Seeking peace and joy: moving from toleration to celebration

SEEKING PEACE AND JOY: MOVING  FROM TOLERATING TO CELEBRATING

Tomorrow is  Friday the 13th and a Full Moon and by the time some of you read this it will be today and maybe it will be  yesterday or some other day...but whenever you read it it’s going to be today when you finish.  So these  temporal and cosmic events probably don’t  happen together  all that often and superstition says we should be ready for some strange and maybe  frightening  goings-on.  Well...I’m not much for superstition (except for the Stevie Wonder song which is sublime.  On the other hand I have learned to tolerate those who have  taken on beliefs that are  no more or less than superstitious.  Well until now... 

Why do I tolerate these things?  Mostly because they are socially accepted myths and for some  folks they explain outlandish behavior.  

The challenge for me is that  when I pursue  some “challenging” beliefs about  a variety of things I expect more than toleration, I want celebration.  Seeking  peace and joy includes  engagement that goes beyond  toleration.  Toleration aftertoleration trains us not to be ready or willing to  celebrate and that  makes.for a pretty frustrated existence.  There needs to be some areas in life where each of us winds up ankle deep in something—(not very deep you say)-because we chose to dive in head first! 

For example, right now I tolerate the way I organize these blog posts, but I want to celebrate the type of reader experiences I  can make. Possible.  It seems I need to focus on  some organization schemes that I haven’t yet squeezed. Out of the raw  material.  I keep writing more because I can tolerate my own habits, however I need to get. Organized.  The reality is that  if I want to celebrate,I will need. To invest some creative time even though  on many days I might have no focus on the needed task.  In fact some days I doubt if I could  motivate myself to organize vampires to attend an open bar at the blood bank.  

So come tomorrow I am going to embrace the blizzard and  celebrate  the superstitions.  I’ll avoid walking under ladders, breaking mirrors.  I’ll toss salt over my shoulder—whether or not the. Person behinds me is carrying French fries.  I won’t step on a crack (because although  my mom will go to the chiropractor early next week—I think—we don’t need any broken backs.

I’ll also start  celebrating some to the holidays. I have come to simply tolerate....which ones may that be...nearly alll of THEM.  There are no holidays this week but on September 19th it’s international “Talk like a Pirate DaY” —So Shiver me timbers it starts then!!!

To sum up I have some difficulties seeking. Peace and/or joy because I have set my attitude level  at “tolerate” instead of “celebrate” and Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of  Rum... it’s time to  move forward with a bit more energy—Argh!!!

Back to the future of peace and joy

SEEKING PEACE AND JOY—THE FUTURE IS NOW

I was sitting in the first desk in the second row from the window during “Senior religion” when I should have been thinking about my future—I’m talking  about eternal future when it dawned  on me.  “How old would I be in the year 2000?  Holy Gregorian calendars Batman!  If I lived that long I would be ancient.  

Speaking of calendars—somewhere around  270 years ago the calendar we use in the  “West” went through a major upheaval.  You see we were using the Julian Calendar (named after a famous. Roman leader or an orange drink you could get in almost any mall in the 1980s and 90s).  well in 1752 astronomers, Kings, and the pope —guess what his name was? Hint see name of Calendar argued —and won—that we needed a major adjustment in our year.  Talk about change—the New Year was shifted from March 25th to January 1.  Can you imagine St. Patrick’s Day and New Years Eve being a week apart?  That would hardly allow  time for the hangover to disparate and the liver to recover.  Leap year was adopted adding a day to the  calendar at the end of February  every  fourth  year.  Now here’s the big change.  The whole Western  (Roman Catholic and Protestant world skipped 11 days in September!  Now just think a bit about the magnitude of that.  What if your birthday was one of those  11 days?  Oh and what if you looked at birth records for that month —what temporal craziness?  If you  were born  on the first day after the skip you may have been. One day older than your cousin and yet in the future your birthday would be a whopping 12 days later.  Just think about all the wedding announcements and other  news—Wow!  Well it’s time to move forward, but not  a week and a half...

