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.