Tag Archives: #thoughts

Spirituality

The Thinking Game

We live in a meme culture. People see a headline they love and share it as dictum without investigating it. There’s so much stuff thrown our way that no working person has time to check it all out.

God gave us the greatest gift when He gave us our brains. Filled with 86 billion neurons, each with the ability to fire hundreds of times per second, our brains are more powerful than a nuclear reactor. Yet we only use a small part of it.

Thinking has almost become a lost art form. From what I’ve read, many colleges and universities have been teaching students what to think rather than how to think. The results are a mindless society.

Parents are our children’s first teachers. Solid families with strong values are more likely to engage in constructive dialogue. Communication is part of thought.

When you see a meme that piques your interest, stop and ask yourself if it really makes sense. Then ask yourself a better question: does it matter?

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Spirituality

Find The Beauty

The critics are everywhere. You know who I’m talking about. These are the people who find a problem in every situation. They might not recognize a solution if it hit them in the backside.

Beauty exists all around us. There is beauty in every person, every scene in nature, and there is beauty in every failure. If you don’t stop and look around, you might miss it.

Political divide has been building for over twenty years. The gap has grown wider and it doesn’t look like it will reverse. People are spending an inordinate amount of time criticizing the other side, yet they have nothing to show for their efforts. Why not take the energy used to criticize and use it for something meaningful? Just think about the impact we can make, the beauty we can bring forth.

God created everything and everyone. He made us all, and he didn’t make a mistake. He didn’t even have any second thoughts. He must love variety because no two people are alike. There’s beauty in the variety.

Change your perspective. Find the beauty in every moment. It’s there…

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Uncategorized

Kids

Children are a wonderful gift from God. The innocent wonder and awe of toddlers is something to behold. They only get to be that age for a short period of time. Let them enjoy it.

The other day I was out for a walk in my neighborhood. I saw a sign placed in the ground advertising a sports league for kids 3-13. Yes, they can begin at three years old.

You know from previous columns how I feel about sports. They are wonderful teaching tools for young people. But in my opinion, three is too young. At three, kids are in an “imprinting” period where creativity is developed. From 3-7 is when talents like art and music are developed. And their imaginative ideas are off the charts. Getting kids to learn the motor skills required in sports robs them of some of this time of development.

Let’s let kids be kids. The great athletes will present themselves later. Professionals have a rare talent that can’t be hidden. Kids will grow up soon enough…

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Spirituality

Get Educated

We place a premium on education. The more degrees someone has, then the brighter they must be, right? Well, maybe.

Over the course of my life I have met a lot of people. The mix of people I know includes Republicans, Democrats, atheists, Jews, Christians, Muslims and a few Hindus. I know people with multiple degrees and I know people who dropped out of school. Every single one of them had something to teach me. I learned by listening, not by talking.

Learning to actively listen has been invaluable for me. When we open our minds to different perspectives we can learn. There are eight billion people on the planet with eight billion different lives. Each of them brings unique experiences to the table. All should be considered even though no one is right all the time.

It costs nothing to listen. But the lessons we can learn are worth more than a degree. Learn to listen…

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Spirituality

Seasons Change

Fall is here! This conjures up thoughts of cooler temperatures, leaves changing color, and we begin looking forward to our first fire in a while. Yet in Texas it’s still hot as hell.

My 50th high school reunion is coming up next week. I won’t be attending. High school was a fun period in my life. I had a lot of friends and an active social life. But that was then.

Today my life is different. I have new friends and keep myself busy with work, writing and my podcast. And a few more projects as well! The people from my high school days that were most important I am still in communication with.

Seasons change. People change and grow. Sometimes people are in your life for just a period. They weren’t meant to stay around.

Keep going, and keep growing. Life is a beautiful learning experience…

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Spirituality

Shocked

The country is in trouble. There’s no margin for differing opinions or beliefs. While I refuse to give up hope, I’m watching the division widen. This doesn’t look like the country I grew up in.

