Hey gang
I may have gone a little “Postal” on that last blog entry. Unfortunately I do believe that Man is, for the most part, arrogant, greedy and selfish. There are exceptions of course.
Jack Grove sent me an E-mail of an interview with a man known to the world as Pastor Rick Warren, Author of “A purpose driven life”. I have summarized from this article (which I will include excerpts in this posting) that the reason Man is arrogant, selfish and greedy, is because he is internally focused, which to me seems to be the natural condition of a sentient being. So the credo of Man would be “My life is about me”. Instead, as I understand Pastor Warren, Man’s life is best suited if the focus is externally, in other words, a focus on a man’s Purpose in life.
Quote PRW: “You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is, my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
What is the purpose of life? Life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one,or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making
your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
I am not trying to make this a religious argument, Your beliefs are yours and these are Pastor Warrens. To me it is very reasonable and logical that whatever I focus on, it is going to manifest it’s self in my life. (ie “The Secrete”) If I focus on my pain and problems, then pain and problems are what I get, if I focus on material wealth, fame and power, this is also what I get. These are internally focused events. That’s why Man (me) is arrogant, selfish and greedy. Man is unlikely to focus on anything other than himself and his loved ones. If he does focus on God it is to see himself as a “better” person. (Internally focused)
Quote PRW: "This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something
bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always
something good you can thank God for.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick,and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years
since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say,God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and
love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do."
That is what Pastor Rick and Kay Warren did.
Now, this is my point with this post. How many People that you know, would have done with the money earned from the book sales, that he and his wife did? How many people in the state of Florida do you think would do what they did? The United States, the world? Would YOU do what they did?
Nada, none, zip.
There aren’t nearly enough Rick and Kay Warrens in this world to make a difference. And I am not saying that if you are so inclined that it is not worth doing. I believe it is. But I doubt that I would actually do it.
One more point. Even though I am for environmental issues and I could ride a bicycle to the grocery store do you think I will? Would you? The earth will be overrun with human beings and its ecology will be destroyed in the next few hundred years. I see no way for it to survive other than for 80% of the human population should disappear. Even that is a short term delaying tatict.
I am not trying to bum every one out. I just think that if we (the human race) do not acknowledge the reality of the situation there is absolutely no hope of doing anything about it and other than this post I don’t think I will do anything about it either. So you see, I don’t believe Man will change even in the face of annihilation.
comments? khatch46@yahoo.com
AV
Friday, February 6, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Happy days?
I haven't made an entry in my blog since Cutter died, not sure what that's about. I have been busy getting ready for craft shows. I had one in January which I did ok at. Many of the participants indicated that it was a terrible show. Being my first, I have no idea if it was acceptable or not. I suspect not. I have three more scheduled in Feb. and I have applied for several more in Mar & Apr. I plan to stay in West Palm Beach until at least the end of April. I am not liking the traveling thing as much as I thought I would. It seems that I want to put down roots and not move for awhile. Anyway, all is as well as can be expected in this economy.
Hollywood Beach boardwalk, Florida Jan 17 & 18, 2009
My booth
I have really been an optimist for most of my life, but the older I get the more pessimistic I seem to be become, I am not sure if it is age or the stupidity and greed of mankind which conspire to bring me down. I used to believe in the inherent goodness of man. Now I not so sure, or maybe I am sure and that's the problem. However, I have discovered a solution to the Mexican immigration problem. Let them all come over but force them to join the army. Then invade Mexico and have no exit strategy.
I wish there were a happy pill we could take to become oblivious to this mess, but all the drugs I know of have worse side effects or would multiply the problems we all ready have. I would like to cheer you up, but I think am not going to be much help in that arena, because I only see things as getting worse, sorry. It would truly be a miracle if Obama or anyone could turn our economy and world image around.
A few of months back (I think before Obama was elected, not that it matters), I wrote down my current observations of Americans and the world populace in general, and they were not pretty, so I never posted it, nor have I shared it with anyone but one close friend. And since I am in a particularly morose mood today I thought I would share it with all.
The sky IS falling and it is going to flatten us.
We as a nation are not what we believe ourselves to be. We are like self delusional American Idol wannabees and when we are told we suck, we lash out at our detractors.
We see ourselves as strong, benevolent, honorable, when in reality we are fat, petty, arrogant, greedy and self righteous. When Bin Laden sucker punched us we took his bait hook line and sinker. When he scurried under a rock somewhere we lumbered after him and all who we perceived were of his ilk. Like a wounded elephant we expend our energy and resources in ablind rage, confirming to the world what assholes we really are. We stepped right into Bin Laden's trap and he is reveling in our stupidly. What's more unbelievable is that we are a giant waiting to be toppled, a cancerous carcass that doesn't know its dying.
