Wednesday, March 9, 2011

More Dead Fish

So millions of fish died in Redondo Beach from suffication. The guess is that there was too many fish in one place at one time and they used up all the oxygen. That is what they are claiming. That is ridiculous, simply irrational. If the oxygen in the ocean had dropped you would see a complete variety of fish. Lets also consider how this is going on all over the world at the same time.

What do you bet that we see more of this? I ask again, what is going on and how come we don't know the truth? There was also a 7.2 earthquake in Japan and no damage, how does that occur?

For the past couple of days I have sort of just been pondering, not really focused on anything. I read the news and it is more of the same. There was one story about how lakes in Australia were glowing green at night with pictures. That was kind of funny.

Are we living in the new normal, a normal where the impossible happens on a daily basis? We are entering an era where people are not surprised by anything and accept everything. The "alternative media" is just as predictable as the traditional media. Alex Jones, David Icke, Above Top Secret... all say the same thing, heck, they post the same reposts. They have nothing new to offer, most are just twisting things that Bill Cooper exposed years ago.

What insanity can I post that exceeds the insanity of the normal news? If I post it nobody will believe it; but, if the same thing is posted on Alex Jones then millions will believe it, how is that different than the traditional media.

Today is ash Wednesday. Lets talk about that for a second. Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent. It is supposed to be the day that Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert and that then he was tempted by Satan. Tradition teaches that we are to fast and repent, not so sure I agree with tradition. While I only eat one meal a day and that qualifies as fasting to most of the churches, I am not intentionally doing it, I just don't get that hungry anymore, I am guessing my metabolism is slow. If I don't fast by intent then it is not a fast. As for repentance, I did that long ago, I am not new to Christianity.

But, lets look beyond the tradition to what it is remembering. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his public ministry. Why? Why did he need to be alone in the desert before going public, maybe he needed some time to himself before he would be surrounded by people, maybe (being human also) he needed a rest before the real work began, that would be a very human thing.

While in the desert it says the Devil tempted him, people so misunderstand that. The temptation was the offer, it does not mean that the choice was even remotely difficult for Jesus. When I lived in Santa Monica after separating from my wife, I had women hit me up on a daily basis and they were very attractive (don't ask me why, I have no idea, you would have to ask them). I never felt tempted as I was attempting to reconcile. By Satan attempting to "tempt" Jesus, he just showed that he wasn't that smart. He didn't understand humans or the nature of God, no individual sentient being could and that is the message.

If you are tempted then abstinence is a good way to show yourself that you can control your urges and I support you. If you have a problem with overeating then the blessing of this time is that you can prove to yourself that you can control your eating, if you have a problem with anything then this is a good time to see that you can avoid your urges and that is empowering. You have to know what you are capable of before you can know who you want to be. Wow, that is a mind blower.

If you haven't tested yourself, how can you know what you are capable of. That is my problem with this world of people who wish to be pampered, to live in excess, to only have ease. They need to fast and abstain, it might teach them something about themselves. If you already know and have done it then I don't think you need to fast from the same thing every year. When you have lost everything you get the freedom to know yourself. Security is an illusion, control is an illusion and death is an illusion. You can see that when you have lost everything and lived it.

Losing is even more important that winning in terms of learning. Charlie Sheen chants, "winning" and believes that is the end all and be all, what you get versus what you learn, having versus being, growing versus having it all. What would you choose, so many people want to win the lottery and think that will make them happy and so few are when they do. Happiness is an unending series of growth that allows you to see the world in a grain of sand.

We cannot give everyone everything; but, we can create a virtual world where they can feel empowered and that will be enough for most. There was a "Twilight Zone" (not Twilight the movie) where a petty criminal is killed. He arrives at a place he believes to be Heaven, in this place he gets everything he wants, women, money, the finest penthouse, everything he ever wanted. When he gambles he only wins. After a while he wants variety because there is no challenge, nothing to work for, nothing to attain and therefore no reason to learn. He is told by his "angel" that he is not in heaven, he is in hell. Close to the truth.

Perhaps this earth, this reality, is here to challenge us, to see how much we can take, how much we are committed to being us, how good we can be and how bad we can be, after that we could define ourselves, our urges, our beliefs, our intent; but, we could do it knowing our limitations. Informed consent. Life is short but choosing who we are is eternity. Remember my first post on the first version of this blog, we are sentient beings and that is all that we know exists.

We should be challenged; but, the challenges need not crush us or be too simple, we should be challenged as we are ready to be challenged. That is the goal of life. Not the easy life, the life that lets us know the most about us. The goal of life is to have the decision making power over who we will be in our eternity. This life was not a challenge for Jesus, it is a challenge for us. He showed us what we could be, we decide what we will be. How far do you wish to push yourself and how much do you want comfort?

Humility is a funny thing, we should all be humble; but, we should all be bold about being ourselves. That is the Charlie Sheen enigma. He is all about having everything he wants and believes that defines him, the stuff he has. We are not defining ourselves by what we have. That defines what we are willing to give up to get stuff. He wasn't this bold when he was coming up. The person that impresses me is the person who has nothing and is bold about their limitations and boundaries. The one who is willing to have nothing in exchange for having everything, themselves, self-determination.

People whine and cry that life is hard, they should celebrate it. Every challenge is the chance to define your true self. I have heard people tell me how bold they are and then when challenged I have watched them fold like paper cups. Here is a question for my readers, if you were being tested by Satan in the desert and he offered you to be king of the earth, to have everything if you worshiped him, would you do it. Only you know the answer; but, did you pause and consider it? If you did define yourself then this was an easy question. Now lets look at what Satan offered to Jesus, the world. Jesus had already defined himself and it wasn't even an issue.

Jesus is the best we could possibly be, a goal; but, we are only human and must work to even be close. If we seek easy then we never even know what we can be. Be all that you can and chose to be. Be well.