering the phrase.

     You can understand what a finality to a conversation that statement would be.  After someone has said: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” where does the conversation go from there?  It is almost a mute issue at that point.

     This is especially true in the context of viewing “art.”  I have personally seen things that have been described as art that I wouldn’t put on the walls of a dog house, much less have it prominently displayed on the walls of where I was living!  However, others have viewed the items as something that is unique and original!  I wonder at times if we are looking at the same thing!

     The same could be said about the fashion industry.  In regards to women’s clothing in particularly there are times when I think a drunk madman must have designed the outfit and the woman wearing it must have been highly seduced by the allure of money or is totally out of her mind.  Nowhere is this truer than in Hollywood!  Don’t take my word for it, but take a look at some of the fashion disasters that have taken place.  Visit https://www.lolwot.com/20-of-the-most-shocking-celebrity-fashion-disasters/ . 

     Of course, there are occasions when you may want to say the statement (“Beauty if in the eye of the beholder), but it would be more to your advantage to refrain.  This could be when you are being “introduced” to your friend’s new baby!  Now many will say that ALL babies are beautiful, but let’s be honest: That’s not true!  Many times, especially when the baby is only a few weeks old, they are ugly!  I know I’m going to get some flake on that statement, but most of us know that it’s true.

     But, let’s get off the subject of babies and talk a little about spouses.  Personally, I think that every man should think that his spouse is the most beautiful person in the world.  And that is the way he should think.  A number of years ago when I was working for the government in Washington, DC, I had a male co-worker who during one summer took time off from work and got married.  He returned to work and his personality was aglow with enthusiasm about his new wife.  He went on and on about the gorgeous creature that he had gotten married to.  He made us think that he had married Marilyn Monroe (a movie star of the 50s).  For the younger readers you can go to https://marilynmonroe.com/ for the official information on this starlet.

     One day my friend told us that his new wife was coming to pick him up after work.  The entire sidewalk was filled with workmates who wanted to get a look at this “beautiful” woman.  I will only say that when she came to get him the majority of us were somewhat disappointed in our expectations.

     Although we are told that beauty is a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight, TRUE beauty is the state of being authentic and sincere in a way that extends love to yourself and others.  It feels real, safe, alive, playful, flowing, authentic, life-giving.  Obviously, the saying, “beauty is only skin deep” is truer than many people would want to believe.

     Beauty is a quality that we must look for deeper within a person than the mere surface.  We must go beyond what appears to the eyes and see the “inner person” that beckons to be recognized by others.  I thought this was highlighted in the 2001 American fantasy romantic comedy film “Shallow Hal.”  It was about a shallow man (Jack Black) who falls in love with 300-pound woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) because of her inner beauty.  If you have never seen this movie you may be able to locate it on Hulu or Nexflix.

     To truly see that “inner person” will take work, it will take effort, but the final results will not only make us a better person, but will help tremendously in our relationships with others.  But we all know the key factor that so often prevents us from doing this: We’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"He who sees the beauty in life,

enjoys happiness forever!"

Reality

      What is real?  At times we can have the most vivid recollection of an event in our lives to the point it is almost as if we were watching a video or movie about the occasion. But when we inquire of others about that event, they have a completely different recollection of what happened!

     It really doesn’t make any sense to us!  We were there!  We know what happened!  Or do we?  Maybe the things we seem to recall with such details have only been realities within our own minds.  Maybe they didn’t really happen the way we recall them!  Maybe they didn’t happen at all!

     In the 1958 American musical-romance film “Gigi”, the song “I remember it well” was performed by Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold.  The lyrics basically told the story that the man and woman had very different recollections of the events they are describing in the song.  The opening lines are, as they sang back and forth to each other: “We met at nine, we met at eight, I was on time, no, you were late. Ah, yes, I remember it well.  We dined with friends, we dined alone, a tenor sang, a baritone. Ah, yes, I remember it well.”  And the different recollections continued from there.  You can hear a very nice rendition at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQxM5rJ-uiY .

