Jesus Leveled the Playing Field of Personality

Why is it that the quiet ones, the behind-the-scenes ones, the not-as-social ones, are somehow deemed aloof and prideful while those carrying the very opposite traits go about in their heads justified? 

Those with many friends, adults and children alike, are judged to be “well-adapted and adjusted,” while the thoughtful book readers, nature-explorers and non-“engagers” are somehow uncaring and not worthy of esteem.

But then a baby born in a manger or cave of some sort, who grew up in a lowly village, quietly learning and practicing a trade, arrives in our thoughts every year at Christmas. 

Small, vulnerable, meek and mild, the baby, as an adult, continued to not stand out, to the point that when stirrings began around him, people scratched their heads and asked, 

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” 

Jesus went on to be a public speaker. 

He was surrounded by people. 

But he didn’t become their expectations. 

He remained the humble, thoughtful man that he had been all of his life. 

He surrounded himself with twelve close workers in the spreading of his Father’s message. He tapped into men of all stripes: loud, stubborn, energetic; but also quiet, unassuming, and serving so much in the background that people today struggle to remember some of their names. 

Jesus purposely and trustingly “sent” them all, though. He didn’t leave any of the twelve out. 

He used every quality they brought to the party, and never singled out one personality type as being worthier than others. 

Jesus deflected fame, fortune, and popularity and didn't succumb to peer pressure to do what others expected and to be how other people so wished he would be.

He remained true to who he was, in spite of mockery and judgement.

In thirty-three years, Jesus grew up into the very man God intended. And because of that, sin was overcome and a place for each and every person ever born was made, not just on earth, but in heaven too.

Copyright Barb Harwood

Midnight Clear

 

Many of us can sing the opening line, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” to the hymn of the same name, only to have our voice trail off, or revert to humming the remainder of the song.

So I took some time this morning to read the lyrics in full, and was amazed at the portrait drawn there, one I had never visualized before:

Angels arriving through cloven skies, bending near the earth with wings unfurled—hovering—all the while singing and touching their harps of gold.

What a majestic, unobservable picture!

And while one could have a discourse long into the night regarding angels, one can, at minimum, metaphorically grasp the calm reassurance such an image holds for a “weary world.”

But perhaps one would have to actually become weary in order to appreciate the atmospheric possibility of rejoicing; to willingly forgo the modus operandi of being sick and tired. 

Perhaps one would have to first acknowledge that being disgruntled much of the time with things one can’t control is not a very productive way to live out one's precious days.

What if we could begin instead to “see” angelic grace and calm fortitude, to the point where fed-upness melts away? 

What if we let our guard down, not just with one heavenly guardian, but the whole lot of them; an innumerable choir, a multitude, an un-armed legion of them—they that come “swiftly on the wing” to sing over the earth’s “Babel” of “sounds!”

What if we allowed—invited—angels to sing over (drown out) our own babel, from our very own mouth?

Believe in them or not, can we believe in what they herald: relief, contentment, inner quietness, goodwill, unsentimental and non-politicized hope?

Can we imagine, angel or no, the symbolism of them breaking into our world for real?

We can close our eyes and bring these celestial beings to life, letting them alight on our souls so that our lips lay down their diatribes and our hearts surrender their haughty offense.

Maybe we can’t believe in actual divine spirits with feathered appendages.

But can we buy-into what they represent?

And if we do believe in angels, can we receive their ministrations and spread their message--one directly dispatched to us “from heaven’s all gracious King” Himself?

Tonight, envision the angels, with wings spread—over your worst enemy, all of your regrets and multiple worries. Be reminded also as they resound memories of joy. 

Feel their movement in the air, the strength and vitality in their presence, the glory of their song, and the midnight of their clarity into humanity’s attainable “glad and golden hours.”

Copyright Barb Harwood

Grace

The following is from the band U2’s website. It’s the back story to one of my favorite songs, followed by the lyrics (I especially like how, though it is Bono's generalized belief that "the universe operates by karma," grace personified in his song overcomes the tit-for-tat modus operandi of it).

From the website:

“Grace is a theme that Bono latched onto in his later years. Grace can have many meanings. The grace of god, someone's name and simply being in someone's 'good graces'.

