Fairness?

Good morning, God! Thank you much for this new day--I ask you to be with me as I work my way through it, to be a gentle guide so that I can be a more effective teacher for my students, and a kinder person to all of the people with whom I have interactions today.

I've been thinking a lot about fairness recently. We live in a country in which very few people control most of the wealth--few people live in extreme luxury, while many people live in abject poverty, struggling to get by, and no matter how hard they work, they're never able to get ahead or put money in savings or do things that others take for granted, such as go on vacations or eat out at a nice restaurant. And there are no real defining lines for who suffers so much--single mothers, people of certain races, the elderly, people with the "wrong" degrees from college--all of them are represented well on the list of people who struggle so hard and so often.

Of course, I'm speaking of financial struggle right now.  I know there are other kinds of struggle--many other kinds. But many of those are caused by financial stress, and it seems such a shame that so many people are unable to experience many of the joys in life because of the completely inequitable distribution of wealth on this planet. It's such a shame.

A reply:

Good morning to you, too. I will be with you--all you need do is be aware of my presence, and you'll know it. All that you wish to be, you can be. I will help.

Fairness? We could talk for years about that topic, especially about how human beings change as soon as they feel the slightest bit of wealth or power. About how they become so afraid of losing that wealth or power that they start to devote all of their actions to maintaining it, and the welfare of their fellow human beings becomes unimportant to them. It's a pretty horrible tendency, I agree.

But then we'd also have to discuss free will, and the fact that I'm not a micro-manager. I don't control people like puppets, forcing them to get rid of half their wealth so that others can benefit. Boy, would I like to. But that would undermine everything that I stand for, and it would make for a world that in some ways would be even less palatable. I feel extreme sadness for the people who spend much of their lives fighting just to make ends meet. Some of them haven't been prepared for life by their parents; some haven't paid attention to the signs of hope and opportunities that I've sent their way--partly because they haven't been taught how to recognize them when they see them.

It's hard to witness without feeling sadness, even despair. Our ideas of human nature are often formed by looking at the selfish and the greedy--who are really just the fearful--yet their actions are not at all representative of the human race as a whole. This inequity does serve some purposes, but it would take me hundreds of pages--discussing some concepts that the human mind isn't able to comprehend just yet--and much, much time to explain it fully. Let me just give you the short version: adversity builds a person, helps a person to develop; wealth does not. The human being grows stronger through tension, just as your muscles build--only by dealing with things that are difficult, not things that are easy. As Christ said, there will be poor always. Unfortunately, there will also be those who prey on them because they find easy targets in them and because they need to find someone weaker than they are to make themselves feel better. It's only an illusion that makes them feel better, but they need that illusion.

Keep feeling compassion. Help when and where you can. Give when and where you can. No, it's not fair, and it's not how I want things to be. But it's where you and your fellow human beings are taking yourselves these days--and that direction can be changed.

Just a hello. . . .

Good morning, God, and thank you very much for this new day! I don't have a lot to say today, but it's been a while since I said hello on this page, so I wanted to get back to it. I do miss our discussions, but the last few weeks have been quite busy, so my time has been spent on other things. I haven't forgotten you and I still want to talk, and that will happen much more as my semester comes to a close and time isn't as much of an issue.

A reply:

Good morning to you, too. Enjoy the day. And don't worry, I've heard your messages and prayers even if they haven't been here. And remember, I'm God. I don't feel slighted if you're talking to someone else or spending time with someone else. I don't feel that you're neglecting me--I recognize that you're involved wholeheartedly in the life that I've given you. If I were to feel bad about that, I would be pretty petty, wouldn't I? And petty I am not.

It's good to hear from you again. Keep staying in touch!

Winter's back

Good morning, God, and thanks much for this new day!  It's a snowy morning again, after several weeks of spring-like weather that had us all thinking that winter and snow were distant memories. And while it's a bit of an annoyance, there are, of course, many positives that come with having more snow. The snowpack in the mountains is being replenished, so there will be more water in the summer. We'll have more groundwater when this stuff melts. And it's really pretty.

