Centuries ago a wandering rabbi was asked by someone what he, a lay man, could do to become a more spiritual person. The rabbi replied that he should love God with everything he had and to love his neighbor as he loved himself. He added that these two principles were the foundation of all true religion, all true spirituality. The questioner then asked, "Who is my neighbor?" The rabbi rejoined, "Everyone is your neighbor."
The underlying principle here is that we express our love of God by how we treat each person we encounter. It's how we treat our spouses, our children, our parents, the people next door or down the street, the person behind the counter at the 7-Eleven. It's how we treat the person who cuts us off in traffic, the person who belittles us at work or at school, the person who hates us because we have different political beliefs.
Admittedly, this is often hard to do with those folks who seem to delight in being mean or hurtful. Still, no one said that spirituality was easy. It helps to remember that we have no idea what has happened in the life of any one person we may encounter. We don't know if they have just had the worst day of their life, we abused as a child or just never learned that good manners are the oil that lubricates the machinery of life. We don't know.
What we do know is that if we treat everyone we meet with kindness and consideration then we are happier. We are drawing closer to God. We are in the center of God's intention for this world. And maybe through our example we are helping them to learn to draw closer to God themselves.
Another area that we can think of where we can demonstrate God's love is in returning the love given us by others by thoughtful action. What little kindness or helpful thing can we do for our wife or husband, our parents or our children? How can we be completely present with them in love each day? These things may mean more to them than all the jewels of the earth or any toy or material thing we can buy. Try asking those we love and who love us, "What can I do today to show you I love you?"
Love is what we do more than what we feel or say. Love in action is more powerful than a hydrogen bomb, more penetrating than an x-ray, more healing than any medicine or therapy.
Love really can change the world. If every person acted out of love for every other person violence would disappear. Discrimination would disappear. Hate would be impossible. For where love is, there is God and where God is there is peace, there is freedom and there is joy.
So today I am going to try to be as loving and kind as I can to everyone I meet. I will try to see each of them as God's beloved child. I may fail, as I so often do, but I will try.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
That's America to...
Back in the Forties, during World War Two, Frank Sinatra sang a song that moved and startled a nation. As part of a short film he sang about our people, regardless of race, creed, religious affiliation or color, as part of one great people.
He wasn't the first person to celebrate the United States as a great melting pot, nor was he the last, but it was the first time it was done on film with children of all backgrounds as part of the movie. It was the first time such a message was brought forth to so many people at once by so popular a person.
The title of the song was, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN. (You can 'google' it.)
It wasn't popular with everyone and he got a bit of criticism for it. Some even called him 'unamerican.'
The song's catch phrase, "...that's America to me." invites us to think about what this country means to each of us. For the people who came here from Europe in the 17th century America was a place to escape religious persecution, to experiment with new forms of government, to serve out a sentence imposed by their rulers back in Europe or to just plain have a chance to carve out a better life for themselves. These are only four of what are most likely many reasons people came to theses shores. They are reasons that endure to this day. The United States is still seen a place where people can have greater freedom and opportunity than is common in the world.
Not that we are perfect. Not that our history is without it's shameful attitudes and actions. Just that we are a nation where certain ideals are cherished, even if we don't always live up to them. At least we have set a standard that allows us to change and grow in understanding and through that deeper understanding act with greater justice and acceptance toward our fellows.
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN sends out the same invitation today. What does America symbolize to each of us? Is it place where the struggle for greater and greater civil liberties still continues as we evolve a deeper understanding of freedom? Is it a place where all are welcome to come and pursue happiness? A place where all opinions are welcome in the public forum? A place that cherishes life and liberty?
And what do each of these ideas mean to us, as individuals?
For me, it's a place where we can ask questions. A place where we can sleep at night without fear that our opinions will lead to a midnight arrest. A place where we are free to differ one from another on the most controversial of subjects. And these freedoms are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what America is.
So I'll leave you, dear readers, with a question. What's America to YOU?
Just askin'.
He wasn't the first person to celebrate the United States as a great melting pot, nor was he the last, but it was the first time it was done on film with children of all backgrounds as part of the movie. It was the first time such a message was brought forth to so many people at once by so popular a person.
The title of the song was, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN. (You can 'google' it.)
It wasn't popular with everyone and he got a bit of criticism for it. Some even called him 'unamerican.'
The song's catch phrase, "...that's America to me." invites us to think about what this country means to each of us. For the people who came here from Europe in the 17th century America was a place to escape religious persecution, to experiment with new forms of government, to serve out a sentence imposed by their rulers back in Europe or to just plain have a chance to carve out a better life for themselves. These are only four of what are most likely many reasons people came to theses shores. They are reasons that endure to this day. The United States is still seen a place where people can have greater freedom and opportunity than is common in the world.
Not that we are perfect. Not that our history is without it's shameful attitudes and actions. Just that we are a nation where certain ideals are cherished, even if we don't always live up to them. At least we have set a standard that allows us to change and grow in understanding and through that deeper understanding act with greater justice and acceptance toward our fellows.
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN sends out the same invitation today. What does America symbolize to each of us? Is it place where the struggle for greater and greater civil liberties still continues as we evolve a deeper understanding of freedom? Is it a place where all are welcome to come and pursue happiness? A place where all opinions are welcome in the public forum? A place that cherishes life and liberty?
And what do each of these ideas mean to us, as individuals?
For me, it's a place where we can ask questions. A place where we can sleep at night without fear that our opinions will lead to a midnight arrest. A place where we are free to differ one from another on the most controversial of subjects. And these freedoms are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what America is.