With this song from All That You Can't Leave Behind, grace is possibly best described as a character that has an empirical quality about them, almost godlike.

Indeed, when Bono's lyric refers to Grace carrying a pearl Bono is referenceing the following passage from the Bible, Matthew 13:45–46:

'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it'

Of the character in the song, Bono has actually said: 

‘"There are a couple of my favourite people rolled into that lyric but the most important thing is that they personify my favourite word in the lexicon of the English language. It's a word I'm depending on. The universe operates by Karma, we all know that. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. There is atonement built in: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Then enters Grace and turns that upside down. I love it.”'


Lyrics


Grace, she takes the blame

She covers the shame

Removes the stain

It could be her name

Grace, it's the name for a girl

It's also a thought that could change the world

And when she walks on the street

You can hear the strings

Grace finds goodness in everything



Grace, she's got the walk

Not on a ramp or on chalk

She's got the time to talk

She travels outside of karma, karma

She travels outside of karma

When she goes to work

You can hear the strings

Grace finds beauty in everything



Grace, she carries a world on her hips

No champagne flue for her lips

No twirls or skips between her fingertips

She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt

What once was friction

What left a mark no longer stings

Because Grace makes beauty

Out of ugly things

Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace finds goodness in everything'

Silence

The gift of silence: the most wonderful present, and presence, we might possibly give this year, to ourselves and others. 

Doesn’t mean abstinence from speaking, necessarily, although it could. 

(an interesting note: dictionary.com defines abstinence as:

“forbearance from any indulgence of appetite; 

any self-restraint, self-denial, or forbearance; 

the state of being without a drug…on which one is dependent.

I think talking, at times, can definitely qualify as an indulgence of appetite and a drug upon which one is dependent!!)

Silence, then, can simply mean the cessation of speaking one way—one we’ve become accustomed to and have normalized— in favor of another, better, more gracious way. 

copyright Barb Harwood

Peace

 

Peace is not something to wish, or even to hope for. 

It is not a sentiment to wear on one’s sleeve or to stick in an envelope and mail as a Christmas card. 

It is not a virtue to be signaled. 

Peace is a decision. 

A solitary decision.

Others might favor dissension over a chosen peace.

So be it.

We choose peace anyway, and forgo the "useless wranglings" of people of "corrupt minds" who are "obsessed with disputes and arguments" and have an "unhealthy interest in controversies" (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

Talk such as this, "avoid" (2 Timothy 3:5b); "flee from these things" (1 Timothy 6:11a).

Choose peace; no one is stopping us.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." John 14:27a 

Copyright Barb Harwood

It Feels Good to Fully Accept Joy

Yesterday I had an authentically joyous day after experiencing a shift in a relationship—a shift that came unexpected and by surprise.

During a telephone conversation, as my initially tense anticipation of what was to transpire gave way to an open-minded realization that “this is going really well,” the exchange continued in a mood of markedly honest and warm camaraderie. I have not experienced this way of being with this person since I was a small child.

And I can only describe my take-away of what took place between us as joy, the kind God talks about steadily and often, and yet has eluded me for years when it came to this individual.

This joy, the sheer objective, non-forced or sentimentalized reality of it, was at first a bit strange to trust, especially when hopes had risen in the past in this relationship, only to expire time and time again.

But yesterday was different. It was the spark of something I once knew with this person, and now, for even just one day, knew again. 

And for it to have occurred at all is enough to keep me going in joy, though the walls may yet cave in once again with this person. I will bear the collapse with the joy of knowing that for one moment anyway, this person and I got to the place of joy once again. 

That is what I will live on and hold close going forward.

And it feels good to fully accept this joy and not push it away in cynicism about the past or doubt about the future. 

To simply accept joy where it is and when it happens, free of vulnerabilities that would limit or minimize. To give it freedom—permission really—to be the impartial and unbiased grounding going forward.

Copyright Barb Harwood

Happy Like That Again

I think the time comes when we move beyond angst and are plain and simply happy again, like a child, like the child we once were, like back then, before we knew the angst that would become us. 

Happy. Like that. Again.

copyright Barb Harwood

I Am Not Everyone and Everyone is Not Me

 

Ever notice how habitual the inward bringing-to-bear of one’s self upon others has become?

