Have you ever wondered if you make a difference? I mean we all make some difference just by living our lives and being around...that whole systems theory thing...everything has an affect and effect on everything else...the It's A Wonderful Life thing...the ripples in a pond theory...
I mean really...truly....strongly...passionately...tenaciously...make a difference to people...someone...do you create a lasting and reverberating impact?
Who has made a lasting impact on you?
Many people have greatly impacted me through the course of my life. My father was my hero...and in many ways still is. He was an excellent example of how to be a man, father, provider, husband. Of course he had his flaws...he was very much the authoritarian and had very strict boundaries and a quick and hot temper. There were many times I remember being scared and feeling like I did not want to let him down. But he was a hard worker and that included working to be a good father.
I am now older than he lived to be. He was 39 when he passed in a car accident on his way home. One mistake...one bad choice...and it was all over...his story...his life...my mentor.
I am forever amazed at how hard he worked and at how much time he made for my brother and I. He was accomplished in several things and always found time for us. He was always busy...but always there for us. It will forever amaze me when I see people reaching for lofty goals such as people becoming a good spouse or a good parent, and then achieving it.
I still marvel at the way some people are able to be so together in their lives. Even on a good day I find myself tracking less than I desire for myself to be as a parent, as a husband, as a professional, as an individual. Infinitely human and vulnerable to human frailties. I am strong...I am not weak...but I am human.
So with looking at my mentor...and other mentors I have had in my life...I then ask myself...am I leaving a legacy of impacting...truly impacting others? I sure hope so. I am trying. I know sometimes...I fall shy of my goal...but I sure hope when everything is said and done...that I can look back and feel good about the trail I have left behind.
I hope that whatever good I am as an example to others in my life...great or small...I can improve and grow the good...grow the impact...reach for greater heights. I pray that someday...I have made a difference...for someone...somewhere...for the greater good.
Make the world a better place...to live and love in...and maybe...just maybe...our children will pick up that torch...and carry it forward to the next generation...and the world will be a better place....for us having been in it for awhile...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Things that made me go Hmm...
In reponse to a comment left on the last post...
*gibberish blather...
*wannabe writer...
*doubt about personal integrity...
Hmm...
Methinks it is not my personal integrity at question here...I said I disagreed with your arguments...I didn't call you names...I could…but I don’t…I don’t even want to…I’m not sure why you do…
I have made a recorded history of expressing opinion that is strong and strongly expressed, but balanced… I also backed off of this “discourse” earlier because of this type of behavior…if disparaging this writer is the best that you can think to do in your intellectual arguments when presenting your views, then I do understand the psychology of whom I am dealing with and I have no desire to engage. If you would like to continue this conversation, I need to deal with an adult.
Personal assaults are abusive and really show a lack of ability…they do not forward your arguments…they degrade your points of view that you are attempting to make. They are harmful…and unfortunate. I would suggest writing your responses, if you decide to continue, with less emotion and more rationale. Just a suggestion if you really have a desire in challenging my thought process.
*I will argue that a majority of United States citizens no longer can agree on a clear definition of what freedom means...
I would argue that this has been a problem since the inception of the country. Do I believe in uprooting indigenous peoples? How about enslaving other people from a whole different continent? We fought a civil war based on the difference in definition of freedom. We are still fighting political wars over the definition of freedom. Abortion, gay marriage, executions, drug use, smoking, toking, stroking, in God we trust, taxation, unfettered capitalism, prayer in schools, on and on…we don’t agree on the fine points. No...I think the definition of what our freedom means and how far it extends has been an age old question since, as I said before…our country’s inception…but that doesn’t mean that everything I have already asserted isn’t accurate, correct, or “right”.
You have also quoted several things I have written but have taken them completely out of context to suit your purpose much like we consistently watch media and political parties do…and while I can understand how one might develop a cynical approach to the things I have written…the dysfunctions of some of the members of our society are an unfortunate but realistic part of our society…but not the entire society as a whole…and while I stand by my past assertions to the degrading pieces of this society…mine is more of a call to recognition in order to change what is there as opposed to hiding from it and acting as if it is not there…a call to change if you will…and yes…meaning must be a large part of it. Apparently we disagree on this point…this fine point…but I stand by what I have written and believe it, and here in America...we can agree to disagree.
*Yet, they are clearly equally divided into two groups arguing about what is not freedom.
I would argue that there are many more than simply two groups…even if you are talking political systems there may be two major parties…but last time I checked the two major financially backed candidates are not the only people, based on organized political parties that are running for president. We are fractured by groups of differentiating thought. There are always several out there who are representing those that fundamentally disagree with either of the two major parties. But that still doesn’t attack the heart of what I asserted. We collectively believe in freedom…and we spread that idea around the world…and to those that are of a closed mind…the idea of freedom is dangerous.