It reminds me so much of life--just when we think we've worked our ways past something, we find out that we really haven't. It comes back up and bites us, sometimes making us think that we haven't accomplished anything at all or that we're actually moving backwards in life. I think I'm in that kind of stage with my teaching--I still often wonder about whether I'm an effective teacher or not, about whether I belong in the classroom, about whether or not students are getting what they need from me. Sometimes I think I need to work harder on planning, but then I go and have some of my best classes with no planning at all. Some students don't like having me as a teacher, some students really enjoy my classes.

These are doubts that I thought I had worked my way past. Long ago. But they're back, or they're still here, just rising to the surface once again. It may be a pretty crappy metaphor to compare it to the return of winter, but I guess it seems to work. In any case, if anyone gets what I mean by it, you do. At least, I hope you do!

I guess if I had anything to ask of you as a prayer, it would be that you help me to be the best teacher I possibly can be so that my students will benefit as much as possible. Then, when these doubts start coming up, I can look at the positive side of them, just as I can see a lot of positive aspects of spring snowstorms. Maybe they make me a better teacher. Maybe they help me to appreciate what I'm doing and what I've done in the past that helps me to do what I'm doing now.

A reply:

Spring snow is a beautiful thing. It's a reminder of the difficult times that your part of the world has just gone through, and you know for sure that better times are coming--you just have to get through a few more storms. And it's your choice how you get through them. You can celebrate the snow and the beauty, or you can feel depressed because it's not warm enough and there's not enough sunshine. It's always your choice.

As far as the analogy of your doubts, perhaps you forced a metaphor because when you started writing, you didn't realize exactly what it was that you wanted to write about, but it came to you nonetheless as you wrote more. In any case, the metaphor works for me--I might have used a different one, but it makes sense.

What are the late snowstorms in life? The resurgence of negative things, or the resurgence of positive things? Last year there wasn't as much spring snow, and there were more summer fires. Is it simply a disparity between what you want and what you get? Yes, everyone's ready for spring, but would spring from here on in be the best thing for your area? And I'm not just talking about the people, but the wildlife and plants and the soil and earth itself.

Perhaps your doubts and fears (you don't use the word, but it's there) are the best thing for your students. Would you spend as much time mentally going over your classes if you didn't have them? Would you spend as much time preparing if you didn't have them? This resurgence of your doubts could be a way for you to make sure that you're giving your all instead of becoming complacent and continuing to do things the ways you used to do them, as so many other teachers tend to do.

It's a good reflection. As a teacher you're planting seeds constantly. Your doubts are that spring storm that prepares the soil to be fertile, that provides the water for the rivers two or three or four months from now, when it finally melts. The doubts ultimately give your students a benefit two or three or ten years from now, when they think back on things that they've learned and something that you've taught comes back to them. Live with the doubts--don't let them control you, but don't dismiss them as useless or harmful.

The Nagging Feelings

Good morning, God, and thank you for today. It's going to be another cold and snowy day--winter is back, with a bit of a vengeance, isn't it? That's okay, though, as it's still winter and the few spring-like weeks of weather that we had were very nice to experience. Thanks very much for them--they will make the end of winter something much more bearable.

I guess my major concern today is with nagging thoughts--thoughts and ideas that are always at the back of my mind, trying to bring me down in one way or another, making me think about things that I don't want to think about, making me worry about things that I don't want to worry about. They're almost always there, making me worry or stress about things that are outside of my control. They're about money, about people, about tasks that are ahead of me or already done, about others judging me and/or things that I do. They're about students and colleagues, they're doubts and concerns, they're tiny but they're very strong. I make my very best effort to keep them at the back of my mind, but the truth is that sometimes my best isn't as good as it could be--I still feel stress and I still feel fear.

I wish there were some way that I could banish them for good, or even just evict them whenever they show up to bother me. I know that there are those people who would say that they're the result of a lack of faith, but I don't buy that--my faith is quite strong, and I know that it's not the source of these thoughts. The source is fear, and fear has always been a pretty constant presence in my life. Rarely do these thoughts grow strong enough to ruin a day or create extreme amounts of stress, but they are consistent, and they are unnecessary--they accomplish nothing for me. Any thoughts?

A response:

Of course there are thoughts. First of all, you're welcome. Enjoy the day and all that it brings to you. That's why I made it in the first place.

Second, thoughts like this are a problem for virtually everyone. You have a bit of an advantage in the fact that you're able and willing to recognize them for what they are and accept the fact that they're there--most people do themselves quite a bit of damage when they refuse to acknowledge their existence, much less take them on and try to do something about them.