If history  is the present meanings we have assigned to things that happened before the  current moment, then wha’t’s the future?  

The future becomes the current  meanings we attach to the consequences or results of our present combined with the actions that a experienced “between” now and the series of “neowS” that wil probably come after now.  Let’s say for  the sake of argument that  you haven’t figured out time travel and can’t act in the future (have you seen  TV lately?—there’s a lot of people who can’t act now :)—

Okay  what does any of this mean?  It is a natural activity for most people to want the things. We do right now to matter and to have on-going impact.  In short, we want to change the present and the future.  So what we do is pick a place on the calendar and start acting as if we can  therefore impact a date later in our  life.  In real terms we rehearse for being who we imagine we want to be.  Now that works if the circumstances we encounter on our journey call for the person we have  practiced to be, but that doesn’t always come about so we start to imagine  multiple futures at any given  time and spend time rehearsing for  multiple possibilities most of which will of course never happen and had no chance of ever happening.  So these are natural human things and can certainly. Influence how/when we experience peace and joy.  

So is there a way to break this  cycle of preparing. And practicing for futures that will not  come  to pass?  I wish I had that magic wand and could  simply wave into existence the perfect solution—but wishing hasn’t made it so thus far.  What has worked for me (and the last time I noticed  this is my blog lol) is restricting. The future.  What?  How do you limit time?  Well by, when possible, only concentrating on what happens in the next day or so and a shorter time frame than that sometimes.  If I can focus on the details of what is happening right now (mindfulness some say)  then it limits the time I devote. To multiple futures.  In fact, it often eliminates thinking about  any future and because of that  there is no frustration or disappointment about  “the future” that has now become the “now.”  

Are there things I’m not prepared for because I haven’t gotten ready?  Yep, and yet it is often (not always) possible to deal with them  with some clarity because. My mind isn’t cluttered up with a mountain of “what ifs.” 

When what is happening right now isn’t the most pleasant—because sometimes are that way—I have a tendency to imagine  all kinds of futures because the present isn’t  to great and it creates  hope or a feeling of control over what is going to happen.  This in turn boosts  the feeling of security and confidence.  These are good (value judgment) to have so I’m attempting to reflect briefly on my ability to learn as the prompts  to feel this security and confidence rather than imagining brighter days.  In recent times, this has been somewhat successful as the ability to adapt and count on friends has become a central theme in my existence and that makes any possible future a little brighter.  

So.... this has taken up enough of your “now” for now... to summarize the future is  a place we do a lot of practicing for in the present and tha’s okay except  practicing for a broad  range of things reduces the chances. We will be  experiencing peace or joy in. What ever happens.  Believing in yourself and. Others can. Lead to  a shorter window and  a sense of  promise and hope just as strong as constant rehearsals of likely (and not very likely) scenarios.  I’m not always the best at this, but I try and it helps to focus a lot on the details of what’s happening now.  This focus sometimes makes your “time space” vastly different. From those. Around you so be prepared to understand. That.    

In the end you can experiment with this time frame and have your own “flux capacitor” so to speak.  For truly, as long as you are you, your future will come no matter. How much or how little you are, or can, prepare for. It—best of luck.

More (in the coming present) more commmonly known as soon 

Have a great today

What can history teach us about peace and joy?

WHAT HISTORY TEACHES US ABOUT PEACE AND JOY (IF ANYTHING)

Napoleon (no that’s not the three flavored ice cream—Neapolitan) was  reported to have said, “history is the set of lies we have. Agreed upon.”  So did he really say that or did we just agree upon  that?  Who knows besides the grand little emperor  himself?  Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about “istory” and its role in seeking peace and joy.  surely experiences we have had  shape if not dictate the meaning of  experiences we have  today and the stories we. Will tell about. Them.  On the other hand, isn’t every day a candidate for something. That has never happened before.  

