love the moment

Agape is a Greek word for love. So is Eros. But they are very different kinds of love. English has but one word for love, so we must add modifiers to qualify the type of love. Mother-love. Self-love. Unselfish love. But what is love? In this holiday season, words not frequently used during the rest of the year seem quite prevalent. Peace, Joy, Love. Tidings of Comfort and Joy. Love is often now defined by mass media - by Hollywood screenwriters and focus-grouped messages finely tuned for their mass appeal. This is unfortunate, as love is so much more paradoxical than could ever be adequately portrayed in movies. Love, as anyone slain by it can tell you, is a torrent. It is a swirling and unpredictable storm of emotions that - like a tornado - can never be adequately described or recounted. It can only be experienced. Any attempt at a retelling can only be understood by those who've endured or been graced by it. Love, at its best, is the reason on...

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don't) Does anybody really care (care about time) If so I can't imagine why (no, no) We've all got time enough to die Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Lyrics | MetroLyrics How much longer will you wait How long will you sit in the station Endlessly retelling stories of youth How long will your journey be planned by those disinterested How many times will you give your seat to another - possibly less deserving How many excuses will you repeat like a mantra When will you choose to fight And decide to believe A totally different story If not now, when? dg 12/16/16 Sent from my iPad

Matthew 7:23 Beginning with Jerry Falwell and the ironically named group, Moral Majority, American Christians have in recent years become much more concerned with the Kingdom of Men. Now, whether they have also become less concerned with the Kingdom of God is a matter of dispute. But, suffice it to say that the modern American Church today looks much less spiritually minded than did my father's church - the church of my youth. There is also some irony in the fact that the purported founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, was very disinterested in the Kingdom of Men during his short stay here on earth. He repeatedly avoided those institutions of his day most representative of the earthly kingdom - the Roman Government and Jewish Religious Leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees). Now, followers deviating from the path laid out by their founder is nothing new. I am quite sure George Washington, the purported "Father of Our Nation" would likely be quite surprised...

If one believes "those who know", or those who say they know, language is the foundation of intelligence. Supposedly, spoken language is what separates us from all other animals. And if you think about it, there is some truth to this. What we call things - how we label them - both reflects and shapes our view of reality. When I say "chair", you at least have some idea of what I mean. Now, my chair may be an old, comfy leather chair meant for bourbon and cigar smoking, and your chair thought might be an overstuffed velvet chaise lounge, but both imply at least sitting or resting or something similar. And when we use language to communicate, to educate, to motivate - language can be a good thing. Unfortunately, lIke any other tool, language and words are somewhat neutral until they are married to intention and purpose. Words take on meaning as we add context. Words, when spoken, are further shaped by tone and inflection. My wife sometimes...

"Neo, what you've learned is that there is a difference in knowing the path - and walking the path…" Morpheus, The Matrix Many wisdom traditions refer to life as walking along a path. The Tao refers to "The Way" - as did early Christians when they spoke of their new-found faith. It was not yet a formalized and corrupted religion. To them, it was merely the way. The way to heaven or possibly even the way of Heaven. I, too, have a recurring remembrance of life in this way. I think our/my mistake comes from how we envision that path. It is not a paved walkway, and it is certainly not well-marked. If you think life is like those beautiful manicured walks that can be found outside of most any large museum, you will be sadly disappointed. Whereas those paths are well maintained, planned and marked with an abundance of signage and narrative (Maple, Latin name…), life is much more obscure. The trees are not labeled, and the narrative - if it exis...

Assume your vision has been colored Think for a second  about a boy who, as soon as he was born, was deemed blind by the doctors. And assume in our story, well-intentioned care givers who decided the boy needed immediate surgery to implant sight correcting lenses. And also believe that - in spite of everyone's best intentions, those lenses were manufactured and installed with a slight defect. A defect that distorted just slightly this boy's vision. This defect caused the boy to just slightly miscalculate distances and colors - and make his view of the world just slightly off from everyone else's. Think of the bumped tables, the spilled milk, the overturned chairs that would follow him through his whole life. Think of how these experiences would shape the boys view of the world, of reality, and of his fellow human beings. Think how he would think himself so clumsy, and everyone else so graceful- as he seemed to be the only one who constantly collided with life. And fina...