I don't think anyone really realizes the way the patriarchal religions have influenced people. I call it subconscious indoctrination. Even though consciously many have thrown off the chains of enslavement with regards to Christianity, they still subconsciously retain influence. And other patriarchal religions also, not just Christianity.
Connection with Deity, or not.
Some Witch/Wiccan/Pagans believe that the idea of Deity is in reality an archetype of the feminine, masculine or creator concept. And that is totally fine. Because we understand that everyone has a different view and understanding of Deity.
Others believe that there are many, many different Deities each with their own personality, name and powers. That too is fine.
And then there are those who feel that Deity is just one who is both male and female and able to separate into masculine and feminine aspects. That has been believed by millions of folks and there is nothing wrong with it.
Some believe that the Goddess and the God just show different aspects. That there is only one Goddess, but she has many names and faces, and the same for the God. That too is fine.
But many when coming to the various pagan paths sometimes have a hard time understanding that there are various views and that all of them are great, and none is bad. They worry that they will offend the Goddess or the God and be punished. They wonder if it is acceptable to want to work or worship a different Goddess or God from that which they were introduced to. Because they were taught, and still subconsciously believing that a sword wielding, lightning bolt sending, vengeful God or Goddess is going to punish them for worshiping a different one. Not happening, the Christian God may be a jealous God, but the Goddess and God of the Witch/Wiccan/Pagans is not. If you want to believe they are an Archetype, they don't care, if you want to worship or work with Rhiannon today and Isis tomorrow you aren't going to get zapped.
Do something bad, or don't believe in a particular version of Deity and you will end up going to hell or somewhere to be punished when you die.
Nope not happening. We don't believe in Hell. We believe in the concept of karma if you do something nasty and mean, deliberately and maliciously that you will probably have karma kick in and have something not pleasant happen to you. For example if you go around lying on others, you will either have someone lie on you, or to you, or be flat out caught lying. Or in your next incarnation you will have it happen to you. But we don't believe in an other worldly place of punishment where demons and devils tortue you and you burn in a lake of fire. We see the other world as a place of love and healing.
That it is a woman's place to produce children one after another and populate the earth. Nope. That is most certainly a patriarchal concept, meant to control a woman and make a man feel virle. It is up to each person rather or not they wish to have a child. Birth control and abortion are a personal choice. A fetus is not seen as a baby, and abortion is not seen as murder or killing of a baby. In fact throughout time the Matriarchal societies have believed that even after a baby is born that it does not receive a soul until one moon cycle after the birth. The Jewish folk believed this for the most part, along with many Indigenous folks. The Matriarchal societies believed that it was better to have a contributing adult that was helping, then to have an infant that needed to be taken care of and was unable to contribute to society for many years. And I have seen many a Witch/Pagan/Wiccan who seem to believe that it is their duty to produce offspring and not use birth control, or believe that the Goddess is against birth control and abortion. To that I say, poppycock. Talk to them, and you will find out they grew up in a Evangelical home, or went to a Religious run school where they were indoctrinated from an early age.
Sexual activity.
The Goddess wants us to celebrate life. She doesn't say you can't have sex outside of marriage, or different partners. Again, that is a patriarchal concept that was used to make sure that offspring belonged to the man in question. All she asks of you is that you be responsible and not see sex as a means to control others, or to allow yourself to be seen as only a sexual receptacle.
As for being LGBT the Goddess and God really don't care. In fact for eons these folks were seen as special and a bridge between Deity and humans. They were seen as a gift to humans to help them in their understanding of relationships between Deity and humans and females and males.
Of course there are thousands of other ways this subconscious indoctrination stays within one's psyche, and it is up to each of us to root it out. Because what the Goddess wants is for us to be happy, to love and help each other, to take care of each other, the planet and animals. She wants us to learn and explore, to expand our horizons. She doesn't care if someone is black, brown, red, white or yellow. What she cares about is how we treat each other and the planet and it's lifeforms. She doesn't expect us to be doormats either. If we use force, be it by magical means or otherwise, all that she asks is that we are using it to protect ourselves from those who would harm us, others, or animals or the planets. She expects us to protect those who are not able to protect themselves. She is not going to zap us or send us to hell. Remember also to allow evil to exist and go unchecked harms everyone.
So root out those subconscious indoctrination and free yourselves of the chains of the patriarch, you'll be happier and the world will be a better place.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Monday, April 22, 2019
The Abrahamic religions. The big three.