*Do you share in the same freedoms as your Father? I suggest looking for the resources that reflect what your senses are telling you. Something contrary to a habitual practice of digesting the interpretations of the talking heads, religious leadership or politicians.
My father was born into a different country, Spain, into a civil war being perpetrated by a ruthless dictator who murdered large amounts of people, and into an economy that was far behind where we are even today. My father ran from there as a teen and many years later eventually landed here in this land. My perspective is different and my reasoning sound. Where my ideas and thinking come from are not based on CNN, MSNBC, or FOX. While I do agree that one’s senses are how one creates understanding and therefore a perspective…I think maybe your assumptions about others should not be so narrow as to think that everyone comes from the same background or perspective…or be so braindead as to not think for themselves...but all that still does not shake my point in that “patriotic proclamation” as you coined it, which I gotta admit…I kinda like. Thanks for the kudo.
This nation believes in freedom…and we should. Defining things is also something I have written about in the past. It is vitally important…but even in the defining of a thing there will be divisive controversy. This is human nature.
I would also like to challenge the challenger here. Mine is an opinion created from observation and self-exploration. Observing what my fellow Americans have done and are doing…and what I have seen as important to my own path. I am not simply espousing or regurgitating someone else’s rhetoric. I simply…wrote what I believe. I would however suggest that your challenges are brought forward by simple rule of philosophical thought, challenge, and contradiction and therefore are simply a rote reaction to an idea expressed. Not even because you believe differently. Questioning a statement for the sake of the question and not in where it will go…it is the movement rather than the importance…you are actually strengthening the point I made in We the People…LOL…because it is our freedom here in this great country that allows me to speak my observations, and allows you to challenge them…
*The fact is, as I said at the beginning of our discussion, that the wannabe writer does not have a need for knowledge of the truth about what is right or good.
This is not a fact. In essence you are making a judgment of me here…and once again the assertion is personal rather than philosophical…but even if you take the personal out of it…a need for knowledge of truth of what is right and good….sounds like the sentiment of the religious right…asserting your idea of what is right upon me…without the option for alternative. Isn’t this exactly what you accuse me of doing?
For shame LOL…come on dude…
*gibberish blather...
*wannabe writer...
*doubt about personal integrity...
Hmm...
Methinks it is not my personal integrity at question here...I said I disagreed with your arguments...I didn't call you names...I could…but I don’t…I don’t even want to…I’m not sure why you do…
I have made a recorded history of expressing opinion that is strong and strongly expressed, but balanced… I also backed off of this “discourse” earlier because of this type of behavior…if disparaging this writer is the best that you can think to do in your intellectual arguments when presenting your views, then I do understand the psychology of whom I am dealing with and I have no desire to engage. If you would like to continue this conversation, I need to deal with an adult.
Personal assaults are abusive and really show a lack of ability…they do not forward your arguments…they degrade your points of view that you are attempting to make. They are harmful…and unfortunate. I would suggest writing your responses, if you decide to continue, with less emotion and more rationale. Just a suggestion if you really have a desire in challenging my thought process.
*I will argue that a majority of United States citizens no longer can agree on a clear definition of what freedom means...
I would argue that this has been a problem since the inception of the country. Do I believe in uprooting indigenous peoples? How about enslaving other people from a whole different continent? We fought a civil war based on the difference in definition of freedom. We are still fighting political wars over the definition of freedom. Abortion, gay marriage, executions, drug use, smoking, toking, stroking, in God we trust, taxation, unfettered capitalism, prayer in schools, on and on…we don’t agree on the fine points. No...I think the definition of what our freedom means and how far it extends has been an age old question since, as I said before…our country’s inception…but that doesn’t mean that everything I have already asserted isn’t accurate, correct, or “right”.
You have also quoted several things I have written but have taken them completely out of context to suit your purpose much like we consistently watch media and political parties do…and while I can understand how one might develop a cynical approach to the things I have written…the dysfunctions of some of the members of our society are an unfortunate but realistic part of our society…but not the entire society as a whole…and while I stand by my past assertions to the degrading pieces of this society…mine is more of a call to recognition in order to change what is there as opposed to hiding from it and acting as if it is not there…a call to change if you will…and yes…meaning must be a large part of it. Apparently we disagree on this point…this fine point…but I stand by what I have written and believe it, and here in America...we can agree to disagree.
*Yet, they are clearly equally divided into two groups arguing about what is not freedom.
