Puzzle to solve!

To Understand: To Design: To Build: To Produce: To Sell: To Spend: To Admire:

These are the keys to my happiness. To expect more from my life would be insanity.

Before I understood the keys to my happiness, I was handed a puzzle to solve.

A mystical, bi-polar god wanted to bless and curse me at the same time. The puzzle was to figure out "why." Like a brain hand grenade, once the pin was pulled, I could not put the puzzle down or I would always be cursed and never blessed. Now conscience of the puzzle, I must pull the pin on this puzzle because the lithium deficient god created it and because I owed him, it was my duty to throw myself on this mental explosive.

If I refused to kneel to the wishes of this entity, I would be forced to play.

There was only one simple rule for the puzzle. While pursuing the incomprehensible, I was to sacrifice something. The price of the sacrifice was up to the people who handed me the puzzle.

It took me 17 years to figure out the answer to that shell game.

Don't play!

It takes an unmeasurable amount of courage to break through the false puzzles given by others. This is why the con-game of mysticism persist to this day.

With copious amounts of heartache, soul searching, and deprogramming, I have finally become comfortable with the concept that "I" am God of my life.

With great power comes great responsibility.

My values and happiness are "My" responsibility. It is not my wife's responsibility. It is not my step-children's. It is not my parents. It is not my friends. It is not some supernatural bipolar entity's. It is mine alone.

It is also my responsibility to live within the walls of my environment.

To do so, I must understand my world. I must design a path through it. I must build a life with those of my choosing. I must produce to live. I must sell my thoughts. I must spend to buy the thoughts of others. I must admire the interaction of myself within the entire process.

The Mugging!

A mugger approached me with a mask, held me at gun point, took my best, and ran away.

The mask was the disguise of an old friend.

The gun was her emotional need to be the center of attention.

My best was my philosophy.

Now I am left to relive the experience over and over.

I should be more careful in judging the motives of my "friends."

Courage!

The Reverend Reasons Says:

Courage is asking your personal "conceptual god" to hit you as hard as they can.

When shit happens, you know who's to blame, who's in control, and who's gonna take care of business.

This is the shortest path to strength.



God is a thought who makes crooked all that is straight.
Friedrich Nietzsche


Image:
Frazetta - Against The Gods.

Baptism!

Hard work rains down.
Hard work washes the bullshit away.

Work is yes or no.
Work is reality or non reality.

Focus the mind.
Focus the laser beam.

Envision the wheel.
Envision the skyscraper.

My mind is tired.
My hands ache.

Tomorrow I will dream bigger.
Tomorrow I will work harder.

Tonight I sleep.
Tonight my spirit soars.

The Assault of Empowerment!

"You don't know the power of the dark side." - Darth Vader

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities.

Of late, I have met two different individuals from various walks of life. One was with a Barista from Starbucks. The other was with an old acquaintance online.

Both felt it necessary to share their "issues" with me. The Barista shared her Christian passion to help the "Invisible Children" in Africa - www.invisiblechildren.com. In the course of our brief conversation, she put a DVD in my hands that highlighted the plight of these poor, abused, military conscripted children.

I watched the DVD and returned it to her.

Separately, an old high school acquaintance, from 20 years ago, contacted me via email. The contact was unsolicited. Through the course of online conversations, she inadvertently revealed that she was going through a tough mid-life crisis. From her descriptions, she was facing bottom. She was stuck in a very rigid, unemotional relationship. She home schooled 4 children, with at least one or more still nursing. She went through emotional, physical, and sexual abuse as a child. To top it all off, she also endured a failed business. She was reaching out to anyone who would listen including me.

The Empowerment Remedy

Based on who I am and what I study, I suggested a healthy dose of "empowerment" to both situations.

For the young, naive Barista, I suggested that the Africans do not need our fear, guilt, and pity. They need our strength and reason. The reason these people exist in such horrific conditions is because church's and governments need victims to generate revenues and perpetuate philosophical weakness.

"Wielded correctly, fear, guilt, and pity are money making formulas. Just ask the bum on the street corner with the God Bless sign."

I asked her, "why don't the missionaries take ocean containers full of condoms to these people?" As a possible answer to my question, I suggested that perhaps the government is financially supported by the Catholic church. The church would rather promote a failed policy of abstinence over contraception. With these comments, I told this Barista that I eagerly look forward to her dialog and inputs on the subject. "Perhaps we can solve the worlds problems together."

For my friend, I told her to take charge of her life. Stop being reactive and be proactive. Be strong. She has the power to make positive change. To be happy, she should analyze herself and draw strength from the things and people that make her happy. Based on her inputs, she should establish her value structure and never waver from implementation. Damn the torpedoes and anything else including, a God, a Husband, and Self. Full speed ahead!

The Result

As of late, both the Barista and the friend have given me the proverbial "cold shoulder." At first, I was very confused by this behavior. After careful thought. I think I know why they are so indifferent.

Empowerment is a direct assault on self identity.

The Barista's self identity was of a young Christian woman who was proud that she had pity on a group of Africans. Having this pity made her feel good about herself. She was not out to solve the worlds problems via tough love and philosophy. Her goal was to bring an instants worth of happiness to a small child's face before throwing them back into the cesspool they currently live in. Any concept that challenged the philosophical architecture which supported her pity was aggressive and confrontational.

