There Comes a Time in Your Life

A time comes in your life when you finally get it... When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks, and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out - ENOUGH!

Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears, and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is your awakening.

You realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince Charming and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings (or beginnings for that matter), and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you; and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are ... and that's OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the importance of loving and championing yourself; and in the process a sense of newfound confidence is born of self-approval.

You stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you (or didn't do for you) and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, and that not everyone will always be there for you; and that it's not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own, and to take care of yourself; and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers ... and you begin to accept people as they are, and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties; and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You realize that much of the way you view yourself and the world around you is as a result of all the messages and opinions that have been ingrained into your psyche. And you begin to sift through alt that you've been fed about how you should behave, how you should look, and how much you should weigh; what you should wear and where you should shop, and what you should drive; how and where you should live, and what you should do for a living; who you should sleep with, who you should marry, and what you should expect of a marriage; the importance of having and raising children, or what you owe your parents.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with; and in the process you learn to go with your instincts.

You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive. And that there is power and glory in creating and contributing; and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer' looking for your next fix.You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don't know everything, it's not your job to save the world ... and that you can't teach a pig to sing.

You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility, and the importance of setting boundaries, and learning to say NO.

You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry, and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. Romantic love and familial love. How to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving, and when to walk away.

You learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears your name.

You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is with love...and you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your terms ... just to make you happy.

And, you learn that alone does not mean lonely. And you look in the minor and come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10, and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up."

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK.... And that it is your right to want things and to ask for the things that you want...and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.

You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect; and you won't settle for less. And, you allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you to glorify you with his/her touch ... and in the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect.

And you learn that your body really is your temple, and you begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more time to exercise.

You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear.

So you take more time to rest.

And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn, that for the most part, in life you get what you believe you deserve .. and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for, and that wishing for something to happen is different from working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone and that it's OK to risk asking for help.

You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time. FEAR itself.

You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it, and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms.

And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve; and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to personalize things.

You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal state—the ego. You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you, and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to admit when you are wrong and to building bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in any of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions ofpeople upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself; and you to make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever, settle for less than your heart's desire.And you hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.And you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side you take a stand; you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

Author Unknown

I am not sure I understand.

Let me see if I have this right.

George Bush's lawyers are telling me that Bill Clinton lawyers screwed up.

If I follow that logic the President Bush is using on Domestic Spying, the advice to Bill Clinton should have been something like:

Put a document in your files that notes we have troops dying in Somalia, troops being fired on in the no fly zone of Iraq and troops at risk in Bosnia. Since Bill Clinton is a War Powers President, he can rewrite statutory law. So, henceforth, perjury in civil law suits are a distraction to the President that we cannot allow in war times. A President can lie under oath with no legal recourse.

Perjury statutes were passed by the same Congress and in the same manner that Congress passed the FISA law. Once the President has the right to change statutory law with limited notification, the President can pick which laws can be changed with a secret directive.

Further, since it might alert the enemy that the President is not being distracted by this activity, we are going to declare that changing the perjury law for the President is a secret of National Security.

President Clinton should have had his National Security Advisor share the memo with about 8 people from Congress, and also tell them that if they share this information with anyone, it would result in their being arrested. Once they have been told, Clinton could later tell the world he informed Congress.

Next, President Clinton should have had the Justice Department declared that since Kenneth Star was attacking the Office of the President and since he is not a member of a regular approved army, Ken Starr is an enemy combatant. Send him down to Guantanamo and have him waterboarded regularly.

President Bush seems to be very impressed that his lawyers tell him that the courts will agree with their interpretation of the Statutes and the Constitution. I am less impressed. Last time I looked, exactly half the lawyers were wrong when the judges decides. I will be more impressed when a judge has agreed with his lawyers.

President Bush is claimimg a pretty powerful "Get Out of Jail Free" card. Somehow I have a feeling that a Republican Congress might find this an abuse of power if President Clinton had used this logic, but maybe I am wrong. Maybe I just don't understand. I am sure we will see soon enough.

Being the Good Parent

Start first and foremost with love.

Lead by example. Be the people you want your children to grow up into. Kids learn by mimicking. If you don't like the way the kids are acting, look again in a mirror.

Set good moderate rules and keep them constant. Children can't learn from moving rules.

Kids have different jobs at different ages. That's OK. It is simply them doing their job.

When they are young they ask lots of questions. Answer them all to the best of your ability. Even the fifteenth time they ask.

Teenagers break all the rules. That's also their job. That doesn't mean you have to tolerate it, only expect it.