I would argue that there are many more than simply two groups…even if you are talking political systems there may be two major parties…but last time I checked the two major financially backed candidates are not the only people, based on organized political parties that are running for president. We are fractured by groups of differentiating thought. There are always several out there who are representing those that fundamentally disagree with either of the two major parties. But that still doesn’t attack the heart of what I asserted. We collectively believe in freedom…and we spread that idea around the world…and to those that are of a closed mind…the idea of freedom is dangerous.
*Do you share in the same freedoms as your Father? I suggest looking for the resources that reflect what your senses are telling you. Something contrary to a habitual practice of digesting the interpretations of the talking heads, religious leadership or politicians.
My father was born into a different country, Spain, into a civil war being perpetrated by a ruthless dictator who murdered large amounts of people, and into an economy that was far behind where we are even today. My father ran from there as a teen and many years later eventually landed here in this land. My perspective is different and my reasoning sound. Where my ideas and thinking come from are not based on CNN, MSNBC, or FOX. While I do agree that one’s senses are how one creates understanding and therefore a perspective…I think maybe your assumptions about others should not be so narrow as to think that everyone comes from the same background or perspective…or be so braindead as to not think for themselves...but all that still does not shake my point in that “patriotic proclamation” as you coined it, which I gotta admit…I kinda like. Thanks for the kudo.
This nation believes in freedom…and we should. Defining things is also something I have written about in the past. It is vitally important…but even in the defining of a thing there will be divisive controversy. This is human nature.
I would also like to challenge the challenger here. Mine is an opinion created from observation and self-exploration. Observing what my fellow Americans have done and are doing…and what I have seen as important to my own path. I am not simply espousing or regurgitating someone else’s rhetoric. I simply…wrote what I believe. I would however suggest that your challenges are brought forward by simple rule of philosophical thought, challenge, and contradiction and therefore are simply a rote reaction to an idea expressed. Not even because you believe differently. Questioning a statement for the sake of the question and not in where it will go…it is the movement rather than the importance…you are actually strengthening the point I made in We the People…LOL…because it is our freedom here in this great country that allows me to speak my observations, and allows you to challenge them…
*The fact is, as I said at the beginning of our discussion, that the wannabe writer does not have a need for knowledge of the truth about what is right or good.
This is not a fact. In essence you are making a judgment of me here…and once again the assertion is personal rather than philosophical…but even if you take the personal out of it…a need for knowledge of truth of what is right and good….sounds like the sentiment of the religious right…asserting your idea of what is right upon me…without the option for alternative. Isn’t this exactly what you accuse me of doing?
For shame LOL…come on dude…
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Tiptoeing through the tulips...
A Dickens reference? Really? Uh....OK....
First…I want to say…I appreciate your answering my writing with your thoughts and appreciate you putting what you think out there…and I appreciate your reading my writing as well. Thank you. I don’t have many readers and have even less that will step up…so I do appreciate someone sharing…
As far as responding to what you wrote…
Your first paragraph was simply hard to understand…only thing I really got out of it was that you think I am supposed to be doing something other than expressing my opinion on my own blog. This is incorrect and an assumption on your part. The whole purpose for me to write here is to say something that I think and believe…not to prove anything to anyone…it isn’t even to please or displease…just simply to express thought…this is an expression and if you disagree with my assertion…welp…I am OK with that…in fact…I am quite open to that…but I would appreciate the opposing assertion at least stay in context with what I was talking about…
Most of the rest of what you wrote seemed to be efforts to somehow argue a few of the points I made through my piece…and frankly…the arguing against us having a society that believes in freedom….even though freedom is basically an illusion…a point I have made and referred to in other previous blogs…does not make sense to me.
I personally think this is not a logical argument given the constitution, the declaration of independence, and even in a more recent example…what was expressed and acted upon after the events of 911…from people across this country…
I make the point that our society believes in freedom…not that we are actually free in every way, shape, and form…and honestly…I believe I was pretty clear in my assertions…I made several of them and after rereading what I wrote…I still feel good about it and stand by it. It is in the belief…the very idea…of freedom that we hold our strength and our collective power resides.
As far as your offer of insight for the future…I am not sure what it is that you are referencing because the quotes that you are obviously using from different sources around the Internet are not making a clear and cohesive point in context to what I was writing about or saying. Don’t get me wrong…I am not trying to blow off anyone…but frankly I don’t follow your reasoning or logic in reference to what I wrote and what I was trying to say…you are arguing a point…I get that…but your point is lost to me in part because it strays from the context of the conversation…
Are you arguing that Americans do not believe in freedom? Really? Is that your assertion?
