This is the time of the year where we start looking forward to the Holidays and the dawning of a New Year. My my does the time fly fast! It just seems like yesterday it was September….time moves whether we like it or not. How it is spent eventually lays in our hands.
Sometimes the only way to move forward is to look back…what mistakes have we made? What have we learned? How do we make the value of our days improve? The question that always seems to linger over us at the end of each year is "How much control of my life did I give away?" Many times we assume that someone else knows better….when in reality who knows us better than ourselves? I'm a big believer in the power of prayer, but the power goes two ways….for me, God is there to guide me….but it is up to me to initiate the guidance. I do take responsibility for my life….otherwise, all I will do is to continually blame other people….at some point it stops.
At the start of every year, I always ask myself, "How can I improve the newsletter, the website, and the music that I write?" I, like many, eventually initiate about half of what I've wanted to accomplish. It's very easy to run out of time! Planning each year becomes more and more important. I find myself writing down more in my calendar than ever. Sometimes there is so much scribbled there I can barely read it! What drives me forward? Knowing in my heart I've tried to make a difference. For me, the vehicles are the essays, and the music. Some order the CD's…some implement the content of my essays into their lives…and others do neither. That's just the way it is. The newsletter reaches sixty-five countries around the world. That's a lot of ground to cover….a lot of different viewpoints…but that's what makes the newsletter special to me. These are the things that I review…just to let you know a little bit more about me.
Time is special….Time is precious. Develop your plans for the New Year….put one step forward and movement can be accomplished. To get from point A to point B, it involves simple movement. When I was in school I used to have a fear of doing somersaults, until one day I did it! To this day I cannot believe how fearful I was to tumble. The same applies to each chore we tackle in life.
May your New Year be enlightening, productive, and wondrous, and may you find the tools that you need to build your dreams? May happiness be your friend in 2000.
In a couple of weeks from now we turn the New Year 2000. I know nothing's going to happen, all will be as it is….or will it? Does anybody really believe that chaos will reign as we chime in the New Year? Are all our computers prepared? Are all the countries of the world prepared? To many of us, it's all doom and gloom….but I've noticed over the past month some strange things are starting to occur….
Here in New York on New Year's Eve at least one airplane terminal will be closed for lack of flights…in other words, nobody wants to be in the air when the clock ticks twelve. New York is well known for its New Year's Eve Extravaganzas, but many celebrations have been canceled for lack of ticket sales. Times Square, I'm sure, will be full….but all New York City police officers have been put on notice that none of them are allowed the last week of the year to take any time off. Is it me? Or do you find that many people seem to, this year, want to get the Holidays over with fast? As we approach Y2K the thought of writing 2000 next to the date seems a little strange, when all of our lives the number 19- felt very comfortable.
I personally don't believe the world will end, but I do indeed think that the year 2000 is presenting itself as a New Beginning…..hopefully, we can leave behind many of the things that have hurt us individually and as a society. The subconscious is a strange thing….while we deny things on the surface, lurking below can easily be a contradiction. Perhaps inside we ask ourselves, "How would we face chaos?", even if it doesn't happen.
Recently I went shopping at my local supermarket. I was looking around the aisles for some instant mashed potatoes….there were none to be found, so I approached the store manager and asked him where I could find my "instant potatoes?" He told me "They were here." I asked him who "they" were, and he told me, "The Y2K'ers"….they bought up everything in the store that they could simply add water to." Well, the Y2K'ers, for now, own all of our local store's instant food.
Each night on the evening news a clock is displayed, ticking down the remaining days to the New Year. The fear, for many, grows. Can it be that we only truly value Life when we are faced with it's possible demise? In a world that is primarily run on Fear, Greed and Lust, not on Intelligence, a little self-examination is not so bad. Come January 3, 2000, if we all head back to work on that Monday morning, many of us may have a strange look on our faces…realizing not only that the world did not end, but that we are faced with a New Beginning. I believe the world is not a theatrical stage…. that certain events may not happen "on cue"….not to say that they won't happen….just not when we expect them to.
Enjoy the Holidays….embrace those you love, try to be a better person. If we practice these things, each year the world will become a better place for it. Time doesn't have to be our enemy….it can be our friend…..
At some point, the "Genie is out of the bottle." We all know what we need….it's no mystery. We can plan, train, take courses, but at some point we must take one step forward each day on the road to fulfillment. Mankind, in many cases, is his own or her own worst enemy. In the blink of an eye a person can go from feeling totally fulfilled to being lost. Many times we so easily gravitate to the meaningless and things that are bad for us….while ignoring the keys that unlock the doors of our hearts. Why do things look so complicated, when the answers are always quite simple?
This time of the year we scour the stores, searching for the perfect gift to express how we feel about a loved one…hoping that out there is that one object that can best describe how much we care about someone. This week I watched a two block line of people lining up to purchase their piece of the Pokeman Phenomenon…believing that without it Christmas just would not be the same, while their children gazed on in amazement. Can material things really express our true feelings? Is a diamond really a girl's best friend? All of these items are temporary. How many of us on a Christmas morning have watched a child play with a toy for fifteen minutes, then disregard it and move on to the next? Yes, we do need to purchase gifts, but we have to be careful not to get too carried away. For some of us, it's easier to try to buy presents that we think express Love, then to just plain say it.
