Monthly Archives: October 2021

Facts, Truth and Average People

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FACTS

Facts are observable, objective pieces of evidence.

If I find a piece of broken pottery I have a piece of something, but I don’t have the entire artifact nor a complete understanding of the artifact from whence it came. We could say that the complete artifact is a truth but the shard is a fact. If I find many pieces of shard and begin to put them together, I start to gain an understanding of what the artifact truly looks like. However, whether or not these pieces give me a complete picture of the truth is determined by the way I put them together. So, even with all of the “facts” in front of me, because of my limited knowledge of how they go together, I may still not have an understanding of the “truth.”

TRUTH

Truth can’t always be proven with facts.

Facts are objective evidences in front of you. Sometimes facts are circumstantial and therefore, cannot be absolutely true. Sometimes, truth lies in the unprovable areas between the facts, before the facts and behind the facts.

Truth exists with or without the presence and understanding of facts. In that way, truth supersedes facts.

The discovery of new facts can change our perception of truth, but it does not change the actual truth itself. Truth is true whether we comprehend it or not, whether we can prove it or not.

OPINIONS

Opinions, on the other hand, are neither truths nor facts, although they may or may not be based on both. Opinions are subjective preferences. “Ice cream tastes good,” is an opinion.

IN CONTEXT

It is a fact that there are billions of stars in the universe. We can look up and see that evidence right in front of us, but the truth as to how they got there is still not fully known. People have speculated, myths have been created, legends handed down, stories of their creation abound, some have researched facts (which change consistently as our ability to understand and observe them change) and discussed it for centuries, but the entire, detailed truth of the process is still based on the opinions of the storytellers, astronomers, religious leaders, etc.

Another example might be that it is a fact that all life dies, but the truth of what happens after that point has not yet been proven, although everybody has an opinion. If we could bring someone back from the dead and ask them they could tell us, and indeed, hundreds of such accounts have happened. Still, there are those who completely question the validity of their stories, because although they can prove that they died, they can’t prove that they actually went somewhere and saw something. I have an opinion about that.

My opinion is that we presently cannot accurately measure spiritual, eternal, energy with temporal, physical devices, so therefore the truth about what happened can’t be proven because it supersedes our ability to observe the facts and measure the evidence.

WHAT IS NORMAL?


Being normal is not the same thing as being average. Average is what most people are. Normal is what is healthy for them to be.


For example, the average American is overweight but that’s not normal.

Average people live life at a level of mediocrity, not wanting to stand out or rock the boat. They may sacrifice freedom for the sake of convenience and acceptance. They may not do anything “bad” with their lives. They just don’t do anything significant. They remain average.

They may go along with whatever authorities, celebrities, experts or those with political or social clout tell them because they had rather live in a state of totalitarian stupidity than do the normal thing, which is to question “why” they are being told to do things and to question the norms of society than to risk being ostracized, black-balled, ridiculed, etc. It is normal to want to be accepted and liked, but it is also normal to want to be free and to think for yourself, to choose your own preferences in life.

Every movement, every great invention, every great novel, every breakthrough in the arts or in spirituality has come through a person that was not average in their culture; they have come from those who buck the system, the disturbing elements of humanity.

It is indeed those who have bucked the system, the mediocrity of their day, that have made the greatest impact on the world, such as Jesus, Gandhi, Plato, Mother Teresa, William Wallace, Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, Mary Shelley, Madame Curie, Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller, Nathaniel Greene, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Clara Barton, Mary Breckinridge, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Jim Thorpe, Maria Tallchief, and the list goes on. Every one of these people went against the culturally accepted, even the politically correct norm of their day. They were all normal human beings, but none of them were just average. All of them were willing to give up personal comfort for internal convictions, not beliefs. Beliefs change as new facts arise, new pieces of shard, but internal convictions, eternal truths, do not change.

Normal people rise above average and change the world. Normal people expand the universe.

IN CONCLUSION

I may not have all the facts straight, but I do seek truth. It may not be the average thing to do, but it is normal. It is healthy, maybe not physically, because as Jesus, Joan of Arc and many others found out, it can get you killed, but I had rather die for my convictions of truth than live a lie of convenience. Jesus asked this question, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his/her own soul?” It is normal to want to live a long, abundant, blessed and prosperous life, so long as we don’t have to give up our own identity, the I AM, inside of us to maintain it. We should never sell out who we are to become who someone else wants us to be. Yes, you can be blessed and live a good life, but there comes a moment when you have to put your spiritual pathway above your temporary physical comfort. I quote Tecumseh, an above average normal man who lived and died for his truth, regardless of the facts.

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Tecumseh

Blessed are the Peacemakers

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“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” This phrase is taken from the famous Sermon on the Mount found in the book of Matthew of the New Testament.

WHAT’S A PEACEMAKER?

We often think of a peacemaker as someone who settles disputes, but in this context the word peace indicates something more. It comes from a Greek word, Eirene (i-rah-nay) which means to set at one again in quietness and rest (Strong’s Concordance). So, what was Jesus really saying? In John 14:27, he told his disciples that he gave them peace but not like the secular image of peace. He went on to say, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Sounds to me like he’s talking about inner peace.

INNER PEACE COMES FROM INSIDE—THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED “INNER” PEACE

According to the Tao Te Ching, “In order to maintain calm (peace), one has to feel oneself as an integral part of the Absolute. Then one does not develop false ego-centric desires.” In other words, The Absolute, the Almighty, is not an entity that exists outside of us but is an ever-present part of us. We can’t obtain what Paul calls “peace from God,” by keeping laws, following rules, buying things, controlling others, etc. We must recognize that only by believing that we are who God says we are (and it’s always good. People assign “badness” to us, not God. Our Creator loves us, believes in us, values us, and appreciates us.) There are those who are out of alignment with who they really are, who do horrible, ungodly things to others and to themselves, because they don’t know who and what they really are; the spirit within them seems dormant, but it’s there, just waiting to be awakened, to be born again.

