Heaven

What is heaven? What is heaven for you? It seems to me that many people are living their life only to learn how to die in order to go to Heaven. Going through life more worried about the end than the means.

Don’t get me wrong, the end in most situations is very, very important. I see the means as what is actually important. Whether you believe in Heaven and Hell, or dust and dirt is completely up to you. Before you get there, learning and experiencing life is important.

Doing things you enjoy, with people you enjoy, building relationships, and giving to others are the things people should be concentrated on. Fear is a very effective motivator some a lot of people. “I can’t eat that, I’m scared I’ll get fat,” or “if you do that your mom will be really mad.”

There is nothing wrong with fear being a motivator in many situations. But I see many people more worried about their eternal fate than what is happening now. Of course you need to plan for the future, things like school, career, health care, and retirement are all things that should be planned for.

Living life just learning to die just seems counter productive. I’m not exactly sure what to expect after I die but if I do meet Peter at those Pearly Gates I don’t expect him to look at me and list off all of my mistakes but to look at my presence and the positive ways my presence influenced people.

I don’t believe Heaven is just a place you go when you die, I’m pretty sure Heaven is a place when you are living your life in a way that you actually feel alive. Improving someone’s day, supporting a family, improving your relationships, capturing the sun breaking through the fog as it hits a snow covered peak, those types of things is where Heaven is.

Good far out weighs bad. Not doing bad doesn’t mean you’re doing good. The act of good takes effort, takes thought, I can sit on my couch and not hurt anyone, and therefore not doing bad, but whom am I helping? What difference am I making? What relationship am I building? What mountain am I climbing? 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Barack Obama, congratulations to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, congratulations to the United States of America. 

Progress is a beautiful thing. We have accomplished so much, and today, January 20, 2009 we have reached a milestone many thought we would never reach. Now is the time to keep moving forward, keep progressing. 

Give to your family, give to your neighbors, give to your nation. We can make this the best place to live. Together.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

I have a dream

Tolerance

There is a contagious thought in the world that different is bad. Black and white equals bad and good with no shades of gray. It’s my way or the highway. If you aren’t trim you aren’t attractive. Being Muslim is wrong because you aren’t Christian.  Or just the reverse being Christian is wrong because you aren’t Muslim.

I’m no philosopher, I’m not even that educated. One thing I do understand is the act of tolerance. Nobody likes to just be tolerated. It is the actions following the toleration that could make all the difference in the world.

Looking outside of your own selfish views and principles could open up a whole new realm of possibilities. Understanding there are differences and those differences don’t equal faults.

Understanding a person, culture, religion, nation or race is unnecessary. Nobody needs to be understood in order to be respected. Understanding is an over used idea when trying to promote equality for everyone. I don’t expect a devout Christian to understand why a devout Muslim prays they way and as often as they do. I do expect them to at the very least tolerate it.

I alluded to it earlier but the action of tolerance can open the door to many more things. Just tolerating something gives you the chance to step back, get away from any predisposition you may have. It gives you the chance to look at a person or culture or nation and actually see what they are doing, recognizing the good and not just seeing the difference and assuming the bad.

Tolerance, if truly tolerant, leads to respect. It is not impossible to respect something you don’t agree with. I don’t agree with a 3-2 defense, ever. Does that mean it is ineffective in all circumstances. No. Does that mean when used correctly I will not respect it? No. With that in mind, is there any reason for a Christian to be intolerant of a Muslim? The Christian may not agree but a Muslim obviously finds great joy and fulfillment in Islam.

If the Christian can tolerate Islam, then comes the respect, then comes the viewing of the positive things that Muslim person is accomplishing. At the risk of being redundant, then comes respect.

Biologist will argue biology is what makes the world go round. Economist will argue money is what makes the world go round. I will argue respect or even tolerance is what makes the world go round, especially if we want it to go around in a positive peaceful manner.

Respect from tolerance then can lead to love. Am I expecting everyone from every different background or ideology to love everyone else? Yes. Is it feasible? No. Is it possible for those people to tolerate or respect everyone else? Yes.

Taking steps back, understanding differences, not people, but the differences in those people will give anyone who values peace and harmony a better perspective.

