Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
- Mark Twain
Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself,'Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.'
- Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)
I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: - 'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.
- Mark Twain
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.
- George Burns
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
- Victor Borge
By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
- Socrates
I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
- Groucho Marx
My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.
- Jimmy Durante
I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
- Zsa Gabor
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
- Alex Levine
My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
- Rodney Dangerfield
Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
- Spike Milligan
Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP.
- Joe Namath
I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.
- Bob Hope
I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.
- W. C. Fields
We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
- Will Rogers
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
Maybe it's true that life begins at fifty .. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out.
- Phyllis Diller
By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he's too old to go anywhere.
- Billy Crystal
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Life - Death
John Hefferlin, DD.
To all thinking people there comes a time of deep questioning, when they ask themselves. “What is life?” and ‘What is death?” Before these questions can be answered satisfactorily, however, the most basic question of all arises: “What is God?” To this, no man can possibly give a complete answer.
We have progressed so far beyond the old anthropomorphic concept of a god with human attributes and characteristics, that many people who formerly considered themselves to be atheists or agnostics are now accepting the more modem and scientific approach to God as Infinite Mind, infinite Intelligence. Infinite Energy and Substance. Infinite Wisdom and Love. The magnitude of God is so tremendous as to be beyond the scope c f man’s imagination’ God is so vast, so enormous. Everything which exists or ever did exist or ever will exist is within Go,. from the most inconceivably tiny particle to the outermost galaxies within the infinity of space. I cannot possibly tell you what God is, but if you will allow me, I can share with you what God means to me
Try, if you will, to imagine the most beautiful and perfect tiny baby you’ve ever seen— only a few days before birth, still in the womb. Imagine that you can communicate with this little one and you ask the question: ‘What is your world like?” Listen carefully and you hear: ‘My world is a wonderful world. Here I am snug, cozy, and warm. I’m surrounded with love and my every need is provided for, even before the need exists I hope I can stay here forever.”
Now you ask another question: “Where is your mother? What does she look like?” You can almost imagine the little facial expression changing to one of quandary. Listen again and you hear: “My mother? I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is a mother? Do I have one?” You smile to yourself as you realize this little one cannot possibly know anything about her mother until long after she’s born and she learns of the parent-child relationship. And yet, she will never be any closer to her mother than she Is right now, since she lives, moves, and has her being within her own mother.
This is very much like my concept of God. We live, move and have our being in God; yet we know very little more about God man does the unborn baby know about its own mother.
Then, although living in a world of comparative darkness, where the horizon is limited to the smooth moist walls and surfaces of the womb, the unborn baby is suddenly filled with but one extremely urgent and miraculous desire: to reach out for broader horizons. Thus, the time for birth arrives and the child is born.
Where does the baby go when it’s born? It doesn’t go anywhere, since it is already here. And yet a whole new universe has come into being, where the horizon is ever- expanding. What is birth? Beyond the biological and physical experience of being ejected from the womb, birth is actually the transition of consciousness as the baby passes from its seemingly one-dimensional world in the womb, out into this world of three dimensions.
Following birth, this little one grows through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and finally reaches maturity, taking its place in the world of adults. Then, eventually, death occurs; it may be the result of accident, illness, or old age, but death does come.
It is now that we face two of the most significant questions in our entire existence.
“What is life?” Life is the manifestation of the vital forces of God, individualized in man as an individual entity, because God is All-in-All. We live, move and have our being in God. That which we are is some part of God, individualized in us as us. We live, therefore, that God may be more adequately and abundantly expressed.
“What is death?” Death is the passing beyond this three-dimensional world into other worlds of varying dimensions—into an ever-expanding Universe with ever-broadening horizons. We die, but we live! Life, as we know it in this three-dimensional world, will continue just so long as the body retains sufficient channels through which the vital energy of God can flow. When enough of these channels cease to function, the body dies. It is like discarding old clothes. In I Corinthians 15:40, the Bible says: “There are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.”
What happens when the individual passes through death? Where does one go? Just as the unborn baby must pass through the process of birth so that Life shall continue, the individual passes through death for exactly the same reason, to experience greater life! Where do we go when we die? We don’t go anywhere since we’re already there. Like the process of birth, when the baby passes from its “one-dimensional” world within the womb and moves out into this world of three dimensions, death is the passing from this three-dimensional world into that world of many more dimensions. Our consciousness continues to expand in direct relation to the ever-expanding Universe, with its ever- broadening horizons, as it unfolds before us.
