LAUGHING AIN'T A PLEASURE TIL YOU KNOW ABOUT CRYING

I was talking with a very dear and very wise friend of mine( Thanks Christopher) when he gently reminded me that in this world of 3d illusion that consciousness has to express both a positive and a negative because it is dual in nature. And this consciousness has no way to express other than the way it is. I knew this but as usual I need to be reminded time to time of some things that should be second nature to me.(But I am still learning, with the help of good folks like Chris). Some may call the duality positive and negative, or ying and yang, or right or wrong, or any other label they may come up with. No matter what we call it, it will always remains true to itself. As I try to express love to all the "good" people I also have to express that same love to the "bad" people. And as Chris pointed out to me when I label anything as either good or bad I am limiting my own personal awareness of life , love and peace. If we did not ever experience any hardships how can we expect to experience happiness? If I never had to face adversity in any way how can I expect to experience perfect peace? If I never have to face loss, how can I ever experience gain? On and on and so it goes. I guess what I am saying is that when any of us are faced with something "bad" we should be eager to embrace that thing as eagerly as we are to accept "good" stuff. All of us have at one time or another lost someone we love. And as hard as that may be how could we have ever experienced the happiness we shared with that person while they were still here. Whatever this life may send our way I feel it is up to each of us to gladly accept and own whatever it is, even if it is something that brings us down to our knees. We all go through difficult situations but if we can just own the experience and learn from it we will be better able to come out on the other side a much better human being. No need to blame anyone or anything that may have been the cause of our consternation. No need to be angry, no need to damaged, no need to do anything other than just love it! Love each situation as it unfolds. Take our lumps so to speak and learn to do better the next time. As Chris reminded me the other day--we are all on our separate paths and each path whether we wish to admit it or not, is one that is sacred. So today whatever path you may find your self on just love it. My hope is that all of us will eventually choose the path of perfect love, perfect peace, and a willingness to accept and to love everyone just as they are. This collective consciousness we now find ourselves in is one of too much hatred, to much violence, to much greed, and too much condemnation. But as people who are making this collective consciousness we can change the way it goes. May we all learn to love others as we love ourselves. Kindness peace, love , and gratitude can replace all the negative stuff we see now. But it can  only change little by little as more humans join together in making our dream of a peaceful loving world a reality. Will you join me today in my dream of this world? I hope you will but if not I still love you anyway. Be safe, enjoy the holiday season ahead of us and try to be the very best human being you can. HUGS to all.

WHILE I CAN DREAM

I wish to share with you my favorite Elvis Presley tune from all time. This song just about sums up my feelings completely. Thank you Elvis!


"IF I CAN DREAM"


Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land, where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, why can't my dreams come true?


There must be peace and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise that will blow away the doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun where hope keeps shining down on everyone
Tell me why, oh why, why won't that sun appear?


We're lost in a cloud with too much rain
We're trapped in a world that's troubled with pain
But as long as a man has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly


Deep in my heart there's a trembling question
Still I am sure that the answers gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark there's a beckoning candle
And while I can think, while I can talk
While I can stand while I can walk
While I can dream please let my dream co me true
Right now, let it come true right now






I only wish I could put such a message in my own words so that everyone could understand. If you will join me in trying to become one of those beckoning candles that sees that we are all ONE. One candle at a time lit in the darkness will someday dispel all the hate and the world will live in peace and understanding. My greatest hope is that we wake up quickly and begin to live as we were intended to. We are born out of love and light and somehow we need to rediscover that Truth. I bless each of you from my heart to yours.

THANKSGIVING

To all of my fellow Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving Day this coming Thursday I want to wish all of you the happiest and most loving Thanksgiving Day ever. And while I'm at it I'd like to wish the same thing to all my friends on here who live elsewhere in the world. Thanksgiving is  personally, my favorite holiday of all. It is a time when I always take some time to remind myself of just how blessed I am. Life has treated me probably better than I deserve and I have so many friends and family members who love me just as I am. I don't think a man could ask for more than that. I know all of us have different situations we find ourselves in but my sincerest hope is that at least for one day all of us will take time to reflect on all the good in our lives. If by chance any of you reading this feel like you don't have a friend in the world let me say this. I love you. No matter what you do or where you go I will always love you. I may not agree with your life choices but I still love you. And to all of you who know me personally I would say the same thing to all of you. Enjoy a special day not only on this Thursday but in every moment you have here on this earth. I am preparing to enjoy  this special time with family who means the world to me. So I will be taking a break from writing on the blog but I do hope to come back in a week or so and continue to share my thoughts with you. May all your days be bright and filled with lots of love and may the "hard" times be few. But whatever you find yourself doing I would ask that you take a quick moment and do something nice for someone. Working together I really do believe that we can turn this world around from the direction it is headed and once again learn to  live in peace and love for EVERYBODY!

WHY I LOVE YOU ANYWAY

Being a human being in this world sure seems very hard at times. We all have our own personal desires and beliefs. And it seems so hard for any of us to find common ground on issues that we all face. We all want to be "right" and we all want what it is we want. That seems to be the reason why we have so many different groups fussing and fighting all the time. As I watch all this senseless b/s going on I cannot help but feel dismayed. While I realize that we are all exactly where we are supposed to be I still find it difficult to understand the actions of all of us, myself included. I have learned (thanks to many of you wonderful folks) that I just need to try and detach myself from the illusions of this world. But it is one thing to say that and yet another thing to actually do it. I know I still have so much to learn. Today I would just like to say to everyone that I love you. This includes even those who continue to kill and hurt others for no apparent reason. I know I can detest those actions but at the same time still love you and only hope that one day soon we will all realize we are ONE. I leave all of you with thoughts of peace, love, oneness, and much joy. As we tend to say here in Kentucky, Bless your heart! Remember to be the best human being you can and try to enjoy the one eternal moment that we are all in.

THIS WHOLE WORLD'S GONE CRAZY

The following lyrics are from a song from the Fabulous Thunderbirds.


"The whole world's gone crazy, think I've seen enough
I'm gonna sleep forever , why get up?


When I get myself going the going gets rough
So I ask myself why get up?




Well folks, that is way I feel way too often. From time to time I manage to lose sight of the fact that everything is exactly where and what it is supposed to be. I know that but I still struggle with at times. Looking out today upon this world I see groups of people killing other human beings because somehow they think their "God" wants them to do that. Well, I'm not sure what god they worship but I sure as hell don't want no part of it. Even though I find myself "judging" these killers and their misdirected actions of hate and prejudice I cannot judge them. I can only love them and hope that one day soon all of us will realize that love for everybody is the only way to go. I still can't help but feel like I am trapped in a world where I really don't belong. But then again, I know I am always right where I am supposed to be. So in a world trapped in struggle and pain, I will try to continue to just LOVE IT! I send love to everyone because that is the only thing I am capable of doing. And my hope is that all of you will join me in trying to show that love is the only answer. If you will just stop right here and put some positive thoughts out in this mixed up crazy world. This will not heal our planet in itself but it has to help a bit, don't you think? I leave all of you with thoughts of perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect understanding.

LET YOUR LOVE FLOW

The following lyrics from a song by the Bellamy Brothers will serve as my entry for today.


"Let your love flow like a mountain stream and let your love grow with a small list of dreams and let your love show and you'll know what I mean its the season
Just let your fly like  a bird on the wing and let your love bind you to all living things and let your love shine and you'll know I mean that's the reason..........................


My sincere hope for today is that all of us will indeed let our love flow outward to infinity and thus beyond. I bless all of you with warm thoughts for a very happy and safe new week ahead. And may each one of us do something nice for someone today just because we can.

L.O.V.E.