STOP TRYING TO “FIX” EVERYTHING

I love what the great teacher, Wayne Dyer, said about peace and I believe he is onto something, “Peace is the result of retraining the mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” Or as the Apostle Paul said, “Be content with such things as you have.” (Hebrews 13:1)

I remember reading one time, “Two men looked out of prison bars. One saw mud. The other saw stars.” They were in the same situation, but one was at peace and hopeful while the other was depressed and in turmoil.

PEACE RELINQUISHES THE NEED FOR POWER AND CONTROL

Paul referred to God as the “God of peace.” God is love. Love casts out fear. Fear has torment so there is no peace in fear. All motivations ultimately come down to one of two motivations: Love or Fear. Greed comes from fear and greed, the love of power and the fear of not having it, is at the core of every inhumane act on the planet.

Therefore, any act done in fear or out of its off-spring, greed, is not an act of peace, not an act of love, therefore, it’s not an act of God, because remember God doesn’t have love. God IS love. (See I John).

Did you ever think that maybe if each person in the world found inner peace that there would also be outer peace? Outer turmoil is a sign of inner turmoil.

Again, I quote from the Tao Te Ching, “Being satisfied with little, you can gain much. Seeking much, you will go astray. The wise heed this percept. If it could only be so with all people! The wise trust not only their physical eyes, thus they can see clearly. The wise do not think that they alone are right, thus they know the truth. They do not seek glory, yet people respect them. They do not seek power, yet people follow them. They do not fight against anyone; thus no one can vanquish them. They do not feel pity for themselves; thus they can develop successfully. Only those who do not seek to be ahead of others are capable of living in harmony with everyone.”

DON’T STOP DANCING

Joseph Campbell, the great student of mythology and world religions, had studied many cultures and came to a conclusion that no matter where people were from, if they failed to be true to that inner guidance system, that voice inside them urging them to follow their “calling,” at some point they would feel regret from not doing it. I recall specifically, a story of a ballerina who gave up a promising career in dancing, because her husband was threatened by her success. She gave up her dancing, her passion, her gifting, her call in life. Many times in her life she lamented giving up the dancing, always telling her children how she once was an excellent ballerina. Years later, after the husband was long gone and her kids were grandparents, she was alone in a nursing home, in her nineties with dementia. She couldn’t remember anyone’s name but she remembered how to dance, so she would get up beside her bed, do ballet and bask in the applause of her imagined audience. She finally found her inner peace. The point of this story is two-fold, no matter how much we “love” someone, it is never required that you hide your light under a bushel to appease their insecurities. That will not bring you peace. We cannot forsake our life’s calling because someone else is afraid to follow theirs.

LET PEACE GUIDE YOUR STEPS

In Romans 14:19, Paul encouraged those who be “in the Way” to follow after the things which make for peace and in another place, he urged the believers in the Way to let the peace of God guide them, rule in their hearts. He encouraged them in Ephesians to have their “feet shod” with the preparation of the good news of peace. This peace which comes from I Am passes all mental acknowledgment and understanding. It’s a spirit thing.

There’s a Kink in my Garden Hose

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I sat down hours ago to write a blog post but nothing I wrote felt right to publish.

I often refer to writing as me being a garden hose through which water flows. Water is energy and I like to feel energy flowing through me as I freely type what comes out or follow impulses to look up references. But tonight there seems to be a kink in the hose.

I started writing several times, I’d get so far and then the water would get cut off. I’d scratch that false start and try again. I tried and tried to come up with something profound to say and now I have come this conclusion—I have nothing profound to say, because I’m trying too hard. I’ve been trying to write on a schedule. All the articles I read about being a good blogger say to do that. Problem is, my inner being doesn’t work on a schedule! I just have to write when the notion hits me and the inspiration is there.

So, consider this post a testament to the power of just being and allowing. When we’re not being and allowing, when we’re struggling to “make it happen,” we may squeeze something out, but it won’t sing and zing. It may be grammatically perfect, but it will be lacking—something. In the same way, I suppose life is like that, too. So long as we are struggling to make things happen, to force all the pieces into place, there is a form of resistance that we become unaware of and instead of allowing elements to come together in their own time, we start yanking on them and trying to force them into place. We take on worrying, fretting, and trying to figure out how to “make” things happen like we want them to, instead of focusing on the kind of person we want to “be,” and working on our internal selves. After all, we are not called human “doings.” We are called human “beings.” A passage from the book of Matthew just popped into my head, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you.” Yes, work on the inner person, get the inner being aligned with I Am’s path, and the outer stuff will all fall into place.

My best writing is done when I’m NOT trying, when I’m just letting words flow out of me, letting concepts be born. You can’t force a creation out before it’s ready. You’ll have a premature baby on your hands if you do, or worse, an intellectual miscarriage.

I am going to allow myself not to have something deep and profound to share. I’m going to allow myself to babble about garden hoses and word babies and how I love the comforting sound of a refrigerator motor and the songs of crickets outside my window and random Bible scriptures or movie quotes or whatevers (we all need some whatevers sometimes.) And maybe next time I sit down I will have some astounding insight.

Now that I look back on it, I realize that this felt good and maybe there is a nugget of yumminess in this post after all, or at least a drink of water.