The same holds true for the acquaintance friend. Taking charge of her life and making changes would alter her perceptions of herself in her current social circles. She is not going to challenge her beliefs in God because she is involved with Catholic friends and church organizations. She is not going to challenge her concepts of happiness because doing so may upset the group dynamic of her family. Her final resolution was not to challenge.

Both the Barista and the Housewife chose "status quo" over action. They preferred known unhappiness to unknown potential happiness. Most people would rather live with the devil they know than fight the devil that they don't know.

On a side note of interest, neither the Barista nor the acquaintance had any interest in the contents of my life.

With that, I leave you with this Fight Club movie line!




Marla - "Why do you come to groups?"

Jack - "I don't know....maybe because when your dying, everybody really listens to you....

Marla - "instead of just waiting for their turn to speak."



P.S. Maybe I should change my blogger handle to "Groups."

The Christian Mind!

The Christian mind in action.

According to the Apostle John, some fellow name Jesus died for your sins - what ever those are.

The message from John 3;16 is clear. All you have to do is "BELIEVE" that he sacrificed himself for you, follow his teachings, and spread the concept of his sacrifice to others, and your spirit, - again, what ever that is, - will pass into some other supernatural existence when you die.

Pending the environment, music, lighting, and charisma of the messenger, you will know John 3;16 is true when you have an odd feeling in you sphincter and your skin has goose bumps like the kid on "The Sixth Sense." This is the supposed presence of the "Holy Spirit."

Once you become aware of the conceptual Jesus, "Poof, " Magic! You are a Christian. Welcome to the kingdom club. You have a new spirit inside of you that is eternal. By divine right, this "born again" spirit makes you superior to those who are lost. You are now an adopted member of some supreme beings chosen family.

The walk of a Christian is simple!

Buy an injection molded / nickel plated fish for the back of your SUV. Vote republican. Pray for and curse democrats at the same time. Pity the bum on the street corner. Smile and shake hands at some congregation. Gays and immigrants are taboo. Support your troops. Jesus loves you. Ask yourself what he would do occasionally. Hate the liberal media.

You don't have to quote scripture. You don't even need to read the bible. After all, except for John 3:16 - the philosophical insurance policy of Christianity, the rest is open to interpretation.

The best part of Christianity is you don't have to "sacrifice" anything. You can even keep those small dirty little things you do that you would never admit doing to anyone else. Since this "all knowing" God knows your faults and weaknesses, he will accept you as you are, even if you never change or grow worse. You can correct your behavior if you want or just fake it like everyone else. Worst case scenario, you might have to endure a slight "emotional struggle."

Ultimately, when you attach John 3;16 to any whim, wish, or slight fancy, your dreams will come true.

Once practicing Christianity, just follow the warm smell of the heard. Do what they do. Think like they think. Gossip like they gossip. Judge like they judge. Conform.

Jesus Christ in a Chicken Basket.....where do I sign up for this philosophical lobotomy?


Leonidas is a cruel leader.
He makes you stand on your own feet.
I, on the other hand, am kind.
All I ask is that you kneel.

Xerxes (The 300)

Hope!

What is Hope?

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance — i.e., believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. (www.wikipedia.org).

Daily, I must use my observations, experience, and reason to find Hope in the long term goals that I have established for myself.

To me, Hope is a gamble.

I am trusting my limited reason to navigate known and unknown obstacles in my life to reach a certain point. For example, I have hope that my life will be fulfilling and rewarding with my wife. I have hope that I will be a positive example for my stepchildren to draw upon. I have hope that my current San Diego Comic Con plans will be prosperous.

My gambling is rooted in observation. My wife has qualities that I admire and enjoy. She is intelligent, thoughtful, playful, sensitive, beautiful.....and screams like a monkey when tickled. My stepchildren are intelligent and well behaved. They make great grades. Occasionally I hear my sense of humor traverse from their mouths. "I am one mean, sarcastic MotherF*." Finally, my 14+ years as a toy manufacturer and VP of miscellaneous has given insight into the path I should follow for next year.

My Hope is my creation. It is my treasure. It is rooted in my value structure. As flawed, limited, and imperfect my reason is, it defines my path for the future. I am starving for my future. I can't wait....although I must. In the meantime, I will prepare for my vision of this future with a vengeance. I will keep constant look out to ensure that my vision is true and my thoughts are objective.

There are no guarantees that I will succeed. The only guarantee that I have is the one I give my self. I guarantee to use my mind, and energy to work as hard as can to turn my hope into reality.

The first question is "do you have Hope?" Or do you just allow reality to roll into your life. Are you reactive versus proactive? Are you one of the overweight, walmart shopping spectators at Nascar, or are you in a drivers seat running laps at 200+ mph, hoping to win the race?

The second question is, "How do you create your hope?" Is it created by your mind or is it created by others? Is your hope rooted in reality or fantasy? Is it based on the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness as defined by you? Or is your hope based on the pursuit of death, slavery, and misery as defined by others?

Is your hope rooted in the obtainable and comprehensible? Or unobtainable and incomprehensible?

Is your hope rooted in the wish of avoiding death by avoiding life or embracing death by embracing life?

Tyler Durden / Fight Club - If there is a God, chances are he doesn't like you. In fact, in all probability, he hates you.

Jesus Christ / Luke 17:33 - "Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.