I have a new-found friend in the Islamic world. (He calls me "uncle" which I presume is a salutation of respect & honor.) As a devout Muslim, he prays five times each day. I told him I'm a non-believer (though neither an atheist nor agnostic), yet I reflect on my values, beliefs, and aspirations several times a day, too.
I last shared my daily affirmation, which I now refer to as a personal reflection — part secular prayer, part non-mystical meditation, and part positive visualization and self-talk — back in January 2011. I share it again today, with only the minor revisions of the past nine months, as a reminder for myself and as food for thought for others.
Every day is a treasure to cherish and to live mindfully to its fullest. I'm thankful for the endless opportunities and capabilities that are my good fortune, and for each and every new day I awaken to. I resolve to make wise use of this abundance to enrich my life — spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially — and then to share my blessings to benefit the world around me and the people I love. I will strive to be balanced, focused, calm, kind, and caring; and to be forthright, tactful, and constructive in fostering decency and justice through my actions. These blessings are mine to nurture and to freely share. I know I can make a positive contribution to peace and prosperity in the world.
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Friday, October 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Joke of the Day... On You!
Palins Seeking To Trademark Names
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sarah Palin wants to trademark her name.
She filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November to register the trademark. The federal office is seeking more information and examples of usage.
On her application, Palin listed usage of the trademark for a website featuring information about political issues; and educational and entertainment services, including motivational speaking in the fields of politics, culture, business and values.
Her daughter, Bristol, is also seeking to trademark her name, citing motivational speaking services in the field of life choices. The younger Palin was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” last year.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
How Can We Know?
Let's assume Tucson shooter Jared Loughner is indeed mentally ill. That seems a pretty good assumption, don't you think? And let me suggest, for the sake of discussion, that his illness is different from being psychopathic or 'merely' sociopathic.
What's the difference? And how might we know which he is? A rhetorical question: might not a psychopath (perhaps a sterotypical 'evil genius') bent on mayhem hide his discontent and plans until he was finally ready to take action, while a mentally ill person might not have the capacity to hide his inner turmoil? I don't know, but maybe some mental health professionals do. Or maybe not.
Furthermore, how different might these disturbed individuals be from, say, your garden-variety 'angry' political activist? There are a lot of them these days, and undoubtedly the vast majority are neither mentally ill nor sociopaths, although undeniably some have carried guns to public forums.
Hey, I'm a gun owner. And I get angry. But I never carry guns when I'm angry, and certainly not to 'make my statement' about the right to bear arms. And I'd never dream of calling on a neighbor, gun in hand (or slung over my shoulder), to discuss politics.
I ask all this because I don't know how I would be able to distinguish the mentally ill, the sociopath, or an armed political activist at a public event like Gifford's meet-the-constituents forum. Should we even have to wonder if we could?
I'm a liberal. (Sorry, but I think there are good reasons for being steadfast in that perspective.) But I have lots of very conservative friends, some with concealed carry permits. (Which would have been of little value in Tucson. Go ahead, admit it!) I invite everyone, aging leftist agitator or present-day tea partiers, to leave your weapons at home, except when you're at a bona fide practice range -- or you're out to kill Bambi's mother.
Just joking, folks! About Bambi, that is. Not about guns in public. Can't we be serious here?
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What's the difference? And how might we know which he is? A rhetorical question: might not a psychopath (perhaps a sterotypical 'evil genius') bent on mayhem hide his discontent and plans until he was finally ready to take action, while a mentally ill person might not have the capacity to hide his inner turmoil? I don't know, but maybe some mental health professionals do. Or maybe not.
Furthermore, how different might these disturbed individuals be from, say, your garden-variety 'angry' political activist? There are a lot of them these days, and undoubtedly the vast majority are neither mentally ill nor sociopaths, although undeniably some have carried guns to public forums.
Hey, I'm a gun owner. And I get angry. But I never carry guns when I'm angry, and certainly not to 'make my statement' about the right to bear arms. And I'd never dream of calling on a neighbor, gun in hand (or slung over my shoulder), to discuss politics.