The Abrahamic religions you ask? What are you talking about? I am talking about those Middle Eastern Semitic Religions that all claim to worship the God of Abraham, and where Abraham is seen as a patriarch. Yazdânism, Samaritanism, Bábism, Rastafari, the Bahá'í Faith, The Druze Faith,and Judaism with it's 2 offspring Christianity and Islam.
Oh? You didn't know that? Yes, the Jewish religion is the father of both Christianity and Islam. Imagine that. The Christians seem to conveniently forget that Jesus was Jewish and the original Christians were a Jewish Sect. But that was before the Sociopathic Saul/Paul had his so called vision on the road to Damascus. There always has to be a sociopath or three or more to come along and start trouble. Saul/Paul was the original twister of the Christian faith, he created out of whole cloth a new Christianity that was for gentiles, and with even a new version of the original Jesus. (Sort of like what the Evangelicals in the United States have been doing, the name may be the same, but nothing else is.) Then other sociopaths that came after Saul/Paul twisted things even more. In the 4th century along came Constantine the Great, a famous sociopath for a fact. He sized up things when he saw how his mother Helena was enthralled by Christianity, he seized the chance to use it to consolidate his power. Realizing that there were so many different types of Christians, he gathered the various leaders of the different sects together and plotted with the most power hungry ones to solidify all into one and with their help, helped create modern Christianity. Including the idea that Jesus was the son of God and was divine.
In the early 7th century along came Muhammad with his visions and thus Islam was created. In fact as the centuries went and the Islamic faith spread,those of the Jewish faith were able to coexist with the Muslims.
Now under Saul/Paul and his brand of Christianity, hatred of Jews was festering and growing. Saul/Paul himself was born of Jewish folks, but he had not been brought up as a strict Jew. He decided to study under certain Jewish leaders, and fell in love with Popea the daughter of the High Priest. And she spurned him, she ended up marrying Nero. And thus Saul/Paul who never, ever knew Jesus when Jesus was living, nor did he study under him, decided to have his little vision, he ended up in conflict with the original followers of Jesus. They saw him as a con artist, a flim flam man if you will, who was preverting their religion. And this conflict carried over into Paul's version of Christianity. Thus the enmity between Christians and Jews. As Christian gained and consolidated their power, they began to persecute the Jewish people, and anyone that did not adhere to their tenets . Thus was the Catholic Church.
OH, you didn't know that huh? Ok, so let's be clear. At the time of Jesus and for the first few years after his death, Christianity was a Jewish sect. There were no Baptists, or Lutherans or any other of the Protestant sects, they weren't created until 1517. There was no Catholic Church as we know it. Christianity for the gentile groups didn't come along until Paul created it sometime around 37 A.D. or so. The followers of the Pauline Sect eventually evolved into the forerunner of the Catholic Church which officially became the Catholic Church we know today under Constantine in the 4th century. And ever since then Christianity has been a religion of violence and bloodshed. The Catholic Church subdivided into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Catholic. They had infighting and there was the Great Schism of 1054 that occurred between the Eastern and Western branches of the Catholic Church.
Islam also had fighting between different sects trying for dominance just as it does today. Some sects wanting to follow the original tenets of Muhammad and others wanting to force their views on everyone else, including their Muslim brethren.
Regardless, as the power and expansion of Islam occurred and begin to creep into Christianity terrority, the Eastern Orthodox Church began to lose control to the Muslims. So in 1095 they sent envoys to Pope Urban II of the Roman Catholic Church and asked that troops to aid them be sent. And so the Crusades, or Holy Wars began. All in all between 1096 and 1291 there were 8 major Crusades sent to the so called Holy Land to reclaim it from the "infidels". Innocent citizens were slaughtered wholesale by the Christian Crusaders, in retaliation, certain Muslim sects that were the forerunners of today's sects such as Isis did the same.
As for Judaism, it's early history is filled with bloodshed and violence against other religions and ethnic groups, all one has to do is start flipping through the Christian Bible or Jewish Tanakh.
As we can see, these three religions, all have a history of violence between them. What a pity that millions if not billions of people have lost their lives due to the inability of some of the religious leaders of these 3 fanning the flames of hatred between them. But Sociopaths do that.