Love-a little four letter word that should suffice as the only thing we need in this life. Here is my( and own personal take on what those 4 letters could stand for)


L.  As in Leaving. Leaving all those false beliefs of what is so important in this 3d world. Also to leave behind any feelings of hate, prejudice, pride and so forth. Leave all that b/s behind and fill in that empty space with nothing but unconditional love.


O. As in opportunity. All of us have within us right now the ability and the opportunity to begin accepting that pure love is the one thing this world needs the most. And all of us have boundless opportunity to spread the word and to share our love and our light with the world.


V. As in victory. We may not yet realize just how powerful we are. But when we finally decide to exert our power of pure love and extend it to everyone, it is then we will start to see the changes we wish to see for a better world.


E. As in everyone. No matter what the circumstances all of us have the innate ability to be the love we wish to see. That is ALL of us. No one need be left behind as we strive to spread this idea of love to the entire planet.


Again this is just one man's opinion but I do hope to see many others hop aboard this train of life that is powered solely by pure unconditional love.  May all of you wonderful people enjoy the one eternal moment you now find yourself in. My love goes out to everyone. Bless you all.

JUST DO IT

I want to borrow a phrase from Nike corporation today. Their catch phrase is Just Do It. Well today I say Just Love It. No matter what is going on in your life right now. No matter what anyone else is doing. No matter what anyone else thinks....... Just Love It. Love yourself, love each other, love life! The best you can do is just forgive and love, love , love. May all of you have a most wonderful new week ahead! Let your love light shine!

WATCHING THE WHEELS

Today I share with you a song from the late great John Lennon




People say I'm crazy, doing what I'm doing
They give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
When I tell them I'm ok watching shadows on the wall
Surely you're not happy now, you're no longer on the ball


People say I'm lazy, dreaming my life away
They give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
 I tell them that I'm doing fine, just sitting here doing time


People asking questions lost in confusion
I tell them there's no problems only solutions
Well they shake their heads and look at me
As if I've lost my mind


I tell them there's no hurry I'm just sitting here doing time
I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go I just had to let it go






There it is my friends. May all of you wonderful folks be able to let it go and enjoy the moment you find yourself in right now. Be good to yourself and even better to others.

K I S S

Keep it simple stupid. I've been aware of that old adage for many years now. And still I find myself at times being drawn back into the illusions of this world we call home. I am reminded of a verse from a song written by Ric Ocasik who was the lead singer of a group called The Cars. The verse goes like this: Maybe you're on a mission trying to get a leg across,, but nobody wants to listen, cause everyone is getting lost.  As I listen to this song I am reminded of how we as a human race cannot seem to agree as to how to end all the negative stuff going on around us every day. It seems to me that even the "good" people who wish to see a change don't really know how to go about doing it. One belief clashes with another and on and on it goes. In the meantime while we continue to argue and try to get our message across, the "bad" people continue to keep us chained down by telling us what we can eat, what we can drink, smoke, or even how we should dress! I don't get it! Maybe its just me I don't know. Still I try to get "my" message across to others. And that message is just to love each other and realize we are all ONE. I don't know if anyone is listening or not and sometimes I think I will just learn to let go and just "watch" what is going on. I tend to think that maybe my message seems too simple for others to accept. Us human beings tend to think that we have to make things "hard" to get anything done at all. Guess I'll just continue on my personal path of love and kindness and keep it simple! To all of you I share my love and hope you all have a most wonderful weekend ahead.

COULD IT BE THAT WE'RE ALL WRONG?

Once again I find myself wondering why things have to happen as they do. There is just so much violence, racism, hate, and misunderstanding in an otherwise beautiful world. I don't think it is this way because we cannot agree on so many things, but rather that when we disagree we feel that the other person or belief is wrong and we want so much to be "right" ourselves, that we oft times go as far as killing each other. Why do we feel we have to be the one that is right? And even if we are or are not then why should we feel that we have to make the other one admit that they are wrong. For an example, we can all see the violence and hate playing out on the front we call terrorism.  A religious sect of certain believers are so intense in making the entire world turn to their interpretation that they are slaying innocent men, women, and children in the name of a god they believe in. Why can't they instead just go about living their beliefs and accepting that everyone else has the same right to believe their own way? That way no one would be killing another human being. This is an extreme example of what happens when we cannot just agree to disagree and leave it that way. Certain groups in all countries seem to want to have and exert their power over everyone else. There is no government anywhere that is totally innocent of forcing their will on others. When it comes down to one person's belief system against anothers' the same thing should apply. If you can't agree then just accept the fact that one of you may be right and the other wrong, but also that the possibility exist that neither on e of you is right. This world seems to be getting more crazy by the day. I think we have enough problems just dealing with our planet and all the changes it is going through. If and only if all of us take the time to see that we are all "ONE" will we be able to survive as a race of human beings. Whatever you believe, whatever you do or say will not change the fact that all of us are in trouble unless we learn to love each other, treat each other with respect, and wish the best for everyone. Those seeking to rule the world will be in for a sad reckoning when they finally realize there will be nothing to control if the world continues down the path we are headed. I don't try to convince you of anything other than to love.  Give love, accept love, be love. It hurts me to see all the violence and stuff going on not only here in America but all across the world. I see all kinds of groups of people just being led along a path like a herd of sheep. Too many have been entranced in  a belief system where war, misunderstanding, hate and the like is always present. As I see it we should embrace love, work together for the common good, and stop living our lives in fear. Nor should any one man or group be in total power over the rest of us. But then again, that is only one man's opinion. That is mine and mine alone and I know I could be wrong. But if I am, at least I am being wrong in a way where I try my best to never hurt anyone. Today I wish for each of you a moment filled with pure love and personal freedom to discover the "INNER YOU" who is like myself just tired of all the false teachings, the hate and the violence. Here's hoping it all ceases to be real soon. HUGS for all.

ENJOY THE MOMENT

 It is all any of us have. Be kind to each other and strive to become the very best human being you can. Give love, accept love, be love for that is truly who we are. I hope everyone has a really fantastic week ahead!

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP

What is the last thing you think about when you go to bed to get some rest? I sure hope it is something positive. I have heard it said that what our last thoughts are before bedtime is what we awaken to the next morning. If that is true then it is no wonder why so many of us struggle each day. If we are having thoughts about what we have to do, or what we have to face up to, then our sleep will not be quite as peaceful as they could be. If we are worried about something in the future instead of focusing on the NOW moment I can see trouble just waiting to happen. Here is the thing as I see it. If we can truly relax before hitting that bed and focus on all the "good" stuff in our lives, then our sleep will probably be peaceful. As human beings it is tough to keep our inner most thoughts on love, peace, and joy when we are struggling in any area of our lives. The more one thinks about all the "bad" stuff in our world the more our subconscious keeps on giving us more of the same. I would like to share with you the way I try to make sure I get a restful and peaceful sleep. When I lay down I take a few moments to just relax my body and my mind. This is not always simple to do because like most of us there are a lot of things of a negative nature going on in my subconscious and conscious mind. I usually use some kind of meditation technique to relax and to clear my mind of all the garbage that have made their way to my mind. Once I am relaxed I then just give thanks to the Great Spirit for allowing me to be alive in this 3D world. I don't ask for anything because I know that Spirit already knows what I need. I only express gratitude. I also go back in my mind of the day just past and think of all it entailed. Did I do anything that hurt another? Did I do my very best in sharing unconditional love with everyone? Did I smile a lot? Did I say hello to others I met on the street? Did I hold that door open for another? Did my deeds hurt anyone's feelings? Did I accept the best not only for myself but others as well? And if I do remember something I said or did that affected anyone in a negative way I make sure I try to not repeat that mistake tomorrow. I try my best to be brutally honest with myself as I ask these questions. And if I think anyone has offended me instead of cursing them I try to see why I allowed them to do so. After these questions I then just allow my mind to quiet itself and I focus on the changes I would like to see in this world. And what I can do to help with that healing. Usually this helps me to sleep better and also to forgive myself for any misdeeds I may have done today. I make lots of mistakes along the way of this life but I work diligently every day to try and improve on the way my life is going. Do I always sleep soundly and restful? No, not always since for some reason I have to deal with night terrors very often in my dreams. Probably some of that is due to the medications I have to take for physical pain. But with everything else aside I can assure you I go to sleep with a "clean" slate for tomorrow. I believe all of us should take a real hard look at ourselves every night and see if we are doing all we can to help this world be one of peace and happiness for all. I'm just one man and know I can't solve all the problems but I also realize I can make myself a better human being. And if even one life has been made easier by me being here then I have succeeded. (Thank you Ralph Waldo Emerson) May all of us begin right now to do any thing we can to assist in healing the world. One step at a time, one person at a time. Working together we can make a difference! My hope is that you join us on the path of learning how to love. I will be leaving for a couple of weeks to see our kids and grandkids so I may not be posting until we return home. But be assured all of you will remain with me in my heart until we meet again. Take this moment. Enjoy it! Embrace it! Love it! Try to do a random act of kindness for someone and I'm sure at the end of the day you will feel better about yourself. And with that you may just enjoy your best night of sleep in a while! I leave you now with thoughts of perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect joy.