Your faith does have something to do with them--no, they're not "caused" by a lack of faith, per se. They're not punishment for not believing something strongly enough. But they are let into the back of your mind through spots that your faith isn't strong enough to fill. Think of a bucket full of water--it it's completely full, there's no place for anything else to fit in the bucket. But if there's room anywhere, there's space for something else to get into that bucket. In a way, it depends upon what you fill your mind with, and how full you fill it. You've noticed that when you get completely immersed in something, your mind somehow doesn't have space for those nagging thoughts to be running around in there because you're concentrating so fully on something else. The nagging thoughts that you mention tend to be with you during times when you're not concentrating fully and intensely, no? They kind of sneak in there when there's open space to sneak into.

If that's the case, then it seems obvious that one way of dealing with such thoughts is to keep your mind occupied. That hardly seems possible, does it. Another way of dealing with them is to keep your mind empty, through meditation, which is something that you've never really tried. One of the goals of meditation is to empty the mind of thoughts that are there in order to achieve peace and balance. It's a very effective way of dealing with such thoughts, but in reality, relatively few people choose to meditate regularly.

Another way of dealing with those thoughts is to deal with them actively without banishing them or crowding them out. Accept them, consider them, and learn about them. If it's a thought about money (and many such thoughts are), understand why the worry about money is there and keep in mind that worrying won't change the money situation. Perhaps you're afraid that you'll run out of money--that fear is logical and understandable, but the thoughts that results from that fear are not. Understand that they originate in that fear and that by running around in your mind, they're perpetuating the fear that you feel. The fear may even be subconscious, but it's manifesting itself in your consciousness by creating thoughts that plague you throughout the day. So accept the thought and try to understand it so that you can understand some of what's going on in your mind on deeper levels.

It takes work. It takes effort. Most worthy endeavors do. But freedom from such thoughts most certainly is worth any effort that you may expend in an effort to reach it, isn't it?

Acceptance

Good morning, God, and thank you for this new day--thank you for the opportunities that I have to make the day into something special if I choose to do so, and for the chances I have to do things I haven't done and to encourage people and to try to help others out.

I read some quotations on acceptance this morning, and it's a good topic to read about. Sometimes I still try to make things happen in the ways that I want them to happen and it's difficult for me to simply accept that the way things are is the way things are, and that sometimes it's better that way. The balance in my account is what it is, and there's nothing I can do about that at the moment--though I can plan on making important changes so that the balance improves, that road lies in the future--right now it is what it is. And until I accept it, perhaps the plan never would come about.

You've given us an amazing world, but that world is filled with a lot of struggles and challenges, isn't it? I think that most of the stress that we experience, though, is more a result of us trying to fight the way things are in a futile wish that they were otherwise. No matter what my account balance is, no amount of stress that I feel will change it. And my plans for changing things will come from a much better place and be much more effective if I make them from a calm and rational place, right?

I guess I'm just pondering now, rather than actually asking anything specific. In any case, thanks again for this day!

A response:

You're more than welcome, as always. And I think you're right--you're pondering more than asking, but that's okay sometimes, isn't it? Bouncing our ideas off of others is a very effective way of coming to important--and accurate--conclusions. I think that you're definitely on the right track as far as acceptance is concerned, for life is what life is, and you'd be condemning yourself to a pretty miserable time if you fought against everything that came along and accepted none of it. What you didn't mention were the things that you shouldn't accept, things like racism and hatred and prejudice. That said, though, if someone makes a racist comment, it's important not to accept it, but sometimes it's not in anyone's best interests that you speak up against it immediately. Also, you do have to accept that the person who made the statement has at least racist tendencies, and deal with that person with that knowledge from then on. Keep in mind, though, that my acceptance is complete for all people. That racism comes from somewhere--that person didn't ask for it.

Acceptance is a fascinating concept. Keep reading about it and keep practicing it, and you'll find that your experience of life improves pretty dramatically as you get better at accepting things for what they are. Just as I accept you unconditionally for who and what you are.

New Changes

Hello, God, and thank you very much for this new day in my life--I hope that I'm able to make the most of this day by doing good things and helping people in positive ways. It's a gift that you've given me, so I also hope to be able to be aware of the gift in all its forms--the weather, the beauty, the opportunities, the music--everything. If you can help me with that, I'd much appreciate it!