I ask all this because I don't know how I would be able to distinguish the mentally ill, the sociopath, or an armed political activist at a public event like Gifford's meet-the-constituents forum. Should we even have to wonder if we could?
I'm a liberal. (Sorry, but I think there are good reasons for being steadfast in that perspective.) But I have lots of very conservative friends, some with concealed carry permits. (Which would have been of little value in Tucson. Go ahead, admit it!) I invite everyone, aging leftist agitator or present-day tea partiers, to leave your weapons at home, except when you're at a bona fide practice range -- or you're out to kill Bambi's mother.
Just joking, folks! About Bambi, that is. Not about guns in public. Can't we be serious here?
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Circling the Wagons?
I'm haunted by the now-old story of Seung-Tae Cho and his wife, Hyang-In, parents of Virginia Tech shooter Seung Hui Cho. They went into seclusion at an undisclosed location after the shooting. I've not heard of them since, and it's been almost four years.
Now we have two more parents whose parenting is almost certainly under the microscope. I wonder — recalling that old saying, "But for the grace of God, there go I" — what kind of soul searching they're doing. Indeed, the entire nation is probably wondering, but perhaps we should they be focused on our own parenting instead of pointing fingers at others.
On the other hand, maybe it's better to be pointing fingers at others than to be pointing guns at one another?
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Now we have two more parents whose parenting is almost certainly under the microscope. I wonder — recalling that old saying, "But for the grace of God, there go I" — what kind of soul searching they're doing. Indeed, the entire nation is probably wondering, but perhaps we should they be focused on our own parenting instead of pointing fingers at others.
On the other hand, maybe it's better to be pointing fingers at others than to be pointing guns at one another?
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Sunday, January 9, 2011
A Moment of Introspection
This morning's local newspaper (the Albuquerque Journal) carried the horrific account of U.S. Representative 'Gabby' Gifford's shooting, the six dead and 13 wounded. I hung my head in sadness, anger, and shame. I had to wonder if the vitriol spewed in the 2010 political campaigns had come home to roost. Predictably there were "sincere condolences" from one source of that vitriol, and vehement denial from another: "I just don't see the connection."
It gave me pause to reflect whether I truly live by own professed values, so I got down on my knees to meditate and pray (as best a secularist might manage to pray). My prayer begins with a moment of silence to listen for the divine. (Sorry, nothing yet. Please, let the clouds part and God's voice boom forth.) Then I repeated my daily affirmation, which was once focused on developing the mental outlook to become a millionaire. Fortunately, it has evolved into something quite different after two years of tweaking.
Like the faithful of many religions, I 'pray' several times daily -- or at least I try to -- upon rising, before sleeping, and as many times in between as I can remember to. I kneel for humility's sake whenever I can.
"Every day is a treasure to cherish and to live fully yet wisely. I am thankful for the endless opportunities and capabilities I have been blessed with, and for each and every new day I am granted. I will conscientiously make wise use of this abundance to better myself -- spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially -- and then share my abundance to benefit the world around me and the people I love. I will strive to be balanced, focused, calm, and kind, and to be courageous and constructive in fostering decency, honesty, and justice through my actions. These blessings are mine to nurture and freely share. I know I can make a positive contribution to peace and prosperity in the world."
Every day is a challenge to live by these principles. Some days I fall short. So after this morning's reflection, I revised yesterday's post to delete two words ("bimbo" and "idiotic"). The world did not need them, and I was wrong to use them. I apologize.
(Revised Jan. 9, 2011, to take a more 'Socratic' tone)
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It gave me pause to reflect whether I truly live by own professed values, so I got down on my knees to meditate and pray (as best a secularist might manage to pray). My prayer begins with a moment of silence to listen for the divine. (Sorry, nothing yet. Please, let the clouds part and God's voice boom forth.) Then I repeated my daily affirmation, which was once focused on developing the mental outlook to become a millionaire. Fortunately, it has evolved into something quite different after two years of tweaking.