THE ILLUSION OF FEAR

Have you ever felt afraid? Experienced fear at its deepest level? Probably so, unless you are either brain dead or highly experienced at dealing with fear. We humans are made in a  way that fear can either serve us well or make prisoners out of us. Personally, I think is only an illusion brought about by the lack of peaceful and loving thoughts. Don't get me wrong, I still have bouts of fear quite often. But I am learning to deal with it in a positive way. Today I want to share with you a bit of the short story I wrote many years ago. I never got around to getting it published but I still feel it is relevant in todays world. I titled this work of mine, Illusions and Paradox. I hope you get some good from it. And if even one person finds a little "truth" in it then my work has been a success.




Here is another way of looking at fear. Let's say you are fearful of something or the other. Then one sunny day you are forced to face your fear head on. An example:  Let's say you have always had a deep seated fear of camels. You don't quite know why. Just say it is because you are intimidated by any strange looking animal who smells funny and has a hump or two on its back. Maybe it is an irrational fear but a real fear nevertheless. Now just suppose you go out for an early morning walk and by some strange twist of fate you wind up in the middle of a barren desert. About noontime you are so tired and hot you begin to hallucinate. Maybe you see naked dancing women or Ed McMahon holding a check for ten million dollars made out to you. Even though you like these scenarios you know the sun is frying your brain big time and the end as you know it is quickly approaching. It is either get out of this desert and head for a cold beer, or go off with Ed and see why it took him so long to get you that check you have dreamed about all these years. Then all at once you spot this dirty, smelly, old two humped camel. Too tired to run or get away you are now forced to face one of your biggest fears. With caution you climb aboard this old ship of the desert. Then he quickly takes you back home. Now sitting in front of your television and sipping on that cold beer, you find you suddenly have a very warm spot in your heart for not only your life saving camel but also for all the old hump backed camels in the world. Then you realize your fear of camels are gone, completely erased from your memory bank. You have faced your fears and it is no longer a deep seeded fear. How about that! So was the fear real? Or just an illusion? Think about it! I could go on with more examples of facing your fears. But I won't. The one I did use probably seems a little far-fetched to you but I used it in hopes of showing how our fears are really a little silly at times. But hopefully I made you think a little bit. Now it is up to you to replace the camel with your own fear and face up to it. Try this and see what happens. Go ahead, give it a try as silly as it may sound. Maybe one of these days you will find that all your fears are not really fears at all. They are just the fragments of an under explained mind. To sum up the paradox of fear---there is no such thing as fear but we must experience fear to overcome it. To overcome fear it must be real but after getting past it we find it wasn't really a fear at all. Now, there's a paradox for you! Hey I'd better stop before I confuse myself!




You may think I'm crazy, you may think I'm on to something. Then again you may not think anything. And you know what? That's ok too. Hope you enjoyed reading a little bit of the stuff that I think about. Once again I remind you that this stuff is only my "truth". Follow me and we'd both probably get lost! But I sincerely hope each of you are able to face your fears before they have a chance to be a real problem. Today just give love, accept love, and be love. Love yourself and others even more. A much better world awaits all of us. Please join me in dreaming of a world that is filled with only love for everyone. No fear, no hate(which is fear), no prejudice nothing but love. May we all keep on dreaming until those dreams come true. I leave all of you with thoughts of perfect love, peace, and joy.

COMPLETING THE CIRCLE

I once found myself a little boy, later I found myself to be a man
I once found myself having a dream, later I found myself as the dream
I then found myself to be a man, now I find myself a child
I then found myself the dream, now I find myself the dreamer.




Love is all you need Love is all you need!
I keep on dreaming of a better world somewhere
I now find myself in that better world
And once again I will find the world I now reside in.




To all of you wonderful folks out there I give you my love,
I give you all that I am. May all of you be filled with inner peace, joy, and wisdom.
If you can, do something nice for another human being today. And that would mean you have done something nice for yourself!  May all of us relearn that love is all there truly is! Thank you Great Spirit for being in each of us at every moment!

SLIGHTLY BURNED OUT BUT STILL SMOKING

A big hello to all of you who may visit. I have been taking a sort of sabbatical on the blog for 2 entirely different reasons. While I was contemplating whether or not I was actually doing any "good" on here or if I was mistakenly just espousing another false belief system I found myself faced with an event that I wasn't prepared for. Shortly after I had begun my practice of just watching and doing nothing, I was hit by a force so hard that it has shaken my entire foundation. My life as I know it is about to be upended. But no worries. I know I will get through this and come out on the other side. I surely don't any sympathy and I don't want any of you to become overly concerned about my state of being. But with that being said I would love to give a shout out to my well loved  friends. You will know who I speak of. Those who have always supported me in the writing I do and just accept me as I am. Without your support I don't think, no I know, I wouldn't be in as good a place as I now find me. Thank you so very much. I am truly a blessed human being. So as I start the new path life has thrown me into I hope to be back to writing on here more often. As the title says right now I am slightly burned out but I'm still smoking. I get by with a little help from my friends. (Thank you Beatles)! I leave all of you with thoughts of pure love, joy, peace, and beauty. May the sun keep on shining down on your front door forever!

LIKE A MOTH TO THE FLAME

As I find my ego self growing dimmer each day my soul flies freely to the Light. The Light of pure unconditional love and pure consciousness. What a wondrous journey it has been! I would like to say thank you to everyone who has played such an important part in this journey of mine. To my beautiful and understanding wife who accepts me with nothing but pure love. She is my best friend, my lover, my support, and my Forever Valentine! To all of my family and friends who accepts me as I am. And a big thank you to all of blogger friends who have offered encouragement and support. Each of you, in your own special way have helped me so very much. Without you I would be nothing. I love all of you. My inward journey, which has been filled with a bit of everything it seems, continues to take me in the direction toward that state of pure consciousness. Toward the Light and truth. Like a moth to the flame my souls journey continues. I would like to share with you a short work of poetry I wrote many years ago. It is titled A Soul's Flight




My soul seeks to soar
High above the earth and skies
Onward to Infinity and thus beyond


My body trembles in both fear
And eager anticipation
One body, one soul, separated by undiscovered truths
That have yet to shine forth


Circumstances beyond my control
Strive to keep the soul earthbound


But day by day, moment by moment
The chains are weakened
The time is near, the wings are spread


By faith alone my soul's flight has begun
To beyond Infinity where All is One


May your journey be one that is filled with much love, much joy, and much peace. Be good to yourself and even better to others. A mind filled with kindness is a mind that will help solve many of humanity's woes. Give love, accept love, and be love. For that is truly all we are!