Kids make mistakes. There is a name for this. It is called "learning". Don't worry. You learned the same way. It is the only way we really can learn.

If they seem to ask "Why?" too much, the problem is yours, not the kid's. Our own hold on reality is sketchy enough that we get uncertain if it is challenged too much.

Kids really don't need television. It is a really bad babysitter. A computer is only slightly better. Both are roughly as addictive as cocaine. Our kids are growing up in a world of fifteen second attention spans. Let your kids be unique with real ability to focus on the problems and joys of their world.

Plays well with others may be the most important grade your kid gets.

Read to them. Tell them stories. Talk about your mistakes. Let them hear your voice.

Eat dinner at the dinner table, and the only thing there is to do, is talk.

Understand that everything that is unresolved with you, will be the clouds of their own marriage.

And in case I forgot to mention it earlier, always remember to love them.

Pathways

Faith is like climbing a mountain.

There are many paths that lead to God. Depending on one's point of origin, a certain path may be easier than another. It does not matter which path one takes; it only matters that one is climbing toward heaven.

Like the trails that lead to the top of a mountain, the path one chooses seems the best, the smoothest, the fastest, the most direct route to the summit. Sometimes one begins to think that it is the only route to the summit. Actually, each path is a mix of easy and difficult, smooth and rough. Each path may lead to the top.

The higher one climbs on the mountain, the more one finds that the different paths converge. Although each faith, each religion, emphasizes a different part of the Truth, the more one understands God and the Universe, the more one realizes the importance of all the parts, all the messages, and the more universal Truth becomes. By the time one reaches the top of the mountain, all the paths have converged. All paths have become one.

Through history there have been many trail guides up the mountain. Trail guides are our teachers. Sometimes, the fact that a teacher knows a pathway, leads some to believe that the teacher is God. These trail guides are not God; they are teachers who point the way to God.

Some have claimed to be trail guides without really understanding the mountain. Some have led followers up blind alleys. Some have even led them off the face of a cliff. Some of these false guides are blind, some are self-deluded, and some are evil.

It is important to keep looking to the top of the mountain. It is important to ask yourself whether the path you are taking is truly taking you closer to God. It does not matter if you take a well-worn path, trodden by many others, or if you strike out alone cross-country. What matters is that you keep climbing.

Life is Full of Choices

Throughout our lives we continually make choices. Some choices are explicit, such as buying a new car. Others are implicit, such as not making a decision until a deadline has passed. Both are choices and equally binding.

We choose our actions and beliefs just as we choose the clothes we wear and the books we read. Through time, our actions and beliefs move us in the direction we really want to go.

Where we really want to go and where we think we want to go are not necessarily the same thing. Each reflects differing commitments. Some of these commitments are transitory and some are fundamental. The question to ask ourselves when making a choice is whether this course of action will further the commitments that we have chosen our lives to be about.
At each decision point, we are fully free to make whatever choice we want to make. All decisions are made with free will, even though we sometimes like to believe that we “had no choice” or were “forced to choose” something we did not want.

Not all choices are pleasant. Some are very tough. Sometimes the most important decisions in our lives may seem like choices between “bad” and “worse.” They are still choices. Destiny may exist, but it does not choose for us. Our choices reside within ourselves; they are not made by fate and they are not made by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Circumstances influence our choices, but they do not control them.

This does not mean that we are responsible for other people’s choices. Other people are not responsible for our choices, and we are not responsible for theirs. We are, however, fully responsible for the choices that we make.

Growth occurs both when we consistently make choices in alignment with our chosen commitments and when we raise our awareness of the times we have made choices that are not in alignment. The important thing is that we learn from all the choices we make. The process of learning to make decisions in alignment with our chosen commitments is the heart of growth. As we learn to surmount obstacles, life presents us with new and different challenges. If we fail to learn how to surmount obstacles, life will present us with the same challenges again and again.
We are at our strongest when we accept our choices without regard to the outcome. If a decision turns out to have consequences that we did not intend or anticipate, we can learn from it. If the choice is aligned with the direction we have chosen, we can learn from that also.

Our lives and our growth are determined by the choices we make. We have full freedom in making our choices and we have full responsibility for the choices we make.

And So It Begins...

Forever Creation is the direction and mandate of my life. Forever and for eternity I will be in the space of Creation. We can survive or we can create. it is as simpl;e as that. I choose creation. It is as simple as that. I may survive, but I choose to create. I accept this and I offer it. Join me on this journey. I promise a wild ride.