Statements, opinions and comments are spoken with a set expectation of response from others (I believe this is more commonly referred to as tunnel vision). 

Plans and approaches to gatherings, meetings, events, and holidays are devised and anticipated with a predetermined assumption of how all participations will join in (and oh boy, they will join in!).

Many of us drive down the road surprised, and thus easily irritated, with other drivers who navigate their trip to the store in a different (usually meaning slower) way.

The manner in which one builds their resume—and life—is thought to surely be the obvious course everyone ought to follow (another score for tunnel vision!).

And the individual voter—under the delusion that their one vote is going to finally change the world (usually meaning the world as it affects them alone)—blames those who voted opposite when that world, indeed, does not morph into the hoped for result. 

If one doubts that this tendency applies to them, and are self-assured that they have a proven track record of diplomatically and unequivocally separating themselves from the prerogatives, liberties and preferences of others, the best way to test this theory is during the upcoming election and holiday season. 

All a person has to do is listen to their own internal dialogue and their public and social words that follow to identify whether or not they are able to calmly and without bias respect where the boundary of them ends and the boundary of another begins.

Copyright Barb Harwood

"Ask Marilyn" Sums it Up in a Nutshell

 

In a recent "Ask Marilyn" column, the syndicated writer was asked,

"Do you think politicians should perform based on their own convictions or on the convictions of their constituents?"

Marilyn's reply:

"Personally, I believe we should elect politicians with much more wisdom and far fewer convictions, which are really unalterable opinions that are often applied without regard to the real-life consequences. Candidates should display their respect for humankind, their common sense and their perspicacity while campaigning so that, when elected, their constituents can trust them to behave with insight, knowing their representatives will do the right thing, even if it isn't always obvious to those of us outside their circle."

Great answer, and one, I believe, would apply to all of us in our daily interactions and public comments:

To consider and respond "with much more wisdom and far fewer convictions" (which, as she pointed out, are more often than not opinions which tend to be rather narrow and self-minded more than they are well-investigated and tested convictions).

Also, to "display our respect for humankind" (including, I would add, respect for ourselves, not by putting our perspective out there as "all that," but respecting ourselves enough not to embarrass ourselves and irritate others through sheer entitlement to what we think).

And finally, to "behave with insight" so as to do and say, as much as it is in our power, "the right thing" (or perhaps say nothing at all and just listen). 

And what about "perspicacity"? What a delicious word that took me to dictionary.com:

"keenest of mental perception and understanding; discernment"

What a fabulous idea, that! 

Perception, understanding, discernment--all of which require us to be quiet in thought and word long enough to get there. 

In fact, as I think about it, perhaps if we want leaders to be this, we need to be this first ourselves. 

copyright Barb Harwood

A Critical Spirit and How to Kill It

 

When we make negative comments about people in our inner circle or daily interactions, we imply more about the affirmation we feel we are entitled to from them, and not receiving, than we say about the other person. 

Ditto for the affirmation those other people receive which we feel we alone are entitled to, but due to getting "the short end of the stick" or a "raw deal," never did and never will. 

In addition, public censure of other individuals, be they present or not, will grant us, we hope, the accolades—or at minimum the commiseration—from our listeners which we also covet.

It is the hurt from our belief that other people do not hold or convey a high enough regard for us that makes us criticize them and minimize their positive qualities and experiences. 

We simply cannot be happy for people if they aren’t being as gloatingly attentive to us as we expect them to be. Or if we perceive, in self-pity, that they “got a better deal” of which we were somehow deprived. 

It comes from being unable to see the cup half full in our own lives.

Which is why chronic gossipers and town-crier types (who assume everybody’s news is theirs to announce and repeat) will spare no-one in their fault-finding, jabs and stealing of thunder—because no-one can ever supply the affirmation they crave or assuage deep-seated jealousies.

Only an attitude, perspective and life of objective reflection under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit can kill the incessant, knee-jerk disposition of a critical spirit towards others. 

Only when we see ourselves under the glaring light of God’s truth, which, though jarring is also balanced by his unconditional, upholding love, can we bear to realistically see all things—even the impurity and narcissism of our own heart—and comprehend the motivations behind what we think, conclude, do and say. 

