The Religions of Humanity

I found an interesting quote this morning while searching for some "happiness" quotes to put on my Facebook page. This was written by Algernon Black:

"Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that people may grow in vision, stature and dedication."

"The religions of humanity should be a unifying force, for all the great religions reveal a basic unity in ethics. Whether it be Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism or Confucianism, all grow out of a sense of the sacredness of human life. This moral sensitivity to the sacredness of human personality -- the Commandments not to kill, not to hurt, not to put a stumbling block in the path of the blind, not to neglect the widow or the fatherless, not to exploit the servant or the worker -- all this can be found in the Bibles of humanity, in all the sacred books. All teach in substance: "Do unto others as you would that others should do unto you." There is, then, a basic unity among the great religions in the matter of ethics. True, there are religious philosophies which turn people away from the world, from the here and now, concentrating life-purposes on salvation for one's self or a mystic union with some supernatural reality. But most of the great religions agree on mercy, justice, love -- here on earth. And they agree that the great task is to move people from apathy, from an acceptance of the evils in life, to face the possibilities of the world, to make life sweet for one another instead of bitter. This is the unifying ethical task of all the religions -- yes, of all the philosophies of humankind. There is no need to force our own theological points of view upon one another or to insist that the moral life grows out of final, absolute authority."

I believe this pretty much says it all. Need I say more?

Entangled

At times I have gotten unintentionally entangled in the material things of life. Things that are not really important. Some things may be necessary, but too much suffering can be caused by the unnecessary. I don’t show much excitement in these experiences, because it is what is meant to be at this time in my life and does not need to be over exaggerated. It is what it is….for now. Nothing ever lasts forever. I will not last forever.

I live my life day by day. I always have. However, I have allowed outside influences to interfere with the simplicity that I seek. I am asking those outside influences to let me be. Give me my freedom and my space, without criticism or pressures. I will let you in, only when I choose to let you in. When I feel you come to me only with the peace that I seek each day. Do not come to me with opinions or advice. If I seek, I will find. If I do not seek, I am not looking.

If you come to me, come with love and peace in your heart. That is all I ask. At times, an unspoken word is more a gesture of love than words. I want to live a simple life. I don't want the doom and gloom that people create in this world, to be pushed or forced into mine. I am determined to accept what is. Can you?

I get a lot of emails from friends and family that are spiritual and/or inspiring. I really like getting them because sometimes they come at the most needed times. And, also because I love quotes or anything that gives me a positive perspective on life. I especially love them because they show me that I am loved. I always forward these emails back to my friends and family to show my love and appreciation for having them in my life. One Buddhist quote I really like is "Love and compassion are not a luxury, they are a necessity." This is so true. I read once that a baby that has never been touched will die. I can't imagine having never been touched or loved by someone. Although I have been through a lot of heartache in my life, as many of us have, I was still loved, no matter if it was for a month, a year or many years. "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have been loved at all". I am grateful for what I've had and what I have now, for who has been in my life and who is in my life now. Everyone crosses your path for a reason. Good or bad, it was for a reason. You are meant to learn something from everyone you meet, from every experience you have. What you take from that experience, or person, is your choice. But know that even from something bad, something good can come from it. It's all according to how you look at it. From the worst of experiences I've had, I have learned and grown. I admit it took me some time to realize HOW to see the good, but I met someone in my past that was able to open my eyes. Once my eyes were open, my whole life changed. Strangely enough, it was an extremely difficult experience to go through. It's hard at times to look in the mirror and admit to what is looking back at you. But if you truly want to change your life, you have to be willing to change and to admit to things you may not like. Acceptance is the biggest step. Accept what you cannot change, and change what you have the ability to change. I didn't like the way I saw life. I wanted to change that and I did. I listened to what others had to say. I read a lot of books. It took me many years to actually say that I loved myself. And through that I realized that you cannot love someone truly and wholeheartedly, unless you love yourself first. Life has so much to teach us. All we need to do is stop, look at the world from within, and listen to what it's telling us. My heart goes out to those whose eyes have not been opened yet. Especially because I was that person for so long and never realized what I was missing. I hope that, through my life's journey, I can open the eyes of others and help them to see what life truly has to offer. Peace, love, hope and happiness. It's ALWAYS right in front of you. Sometimes you have to look hard, but it's there. Remember that the sun is always shining...even behind the clouds. For those of you who are in my life now, know that I am grateful that you are. For every phone call, every text, every email, every hug, every smile, for every laugh or even tear.....I am grateful. Thank you for being you and thank you for being a part of me. =)