For example, in1776, on this date (September 9th) The  Name of the United Colonies was swapped out for a name you may have heard before—The United States ofAmericaDoes that mean  when independence  was declared it wasn’t even  the US?  That’s exactly what it means... So if the change hadn’t been made a lot of sports fans would be cheering  UC instead of U-S-A!

Today wen we think of the founding  fathers we are often  conjuring  up a vision of a bunch of elder statesmen in grand debate.  Lest  you think you are not old enough to change the world, I invite you  to consider that Thomas Jefferson the lead author of the declaration was all of 33 years old.  WEhile declaring all men were created  equal he didn’t say out loud “etc..ept for the ones I “own” or the ones I’m sleeping with etc

180 Years after that television history would be made when the Ed Sullivan show featured a 21 year old kid from Mississippi. Yep on CBS Sunday night Elvis performed for a nationwide audience.  Now here are some things most people don’t remember about that.  Ed wasn’t. Even on hand for his really big “shoe” that night and the King wasn’t in the famous. New York studio where the show was  generally recorded.  Elvis did. His songs(and I use that phrase loosely)  from a set in L.A. where he was shooting a movie.  What did the Elvis craze teach us?  Did it teach us  that it is okay to use the talents of others for our own fame and glory?  Did it teach us that. The color barrier could be broken if someone had the courage to showcase the ethnic music of another race?  What will history ultimately say now  that “Elvis has left the building?”

It seems we  (as in I) reframe  history  quite a bit depending upon what’s currently going on.  In a couple days it will be the anniversary of 911.  Did the  colonies becoming the United States have more of an impact on us today than the terrorist attack.  How many people can tell you more about Elvis thanUS foreign policy priorities for the year 2019?  

The question that floats through  my mind is “how often do I morph my history  to support my current.stream of thoughts and actions and why do I choose to do it?  In the end I think I am starting to accept the possibility  that there is no real past extending beyond what it currently means  in the narrative of today.  

Then if that is a reasonable  or even semi-reasonable interpretation what exactly is this. Thing called the future?  Isn’t today tomorrow’s past?  

Maybe the best  that can be hoped for is  the notion that right now. Is the time we have.  We  will recast our  past in light of right now,so maybe we can know the past and understand it as something we want to continue, or change.  Perhaps  we can find peace and joy in the notion that there will be time to redefine our acts later on.  Therefore maybe there is some practical  value in the “judge not, lest you  be judged” passages.

Well Marty that’s enough  about the space time continuum for today... that’s enough to  get us started thinking about  today and this blog will wind up  with a post about the present and then “the future” tomorrow—-because isn’t the future. Always  tomorrow?  More Soon.Doc—this is heavy

One last fish story for now?

CASTING THE NET ONE LAST TIME—FOR NOW

SO GHOTI spells FISH Phonetically  if you  take the  go sound in laugh the o sound in women and the ti sound in motion.  I believe  I firsat saw the riddle in 2nd grade as presented by our Sister of “mercy” (although  I believe she was more about  justice just saying... 

She must have taken the words of  Pope John  xxiii seriously when he said “If you want peace, work for justice.”  

I’m pretty sure. She said that with spelling like with many things in this life you have to take a close look, remember to listen  carefully, and be willing to move beyond. Your inital or first thought. We were a. Bunch of 2nd graders  we didn’t get it...but I suspect she used this for  more than one of the. Grades in our  four room  eight grade school.  

Speaking of Schools... the last few  entries have  been about fish and fishing—sort of.  I pulled together  my thoughts  thus far in a little. Poem

Enjoy...