There are new changes coming up in our lives, especially the one about moving to a new place. It looks like it will be a good opportunity, though the idea of living in a building that's kind of like a dorm and that has a lot of different groups having meetings and such does seem a bit daunting--it will take some getting used to, obviously, but I'm sure that we'll be able to make the transition smoothly. I do thank you for this opportunity that you've given us, and I ask you to help us to make the most of it.

It's coming at a very good time, for various reasons, not the least of which is financial. Our finances are getting stretched, as you know, due to circumstances completely beyond our control (money not being paid back on loans that we have to make up for), and this new situation will be a great help. In the past, I'd be worrying now that something is going to fall through and that we'll end up not getting the apartment, but this isn't the past, and I'm not worried about that at all. It's not that I'm cocky, but just trusting in life and you. So there is progress on some levels!

In any case, thanks, and have a beautiful day (if we make that even possible for you).

A response:

Yes, I can have a good day. My days are always tinted with sadness and pain because of things that humans do to themselves and each other, but there's still plenty of beauty and many people doing wonderful things for each other. So I can have a beautiful day, because that's what days are at their core.

I'm glad that you're grateful for your new situation, and I'm sure it will work out well for you because you're going into it with a positive attitude. With such an attitude, even if not everything flows smoothly or is enjoyable, things can still go well because you're learning from adversity, so to speak. That's not to say that this situation will be like that, of course, but the attitude is a huge determiner of the outcomes.

And while I'd love to say "you're welcome," it isn't simply my doing. It's the culmination of many different factors that have been in place for a long time--it's how life works. I very rarely just reach out and make certain things happen, even in response to fervent prayer. The prayer itself changes the people who pray and makes them more receptive to new situations, so that those situations now find a fertile ground in which they're able to grow. Your new situation is a result of prayers and hopes and dreams of you and others, and it's now ready to come to fruition. And your contribution in that situation will be a very positive one--if you're willing to make the effort to make it so.

So enjoy. And you have a beautiful day, too.

Stress

Good morning, God--

And thanks much for this new day that we have. Here in the early hours of the morning, the day is still full of promise and potential, depending on what I give to it. And I thank you for the fact that I'm here and alive and able to do so many things on a day like today.

I thank you for the potential changes coming up in our lives, too. You know just as well as I do how difficult things are going to be financially without some sort of significant change, and that change looks to be right around the corner for us--so thank you for that! Of course, it's still in the future and there's always the fear in the back of my mind that something won't work out as it should, but for that fear I have to keep my faith strong so that I don't end up actually inviting the calamity into my life!

Things are going pretty well, all in all, and I thank you for this time of relative comfort. We have our difficulties, of course, but we're getting through them well. We do have money issues, but again, the new plans that have come up will go very far towards helping us to cope with them. It's always fascinating to see how things change through no doing of our own--life has its way of throwing all sorts of different kinds of pitches that can catch us unaware and throw us into a completely new set of feelings and experiences that we never thought we'd be going through. While I'd like to keep them coming and keep on learning from them, there's a certain point at which a little less stress would be nice for a certain period. . . .

A reply:

Of course, you're welcome for the day. And thank you for thanking me--not too many people do so, relatively speaking.

Yes, you're under stress. And yes, you're learning from it. I know that certain periods of being free from stress are necessary, and you will get those--at least, from certain kinds of stress. But the kite can only fly because of the tension created by it fighting the wind to stay in place--think of me as a very strong string that you can hold on to while you're flying because you're fighting the wind. I'm the string and I'm the wind, and I'm also in you, so you can tap that resource within yourself to keep your faith strong.

It's good that you recognize that fearing disaster too strongly can court disaster, even invite it into your life. I would just say this: just because you have a fear of certain things happening doesn't mean that I'm going to punish you for having that fear. I don't see that as a lack of faith--I see that as a fear that's been instilled in you by a lifetime of experiences, and one of your goals in life is to learn how to deal with such fears. If you dwell too strongly on those fears, then you may start to behave in ways that will make the feared outcome inevitable, but that's not necessarily going to happen. Keep your faith strong, and you'll strengthen the chances of those fears not coming true.

Keep your spirit strong, for that's something that no one or situation can take from you. And it's that faith that will help you to act in ways that will invite positive situations and occurrences into your life.