Oh? You didn't know that? Yes, the Jewish religion is the father of both Christianity and Islam. Imagine that. The Christians seem to conveniently forget that Jesus was Jewish and the original Christians were a Jewish Sect. But that was before the Sociopathic Saul/Paul had his so called vision on the road to Damascus. There always has to be a sociopath or three or more to come along and start trouble. Saul/Paul was the original twister of the Christian faith, he created out of whole cloth a new Christianity that was for gentiles, and with even a new version of the original Jesus. (Sort of like what the Evangelicals in the United States have been doing, the name may be the same, but nothing else is.) Then other sociopaths that came after Saul/Paul twisted things even more. In the 4th century along came Constantine the Great, a famous sociopath for a fact. He sized up things when he saw how his mother Helena was enthralled by Christianity, he seized the chance to use it to consolidate his power. Realizing that there were so many different types of Christians, he gathered the various leaders of the different sects together and plotted with the most power hungry ones to solidify all into one and with their help, helped create modern Christianity. Including the idea that Jesus was the son of God and was divine.
In the early 7th century along came Muhammad with his visions and thus Islam was created. In fact as the centuries went and the Islamic faith spread,those of the Jewish faith were able to coexist with the Muslims.
Now under Saul/Paul and his brand of Christianity, hatred of Jews was festering and growing. Saul/Paul himself was born of Jewish folks, but he had not been brought up as a strict Jew. He decided to study under certain Jewish leaders, and fell in love with Popea the daughter of the High Priest. And she spurned him, she ended up marrying Nero. And thus Saul/Paul who never, ever knew Jesus when Jesus was living, nor did he study under him, decided to have his little vision, he ended up in conflict with the original followers of Jesus. They saw him as a con artist, a flim flam man if you will, who was preverting their religion. And this conflict carried over into Paul's version of Christianity. Thus the enmity between Christians and Jews. As Christian gained and consolidated their power, they began to persecute the Jewish people, and anyone that did not adhere to their tenets . Thus was the Catholic Church.
OH, you didn't know that huh? Ok, so let's be clear. At the time of Jesus and for the first few years after his death, Christianity was a Jewish sect. There were no Baptists, or Lutherans or any other of the Protestant sects, they weren't created until 1517. There was no Catholic Church as we know it. Christianity for the gentile groups didn't come along until Paul created it sometime around 37 A.D. or so. The followers of the Pauline Sect eventually evolved into the forerunner of the Catholic Church which officially became the Catholic Church we know today under Constantine in the 4th century. And ever since then Christianity has been a religion of violence and bloodshed. The Catholic Church subdivided into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Catholic. They had infighting and there was the Great Schism of 1054 that occurred between the Eastern and Western branches of the Catholic Church.
Islam also had fighting between different sects trying for dominance just as it does today. Some sects wanting to follow the original tenets of Muhammad and others wanting to force their views on everyone else, including their Muslim brethren.
Regardless, as the power and expansion of Islam occurred and begin to creep into Christianity terrority, the Eastern Orthodox Church began to lose control to the Muslims. So in 1095 they sent envoys to Pope Urban II of the Roman Catholic Church and asked that troops to aid them be sent. And so the Crusades, or Holy Wars began. All in all between 1096 and 1291 there were 8 major Crusades sent to the so called Holy Land to reclaim it from the "infidels". Innocent citizens were slaughtered wholesale by the Christian Crusaders, in retaliation, certain Muslim sects that were the forerunners of today's sects such as Isis did the same.
As for Judaism, it's early history is filled with bloodshed and violence against other religions and ethnic groups, all one has to do is start flipping through the Christian Bible or Jewish Tanakh.
As we can see, these three religions, all have a history of violence between them. What a pity that millions if not billions of people have lost their lives due to the inability of some of the religious leaders of these 3 fanning the flames of hatred between them. But Sociopaths do that.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
The promise of Ostara
The celebration of Ostara long predates the christian holiday of Easter. And of course it wasn't known as Ostara by everyone, but every culture had a celebration around this time of year to celebrate the awakening and renewal of the earth.
Ostara celebrates the awakening of the earth and the return of fertility and growth. It is about regeneration, rejuvenation, renewal, rebirth, birth, and beginnings. We know this just by the symbols commonly associated with Ostara. Spring flowers, baby chicks and ducklings and bunnies and eggs are all symbols of spring. The rabbit is a sacred animal to many gods and goddesses around the world: the rabbit is a symbol of fecundity. Often seen as a messenger of deity, they are fertile and reproduce at a rapid rate.
