A Repeat Performance for Father's Day

Good Evening All.  I don't usually post reruns, but I think what I posted last year for Fathers' Day says it all:

I know that I appreciate my dad immensely.  He'd be pretty humble about it, but much of what I post in the blog is an outgrowth of the life lessons he taught me.

But even more than my appreciation of him, is my appreciation of Him:  G-D the Father.

Now this isn't based on any religion in particular.  It's just an understanding that there is a supernatural being who has a completely rational expectation of us to recognize and fulfill our personal responsibilities.  Our Mother Lady Karma is the One who handles things we can't control, executes judgment against those who wrong us, and pardons us for our errors.  G-D the Father, however, has a very different role to play.

What He does is remind us of what we CAN control, and that we'd better handle it to the best of our abilities.  His message is, "I'm not going to do your job for you."  Should we get started and keep moving, He is very likely to provide assistance, and quite possibly rewards, along the way.  But if we don't work for it, He won't provide it.

Our Father G-D doesn't want us to give up trying after only a few attempts.  He wants us to get our hands dirty and fail again and again until there has to be some sort of success, great or small.  He wants us to rise above critics and nay-sayers, disable our triggers when they are not needed, and to be as disciplined as possible in our thoughts and actions.

He knows that we'll make mistakes.  Honestly, He expects them to happen.  And He also expects us to keep our emotional reactions to a minimum because they'll only get in the way.  Our Mother can kiss our skinned egos to make them better.  But Our Father wants us to heal them ourselves, because we can!

That doesn't mean He's mean or unforgiving.  If He were, He'd be convincing us all to jump off bridges and end it all.  Instead, He wants us to live, and live right.  He wants us to understand that every new day is another chance to get it right, and not to eternally punish ourselves for when we get it wrong.  He wants us to own The Four Pillars, and own them hard!

So, Friends & Neighbors, today I hope you told your fathers how much you appreciate them.  And every day going forward, I suggest we show appreciation to Our Father G-D by making ourselves even better.

DISCLAIMER:  The above message is not an endorsement or a rejection of any organized religion in existence.

RESPECT ALL

BEFRIEND FEW

LOVE ONE

HATE NONE.

I EXIST.

I MATTER.

I BELONG. 

I DESERVE.

EMOTIONAL MATURITY

Don't Be Afraid -- You Might Actually Win!

Last week I posted about the holidays.  Not to be partial to my own faith and stripe, but I'd like to go back to the historical description of the Chanukah story.  Pretty interesting tale, considering our friends in the Greek Orthodox community have never ONCE claimed that the story offended their ethnic heritage in any way.  One would think that during Chanukah, none of us would be able to set foot in Astoria, Queens, much less order any baklava.  Instead, it appears that they've sort of shrugged it off, and left us to enjoy our latkes in peace!  :)

But the reason I discuss it is because the Maccabees were not the favorites to win that war.  Not by a long shot.  Most of the Jewish population was loving the new Hellenstic ways, and wanted to be absorbed in them.  They had a much smaller force than the Greeks, and most likely lacked the same training that their soldiers had.

But the Maccabees were not afraid.  They knew only that they wanted to stay true to their faith and not permit further desecration of the Temple.  They might lose, but they also might actually win.

So should it be with us.  Do you have a shot to make a big change?  To win a big case?  To earn a big payday?  But is there a possibility it might not happen in spite of your effort?  Do it anyway!  If you've prepared for a possible loss, then there's no real cost involved.  But what if you WIN? 

It does happen, believe it or not.  It's just better if you believe.