     I think we all have had those types of moments.  Perhaps however the mind is in actuality the center of reality.  It seems the mind is constantly attempting to protect us from the hurtful memories that we may have catalogued within it.  And it only wants us to remember things that are pleasant for us to recall.  The painful it wants to put aside and not recall the facts as they actually happened but as we wanted them to happen.

     When we think that it is only within the mind that we perceive the world around us this might very well mean that reality IS only within our minds!  Our other senses --- sight, hearing, touch, taste --- they have the obligation to transmit their findings back to our minds.  The mind then takes this information and fashions it into the things that we then perceive as reality.  If the mind receives faulty information or if it interrupts that information incorrectly, the reality we thereby comprehend is incorrect and faulty.

     One of the best illustrations of this is shown if we consider our eyes.  Without our eyes we cannot perceive the sights of the world around us.  But with our eyes, is the world around us really what we perceive?  Consider the fascinating article about how your eyes trick your mind on the BBC Future website article http://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/story/20150130-how-your-eyes-trick-your-mind/index.html .  I think you will find this information most surprising!  If you’d like to consider some more illusions visit: https://www.pcmag.com/news/21-optical-illusions-that-prove-your-brain-sucks .

     Although we are incredibly fascinating in our design, the human body and its function continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in the world.  But then again, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Never Forget:  

To a visitor from another planet,

we are the aliens!"

Strategy

      There are so many areas of our lives that may seem to us to flow along without much thought.  However, if we really did give some thought to matters, the major aspects of our life need to have some form of strategy to them.

     Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.  This doesn’t seem to be a difficult concept to understand.  If we are working at some type of secular employment, we will find that in various areas we have what is normally referred to as the “policies and procedures” of the company.

     We may have office policies, or we may be engaged in a factory and their may be operational procedures.  These are all strategies that the company has put into place to safely and effectively reach the ultimate goal of the company, whatever that has been determined to be.    

     If you have ever played chess, you’ll understand better this aspect of having a strategy to your game play.  There are a few basic strategies which every beginner player should understand and every long-time player should review from time to time.  In considering a few of these briefly I have turned to the article from ichess. (https://www.ichess.net/blog/chess-strategy-tips-for-beginners/ )

     Try to control the center from the opening to the end.  “This is one of the most important chess strategy tips for beginners to learn. The center is the most important section of the board since your pieces can pretty much have access to the whole board when they are correctly located in the center.”

     Always develop all your pieces as quickly as possible.  “Developing your pieces quickly is also a very important chess strategy since your pieces are like your army, they are the ones that will help you dominate the board, and eventually help you win the games.”

     Try not to move the same piece multiple times in the opening.  “Not moving the same piece multiple times in the opening goes along with the concept of developing your pieces quickly. This is because by moving the same piece multiple times, you allow your opponent to develop several pieces much faster.”

     Protect your king by castling as soon as possible.  “One of the main chess tactics is to always keep your king in a safe position, while you try to create weaknesses around your opponent’s king if it’s possible.”

     Don’t move your queen too soon.  “Not moving the queen too early in the game is one of the most important chess strategy tips for beginners. Most beginners try to move the queen too early in order to create mating threats on f7 or f2.  These threats are usually not real and the player who moved the queen usually loses several tempos on trying to get the queen back to a safe square.”

     Connect your rooks and place them on the columns that will be open.  “The rooks are usually the most difficult pieces to activate. This is because they can only move horizontally and vertically. It’s not easy to move these heavy pieces when there are not open columns.”

    Think twice before moving your pawns.  They can’t go back!  “As you already know, pawns can only move forward. That’s the reason why this is a fundamental chess strategy for players of all levels, not only for beginners.”

     If you have a bad piece, try to exchange it very quickly.  “Being able to identify when any particular piece doesn’t have a bright future is a very important aspect of chess strategy at all levels. This actually makes a difference between novice players and masters.”

     And there may be other strategies when playing chess that you would want to learn in order to improve your game.  However, I am merely using the game of chess as an example because it is very well known that within this particular game using strategy is the key to winning.