                                               
                                                                                            


                                                  
                                                 
                                                 


                                                 
                                                 
                                                


                                                 
                                                           
                                                 

JUDGMENT DAY

I'm sure this title will mean different things to each of us. Some might say that to them judgment day will come at their point of so called death when they cease to be a human being any longer. And that on that day they will be judged as to what kind of life they had lived. Others may say judgment day never comes. Some may say it comes at the end of the existence of the planet we call home. Then there are others such as myself that say every day is judgment day. i.e.The law of Karma which says that for our every action there is a corresponding reaction which comes back to us in some form. i.e. As you sow so shall you reap. Let us take a closer look at the word judgment. Webster's definition states--1-A deciding 2-legal decision 3 opinion. And the 3rd one is the one I am speaking of now. Judgments are only opinions and I have heard it said: opinions are like ---holes, we all have one. Kinda crass I know but true none the less. And that is what makes judgments the inexact sciences they are. In the Bible it says judge not so you will not be judged. Does this mean that we should never make any kind of judgments? I don't think so. I feel it is almost impossible as a human being not to make judgments about things. If for instance you happen to disagree with something I say, then you are judging me as being "wrong". And that may be true because I am wrong quite often! But hopefully if you do judge me as being wrong you will not condemn me for this. The way I see it this is where one encounters the impossibility of not judging. We all have to make many judgments every day. We have to. If not we would never say someone else is wrong. And that would make everyone else "right". I'm sure you can see the dilemma here. When one feels secure in their beliefs they usually scoff at another's "truth" and pity them for it. I believe that is why most of us surround ourselves with others who believe as we do. For example--Church groups, organizations, cults, clubs, and the like. I feel it is fine to be surrounded by those who reinforce our own beliefs. But at the same time if we only listen to those like minded folks we may be hindering our own personal growth. To expand our consciousness we maybe should become more open to the fact that maybe those who disagree with us could be another avenue for us to learn. I don't mean we have to accept their truths as either right or wrong. But by just listening and giving them a chance to express their beliefs, maybe we do learn something that just feels right to us. And then maybe we adopt some of their truth as our own. But if we dismiss them automatically we have no chance of learning from them. We are all students and also we are all teachers. I know we judge others but hopefully we will learn not to condemn. That is the key! I once talked to a very good man, a devout churchgoer, who was trying to convince me that my belief system was flawed. His belief was that if I did not adhere to his truth that I was damned to an afterlife in hell. I told him that even though I didn't agree that I was not judging him as being wrong. I was only making the judgment that our beliefs were different from each others. I also told him that his beliefs may well indeed be true. I told him he was judging me but he denied that. But I don't believe one can have it both ways. Either you judge and condemn or you just judge and still say it may be possible that you art right. What is right for one can be wrong for someone else. So judgment can be a really tricky subject. I sure don't expect you or anyone else to take everything I say as truth. I once again remind all that my truth is mine and mine only. I do hope I am always able to keep an open mind and change my beliefs as I see fit. I feel all of us are on our personal paths to truth and freedom. Separate paths indeed but ones that lead us back to who we truly are. That being pure Divine Love and Light. I surely do not want to offend anyone by my truths I speak of. I accept each of you as a part of myself. By doing so I send love to you and send love to myself as well. Since we are all one what I send you I send myself. My hope is that one day soon this world will be big enough for all different views. And maybe that maybe will set us all free. May all of you quickly find your own truth. And therein find pure love, joy, and oneness. Until the next time, be safe, do good to others, and let your light shine for all of us to see. Much love to all of you wonderful people.

WHAT THE F?

Well, well, those old hackers are back at me again I see. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I clicked on my link for my blogger home page I saw I had been bombarded by smut. Pics of naked men and women and the like. I can't seem to get it off my page but luckily when I typed in my user name on yahoo it took me to my usual blog. So if any of you did happen to find any of the smut on here I am truly sorry. I will continue to try and get my page back to normal but if any of you do try to get here and instead find the smut I am sorry. Just seems like some people love to try and aggravate me on here. Not exactly sure why they do this unless its just for kicks or trying to make a dollar somehow. If by chance those responsible for this intrusion do read this let me say this. Even though I hate having to deal with these kinds of menial things that you do I still send you thoughts of pure love and joy and oneness. I have no idea who you are and no idea why you choose to be a thorn to those who you have never even met. What made you turn to this kind of relationships with your fellow human family is way beyond me. My hope is that real soon you will realize that the true way to happiness will not be found until you begin to love your brothers and sisters and  start treating them with love an respect. My heart goes out to you and may you soon see the LIGHT. To all of you today I send thoughts of pure love, joy, kindness, understanding, and peace. Remember to be good to yourself and even better to others!

WHAT A WONDER WORLD

When I sat down to write a new entry today I had no idea what I was going to write about. But just a few moments earlier I had been listening to some old songs and one of them was the song by Louie Armstrong titled What a Wonderful World. Guess I'm taking the "easy" way today by using another's talent for my blog entry. But to me this tune says oh so very much. The words ring so true. I hope you will enjoy the words of the song printed below.

"I see leaves of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I say to myself What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and  clouds of white
The bright blessed day
And the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also  on the faces of people walking by
I see friends shaking hands saying How do you do?
They're really saying I love you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn so much that I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
And I think to myself what a wonderful world


Hope you all agree that this world is so beautiful and see that all of us need to work together to put an end to all the madness going on around us. May we all quickly learn that we are indeed ONE no matter what labels we attach to ourselves and to others. Together we can make this world even more beautiful. I now leave all of you with thoughts of perfect peace, perfect love, and perfect understanding. Be good to yourself and even better to others.

BEING HAPPY

I'd like to follow up on my previous post about happiness. Is it possible to be happy at every moment? As my dear friend from England, Carl, reminded me, all of us need to feel sadness if not only so that we can more fully enjoy the happy times. There is much truth in that Carl and I agree. Is it possible to be happy at every moment? I'm sure most of us would agree it is not possible. But even though we don't seem to be able to I still think it is a possibility. Personally I've never known anyone who claims to be happy all the time. As of this moment I haven't learned to be happy every moment but I am still trying. And believe me it does seem to get a little easier each day. Now will I ever reach that state of perpetual happiness? I do have my doubts about that but at least I am becoming more aware of what it takes to be happy in the moment. I'd like to share some examples of what I mean. When I awaken in the mornings and my body is aching from some kind of physical pain, am I happy? No, but I could be happy just knowing I can get up and go about the day. Maybe I won't be feeling great but at least I am still alive. And there is always the chance the pain will ease up or perhaps go away all together. I suffer from chronic pain due to having broken my neck in an automobile accident when I was only 22 years old. The pain never goes away and I admit there are times when I think it is going to get the best of me. But with that being said, I try to remain happy in knowing that the broken neck could have killed me or left me paralyzed from the neck down. So instead of focusing on the pain I try to focus on the fact that I am able to walk around. Another example--How can I remain happy when I see someone I love die? Of course I am sad for the loss but I always remind myself that the one deceased is still with me in spirit and in warm memories. So the sadness is replaced with a sense of being happy once again. This process may take some time but eventually the sadness is gone. Another example is that of suffering from a broken relationship of some kind. I've been through that scene more than once and it is never easy. At those times I found myself really sad at first but I was soon able to see that the relationship had served its purpose and that was a better relationship waiting for me to discover! My happiness did not appear immediately because I am a human being. And grieving a loss of any kind is I suppose, a natural thing. Another example is that of money. Contrary to some beliefs I think money is a good thing! In this world we need money to be able to live a relatively "good" life. When I was much younger I thought money was the answer to all my happiness. And those few times when I found myself broke and penniless I was far from being happy. But as the years have quickly rolled away I discovered I could still be happy even when money was in short supply. Believe me, I know it isn't easy when the bills are due and you don't have the money to pay them. Or when you are hungry and don't know where the next meal is coming from. But I still believe one can be happy even when money is in short supply. The funny thing about money or anything else one may be trying to attain is that the harder you try the harder it becomes to make manifest. I have tried for many years to stop worrying about money and just know that whatever I need will be supplied at the right time. And with that realization I can stay happy. I know this life can seem "hard" and happiness can become so elusive that one may feel like just giving up. At the same time though I truly believe one can remain happy in most every situation if they look deeper into their spiritual center which always remains perfect. Will I ever learn to never be experience sadness? No, I don't think I will. But I can keep on trying. It has been said that one can as happy as they allow themselves to be. So my hope for all of you is that you will set your mind on being happy and work every moment to keep your mind attuned to all the possibilities that are inherent within you. And when you inevitably find yourself feeling sad, take a moment to just look around and see all the beauty that surrounds you. Be safe, do good deeds, love yourself and be happy! Take the road that leads to happiness and don't forget to share that happiness with everyone! Be good to yourself and even better to others. Keep on smiling as happiness rains down on you and yours.