Eggs can signify a number of things including rebirth and awakening. Back down through the eons they have long been a mystical symbol associated with fertility, renewal and birth.
So Ostara promises us that the dark, barren, and cold days are over and that the time of light, fertility and renewal are at hand. It shows us that rejuvenation and rebirth are now upon us, and it is time to plant seeds, be they figurative ones or actual ones. This is a time of hope and renewal. We see the promises of the Spring Equinox coming to fruition. Flowers are blooming, leaves and blossoms are coming forth on the trees and shrubs, and baby animals are being born.
Ostara shows us that the season of renewal is here and for a season will put forth our seeds that we planned during the dark, barren times and planted at this time of renewal.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
No live and let live, it's all about them.
Everyday I shake my head over stuff going on in the world. Generally this has to do with people, and to break it down even further, I shake my head over conservative, right wing people. It doesn't seem to matter what their nationality is, stupidity knows no borders or boundaries. Racism, bigotry and all the other ism's and hate seem to go hand in hand with being right wing and conservative.
So being an American citizen I am exposed more to our brand of these folks more so than any other nation, and I am to put it bluntly sick of them. I have never seen such hateful, nasty people in my life. Angry and filled with rage, they lash out indiscriminately at anyone or thing that doesn't fit into their preconceived notion of how things should be. And there is no compromising with them. They act like spoiled toddlers who scream, stamp their feet and hold their breath to get their way. According to them, their way is the only way and by golly everyone is going to dance to their tune or suffer their fits and displeasure. And it doesn't matter if facts don't support their opinion, because according to them, facts don't matter, just their opinions on whatever subject or matter is being discussed. They don't have to be logical or fair, they don't have to make sense, the rest of us are to just give them their way about everything.
Examples from real life.
The right to choose birth control and make reproductive choices should be a given. But not for the right wingers. Nope. Birth control of any type they claim is killing a baby. They don't grasp the fact that a fetus is not a baby, and they think everyone should have babies at the drop of the hat. And they think it is entirely their right to tell women what they can and can't do with regards to making choices about birth control or abortion. So to break it down we have pro birth control who says Hey, if you want to use birth control do so, and if you don't want to, then don't. But that doesn't fit with these people. They say, we don't believe in birth control so no one should use it. As for those who think women should be allowed to get abortions, they say, hey, if you want an abortion get one, if you don't want to, then don't. The anti-abortion folks say NO. Abortion is bad, we don't think anyone should get an abortion, so no one is getting one. See the difference here, choice versus no choice. Now even though it is a woman's body, and her choice, they have no problem telling her what she is allowed to do. Now the only person this will effect with regards to birth control is the woman herself, and with abortion the woman and a fetus who is not self aware (and regardless of the fake stuff that is told by the anti abortion folks, a fetus that looks like a shrimp, is not self aware), but the anti abortion folks and anti birth control folks claim it hurts their God's feelings. And it hurts their Jesus's feelings. Now I all have to say to that is, if one is a deity and has an entire universe to worry about and take care of, they better pull up their big boy briefs and stop acting like a spoiled, controlling sociopath.
Now to go along with things that don't make any sense from these people, after them claiming that the entire world has a right to stick their nose in a woman's reproductive choices, they turn around and scream that having to get their children vaccinated is stepping on their rights.That no one should tell them what they have to do with their bodies. Yep, that's right even though getting measles, mumps, chickenpox, whooping cough and so on can kill a child that has been born, can damage them, or cause other children and people to get sick and die or harmed, they don't think anyone or the government should tell them what to do with their own bodies. Does this make sense? Not a bit. But then again, these people are so confused and senseless you want to shake them.
So let's go further on their nonsense. They claim they are Pro life. And who could blame you for thinking that being Pro life would mean all life, not just human, and for thinking that it meant making sure that people had the necessities of life. But that's not how it works with these people. The only life they are worried about is that of a fetus. They aren't worried about animals(in fact they don't care if animals or plants live or not, they kill the wildlife, wipe them out, rip up plant life and have no regard for the planet at all), the only life they worry about is a fetus. Once birth occurs, they could care less if there is clothing, food, shelter, or clean water. At this point it is everyone for themselves. And other races and ethnic groups are demonized, put in cages, suppressed, repressed and discriminated against with glee and malice.