     We can use very similar basic strategies within our lives to improve our chances of being happier and more successful at whatever we try to accomplish.  Consider the following:

1.      Try to control the center from the opening to the end.  The center of our very being is being able to control our emotions.  Regardless of the situations we may face, by keeping ourselves in proper control of mind and spirit we will be able to handle it much better.

2.      Always develop all your pieces as quickly as possible.  We should take every opportunity to improve ourselves by developing all the qualities we may possess.  It may be that some of these abilities will be used to a greater degree than others, but we should strive to do the best we can in all things.

3.      Try not to move the same piece multiple times in the opening.  There are times in our lives when we get into the thinking that we can continue to make the same decisions and take the same actions that have resulted in unwanted situations and for some reason they will eventually end in success.  We must not continue to allow ourselves to make such decision by “moving the same piece multiple times” when it is our desire to have a different and better outcome.

4.      Protect your king by castling as soon as possible.  You are the “king” of your life decisions.  You need to surround yourself with others who are going to protect you from yourself and from other situations that will bring harm to your goals.  Being successful doesn’t mean having people who will always agree with your decisions, but having those who help support the decisions that you make and who will provide constructive criticism in keeping you in control.

5.      Don’t move your queen too soon.  We must agree that within our life routines there is that “someone” who has been our guiding light or the source of our encouragement.  Perhaps they have been the continuing source of strength that helps us get through whatever difficulties we have to face.  We would NEVER want to put that individual in a compromising position or endanger them in any way.

6.      Connect your rooks and place them on the columns that will be open.  There will be contacts that we develop within our lives.  They may be business associates or they may have a connection to our personal lives.  Whatever the case may be, these are the people that we need to place as cornerstones to anchor our lives and our strategies to reality.  These are the ones we look to as part of the foundation of our very being.

7.      Think twice before moving your pawns.  They can’t go back!  There will always be those “little things” in our lives.  At times we may feel that they are of very little importance.  We may think that these are the things that we can do without.  We might not give serious thought the letting them go or discarding them in some fashion.  These may be the very things that we need to carry out the strategies that we have planned within our lives.  Never be hasty in discarding what may appear as insignificant.

8.      If you have a bad piece, try to exchange it very quickly.  At some point in our lives we may realize that we have made some bad choices and decisions.  Regardless of our emotional attachment or the fact that we may “look bad” because of certain decisions, there will come a time when we must let them go!  Cut our loses the best we can and try to make the consequences of the decision as painless as possible.

     I’m not trying to say that everything we do is going to become the existence of perfection that we are perhaps imagining.  But our lives can become better by planning our strategies to properly reach the goals that we have set for ourselves.  There may be times and circumstances when a specific strategy doesn’t apply or maybe doesn’t give the results we desire and we will need to adjust accordingly, but that doesn’t mean we should move through life aimlessly without any goals in view or without any means to reach them. We should strive to do the best we can even though, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Your strategy will define 

your approach to the problem."

Perception

 

     Regardless of the situation we may find ourselves in, our response may depend upon the perception we have.  Perception is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.  It is the basis upon which we draw conclusions on the way we will react to what is happening around us.

     As an example: If you were to see a person being brutally killed by being cut into pieces (sorry for the graphic description) you may respond in an accordingly manner.  However, if you sat in a theatre seat and watched a magician saw a woman in half, you would have a different response.  Why?  Because the first situation would highly disturb your sense of morality (I would hope), but the second situation you recognize as merely a trick, an illusion of the mind, and you know no one was actually harmed.  Your perception of the situation has been trained to understand these things and that’s why you react differently.  That is why as young children we can be more easily deceived.  We have not yet obtained the training in life to help us deal with various situations.