IF THE WORLD HAD ALL HAPPY PEOPLE

A verse from the song "Sweet Love" written by Lionel Ritchie and performed by The Commodores about says it all. The line goes like this: "If I was at a place where dreams are for dreamers and all you wished came true, I'd wish the world had all happy people, then there'd be no more wishing to do." Can you dream of a world that is filled with only happy people? I often dream of such a world. And my heart aches when I realize that this is only true in my dreams. But will my dreams ever come true? I'm afraid it will not. At least not in my lifetime. And still I wonder why. Why is there so much unhappiness, so much hate, and so much suffering in our world today? I realize that happiness is only a state of mind and that each of us have our own visions as to what it is that will make us happy. For some happiness means having lots of money. Or maybe finding our "perfect" mate. For some, happiness is having a good job, a great family, trustworthy friends, fame and fortune, or many other things we can possess. While all of these are great things to aspire to, I think it takes much more to find true happiness. I have come to find that the thing I need most is love. Unconditional love. I am trying to love myself and I'm still working every day to learn to love everyone in this world. And that is such a daunting undertaking at times. I find it hard to still love those who spread hate, fear, and prejudice and don't seem to care about anyone other than themselves. I try to see beyond the things they do and still find love in my heart for them. I can abhor the evil deeds they do and still love them the best way I know how. It is far from easy to do this and even though I fail time and again, at least I am still trying. I cannot deny all the evil I see people do. But I can at least keep on dreaming that one day soon everyone will learn to love themselves first, and then extend that love to everyone else on the planet. I truly feel that for one to love themselves they will have to put an end to all the evil ways. Love can be easy. Love can be extremely hard and very elusive. But the possibility always remains that one day all of us will see a world full of only happy people! I realize my dream may never come true, but as long as I am able to keep the dream alive, the possibility remains. I hope all of you wonderful people will join me in dreaming of a much better world. May we all quickly learn to be good to ourselves and even better to others. I leave you now with thoughts of perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect joy. If you will, do me a favor and do a random act of kindness for someone. Because you never know when your small act of kindness just may save someone's life. And that my friends, just might bring you more happiness than you have experienced in quite some time! And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me in my dream of a better world for everyone!

IF I'M RIGHT AND YOU ARE RIGHT, COULD IT BE THAT WE ARE BOTH WRONG

How did life start? How did we get here? Where are we going? What happens after death? Is there a God? Or Gods? Are there aliens living among us now? Are our governments in cohoots with each other to keep things hidden from the public? You know, I could go on and on with many questions that take on different meanings to each of us. But really, does it all matter? If I believe something should I try to get you to agree with me? I don't really think so. But still, I see many people go as far as to kill innocent folks just because they don't agree with their beliefs. How insane is that? I sure don't have the answers to life but one thing I truly believe in is that all we have is this one eternal moment and we had better learn to share this with everyone so we can stop all the fussing and fighting. We all come from the stars and will always be a part of each other. Of this, I am pretty sure of. But then again, if you disagree with me that's ok too. Each is able to arrive at their own "truth" at their own time. But I really do hope that everyone will soon agree with me in saying that all this needless killing of innocents has to stop! May we all learn to live in the moment with love and respect for each other! Give peace a chance people! Stop hurting each other and stop being selfish! May we quickly learn to be as good to others as we are to ourselves. At times I feel like throwing my hands up and just quit trying to see a better world. But if I did that then my dream would be over. So I suppose I'll just keep on dreaming. I leave all of you with thoughts of perfect love, peace, and goodness to you and yours forever.

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD IT WOULD BE

"Imagine all the people living life in peace.......(John Lennon)
Can you just imagine how great this world would be if we all learned to get along and live in peace? I think about that very often but realize there is so much more work to be done until we learn to love each other even  more than we love ourselves. But I can still dream! and I will continue to do so even when I see some radical religious group kill innocent folks because they do not ascribe to their beliefs. How strange to hear that there are those who kill and maim others in the name of some God they are trying to push on all of humanity. I just cannot imagine a God who wants innocent people killed because they don't follow some imaginary path to a place that awaits us after death. I really don't get it. Why do we hate others because they don't agree with our way of living? Why do we feel we are always right and the others are wrong? How can a person just kill someone for the sport of it? So much bizarre stuff that goes on in this world is totally beyond my imagination. For a second just try to see a world where every person truly loved each other. The only things we would have to deal with in that case would be accidents or forces of nature such as hurricanes, floods, tornados and the like. We would be able to do away with locks and keys. Imagine leaving your door to your house open all the time while it holds your earthly treasures? Why we could even put our gold on the front doorstep to shine while not being worried someone would take it from us! A world where everybody helped each other. No more wars and the need to spend millions of dollars on weapons. We could instead use that money to see that every human being had enough to eat and a place to stay. I could go on with many more examples but it wouldn't change anything. I know this will not happen, at least in my lifetime but I will keep on dreaming. That is the only way I can survive here, by never giving up hope for all of us to live as one. I know I can't "fix" this world and its problems but I can and I will continue to love others and hope you will to. Just love--that is truly all any of us need. I leave you with thoughts of perfect love, peace, and joy to each of you fine folks. Try to do something nice for someone today and see if it doesn't make you feel better about things. And please keep dreaming of a world where we all live in peace. May the sun keep shining down on your backdoor always!

PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART

I recently heard an old song on the radio called Put a Little Love In Your Heart. If memory serves me well it was a song done by Petula Clark. I may be wrong on the artist though, not that it matters. But I was struck by the simplicity of the lyrics once again as I heard it sung for the first time in quite a while. The lyrics say so much that I wish to share some of the song with you now. "Put a little love in your heart, and the world will be a better place for you and me, you just wait , wait and see. I know its getting late so please don't hesitate, put a little love in your heart, and the world will be a better place............... Simple but filled with so much wisdom! I would ask all of you to do as the song says right now so we can again be a part of the solutions instead of the problems. May the new week ahead be filled with much love, peace, joy, and kindness for all of you beautiful people. Let us all be good to ourselves, and even better to others.


After checking I found that the song was performed by Jackie DeShannon and not Petula Clark. Just wanted to give proper credit to the artist of this beautiful song.