So how do we help ourselves? Why are we so preoccupied with the temporary? Our needs for inner peace and long-term happiness seem, in many cases, put on the back-burner. Do we really believe that the new car will change our lives? Perhaps what we're really doing is continuing the process of searching for the answers in the wrong places. Come January, we look back on the holiday season with a stream of bills, wondering where all the money went? Most of it spent on the temporary, with tomorrow never an option. We are left with the age-old dilemma….do we buy for our bodies, or for our souls?
So this holiday season, let's try to give a gift that lasts more than one day…perhaps a meaningful book, an educational game, or something that inspires the imagination….or a memorable dinner spent with a close friend? One last thing that should always be on our minds is visiting a nursing home or an orphanage where there are many in need of a kind smile or someone to dry a tear. You will not only be helping others, you will be helping yourself.
Whether we like it or not, value is assigned to the space we occupy….in other words, who we are. Who assigns this value? Well, to God, we are all His children, but the value that is assigned is first set by our parents, and then society. Eventually, this spills over into the mental picture we hold of ourselves as individuals. I could say, who cares? But these values can greatly affect not only the course you take in life, but also the perception that people have of you.
Imagine to yourself that you are standing in the center of a circle. Draw a line around that circle. The center point is who you are. What enters and leaves the circle is your interaction with society….be it friends, family, coworkers, or just plain strangers. As the saying goes, "No man or woman is an island unto themselves." Yes, it is important to have a positive image of oneself, but we must also take into account if that image differs from the people we interact with. Why? Because of a little thing called "The Ego." The ego can distort our perceptions very easily, and before too long, what we think we are, is not what we are. So, the atmosphere within the circle can greatly affect our lives.
On a scale of zero to one hundred is how we perceive our lives to be. If a person falls within the first 10%, that person feels that their life is meaningless…"they can be done without." As the percentages increase, the perception of the value of one's life also increases until we reach one hundred percent….where that person's concept of themselves is that "I am the greatest, and the world would revolves around me." Both ends of the scale are dangerous. At school, we were taught that the best score is 100……in Life, I believe the best score falls around 50 or 60. Why? Because at a score of around 50 a person can see their value in the world and realize there is always room for improvement…..also, that other people's value matters.
50% is the center…..the Balance of Life. Some days we can score a 40, other days, a 70…but the aim we must strive for is the magical 50, where all things look clear, logical, and make sense. I believe within that number 50 are the words "Peace, Fulfillment, Tranquility, Humility, and Purpose." These are the real goals of Life. A person may have all the riches the world can offer, but unless, on the Test of Life he or she maintains close to a 50, there is no balance.
Whether we know it or not, each day we form or contribute to patterns, be it food, spending, exercise, prayer, etc. The patterns start to become a part of the fabric of who we are. We may feel that we have no control over these repetitious behaviors, but with alot of work, they can be changed, and a life on automatic pilot can be altered, once one decides to turn the switch off and take the controls.
Habits are all around us….inside ourselves, in our friends, in our families. We all form habits individually and collectively. Sometimes the circle must be broken, to take a look and take a bold new course in the direction of our lives. Otherwise, we just go around and around, and before too long the circle creates its own force and traps us. Is it any wonder that we live on a planet spiraling through space, protected by its own gravitational force….so, too, do we develop our own force.
One of the most important aspects of life is awareness. If the blinders go on, we trot along a path, oblivious to what is going on around us. Sedation becomes the norm, and as we know, time does march on, whether we are awake or asleep. What's sad, I must say, is that in many cases we don't totally appreciate what life is, and how precious it can be, until it is threatened by an illness, or an accident….then, all of a sudden, we "get it." The pattern instantaneously is broken. But does it have to get to that drastic step before we can break the circles that are harmful to us?
One of the best ways to see the patterns that you have developed in your life is to remove yourself from familiar surroundings for a short period of time…..take a vacation, or take a drive … visit someone out of town. But most of all, get away for awhile. As you come home, you start to see things as they really are. The different surroundings that you've allowed to flow through your mind, blow away the cobwebs and allow a fresh perspective to enfold you … then we can permit ourselves to see who we are, and what we want to be. A birds-eye view of our lives is sometimes all that is needed to see the three dimensions of our lives…the past, the present, and the future.
Nearby where I live is the local deli. In my neighborhood, the owner's name is Phil. Each week, Phil dispenses to the neighborhood many lottery tickets…little pieces of dreams for those who choose to partake. I know, I know….the odds of winning the lottery are something like being hit by lightening in the same place twice!! I myself have been known however to put my toe in the water a few times to see if Ladyluck will shine on me that week. It's all in fun really, I guess.
