Showing posts with label druidism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label druidism. Show all posts
Monday, 20 October 2014
Thursday, 24 July 2014
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WHY DOESN'T GOD HEAR OR ANSWER ME? WHY DO I HAVE UNANSWERED PRAYERS?
FEW ATTITUDES ARE MORE DISHEARTENING AND DESTRUCTIVE TO FAITH THAN THE FEELING THAT GOD DOESN'T HEAR OUR PRAYERS, DOESN'T ANSWER OR DOESN'T CARE. IT IS EASY TO COME TO SUCH CONCLUSIONS WHEN GOD DOESN'T RESPOND WHEN OR HOW WE WANT.
The apostle Paul was a man who could have concluded that God doesn't listen to people. After all, he urgently pleaded with God to intervene for him in a chronic trial. But God refused to grant Paul's request.
Does this mean Paul lacked faith? Of course not. However, there is a deeper lesson for us in Paul's life of living faith.
When Paul pleaded with God
Notice Paul's account of this trial: "There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-8, New International Version).
What was this trial that tormented Paul? Comments in Paul's writings hint it may have been a problem with his eyes (Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11).
The implication is that Paul fervently asked God to deliver him from the trial, no doubt with fasting and heartfelt prayer (2 Corinthians 11:27). He wanted this hindrance removed so he could continue to spread the gospel effectively and care for the congregations God had raised up.
God's answer to Paul
Paul could have concluded that God had not heard his pleas. But this is not the case. God simply gave Paul a different answer: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Whether God directly spoke these words to Paul or whether Paul gradually came to this understanding of God's will isn't clear from the Greek wording. What is clear is that Paul came to a deeper spiritual understanding that strengthened his faith and commitment.
Paul came to see that the credit belonged to God and Jesus Christ rather than to himself and that his weakness drew him closer to that source of power and strength. "I am therefore happy to boast of my weaknesses, because then the power of Christ will rest upon me. So I am content with a life of weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and distress, all for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (verses 9-10, Revised English Bible).
Of course, Paul's experiences were not typical of what most modern Christians experience today. Along with his great trials, he also witnessed great miracles and evidence of God's power. Still Paul's "thorn in the flesh" stands as an important spiritual lesson for us. Sometimes when we experience unanswered prayers, God's answer for us is actually "no" or "not yet." God never intended our physical bodies to last forever. He has allotted us an existence of about 70 years (Psalm 90:10). He is far more concerned that we develop righteous character and a trusting relationship with Him that can last for eternity. He wants to resurrect us to eternal life in a glorious, immortal spirit body not subject to weakness, illness and death (1 Corinthians 15:40-44, 50-54).
In the meantime, Paul understood that God in His love will never allow us to fall into trials greater than we can endure. "But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV). Sometimes that "way out" is simply the determination to endure the trial, to "stand up under it."
HEARING GOD'S WILL
Paul was not the only one who learned that living, trusting, abiding faith is more important than physical health and long life. Even Jesus, knowing that He faced a cruel death only hours away, prayed, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matthew 26:39). Jesus loved life and wanted to live as much as any of us. But He acknowledged a greater purpose for this physical life: "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).
Jesus Christ, the perfect example of faith, knew God's will was more important that His.
God knows what is best for us in the long run, even if it may conflict with our short-term wants and desires. As Peter tells us, "[cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Paul says we should be "confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Because God works within us from a broader perspective to build faith and character, He doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we desire.
Some were delivered, some not
The Bible tells us at times "women received their dead raised to life again." But "others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment... And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us" (Hebrews 11:35-40).
Even when we have unanswered prayers, know that God does listen. He does not always answer our prayers to our immediate satisfaction and instantly deliver us from our trials. But He will always do what is best for us.
Related Online Resources
When God Doesn't Make SenseWhy doesn't God always answer prayers? Why can it seem that God is ignoring us when we're trapped in the pit of despair? What do we do when God just doesn't seem to make sense?
Why a Loving God Allows Suffering from the booklet Why Does God Allow Suffering?Many people believe that if God is truly the God of love and mercy He would prevent all suffering in the world. Why doesn't God intervene to prevent suffering?
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Thursday, 17 July 2014
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
My husband and children are Vietnamese. Chinese New Year, or new year to us, is a great time of celebration in our home.