Just as the unborn baby cannot possibly perceive that its world is part of and within the three-dimensional world, we apparently cannot and do not perceive that our world is part of, and also within, other worlds of innumerable dimensions beyond this one.
To all thinking people there comes a time of deep questioning, when they ask themselves. “What is life?” and ‘What is death?” Before these questions can be answered satisfactorily, however, the most basic question of all arises: “What is God?” To this, no man can possibly give a complete answer.
We have progressed so far beyond the old anthropomorphic concept of a god with human attributes and characteristics, that many people who formerly considered themselves to be atheists or agnostics are now accepting the more modem and scientific approach to God as Infinite Mind, infinite Intelligence. Infinite Energy and Substance. Infinite Wisdom and Love. The magnitude of God is so tremendous as to be beyond the scope c f man’s imagination’ God is so vast, so enormous. Everything which exists or ever did exist or ever will exist is within Go,. from the most inconceivably tiny particle to the outermost galaxies within the infinity of space. I cannot possibly tell you what God is, but if you will allow me, I can share with you what God means to me
Try, if you will, to imagine the most beautiful and perfect tiny baby you’ve ever seen— only a few days before birth, still in the womb. Imagine that you can communicate with this little one and you ask the question: ‘What is your world like?” Listen carefully and you hear: ‘My world is a wonderful world. Here I am snug, cozy, and warm. I’m surrounded with love and my every need is provided for, even before the need exists I hope I can stay here forever.”
Now you ask another question: “Where is your mother? What does she look like?” You can almost imagine the little facial expression changing to one of quandary. Listen again and you hear: “My mother? I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is a mother? Do I have one?” You smile to yourself as you realize this little one cannot possibly know anything about her mother until long after she’s born and she learns of the parent-child relationship. And yet, she will never be any closer to her mother than she Is right now, since she lives, moves, and has her being within her own mother.
This is very much like my concept of God. We live, move and have our being in God; yet we know very little more about God man does the unborn baby know about its own mother.
Then, although living in a world of comparative darkness, where the horizon is limited to the smooth moist walls and surfaces of the womb, the unborn baby is suddenly filled with but one extremely urgent and miraculous desire: to reach out for broader horizons. Thus, the time for birth arrives and the child is born.
Where does the baby go when it’s born? It doesn’t go anywhere, since it is already here. And yet a whole new universe has come into being, where the horizon is ever- expanding. What is birth? Beyond the biological and physical experience of being ejected from the womb, birth is actually the transition of consciousness as the baby passes from its seemingly one-dimensional world in the womb, out into this world of three dimensions.
Following birth, this little one grows through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and finally reaches maturity, taking its place in the world of adults. Then, eventually, death occurs; it may be the result of accident, illness, or old age, but death does come.
It is now that we face two of the most significant questions in our entire existence.
“What is life?” Life is the manifestation of the vital forces of God, individualized in man as an individual entity, because God is All-in-All. We live, move and have our being in God. That which we are is some part of God, individualized in us as us. We live, therefore, that God may be more adequately and abundantly expressed.
“What is death?” Death is the passing beyond this three-dimensional world into other worlds of varying dimensions—into an ever-expanding Universe with ever-broadening horizons. We die, but we live! Life, as we know it in this three-dimensional world, will continue just so long as the body retains sufficient channels through which the vital energy of God can flow. When enough of these channels cease to function, the body dies. It is like discarding old clothes. In I Corinthians 15:40, the Bible says: “There are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.”
What happens when the individual passes through death? Where does one go? Just as the unborn baby must pass through the process of birth so that Life shall continue, the individual passes through death for exactly the same reason, to experience greater life! Where do we go when we die? We don’t go anywhere since we’re already there. Like the process of birth, when the baby passes from its “one-dimensional” world within the womb and moves out into this world of three dimensions, death is the passing from this three-dimensional world into that world of many more dimensions. Our consciousness continues to expand in direct relation to the ever-expanding Universe, with its ever- broadening horizons, as it unfolds before us.
Just as the unborn baby cannot possibly perceive that its world is part of and within the three-dimensional world, we apparently cannot and do not perceive that our world is part of, and also within, other worlds of innumerable dimensions beyond this one.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
a moment of silence
Cowboy's step-sister passed away last night.
and after we got the call, the world seem to stop. Not that we were shocked, for it was expected, she had stage 4 ovarian cancer.
but there seemed to be a silence that was going on, we were just watching TV, but Cowboy seemed lost in thought while he was watching TV, he didn't laugh in the usual places.