This is freedom, to break free of the mental and emotional cages of dysfunctional nurture and nature. 

These two cages come with a latch we can lift, on a door we can then open and walk through by choice, in humble confidence of God.

Copyright Barb Harwood

Weighing the Cost

 

Today in The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan asks this very cogent question: 

"What does good nature cost you?

We should be able to conduct our lives without a constant air of menace."

For the record, menace is not limited to meaning a threat of some kind, but also, according to Dictionary.com, can connote an "an extremely annoying person." 

And "good nature," in case we've forgotten, is defined by Dictionary.com as 

"pleasant disposition; kindly nature; amiability." 

So to Noonan's question, "What does good nature cost you?," I'd like to add, "What does a demeanor, disposition and temperament of menace cost you?"

copyright Barb Harwood

Malcontentedness

 

Peggy Noonan has a good grip on the modus operandi of how self-righteous, intended-to-be divisive personal attitudes, and the oft-believed-as-truth personal opinions self-satisfyingly verbalized from them, are fed and enabled:

     "Americans have always loved conspiracies, it's in our DNA. When I was a kid it was the CIA killed JFK, Dwight Eisenhower is a communist, fluoride in the water is a plot. In our time this tendency has been magnified and weaponized by the internet, where there's always a portal to provide you proof."

     "Part of it is American orneriness--people enjoy picking a fight, holding a grudge, being the only person who really gets what's going on. Part of it is the sheer cussed fun of being obstinate. Some of it is committed and sincere--an ineradicable belief that established powers like to pull the wool over our eyes, a belief made more stubborn because sometimes they do."

Noonan also adds,

"...mainstream media has changed its nature" and become "openly activist...This too contributed to polarization."

The solution she proposes, when asked what could be done, sounds almost quaint:

"The only thing I could think of to help was keeping lines of communication up and the conversation going."

A tall order when, as she mentioned, people actually seem to enjoy complaining to the level that they tend, as I see it, to perceive their profuse and constant commentary as an art--an art they pride themselves on being quite good at.  

I posit an alternative solution, one I can't help understanding as being necessary for Noonan's "keeping the lines of communication up and the conversation going" in a more constructive manner. 

And that is for attitudes and motivations toward one another to change from a tribalist "us vs. them" to one of respectful civility, surrendering the needy groveling for affirmation through contrariness and "being right."

The solution also must surely entail the end to thinking the worst of people who hold a differing viewpoint, or who simply refuse to join in and agree. 

A rather tall order indeed. 

copyright Barb Harwood

Certain Kinds of Thoughts, Over Time, Can Harden the Heart

 

"To brood on evil makes the heart brazen..."

St. Mark the Ascetic (early fifth century), writing in                   On the Spiritual Law

The Meaninglessness of Life

 

The potential meaninglessness of life is exasperated by, if not entirely founded upon, the inane, shallow and inconsequential thoughts and biases we legitimize through an inordinate devotion of time and energy, and verbally expose in thoughtless arrogance. 

copyright Barb Harwood

To Live in Today

 

What if we reached a tipping point and finally saw, in astonishing conviction, that we must—even better, we can, live in today, meaning this very day, moment by moment until it closes and our eyes find sleep. 

This isn’t a living for today, as if the day were our taskmaster, but living in today, in the wisdom of God our leader and guide.

Every thought, then; every word spoken; every question; thinks, speaks and asks only in the reality and now of today. 

And what if we took memories, and allowed only the good and productive ones to accompany us into this day—not so that we can lament their being past, but instead to treasure as a buoy in our present. 

This buoy is not to tie our boat to, but to take hold of in the day in which we live in sorrow and fear of drowning. Its' beacon of lovely remembrance will save us from the undertow of woeful self-sabotage, and encourage us that this too—whatever “this” is—shall pass.  

And whatever has not been good, lovely, true, wise, kind, honorable, commendable and pure—in our past selves and others, and in past experiences—we leave behind because we have the freedom to. Not only that, but wisdom begs and advises it. 

This is a new and curious sensation, to go forward without the antiquated baggage and negative realities of the past. 

It would be wonderful, wouldn’t it, to see what this could be like? 

So then, let’s give it a try. 

Let’s find out and live only in today.