When I decided to join the other women authoring this blog I didn't know much of anything about the moon, its phases or the Pagan wheel of the year. I felt a bit like I had jumped in the deep end of the pool without my floaties! Since then I have been reading every recommended book I can get my hands on - I must have 5 inter-library loan requests out! I never thought my study of the moon cycles would tie into a holiday we already celebrate.
Before there were calendars there were no 'years' and no 'new year'. The calendar is the longest lasting invention of any culture. The first calendar was lunar. In approximately 2637 B.C. after watching the moon's changing appearance, or phases, the Yellow Emperor Huang di and his scientists developed a "system of cyclical characters." In this system, ten days equaled one week, and three weeks made one month. A day paired a sumbol from the Ten Heavenly Stems with one from the Twelve Earthly Branches. Six repetitions of the Ten Stems and five of the Twelve Branches completed the cyle, a total of sixty days. These cycles were used to name the years during the first century. Later during the 1711 century B.C. the Shang dynasty made a lunar calendar based on months - the time between one new moon to the next. Each month was between twenty-nine and thirty days long.
One legend created in ancient China to help explain the mysteries of the universe tells of Heng-O and the twelve chinese moons. People thought there were twelve moons just as there were twelve months in one year. They also thought there were ten suns, just as there were ten days in the Chinese week. The mother of the twelve moons was also the mother of the ten suns. At the beginning of each month, the mother, Heng-O washed her children in a lake at the far western side of the world. Then each moon made of water, one after the other, traveled in a chariot for a monthlong journey to reach the opposite, east side of the world. There, the suns started their journey.
During the Shang dynasty the perpetual calendar was invented. By measuring the length of shadows during the year with a gnomon -the raised part of a sundial -and the length of each day using a water clock, astronomers were able to note the longest and shortest days of the year revealing two solstices and two equinoxes.
*The Chinese alendar is solar and lunar. It is based on the positions of the sun and the moon.
*The new moon is the first day of a lunar month.
*The chinese New Year falls between Jan 21 and Feb 20, the second new moon after the winter solstice.
Chinese New Year 2011, year of the Rabbit is February 3rd (there is some discussion that due to double months and moons in the Chinese calendar the new year doesn't actually begin until Friday the 4th). So we will have our new year's eve celebrations and our new moon observance all in one week!
*We eat out at our favorite Asian resturaunt
*Each kid gets their own red envelope with as many dollars as they have years.
*Making paper lanterns.
*Fireworks!
*Ancestral Altar - Pictures of deceased relatives nearby. On New Year's Eve, flowers, food and candles are placed on the altar for the ancestors to show respect to them and to unify the family.
*Haircuts for the boys before the new year so as not to cut away good fortune during the year.
*Lantern Festival with friends - begins the first full moon of the Chinese New Year, February 18 (some celebrate the 15th day of the month).
*Door God posters - from the legend of two generals who served the emperor and protected his doorway at night. We will use a Goddess and God symbol. A goblet and an athame most likely on either side of our door.
When I decided to join the other women authoring this blog I didn't know much of anything about the moon, its phases or the Pagan wheel of the year. I felt a bit like I had jumped in the deep end of the pool without my floaties! Since then I have been reading every recommended book I can get my hands on - I must have 5 inter-library loan requests out! I never thought my study of the moon cycles would tie into a holiday we already celebrate.
Before there were calendars there were no 'years' and no 'new year'. The calendar is the longest lasting invention of any culture. The first calendar was lunar. In approximately 2637 B.C. after watching the moon's changing appearance, or phases, the Yellow Emperor Huang di and his scientists developed a "system of cyclical characters." In this system, ten days equaled one week, and three weeks made one month. A day paired a sumbol from the Ten Heavenly Stems with one from the Twelve Earthly Branches. Six repetitions of the Ten Stems and five of the Twelve Branches completed the cyle, a total of sixty days. These cycles were used to name the years during the first century. Later during the 1711 century B.C. the Shang dynasty made a lunar calendar based on months - the time between one new moon to the next. Each month was between twenty-nine and thirty days long.
One legend created in ancient China to help explain the mysteries of the universe tells of Heng-O and the twelve chinese moons. People thought there were twelve moons just as there were twelve months in one year. They also thought there were ten suns, just as there were ten days in the Chinese week. The mother of the twelve moons was also the mother of the ten suns. At the beginning of each month, the mother, Heng-O washed her children in a lake at the far western side of the world. Then each moon made of water, one after the other, traveled in a chariot for a monthlong journey to reach the opposite, east side of the world. There, the suns started their journey.