Like the faithful of many religions, I 'pray' several times daily -- or at least I try to -- upon rising, before sleeping, and as many times in between as I can remember to. I kneel for humility's sake whenever I can.
"Every day is a treasure to cherish and to live fully yet wisely. I am thankful for the endless opportunities and capabilities I have been blessed with, and for each and every new day I am granted. I will conscientiously make wise use of this abundance to better myself -- spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially -- and then share my abundance to benefit the world around me and the people I love. I will strive to be balanced, focused, calm, and kind, and to be courageous and constructive in fostering decency, honesty, and justice through my actions. These blessings are mine to nurture and freely share. I know I can make a positive contribution to peace and prosperity in the world."
Every day is a challenge to live by these principles. Some days I fall short. So after this morning's reflection, I revised yesterday's post to delete two words ("bimbo" and "idiotic"). The world did not need them, and I was wrong to use them. I apologize.
(Revised Jan. 9, 2011, to take a more 'Socratic' tone)
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Saturday, January 8, 2011
Reciting the Constitution on Reality TV?
Headline, Friday, January 7, 2011:
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers Take A Break to Recite the Constitution. Historic Event Took An Hour and a Half.
Never mind that they apparently 'cherry picked' the parts they liked and left out the inconvenient part about African slaves being only three-fifths a person. How's that for strict devotion to the Constitution as it's written, not as it's 'interpreted' by an 'activist'?
Someone I know and love recently opined something along the line of, "Stupid President [Obama]. He should get off television and stop making it so boring." This comment came from a household that seems addicted to 'Big Brother'. Yep, sooo much less boring than the President. (Not!)
I have to admit, I don't hang on every word President Obama says. Still, I think he's right to bring his message to TV viewers, even though I don't spend much time watching him. (I get my news from printed newspapers.) I simply change the channel. But I never knowingly change it to 'Big Brother', which I might have watched for all of 25 seconds in my entire life. (Stupid TV remote! Can't flip through the channels fast enough to avoid the latest misadventures of some cute, young narcissist!)
So, my question for the 'pols' who want to engage in public theatrics under the guise of reaffirming our devotion to the Constitution: Why not insist that every so-called reality TV program include a recitation from the Constitution before moving on to their entertaining antics?
That might be a lot more effective than Congressional theatrics. It would certainly reach more of our citizenry, which seems largely uninterested in those boring messages from our President.
Now, now, let's not have any of that "He's not my President" nonsense. (Bush was my President whether I voted for him or not.)
(Revised Jan. 9, 2011 to practice what I preach: don't use name calling to advance an argument.)
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WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers Take A Break to Recite the Constitution. Historic Event Took An Hour and a Half.
Never mind that they apparently 'cherry picked' the parts they liked and left out the inconvenient part about African slaves being only three-fifths a person. How's that for strict devotion to the Constitution as it's written, not as it's 'interpreted' by an 'activist'?
Someone I know and love recently opined something along the line of, "Stupid President [Obama]. He should get off television and stop making it so boring." This comment came from a household that seems addicted to 'Big Brother'. Yep, sooo much less boring than the President. (Not!)
I have to admit, I don't hang on every word President Obama says. Still, I think he's right to bring his message to TV viewers, even though I don't spend much time watching him. (I get my news from printed newspapers.) I simply change the channel. But I never knowingly change it to 'Big Brother', which I might have watched for all of 25 seconds in my entire life. (Stupid TV remote! Can't flip through the channels fast enough to avoid the latest misadventures of some cute, young narcissist!)
So, my question for the 'pols' who want to engage in public theatrics under the guise of reaffirming our devotion to the Constitution: Why not insist that every so-called reality TV program include a recitation from the Constitution before moving on to their entertaining antics?
That might be a lot more effective than Congressional theatrics. It would certainly reach more of our citizenry, which seems largely uninterested in those boring messages from our President.
Now, now, let's not have any of that "He's not my President" nonsense. (Bush was my President whether I voted for him or not.)
(Revised Jan. 9, 2011 to practice what I preach: don't use name calling to advance an argument.)
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