WILL YOU BE THE NEXT VICTIM? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 152

There was a time in this country when a murder was a rarity in most cities and towns, and killing seemed to be confined to wars.  When a murder occurred it was on the front page of every newspaper, and before TV it would also be on the radio news.  Today it is no longer a rarity but rather an epidemic. Gang members are killing other gang members.  Children are being abused, assaulted and killed.  College students are being killed, spouses are being killed by spouses, significant others are killed by significant others, neighbors killing neighbors, and now young children are killing parents, teachers, and students.  This is not about owning guns. This is about parenting, education, mental health, accountability, and responsibility.

We have arrived at a time when too many people no longer respect or value life ..........not their own nor the life of anyone else.  If you are a parent have you taught your children to respect life, to value life, to love life? What about you?  Do you respect and value life?  Are you participating in their education?  Do you give them responsibility and hold them accountable?  Do you hold yourself accountable?  If your answer to any of these questions is negative, then it is time you started to do the right things..  If you have grandchildren are they being taught to appreciate life and to know how fragile it is?  If you do not teach them who will?

I am saddened to say this, but we have become a nation of pigs.  Greed and self-absorption abound at all ages and in all occupations and professions.  Lies have become the coin of the realm.  The anger and rage which are rampant, and the total lack of respect for anyone or anything exhibited by far too many people today will become the downfall of all of us.  Think about our children and grandchildren.  What kind of life can they expect to have?  Between the pigs and the ridiculous politicians we are paying to treat us less well than they treat themselves, I fear their lives will be a living hell.

Only we can change things, and the first thing we must believe and share with others is that

LIFE MATTERS! 

FOR WHAT DO YOU CARE? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS -DAY 141

Do you know any children whose parents don't really care about them?  Have you met a teenager who has never known what it is like to be cared for and treated well?  A lot of kids who get into gangs are lured to join by the idea that they will have a family or people who will care about them.  Of course, they are too naive or too frightened to realize that the caring they may receive comes with a high price as more and more is demanded of them.

Do you know any people who have pets but do not provide proper care for them?  Do you know any pet owners who are actually mean to their pets?  The shelters are full of dogs whose owners did not care about them.

Do you know people who are fortunate to have jobs today but who do not care about their jobs?  Do you know people who are interested only in a paycheck and not in doing the best work they are capable of doing?

The poor quality of the labor market, the problems with bullying in schools, the large number of animals who have to be put down, the poor performance of our schools, and the ever increasing crime rates are all indicative of people not caring.  What is part of the solution?

CARE MORE!

IS THERE LOVE IN YOUR LIFE? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 130

These things are casting a pall over our everyday lives:

• The political childishness and incompetence in our government, 
• the racial and financial divisiveness being fueled by politicians,
• the rage of many citizens resulting in harm to others and even murder,
• the abdication of responsibility by many parents,
• their children seeking to belong to a family joining gangs,
• the horrific gang violence, the youth mobs attacking people,
• the outrageous lies being told by politicians and the main stream media,
• the lack of resolution to any of the huge problems we have faced for 5+ years,
• the ill-informed or uninformed people having no clue about what is really happening,
• the sweeping under the rug of scandal after scandal,
• the financial problems and unemployment millions are facing,
• the dreadful dumbing down of our schools,
• the poor academic performance of our children,
• and the fear of what our children and grandchildren will face in their lifetimes.

We receive daily doses of bad news relating to all of these things, and sometimes we must wonder if there is still anything good left in our country or the world.  The answer is there are millions of good people and many wonderful things still happening despite the ugliness of the daily news.

Love abounds if we give it and if we accept it.  So many kinds of love are available to us......parental love; love between siblings, friends, colleagues; puppy love, first love, love of your life, marital love, physical love; spiritual love, love of family, love of country, and love of pets.  

Be sure you are open to love, and it will make life so enjoyable despite all the trouble in the world.  If you give love, you will get love.  It's out there.  Go get it!