During the Shang dynasty the perpetual calendar was invented. By measuring the length of shadows during the year with a gnomon -the raised part of a sundial -and the length of each day using a water clock, astronomers were able to note the longest and shortest days of the year revealing two solstices and two equinoxes.
*The Chinese alendar is solar and lunar. It is based on the positions of the sun and the moon.
*The new moon is the first day of a lunar month.
*The chinese New Year falls between Jan 21 and Feb 20, the second new moon after the winter solstice.
Chinese New Year 2011, year of the Rabbit is February 3rd (there is some discussion that due to double months and moons in the Chinese calendar the new year doesn't actually begin until Friday the 4th). So we will have our new year's eve celebrations and our new moon observance all in one week!
Traditions our family has:
*We eat out at our favorite Asian resturaunt
*Each kid gets their own red envelope with as many dollars as they have years.
*Making paper lanterns.
*Fireworks!
Activities I am adding this year:
*Ancestral Altar - Pictures of deceased relatives nearby. On New Year's Eve, flowers, food and candles are placed on the altar for the ancestors to show respect to them and to unify the family.
*Haircuts for the boys before the new year so as not to cut away good fortune during the year.
*Lantern Festival with friends - begins the first full moon of the Chinese New Year, February 18 (some celebrate the 15th day of the month).
*Door God posters - from the legend of two generals who served the emperor and protected his doorway at night. We will use a Goddess and God symbol. A goblet and an athame most likely on either side of our door.
Happy New Year and Blessed Be!
Monday, 15 July 2013
Origin: magic-and-spells.blogspot.com
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Credit: paganism-new-age.blogspot.com
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Icon witch corkscrews
This is a line done by Imperial Doulton and theoretical by Charles Noke. Director is an articulation of his Mixed Piper series...a demitasse cup and saucer.A lithe teapot from the Mixed Piper series.
A insignificant jug from his witch series...
A creamer from the witch series presentation a off beam old witch arched better in front part of her cauldron which is in her oven. You can see the smoke unrest out of the cauldron. If you fill in this pic and emerge thoroughly you can see the old woman's black cat exactly behind her and peering straight at you!
This is the creamer and it shows an old witch walking train the reforest with a full moon behind her.
This is a jug with a wizard on it. If you emerge thoroughly you strength see he is holding a potion carafe to add to the troublesome cauldron.
The insignificant sluice...
The hail leading to the insignificant consortium....
Choice immense Japanese Maple....
Blooming Baptisia Australis (Snake oil Navy)...
Katsura (Cercidiphyllum Japonicium)...these foliage contribute off the scent of caramelized pet or cotton chocolate taking into consideration or increase twofold each day.
The big consortium....
The acquaintance involve wintered better for time and now involve had babies!
Hmmmmm....everyplace does this entrance lead to? Perchance nearby time I strength
tell!
Exterior fireplace...
Early light by the back entrance....
Hellebores set down the path.....
Stepping stone for journey the hail....
Highlighted Japanese Palm leaf...
Lady's Swathe with rain drops....
Copper swell path lights....
Door separation the forest....
Origin: spellscasting.blogspot.com
Friday, 20 July 2012
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Now, the first thing you need to know about Make Your Own Rules Diet is that it isn't actually a diet. At least, not a diet in the sense of a precise food regime to lose weight. Only about a third of the book is even about food and it certainly isn't about calorie counting - quite the opposite in fact. It is about eating more healthily - particularly plenty of fruit and veg - but also about eating things that taste nice and make you feel good. Mostly, the books is about ways to use yoga and meditation feel healthier and enjoy life more.
Author Tara Stiles is a yoga teacher and has previously published Yoga Curesand Slim Calm Sexy Yoga.Here she offers simple yoga and meditation practices as part of a daily routine for exercise and stress reduction.
Now, while Make Your Own Rules Diet isn't actually a diet, it is a guide to learning to make your own rules. That's what I particularly like about it. Tara points out that every one of us is different and the secret to happiness is learning what we want - which is, of course, a very Wiccan way of viewing the world. The Wiccan Rede is "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will." That's pretty much the advice Tara offers for getting healthy and happy.
One of the first chapters is Rules of You and includes a meditation for contemplating how we feel physically and emotionally throughout the day and how that affects our normal habits - particularly eating habits. Tara teaches techniques for learning to be more in touch with how we feel and how to develop routines that work with us rather than against us.