A BETTER WORLD TODAY

You may think you are helpless in trying to make this world a better place. I know there are times when I feel that way. I see the news and hear about all the crazy stuff going on all around me and I think to  myself: I wish there was something I could do right now that would make a difference in the way things are headed. And at that moment I always remind myself that there is something I can do. And then I do it! Is it something grand or spectacular? No, it isn't. Is it something that the news channels will be printing about? No, nothing like that I can assure you. And the best part of this is that you and anyone else can do the same thing! You wanna know what it is? In keeping with my concept of keeping it simple, here it is. Right now, take a moment and tell someone you love them. No matter where you are you can do this. If by chance you are out someplace all alone, maybe you can make a phone call. If you don't have a means to call you can still let someone know you love them. Just send some loving thoughts directed to that person and I truly believe they will feel it in some kind of way. Hey, I know it's just a small step and your actions will not solve all the world's problems. But if you do this you will have at least made the world better for two people. Yourself and the one you told that you loved them. And the more you do this the more you find that yes indeed, you can help solve the problems of the world, no matter what you have or where you are. I hope you will give it a shot at least! When you get accustomed to telling someone that you love them every day, you may then find that you are now telling more than one person a day. And that is when you are on your way to living a more satisfying life. Believe me, this old world needs your love now more than ever. And right now I hope I make the world better for a lot of people by saying I love you to all of you who are reading this. I may not know you but we are still one and love knows no boundaries! Enjoy the moment and spread the word. Love overcomes all! I love you!

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

When I sit down to write in this blog I usually have some idea of what I am going to be talking about. But today I have not had a lot of spare time to give a lot of thought as to what I would write today. I started to just not write anything but as I was thumbing through some of my stuff I had jotted down so long ago I happened upon another page of thoughts to ponder. These were sayings that came to my mind when I was still so young. But I have found that most of them still ring very true to me today also. So in the keep it simple category here is the quote. Love all you see today, maybe it will start an epidemic. I wish all of you the very best of everything now and always. Just love, love, and love some more! It really does make this life easier!

WHICH IS THE SMARTER SEX? WOMEN OR MEN?

Well, Yeah, I suppose I am opening a can of worms so to speak with the above question. Of course, in so called reality(if  there is such a thing) that is really a pretty dumb question. After all, I'm sure each of us will have our own opinion based on what we have seen over our lifetime. Intelligence is only something we claim we have or don't have. And the same for everyone else. Personally, I would not touch that subject for all the money in the world. So why you may ask is it that I have decided to write about it in the first place. Really I just wanted to share this experience with you because I found it to be a bit on the funny side of life. And humor plays such an important part in our lives I thought you may enjoy this story. The other day we here in Western Kentucky woke up to as much as 14 inches of snow that had fell over night. I measured 11 inches on our front lawn. Since the snow was so deep I knew I would have to shovel it from the drive before I could even get the truck out of the garage. so after breakfast I layered up the clothes, hitched up the boots, and opened the garage door to get started. After some shoveling and heavy lifting I had to stop and take a rest. I looked out to where my wife keeps the bird feeder and noticed it was empty. So I filled it up, hung it back on the stand in the garden and waited. It didn't take very long before the first bird arrived at the new buffet. She was a female cardinal( the cardinal is the state bird of Kentucky) and she took a seat below the feeder. Before she could hop up to taste the seeds I had put out, A male cardinal swooped down and sat just to the right of the female. Neither one made a move to the top of the feeder. I was wondering why they just continued to look at each other instead of eating. Was the male being a "gentleman" and waiting for the lady to go first? Probably not I thought. A few seconds later I saw another bright red male cardinal come swooping down and landing fairly close to the other two birds. In an instant I saw the males looking at each other and the female was glancing at both of the males. After sizing up the situation the male bird which had been the last to arrive suddenly attacked the other male. They flew up in the air struggling and then one started chasing after the other. The female, who had remained perched below the feeder, watched as the males flew off and then she hopped up and began feasting on the bird seed. It was then that I said to myself:  "Just like us dumb males to fight like two idiots while the female snickered and got the best of the buffet. The 2 males did come back and eventually I saw them getting a few seeds. Soon that birdfeeder looked like the main attraction at the zoo! Little birds, big birds, colorful birds and yes, even a dumb male bird! Well, in this case I'd have to say that the female species wins the title of smartest. No offense guys, but you probably would have to admit that we ain't the sharpest most of the time. And especially when it comes to us going after the females! But hang in there my male friends, there may be hope for us some day! I sure hope all of you are feeling great and enjoying this very moment! Remember, this is the only thing you have, this very moment. The other stuff will be only temporary. If you can do something nice for someone right now, that will be something that will last forever!

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

Looking back through some of my earlier writings I came upon some quotes that I had come up with way back in the 1990's. This was at a time when I had just gone through some personal problems that had really been tough to get through. As I usually do, when I am faced with major decisions or trying to get back up after I have been knocked down by others, I write. It is my own kind of personal therapy. So today I would love to share some of the thoughts with all of you.

On broken relationships; Be careful that you don't lie around licking your wounds so long that you begin to like it.

It is not important if someone loves you, What is important is that you love them anyway.

You can mend a broken heart if you but take time to recognize all the love that surrounds you.

What good is a healthy body without a healthy mind?

Storms will come and go, but love is eternal.

Love left unexpressed often turns to sadness
Love expressed most often turns to joy.

An act of kindness directed to strangers
Returns to one as an old friend.

A true teacher will never refuse to learn from their students.

A mind that is always open begets learning
A mind that is closed reaps resentment

Friendships are like diamonds; Hard to find and always in need of polishing.

Without love the path is always long and hard
With love present the path only sometimes seems long.

When the heart is pure the mind will unclench.


These are but a few of the things I was thinking of way back then. Hopefully I will be able to share some more with you at a later date. I take leave of you now with thoughts of pure love, joy, and peace. May your day be filled with these things and much more!

SIMPLY LOVE

When I first began this blog I felt its purpose was for me to share things I felt I knew, while at the same time learning things from the friends I have made on this blog. For quite a while now I have been so interested in trying to figure out what this life really entails that I may have overlooked the simplicity of it all. From questions such as--How did I get here? Where am I going? Why am I even her in the first place? Is it all just a dream? Or maybe just one big illusion? On and on I could ask such questions but what would it really accomplish? I suppose just being a curious human being makes me wonder about things like that. But really, what does it all matter? I have met many really intelligent thinkers from my blog that have shared with me their thoughts on questions such as the ones I mentioned. I have come to conclude that there are many, many, possibilities about this experience we call life. But lately I just keep coming back to the realization, at least for me, that none of it much matters anyway. The only thing I can be sure of is that I will be here until I die and then hopefully go on somewhere else in  a new spiritual body. But even that don't matter. As my wonderful mother-in-law says- it is what it is. Can't argue with that! But as for me, I have decided that the only thing that really matters is pure unconditional love for all. I firmly believe that love is the answer for every situation. So now, I will continue on, probably still wondering about some of these unanswerable questions, but at the same time I am going to try my best to learn to live with unconditional love for all. It seems so simple to say love is all we need but I truly think that is about right. In closing I wish for all of you a full life that will be filled with lots of love, truth,joy, and beauty. And as always might I remind you to do something nice for someone today! I remain a dreamer, a dreamer of  a world where all of us live in peace and unity, and that we all have realized that we are ONE. As the great late John Lennon once stated--"I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..." And I hope you will join us and the world will live as ONE. Welcome to my Dream.

SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY

Yesterday while I was sitting around waiting on a package to be delivered I decided to get out some of my older writings and thumb through them. I love to do that from time to time as it helps me to remember not only where I have been but also where I would like to go. I admit some of the old writings seem so strange to me now that I have experienced several more years of living as a human being. I can honestly see my growth in many areas of my life. When I was young and dumb I thought I had already found all the answers I needed. Boy, was I ever wrong! Now I'm pretty much convinced I will never have all the answers. I also realize that some answers just have to be changed at times. Maybe I will share with you some of these older writings when the time is right. One thing I did find yesterday among my old tablets and pieces of paper was a list of sayings that I came up with long ago.I believe these were written by me in the 1980's and the the 90's. Not that the date makes any difference except that it helps me to remember just what I was experiencing at the time. Some of the sayings still ring true, for me at least, today as they did when I first came up with them. Today I'd like to share the one that was at the very top of my page. It read: How do you expect to fly when you never spread your wings? As I read that I then remembered that at that period in my life I was facing some rather difficult decisions in my personal life. I recall thinking to myself that I had become kinda stuck in some areas of my life and did not feel as if I was growing as much as I would have liked. Indeed I had become so secure in my own illusions that I had stopped trying to spread my wings so to speak and reach out for new experiences. Thinking that would mean my personal life would get even more joyful and filled I did just that. I spread my wings to soar and you know what happened? I allowed people and events around me to quickly drag me back down to a place that was ever so low and hurtful. Just eh opposite of what I had intended. But you know what else happened? I made up my mind to keep my wings spread and to get back on track and allow life to teach me any lessons I needed. It was a rough period for me but I got through it and was able to soar to heights that I had never attained before. And ever since that time I have tried my very best to keep on flying. There are times when I allow things to bring me down some but I have always managed to keep on flying. My sincere hope for all of you is that you have already begun your ascent to a much higher state and that even when things do go haywire that you are able to keep those wings wide open as you wait to the next updraft of knowledge to take you even higher. I leave you in peace and joy and please remember that as you go along your path to pause long enough to do something nice for someone else. Let us all continue to soar to new heights and aid those who may be having a hard time getting off the ground. Blessings to you beautiful people.

THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL

I am going back in time when I was a 34 year old single man. (Seems like another lifetime to me). It was 1986 and I had just met and started to see socially a lady who had 2 children. She had been divorced and myself, I had never been married. We hit it off and had a really good time together for about 4 years. It was during this period that I fell in love not only with her but those 2 darling children. When the relationship ended, (just 2 people who where at the time headed for different directions) It was extremely hard on me. Not only had I lost the woman I loved but also those 2 kids who I really did adore. After the breakup I tried to maintain a relationship with the girls and did the best I could to let them know I would always love them. The little girl moved to California with her mom and it did become harder to  keep in touch. Be we managed to talk with each other and stay in touch every now and then. Now the real reason I am sharing this with you now is to give you an example of just how much one person can do for another with something as simple as a phone call or letter. As all my regular readers are aware of I often ask my readers to do something nice for someone just because they can. Last month one of my older brothers made his transition from this planet after fighting a battle with bone cancer. And even though I am not one who believes that this human life is the only thing we have, I, like most everyone hates to lose someone we love. I was dealing with this as good as I could. Of course I was sadden and really felt bad for the loved ones left behind. One day when I checked my facebook status there was a beautiful message written to me by this beautiful little girl that I have always loved so much. Just knowing that she had taken a moment to write and let me know she was thinking of me in this sorrowful time made my heart feel so much joy that it made my way so much easier. Too me this is such a perfect example of how one little call or letter or visit from an old friend can make ones day so much brighter. And that is what I mean when I ask you to do something nice for someone just because you can. It doesn't cost anything, it takes very little time, and it helps the world seem a little gentler and nicer place for all of us. You would be surprised how much good you can do in this world sometimes just by saying hello. Or smiling a t someone. Or calling an old friend. I'm sure you know what I am speaking of. We, as a human family, can do so much more if only we take a moment and reach out with pure unconditional love to another. We are all ONE. And when we help someone else we are also helping ourselves. So I leave you with the hope that you right now look around and see what you can do to make this world a brighter place not only for yourself but for all of us. Much love to all you beautiful folks.

EVEN THE MAN IN THE MOON IS CRYING

You wanna see something really sad? Just tune in the world newscast this evening. No doubt it will be filled with stories about senseless murders, terrorists, drugs, random shootings and the like. you know I could go on with many more examples but I won't subject you to that. This beautiful planet we call home is just so awesome in every way but many of us as humans, seem to try our best to ruin it for others. When are people going to fully realize that war is not the answer? Hiding our heads in shame is not the answer. Pretending it isn't happening is not the answer. Neither is politics, governments, cults, terrorism, or anything of a negative nature. What it is going to take is for each one of us to start treating others with kindness, respect, and love. And that is just a start. I firmly believe that we must as adults teach our children the way of love and peace for all. If we continue to teach them the ways of racism, greed, and the like we are all doomed. It has to begin with the children. We must teach them as soon as they are old enough to understand. I feel we are born into this world to love each other. It is only when we turn away from love and respect for others to a life lived in greed, hate, and prejudice, that we truly are lost. The children are the ones who will have to shoulder this responsibility to finally put an end to all the craziness we see going on all around us. The way we often treat each other is such a dirty rotten shame that I swear, I think even the man in the moon is crying. My hope is that each of you will do your very best to teach our children the right way to love others. And that will start us all on the road to real freedom. Remember to be good to yourself and even better to others if you possibly can. Right now, if you will, do something nice for someone, and become an instant part of our healing process for the entire planet. I leave all of you with thoughts of love, peace, joy, and oneness!

HELP

For some strange reason every time I open my blog it shows that I am from Winchester Virgina. Before it always showed the correct address of Paducah Ky. Even when I go to other blogs that track the traffic it says visitor from Winchester Va. Have I been taken over from a spammer? Can I chang e it back to the correct form? Can't seem to get blogger to reply to any questions so I am relying on some help from my fellow bloggers. Any help wil be greatly appreciated. THANKS

A FLOCK OF GULLS

My home town is often called River City. Our main street which runs through downtown is Broadway. And the street runs directly to the conjunction of the Ohio and the Tennessee rivers.  Drivers and pedestrians alike come to the river every day. It has a boat ramp for the fishermen and skiers and is also used to host musical events on a stage which is erected close to the rivers bank. This is really a quaint place to either sit or walk by and take in the sights. The river is usually full of barges hauling goods down the river and pleasure boats and fishing boats can be seen often. I take time to either drive down to the river front or take a walk and sit on one of the benches any chance I have. It is a very beautiful place to visit. Over the years I came to find out that in the winter when the weather is cold the riverfront is oft times filled with river gulls. These beautiful birds have learned to come when the weather is cold and they find many people there who take time to scatter bread crumbs for them to feast on. One day as I stopped my truck I noticed all the gulls which were sitting in groups. As soon as I pulled up and stopped they all looked at me as if to say "Well, you got anything for us?" Then as I rolled down my windows they immediately flocked to where I was sitting. They are so accustomed to seeing people feed them from their car that they assumed I was going to do the same. However, since I didn't have any thing to share with them they quickly left my truck and went back to their own groups.  As I continued to watch all at once they all took off and headed for the same direction. I turned and saw that a car had pulled up a bit farther down the drive and had begun to scatter pieces of bread. They quickly became a swarm, fighting at times violently, as they tired to get their share of the food. As the pieces fell to the ground they all pushed shoved and prodded others out of the way. As I watched the man in the car got out and stood on the riverfront. He held out a entire piece of bread and held it aloft to see if any of the gulls would take it directly from his hand. Most would fly almost right up to the bread, hover for a few seconds, and then dart off with no reward. But I finally did see one gull who evidently was a little braver, fly right up to the man's hand and take the piece of bread and flew away. As he left I noticed several of the other gulls who had been afraid to do what the brave gull did. They started chasing him and trying to take the bread away from him. Finally the piece of bread fell from his mouth and landed on the parking lot. As that happened the other gulls quickly started fighting over the crumbs. I then saw the brave one fly back to the gentleman standing and holding another slice of bread. Once again he took it directly from the man's hand and flew away. This time none of the other gulls chased him as he flew away. They were all too busy fighting for the crumbs and did not know he had made off with another hunk of bread. After seeing this I began to think about how the actions of the gulls were so similar to our own human family. We can get so accustomed to looking for our good in one place that we continue to be content instead of looking for new places to find our "bread". And like the gulls who continued to fight with each over the crumbs below, they failed to look further up to find even a greater good. Those gulls who were afraid to take a chance and grab the bread form the man's hand were content to settle for a few crumbs while much bigger things were possible if only they dared to face their fears. The brave gull who got the greatest reward did so by risking his fate to try something different. And those who chased and made him drop the first piece were akin to those humans who instead of flying higher and taking chances seem to be content trying to take from others who are braver. How often do we fight each other for material gain? Why are some of us brave enough to try different avenues to receive our rewards while others had rather try and take it from those who earned it? I wish I knew that answer. I think it is a shame that so many of us are willing to settle for crumbs while we could be going after much bigger rewards. And those who prey on those who have succeeded on no better than the gulls scraping just to get by. The gulls know no better but we as humans should know the difference between right and wrong. I wish all of us would at this moment could take a quick lesson from that one brave gull I saw who was not afraid to soar higher and take a chance. This human family should be striving to find ways to help all of us attain peace, love, and abundance. If we continue to keep fighting over the crumbs eventually we will all lose. My hope for you this moment is that you decide to fly a little higher and live a life that is truly rewarding. I bless you all.

