.png "English"){kind=small}
Here is a post I just did on one of my other blogs. I hope that you will all go over and take a look.
Peace
--Free
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
Thursday, August 01, 2019
If I Had A Hammer
One of my black clouds started descending on me last night after watching the news. There is a good reason that I almost never watch, listen to, or try to think about the news anymore and the person reason is one word, five letters. (It's Trump, okay. It's Trump.). However, I somehow clicked onto a newscast. Big mistake. After about 5 minutes, I was so depressed that I felt like crying. Seriously. I had to switch away from that news channel before I sunk any deeper into a funk.
So I was just sitting in front of the TV, vegetating in my misery, and switching from show to show when I ran across one about magic. Teens and spell-casting. I switched again and caught another show, this one about medieval teens and spell-casting.
Now, I am a Christian so I don't dabble with any kind of sorcery - not dark or light or shades in between. However, I did start to wonder what kind of magic or superpower I would choose if I was into that kind of thing. Or what if I just found a genie in a bottle?
I'm pretty sure that, even in a make-believe world, asking for more wishes would be dirty pool. So with just 3 wishes, I'd need to be careful. Of course, I could wish to feed the world's hungry or to cure diseases. But I think there are more important things to worry about.
My first wish would be to make sure that positive things were more popular than negative things.
I know that there's a lot of social ugliness going on these days. Thanks to that loose cannon in the White House and all his butt-sucking minions, we seem to be living in some kind of parallel universe where all the wrong guys won all the big wars. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. I don't know, but my point is that reports of the deaths of civility and decency are greatly exaggerated.
There are more kind people than we hear about. There are more examples of selflessness and neighborly concern than we will ever hear about. Nice is not news. Just like fully clothed and ordinary-looking people don't usually have million-plus Instagram followers or Facebook Likes.
But nice is out there. Kindness is out there. There are people who check on their neighbors (while we only hear stories of the person who was lying dead in their home for weeks). There are parents who still raise their children to be decent adults without turning them into self-entitled brats who would murder someone in their sleep. There are poor and disadvantaged people who aren't selling drugs or doing drivebys or addicted to opioids and being idiotically racist. There are wealthy people quietly using their money and position for positive and selfless reasons.
There are men and women still looking for a solid relationship in which they can be faithful and loving, lifetime partners. There are men and women who don't fit every negative sexual and social stereotype we put on them. There are young people who have goals and dreams that they are willing to work hard for. There are people who have made really bad mistakes who are trying to work past those mistakes and do better.
Yeah, so that would be my first wish. To have people focus on the positive. I just want to live in a world where all the good things about people are more celebrated. It might kill off the genre of reality television but, well that's another positive. And, with everyone focused on the uplifting and positive things in the world, I'm sure we could take care of hunger and diseases.
I do have some ideas for my second wish but I will hold that for another post. I'll just save the third wish for an emergency. You never know, we might need that one down the road.
Peace
--Free
So I was just sitting in front of the TV, vegetating in my misery, and switching from show to show when I ran across one about magic. Teens and spell-casting. I switched again and caught another show, this one about medieval teens and spell-casting.
 |
| source |
Now, I am a Christian so I don't dabble with any kind of sorcery - not dark or light or shades in between. However, I did start to wonder what kind of magic or superpower I would choose if I was into that kind of thing. Or what if I just found a genie in a bottle?
I'm pretty sure that, even in a make-believe world, asking for more wishes would be dirty pool. So with just 3 wishes, I'd need to be careful. Of course, I could wish to feed the world's hungry or to cure diseases. But I think there are more important things to worry about.
My first wish would be to make sure that positive things were more popular than negative things.
I know that there's a lot of social ugliness going on these days. Thanks to that loose cannon in the White House and all his butt-sucking minions, we seem to be living in some kind of parallel universe where all the wrong guys won all the big wars. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. I don't know, but my point is that reports of the deaths of civility and decency are greatly exaggerated.
There are more kind people than we hear about. There are more examples of selflessness and neighborly concern than we will ever hear about. Nice is not news. Just like fully clothed and ordinary-looking people don't usually have million-plus Instagram followers or Facebook Likes.
But nice is out there. Kindness is out there. There are people who check on their neighbors (while we only hear stories of the person who was lying dead in their home for weeks). There are parents who still raise their children to be decent adults without turning them into self-entitled brats who would murder someone in their sleep. There are poor and disadvantaged people who aren't selling drugs or doing drivebys or addicted to opioids and being idiotically racist. There are wealthy people quietly using their money and position for positive and selfless reasons.