So I'll leave you, dear readers, with a question. What's America to YOU?
Just askin'.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Helping Hands
One of the most admired people on the planet has said the most important question is, "How can I help?"
It's a beautiful question and opens the doors of the heart in both the person asked and the person asking. In today's troubled times we all know folks who could use a little help. Maybe we all could use a little help from those around us. Sometimes it's just an encouraging word that is needed or an acknowledgement of a some one's personal struggle. Sometimes it goes farther and someone needs help getting to the store to buy food or to the doctor to make an appointment when they're too sick to take themselves. Sometimes people need help finding work in today's economy.
Maybe we even need to take the question a step farther and ask if we can meet a specific need in some body's life. Maybe a single parent needs to be asked if they need help with the housework or the yard work. Maybe our neighbor, and in the highest sense we are all neighbors, is having a struggle we can see and we can ask if we can help with that in particular. We can, by taking this sort of action, really love our neighbor as we love our self.
One man I know even helped someone he knew disliked him move to a new house. When the other man asked him, "What are you doing here helping me? I always give you a hard time!" He replied, "You asked for help. So here I am. Everyone needs an extra set of hands when moving." It changed the way they related to one another. My friend said it probably did him more good to help the guy than anything else he could have done.
Helping others does more than just meet a need for another person, it meets a deep need in us. It connects us to each other in deep ways. It takes us out of our own reality and lets us step into that other person's world in a way we might never see otherwise. It can change our relationships with others, our relationship to the world and maybe our relationship with ourselves.
You might even say that it connects us to God in a way we might never otherwise experience. After all, if we are all God's Kids, we might all be God's hands in this world, too.
And isn't the answer to the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" "Yes!"
Just sayin'.
It's a beautiful question and opens the doors of the heart in both the person asked and the person asking. In today's troubled times we all know folks who could use a little help. Maybe we all could use a little help from those around us. Sometimes it's just an encouraging word that is needed or an acknowledgement of a some one's personal struggle. Sometimes it goes farther and someone needs help getting to the store to buy food or to the doctor to make an appointment when they're too sick to take themselves. Sometimes people need help finding work in today's economy.
Maybe we even need to take the question a step farther and ask if we can meet a specific need in some body's life. Maybe a single parent needs to be asked if they need help with the housework or the yard work. Maybe our neighbor, and in the highest sense we are all neighbors, is having a struggle we can see and we can ask if we can help with that in particular. We can, by taking this sort of action, really love our neighbor as we love our self.
One man I know even helped someone he knew disliked him move to a new house. When the other man asked him, "What are you doing here helping me? I always give you a hard time!" He replied, "You asked for help. So here I am. Everyone needs an extra set of hands when moving." It changed the way they related to one another. My friend said it probably did him more good to help the guy than anything else he could have done.
Helping others does more than just meet a need for another person, it meets a deep need in us. It connects us to each other in deep ways. It takes us out of our own reality and lets us step into that other person's world in a way we might never see otherwise. It can change our relationships with others, our relationship to the world and maybe our relationship with ourselves.
You might even say that it connects us to God in a way we might never otherwise experience. After all, if we are all God's Kids, we might all be God's hands in this world, too.
And isn't the answer to the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" "Yes!"
Just sayin'.
The Presidential Debates
Gov. Romney and President Obama have been debating on television and I have come to the following conclusion. Gov. Romney has better ties than our President.
Now a tie per se isn't something to base a vote on but upon reviewing several photos of our current President it would seem that his choice in ties is horrible. What is the use of being the President of the United States if you have to put up with a 'dresser' with such terrible taste in ties? I don't want the President's dresser to lose his job but this is a national embarrassment. How is our leader supposed to impress those sharp dressers in the Middle East, Europe and Asia with such boring and frankly ugly ties?
The good news is that there is a solution. If we as citizens band together and send President Obama some of our better ties maybe he'll start wearing them before the next debate. Can you spare a tie or two to help our President appear more powerful and Presidential? Personally it will be my pleasure to donate two of my vintage ties from my private collection. One is nicely striped in navy blue and maroon and the other is one of those pink 'power ties' from the Eighties with those cool little paisley things on it.
What can you contribute to this campaign to improve our national image at home and abroad? Regardless of who wins the election this November our current leader has several more weeks at the least representing our nation and it's never too late to start looking good. So let's pony up the ties, folks and help our nation look it's best.
Just sayin'.
Now a tie per se isn't something to base a vote on but upon reviewing several photos of our current President it would seem that his choice in ties is horrible. What is the use of being the President of the United States if you have to put up with a 'dresser' with such terrible taste in ties? I don't want the President's dresser to lose his job but this is a national embarrassment. How is our leader supposed to impress those sharp dressers in the Middle East, Europe and Asia with such boring and frankly ugly ties?
The good news is that there is a solution. If we as citizens band together and send President Obama some of our better ties maybe he'll start wearing them before the next debate. Can you spare a tie or two to help our President appear more powerful and Presidential? Personally it will be my pleasure to donate two of my vintage ties from my private collection. One is nicely striped in navy blue and maroon and the other is one of those pink 'power ties' from the Eighties with those cool little paisley things on it.
What can you contribute to this campaign to improve our national image at home and abroad? Regardless of who wins the election this November our current leader has several more weeks at the least representing our nation and it's never too late to start looking good. So let's pony up the ties, folks and help our nation look it's best.
Just sayin'.
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