There’s an old farm pond over that  next hill

And it’s  stocked with Small bass and Blue Gil

What size these fish? It matters not

Nor does the size of this angling  spot

If this  old pond  should not deliver

Take rod in hand, head for the river

Grab  the stink bait and your old sun hat

It’s  time to troll for channel cat

Teach the  nearby children how to fish

So they can do it if they wish

If they wish not, don’t scowl , don’t fret

Their time’s not  now, not here, not yet

For we all learn on our own terms

About hooks  and sinkers, lures and worms

We learn patience, peace, and dedication

That the water’s there for meditation

The Universe must sure dispute 

That barrels of fish are fine to shoot

If you wish to avoid regrets 

You  shall seek ways to help  others cast their nets

I’ll end this rhyme on predictive note

To walk on water you must leave the boat

Spend your life doing and not just  wishing

Put a sign out that says. “Gone Fishing”

A 

Peace and joy as easy as…

Seeking Peace and Joy is not as easy as.... One  Last Fish Story

So one of my  readers forwarded a comment about fish stories.  They wanted to remind me that  Hemmingway’s “old Man” and a River runs Through it” were good szymbolic offerings,however I was overlooking the two most important  fish stories of our time.  They are of course, I was reminded—Finding Nemo and Jaws.  Okay I replied I can see that, and if I am going to really her serious about fishingk and fish  metaphors I’m “gonnna need a bigger boat.t.”  Therefore, today will be it for now and maybe I’ll come back to it sometime.  Right now, I’m just hoping you’ll  buy some of these ideas hook, line, and sinker, so to speak.

Well...I’ve asked about this saying before, some months ago, but it merits a repeat now.  The phrase?  “Easy as shooting fish in a barrel.”  As stated months ago this makes no logical sense...if you unpack it.  First you have to get the fish into the barrel.  Howe many barrels of fish have you ever seen?  Then  there3 is the shooting....as stated you would need to. Use an  arrow because a gunshot would wreck the barrel and wouldn’t  probably work.  An arrow shot at the right angle might work.  

Then again, seeking peace and joy might be exactly like shooting fish in a barrel because the fish are right there—so close—sometimes so easy to see, and yet exactly. How to get from where you are to your”destination” can still be elusive and the process for. Getting their is not very clear (especially if it’s a barrel of channel catfish with stingers because you can’t just reach your  hand in and pull one out.)  What if you lean  too  far into the barrel and fall in?  It might be  pretty hard to remove yourself from  this jam and  in life sometimes we get so involved in our destination that we no longer see the purpose we came with  or the way out to the next  stop.  

catching the fish (because there are a lot of fish in the sea) carries with it some satisfaction, and yet I can’t help but wonder if the fishing isn’t the most important part and that’s why the parallel works for me.  Happiness and success might be the fish that you catch and throw into the barrel or at least things like “when I get my degree” and when I buy that new car”  could be some of the fish in anyone’s  barrel of success and you could catch these for a moment and still not  grasp the elusive peace and joy.  We keep fishing for a bigger fish (in a smaller pond) and in the end will we come up empty?  

So in the end we have a lot of fish stories and a lot of sayings about this thing we. Call fishing.  It seems there is little peace or joy to be found in cocomparing. Oneself to other fish and  wondering. Too long about other ponds.  It is truly. Graceful  endeavor to teach a man to fish, if indeed fish is what is desired and it is worth the time to check  to make sure  you shouldn’t. Be teaching a man to grow apples or plant seeds.  The key is asking so that others invest in their own talents and offer the fruits of those talents to others.  Finally shooting fish in the barrel is not lol that. Easy, and yet, we often sell happiness and success as. An enterprise based  upon “if you only do this then that will happen” and you will be satisfied.  Even if you capture  your career and monetary fish it’s not a given that peace and joy come along.  Maybe the biggest reward comes from  keeping your. Hook in the river or pond or ocean and reflectingas the current brings life that  exists below the surface closer for a while.  

I’ll end  this fish story. With a riddle first  presented  to me by Sister  Aquinise (sp)my elementary school teacher and principal.  

She wrote the following  on the board and asked us what it spelled.

GHOTI

Then she wrote the. Words—laugh—women—motion

CA poem tomorrow will  wrap this up maybe in newspaper and foil so that you can put it in the. Freezer for the winter.

