Yea Though I Walk Through The Valley of the Shadow of Death
…I Fear NO Evil (Psalm 23).
Greetings my gentle readers to another week’s installment of the “Be Yourself, Often” blog at http://www.joelwlamoure.com . This is the time where we can sit back with our favorite pieces of reflective company and step back from the chaos of the week that was. Too often, we do not take the appropriate steps and moments of peacefulness and tranquility and rush through each thing in order to get to the next. Turn off the television sets and reflect on the wonder and beauty of the moment. There is so much beauty,and so sad that evil sells… and we do NOT have to buy.
So, here we go my fearless friends. Look at where you are in the here and now. Value and look at family, friends, health, where you live, what you have, what you get and what you give. That fearless Fourth Step Moral Inventory.. without all the naughty and nice attached to it. Even if there are downs, that’s a sign you are alive and then you have the ability to make choices and decisions and look and work with the Fates to write the next set of chapters in your book. If there are up then I can guarantee that complacency, greed, selfishness are choices that can and will push you down. This is the “Story of a Life” which is also the name of a song sung by the late Harry Chapin and released on his last studio album. “…And for every dream that took me high, There’s been a dream that’s passed me by. I know it’s so true” Harry Chapin Reference: http://www.harrychapin.com/music/story.shtml
It IS the story of your life and the next decade is but another chapter and with the love, insight and use of your gifts and advancing yourself and others, use of courage, avoiding judging and being gentle to yourself then it will be the best of when we look back. We have the chance to stop and reflect on the choices that we make and how we live our life. But what a week that was with terrorism, mass murder and also natural disasters and explosions. The world may seem to be insane and for sure adds to the challenges that there are. But we have a choice in the story of a life that we enjoy. We do not have to engage or participate in this type of behaviours and we can advance our kindness by turning off and engaging in positivity and not hatred and anger or denial.
We can learn through respect and basic intelligent human kindness and appreciate each other and what we are able to do and care and share. So sad indeed that in the face of all the hatred and trauma that there are conspiracy theories and denial of the hurt that just makes the hurt worse. There appears to be a paucity of kindness and thought processes that consider where we are in the world, lead to more unanswered questions. What about the facts, finding of information and not judging? Are we really the right ones to cast the first stone? Are you?
Galatians 5:18 and 22 states that “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”. 1 Timothy 1:9 offers that “We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers” with the reflection in Jeremiah 33:6 states “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”
Can you believe people get hurt because people do things and actions to try to discredit others that results in a third party being hurt? Brainwashing, hatred, terrorism at a small or large scale. Its called bullying. It is a state of ego imbalance and these individuals are inherently egomaniacs with an inferiority complex. They are all about them, don’t listen to reason and will undercut you in a heartbeat. Been there and seen it. People die…
Put the ego on a diet and take in what you need and whatever you get, try giving some of it away again. That is part of the key to abundance. The second parameter here is watching WHAT you take in and make it count. You would on a real diet and this one means much more. People may REALly start to listen and ask of you and listen and reciprocate. To earn that though involves much mindfulness of what you taken in and your body and mind, which I have learned from a couple very close friends and then 2 weeks of observations into both beatific behaviors and spiteful soliloquies and vehement victimization.
There is evil and kindness, vitriol and love. Light and dark. Which side and which sells and where does the line get drawn and re-drawn? What are the belief systems you are will define the results that occur secondary to the behaviours and actions you enact. We are created in God’s image… to be yourself, often.
~~~ Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure April 2013
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