Nope. I haven't been around lately. Obviously, not for quite a while. Sometimes I get lost in this world. Lost in the chaos of everyday life. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I'm having a house built and, Oh what at chore! I never realized until I was 100 percent into the experience, that it would take so much of my attention......and drain me of so much energy! I'm a pretty simple person. Building a house is NOT a simple experience. There are lots of decisions to make, lots of trips to the local hardware store, lots of budgeting and lots of expense! I never expected to go over budget. I guess that was either wishful thinking on my part or just plain ignorance. But it's taken a lot of effort on my part to push past the overwhelming stress (my own fault....hey, I'm human!) to look at the bright side of this whole experience and see that, when it's all said and done, and even though I'll be penniless, I'll have a brand new home of my own. I am blessed. I know this. Especially with what's going on in our country today. I have a job, a roof over my head (well, my mom's roof until my house is done, but a roof nonetheless), food to fill my belly and clothes to keep me warm. I have the best son a mother could ask for, family that loves me and has helped me through the worst of times, and more friends than I've ever had or could ever wish for. I am a bit upset with myself for letting so much get to me. I enjoy peace and, if you've read my past posts, try to focus on inspiration and positive thinking. I guess since the house building is coming to an end very soon, and I recently realized that some things are totally out of my control, I've come back to my senses again, or the true me (who I choose to and work hard to be). My eyes have again focused on the beauty of the skies in the morning and evening and the calmness that nature has to offer. It's there every day. There should really be no effort to see it, but it's amazing how life has a way of diverting your attention away from it. So, I am officially apologizing to myself, my family and any other person that had been affected by what I would call "losing my SELF". That said, I will be back again.....

"Invest your energy in the positive present moment"..........lesson learned =)

Why Prejudice?

I can't seem to understand the hatred and disgust for individuality, personal choice, and freedom, or for the reason to make color a factor in judging who we are. We are all composed of the same tissue, blood and bone. All created the same way, in the same form. How can there be prejudice? Hating another based on these factors, in reality, is hating oneself.

Inspiring Skies

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. I know, no excuses. Well, I have some anyway. Too much stuff going on! Good stuff, so so stuff. Just STUFF!


I'm happy to say the best part of "stuff" was visiting with my son for a week! It's been three months. Three verrrrrrry long months! I love my boy. He is definitely the best accomplishment in my life. Love you bug! (nickname....one of many) I'll be seeing him again for Christmas so I'm really looking forward to that. He is my happiness!


I can't say I haven't had inspiration lately, but I can say I'm guilty of letting all that "stuff" get in the way of my inspiration. Well, this fall that we're having in North Carolina feels like winter and recently I have been noticing the sunrise and sunsets more. The colors of the leaves are not what they were in October. Most foliage is dead and fallen to the ground, but the colors of the sky in the mornings and evenings! Wow!! Breathtaking! I think I enjoy the colors of nature more than any piece of art. More for the fact that it's not only "natural" but it always changes. There has never been and will never be another sunrise or sunset like the ones we see each and every day. Fleeting, but beautiful.





I was taking pictures like crazy for a while, then let my camera sit on the shelf for much too long. I could kick myself because I have missed taking pictures of some very awesome skies. Just this morning, as the sun rose, it looked like it was exploding through the clouds. If you're a believer in God, you would have thought for sure he was coming this morning. The sun's rays shone so bright and strong through the clouds! It was almost too bright to look at. I did take a picture because, after missing out on so many purple and pink skies in the mornings and hot pink, yellow and orange skies in the evenings, I remembered to charge my camera this morning....and got some good pics! People probably think I'm crazy because I'll pull my truck over anywhere I can just to take a pic.