     This is also the reason that certain things or situations may affect people in different ways.  It is all a matter of our perception.  Consider, you are outside in your yard on a beautiful summer afternoon.  Suddenly a jet plane goes roaring overhead.  You complain to your wife how the thunderous roar of the engines disrupts your enjoyment of the activities.  That is YOUR perception.  Now consider, you are the pilot of that jet aircraft.  You’re sitting there at the controls and you hear the roaring purr of your engines.  You know from the sound those engines are performing normally.  You enjoy the fact that those engines (and the noise they are producing) are keeping you and your aircraft from plunging to the earth below.  See what a different perception the pilot would have from yours?  But whose perception is RIGHT?  Actually, BOTH of you would be right.  It is merely your perception based on your specific situation.

    Our perceptions can be trained based upon the circumstances we have to face.  Most often this is for the good.  But there are times when we have our perception trained in a bad manner.  We often perceive that anything or anyone that we do not understand or who is different from us is to be feared.  At times we train our own perception.  If we have had a “bad” dealing with someone of another ethnic background than our own, we will tend to perceive that ALL individuals of that group are the same and we should treat them differently, when in reality that is just not true!

     If we were to actually sit down and consider all the situations in our lives that we face or may have to face (I know that would be impossible), but if we could, we would probably be surprised to see that most of our reactions to these situations are based on our perception of some dealing from the past or from the comments we have heard from others.

     In 1993 there was a song released by Geoff Moore and the Distance entitled “If you could see what I see.”  The words of the song actually highlighted that not all people see the same way.  Even if we are not able to see the better qualities within ourselves, it may be very evident to someone else.  You can train your perception to look for those good qualities in others and not focus on someone’s imperfections.

     If our perception is to focus on the thorn and how we might get hurt by even a tender touch, we will miss out on the beauty of the rose and its wonderful fragrance.  The same will be true about many things within our lives.  Placing a higher opinion on the negative things will make us lose out on all the positive things.

     Our perception can be improved to help us enjoy the things we see, hear, and become aware of that are around us every day.  When we can have a better perception about our own lives, we can have a better view of others around us and we can deal with them in a better way than falling prey to our former perceived concepts.  The major hurdle to overcome is ourselves, because we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Sadly, at times truth is pushed aside 

for what is perceived as truth."

Sunrise

      I have a new walking routine that I started about a month ago.  In the mornings, usually around six a.m. I’m out on my “track” making my laps so I can get my 1.55 miles done in about thirty minutes.  The routine now is: walk three days, take a day off.  Walk three days and take a day off, and so on.

     Being out during the time that I am I find it pleasantly enjoyable.  The air is crisp.  There is very little sound where I walk except for an occasional vehicle driving by about two blocks from me.  I do hear on occasion the sound of dogs barking in the distance and I often wonder what could have disturbed them in this early morning silence.  There are times when the lack of sounds is so profound that I think I can hear my own heart beating as I continue to make my rounds on the track.

     However, one of the best parts of the walk that I enjoy is those few moments when the sun begins to rise over the horizon.  I get a glimpse of those warm rays and then I can feel them on my face.  But just the sheer beauty of the sun coming over that eastern horizon and then rising towards the tops of the trees that are around my yard makes me begin to think.

     This is the beginning of a new day.  What exciting things are going to happen this day that will be different from the ones before?  With each new sunrise somewhere, there is a baby born into this world.  What will he or she grow up to be?  Perhaps this will be the person who will make marvelous discoveries that will prolong the health of humans!  Perhaps they will be the one who will unite the world?

     With each new sunrise there is also someone in the world who will be living the last day of their life.  They may have a terminal illness that will culminate on this day.  They may be one who will have their life taken by an unjustified act of violence.  It may be that they will simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time and their life will end.

     Looking at that new sunrise, I realize that somewhere in world there are people hoping that their life will change for the better.  Their living conditions will improve, their family lives will improve, and they will find that things have changed for the better for them.  There will also be those who will learn within this new day that things have changed for the worse.  Perhaps they will lose their jobs, their marriage will end in divorce, their child will run away from home and so many other numerous things that will bring heartache to their lives.

     Spending a few simple moments each morning looking at that new sunrise brings an untold number of possibilities to my mind.  How each will play out during the day I will probably never know.  But I do know this, that each new sunrise, starting a new day of life will bring change!  Some will experience small changes and others will experience larger changes.  For most the changes will be somewhere in between.