There are men and women still looking for a solid relationship in which they can be faithful and loving, lifetime partners. There are men and women who don't fit every negative sexual and social stereotype we put on them. There are young people who have goals and dreams that they are willing to work hard for. There are people who have made really bad mistakes who are trying to work past those mistakes and do better.
Yeah, so that would be my first wish. To have people focus on the positive. I just want to live in a world where all the good things about people are more celebrated. It might kill off the genre of reality television but, well that's another positive. And, with everyone focused on the uplifting and positive things in the world, I'm sure we could take care of hunger and diseases.
I do have some ideas for my second wish but I will hold that for another post. I'll just save the third wish for an emergency. You never know, we might need that one down the road.
Peace
--Free
Monday, August 10, 2015
The Devil is STILL a Liar
Six years ago, I wrote a semi-humorous post about a saying I grew up hearing in church: "The Devil is a liar!"
This is the not so humorous sequel about what the Devil will and won't tell us.
He'll tell you that all money is good money because any money will spend.
He won't tell you that you can't spend money as well if you're dead or locked up.
He'll tell you that money can buy everything you need to look good, eat well, live high and mighty..
He won't tell you that the money that bought your clothes can't buy self-respect; that the money that lets you travel the world can't tell you where to find peace of mind. The money that makes people want to be around you can't buy you one true friend.
He'll tell you that we should try everything at least once. Life is, after all, for living to the fullest.
He won't remind you about the person who OD'd the first time they tried drugs, or got pregnant the first time they had sex with a stranger. He won't tell you that you can go to jail the first time you do something illegal. He won't tell you that the very first time you do something stupid you could end up with a life - your's or someone else's - changed for the worst. He won't tell you that living life to the fullest doesn't have to mean living life to the stupidest and most reckless. He won't tell you that you could end up brain dead, all dead or just wishing you were dead.
He'll tell you, when you are at your peak, that you can do it all, have it all and be it all.
He won't show you how to cope when you hit your lowest point and can't do, have or be anything that you once could.
He will tell you, when you are at your lowest, that no one loves you, needs you, or wants you.
He won't tell you about that you have mattered, or can one day matter, to someone. He won't tell you about a God who loves you. He won't remind you that you aren't the only one who has felt this way and lived past the feelings and the struggle.
He will tell you that because some people who are doing stupid, ignorant, illegal or immoral stuff and seem to be happy, unconcerned, or getting away with it, that you should too.
He won't' remind you that there is a reason some things are considered stupid, illegal or immoral. He doesn't want you to think about the people doing those things who aren't happy. unconcerned or getting away with anything.
He will tell you, especially if you are very young or very vulnerable, that YOLO (You Only Live Once).
He won't tell you that how you live at any age matters and has consequences. He won't remind you that you only live this life once.
He will tell you that you should want to be like the celebrities you see in the media. That you should be living the life they are living.
He won't tell you that, just like the rest of us, those people get sad, sick, worried, heartbroken and, eventually, dead. He won't remind you that feelings - good or bad - are the same whether a person is wearing designer clothes or handed down rags. He won't' remind you that some things cost more than money and that some people have paid for what they have with something more precious than gold.
He will tell you that you'd be happier "if only". He wants you to think that you'd be happier if only you were coupled up, or single; childless or a parent; black instead of white; rich instead of poor; this instead of that....
He won't tell you that there are people just like you who are happy, content, successful and fulfilled. He won't tell you that everything he is saying to you, he is saying to someone else.
Most of all, he will tell you that where you are now in life - whether in success or failure, joy or sorrow, wealth or poverty - is you will remain.
He doesn't want you to know that everything he tells you is a lie. He doesn't want you to have hope or true happiness. He wants to hold us hostage to our present so that we don't think past it. He will hold our past over our heads so that we live in regret of mistakes or past glory. Most of all, he doesn't want to think that there is any more to life than what we have gained or lost.
Peace
--Free
This is the not so humorous sequel about what the Devil will and won't tell us.
He'll tell you that all money is good money because any money will spend.
He won't tell you that you can't spend money as well if you're dead or locked up.
He'll tell you that money can buy everything you need to look good, eat well, live high and mighty..
He won't tell you that the money that bought your clothes can't buy self-respect; that the money that lets you travel the world can't tell you where to find peace of mind. The money that makes people want to be around you can't buy you one true friend.
