On lives worthwhile

This video speaks for itself. Thanks for Clair Lewis for letting me know about it.

What do you think? On the message of Avatar

I saw the movie “Avatar” tonight and was blown away by it.  It was simply fantastic.  It had something for everyone, and came complete with lots of messages.  I want to ask about one.

I thought one thing the movie was trying to say was real clear:

• Technology as a guiding value leads to violence.

If science and getting things done become the primary value in your life then violence is inevitable.  Getting things done becomes more important than anything else.  There are no bad ideas.  Just simply those you havent figured out how to do.  And when people (or as was the case in the movie “the Navi…) you just move them out of the way whatever that means.  Progress justifies anything done in its service.

The second point of the movie was as important though:

• Technology in its own service is in the end self destructive.  We dont know when or how to stop and in the end sow the seeds of our own destruction.

What do you think?  Do you buy that as an argument?  If you have seen the movie did you get the same message or where there others that seemed more important?

It is a great movie.  Do not let what you think of any message get in the way of seeing it.  You will be glad you did.

A second look for Christmas: Make the good people kinder

Someone once told me there were only two kinds of churches– those that were good and those that were kind.  I hope that is not true, but I think maybe the same kind of thing might be said about people.

Many people live their life as a referundum on their goodness.  They know the right things, belong to the right clubs, talk to the right people, care about the right things, think the right things, and have the right things.  Their life is about fitting into the right places and showing that they are the right kind of people.  

The central question of their life is in or out.  They do what they can to mark themselves as “in” and their primary concern with you is rather or not you are “in”or “out.”  Their focus is on the 2 “j’s”– judgement and justification.

For the kind their primary question is up or down.  What do you need and what can they do to help?  You do not need to prove your value to them nor is their primary concern to prove their value to you.  They know that life is about what we do with each other and not what circle we stand in.  They may disagree strongly with you about the value of ideas, but they will have no disagreement about the value of people.  They do not care for you because of your label, but often in spite of it.  There is a line in the Bible somewhere that talks about Jesus interaction with the sick and disabled.  It says simply, “Jesus saw…..”  The kind try to see us in spite of what we call ourselves or each other.

I read somewhere about a prayer a little girl said once.  “Dear God please help the bad people to be better…. and God please help the good people to be kinder…”  

Well spoken.

Second look: “I believe” – wisdom worth thinking about

The piece below was sent to me by email by a friend who forwarded it from someone else.  There is no author mentioned, but I thought it was fantastic and wanted to share it with as many people as possible.

Birth Certificate shows that we were born
A Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we lived!
Have a seat . . . Relax . . . And read this slowly.

I Believe…
That just because two people argue,
it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue,
it doesn’t mean they do love each other.

I Believe…
That we don’t have to change friends if
we understand that friends change.

I Believe…
That no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt
you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe…
That true friendship continues to grow, even over
the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I Believe…
That you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe…
That it’s taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I Believ e…
That you should always leave loved ones with
loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe…
That you can keep going long after you think you can’t.

I Believe…
That we are responsible for what
we do,  no matter how we feel.

I Believe…
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe…
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe…
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe…
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I Believe…
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you
when you’re down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe…
That sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe…
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had
and what you ‘ve learned from them and less to do
with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I Believe…
That it isn’t always enough, to be forgiven by others.
sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe…
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your
grief.

I Believe…
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are,
but, we are responsible for who we become.

I Bel ieve…
That you shouldn’t be so eager to find
out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe…
Two people can look at the exact same
thing and see something totally different.

I Believe…
That your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don’t even know you.

I Believe…
That even when you think you have no more to give, when
a friend cries out to you – you will find the strength to help.

I Believe…
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe…
That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I Believe…
That you should send this to all of the people that you believe in, I just
did.

‘The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything

Second look: On humility

We live in a land and time that teaches us to prize the size of our egos.  Life we learn is about getting and having and protecting ourselves from thieves.  For many people each moment is a referendum on their character or status.  When you listen to people in the newspaper– especially if you read the sports page– you find people whose idea of a good day is to talk about themselves.  And then talk about themselves some more.  In many places the idea that the world does not revolve around me is almost heretical.