Marriage is their definition only- a man and a woman. Rape is bad, but according to them if a man rapes a woman, it's generally because she caused it herself, or she is lying. But this again depends on the race. According to these folks only the White race counts. If you are a white woman, the odds are according to them, if your attacker is a white man, it's probably not rape. Now if the attacker is another race or ethnicity, according to them, they are all rapists. Their view of race and gender is the only correct one and if everyone doesn't agree they scream and cry that they are being discriminated against.
Their religion is the only correct one, and the entire world should be made to practice their religion, or be killed. It doesn't matter that their religion is nothing but a hate filled cult, it's theirs and everyone should be made immediately to respect it, and make it the official, legal religion. No one should have any rights with regards to religion but them they feel.
They revise history to support their delusions of what they wish it were or would have been. Facts don't support their views, so they write their own books. They call truth lies, and facts fake news. They tout their Bible at every turn, but when pointed out to them that what they are saying and doing is not in their Bible, they now plan on revising their Bible to support their views, So much for their claim it is the word of God and not written by humans.
And I could go on and on and on, in fact probably write a set of books about their wrongfulness and illogicalness. They are reprehensible and despicable and people are really getting sick and tired of these people. They aren't intelligent per se, but cunning and sly. I think the entire world would be a much happier place without them.
So being an American citizen I am exposed more to our brand of these folks more so than any other nation, and I am to put it bluntly sick of them. I have never seen such hateful, nasty people in my life. Angry and filled with rage, they lash out indiscriminately at anyone or thing that doesn't fit into their preconceived notion of how things should be. And there is no compromising with them. They act like spoiled toddlers who scream, stamp their feet and hold their breath to get their way. According to them, their way is the only way and by golly everyone is going to dance to their tune or suffer their fits and displeasure. And it doesn't matter if facts don't support their opinion, because according to them, facts don't matter, just their opinions on whatever subject or matter is being discussed. They don't have to be logical or fair, they don't have to make sense, the rest of us are to just give them their way about everything.
Examples from real life.
The right to choose birth control and make reproductive choices should be a given. But not for the right wingers. Nope. Birth control of any type they claim is killing a baby. They don't grasp the fact that a fetus is not a baby, and they think everyone should have babies at the drop of the hat. And they think it is entirely their right to tell women what they can and can't do with regards to making choices about birth control or abortion. So to break it down we have pro birth control who says Hey, if you want to use birth control do so, and if you don't want to, then don't. But that doesn't fit with these people. They say, we don't believe in birth control so no one should use it. As for those who think women should be allowed to get abortions, they say, hey, if you want an abortion get one, if you don't want to, then don't. The anti-abortion folks say NO. Abortion is bad, we don't think anyone should get an abortion, so no one is getting one. See the difference here, choice versus no choice. Now even though it is a woman's body, and her choice, they have no problem telling her what she is allowed to do. Now the only person this will effect with regards to birth control is the woman herself, and with abortion the woman and a fetus who is not self aware (and regardless of the fake stuff that is told by the anti abortion folks, a fetus that looks like a shrimp, is not self aware), but the anti abortion folks and anti birth control folks claim it hurts their God's feelings. And it hurts their Jesus's feelings. Now I all have to say to that is, if one is a deity and has an entire universe to worry about and take care of, they better pull up their big boy briefs and stop acting like a spoiled, controlling sociopath.
Now to go along with things that don't make any sense from these people, after them claiming that the entire world has a right to stick their nose in a woman's reproductive choices, they turn around and scream that having to get their children vaccinated is stepping on their rights.That no one should tell them what they have to do with their bodies. Yep, that's right even though getting measles, mumps, chickenpox, whooping cough and so on can kill a child that has been born, can damage them, or cause other children and people to get sick and die or harmed, they don't think anyone or the government should tell them what to do with their own bodies. Does this make sense? Not a bit. But then again, these people are so confused and senseless you want to shake them.
So let's go further on their nonsense. They claim they are Pro life. And who could blame you for thinking that being Pro life would mean all life, not just human, and for thinking that it meant making sure that people had the necessities of life. But that's not how it works with these people. The only life they are worried about is that of a fetus. They aren't worried about animals(in fact they don't care if animals or plants live or not, they kill the wildlife, wipe them out, rip up plant life and have no regard for the planet at all), the only life they worry about is a fetus. Once birth occurs, they could care less if there is clothing, food, shelter, or clean water. At this point it is everyone for themselves. And other races and ethnic groups are demonized, put in cages, suppressed, repressed and discriminated against with glee and malice.