 Oak 

Peace joy and other fish stories

FISHING FOR PEACE AND JOY 

The  Old Man  and the Sea and  “A River runs Through It are a couple of my favorite “fish stories””—well and of course there’s one  fish two fish red fish blue fish...

Anyway it’s hard not to notice all the fishy metaphors and sayings that  we use in our culture or that have been used in certain parts a of our culture anyway.  In a previous entry the concept of  being a big fish in a small fish in a big pond or a big  fish in a small pond was the topic.  while that whole notion promotes the idea of belonging it folds in a “comparison” frame of reference and to me that becomes problematic in seeking peace and joy.  

Yesterday afternoon I heard the phrase “you  can give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day—but if you teach a man to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime.”  growing up Catholic I’ve eaten enough fish on Friday to last a lifetime already so I don’t necessarily  feel the need to  get out my pole and give a worm a bath.  However, my mind  sort of likes this phrase, except  what if  he doesn’t like fish?  How often  have you been encouraged or forced to learns something because someone else thought. It would be good for you?  How often. Do I  teach  (or try to) teach people things because I think it would be good for them?  Do I do this to ease their hunger or. Promote my choice in dinner menus?   I’m not trying to give fishing a bad name here because  fish have fed a lot of people and it is  reportedly a healthy food.  I do wonder if some of the greatest benefits of fishing have nothing. To do with the  catch.  Maybe sitting and watching a river or.  Lake and giving yourself the time to reflect or build the. Stuff of stories with. Your family and friends is really what fishing is all about.  In our culture it’s hard  for a male to say “I’m going to stare at the water and think about life for a bit and relax enough to be healthier tomorrow.”  I’m wondering if in seeking peace and  joy it is not absolutely necessary  to do a little fishing with or without a hook in the water?  Just  thinking?  

One more “fishing trip” tomorrow and then we’ll pull up anchor and move  on.

Peace joy and let’s go fishing!

SEEKING PEACE AND JOY—LET’S GO FISHING!

As the faintest light reached the Eastern horizon, I started back across the Black River on the bridge/walking path whenI noticed the freeway leading to the Blue Water Bridge (heading to Canada) was strangely quiet and peaceful.  This is rare.  Any number of people tend to go really fast on that stretch because they  figure  no local law folks are going to be watching and they don’t  have to stop till they hit  the border.  They are right.  Anyway, so it’s quiet. And I noticed.  Just a few steps over the water I hear the sound of a fish splashing back down into the water.  It made a fairly loud splash which leads me to think it was either a pretty big fish or a small fish that caught some big air.  

From time to time I see people fishing in the river and wonder if anyone has ever almost caught that one or did catch it and released. It?  My stream of thought (not quite large enough to be called a river of thought you know) thenlinked up to the whole  concept in our culture of  “fit”—you know being a big fish in a little  pond or a little fish in a big pond.  How often do. We use that phrase to comfort ourselves or other or describe our situation or that of others?  What  is all tied up in using. That phrase?  

 Innocently enough it is useful for. Talking. About  incongruent situations, but there’s more...or less... 

The  bottom line is that the phrase by definition defines the fish in comparison with other fish and with the pond.  In seeking  peace and joy it is  always difficult to find comfort in a comparison model.  Maybe you feel you are  not big enough or adequate to face  some big. Event which makes you a little fish in a big pond or maybe. You don’t find your current setting allows you to use all your gifts —Your pond is too small?  The point is  that the likelihood  of being just the right sized fish in the right. Sized. Pond is  pretty low and even if you feel like you have  found a fit it is impossible to control the size of the fish that might be added to your pond.  Also, you may find yourself in a new pond from time to time because change happens.  