Copyright Barb Harwood

In Our Own Little Head

 

This morning, I typed the phrase, “in our own little head” into Google search.

This is the definition that came up:

“To be in your head usually means overthinking or overanalyzing a situation or behavior, constantly dwelling on the same thing over and over until your mind feels super cluttered. Sometimes, we all get stuck in our heads, but some of us do so more than others.”

I have been considering how being in “our own little head” relates to patience, and based on the above definition, while some might see great patience in spending oodles of time going over the same thought or situation, I see it as being an act of impatience if open-minded resolution or closure is not the motivation. 

That’s because impatience fails to do the patient act of objectively measuring our own role in the interactions with other people and organizations, and instead places everyone involved, including ourselves, within our own one-sided, self-centered and self-important perspective.

This results in quickly jumping to, and emotionally enlarging upon, if not unfair and warped conclusions, then certainly self-defeating and unproductive ones. 

Patience, on the other hand, takes the deep breath of setting aside one’s sensitive and insecure emotional state so as to thoughtfully and bravely consider true context, which can take time, requiring skills and maturity that develop in the course of months and years.

If that groundwork has not been laid, then of course we will be inept with, and perhaps entirely ignorant of, calm, measured responses and perceptions. 

After all, positive behaviors become habits the same way that bad behaviors do, and can become our default mode in the same way; the difference being productive outcomes.

When getting outside of our head is the norm, we can build healthy inner personal and outer interpersonal dialogues founded upon the reality of what actually took place and do so unthreatened by multiple viewpoints. 

Instant reaction is thus replaced by a slower right intake and careful recollection of all of the facts. 

David Baily Harned, in his book, Patience: How We Wait Upon the World, writes that patience is a “profoundly important defense against the distractions of dejection and sorrow and the frustrations that seem to have no end in sight.”

I love that concept of impatience leading to distractions: the stealing of our minds and hearts from what is good, right, lovely, pure and going well in our lives via the tunnel-vision of self.

“Through a forbearance that has no thought of punishment or revenge, those who are patient neither permit an injury to become an obsession even more painful than the original hurt, nor do they retaliate, which would cancel out the difference between themselves and those who harm them," Harned writes.”

Ultimately, I find the phrase “in our own little head” to be quite telling in the use of the word “little,” as little heads only have room for one person, and thus will be frequently impatient with everyone, and everything, else.

Copyright Barb Harwood

Our Perception of the Act of Waiting

 

David Baily Harned continues his dialogue on patience by exploring assumptions related to it, the first being how we perceive, and thus value or devalue, the act of waiting:

In the past, Baily posits, waiting was a virtue of strength, not weakness:

"How else can we allow the future to emerge? The patience that waiting entailed was a great human act because it summoned the most distinctive powers of the self to their finest expression--vision and imagination, faith and hope, courage and prudence, humility and love.

"Today waiting remains no less a part of our lives than it ever was for our ancestors. But our assumptions about human nature and fulfillment have changed, and therefore our attitude toward waiting has changed as well. We see it less often as an opportunity, more often as a diminishing of the quality of our lives, a deprivation enforced upon us by an unfriendly environment. If reality can be more or less equated with everything we can manipulate and control, then does not the need to wait suggest a failure in ourselves? We have not yet found our place in the sun, nor achieved the mastery of our surroundings. Far from being one of the great human acts, waiting simply testifies that we have not won our struggle with the world. It tells us less about our strength than our weakness and lack of invention."

Harned says the result of this negative view of waiting is that we arrive at the conclusion that

"...waiting means there are voids in our universe, holes and tatters in what is intended to be the seamless fabric of our activity, and so we must do something with these empty spaces. They must be filled. If they are not, we shall become anxious or bored, which is the matrix for all sorts of destructive behavior toward others and toward oneself. If waiting is pointless, where can it end except in boredom unless it is relieved? The name of such relief is busyness...

"Busyness is important for two reasons. First, it is a distraction, diverting our attention from the need to wait, and so it contributes mightily to our self-esteem in a world where human significance is equated with doing things...