Building yoga exercises and meditation - even just a few minutes a day - into our everyday lives can help us generally feel better so we don't lean as heavily on things like caffeinated drinks and sugary, fatty snacks.
In the parts of the book that are about food, Tara encourages juicing fruit and making smoothies at home. She also offers recipes for main meals, snacks and sweet desserts that are tasty and filling as well as providing the energy we need to get through the day. I would point out that this is an American book, so some of the ingredients listed are less easy to find in the UK, but seeing as this is about making your own rules, you can always substitute a few healthy recipes from other sources - maybe something like The Deliciously Conscious Cookbook.
Publisher Hay House says on its website: "In Make Your Own Rules Diet, Tara Stiles introduces you to easy and fun ways to bring yoga, meditation and healthy food into your life. Tara stresses the importance of practising with ease - leaving the discomfort and tension behind - because what you practise is what you manifest. You will not only learn to create your own rules but also to understand when something isn't working any more, so you can update your rules as circumstances change. Her approach takes readers from the kitchen, to the mat, to the cushion, in an effort to help them get to know themselves."
One of my resolutions for 2015 was to get back into yoga again - and the techniques suggested in Make Your Own Rules Diethave already inspired me to dig my yoga mat out of the back of the wardrobe and try a few simple stretches. I think the next step is to dig my food processor out of the back of the kitchen cupboard and make myself a nice smoothie. Small, easy steps - but possibly the start of a journey to getting into clothes I haven't been able to wear for a decade.
Links and previous related posts
Make Your Own Rules Diet
http://www.hayhouse.co.uk/
@TaraStiles
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Wednesday, 13 July 2011
While you partner is sleeping, pass 2 red chili peppers over them, never actually touching them to the person, as if you were vacuuming their aura. Concentrate on you partner's rambling nature being drawn into the peppers, his inclination to wander terminated and his passion for you filling the void left by the disappearing desires.
When you're finished, lay one pepper against the other to form a cross. Safety pin them together and when you have chance, hide them under your partner's side of the mattress.
FIDELITY CANDLE
Powder caraway seeds, cumin, and licorice root and add to grapeseed oil. Carve a figure candle to represent your partner; dress with this oil and burn.
HAIR SPELL (COMMANDING/COMPELLING)
Obtain a lock of your lover's hair. Sprinkle it with "Command & Compel Oil". Place it in a small piece of white linen, wrapping it toward you, knotting it securely shut with blue, red, or gold silk thread.
Carry this in your pocket or a charm bag.
HAIR SPELL (PERFUME)
Obtain two strands of your lover's hair and tie them together with two strands of your own. Place these hairs inside a bottle of your favorite fragrance together with an "Adam & Eve Root. "Every morning, ideally before he or she awakens, place a drop of this fragrance under each of your arms.
LODESTONE FIDELITY SPELL
Place two matched Lodestones and some of the botanical "skullcap "into a satchel. Be sure to add a lot of the botanical or several extra layers of fabric as Lodestones are hard and you want this spell to remain a secret.
Sew the satchel into your partner's pillow.
So, there are a few more for the more practiced Witch. The Chili Pepper spell and the two hair spells seem like they would be especially powerful to me. Good luck and let me know if you ever need anything else.
-Nettle.
Source: magical-poetry.blogspot.com
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Friday, 24 December 2010
Reference: just-wicca.blogspot.com
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Source: candle-magic.blogspot.com
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
OUR INABILITY TO KNOW IS THE SOURCE OF A HOPE THAT IS REAL: WONDERFUL CAN HAPPEN, PART FOUR: IT'S JUST AS LIKELY THE MIRACULOUS WILL HAPPEN.
JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT WE KNEW...
