NUTS AND BOLTS
Without dreams we would have no future sense and no plans. But dreaming is no substitute for action. Our dreams must be kept in check, otherwise we risk dreaming our lives away without the benefit of experience, or setting our sights so high our dreams overreach our potential.
Many men and women seem to examine each other as lovers first and as friends second. At least subconsciously, we are usually preoccupied by sex. This is observable in the flirting patterns of men and women, and is instinctive. Consciously people can establish friendship first - friends become lovers as they may. Particularly if a relationship is to become a successful marriage - friendship must develop. Best friends can have most rewarding sexual relations, giving rather than taking.
How big a ripple will you make today? Think about it - your energy, positive or negative, may be passed along to many people. How you handle your early encounters is very important - you do much to set the tone for the whole day, theirs and yours.
If you really want a challenge, keep your new years resolutions to yourself. An oath taken before witnesses is compelling. We easily lie to ourselves, and will therefore find it much more difficult to keep our promises to ourselves.
What is most necessary for me at this moment? Of all the things I can think to do for myself, what should I do now? Who ever asks this question and takes it seriously?
Why look outside for something to hang your hat on when you can hang your hat on your head?
Although physics determines the outcome of all events, God being keeper of the laws of physics, we have a role in determining which events will be set in motion. The result may or may not be what we expect, may or may not benefit us, and may even set us back - this is chance. Don't forget how complex are the choices you make. All that we experience on a given day, and all that we have ever experienced for that matter, affects the decisions we make later. In this way we affect each other and all that happens. But in the end we did collectively make the decisions and everything happened the way it had to.
Don't be too critical of other people's habits; certainly don't get upset about it. Be on the defensive and concern yourself with what you choose to do. They are going to get just what they deserve and so will you.
If there is a moral argument against premature sex, it is that you can't deny your partner the emotional bonds of sex. Sex makes it too easy to think there is also love. Teenagers should not have sex because they are not prepared to make commitments.
God does not take sides in any conflict. Be sure your decision to do battle does not depend on God's support. Regardless of how you believe God will deal with your death, remember, it is the living that make heroes of the dead.
People will say almost anything to each other, and God knows we lie to ourselves. We tend to be more disciplined when putting a thought to paper. That is why mother warned against those notes to girlfriends. When you write it down it is serious.
Can you imagine how much more successful you might be if you really needed to hunt, if you were really a hunter and not simply a sportsman? The difference between a hunter and a sportsman is that the hunter's life depends on hunting.
If you feel the need to express yourself to God you may as well use your own language. Until we learn the language of God, which is probably more like music, there are no alternatives. Just don't think that God can be persuaded. God knows your heart and soul regardless of what you say. God is with you always.
Farmers, because they depend on the earth and nature, know better than most people that every day is a gamble.
You must get involved with people to develop. If your excuse for avoiding people is lack of patience, you have boxed yourself in. You can't learn patience by yourself.
To appreciate bravery and cowardice you have to first understand the difference between danger and trouble. Danger need not involve other people, but trouble always does.
Marriage should come before parents and children. Obviously, children need their parents; there is more to marriage than the parent's happiness. But sometimes marriage must be put before children in order to assure the parents bond, strengthen the marriage, and preserve the family intact. It is a mistake to always put children's priorities ahead of marriage.
Even if God does not have a personality in the sense that we do, the effect of his interaction with us is the same. God's appearing to have a personality makes those of us who pay attention more receptive to His presence in our lives.
Meditation and prayer, both promote alignment in different ways. Prayer through concentrated and specific thought, and meditation through the attempt to eliminate specific thought altogether. Prayer focuses our temporal existence while meditation promotes God consciousness.
We are destined to compete for space and time. We will not always be able to stay out of each other's way. So, the choices we make can never be perfect. This is what makes us sinners.
There is no devil. There is only the force, also a property of God, which would have our world, in all its form, return to chaos. The unmaker works not only in the obvious and passive ways of aging and decay, but also actively, through our minds. When God gave us this opportunity, he knew that we would have this burden, that this was a force we would have to resist, in order to realize His rewards, here and now.
It should not matter that the Bible be based, more or less, in fact. If the words are inspiring, they have spoken for themselves.
For young athletes, winning and loosing is less important, than having a mind to consistently be competitive and develop the skills necessary to make winning a possibility.
The bottom line - there has to be something left when you take away sex and infatuation. For men, this means what's left once you know what she looks like. For women this means what's left once you know he will stay for the whole picnic.
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