He wasn't close, and he feels no need to go over there, I think there is a reluctance to go over there, because even in the easy times, that part of the family finds enough drama in the most mundane things, such as... "isn't this best pie you have ever eaten, I can't tell you the recipe because it is secret, but isn't this the best pie, I'm such a good cook, don't you think so?"
You watch TV and you see that after someones dies, the whole town drops by and is supportive. but that isn't real life, is it?
Death, whether you are directly effected or not brings up such issues, when you hear about it. What to say or do, how to go about it, sometimes issues that relate to our own experiences with death, or even issues about our own fears.
What might be considered weird, is that Cowboy is taking a class, and this week the project was to write your own eulogy.
So Monday night, Cowboy dressed up like he was going to a memorial, went to class and read his self-written eulogy to his class, it got me thinking, what would I want written about myself when my time is done?
and after we got the call, the world seem to stop. Not that we were shocked, for it was expected, she had stage 4 ovarian cancer.
but there seemed to be a silence that was going on, we were just watching TV, but Cowboy seemed lost in thought while he was watching TV, he didn't laugh in the usual places.
He wasn't close, and he feels no need to go over there, I think there is a reluctance to go over there, because even in the easy times, that part of the family finds enough drama in the most mundane things, such as... "isn't this best pie you have ever eaten, I can't tell you the recipe because it is secret, but isn't this the best pie, I'm such a good cook, don't you think so?"
You watch TV and you see that after someones dies, the whole town drops by and is supportive. but that isn't real life, is it?
Death, whether you are directly effected or not brings up such issues, when you hear about it. What to say or do, how to go about it, sometimes issues that relate to our own experiences with death, or even issues about our own fears.
What might be considered weird, is that Cowboy is taking a class, and this week the project was to write your own eulogy.
So Monday night, Cowboy dressed up like he was going to a memorial, went to class and read his self-written eulogy to his class, it got me thinking, what would I want written about myself when my time is done?
Friday, March 20, 2009
its a little bit strange
My life, that is...
and what is going on in it and around it.
Long complicated stories that revolve around taxes and what is meant by all the various tax laws, and how they are to be interpreted. I have spent so much time at the library researching tax law that I almost feel like I should try to pass the bar.
~
Cowboy's step-sister has stage 4 ovarian cancer, and is not expected to last more than two weeks, he was never close to her, but her illness and expected death affects his dad, with whom he is very close.
It is also keeping the rest of the family busy, and Cowboy has been asked to make the arrangements at our church, for a service - our church is the same church that his step sister attends.
I feel like some how we should be more involved, but at the same time, life is dramatic enough without borrowing more. There other complicated issues that revolve around that part of the family that makes it more dramatic than it needs to be. This drama happens when ever that side of the family gets together and really has nothing to do with the events, but the events are making the drama harder to take. So he is attempting to be there for the concrete needs without having to go through the other drama.
~
Today Cowboy & I celebrate our seven year anniversary, we chose this date, the date of our second date, because I broke my leg roller-blading, and though Cowboy expected to finally get some, what he ended up with instead was an invalid in his living room chair for four days before I was strong enough to drive home.
So since we had the receipts of that day (from him going to buy crutches) we were able to pinpoint this day.
My life would be very different if Cowboy had not come into my life. and when anyone starts to complain about being alone, and that they cant find anyone to love, I ask them, "Have you opened yourself up to love, and let someone in your life, do you have too many expectations about what they should look like or what job they need to have?"
Sure we have differences of opinions, but we really try to own that our individual issues are our issues and to not take it out on the other person, either in drama or silence.
One of the things that I love about Cowboy is his laugh, it warms my heart when I hear him laughing even if I have no idea what he is laughing about.
and what is going on in it and around it.
Long complicated stories that revolve around taxes and what is meant by all the various tax laws, and how they are to be interpreted. I have spent so much time at the library researching tax law that I almost feel like I should try to pass the bar.
~
Cowboy's step-sister has stage 4 ovarian cancer, and is not expected to last more than two weeks, he was never close to her, but her illness and expected death affects his dad, with whom he is very close.
It is also keeping the rest of the family busy, and Cowboy has been asked to make the arrangements at our church, for a service - our church is the same church that his step sister attends.
I feel like some how we should be more involved, but at the same time, life is dramatic enough without borrowing more. There other complicated issues that revolve around that part of the family that makes it more dramatic than it needs to be. This drama happens when ever that side of the family gets together and really has nothing to do with the events, but the events are making the drama harder to take. So he is attempting to be there for the concrete needs without having to go through the other drama.