Marriage is their definition only- a man and a woman. Rape is bad, but according to them if a man rapes a woman, it's generally because she caused it herself, or she is lying. But this again depends on the race. According to these folks only the White race counts. If you are a white woman, the odds are according to them, if your attacker is a white man, it's probably not rape. Now if the attacker is another race or ethnicity, according to them, they are all rapists. Their view of race and gender is the only correct one and if everyone doesn't agree they scream and cry that they are being discriminated against.
Their religion is the only correct one, and the entire world should be made to practice their religion, or be killed. It doesn't matter that their religion is nothing but a hate filled cult, it's theirs and everyone should be made immediately to respect it, and make it the official, legal religion. No one should have any rights with regards to religion but them they feel.
They revise history to support their delusions of what they wish it were or would have been. Facts don't support their views, so they write their own books. They call truth lies, and facts fake news. They tout their Bible at every turn, but when pointed out to them that what they are saying and doing is not in their Bible, they now plan on revising their Bible to support their views, So much for their claim it is the word of God and not written by humans.
And I could go on and on and on, in fact probably write a set of books about their wrongfulness and illogicalness. They are reprehensible and despicable and people are really getting sick and tired of these people. They aren't intelligent per se, but cunning and sly. I think the entire world would be a much happier place without them.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
The road to hell....
The road to hell they say is paved with good intentions. But exactly what is that old phrase telling us? Actually it has a number of messages for us if we stop and think about it.
Now aside from the fact that not everyone believes there is an actual physical location somewhere in another dimension where Satan reigns freely and people who aren't Christians and believe in Jesus go there, the concept of hell can be a euphemism of a place in our lives that is a seemingly inescapable situation , filled with misery, abuse, turmoil, torment or destruction. So the road to hell may refer to such a state of mind, or situation. Meaning we are on a path to such a state through our own actions and decisions. Many a person who has ended up in an abusive relationship certainly has not made a conscious decision to place themself in a domestic scene where they are controlled or abused. They haven't said or thought "Oh gee, I think I will go find myself a partner that lies to me, hits me and makes me miserable.", no, more often they made the fatal mistake of thinking that they could change the person through their love. Like me, I am sure you have known folks that have done this. They have met, and fallen in love with someone who they feel is a wounded soul that just needs love and understanding to turn them around from their drinking or drug use. The truth of the matter is, unless someone wants to change, they won't. You can love them, put them on a pedestal, bend over backwards and let them trample on you, but it won't change them.
Another thing that this old saying warns us of is to stop and think things through. Try and see what consequences may occur. Don't just react, but think of all contingencies. Best case scenario versus worst case scenario. That unintended consequences have a way of cropping up.
It can also refer to those who always plan on doing something, but never do it, they don't follow through and end up with a situation on their hands due to their own inactions.
It can also mean taking action and doing something wrong, or dubious with the idea that it will result in the greater good. The Inquisition is a good example. In order to usher in the golden age of Christianity; heretics, pagans, and others not walking the line of the Christian religion were killed. So this proverb is also telling us that our actions and decisions can cause horrible situations for others. Hitler is another good example of this. He wanted to rid the world of people that he thought were garbage, pests, subhuman, or he saw of enemies of his dreams. Millions of people jumped on the bandwagon eager to join his campaign. Those put in concentration camps were living in hell. But he claimed that this was for the greater good, that the Aryan Race would reign supreme. Sadly millions of people were killed, and millions were harmed as he and his followers implemented his agenda.
So this proverb is full of warnings to us in a variety of ways. It warns us that often we end up on a path wondering how we got there, when we had no desire to end up with a mess on our hands, and it also tells us that we need to take actions, but we have to think them through so that we don't end up miserable or causing misery and suffering for others. And it also warns us that hate, and evil will never produce a good outcome for anyone, regardless of our supposed good intentions in doing so.