There are many examples across the world today explaining the belief that different is wrong. Israel and Hamas. Al-Qaida and the United States. Whites and blacks (still). Christians and Muslims. Republicans and Democrats. I could go on and on. It isn’t possible to reverse this trend but it is possible to slow it down. Start with yourself, spread to others. Trust their values and principles. Just because they believe in what they believe in does not mean they are challenging what you believe. If that is the case, you need to be challenged.

There is no risk of redundancy anymore it has happened, no need to stop now. Tolerance leads to respect, respect leads to love and ultimately these lead to peace. Peace is something I think everyone can live with. 

Hope

“Hope,” “Change” and “Yes We Can,” are some of the key words all of us have heard in the last 21 months. Some believed them; others rejected them and then some really wanted to believe but were very skeptical.

These are words coming from newly elected President Barack Obama. I know some people right now are very upset with the way the elections turned out. Others are very pleased. I also think there is a third group who this election means more than just a new president to. We’ll just call this group 3. 3 do see Barack Obama as a new president but so much more.

Some of the people in 3 were happy last night because they saw something they never thought possible. Others were happy because they saw something they thought was possible but not likely. More of 3 are very grateful because they witnessed the evident success from an African American is the history of this great country.

This isn’t a question of ideology, this isn’t a question of whether you agree with President Obama’s stances or not. This is a GIGANTIC step in the way of the United States progressing in its ideals.

The 44^th President of the United States of America is the first African American President. The country is in a very turbulent state right now. The state of the world is even bleaker. But this is an election that proved to me (a cynic) our nation is able to do great and wondrous things.

Mr. Obama is following 43 white rich guys into his next occupation that happens to be the most powerful position in the country if not the world.

George Washington was number one on the list of Presidents and if it weren’t for him and the supporters around him the United States probably wouldn’t exist. He did more during the time of the Revolution and for many years afterward to keep this country together than did anyone else. Before he was elected President and after the Revolution was complete, slavery was thriving in the United States.

Many founding fathers including George Washington were highly against slavery but during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia some of its participants would have never ratified the Articles of Confederation and put the Constitution into place while abolishing slavery. It then took 13 Presidents before there could be an amendment put into our Constitution to abolish Slavery.

When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to make the practice of slavery illegal in our country. It took a war, a strong leader and many people who knew the action of slavery was wrong to abolish its implementation.

Even though slavery was dead almost a century later the United States of America was feeling the burden of racism. The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education put into law the desegregation of schools. This was a very big step in our country but hate was still raging for things people weren’t accustomed to.

So then came a man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He defied the odds, he pushed for civil rights, he pushed for civil liberties and he was successful to points. Without MLK the USA as we know it would be completely different. He was a strong leader he was able to bring together blacks and whites in an attempt to change the country for good.

Since the assassination of Dr. King there have been many great people to expand the thinking of the United States. I would argue besides the Revolution from England, November 4, 2008 was the greatest day in United States History. It showed people across the country are capable of being accepting, understanding and are able to look outside of their own realm of comfort to promote the common good.

Now do I think racism is gone? No, I do not, I think racism is still a very big problem in our country but with record turn outs at the polls Barack Obama won. An African American won an election to make him President of the United States of America.

This is a very historic step we as a country just took. The biggest step in my lifetime and arguably in modern day. Now just like before with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, they couldn’t do it alone. They were the strong leaders but they needed their friends, families and supporters behind them.

We will never reach our potential as a country with just a great leader, or just a great and historic step. This is our chance to go forward with our country and reach that potential. You can’t do it by yourself; I can’t do it by myself. But the country just took a very, very large step forward, so while we have that momentum jump on and think outside yourself.

Don’t look at race, color, religion or culture. See only people, see potential, see that there is more around you that is good and can be transformed into great.

The country cannot succeed with just a President, or with only one man. For the country to succeed it needs to act as a “country.” There are many things around you that you have the ability to elevate. Smile, treat everyone as equals, volunteer, think outside yourself and what you’re comfortable with.

The state of the country and world is a daunting task to take on alone. But now you know it’s not just you. If all the “just me’s” joined, it would no longer be just you, you would be a part of  “we” and we can make a difference.  Recognizing this great and historic step, whether you agree with Barack Obama or not, seems extremely necessary.