"The second reason is the role of busyness in expressing an impulse deeply written into our culture: the desire to believe that, no matter what, everything is all right. Busyness allows us to forget that the ordinary course of human affairs involves the sapping of our energy, our growing dependence upon the kindness of others, the inevitability of waiting, and yielding to forces far stronger than our own. In the end, what keeping busy means is quite simply the refusal...to look reality in the face. But this is also to turn from God, who is the ultimate reality..."      David Baily Harned, in Patience: How We Wait Upon the World

The Unpopularity of Patience in Our Time

David Baily Harned, in his book, Patience: How We Wait Upon the World, notes that

"patience seems to have lost its power to reconcile and heal and comfort. In its truncated and withered form the virtue has been isolated from both theology and common experience--not to mention common sense."

Patience, Succinctly Defined

The following definition of the word "patience" comes from the book, Patience: How We Wait Upon the World by David Baily Harned:

"A person's triumph over all the diversions and afflictions that can test our powers of endurance, forbearance, and discipline."

Moving on in Forgiveness as an Attitude

 

We hear and talk so much about forgiveness. 

The actuality of arriving at that place, however, is so unique to each one of us due to the specific attributes of each person and situation that it is often tough to define. 

The only way to really forgive, is to just begin to want to, and then to actively do so, in all sobering thought that considers our role too, whatever that may look like from the perspective of naiveté, family culture, personal meekness, being bullied or made fun of, and our own hurtful acted-out animosities.

But once we have done the work—and by that I mean with God’s leadership so as to maintain a semblance of objectivity instead of a closed-minded path of “woe is me"—then we move on. 

And by that, I mean we at some point close the door on the past, and let the new owners move in. 

And those new owners are this: our transformed attitude and resulting confidence that the sincerely desired and honestly attained forgiveness can now be lived out.

We can thrive in this hard-won forgiveness by accepting and allowing those we have forgiven to be who they are, and the past be what it was (meaning we can’t change it, so don’t forgive and then attempt to change things going forward). 

Again, this assumes we have actually done the mental assent of forgiveness through logically and objectively examining ourselves, others and the past under the microscope of God’s guidance and revelation.

This forgiveness does not need to condone anything or anyone, and it does not give permission to the past or the persons we have forgiven to continue to impact or touch us. 

Instead, in a forgiving, accepting manner, we have no part in the people or places we have confidently put behind us via forgiveness (for family members or co-workers with whom we must continue to be around, we separate ourselves with appropriate emotional and mental boundaries, and keep a cordial physical distance between us, bowing to no pressure whatsoever to reveal personal details or to “join in” and place ourselves in their control). 

We meet our own expectations for our own behavior, not other people's expectations. And we drop our expectations for others to be what they clearly are not and have no intention, at this time, of being.

Neutral impartiality is our new normal with those we have forgiven when we must be in their presence.

We simply live and let live, in a fresh paradigm of healthy guardrails, under no illusions that any continued attempts on our part to change another person or situation will solve anything.

If the person we have forgiven chooses, at some future point in time, to mature, that is up to them. 

If they desire a sincere reconciliation and exhibit a contrite heart of apology—we decide whether their motivations are honest and humble, or mere manipulation to pull us back in to assuage their insecurities. 

As The Who song goes, “don’t be fooled again.”

A forgiving state of mind establishes us in steadfast wisdom and strength of unwavering integrity and self-respect.

We focus on, invest in and come alive with the joy of appreciation for those with whom we do remain grounded in reciprocal, authentic love and compatibility, all the while at peace with those we have taken deliberate steps to contextually understand and thus, forgive.

Copyright Barb Harwood

The Insidious Creep of Complaint

 

Habitual complaint derives from lack of gratefulness--that deep-seated, top-of-mind appreciation for what we do have materially, in health, and in relationships. 

A state of habitual complaint derives from a perspective or motive of concern, worry, resentment, hurt, anger, disappointment or self-imposed inadequacy, and thrives because it makes our vulnerability less scary.

In complaint, we feel control--but it is a chimera.

And while we strut in the false esteem of criticisms, hoping to be something, we miss the sound foundation and peace of what is genuinely good, joyfully true and miraculously right with our world, and the world at large. All of which, ironically, check vulnerability's fear with a serene confidence and grounded hope. 

copyright Barb Harwood

Take This Day and Do Not Refuse It

Each new day begins a blank, and very clean, slate. 