He'll tell you that we should try everything at least once. Life is, after all, for living to the fullest.
He won't remind you about the person who OD'd the first time they tried drugs, or got pregnant the first time they had sex with a stranger. He won't tell you that you can go to jail the first time you do something illegal. He won't tell you that the very first time you do something stupid you could end up with a life - your's or someone else's - changed for the worst. He won't tell you that living life to the fullest doesn't have to mean living life to the stupidest and most reckless. He won't tell you that you could end up brain dead, all dead or just wishing you were dead.
He'll tell you, when you are at your peak, that you can do it all, have it all and be it all.
He won't show you how to cope when you hit your lowest point and can't do, have or be anything that you once could.
He will tell you, when you are at your lowest, that no one loves you, needs you, or wants you.
He won't tell you about that you have mattered, or can one day matter, to someone. He won't tell you about a God who loves you. He won't remind you that you aren't the only one who has felt this way and lived past the feelings and the struggle.
He will tell you that because some people who are doing stupid, ignorant, illegal or immoral stuff and seem to be happy, unconcerned, or getting away with it, that you should too.
He won't' remind you that there is a reason some things are considered stupid, illegal or immoral. He doesn't want you to think about the people doing those things who aren't happy. unconcerned or getting away with anything.
He will tell you, especially if you are very young or very vulnerable, that YOLO (You Only Live Once).
He won't tell you that how you live at any age matters and has consequences. He won't remind you that you only live this life once.
He will tell you that you should want to be like the celebrities you see in the media. That you should be living the life they are living.
He won't tell you that, just like the rest of us, those people get sad, sick, worried, heartbroken and, eventually, dead. He won't remind you that feelings - good or bad - are the same whether a person is wearing designer clothes or handed down rags. He won't' remind you that some things cost more than money and that some people have paid for what they have with something more precious than gold.
He will tell you that you'd be happier "if only". He wants you to think that you'd be happier if only you were coupled up, or single; childless or a parent; black instead of white; rich instead of poor; this instead of that....
He won't tell you that there are people just like you who are happy, content, successful and fulfilled. He won't tell you that everything he is saying to you, he is saying to someone else.
Most of all, he will tell you that where you are now in life - whether in success or failure, joy or sorrow, wealth or poverty - is you will remain.
He doesn't want you to know that everything he tells you is a lie. He doesn't want you to have hope or true happiness. He wants to hold us hostage to our present so that we don't think past it. He will hold our past over our heads so that we live in regret of mistakes or past glory. Most of all, he doesn't want to think that there is any more to life than what we have gained or lost.
Peace
--Free
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Pack and Go Life
I just had to stop what I was doing and write this post.
While apartment hunting, I began de-cluttering my life. I didn't realize how much useless "stuff" I've been packing around the past few years.
When I owned a home, I had closets and pantries and storage space to spare. And I did everything I could to keep them filled up to over-flowing. After selling the first house and moving to Arizona into another (smaller) home, I still had too much stuff. Stuff I didn't wear, use or eat. Just stuff to fill spaces.
When I left Arizona and moved into my first apartment ever, I didn't have much with me. It was nice. It would have been heavenly if the rest of my life had been as de-cluttered and orderly.
Finally, when I returned to Alaska and back into a family home, I began my accumulation of, yep, more Stuff. Clothes and knick-knacks and trinkets and decorations. I carried a lot of it with me into my current situation.
Now that I am looking at moving into smaller accommodations, I'm getting rid of all that is unnecessary. I expected to feel some sense of loss or emptiness but, I'm shocked at how renewed I feel. There is a feeling of freedom and lightness that I don't think I have ever known.
When everything that has led up to my current move began, I felt frustrated and angry. Lord knows, I don't need the stress of a move in the middle of the chaos that is my life at the moment. I had a week or so of just being pissed off and anxious.
Then, like at every other needful time in my life, God stepped in. In the middle of what I like to call "my personal storm," He sent a blessing of peace and calmness. People who don't believe in a personal Savior will be shaking their heads and tsk-tsking this, but I know what's true.
Today, while I was packing and sorting things, and making runs to drop things off at Salvation Army, my anxieties ebbed and faded. In my heart, I felt so much quiet and stillness that I had to just stop and say, "Thank You."
As for the future, I am planning to practice what I call a "pack and go life." It applies to objects, people and possessions - both spiritual and material:
While apartment hunting, I began de-cluttering my life. I didn't realize how much useless "stuff" I've been packing around the past few years.