LOVE ABOUNDS!

TO GET YOU HAVE TO GIVE - CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 75

It is a sad commentary on the times in which we live that many people have no respect for anything.........not for people, age, property, authority, opinions which differ from their own, educators, churches, or even themselves.  Even some of the gangs will kill others for "disrespecting" them.

How about you? Where do you stand in terms of respect?  Do you respect yourself?  If not, how can you expect others to respect you?  Do you respect other people, etc.?  You have to give respect to earn respect so each day ask yourself if you are behaving in a respectful manner.  If not, do something to change it!

Today's message is:

GIVE RESPECT!

Love, Sweet Love

Back in the late 60's or early 70's there was a song with lyrics that said, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  It's the only thing that there's just too little of..................."  Yesterday I was speaking with my daughter who lives in Manhattan.  Because of the recent tragedy at the Empire State Building we talked of  many things:

• the insanity in today's world, 
• the senseless crimes, 
• the red flags that are ignored which could prevent tragedies,
• the rage and anger exhibited by many people, 
• the killing and wounding of innocent people, 
• the bickering, dishonesty, and lack of action of our elected representatives, 
• the insane greed and lust for power, money, and 15 minutes of fame,
• the overwhelming national debt,
• the millions of people looking for jobs,
• the loss of moral compasses by many people,
• the ever-increasing numbers of homeless people and addicts of every kind,
• the looting and stealing of other people's property by thugs,
• the destruction of property over stupid things like a sporting event won or lost,
• the great lack of respect for authority, anything or anyone, 
• the huge number of single mothers and abdication of responsibility by fathers,
• the boys who think that they are tough because they belong to gangs and are no strangers to drive-by shootings and other criminal acts,
• the ridiculous mismanagement of funds in cities, towns, and states causing the loss of needed protection provided by police, fire fighters, and our military.  
• and so many, many more issues that taint life in the world today.

You will notice we did not mention natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires,  hurricanes or tornadoes as they are things over which humans have no control. The problems we discussed are all man made and, therefore, in truth can be resolved by mankind if we are inclined to fix them.  We talked about things that could, should, or might be done to resolve the problems and make the world a better, safer place.

We believe the thing that could start to make things better is LOVE.  All children and adults need love, compassion and kindness, and when they don't get it anger, rage, and bad behavior are the results.  There have always been evil people and evil acts, and there are people who have been loved but still choose to go down a wrong path in life. Many people want to fight, quarrel, kill, threaten, attack, and generally behave like jerks.  Love, kindness and compassion can help many of them and, over time, prevent the numbers from increasing.

Such a simple answer but a true answer.  Will we all ask ourselves what do we do that we need to stop doing, and what do we not do that we need to start doing?  Will we begin in our own homes, on our own streets, in our own cities and towns?  Bad people and bad deeds make the daily news, but there are still millions of good people in this world who are never mentioned................there are enough good people so that we could turn the world around if we join forces and decide to do it.

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love......................"  How about it?  Are you in?

Have You Heard Of Nathan Laube?

Last evening I took my delightful 92-year old next-door neighbor to an organ concert because she thoroughly loves organ music. I personally think organ music is an acquired taste since many of the selections written for the organ are not melodic but very intense. It was an absolute pleasure to watch and listen as 23-year old Nathan Laube shared his incredible musical gifts with us. He has poise and presence beyond his years, and is very articulate. I think he is brilliant, has an amazing personal history, and will no doubt have a successful and exciting future. My memory did not retain all of the facts about Mr. Laube's education, awards, honors, and experiences which are numerous. I can tell you that he began a graduate degree program in Stuttgart, Germany last fall, and he holds the position of Artist in Residence at The American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris, France so commuting is frequent. Somehow he finds time to pursue other interests which include medieval and modern architecture, gardening, international travel, exotic cuisine and cooking, sketching and drawing. Learning what Mr. Laube has accomplished in his young life, it makes me think it is unbelievable in comparison to the young men we hear about too often in the nightly news. I mean the way-too-large number of young men who are in gangs, on trial, incarcerated, or dead before they are 25. It also makes me think when the arts are taken out of our schools due to lack of funds, we are denying some potential artists the chance to learn, blossom and succeed. If ever you have an opportunity to attend a concert by Mr. Laube in the USA or in Europe, jump at the chance. You will be glad you did!