We have always argued about politics. The old saying was, if you want to get along with others, don’t talk about politics, sports or religion. Sports and religion have taken a backseat to politics. In some ways, politics has become some people’s religion.

The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk has brought out some real ugliness in people. The comments and celebrations about this mans death are inhumane. It doesn’t matter what his politics or what his organization stood for, a 31 year old man was killed, leaving a young wife and two toddlers behind. I cannot understand how decent people could be happy about this. Perhaps they really aren’t decent, just sick, twisted and dark.

It would be wonderful if bad things didn’t happen in this world. But that would mean this world would be Heaven. It’s not Heaven, just an imperfect place for us to live until we reach eternity.

Take care with your words. The tongue is a dangerous weapon…

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Uncategorized

Walking Tours

For the last three days I have been in Chicago. I’m returning home today. But man I have seen a lot of downtown Chicago!

I set out earlier this morning looking for a specific restaurant recommended by my assistant. Once again, Google directions failed me. Horribly. Oh well, I got in a nice walk before I found the restaurant. Google sent me a mile the wrong direction.

Walking is wonderful exercise. It’s easier on your knees, and we can walk farther than we can run. Walking allows us to experience nature while we are doing something that benefits our bodies.

Get outside. Walk around. Your future self will thank you…

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Spirituality, Uncategorized

Feel It

The home I grew up in had a policy: you don’t talk, trust or feel. That’s right! You stuff your feelings down until you become numb. This wasn’t healthy.

If you had a similar experience growing up, there’s good news. You can heal from the dysfunction and pain. It takes work, but it is possible. It gets uncomfortable when feelings come to the surface, but over time it becomes comfortable. Then you will become whole again.

The great Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung famously said, “Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.” What Jung meant was, if we don’t process our trauma it will show up in a more damaging form. Anxiety, depression and compulsions are prime examples of unresolved trauma.

People who experienced abuse and violence are way more common than you realize. No one talks about it because they believe they are the only ones who have this experience. They believe they are outliers. They aren’t outliers, and they aren’t alone.

I’m eternally grateful for my early life. It gave me a relatable story I can take into schools and prisons, encouraging others to face their demons. They aren’t the giants we can build them up to be.

A lot of people are faking their way through life. Get rid of the fakery. You face it until you make it…

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Spirituality

The “In Crowd”

When we were growing up, there were different groups of kids who hung around together. Popular kids, athletes, nerds, thugs and the rest existed within the same school. Sometimes the lines blurred between them.

In school, I got along with each group quite well. I marched to my own drumbeat and that rhythm didn’t necessarily fit into any one group. My friends are still spread across a diverse mosaic. Each person brings their unique song into the mix.

When my son was getting into trouble years ago, people would say “he’s just hanging around with the wrong crowd.” To me, that was just an excuse. You see, he chose the crowd. My son had solid character, and he eventually straightened his life out. But we get to choose who we associate with.

We are a product of our environment. Sometimes people are just transitory in your life. They aren’t meant to stay. Hang on to the ones who challenge you, who bring out the best in you. And you should do the same for them.

Those people are a treasure…

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Spirituality

Unwanted Anniversaries

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th. For months after the attack news pundits refused to call it what it was, an attack. Their favorite description was “the events of September 11th.” Well, 2,977 people died in this so-called event. Our lives were altered forever.

Everyone knows where they were when they first learned of the attack on The United States. We watched as the jets flew into the twin towers. We saw the people jump to their deaths rather than be burned alive. Anger built inside of us. We wanted to get the people responsible for this.

Americans came together. We were a united front in our desire to have justice. Not everyone was included in our newfound togetherness. If you were an Arab living in the United States, you were looked at sideways. It was guilt by association, even though they may have been your friends and neighbors for years.

The United States is strong. We have an inner strength and rebellion in us that began over 250 years ago. We have overcome innumerable challenges and we will face new ones in the future.

September 11th is an anniversary I wish we didn’t have to commemorate. Yet, we must never forget.

God bless this great country…

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