When I owned a home, I had closets and pantries and storage space to spare. And I did everything I could to keep them filled up to over-flowing. After selling the first house and moving to Arizona into another (smaller) home, I still had too much stuff. Stuff I didn't wear, use or eat. Just stuff to fill spaces.
When I left Arizona and moved into my first apartment ever, I didn't have much with me. It was nice. It would have been heavenly if the rest of my life had been as de-cluttered and orderly.
Finally, when I returned to Alaska and back into a family home, I began my accumulation of, yep, more Stuff. Clothes and knick-knacks and trinkets and decorations. I carried a lot of it with me into my current situation.
Now that I am looking at moving into smaller accommodations, I'm getting rid of all that is unnecessary. I expected to feel some sense of loss or emptiness but, I'm shocked at how renewed I feel. There is a feeling of freedom and lightness that I don't think I have ever known.
When everything that has led up to my current move began, I felt frustrated and angry. Lord knows, I don't need the stress of a move in the middle of the chaos that is my life at the moment. I had a week or so of just being pissed off and anxious.
Then, like at every other needful time in my life, God stepped in. In the middle of what I like to call "my personal storm," He sent a blessing of peace and calmness. People who don't believe in a personal Savior will be shaking their heads and tsk-tsking this, but I know what's true.
Today, while I was packing and sorting things, and making runs to drop things off at Salvation Army, my anxieties ebbed and faded. In my heart, I felt so much quiet and stillness that I had to just stop and say, "Thank You."
As for the future, I am planning to practice what I call a "pack and go life." It applies to objects, people and possessions - both spiritual and material:
- What I don't need, I won't have.
- What doesn't feed and nourish me, I don't need.
- What doesn't simplify or ease the way for me, I will avoid.
- What doesn't bless or inspire me can't take up space.
Growing up, I was taught that everything happens for its own reasons - even if we can't see or understand or agree with those reasons. In times of trouble, I always doubt that, but it's always proved true in the end for me.
I hope that anyone else who is dealing with their own struggles right now will find this kind of calmness and peacefulness. Those are the only things we should ever try owning in this life.
Peace
--Free
Thursday, May 01, 2014
Stress Can Make You Crazy
My mother used to warn me about getting "stressed out". Stress, she'd say, will either kill you or make you crazy. I don't know if my stress will kill me, but it sure is making me crazy.
When I get stressed, I do goofy things.
A few days ago, I was on my way to have coffee with a close friend I hadn't seen for a while. We have a favorite meeting spot called The House of Bread. (If you live near one, go there. It's great - unless you're on a diet. You can gain weight just from inhaling the delicious smells.) It's a straight shot from where I live to The House of Bread. I can get there in three minutes, if I hit the one stoplight just right. Or if I actually get to the stoplight. I didn't make it that day because my brain went on autopilot and I ended up sitting in the parking lot at Walmart, trying to figure out what I needed from the store. I was actually sitting in my car, trying to remember whether or not I'd made a list and forgotten it at the apartment.
That was funny, but scary. I sat there at Walmart for about five minutes before my friend called to check on me. When I told her what happened, she drove to Walmart and we ended up getting coffee at the McDonald's inside. Happy ending to that weirdness: I was able to pick up some groceries while we were there. Downer to that weirdness: my friend has been calling me every few hours to make sure I'm not sitting somewhere in a parking lot when I'm supposed to be somewhere else.
It's just stress, right?
My friend advised me that the best way to deal with stress is to acknowledge it. Until she reminded me, I had not thought of the reasons I'm struggling to cope right now:
The months of April, May, June and July don't hold a lot of great memories for me. My mother passed in April (2001); my father was born in the month of May and died in July (of 1991); June is the month when I walked away from the best man I have ever loved; my oldest brother died in July of last year; July of 2011 is when I was hit was sarcoidosis. This April, my sister was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
So, I am trying to acknowledge my stressors, but even doing that is adding stress. The goofy, crazy weirdness continues.
While I'm normally an easily distracted person, this emotional chaos is not helping. Writing is usually an escape for me, but I can't concentrate long enough to get any writing done. After last night, I'm considering taking a break from doing anything that requires my full attention.
When I write, I don't like to wander far from my laptop in my bedroom because I'll get sidetracked. Normally, "getting sidetracked" means I will end up chatting on the phone with someone or taking a walk to clear my head. Little things like that only take me off course for about half and hour. Last night, in the middle of a writing session, I took a quick bathroom break. I ended up rearranging the towels and soaps, then I realized I needed to clean out the makeup drawer. I don't like throwing things away so I put the makeup in a bag to giveaway to friends. And why stop at makeup? I have plenty of clothes and accessories I don't wear or use anymore....