SO I AM SADDENED HAVING BEEN AWAKENED FROM MY FORGETFULNESS BY THIS CATSCAN OF A MIND PERFECTLY PRESERVED IN AN ELECTRONICALLY SEALED TIME CAPSULE... OH, WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.... BUT THEN I REMEMBER, HAPPILY, THAT WE ARE, I AM, IMPERFECT PROPHETS AND SEERS. THAT JUST WHEN IT SEEMS WE KNOW, FOR SURE NOW, HOW THINGS ARE, THE WAY THE WORLD IS, AND HOW THE MOVIE WILL END; THAT JUST THEN WHEN WE KNOW, TOTALLY CONVINCED WE ARE, THAT TRULY THINGS WILL BE AS THEY WILL BE AND THAT IT IS FUTILE TO RAIL AGAINST THE INEVITABLE, TO HOPE, EVEN TO TRY; THAT JUST THEN WHEN WE HAVE FINALLY accepted "reality for what it is," accepted "life on its own terms" not ours; that when we'd given up the things of youth, accepted the limitations of life, addressed ourselves, resignedly, to carrying forward on the mundane things of life, to the ordinary activities of everyperson, to the simple responsibilities and expectations of every man, every person, from every time that's ever been and accepted the unrelenting lack of specialness in either our times or ourselves...that just at that time we would be touched and wakened to see that the most unchanging thing of life is not its utter resistance to change, its utter forgetfulness and repetition, but is the mysterious darkness surrounding the utter clarity of everyday knowingness, is in fact the imperfection of ourselves even as we observe so clearly the assured imperfection of the world.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... WHICH MEANS THAT EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE
SOUNDS COMPLICATED. WHAT I'M SAYING I THINK IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REPEAT. I'LL SAY IT MORE SIMPLY. THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE IS NOT THE THINGS WE SEE THAT NEVER CHANGE. THEY ARE NOT THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE. THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE IS SOMETHING SURROUNDING THE ABSOLUTE CLARITY WE HAVE ABOUT THESE THINGS, THESE HARSH REALITIES EVEN. WHEN YOU'VE FINALLY COME TO ACCEPT LIFE, YOU'VE ACCEPTED THESE UNPLEASANT THINGS, THESE HARD TRUTHS, AND YOU THINK THAT FOR SURE NOW YOU'VE GOT IT, THAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT LEARNING TO ACCEPT THAT...AND THEREBY BECOME THE "ADULT," THE SEASONED, ASSURED CYNIC.
ACCEPTING LIFE'S PAIN. BUT BECAUSE WE ARE IMPERFECT...
But rather, the most unchanging and most true thing about life is that no matter how much we think we know how exactly life is, there's a darkness surrounding that utter everyday clarity that we carry around and share with our neighbors, reinforcing it's trueness. There's a darkness surrounding it. And that darkness is in fact the imperfection of our selves. We're not perfect; we're not all-knowing. It is in fact the imperfection of ourselves even as we observe "so clearly" the assured imperfection of the world, you see. I'm being sarcastic there. WHAT I'M SAYING IS: KNOWING THAT, WE KNOW THAT IT IS EXACTLY THE IMPERFECTION THAT IS THE MOST SOLID THING IN LIFE. YOU SEE? IT'S NOT THE THINGS THAT THEY TRY TO MAKE SOLID. THIS IS THE THING THAT IS SOLID, IS GONNA BE THERE, ALWAYS. NOBODY HAS TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN UNKNOWN.
THEREFORE, SINCE THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN UNKNOWN THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE HUMAN IMPERFECTION. FOR WE MAY THINK WE KNOW EVERYTHING, SOMETIMES. BUT ONLY A FOOL GOES THROUGH LIFE VERY LONG THINKING THAT. AND SO, IN KNOWING THAT, KNOWING THAT THAT'S THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE, THE THING YOU CAN REALLY COUNT ON, THAT'S NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY...WELL, WE KNOW THAT IT IS EXACTLY THE IMPERFECTION, THAT LACK THAT'S IN A PERSON, THAT EVIL, THAT UNMOVING WRONGNESS OF THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE TRIED SO FUTILELY TO CHANGE, THAT BEING IN US, IS THE SOURCE OF THE BLESSEDNESS OF LIFE, WHICH IS THE FACT THAT OUR ULTIMATE UNKNOWINGNESS IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF A HOPE THAT IS REAL,
"
IT'S POSSIBLE "SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN."
IT IS ONLY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE CANNOT REALLY KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT THEN WE CAN KNOW FOR SURE THAT THERE'S ALWAYS GOT TO BE HOPE BECAUSE WE COULD NEVER KNOW FOR SURE THAT THERE WASN'T. SO, WHAT A BLESSING THAT IS. THAT BEING WRONG, BEING IMPERFECT MEANS SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE WHEN YOU THINK OF IT: WHICH IS THAT AGAINST ALL ODDS, "SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN."