Each time Phil attends one of these seminars he tells me it is truly a revelation to see how people eventually handle their winnings. One man who won twenty-three million dollars decided that he would tell no one that he won. So then, he went out and bought himself a top-of-the-line, custom-made Mercedes Benz, and parked it in the driveway of his middle-class home. The neighbors at first did a double-take…but finally it was decided by the neighbors that he must have become a drug-dealer! Because it was the only way that he could have been able to afford such a car. Eventually our quiet millionaire had to leave his neighborhood to drive his car!!
To me, Jesus is compassionate, caring, forgiving, embracing, helping, and someone who is in total command of common sense. Isn't it amazing how many people Jesus has saved, while, sadly, man has also used His name to destroy. Hate is not a word that Jesus understands because it is inconceivable for Him to see how far a person would go to defend his or her right to hate. Jesus is a friend who stays through the darkest hours, where a candle of light is sometimes all that is needed to restore the power of hope. Jesus is an open hand, always there to feel the flesh of despair and fear. Jesus is a true friend.
Jesus understands Buddha, Moses, Muhammed, and the other Prophets. As He says in the Scriptures, "I am not here to destroy the laws of the Prophets, but to fulfill them." We could also say Jesus understands Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and those who follow the path of peace. Jesus wants us to love one another.
Jesus is a Jew who has one of the largest followings of mankind. In His days of life on earth, many called Him "Rabbi"….was He a Rabbi? Perhaps….but also a simple carpenter who came to help save the world. Much has happened since His short time here….but the message grows stronger each day. Why can't we get it right? Can you imagine how hard this essay is to write? Who gets offended, who agrees, that's not what Jesus is about. Jesus wants us to get closer…He spoke of Love constantly.
For Christians, develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. For Jews, embrace your relationship with God, and pray to your heart's content. For Muslims, by all means offer your prayers to Allah. For Buddhists, pray for humanity to find compassion for one another. These acts of Faith are for the benefit of all mankind, and I believe Jesus would embrace any way for God's children to break bread together.
We all start out as children, hopefully growing up in the right settings… playing with our toys, looking at the world with wonder. Everything is a Big Event. The baggage of life that we carry at this stage, in most cases, is fairly empty. As we progress on through adolescence, each year the weight of that baggage increases. As children, our main concern was being nurtured, loved by our parents, and finding where we fit in the family structure. In adolescence and teenage years we started to form additional relationships and friendships outside the family. Adulthood brings with it the roles of being a parent, a spouse, and a breadwinner, each day making additions to the luggage of life. If all goes well, there's no problem. But, it isn't surprising how easily we can get bogged down.
Playing different roles in life can get real tiring. It's no wonder that as we get older there feels like there isn't enough hours in the day to accomplish all that we need to do. Our days of childhood feel like a glistening memory when we felt we could handle it all. It's not hard to understand that as we get older we feel we are starting to forget things…well, it's no wonder….for many of us our minds are now having to handle at least three times the amount of information as before. We're not "losing our minds," we're just very busy people. Hey, what happened to all the leisure time we were supposed to have…the four day work week? Some do….not many.
So how can we make things a little easier? First, don't punish yourself for feeling overwhelmed. Second, work on surrounding yourself with as much good, positive input and love as possible. Third, try to let go and cast off some of the clutter that has accumulated over the years. We tend to think, in society, that the more that we accumulate, the happier we will be. But what's not mentioned is that with each accumulation comes responsibilities that sometimes we may not care to handle. It's easier to ride a bike then to haul a heavy load.
So why simplicity? Because the simpler we make our lives, the happier we are. If all we had to do was concentrate on what really is important, things would make more sense. For each of us, it may involve different solutions, but you know what I mean. Everything doesn't have to become a big deal….not everything is life-threatening…no, we won't die if we don't do it in five minutes….different things have different priorities. They are not all equal.
We look around for solutions to our problems under every rock, and in every nook and cranny, because our intelligence tells us there has to be a complicated and profound solution to the situation. Have you ever asked a child for the answer to an adult problem? You will be amazed at their answer. They speak from their hearts.
Many of us have people to share our lives with…spouses, family members, and friends…companions we walk along the road of life with…passing through time and space. These are our Soulmates…the people we share our hopes, dreams and problems with. It's amazing how many souls face the same dilemmas in their lives…so we seek out those that can help us deal with being human in a world of contradictions.
Each week we make phone calls, schedule lunches, or write e-mails to connect to those that we feel care and understand us…relationships that feed our self-confidence and heal our wounds so that we can become better equipped at facing life's surprises. Being a Soulmate involves not only talking, but listening too. Some of us have friends that we are very close to, while not realizing just how deeply the level of communication goes. If you are one of those who has been fortunate enough to have had a long-lasting relationship or friendship you know just how valuable the love from these experiences becomes.
Benny realizes that some of the happiest moments of his life are spent over a cup of coffee, where realistically he could purchase almost anything that his heart desires. Soulmates…the people who stand beside us through thick and thin…cheering us on and reaching out when we are down. What more could bring a smile to the face of God then for His children to celebrate life and get along? Each one of us is a reason for that smile.