~
Today Cowboy & I celebrate our seven year anniversary, we chose this date, the date of our second date, because I broke my leg roller-blading, and though Cowboy expected to finally get some, what he ended up with instead was an invalid in his living room chair for four days before I was strong enough to drive home.
So since we had the receipts of that day (from him going to buy crutches) we were able to pinpoint this day.
My life would be very different if Cowboy had not come into my life. and when anyone starts to complain about being alone, and that they cant find anyone to love, I ask them, "Have you opened yourself up to love, and let someone in your life, do you have too many expectations about what they should look like or what job they need to have?"
Sure we have differences of opinions, but we really try to own that our individual issues are our issues and to not take it out on the other person, either in drama or silence.
One of the things that I love about Cowboy is his laugh, it warms my heart when I hear him laughing even if I have no idea what he is laughing about.
Monday, March 9, 2009
me legs are a little bit tired
I went for a 45 mile bike ride on the Mountain Bike, only 3,ooo feet of climbing, I know for you hard core bikers that ain't much at all. But I was on a mountain bike, and you were probably on your climbing road bike.
By the time I was done, I sure was wishing that I had rode it instead.
But I decided that I need to give myself a work out, so I rode the Mountain bike, it was tough and rough, and maybe I think I need to do it more often, ride the Mtn bike that is. That way I can do short little rides, and still get in the workout on my legs that I need.
Where did we go you ask? Well we rode from Sebastapol to Occidental then over Coleman Valley Rode to the Coast, then north, turning east at highway 116, to Ride into Duncan mills for lunch, boy was I hungry... What no tuna fish, well okay Turkey & cheese then.
Then we rode back up the road from Duncan Mills to Occidental
45 miles - it took all day - well to 5pm
By the time I was done, I sure was wishing that I had rode it instead.
But I decided that I need to give myself a work out, so I rode the Mountain bike, it was tough and rough, and maybe I think I need to do it more often, ride the Mtn bike that is. That way I can do short little rides, and still get in the workout on my legs that I need.
Where did we go you ask? Well we rode from Sebastapol to Occidental then over Coleman Valley Rode to the Coast, then north, turning east at highway 116, to Ride into Duncan mills for lunch, boy was I hungry... What no tuna fish, well okay Turkey & cheese then.
Then we rode back up the road from Duncan Mills to Occidental
45 miles - it took all day - well to 5pm
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
upsetting me
so these days we have universal access to the internet and everyone feels free to comment on everything.
so everyone does... which gives you...
people who don't "read", who don't try to understand a different point of view, people who just making comments, comments that don't really address the issue, it becomes mostly just a place for haters of all types to spew their garbage...
and some of it is real garbage...
of course the real damage is what it does to your own mental state of mind. you start to believe that everyone hates you.
and along the way, people forget the real facts, people forget that most people are just one accident away from being out on the streets, they think that because they have a job, and they have health insurance, that they are covered.
my boss thinks that he is safe, but he forgets that he drives a company truck, and that the insurance, gas, and the truck are all company paid, and if the company went away so would those things.
yes maybe his house is paid for, but if he had no company insurance, just one heart attack, the house would be gone.
it sort of makes me laugh, but it makes me cry at the same time, when people talk about, how it is "class warfare", because we are talking about raising the taxes on the rich, and they talk about how the rich pay 40% of all the taxes and neglect to mention that they make 60% of all the wealth. it seems to me if you make 60% of all the wealth then you should pay 60% of the taxes (i'm not sure of the figures)
for example, I pay taxes, Social Security and medicare on all of my wages, but my boss makes 1.5 times than I do, at some point he stops paying taxes on the money above a certain threshold.
he might pay more dollar wise, but percentage wise, he pays less that I do on the total portion, he might make the case that he pays more income tax than I do, but he gets to write off more than i do, so he actually pays less, and he does not have the expense of a car or insurance or gas, or clothes, because the company pays for all of his.
they think that all the others folks, the ones with no job, no money, are the cause of their own plight, and maybe some of them are, but sometimes the "rules" get in the way.