Even in this Christmas season we see it.  For many people the question is not about giving, but about having the ability to give.  They go from store to store with their tally sheets trying to make sure that they buy as much as a “person like them” should buy.  In January the credit card bills come in and people throw their hands up and wonder “how did that happen.”  They promise never to do it again.  But when the next celebration of consumption comes up they go blindly out and pull out all stops to show that they indeed to measure up.

Humility is not a popular topic.  Many people see it as an effort to get people to look down on themselves and as being fundamentally dishonest.  They do see reality as a battle for the biggest mirror and the most shining lights and see absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

Jesus was a creature of utmost humility.  Even in a time when we celebrate his birth we find it difficult to celebrate his example.

I read a quote the other day which I thought really captured the whole argument and I want to share it with you.

“Humility is not about thinking less of yourself.  It is about thinking about yourself less often.”

Merry Christmas.

What do you think? Can anyone know what is really right?

Is it possible to know right from wrong or is it a simple matter of opinion?  Is  right and wrong a relative thing or are there things that are simply wrong?  What do you base your opinion on?

How does this issue affect the way we live as a culture?

ON what you are willing to do

When we see people do things that seem so stupid and so self destructive we invariably ask, “Why?’  But there is another question, just as important, and one that tells us more about the hold that  behavior has on them.  “What are you willing to do to keep on doing this?”

When the answer to that question is “almost anything”  that will be a behavior very hard, if not impossible, to change.

Consider the following story:

I used to work in a program as a therapist for adolescent sexual perpetrators.  I had a kid I worked with who was about 14 years old.  In group one day he was talking about his offense.  He has forced a young boy (about 6) have oral sex with him multiple times.  He talked honestly without excuse about what he had done.  He then talked about how well he was doing in treatment.  He was trying hard to convince me that he would not relapse.  I think he had already convinced himself.  He asked me what I thought.

I asked him one question.  “If the little boy had screamed what would you have done?”  He didnt hesitate.  “I would have killed him.”

I shook my head and asked him, “I dont know how you stop doing something that you are willing to kill another person in order to keep doing it…..”  He didnt know what to say.  I didnt either.

But think about it.  All of us have self destructive habits or know someone who does.  What are you willing to do to keep them?  Are you willing to lie, to manipulate, to cheat, to hurt, to ignore, to ……whatever?  The more you are willing to do to protect your “habits” the less likely you are to change them, regardless of how much you say you “really” want to.

Something to think about.

Of a day

 

I dream of a day

when we are not God

and love is the most

realistic thing we do

and not simply words in a song

or the dreams of

someone who doesnt really

understand the way things are

I dream of a day

when we see past

the labels

attached to our chest

like children on an outing

who we dont know

unless we know what to

call them.

I dream of a day

where cruelty and meaness

are on the sci-fi channel

rather than woven

in the threads of the front pages

of  our heart and soul.

I dream of a day

where health is what we have

instead of what we fight for.

I dream of a day

where we know hearts

touch

and armor is not

part of everyday clothing.

I dream of a day

where we sleep

without worry

and wake without fear.

I dream of a day……

 

God Bless

What do you think? Is it all just noise?

Politics, he told me, was simply noise.  It has nothing to do with content.  The only thing that matters is who can yell the loudest, call the most names, point the most fingers and then look you right in the eye and tell you that it does it simply because he cares.  Its like the song he said, “If everybody is wrong, then nobody is right.”

I told a Tennessee state legislator once, “The problem is not that some people think you listen and some people dont.  The problem is that more and more people dont believe that it matters if they tell you?’

Is the idea of politics with integrity a psychotic delusion?

Second Look: a slow fade

Many of the tragedies of our life start in innocence or blindness (just not looking or not caring to look). The song starts about a “slow fade”– one more drink, one more hit, one more look, one more time….. one more. What could one more time hurt? It is not going to hurt anybody. I can stop whenever I want. I can choose not to.

I know it has been true for me. Most of the things I really regret started when I just closed my eyes for a moment. I became friend with “something” whose friendship was going to take me to places I didn’t want to go. Ever think back on those four or five minute slices of time that maybe changed your life forever, that took you on turn with no turn back. This is the beginning of the “slow fade.”

Listen to the song. It has a lot to say.