Individually our greed has been like millions termites eating away at the foundational rules and regulations, all the while patting ourselves on the back that were able to circumvent the safeguards in place (the American way). We are sucking the earth's resources dry and to hell with the consequences. Then believing that we are fit and strong, we set out to right where we had been wronged, but in reality was we are old, fat and delusional. In our struggles we have begun to hemorrhage financially, a stroke will soon send us stumbling to our knees. Because we are so huge it will take a while for us to hit the ground, but don't kid yourselves it is coming up faster than you think. I don't see any way we can stop it because we can't repair damage that we don't allow ourselves to see. Even if we could see it, there isn't enough time.
As you may have summarized I have never been a proponent of this war, but if you think we have high unemployment now? Bring home the soldiers. We are in a cluster f**k of galactic proportions. You, I and George and deserve everything that is coming, but unfortunately we will skate away on death's wheels, our children and our children's children will pay the price. I can only pray that I am the delusional one.
So cheer up everything's fine, because if you don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist.
Now for the bad news, the rest of the world is as bad or worse. Everyone is out to get as much as they can or at the very least hang onto whatever they have, including me. No one wants' to sacrifice and who can blame them, because that other asshole isn't going to give up anything. And those who perceive that they do not have anything (or enough) will kill you to get what you have.
The best line regarding human beings was in the movie the "Matrix" when agent Smith was explaining to Morpheus what he has discovered about humans.
"Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet."
One thing agent smith missed in his analysis was, our obsession for more, man's GREED.
I know of only one way that the earth can be spared an early demise and that is if somehow 80% of the earth's population vanished. Me included.
AV
Hollywood Beach boardwalk, Florida Jan 17 & 18, 2009
My booth
I have really been an optimist for most of my life, but the older I get the more pessimistic I seem to be become, I am not sure if it is age or the stupidity and greed of mankind which conspire to bring me down. I used to believe in the inherent goodness of man. Now I not so sure, or maybe I am sure and that's the problem. However, I have discovered a solution to the Mexican immigration problem. Let them all come over but force them to join the army. Then invade Mexico and have no exit strategy.
I wish there were a happy pill we could take to become oblivious to this mess, but all the drugs I know of have worse side effects or would multiply the problems we all ready have. I would like to cheer you up, but I think am not going to be much help in that arena, because I only see things as getting worse, sorry. It would truly be a miracle if Obama or anyone could turn our economy and world image around.
A few of months back (I think before Obama was elected, not that it matters), I wrote down my current observations of Americans and the world populace in general, and they were not pretty, so I never posted it, nor have I shared it with anyone but one close friend. And since I am in a particularly morose mood today I thought I would share it with all.
The sky IS falling and it is going to flatten us.
We as a nation are not what we believe ourselves to be. We are like self delusional American Idol wannabees and when we are told we suck, we lash out at our detractors.
We see ourselves as strong, benevolent, honorable, when in reality we are fat, petty, arrogant, greedy and self righteous. When Bin Laden sucker punched us we took his bait hook line and sinker. When he scurried under a rock somewhere we lumbered after him and all who we perceived were of his ilk. Like a wounded elephant we expend our energy and resources in ablind rage, confirming to the world what assholes we really are. We stepped right into Bin Laden's trap and he is reveling in our stupidly. What's more unbelievable is that we are a giant waiting to be toppled, a cancerous carcass that doesn't know its dying.
Individually our greed has been like millions termites eating away at the foundational rules and regulations, all the while patting ourselves on the back that were able to circumvent the safeguards in place (the American way). We are sucking the earth's resources dry and to hell with the consequences. Then believing that we are fit and strong, we set out to right where we had been wronged, but in reality was we are old, fat and delusional. In our struggles we have begun to hemorrhage financially, a stroke will soon send us stumbling to our knees. Because we are so huge it will take a while for us to hit the ground, but don't kid yourselves it is coming up faster than you think. I don't see any way we can stop it because we can't repair damage that we don't allow ourselves to see. Even if we could see it, there isn't enough time.
As you may have summarized I have never been a proponent of this war, but if you think we have high unemployment now? Bring home the soldiers. We are in a cluster f**k of galactic proportions. You, I and George and deserve everything that is coming, but unfortunately we will skate away on death's wheels, our children and our children's children will pay the price. I can only pray that I am the delusional one.
So cheer up everything's fine, because if you don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist.
Now for the bad news, the rest of the world is as bad or worse. Everyone is out to get as much as they can or at the very least hang onto whatever they have, including me. No one wants' to sacrifice and who can blame them, because that other asshole isn't going to give up anything. And those who perceive that they do not have anything (or enough) will kill you to get what you have.
The best line regarding human beings was in the movie the "Matrix" when agent Smith was explaining to Morpheus what he has discovered about humans.
"Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet."
One thing agent smith missed in his analysis was, our obsession for more, man's GREED.
I know of only one way that the earth can be spared an early demise and that is if somehow 80% of the earth's population vanished. Me included.
AV
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