The Entitled...

He moves in a room with just a sense of himself
The world must turn on the pivot of his just rewards
There is payment due from me and from you
We owe him so much in the eyes of his heart...
your time, your space, the very fruit of your loins.
His foundation is fear, doubt, mistrust, and permissive beginnings .
He is not dangerous because he is strong,
but because he is weak.

Your Birthdate: February 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

The Adult Friend No More...
I know about a 6 year old who waves to his mother, heads down the street out of sight around the corner and visits an older gentleman at his house. His mother knows who the man is, but has never had a conversation with him. The little boy visits this unknown man about 2 or 3 times a week. Why ? Is there a dark secret here ? Irresponsible parenting ? No. The little boy and the old man visit because they are friends. The little boy admires the older man. The older man lives alone and loves the company and questions of the six year old. Oh yes, one important detail. It is July, 1962. Those of you who are over 40 years of age understand what I'm talking about, because it was you. It was a time that is gone and will never return. A small child building a relationship with an adult . No interference from parents. No 24/7 surveillance by adult family or
" trained supervisors " who interfere with almost every conflict between children because of what " might happen".
It was a time of children building their own system of rules, games, and relationships. But wait, you say, there was tremendous cruelty amongst children. Our society needed to add the guidance of parents or other adult educators for children all of the time so that they could be instructed about better relationships along the way... Yeah right, and the trust, confidence, and level of conflict amongst children of all ages has improved so much. What have we stolen from our children ? The social contract we had is gone. We have so much to account for...

Choices...

People who are hurt by others are left with two choices initially. The first one is revenge.The second one is understanding. Revenge is as much an act of the heart as the body. It is easy to nurture it and feed it inside without translating it into physical action. In this way it would eventually destroy us all. Ironically, to choose understanding instead can mean that action is taken more often than revenge. True understanding results in us trying to see others as God does; imperfect, hurting themselves, looking for love and loyalty. This sense of understanding allows us to hope for, love, and appreciate the simple things again...the laughter of children, the scent of spring on a cool evening in April, and the beauty of a never-ending Sunset. As Morgan Freeman's character said in the film "The Shawshank Redemption": " Hope is not just a good thing, it is the best thing."

2006... There is always Hope

Humanity is amazing...cancer, murder, abuse of children&women, starvation, cruelty for the sake of itself...yet in the midst of these we... hope. It begins with the 1 year old when they hammer their heads on the coffee table but continuously get up and walk only to do it again. It begins with a family who has lost a child, but continues on with some cause in the memory of that child. It is a woman or man who has suffered sexual abuse as a child, but gets up every morning and says: " I will not go away, my scars hurt everyday, but my life is going to mean something. " It is marriages that have ended; but the people involved who try to nurture their children even more, so that their young hearts will continue to grow and thrive. It is the stranger, who suddenly forgets his or her own safety to save a trapped motorist in a fire or a water-filled ditch...this is hope.
This is the tangible proof of God's existence in his own creation. The inexplicable hope of the human heart, when logic says there is none.
I remember my father recounting with me about his darkest moments in Burma during WW2 when he was hiding from the Japanese, his body wracked with malaria, crapping out more blood than anything else in the foxhole where he cowered. He simply told me that " I felt a great weight of evil, sickness, and oppression in that place...but never forget son, There is always hope "
I have decided to be hopeful about 2006, not to hide from trials that may come, but to hope in the midst of them.