When I finished, I had a gallon-sized freezer bags of cosmetics and medium-sized packing box of clothing to tote to my car. Apparently, that was thirsty work because, before I knew it, I was in the kitchen and blending up a some lemon, ginger and mango smoothies.
Life doesn't play fair and, every now and then, I need a reminder that I am no match for what it's going to throw at me. Okay, I am reminded, but I am also reassured:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
--Free
When I get stressed, I do goofy things.
A few days ago, I was on my way to have coffee with a close friend I hadn't seen for a while. We have a favorite meeting spot called The House of Bread. (If you live near one, go there. It's great - unless you're on a diet. You can gain weight just from inhaling the delicious smells.) It's a straight shot from where I live to The House of Bread. I can get there in three minutes, if I hit the one stoplight just right. Or if I actually get to the stoplight. I didn't make it that day because my brain went on autopilot and I ended up sitting in the parking lot at Walmart, trying to figure out what I needed from the store. I was actually sitting in my car, trying to remember whether or not I'd made a list and forgotten it at the apartment.
That was funny, but scary. I sat there at Walmart for about five minutes before my friend called to check on me. When I told her what happened, she drove to Walmart and we ended up getting coffee at the McDonald's inside. Happy ending to that weirdness: I was able to pick up some groceries while we were there. Downer to that weirdness: my friend has been calling me every few hours to make sure I'm not sitting somewhere in a parking lot when I'm supposed to be somewhere else.
It's just stress, right?
My friend advised me that the best way to deal with stress is to acknowledge it. Until she reminded me, I had not thought of the reasons I'm struggling to cope right now:
The months of April, May, June and July don't hold a lot of great memories for me. My mother passed in April (2001); my father was born in the month of May and died in July (of 1991); June is the month when I walked away from the best man I have ever loved; my oldest brother died in July of last year; July of 2011 is when I was hit was sarcoidosis. This April, my sister was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
So, I am trying to acknowledge my stressors, but even doing that is adding stress. The goofy, crazy weirdness continues.
While I'm normally an easily distracted person, this emotional chaos is not helping. Writing is usually an escape for me, but I can't concentrate long enough to get any writing done. After last night, I'm considering taking a break from doing anything that requires my full attention.
When I write, I don't like to wander far from my laptop in my bedroom because I'll get sidetracked. Normally, "getting sidetracked" means I will end up chatting on the phone with someone or taking a walk to clear my head. Little things like that only take me off course for about half and hour. Last night, in the middle of a writing session, I took a quick bathroom break. I ended up rearranging the towels and soaps, then I realized I needed to clean out the makeup drawer. I don't like throwing things away so I put the makeup in a bag to giveaway to friends. And why stop at makeup? I have plenty of clothes and accessories I don't wear or use anymore....
When I finished, I had a gallon-sized freezer bags of cosmetics and medium-sized packing box of clothing to tote to my car. Apparently, that was thirsty work because, before I knew it, I was in the kitchen and blending up a some lemon, ginger and mango smoothies.
Life doesn't play fair and, every now and then, I need a reminder that I am no match for what it's going to throw at me. Okay, I am reminded, but I am also reassured:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
--Free
 |
| Psalm 23 |
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Chasing After vs Resting In
I am struck by the idea that so many of us are busy chasing after things: money, relationships, possessions, etc. I am guilty of the same. We all have dreams and hopes that we pursue. What I want is to learn to stop more often and just rest in the space where I am. To rest in the peace I have been given.
When does a person today get a chance to just be whatever or whoever they are?
About five years ago, a long-time acquaintance of mine died. She was young - just over 50 - and I assumed she had been in an accident. When someone told me that she was a suicide, I was stunned. As far as I was aware, she didn't have anything to be so desperately unhappy about. She had a job she seemed to like, she had kids and plenty of friends. People who knew her better than I said that she had been fighting bouts of restlessness and depression. She had tried buying a bigger house, a nicer car, getting a complete physical makeover - like she was trying to become someone different. They remarked that she had seemed so discontented.