Do we take it?

Do we stand in the face of morning and decide, desperately or calmly, as circumstances would have it, that within that virgin moment, we will own it and not merely let it slide with the residual momentum of all the days that preceded? 

Will we make today a different beginning, an alternative reality that can actually occur through our simple choosing?

A year from now, when 365 mornings have passed—365 individual moments of decision—will we reflect upon the metamorphosis from existence into a full experience of patient refusal to repeat the unthinkingly habitual?

Will we take that slant of light emanating from the east and declare each day for what we’ve often envisioned and hardly dared to hope for, in spite of everything (attitudinally and physically present in the necessary of the daily and professional but forgoing passive resignation, auto-pilot negativity and absent-minded time-fillers?)

We can take that day.

We can emerge from our sleepy beds, or places of nemesis of sleep, and just take it. 

Copyright Barb Harwood

Wolves in Truth's Clothing

 

Henry Kissinger on the Internet's impact on truth:

"...our age is on the verge of a changed conception of the nature of truth. Nearly every website contains some kind of customization function based on Internet tracing codes designed to ascertain a user's background and preferences. These methods are intended to encourage users 'to consume more content' and, in so doing, be exposed to more advertising, which ultimately drives the Internet economy. These subtle directions are in accordance with a broader trend to manage the traditional understanding of human choice. Goods are sorted and prioritized to present those 'which you would like,' and online news is presented as 'news which will best suit you.' Two different people appealing to a search engine with the same question do not necessarily receive the same answers. The concept of truth is being relativized and individualized--losing its universal character. Information is presented as being free. In fact, the recipient pays for it by supplying data to be exploited by persons unknown to him, in ways that further shape the information being offered to him.

Where, in a world of ubiquitous social networks, does the individual find the space to develop the fortitude to make decisions that, by definition, cannot be based on a consensus? The adage that prophets are not recognized in their own time is true in that they operate beyond conventional conception--that is what made them prophets. In our era, the lead time for prophets might have disappeared altogether. The pursuit of transparency and connectivity in all aspects of existence, by destroying privacy, inhibits the development of personalities with the strength to take lonely decisions."

Henry Kissinger, in his book World Order

Wisdom Cannot Be Googled

The following quote from Henry Kissinger looks at the impact of the Internet on humans' sourcing and ultimate use of what they read online.

"In the contemporary world, human consciousness is shaped through an unprecedented filter. Television, computers, and smartphones compose a trifecta offering nearly constant interaction with a screen throughout the day. Human interactions in the physical world are now pushed relentlessly into the virtual world of networked devices. Recent studies suggest that adult Americans spend on average roughly half of their waking hours in front of a screen, and the figure continues to grow.

What is the impact of this cultural upheaval...?

For all the great and indispensable achievements the Internet has brought to our era, its emphasis is on the actual more than the contingent, on the factual rather than the conceptual, on values shaped by consensus rather than by intersection. Knowledge of history and geography is not essential for those who can evoke their data with the touch of a button. The mindset for walking lonely political paths may not be self-evident to those who seek confirmation by hundreds, sometimes thousands of friends on Facebook.

...philosophers and poets have long separated the mind's purview into three components: information, knowledge, and wisdom. The Internet focuses on the realm of information, whose spread it facilitates exponentially. Ever-more-complex functions are devised, particularly capable of responding to questions of fact, which are not themselves altered by the passage of time. Search engines are able to handle increasingly complex questions with increasing speed. Yet a surfeit of information may paradoxically inhibit the acquisition of knowledge and push wisdom even further away than it was before.

The poet T.S. Eliot captured this in his "Choruses from 'The Rock'":

      Where is the Life we have lost in living?

      Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

      Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

Facts are rarely self-explanatory; their significance, analysis, and interpretation...depend on context and relevance. As ever more issues are treated as if of a factual nature, the premise becomes established that for every question there must be a researchable answer, that problems and solutions are not so much to be thought through as to be 'looked up.' But in the relations between states--and in many other fields--information, to be truly useful, must be placed within a broader context of history and experience to emerge as actual knowledge. And a society is fortunate if its leaders can occasionally rise to the level of wisdom."

Henry Kissinger, in his book, World Order