In the end, the whole metaphor seems like a trap where you have little chance of being the right fit and  less a chance to help other fish optimize their size.  It sort of. Feels.  Like that whole  old joke about. Camping in bear country.   Camper. One  looks  over at camper two and says, “hey Joe you wore  track shoes?  You know a bear can run 40 miles per hour those shoes won’t help, right?”  Camper. Two  winks and says “Yep, Frank, but  I only have to  run faster than  you.”  

Anyway in seeking peace and joy it seems that trying to do better than someone else, or have more, or trying constantly to use external markers to fit in robs both your personal power and in some ways.dimishes your responsibility, and makes it more difficult. To be a full participant in the experiment we call life.  

More fish stories tomorrrow.

Peace joy and fear in the mirror the musical

PEACE, JOY, AND FEAR IN THE MIRROR “THE MUSICAL”

So let’s  just say that self-help books give a real emotion, yes fear, a bad name.  Let’s also look at the experience as legitimate and in some cases as an opportunity to connect with people who  can and need to help you—yes I said need to help.... because  how else do we learn to work on life’s  challenges together and thus combine the many great. Talents/gifts we have?  It’s not  a fun emotion and we  aren’t ever  going to be comfortable with it—it’s fear—but it is a  call to grow with others.  However, the growth may not be yours so this idea that. Success and. Happiness follow from fear is just not  always the case.  

Anyway, I’ve learned in seeking peace and joy that it’s pretty  healthy not to discount any emotion including fear and as with most emotions this one has inspired a little tune so I recorded it and the. Lyrics are here:

For Love of fear

Well this fear can paralyze

That’s until you realize

That  of course everybody cries

If you have a heart of any size—have a heart of any size

Never doubt  you give your best

In this life’s neverendingtestBut sometimes tightness finds your chest

That’s when you must seek  out some rest—it’s okay to seek some rest

Chorus

No wrong decisions have been made

And the good Lord knows you’ve prayed

Yet at times you’ll be afraid

All that matters is you’ve. Stayed—All that matters is you’ve stayed

None of us is ever spared

Nor can. We  always be prepared

For all the demons that make us scared

That’s when you need  some help to get your soul repaired—get your soul repaired

Chorus

Peace joy and fear in the mirror

PEACE, JOY, AND FEAR IN THE MIRROR PART II

Well  to sum up so far (like in the previous entry)   Fear gets a bad rap when it comes to  most the self-help folks.  It seems  like fear is saomehow a fault  or a weakness.  Horse-hockey  I say...it’s  normal and  helpful and often a signal that  it’s time to reflect and change.  Besides, the argument that. Happiness or success comes  after or because. You will face. Your fear seems pretty odd given  it sets up a classic “if/then” sequence.  Or. A you’ll get x when y plot line.  You. Become afraid. In unclear circumstances when your perceived  control is shaken and possible. Futures don’t seem to  match up with current  values.  This   Happy after facing fears  set up flies in the face of  the argument that  the path to happiness or that feeling is is felt within and in the preasent.  

Okay let’s  start there...you know at the place where being afraid is not. A fault and you can recognize when you are afraid.  Let’s add in the element. Of being. Able to  ask yourself a few questions (see questions from yesterday) to identify just where you stand.  Next...what comes next?

Well...going back to yesterday (or whenever you may have. read the previous entry)....What fears do you try to face on on your own?  

Trick question.....easy answer.... and the answer will be a question.  

Do you think you are the only one who has. had this fear you are dealing with?  Are you the only one involved in the circumstances of your fear right now?  Will how you act  possibly impact the experiences of others now or in the future?  Will someone else being able to learn from your fear eventually help them?  You see it’s not that hard.  If you don’t. seek help you are likely cheating yourself and a bunch of other people too..... but if you  think the answer  lies in a cold dark lonely place go ahead and  look there.  We’ve been sold the  concept. of the Lone  Ranger, the lonesome gunslinger,the true hero...what a load of garbage.  

Try not towait till you feel comfortable  with. sharing your fear—-IT’S FEAR! you aren’t goping to becomfortablewithit—Do you hear me now.