In the grocery store not long ago, I got chatting with a fellow shopper (because we Alaskans will stop and talk to almost anyone, stranger or not) after she commented on my handbag. This was a really nice-looking woman. Everything about her showed that she put a lot of thought into her appearance. Her clothes and accessories, her great haircut and perfectly applied makeup - it was all so casually glamorous. She smelled great and had what seemed like a real sweet personality. She was one of those people who, when you've talked with them for just a few minutes, you think you'd want to be friends with them. The only thing that seemed "off" were her eyes. Her eyes, even when she was smiling, seemed sad and tired. I've seen eyes like that in my mirror when I've been depressed or grieving or heartbroken.
I'm ashamed and sorry to say that I didn't connect further with the lady in the store. I couldn't find a way to ask if she was okay. I hope that, wherever she is, she is happy.
My point, if I truly have one, is that we are, some of us, walking around in a cloak of despair and sadness. That cloak might look good, cost a lot of money or take a lot of upkeep, but it's still only covering who and what we really are.
I am so glad for my faith in God. When I realize that I can chase. but won't ever catch up to, the things that the world tells me are worthy, I still have the love of God. In the middle of every fear and worry and doubt, I have the promise of a love that is stronger than all that. It's what I rest in.
From the minute we wake up to the minute we sleep, we are pounded with messages telling us to be richer, busier, better-looking, more driven. And we run, run, run to do that, or to catch up to those who seem to be doing that better. Then, when we are all run out, we don't know why we are so worn and tired.
I guess I just want to say that we all need to take time to stop and be thankful and hopeful and joyful for what we have. Stop being so sad and broken over what we don't have. I learned a long time ago that, without the peace I have inside me, I won't enjoy anything the world has to give.
Hopefully, my sarc didn't ruin this post. If nothing else, I hope you got the message that we need to not only find peace for ourselves, but we need to share it.
Peace
--Free
When does a person today get a chance to just be whatever or whoever they are?
About five years ago, a long-time acquaintance of mine died. She was young - just over 50 - and I assumed she had been in an accident. When someone told me that she was a suicide, I was stunned. As far as I was aware, she didn't have anything to be so desperately unhappy about. She had a job she seemed to like, she had kids and plenty of friends. People who knew her better than I said that she had been fighting bouts of restlessness and depression. She had tried buying a bigger house, a nicer car, getting a complete physical makeover - like she was trying to become someone different. They remarked that she had seemed so discontented.
In the grocery store not long ago, I got chatting with a fellow shopper (because we Alaskans will stop and talk to almost anyone, stranger or not) after she commented on my handbag. This was a really nice-looking woman. Everything about her showed that she put a lot of thought into her appearance. Her clothes and accessories, her great haircut and perfectly applied makeup - it was all so casually glamorous. She smelled great and had what seemed like a real sweet personality. She was one of those people who, when you've talked with them for just a few minutes, you think you'd want to be friends with them. The only thing that seemed "off" were her eyes. Her eyes, even when she was smiling, seemed sad and tired. I've seen eyes like that in my mirror when I've been depressed or grieving or heartbroken.
I'm ashamed and sorry to say that I didn't connect further with the lady in the store. I couldn't find a way to ask if she was okay. I hope that, wherever she is, she is happy.
My point, if I truly have one, is that we are, some of us, walking around in a cloak of despair and sadness. That cloak might look good, cost a lot of money or take a lot of upkeep, but it's still only covering who and what we really are.
I am so glad for my faith in God. When I realize that I can chase. but won't ever catch up to, the things that the world tells me are worthy, I still have the love of God. In the middle of every fear and worry and doubt, I have the promise of a love that is stronger than all that. It's what I rest in.
From the minute we wake up to the minute we sleep, we are pounded with messages telling us to be richer, busier, better-looking, more driven. And we run, run, run to do that, or to catch up to those who seem to be doing that better. Then, when we are all run out, we don't know why we are so worn and tired.
I guess I just want to say that we all need to take time to stop and be thankful and hopeful and joyful for what we have. Stop being so sad and broken over what we don't have. I learned a long time ago that, without the peace I have inside me, I won't enjoy anything the world has to give.
Hopefully, my sarc didn't ruin this post. If nothing else, I hope you got the message that we need to not only find peace for ourselves, but we need to share it.
Peace
--Free
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UPDATE (latest) The company did reach out to me. They not only solved the issue but was unaware of the customer service problem I was h... -
I was taking my sis around a few days ago to run errands. We hit up the Target, Walmart, a hair shop, etc. It was a nice day and we just wan...
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Vaping, like smoking, is for adults only. If you are NOT of legal age , this post has nothing for you! If you are a non-smoker, please don&...