Muckety-Muck

"Achievements on the golf course are not what matters, decency and honesty are what matter."

-Tiger Woods

They say we are a celebrity obessed culture. I'd say every culture in human history has been celebrity obessed. Every point and time in history has had their Tiger Woods, or Michael Jordon, or movie star or some celebrity archetype.  At a superficial level we want to believe that with all the fame and fortune their lives are free from worry and full of joy.

Very few of us have the recipe for a perfect life and even for the lucky few that do fame and fortune have little or nothing to do with it. The Tiger Woods of ditch digging, grocery bagging, burger flipping or toilet cleaning has just a good of a chance of being happy as any celebrity past or present. OK, but what about the money? The money has to make you happy, right? I would argue not and it's the simple things that matter most.

So what is the answer you ask?  I'll share with you what i think, but keep in mind the answers are simple but the doing is the difficult part.

1. Money.   No matter what you make, save some, give some away and spend the rest.
2. Time.   Get up early or stay up late but not both. Find time for others but  most important make time for yourself.
3. Work.   Do an honest days work, look people in the eye and smile. Never steal, not even money. Never lie, ever.
4. Leisure.   Do what you want, when you can and do something productive.  Don't worry if you happen to choose doing nothing.
5. Attitude.   Never fear, find the good in all things, don't talk about others, don't procrastinate.
6. Purpose.   Find your purpose in life, stay true to it and pursue it with vigor. 

Home for the Holidays

"Oh, There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays"

-Robert Allen & Al Stillman's 1954 Christmas Classic

Just as so many things stay the same, then so much changes over the years when it comes to celebrating Christmas with your family.  We all grow older and the circumstances of our lives change from year to year.  Some almost imperceptible others more dramatically and it is hard to appreciate the changes when you're in the present moment.  Then there are the traditions that fade away, those that stand the test of time and the new ones that emerge.  Those traditions remind us of our bonds with those still present and of those that have moved on as well as those that will carry on.  We care about those traditions because they give reason for those we care about to come back to us this one special time of the year.  They are also a testament to the fact that we were loved and that the love we give will be able to go on in those we care about.  We hope that when we are gone the traditions we formed will allow our loved ones to have more special Christmases to come.

You hear the phrase "I wish it could be Christmas all year long".  Well, why shouldn't it should be!  Why should we wait to do all the things the Holidays prompt us to do?  Send a card, give a gift, spend time together and talk of fond memories.  As it stands, we live too fast, think far too much of ourselves and not nearly enough of others all year long.  Then we try to cram all the 'reason for the season' into one compressed point of time and space. 

So what's the answer you ask?  So simple, slow down, take time to reflect, pray and meditate.  Live by a set of principles that make space in your day for just that.  Then why not live by the Christmas principles?  They work that one time of the year.  No where does it say you can't celebrate a little holiday every day.  Right?  Want some help?  OK here are some 'to-do's' for you:

• Pick a time of the day every day to pray, meditate or reflect in a positive way on the past, present and future.
• Send a gift at a date of your choosing to a person that won't expect it.
• Send a 'Thinking of You' card to someone during some point of the year.  (write specifically why you are thinking of them)
• Find a day to invite in family and friends for a good meal and to share stories.  Make it an annual tradition.

Good luck and may our God bless you.

OMG!

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?"

-Friedrich Nietzsche



As Nietzsche said "God is dead" and in a sense we certainly have attempted to kill the true sense of him.  But you know, they always say there no such thing as bad publicity.  Anytime we're talking about God that's a good thing.  The harder we try to kill God, in a philosophical sense, the more he, she, it lives.  It seems that all through history we have made the search for God a never ending game of "Where's Waldo" replete with all the requisite death and destruction.

I have the answer and so do you to the question of God but you may just not have realized it yet.  Take it from me, I've been through years of searching in churches, in books, places and have asked untold numbers of people if they've seen my God.  They all said they have but when I describe him it always turns out to be someone else's God.  Many were insistent that they knew my God and had some compelling descriptions.  The thing I really didn't appreciate were all the 'wild goose chases' people sent me on.  Now I do appreciate them because it helped me realize my God was right here all the time.   I no longer search and I don't ascribe to any one religious affiliation nor do I take any one person's word as a singular truth.  I spend my time with my God getting to know him/her better in my own way often with the help of others.

I'd recommend the same for you.

They Wish You a Merry Christmas

In life, my spirit never rose beyond the limits of our money-changing holes! Now I am doomed to wander without rest or peace, incessant torture and remorse!