Alright...Iknow I usually don’t getthis directive or preachy...but I have suffered the illusion that  I was alone with  a number of fears and nearly every time I have realized that this is not the case and that  a lot of folks were there to help me or help themselves  by helping me....just saying.  

We have fear. to inform us not to hurt us.   

So what. this couple of days boils down to is this...

Try. not to  buy into the  “If then or I’ll be happy/successful”. logic that often getsconnected with fear.  Find  a bunch of resources by  undersatanding that fear is  a close cousin of stress, anxiety, or pain, but the folks  who  write about them are afraid of saying that life. gets rather scary sometimes....they want to sya “I’m cool....I’ve got this.”  

Finally, as long as you own. your response to fear get  off your backside and  try to help others with your fear and thereby  help  yourself.  

Ask the questions that help you seek a few. answers and then have confident that working together. it won’t matter which way. you go to unstuck, you and your army will turn that decision into something positive.  

Finally remember you can have a lot of the answers nearly all of them, unfortunately. a wise. person also knows they  won’t always  know all the questions.  

One last entry about this  tomorrow or the next day. Oak is 

Peace, joy, and your fear in the mirror

PEACE, JOY, AND THE FEAR IN THE MIRROR

There’s a whole truckload of self-help folks who will stand and  tell you “success” or happiness lies just on the other side of “fear.”  They call on us to “embrace” or face our fear and thus conquer it.  In theory  the same people are. Spot on, hitting the  right targets, in the zone,brilliant,  and have touched upon the ultimate key.  In reality....”

This idea is full of crap.  That’s right I say... this notion that  fear is bad has to go.  Firsat bexcause it’s not that simple, and second, to ignore it is to ignore a  sound in the dark  that allows us to be human and spiritual beings.  Go on?  Okay

The door creeks openand you walk from the light of a summer day into  a dusty pitch black  cellar.  You reach for the tinychain that hangs down from  a solitary  dim bulb.  One more step and you should  feel it.  You take that step feel the chain and pull.  It clicks but no light Just then you hear the sound of breaking  glass.

Why might  you feel fear?  

well .... let’s start with  the fact that your surroundings are unclear.  Let’s add in the fact that what you had expected to happen didn’t happen and is not likely to happen  moving forward.  Pile on  top of that the sound of breaking glass  (with the exception of some  ethnic celebrations) is not something that brings much comfort.  You didn’t  plan for this by bringing a flashlight because you knew the light was right there in reach every time you needed it.  Now it is not.  You wonder what happened and why?

So your best friend  gets into a car wreck—you get  sick for no aparent reason, Your  job disappears for. Any number of re3asons, Will you feel fear?  Yep unless you have no sense of empathy which makes us kind beings—unless you have no sense of purpose—and will not take responsibility for what has happened or will happen—-unless you have no need to bring  meaning to your experiences—in short unlesasa you  aren’t really a  genuine human/spiritual being.  

Fear is more than a mass of throbbing insecurity or a wall of uncertainty—though it can  be those things it is an instinct to preserve yourself long enough to  reset, reflect, and act.  It is a prompt to change because. What you were. Doing , the direction you were. Headed isn’t going to  last anymore.  fear  in other words can be quite valuable.  So should you celebratefear....not really but you can accept its invitation to reflect.  

So what of thisreflection?  How can this help. In seeking peace and/or joy?  Well every person is different so  the questions below are  just a few of the possible questions that might help folks seek peace and joy, or in other words these are  some that work for me most of the time.  