ULTIMATE UNKNOWINGNESS IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF A HOPE THAT "IS "REAL. AND YOU SAY, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? YOU SAY, THAT'S NOT TRUE. THEN I ASK YOU, ARE YOU PERFECT? YOU SAY, NO. THEN I SAY, THE ONLY TRUE THING IS THAT YOU'RE NOT PERFECT, SO THAT ANYTHING YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE IS WRONG HAS A POSSIBILITY OF BEING RIGHT.
AND ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... MEANS EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
SO, WHO KNOWS? YOU MIGHT SAY THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S REAL. THAT'S TRUE, OF COURSE, SO WHY WOULD WE NECESSARILY THINK THINGS ARE DIRE RIGHT NOW? WHY, IT'S JUST AS POSSIBLE THAT SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT'S JUST AS LIKELY THAT, IN SPITE OF OURSELVES, THE MIRACULOUS CAN HAPPEN; THAT MAGIC IS REAL; AND THAT HOPE, AND HAPPINESS, AND BLESSEDNESS, AND FORGIVENESS, AND GLORIOUS DIVINE WONDERS BEYOND EVEN THE ENVISIONING OF OUR IDEALS ARE POSSIBLE. AND ALL BECAUSE THE ONLY THING THAT WE CAN BE TRULY SURE OF-EVEN WHEN WE ARE FINALLY CONVINCED THAT WE SHOULD NOT EXPECT ANYTHING SPECIAL-IS THAT WE CAN "NEVER "BE SURE... WHICH MEANS THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... WHICH MEANS THAT EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
CONTINUE WITH CULTURE WAR, CLASS WAR, CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NAKED REPUBLICANS
RETURN TO WONDERFUL CAN HAPPEN, PART THREE - AMAZINGLY, CHARLIE BROWN CONNECTS: REMEMBER... "YES, WE CAN" PROVED WE COULD
INVITE YOU TO JOIN ME ON TWITTER: HTTP://TWITTER.COM/SILLYMICKELFRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SILLYMICKEL
JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT WE KNEW...
SO I AM SADDENED HAVING BEEN AWAKENED FROM MY FORGETFULNESS BY THIS CATSCAN OF A MIND PERFECTLY PRESERVED IN AN ELECTRONICALLY SEALED TIME CAPSULE... OH, WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.... BUT THEN I REMEMBER, HAPPILY, THAT WE ARE, I AM, IMPERFECT PROPHETS AND SEERS. THAT JUST WHEN IT SEEMS WE KNOW, FOR SURE NOW, HOW THINGS ARE, THE WAY THE WORLD IS, AND HOW THE MOVIE WILL END; THAT JUST THEN WHEN WE KNOW, TOTALLY CONVINCED WE ARE, THAT TRULY THINGS WILL BE AS THEY WILL BE AND THAT IT IS FUTILE TO RAIL AGAINST THE INEVITABLE, TO HOPE, EVEN TO TRY; THAT JUST THEN WHEN WE HAVE FINALLY accepted "reality for what it is," accepted "life on its own terms" not ours; that when we'd given up the things of youth, accepted the limitations of life, addressed ourselves, resignedly, to carrying forward on the mundane things of life, to the ordinary activities of everyperson, to the simple responsibilities and expectations of every man, every person, from every time that's ever been and accepted the unrelenting lack of specialness in either our times or ourselves...that just at that time we would be touched and wakened to see that the most unchanging thing of life is not its utter resistance to change, its utter forgetfulness and repetition, but is the mysterious darkness surrounding the utter clarity of everyday knowingness, is in fact the imperfection of ourselves even as we observe so clearly the assured imperfection of the world.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... WHICH MEANS THAT EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE
SOUNDS COMPLICATED. WHAT I'M SAYING I THINK IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REPEAT. I'LL SAY IT MORE SIMPLY. THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE IS NOT THE THINGS WE SEE THAT NEVER CHANGE. THEY ARE NOT THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE. THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE IS SOMETHING SURROUNDING THE ABSOLUTE CLARITY WE HAVE ABOUT THESE THINGS, THESE HARSH REALITIES EVEN. WHEN YOU'VE FINALLY COME TO ACCEPT LIFE, YOU'VE ACCEPTED THESE UNPLEASANT THINGS, THESE HARD TRUTHS, AND YOU THINK THAT FOR SURE NOW YOU'VE GOT IT, THAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT LEARNING TO ACCEPT THAT...AND THEREBY BECOME THE "ADULT," THE SEASONED, ASSURED CYNIC.