The following is something I wrote about a month ago. As you can probably tell, I'm a nature girl. Hope you like. Have another great day! I'll be back.... I promise! :)






I wake up every morning in Gods world.... creative thinking, feelings of freedom, peace, serenity, beauty and nature fill my being. The quiet morning is absorbed by every cell in my body. As I climb out of bed, the unavoidable reality of man's world kicks in....with a light bulb, hot water, soap and "oh crap, back to work" crowds Gods world, trying with all its might to take over and control everything. The power struggle between Gods world and Mans world begins again, as it does every day. Its Nature vs. The Concrete Jungle, Peace vs. Chaos. Welcome to my world! Luckily for me, Gods World will always prevail!

Pay It Forward Every Day!

Last night on the way home from work, I was thinking about what I would write as my next blog. Someone on the radio mentioned "Pay It Forward". At that moment I realized it was the second time in the day I had heard that phrase. To me that's a sign! I believe in signs, so I knew that's what I needed to write about.


If you haven't heard of "Pay It Forward", please, please, please rent the movie! I had never heard of it either until I happened to catch the movie on TV about two years ago. Great movie, great idea! The next day I made a point to do at least three good deeds for people, AND I emailed ALL of my friends and family and encouraged them to do the same.


Ok, if you still don't know what "Pay It Forward" means, here it is. You do a good deed for three people and in return you request they do a good deed for three others to keep the cycle going.


There is actually a "Pay It Forward" Day that was proclaimed last year on April 4th, 2008. I'm assuming it will be repeated each year.


But I say, why wait for one day a year? Why not try EVERY DAY to do at least one good deed for someone? It can be as simple as sharing a smile. Do you realize how contagious a smile is? Try it out one day. When I'm out and about I make a point to look people in the eye and smile. The percentage of people that smile back is probably 10 to 1. And I believe it's scientifically proven that a smile can actually boost your mood instantly!


You can Google the phrase and find out more information about this, but here are some more ideas for helping others:


* Pay a toll for the car behind you
* Buy lunch for the person behind you
* Buy food vouchers for a homeless person
* Go grocery shopping for an elderly neighbor
* Give your child extra snacks to share at lunch with a hungry child
* Take extra clothes, blankets, coats to homeless shelters
* Donate your time to a homeless shelter or nursing home
* Open a door for someone else
* Wash someone's car
* Pick up a piece of trash and throw it in a trash bin.
(Good deed for the community as a whole)
* Clean up an empty lot in your neighborhood
* Mow someone's lawn for free
*And since the holidays are here, donate to the local food bank,
and/or buy a gift for a needy child and donate it to Toys for Tots
or the Angel Tree that is set up inside many stores

During Christmas a couple years ago, my family and I collected money from family, friends and coworkers to donate to a place called The Childrens Village in Orlando, FL. It is a home for foster children who have aged out of the foster system and no longer receive funds from the government to help with their support. These children were still in high school so they were unable to support themselves unless they quit school and went to work! Fortunately, due to the support of an organization called Intervention Services and help from many in the community, these children were given a home to stay in for free while they finished school and could continue to stay after graduation until they were independent enough to support themselves.


With the money we collected ($1000!!!) we bought gift cards from Walmart so they could buy school supplies, clothes and food. Grocery store gift cards were donated, as well as a Honey Baked Ham. It was very moving to visit these children on Christmas Eve and present these donations to them personally. The children were very grateful and a few weeks later, all who donated received "thank you" cards from all the children. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to give to others in need!

There are so many things that you can do to help others! It's not only rewarding and fun, but it shows others that they are loved and there really are compassionate people that exist in this world!


So what are you waiting for? Why not start now? Call your mom or dad, best friend, husband, wife or child and tell them you love them. That's a great way to start!


Keep the cycle going and someday it may come back to you!


Today's quote: "Nothing is too much trouble for love"
Desmond Tutu in "Believe: The Words and Inspirations of Desmond Tutu"