Tag Archives: Self-esteem

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Saith Me… Propaganda

Propaganda works on those willing to listen either from fear or from prior conviction. It can plant seeds of doubt, however seeds of doubt turn into trees of knowledge for any willing to explore rather than be led.

Fear meme

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Back to School

A new year and four new classes on military and diplomatic history. As a new way to ensure mobility rather than atrophy due to the endless hours at the computer, my kids and I plop down in front of the TV and watch history documentaries and lectures.  So how you might ask does that help avoid the atrophy?  Well by spinning yarn of course!

Last semester I survived four classes but my spinning suffered. This semester I intend to find a better balance. So far it is working quite well, but the challenge will come as the four term papers come due.

I am currently spinning singles for my daughter to use in weaving projects.

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A Stellar Year

An odd realization occurred just recently, the realization that true friends not only support you when you struggle, but also when you succeed.  In times when recession and struggle seem more common than not, it is a great blessing to have friends who will celebrate your joy and success even when their lives are less bountiful.

2012 was a very stellar year for me and for my family.  It was filled with joy and excitement, something of a break compared recent years where struggle to overcome dominated the scene. As this year neared its end, I have reflected on the abundance of my blessings and the sheer joy of life, family, and friends. This reflection makes me glow inwardly and outwardly. It is impossible to contain.

It is a great gift to have friends who celebrate joy with me even while 2012 presented greater struggle for them, and sorrow or pain clouded their days. These friends show themselves to be true.  It is of them I will ponder as the clock strikes twelve, and for them I will cast my wish for blessings and abundance in the upcoming year.

Friends and Family, this year they have intertwined and become of the same in my heart. It has been a stellar year and my heart rejoices for the abundance of friendship and love which I have been blessed.

Happy New Year and may 2013 greet you with abundance of friendship!

2012 Stellar Year

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Saith Me… To Stand not Fight

It is a good and noble thing to stand up for that in which you believe. Sometimes you may even need to fight for your beliefs, but remember when we choose to fight, we are seeking to change the will of others. Changing someone else’s will is not simply changing their mind, but changing their desire to resist the result you propose.

The decision to fight, to try to change someone’s will, should not be decided upon lightly.  Even a fight of words can result in harm and injury.  Before you start a fight, make sure your fight is for something in which you are willing inflict injury to achieve.  Be sure the thing you are willing to injure others over has a great enough value that it will offset the damage you will cause.

We can stand on principles without resorting to a fight, but to do so we much have respect for the principles upon which others stand. In almost all cases, it will be better to stand than to fight.  It is a profound task to figure out the exceptions.

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Music of the Season – Seeking Joy

Now that Halloween is over I can listen to Holiday Music again. (I say Holiday because I love Winter Music as well as Christmas Music.)

I figure the more happy music I listen to the more of the ugliness of the world I can tune out. Not ignore the world, but just buffer myself from it.

I believe completely in being informed, reading and researching and learning, but I also believe I must actively seek joy rather than waiting for someone find it for me.

Happiness does not come from ignorance, but from knowledge. Knowledge is not always pleasant, but understanding is the first step to doing something, making a change.

Winter Music, Holiday Music and Christmas Music simply makes the doing so much more fun. Whether it is service for others or simply cleaning my own house, the quest for joy can be just a melody away.

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Saith Me and My Son… Fear

Fear is the easiest way to distract people from seeing issues clearly. It creates “something worse” and thereby allows bad to be perceived as good.

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Is it a good thing when your kids start arguing with you as to whom the credit for pithy ponderings should go?

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Saith Me… The Hardened Heart

When the hearts of the many are hardened and are accepting of hate, it is then there will be woe among mankind and iniquity will prevail.
– Pioneer Lady

 

Gandhi described anger and intolerance as being the enemies of correct understanding, but they are also the enemies of reason.  They spread misunderstanding.

People will disagree on principles, or on the details of an issue, but that is not the same as standing on misinformation, calling it truth, and asserting all others are wrong in their beliefs.  Correct understanding therefor is not just the ability to understand, but the ability to understand the opposition and the ability to reason rather than simply rationalize.

 

 

 

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Why I write…

Why do we write in blogs, journals, or memoirs? Is it because we like to see our ideas take shape, or think our messages are profound or revolutionary? Or do we simply write with the hope that they will have value today or tomorrow, have value to or for someone we will probably never meet?

A few weeks ago, a professor asked the question of why should we study history, but the real question, for me at least, is why do we write history? Why do we write our own history in our blogs, journals, and memoirs, a written record of our thoughts and actions? I think we write for three reasons. The first, we hope we are interesting and hope our activities will be of interest to others. The second, we hope that by writing our experiences down, we will learn lessons from our experiences and maybe others will learn from us as well. Third, we do not want to forget our experiences or be forgotten.

These are all valid reasons to write, but a great man taught me one other reason to write. He taught me that we can serve others through our writing, through our research, and through our records. Not just through the lessons or experiences we share, but through the lives of others we preserve through written record.

This great man, great to me at least, passed away two days ago. He had dedicated his retired years to gathering and recording history; specifically the history of his ancestors. Through his work, volumes of information became available to his relatives and to the public. He was never famous and never sought fame, but in certain circles, he was well known and well loved. Most of the histories he wrote were the histories of others, but upon his family’s request he wrote of his own youth and of his experiences as a World War Two POW. When he wrote of his journey in life, it was not to gain fame or attention, but simply to leave a record; a humble record of a man who spent his life serving. Through his life, he served his family, his faith, and his nation.

He set the bar high for those of us who follow, but in doing so he taught us the value of service and the blessings that service brings to our fellow man, to our family, and to ourselves. For in blessing others, he was truly blessed; in loving others he was loved in return.

So why do I write, simply put, to emulate in my own way a great man – I write with an attempt to serve others.

A Great-Uncle and a Great Man!