     As the many possibilities swirl through my mind I realize that my walk is coming to its conclusion for the morning.  I will have to await the next days walk to see another sunrise and let the possibilities of that new day pour through my mind.  It seems with each new day comes those new possibilities and often the changes that do occur are all up to us as individuals.  Will we make the changes or not?  That is the powerful question of the moment.  The reality of the answer remains to be seen, because we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"We're burning sunlight!'

(John Wayne "The Cowboys")

Pain

     Most of us would almost rather do anything than have to suffer pain in some form or the other.  We generally have this connotation in our minds that pain is always going to be a bad thing and something very unpleasant for us to have to endure.

     Let’s begin by looking at pain from that physical aspect that we usually think of when the topic is brought up.  According to healthline.com (https://www.healthline.com/health/pain#:~:text=Pain%20is%20a%20general%20term,stinging%2C%20sore%2C%20and%20pinching ) “Pain is a general term that describes uncomfortable sensations in the body.  It stems from activation of the nervous system. Pain can range from annoying to debilitating, and it can feel like a sharp stabbing or a dull ache.  Pain can be consistent, can start and stop frequently, or can appear only under some conditions.  People respond to pain differently.  Some people have a high tolerance for pain, while others have a low tolerance.  For this reason, pain is highly subjective.”

     What does it mean that “pain is highly subjective?”  According to one dictionary the meaning is quite varied: “existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought (opposed to objective).

pertaining to or characteristic of an individual; personal; individual: a subjective evaluation.

placing excessive emphasis on one's own moods, attitudes, opinions, etc.; unduly egocentric.

Philosophy. relating to or of the nature of an object as it is known in the mind as distinct from a thing in itself.

relating to properties or specific conditions of the mind as distinguished from general or universal experience.

pertaining to the subject or substance in which attributes inhere; essential.”

     There are groups of individuals who are convinced that you can control your pain by your mind.  In an article posted by talkspace.com (https://www.talkspace.com/blog/pain-management-mind-control/ ) it was stated: “Christine Tolman is a licensed clinical professional counselor and Talkspace therapist based in Idaho. She explains: “There is a great deal of evidence that suggests we can control our pain level with our thoughts. How we view our pain and how it impacts our everyday life can alter the way that it impacts us.””  The article added: “It’s first worth noting that not all kinds of pain can be tackled with our minds. Acute pain and chronic pain can, however, be addressed with your thoughts, Tolman says.”

     We should also remember that pain can be a good thing for us.  It can alert us to the fact that something is not right within our bodies.  It helps us to realize that we are perhaps in need of some type of medical attention.  Of course, if you’re like me, I hate sitting in the doctors’ office and they start asking you, “How would you describe the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no pain and 10 being excruciating pain.”  I find myself never really knowing how to answer that question.

     At times we must remember that our pain is not physical, but could be mental or emotional in nature.  Some have admitted that this type of pain can be very difficult to deal with, the primary reason being highlighted by an article on medicalexpress.com (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mental-pain.html ):  “Mental pain is no less real than other types of pain related to parts of the body, but does not seem to get adequate attention. A major problem is the lack of agreement about its distinctive features, conceptualization and operational definition.”

     Many deal with the day-to-day pressures of this world and suffer from depression or simply mental fatigue.  I’ve at times equated this feeling with just “not wanting to put up with it anymore!”  Sadly, many have this feeling to an extreme degree and no longer want to live the life they are currently dealing with.  According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/ ) ‘Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States.  In 2018 48,344 Americans died by suicide and there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts.” 

     Regardless of the causes for these types of pain and not withstanding various attempts to deal with them, there is a real hope for the future.  At Revelation 21:4 we are told “And he [God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor PAIN be anymore.  The former things have passed away.”

     We can have true confidence that what God has promised will come to pass in His appointed time.  However, until then, we must deal with the pains in our lives the best that we can and rely upon Him for assistance.  The big problem is that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Some say life can be 'a pain in the neck.'

I have a lower opinion of it!"