-Jacob Marley, A Christmas Carol

Why is it that the Holiday season 'wigs me out'? On the one hand it may be all the stuff we feel compelled to buy to give as gifts and the ensuing insanity of it all.  However, please keep in mind I don't blame nor hold any one person accountable for the madness.  Actually, people are really not doing anything out of character.  It's really just a more visible and unified behavior brought on by and culminating in all that we call Christmas.  This Christmas spectacle is certainly not to be confused with anthing to actually do with Christ.  Each one of us for the most part behaves and reacts to Christmas much the same way we live and react to our normal daily lives. Some act in accordance with seeking acceptance and love, others just the blind thrill of shopping, and many are simply responding to the pressure of conformity imposed upon us by mass media and the ever present retail juggernauts.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could combine Christmas and Thanksgiving. Christgiving? No gifts, just a family gathering of loved ones and a good meal, conversation and football. Oh sure we'll eat too much and stress over being lumped together with family members we rarely ever see but on this one occassion.  But all the consumerism would be curtailed or stopped for that matter.  I understand many of you lobby continually to get the Christ out of the picture, so OK, then just keep Thanksgiving since the name works.  Then all the Whos in Whoville can still recognize Christ or Buddha or Mohammad or the Festivus Pole for the reason for their particular season.  But what about the retailers and their needs you ask?  Oh my, they'd go under without the holiday gift giving extravaganza sales boost, right? Maybe some would but others would adjust and we, not to mention the world, would be better off for the less of it. I personally didn't get anything for Christmas I couldn't live without or even need for that matter. Oh sure, I appreciate the thought that went into it but that's all I really need is just someone to think of me.  Isn't that a novel thought?

Maybe you agree or maybe you disagree or are somewhere in the middle. The big question is what will you do about it? Do something small and work your way up. Even changing your thoughts can make an impact. Take a moment to stop and think about your actions or the actions of others and what they may mean to someone near or far.  But above all don't stop loving yourself and those around you.

What's the most memorable gift you ever got for Christmas? How old were you and do you still have it? I remember a few things. I got a black and white 13" television when I was about 14 years old. I also remembering getting a digital wrist watch at 9 or 10 years old. Both of those things were super cool but I'm sad to say I have neither of them. I used to have a great Aunt Erma that would always give me something she had on hand as a impromptu gift. I believe the politically correct name is 'regifting'. For example, I remember her giving me a jar of Tang instant breakfast drink once. That was certainly memorable to say the least.


Merry Christmas and may your God Bless.

The Pleasure Principle

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

— Leo Tolstoy

I was reading a biography of Mahatma Gandhi.  Gandhi lived a very modest lifestyle and that's to put it mildly.  He was a vegetarian but as important followed Brahmacharya which advocated among other things 'controlling the palate'.  Avoiding spices, sugar and eating as much food in it's natural raw state as possible.  As Gandhi said "until we conquer our palate's desire we can't control other aspects of our mind's desires." 

Our western world is not about controlling anything.  We're encouraged to thrill seek, indulge, have it all.  The very fabric of our lives is built on our nation's consumeristic economy and we're fed a steady diet of fear and consumption.  All that consumption and fear is really just replacing or at least attempting to fill an unfillable void within ourselves.  How many material things and negative messages from an endless stream of direct TV channels can we put into that hole in our soul?  The answer, well there is no answer.  We keep stuffing and cramming and pushing all the materialistic, pleasure providing, fear evoking items in day after day.  And to what end?  Well, most of us are overweight, unhappy, and financially strapped but yet we continue to blindly throw caution into the abyss.

I propose another way of life.  Less is more.  I won't even attempt to tell you anything different than many a great mind have and continue to tell us today.  We are over consuming and I believe we all understand that on some level but the problem is we don't know how or if we did, even have the ability to moderate, much less stop.  Then the challenge isn't stopping or even moderating but redirecting ourselves entirely.  Please understand that there are external forces that will, at least for a time, temporarily slow us down or stop us momentarily.  But there is no external force that will bring permanent change.  It has to begin from within.  Some of us, unfortunately will never get off of the hamster wheel.  They will only live and not learn.  Sadly, that has been the way of world from time immemorial.

How do we save ourselves and those around us?  How do we ourselves change and help others change?  I propsoe we live quietly, love openly, care greatly.  By doing so you will see yourself change and also help those that are helpless to change as well.  Living by quiet example gives you time to think and observe. It strenghtens your meaning for living and helps you to define who and what you stand for.  Only then can you enjoy profound and lasting change for the better.

Aside from or within a given religion, I would encourage you to develop a prayer to meditate on and a set of principles to live by.  Question what you believe, what do you not like about yourself, the world or what you see in others.  Write out how you would like to live out your life.  Keep a journal or a blog and visit them frequently to collect your thoughts.  Good luck and let me know if I can help.