I once had an employee that was caught in the trap that if she made too much money, the state would take away her state sponsored child care, but how to you get from point A to C without going through point B? She was not trained enough for me to pay her more, yet if she worked long enough for me to train her, and I gave her incremental raises, she would lose the child care and then not be able to stay and work until she got trained enough so she could afford it.
it sort of makes me laugh, but it makes me cry at the same time, when people talk about, how we are becoming a socialist state, just because Obama wants to fix the broken health system.
every issue is complicated, but calling each other names and putting walls does not help.
my boss, i'm sure you figured out by now is republican, and whenever we start to get into some argument at work, I tell him he has valid points and we all need to sit down at a table and work it out, for some reason that shuts him up...
i think sometimes he just wants to hang on to the drama, and i think that is what the commenters are doing as well
so everyone does... which gives you...
people who don't "read", who don't try to understand a different point of view, people who just making comments, comments that don't really address the issue, it becomes mostly just a place for haters of all types to spew their garbage...
and some of it is real garbage...
of course the real damage is what it does to your own mental state of mind. you start to believe that everyone hates you.
and along the way, people forget the real facts, people forget that most people are just one accident away from being out on the streets, they think that because they have a job, and they have health insurance, that they are covered.
my boss thinks that he is safe, but he forgets that he drives a company truck, and that the insurance, gas, and the truck are all company paid, and if the company went away so would those things.
yes maybe his house is paid for, but if he had no company insurance, just one heart attack, the house would be gone.
it sort of makes me laugh, but it makes me cry at the same time, when people talk about, how it is "class warfare", because we are talking about raising the taxes on the rich, and they talk about how the rich pay 40% of all the taxes and neglect to mention that they make 60% of all the wealth. it seems to me if you make 60% of all the wealth then you should pay 60% of the taxes (i'm not sure of the figures)
for example, I pay taxes, Social Security and medicare on all of my wages, but my boss makes 1.5 times than I do, at some point he stops paying taxes on the money above a certain threshold.
he might pay more dollar wise, but percentage wise, he pays less that I do on the total portion, he might make the case that he pays more income tax than I do, but he gets to write off more than i do, so he actually pays less, and he does not have the expense of a car or insurance or gas, or clothes, because the company pays for all of his.
they think that all the others folks, the ones with no job, no money, are the cause of their own plight, and maybe some of them are, but sometimes the "rules" get in the way.
I once had an employee that was caught in the trap that if she made too much money, the state would take away her state sponsored child care, but how to you get from point A to C without going through point B? She was not trained enough for me to pay her more, yet if she worked long enough for me to train her, and I gave her incremental raises, she would lose the child care and then not be able to stay and work until she got trained enough so she could afford it.
it sort of makes me laugh, but it makes me cry at the same time, when people talk about, how we are becoming a socialist state, just because Obama wants to fix the broken health system.
every issue is complicated, but calling each other names and putting walls does not help.
my boss, i'm sure you figured out by now is republican, and whenever we start to get into some argument at work, I tell him he has valid points and we all need to sit down at a table and work it out, for some reason that shuts him up...
i think sometimes he just wants to hang on to the drama, and i think that is what the commenters are doing as well
Ten Years
My mother died ten years ago this month. and after all this time, it does not hurt as much, it did however take a while for it to get to this point.
At the five year point, when another friend's mom died (in March), my un-faced grief somehow built up to a point where I had to see a counselor, and get some pills to help me relax.
I had buried my grief inside and never expressed how much my mom had meant to me, but also I never knew how my mom had treated some of my brothers and sisters. and that each of us, no matter how close we are or think that we think the same, have different perspectives.
Well, I am reminded of this because, over the last few days, I have had friends, some close, some casual, lose one of their parents.
My heart goes out to them. and I wish there was someway to ease their hearts.
However there is no way to ease someones heart when they lose a parent, all you can do is be there, let them vent if they need to, maybe share some things that you went through (without doing a one-up-man-ship type of thing) and if you knew the parents, share one of your fondest memories.
Maybe get them to share one of their best memories.
At the five year point, when another friend's mom died (in March), my un-faced grief somehow built up to a point where I had to see a counselor, and get some pills to help me relax.
I had buried my grief inside and never expressed how much my mom had meant to me, but also I never knew how my mom had treated some of my brothers and sisters. and that each of us, no matter how close we are or think that we think the same, have different perspectives.
Well, I am reminded of this because, over the last few days, I have had friends, some close, some casual, lose one of their parents.
My heart goes out to them. and I wish there was someway to ease their hearts.
However there is no way to ease someones heart when they lose a parent, all you can do is be there, let them vent if they need to, maybe share some things that you went through (without doing a one-up-man-ship type of thing) and if you knew the parents, share one of your fondest memories.
Maybe get them to share one of their best memories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)