If that is your assertion then I would highly disagree with you. If that is not what you were trying to say then forgive me…because see…that was the point of the piece I wrote…that and the moral of the story being that we “should” believe in freedom and we “should” be working hard to spread that word, belief, and idea around the world. Referring to Saddam Hussein regarding helping his people is like referring to Adolph Hitler helping German Jews by starting the VW company. That just doesn’t make sense to me.
I do not see how Saddam Hussein relates to what organizations like the Peace Corps, an organization who helps people around the world and are manned by Americans and was started by Americans and came forward as an idea and assertion from Americans, and other organizations that Americans help out in like Green Peace, and UNICEF have to do with your reference.
See…this is what I was saying about rhetoric a year ago…when I am writing…I am trying to make a point with my point…it is not about winning to me…it is not about simplistic inconsequential competition. There must be a meaning to the point…otherwise it is superficial and insignificant. It has to mean something to have an impact that is lasting. The power in words is in the ideas and beliefs behind them…it’s not in the strategic manipulation of gaining but in their ability to transform…and in transformation there is lasting meaning and true power…anything else is just…wind…
Namaste
Peace, sunsets, serenity, and prayer…
Just for kicks...
Thought you might get a kick outta this too LOL...This is an example of talking...but just not saying anything \;') blowing wind LOL...
Even Katie Courick is going....uh...what?!?
Enjoy
Watch CBS Videos Online
First…I want to say…I appreciate your answering my writing with your thoughts and appreciate you putting what you think out there…and I appreciate your reading my writing as well. Thank you. I don’t have many readers and have even less that will step up…so I do appreciate someone sharing…
As far as responding to what you wrote…
Your first paragraph was simply hard to understand…only thing I really got out of it was that you think I am supposed to be doing something other than expressing my opinion on my own blog. This is incorrect and an assumption on your part. The whole purpose for me to write here is to say something that I think and believe…not to prove anything to anyone…it isn’t even to please or displease…just simply to express thought…this is an expression and if you disagree with my assertion…welp…I am OK with that…in fact…I am quite open to that…but I would appreciate the opposing assertion at least stay in context with what I was talking about…
Most of the rest of what you wrote seemed to be efforts to somehow argue a few of the points I made through my piece…and frankly…the arguing against us having a society that believes in freedom….even though freedom is basically an illusion…a point I have made and referred to in other previous blogs…does not make sense to me.
I personally think this is not a logical argument given the constitution, the declaration of independence, and even in a more recent example…what was expressed and acted upon after the events of 911…from people across this country…
I make the point that our society believes in freedom…not that we are actually free in every way, shape, and form…and honestly…I believe I was pretty clear in my assertions…I made several of them and after rereading what I wrote…I still feel good about it and stand by it. It is in the belief…the very idea…of freedom that we hold our strength and our collective power resides.
As far as your offer of insight for the future…I am not sure what it is that you are referencing because the quotes that you are obviously using from different sources around the Internet are not making a clear and cohesive point in context to what I was writing about or saying. Don’t get me wrong…I am not trying to blow off anyone…but frankly I don’t follow your reasoning or logic in reference to what I wrote and what I was trying to say…you are arguing a point…I get that…but your point is lost to me in part because it strays from the context of the conversation…
Are you arguing that Americans do not believe in freedom? Really? Is that your assertion?
If that is your assertion then I would highly disagree with you. If that is not what you were trying to say then forgive me…because see…that was the point of the piece I wrote…that and the moral of the story being that we “should” believe in freedom and we “should” be working hard to spread that word, belief, and idea around the world. Referring to Saddam Hussein regarding helping his people is like referring to Adolph Hitler helping German Jews by starting the VW company. That just doesn’t make sense to me.
I do not see how Saddam Hussein relates to what organizations like the Peace Corps, an organization who helps people around the world and are manned by Americans and was started by Americans and came forward as an idea and assertion from Americans, and other organizations that Americans help out in like Green Peace, and UNICEF have to do with your reference.
See…this is what I was saying about rhetoric a year ago…when I am writing…I am trying to make a point with my point…it is not about winning to me…it is not about simplistic inconsequential competition. There must be a meaning to the point…otherwise it is superficial and insignificant. It has to mean something to have an impact that is lasting. The power in words is in the ideas and beliefs behind them…it’s not in the strategic manipulation of gaining but in their ability to transform…and in transformation there is lasting meaning and true power…anything else is just…wind…
Namaste
Peace, sunsets, serenity, and prayer…
Just for kicks...
Thought you might get a kick outta this too LOL...This is an example of talking...but just not saying anything \;') blowing wind LOL...
Even Katie Courick is going....uh...what?!?
Enjoy
Watch CBS Videos Online
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