How Do Humans Become Capable Of Atrocious Acts?

There is so much going on in many parts of the world which involves killing and torturing people. I continue to be appalled and alarmed at how vicious and violent people can be. This morning I attended Mass at a Catholic Church with one of my neighbors. As I looked at the exquisitely carved crucifix behind the altar, it occurred to me that crucifixion was one of the earliest forms of torture and execution. Throughout the service I watched the figure of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. I began to ask myself, "How in the world could any person look at another person still alive, nailed to a cross, and think that it was acceptable to do such a thing to anyone for any reason?" I watch the events of the world unfold during the evening news; I see gangs killing members of other gangs as well as innocent children. I see people found guilty of molesting the very children whom they were employed to teach and keep safe. I see people being terrified, tormented, injured and killed by order of barbaric dictators. I see people killed because of religious persecution. I see people being threatened with nuclear weapons. I see the United States being threatened by a leader of another country who does not even know us but would have no compunction about blowing all of us to smithereens. Every person in the world comes into life as a pure, innocent, little baby. What causes any of them as adults to become so hardened, so greedy for power and wealth, and so dysfunctional that they are amoral or immoral? We as parents have both a great responsibility and a great privilege to raise our children so they do not become perpetrators of atrocious acts. Are we not paying attention? Are we too busy? Are we not interested in parenting? Are we ourselves bad role models? Do we want our little ones to grow up in a world that is filled with hatred, unkindness and danger? If not, then we darn well better do something about it.........each and every one of us in our own home has the opportunity to make the world a better place for our children and all future generations. Why would we NOT want to do it?

Are You Courageous OR Are you not?

Yesterday I saw the movie Courageous. If you have not heard of it, it is an independent film by the same people who have had previous success with Fireproof and other films. I have not seen their other works but have decided now I must see them based on my reaction to Courageous. The movie is interesting, poignant, funny, inspiring, violent, and so spot on when it comes to what children need from their fathers. I wish this film could be shown to every boy and girl in junior high, high school, college, to every man who is already a father, and to every girl and woman who will select the father or stepfather of her children. There will be those who will opt to disregard the film's powerful message because they do not believe in anything stronger than themselves. But for anyone willing to listen with an open mind, there are definitely answers to some of the many problems that plague today's children, parents, and society in general. So many children are growing up without fathers in their homes or (even worse) in their lives. Some fathers who live in the homes are still absent due to work, other interests, and just not realizing what power they have to influence the lives of their children. Both boys AND girls need their fathers, and girls who are abandoned by their fathers tend to select the same kind of men so the cycle continues. I am aware that there are fathers and stepfathers who are abusive and dangerous to their children, stepchildren, and spouses; but they are NOT the majority of absent fathers. Gangs are a huge problem in our society, and statistics prove that being fatherless contributes greatly to kids joining gangs, doing drugs, commiting acts of violence,becoming prostitutes, and ultimately being incarcerated, or dying violent deaths. Single mothers cannot fill the voids in their children's lives left by the fathers of the children, and they should not have to. This film opened to a very successful weekend according to news reports, and I am encouraged by that news. Our world is in a heap of trouble on many levels so I hope more males will accept the responsibilities and the challenges of fatherhood and that the people in their lives will support them and encourage them for making the effort. It is not easy to be a parent of either sex or to be courageous. Parenthood is the most important job you will ever have because you shape the adult persons your children will become. The world needs less evil and more goodness if it is to be the kind of world you want your babies and older children to experience.