ACCEPTING LIFE'S PAIN. BUT BECAUSE WE ARE IMPERFECT...
But rather, the most unchanging and most true thing about life is that no matter how much we think we know how exactly life is, there's a darkness surrounding that utter everyday clarity that we carry around and share with our neighbors, reinforcing it's trueness. There's a darkness surrounding it. And that darkness is in fact the imperfection of our selves. We're not perfect; we're not all-knowing. It is in fact the imperfection of ourselves even as we observe "so clearly" the assured imperfection of the world, you see. I'm being sarcastic there. WHAT I'M SAYING IS: KNOWING THAT, WE KNOW THAT IT IS EXACTLY THE IMPERFECTION THAT IS THE MOST SOLID THING IN LIFE. YOU SEE? IT'S NOT THE THINGS THAT THEY TRY TO MAKE SOLID. THIS IS THE THING THAT IS SOLID, IS GONNA BE THERE, ALWAYS. NOBODY HAS TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN UNKNOWN.
THEREFORE, SINCE THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN UNKNOWN THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE HUMAN IMPERFECTION. FOR WE MAY THINK WE KNOW EVERYTHING, SOMETIMES. BUT ONLY A FOOL GOES THROUGH LIFE VERY LONG THINKING THAT. AND SO, IN KNOWING THAT, KNOWING THAT THAT'S THE MOST UNCHANGING THING OF LIFE, THE THING YOU CAN REALLY COUNT ON, THAT'S NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY...WELL, WE KNOW THAT IT IS EXACTLY THE IMPERFECTION, THAT LACK THAT'S IN A PERSON, THAT EVIL, THAT UNMOVING WRONGNESS OF THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE TRIED SO FUTILELY TO CHANGE, THAT BEING IN US, IS THE SOURCE OF THE BLESSEDNESS OF LIFE, WHICH IS THE FACT THAT OUR ULTIMATE UNKNOWINGNESS IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF A HOPE THAT IS REAL,
"
IT'S POSSIBLE "SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN."
IT IS ONLY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE CANNOT REALLY KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT THEN WE CAN KNOW FOR SURE THAT THERE'S ALWAYS GOT TO BE HOPE BECAUSE WE COULD NEVER KNOW FOR SURE THAT THERE WASN'T. SO, WHAT A BLESSING THAT IS. THAT BEING WRONG, BEING IMPERFECT MEANS SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE WHEN YOU THINK OF IT: WHICH IS THAT AGAINST ALL ODDS, "SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN."
ULTIMATE UNKNOWINGNESS IS THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF A HOPE THAT "IS "REAL. AND YOU SAY, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? YOU SAY, THAT'S NOT TRUE. THEN I ASK YOU, ARE YOU PERFECT? YOU SAY, NO. THEN I SAY, THE ONLY TRUE THING IS THAT YOU'RE NOT PERFECT, SO THAT ANYTHING YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE IS WRONG HAS A POSSIBILITY OF BEING RIGHT.
AND ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... MEANS EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
SO, WHO KNOWS? YOU MIGHT SAY THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S REAL. THAT'S TRUE, OF COURSE, SO WHY WOULD WE NECESSARILY THINK THINGS ARE DIRE RIGHT NOW? WHY, IT'S JUST AS POSSIBLE THAT SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT'S JUST AS LIKELY THAT, IN SPITE OF OURSELVES, THE MIRACULOUS CAN HAPPEN; THAT MAGIC IS REAL; AND THAT HOPE, AND HAPPINESS, AND BLESSEDNESS, AND FORGIVENESS, AND GLORIOUS DIVINE WONDERS BEYOND EVEN THE ENVISIONING OF OUR IDEALS ARE POSSIBLE. AND ALL BECAUSE THE ONLY THING THAT WE CAN BE TRULY SURE OF-EVEN WHEN WE ARE FINALLY CONVINCED THAT WE SHOULD NOT EXPECT ANYTHING SPECIAL-IS THAT WE CAN "NEVER "BE SURE... WHICH MEANS THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE... WHICH MEANS THAT EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
CONTINUE WITH CULTURE WAR, CLASS WAR, CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NAKED REPUBLICANS
RETURN TO WONDERFUL CAN HAPPEN, PART THREE - AMAZINGLY, CHARLIE BROWN CONNECTS: REMEMBER... "YES, WE CAN" PROVED WE COULD
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