Do I feel fear because I am uncertain or is it  frustration and disappointment because I thought  I had control of this and now I do not?  Am I feeling fear because. I haven’t been here before and  add that control part from above?  Am I afraid  because none of the possible meanings of this. Fear prompting event allows  me to create a positive. Meaning, a meaning that aligns with the notions of I built  about my self or those around me?  In short is the. Question why unanswerable with  some  answer  you would have chosen?  Then I ask myself—what does the world expect of me?  Then Iscream at myself for asking. That because  I’m supposed to. Not worry about  that (especially when seeking my own peace and joy).  By the way the next question I ask is very important.... Do I ask what others think because I’m gathering  possible  building blocks for creating meaning or support or am I looking to  dismiss my responsibility for what happens  next?  Doesn’t this seem easy so far?  Well good...here comes the harder part... These questions  can be asked and answered,  however you will get  stuck in fear if you do one thing... Judge yourself or your answers.   These questions rate simply to  set the “you are here”. Spot.  You are not likely to get any traction in any direction  until you find that spot.  Your cannot create a map because. Unless. You know  where you are there is not place  to look forwards to and if you don’t know where you are going no map can get. You there, but any map is like to be the one you’ll reach for.  

Well that’s about enough street corner philosophy for one reading...tomorrow  my thoughts on facing your fears alone (usually not advisable but sometimes unavoidable). Or exposing your  fears to others and building  your toolbox for harnessing the power of ear.  

By the way that basement IS haunted in my opinion just. So that you know.  

Breathe.

Lessons from books?

LESSONS FROM BOOKS?

What might I learn about  the human/spiritual journey?

What  in the words the author uses reminds  me of me?  

What characters and their actions  seem like me or someone Iknow?

How did I feel when I was  reading/listening to this book?  

These are a few  of the questions to be. Asked when  engaged with any book.  It might be easier with  a work of fiction, but not always.  With non-fiction you can explore how the materials are. Presented.  Is it a narrative?  Is the outline of materials easy to. Understand for me?  If I had to write index cards or a PowerPoint is this book arranged in a way that. Would help/. 

Finally, how would. You explain this book (or teach)  the stuff inside) to somebody else.  

Well..those are the questions a book begs me to answer in order to  gather up the insights that  provide a learning space and thus for me provide  a treasure that leads to  further peace and joy.  

I know, I know, this has been a little deep (full of crap some might say) for some- and  yet  in order to build a compass for seeking peace and joy I have used books often and wanted to share.  There are. Other places where I’ve learned lessons for building a compass and the song in the video mentions some...

So  here are the  “rhymes—lyrics” that point. To. Some other sources of wisdom for me and what has resulted from my journey. Thus far.  Next Week since stores have Halloween things in them...maybe  I’ll take a look at  fears on the road to seeking peace and joy.

“Lessons”.  Lyrics

Pre-verse 

I’ve learned great lessons from professors and books

Graceful half-drunken women and burnedoutfry cooks

I thought it was time thatI passed them along

So I sat up one night and wrote down this song ...here it goes

Verse1 The wiser I get the more that I’ve found

Your body just carries your spirit around

There’s a new circus around every turn

And the best thing to do is pay attention and learn

And pass all these lessons to the next passers  by

try to enjoy life and understand why

But if why eludes you don’t  wallow in frets

don’t let your butterfly wings get weighed down with regrets and

Chorus 

Breathe and Stretch

And Dance your own dance

Laugh and  Smile when. Life gives you the chance

Verse 2 

You’ll rarely finish but. You’ll. Often restart

Take your. Brain with. You but follow your heart

And don’t compromise  on the things you might change

Understand  normal but celebrate strange

Don’t chase the chaos Nor worship control

Run it full throttle when you’re on a roll...and

Chorus

Verse 3

I’ve heard sermons in bar rooms and in churches learned “shoulds”

But some of the best prayers I’ve ever heard were whispered in. Woods

don’t be afraid to believe in forever

But be careful with words like always and never

Don’t shake your fist in the mirror when your patience wears thin

Every dream has it’s time don’t let apathy win ....and...

Chorus

You’ll try to help many

But you can’t  walk in their place

You can’t battle their demons

Especially ones they won’t face...

These are my lessons nearly all that I know

But if you learn half of these then you’ll find your glow and  you will have learned how to...

Chorus

Keep Learning!