This is another one of those post that seem to “bounce around my head” for a while. Then it gets to point where it is time to get it out and move on.
I do not want to get into an in depth discussion on religion. It is too personal of issue for most people. However, I would like to point out Pope Francis’ Top 10 Secrets to Happiness in which he basically tells people “to get over themselves and let others live”.
I also wish that people who always seem to be expressing their religious or political views would act in a certain way. HAPPY. I am tired of the “misery” of their company. I would rather have an open conversation with them. But I will do by my best to avoid their “lecturing”.
The downside of Democracy now is everything has to be two-sided and political. Democrats and Republican just yelling at each other is just an episode of Jerry Springer but this time they are all wearing $1K suits. I do not know why people cling so hard to their “political” views. They should view them as something that should be evolving. I have lived next to a cemetery for years. I have taken walks through there and this is one thing I have noticed. NO ONE ever puts their “political affiliation” on their tombstones. And that should tell you something.
It is quick and easy with social media today to Judge People. However, social media really needs The Context App.
Over the last few months, I have become somewhat fascinated by the postings at Humans of NY along with its book. It is really amazing how just a picture of person with a few sentences attached to it can convey a story. It makes me pause to listen to them. If you look at the photos with An Immediate Rush to Judgment then you may want to look at yourself first.
Post Secret on the other hand reveals that people are struggling Behind the Scenes in this life. There is a coexistence of Hope and Fear within a person.
It seems to keep coming back to Circumstances. Which many people laying Judgment tend to ignore.
The movie, Warrior is one that I have come back quite a few times over the last couple of years. This is the story of two brothers who are mixed martial art fighters who are at odds with each other. One brother, a teacher who is trying to keep his family from financially failing returns to the ring. The other brother is a returning, haunted combat veteran. The may be at odds with each other. In this story, the “circumstances” that brought them into the ring is the “enemy”. Also in this movie is the Father played by Nick Nolte who is a recovering alcoholic listening to the audiobook of Moby Dick. (A book I need to reread without having the academic pressure to it)
Also from the movie is the one trainer uses the music of Beethoven. So many a nights now I have been streaming the Beethoven Channel via the Tune-in Radio app. The reason for the music is mentioned in the movie but I am trying to find some reading to explain it for myself.
I came upon this book, when I was looking for something to occupy my time while waiting for my father’s medical procedures to be done. It just caught my eye on the shelf in a Target store.
This is a story of how a man goes from being an aid worker, then going on to be a Rhodes Scholar and from there going to through the training to become a Navy SEAL. It is a narrative that is very counter to lifestyle mandates of our current modern society. One that does not recognize much anymore that the “heart and the fist” can be in balance with each other.
The reason is the people judging are asking “Why” on their own terms.
This is about what he learned and experienced and how it helped him to better deal with people.
Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is probably one the more romanticized books of our modern era. It is something that we should strive for. However, try to do it on your own and you are going to get into a lot of trouble. Here is a case in point.
This is the journey of a man trying to work off his student debt that left him with a worthless liberal arts degree. Yet he decides that he wants to earn a graduate degree from Duke University. However, the only way he wants to do it is by not taking on anymore debt.
So he decides that he will live in a van while attending the university. The problem is that this is not allowed. So while he is there he must go into hiding in regards to his living situation. If was making the payments on $50k camper they may have found a parking spot for him.
Self-reliance is celebrated in literature but not so much when placed into practice.
All I am trying to say is everyone has different circumstances they need to work through. How they choose to do it is up to them? Too often people are not willing to help out. But it does not stop them from speaking out.
Just take a moment. Circumstances can be a very tricky thing.