Now aside from the fact that not everyone believes there is an actual physical location somewhere in another dimension where Satan reigns freely and people who aren't Christians and believe in Jesus go there, the concept of hell can be a euphemism of a place in our lives that is a seemingly inescapable situation , filled with misery, abuse, turmoil, torment or destruction. So the road to hell may refer to such a state of mind, or situation. Meaning we are on a path to such a state through our own actions and decisions. Many a person who has ended up in an abusive relationship certainly has not made a conscious decision to place themself in a domestic scene where they are controlled or abused. They haven't said or thought "Oh gee, I think I will go find myself a partner that lies to me, hits me and makes me miserable.", no, more often they made the fatal mistake of thinking that they could change the person through their love. Like me, I am sure you have known folks that have done this. They have met, and fallen in love with someone who they feel is a wounded soul that just needs love and understanding to turn them around from their drinking or drug use. The truth of the matter is, unless someone wants to change, they won't. You can love them, put them on a pedestal, bend over backwards and let them trample on you, but it won't change them.
Another thing that this old saying warns us of is to stop and think things through. Try and see what consequences may occur. Don't just react, but think of all contingencies. Best case scenario versus worst case scenario. That unintended consequences have a way of cropping up.
It can also refer to those who always plan on doing something, but never do it, they don't follow through and end up with a situation on their hands due to their own inactions.
It can also mean taking action and doing something wrong, or dubious with the idea that it will result in the greater good. The Inquisition is a good example. In order to usher in the golden age of Christianity; heretics, pagans, and others not walking the line of the Christian religion were killed. So this proverb is also telling us that our actions and decisions can cause horrible situations for others. Hitler is another good example of this. He wanted to rid the world of people that he thought were garbage, pests, subhuman, or he saw of enemies of his dreams. Millions of people jumped on the bandwagon eager to join his campaign. Those put in concentration camps were living in hell. But he claimed that this was for the greater good, that the Aryan Race would reign supreme. Sadly millions of people were killed, and millions were harmed as he and his followers implemented his agenda.
So this proverb is full of warnings to us in a variety of ways. It warns us that often we end up on a path wondering how we got there, when we had no desire to end up with a mess on our hands, and it also tells us that we need to take actions, but we have to think them through so that we don't end up miserable or causing misery and suffering for others. And it also warns us that hate, and evil will never produce a good outcome for anyone, regardless of our supposed good intentions in doing so.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Small kindnesses and their impact on others.
Many times we don't realize that little things that we do have a big impact on others. Sometimes the smallest of kindnesses can make a world of difference to someone else. And I am referring to even such things as letting another car go ahead of us in traffic, or someone with just a few items in their shopping cart go before us in the checkout lane, not to mention smiling or holding a door open, or lending an ear or a shoulder to a friend.
A smile given to a stranger, a kind word or a compliment can often brighten someone's day and bring a bit of sunshine and kindness into their life. And it is something that we can all do for others. I know that at those times when I am feeling rushed and overwhelmed and my day has been filled with stress, that the very act of someone motioning me to go ahead and get into the lane in front of them has been a blessing to me.
My neighbor recently lost her husband a few months back, and to put it bluntly last year and this year has been a horrible time for her. Her husband had several health issues and they were either going to the doctors or the hospital or getting out of hospital, and then she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. So there they were last year under all this stress, and he was getting out of the hospital and she was going in, and then had to start chemo and on and on it went. I would go over and visit, and sometimes I would take over something that I had made like cake, or stuffed peppers. Then in October he came home from a procedure and took her for her chemo. He came home, laid on the couch and passed on. She called me from the hospital to find out if he were home as he was suppose to come pick her up. He was home, the door was locked and there was no answer, so I went and picked her up and brought her home to discover him on the couch. I helped her call the coroner and went and got another one of the neighbors and we stayed with her until he was taken away by the coroner. Since then I have made a point to visit her daily, take her little treats and so on.
So a couple of months ago she gave me a card and told me she really appreciated me being there for her, and yesterday she told me that she was so thankful I was in her life, that knowing I was there was helping her make it through this difficult time. So it got me to thinking, that these little things that I had done were helping her through these dark times in her life, that perhaps we don't realize that little kindnesses do make a difference in others lives. That perhaps they made the world a better place. And perhaps we should all do them daily to help bring about the changes we all want.
So a couple of months ago she gave me a card and told me she really appreciated me being there for her, and yesterday she told me that she was so thankful I was in her life, that knowing I was there was helping her make it through this difficult time. So it got me to thinking, that these little things that I had done were helping her through these dark times in her life, that perhaps we don't realize that little kindnesses do make a difference in others lives. That perhaps they made the world a better place. And perhaps we should all do them daily to help bring about the changes we all want.
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