Giving Up

Giving up or letting go is admitting defeat and to a fighter like me that doesn't come easily. Everybody experiences set backs and few accomplish anything without having to navigate obstacles. I think that holding on to your dreams and visions for the future is part and parcel of why we are here. It is our solemn obligation to answer our calling... to co-create, especially if we hold to the tradition that we are "born in the image and likeness of God". As mere mortals we are humbled by the truth that we are never really creators, but only co-creators who must rely on God or "universal intelligence" or a "higher power" in order to achieve anything worthwhile. Some would say this is nonsense...that we are sufficient unto ourselves. I can only hold to my own truths and respect them for holding to theirs. I'm happy to admit that beyond the argument of St. Thomas Aquinas which points to the intelligence in the universe as proof of an intelligent designer, I have no eloquent arguments to proffer. My experience tells me that I am part of something much larger than myself and if I am open and honest than I stand to gain a great deal from what life has to offer. For me the brass ring is wisdom. It is the journey into knowing, understanding and ultimately co-creating love and peace. Embracing it can be a real blast.
The Blastometer

Blessings of Today

It is a beautiful sunny day in Southern California. Outside my window, the birds are singing, and all is well in my world. It is amazing to me all the gifts I have received through no merit of my own. Though the outside world is at war, you wouldn't know that in the serenity of my back yard...and that is the point. Why do some people wake up to hell, pain or any number of disasters and I wake up to this? I kissed my husband goodbye this morning and I have every reason to believe that he will return home safely tonight. My daughter is still slumbering though it is almost 10 A.M. and my sons are doing who knows what 700 miles away in school in San Francisco. No news is good news I guess. I have been blessed. I enjoyed my childhood, I had great parents and I have terrific brothers and sisters...seven of them to be exact. We have the ability to pay our bills on time and, most importantly, I have my faith. Will it sustain me in times of trial? It has so far...let's just hope my good fortune holds up for awhile longer. And I promise, I'll keep the rest of you in my prayers because I don't take any of this for granted. Oh...and thank you, God. Have a great day.

The blastometer gives today a high five!

Education in America

I recently read an article about the fact that about 50% of our kids aren't graduating from high schools, particularly in the inner cities. Duh! Would you want to go into a war zone everyday to learn from a frustrated teacher who is forced to accommodate every learning type (i.e. visual, auditory, ADD, ADHD, disabled ect.) not to mention every non-english speaking illegal immigrant that enters their classroom. Teachers have no authority in their own classrooms and what's worse is the students are actually handed a "students bill of rights", a tool often used to threaten teachers by those they are entrusted to educate. Don't even get me started on what we pay them...in Los Angeles, the computer system was so screwed up they were loosing their homes because their paychecks were getting lost in the system.
Well intentioned parents will do back flips to keep their kids out of these "poor" districts, and those who can't will seek alternatives such as a district transfer, moving altogether, home schooling or charter schools. I've tried all of them...private, home schooling and charter schools and I live in the suburbs! The schools are overcrowded and bullies and thugs roam the hallways. Perhaps it is because the use of our public school system is considered a "right" instead of a "Privilege". My grandmother had no more than an eighth grade education, because she had to go to work to help support her 11 brothers and sisters. My mother rued the fact that she never got to go to college. Today, even receiving a high school diploma is no guarantee that you can put an intelligible sentence together. Gone are the days that kids were happy to go to school just to get out of laboring in the field or factories. Now if a kid isn't in school they are making a killing selling drugs, or just killing depending on if you are in a gang or not. If you aren't into selling drugs, you are probably into taking them. Our kids are home playing video games and having sex while their parents (both of them or all four of them sometimes...in cases of divorce) are out busting their butts to keep a roof over their heads and to keep them in the latest fashion, gaming system, or new cell phone. These things come in handy when trying to organize a kickback with the in crowd.
Which brings me to the real problem...THE PARENTS! Face it folks, the nuclear family went out with birth control and abortion. When women mastered their biology, they fled from the home and into the workforce...who wouldn't given the choice. Homemakers aren't revered in our society, and motherhood in the modern era is a nightmare. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but the truth is that when women abdicated their role in the family, there was nobody there willing to pick up the ball. The men sure as heck weren't interested. What with all that inconsequential sex to be had, who had time for staying at home and running a household full of rug rats? So divorce sky rocketed, families blended, everyone is looking to be somebody to everybody else, and the kids suffered. Surprise, surprise! Maybe these changes are evolutionary and it will all work out in the end. Guess we aren't really reaping what we have sown... no, we are just in a sticky stage in the evolutionary process right? The problem is, I'm not sure we aren't de-evolving because we've become selfish. We think sacrificial giving is stupid and the Christianity is limiting and outmoded. God is dead. What did you think would happen, Silly?

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