THIS WORLD HAS LOST ANOTHER BRIGHT LIGHT

Today I am filled with many emotions. Can one be sad and happy at the same time? I believe so because I'm right there at this moment. One of my older siblings Milton McIntosh made his transition from this earth on January 16th a little after 4 am. This was after succumbing to bone cancer which was diagnosed a little over a year ago. Last night I sat at a funeral home from 1:30pm to about 8:30pm and I watched as the friends and family who loved Milt dearly came to pay their respect. Most of the visitations start at 5pm and last until 8pm. However since my big brother had so many friends the funeral home added those extra 4 hours or so. They knew the crowd would be very large and man, were they ever right! The line of folks never slowed down and at 8pm the director had to have my sister-in-law and my 2 nephews walk down and greet them. Because if they didn't do that it would have made it impossible for everyone to be acknowledged. I was in amazement as the good folks just kept coming. I have no idea how many there were but I do know some of them stood in line for over 2 hours just to share their love with those of us grieving. Today I watched in amazement at some of those same folks coming for the services. The funeral parlor was filled. The procession to the cemetery sure was a long one. My brother Milt's last ride as a human being was a testament to the kind of man he was. He never met a stranger and he was one of the most loving, kind, and caring man I have ever known. In all my lifetime I never had a cross word with him for any reason. That is not to say that we always agreed on everything. But being 13 years younger than Milt I always looked up to him as a brother, a husband, a father, grandfather, and a friend. He was most definitely a good man by anyone's standards. He was a kind, compassionate, giving, and caring man. I can honestly say that this man, my blood brother, was the kind of person this world needs. I sure don't claim to know what happens to any of us when we leave this old world, but I will say this. If there are more places to be, more wisdom to be gleamed, and more love to be shared in some other state of consciousness, then my big brother will be there still sharing his love with all. I sure love you Milt and I will miss you very much but you will always live in my heart the same way you do in many others. Yes, today I am sad but at the same time filled with joy. I truly believe that he is now in a much better place and that his soul is free from that worn out physical body. Soaring freely in a pure state of consciousness where love and joy abound. Rest in peace big brother. I love you, I miss you, and I hope to one day see you again.

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU KID

One of life's most precious gifts is seeing a child smile. Except in cases where one is born with some kind of mal wiring in the brain, I firmly believe that we are born into this world to love. To give love, to accept love, and to be an embodiment of love. The hate, the prejudice, the greed, etc are all things that children learn from the adults of the world. We will never end the hate and prejudice unless we all begin to teach our children the way of love. When I look into a child's eyes I see a blank canvas just waiting to be colored with love, peace, and oneness. In today's world it is such a shame to watch adults hand down those old worn out beliefs of hate and prejudice. And as a child, the young mind is influenced mostly by the adults around them. As I see it, children are already pure and chaste, that is until they learn by watching and listening to adults and then begin to lose sight of who and what they are. We are all children of the Universe even when we fail to recognize it. Some of the things we do to each other is appalling to say the least. And this world will not change until we begin to teach our children the way of pure unconditional love. In my personal experience, I have noticed that the little children are the ones who are willing to look me in the face while those around me at times just act as if I didn't exist. I am not talking about friends and family per se but those folks I see at the store, at the movies, on the street etc. It's almost as if they are afraid to say hi or to even just smile as I walk by. There are many folks who do look at me and speak if only to say something like "How ya doing today/" But alas, there are still so many who just pass by with no regard to anyone but themselves. I don't mean to be judging or condemning them as I realize that fear of others is running rampant on this planet. And for good reason! We don't even feel safe in our homes at times. We see the stupidity of people gunning down innocent folks at our schools, our shopping malls and wherever else they decide to strike. There are times that I feel like giving up on my dreams of a world filled with love and only love. And at those times when I'm feeling down, I can always count on some child I have never seen nor probably never will again, just smile at me while I'm waiting in line somewhere or walking down the street. And those little faces beaming with unconditional love and acceptance of our Oneness save me from my sadness. I think I know what the wise man meant when he said to be saved we must become a child again. The innocence of children is a great gift that I think we all take for granted .My hope and my prayer is that all of us will begin today to look upon the world and see it as we once did when we were children! Let us begin to put an end to teaching our little ones the way of hate and prejudice and instead begin to teach them unconditional love. Our future depends on the children today so let us teach them the best way to live. And that way, as I see it, is the way of giving love, accepting love, and being love. I leave all of you with thoughts of pure love, pure joy, and pure peace. Not for some but for all. Go in love and if you can do something nice for someone wait not another moment to do it! We can change this world so let's begin today!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Ok, a brand new year is now upon us. I am excited to think about all the really good things that will happen to me personally, but more importantly the positive changes we will see as a family of human beings. Believe me when I say that I am well aware also of the "bad" stuff that will no doubt occur. As I listen to the world news I am appalled at some of the crazy things people are doing not only to themselves but also to others. As a human family I am ashamed at times to even admit that I am a part of all this. Every so often, (at least several times each day) I have to just stop and take a look at what I am thinking. I am not the smartest person ( by a long shot) but I can see that what I am thinking about is generally what I will see. And it is very hard to see all the good in this world when the press insists of making big news out of any event involving stupid actions people are committing against each other. But I know, that for things to change for the better, we all must begin to change our thinking patterns. If all we think about is war, violence of any kind, inhumanity, hate, prejudice, and on down the line, then I am afraid that we will continue to see the same results. So being the dreamer that I am I will try my very best to keep a close watch on all my thoughts. I know I cannot "save" this world, or anyone in it. But if I manage to see love when the opposite seems to be, if I can think good of all my brothers and sisters, if I can dream of a world where we all walk straight, proud and peaceful, if I can see solutions when others see problems, if I can strive to become the very best human I can possibly be then at least the little corner where I am will be loving, peaceful, and joyous. As I said I know I cannot save the world but I can watch my thoughts and I can treat everyone with love and respect. I know I will need help in doing this and that is why I would like all my friends and fellow bloggers to join me in my quest for helping make this world a little nicer. If you will only take a moment right now to examine the thoughts that you carry around with you and if by chance some of the negative ones are still there, try your best to replace them with positive ones. One man alone in search of enlightenment is great, but when he has company in doing this it becomes awesome! Be good to yourselves and even better to others. We can make a change. Keep the faith and believe! I will leave you now by sharing a couple of quotes. The first comes from Kahlil Gibran who has stated: "Thoughts have a higher dwelling place than the visible world." And finally from the Science of Mind textbook comes this nugget. When we have arrived at sufficient understanding, our thoughts will take us where we wish to be. My love goes out to each of you and all those you care about. Be safe, have fun, watch those thoughts, and above all else enjoy each sacred moment!