Chasing Rainbows

Foolish Hearts

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines foolish as showing or arising from folly or lack of judgment.  Through observation and my own personal life experience I have become convinced that when we allow our heart instead of our head to rule us, we often make foolish decisions and in many cases, act foolishly.  Why is it when someone says something to us that we need to hear or that makes us feel important or special we have a tendency to accept it at face value rather than question it intellectually?  I would venture to say that in these circumstances we have allowed the decision to accept what was said to be made from our heart and not our head. Too often, our need to belong, to be loved, and to be needed take precedence over our rationale.   Even more disturbing is the fact that there are individuals in our society who eagerly take advantage of the needs of these people.  They promise committment, love, passion, and loyalty when in fact, the perpetrator of the deceit is really concerned for his/her own gratfication and nothing else.  In these situations, someone usually gets badly hurt.  I guess I am simply questioning why people sometimes allow themselves to be used in this way and why other people are so willing to take advantage of the victims. 

Choosing Love

Some people believe that love is all consuming, others believe that love conquers all and there are those that believe that if we all loved one another we could possibly achieve World Peace.  I am not sure that I subscribe to these beliefs because I am not convinced that mankind is capable of loving so totally and unselfishly.  It would require the highest level of Agape Love to solve the world's problems.  I feel that love at the secular level is a reward earned through a choice that we make when we choose to love and be loved.  Love is a very strong emotion that can make us feel good, help us to feel desireable, provide affirmation and give meaning to our lives.  It is, however, an emotion that is made by individuals toward each other.  Extrapolating from my own experience, love is an emotion that is willingly given to another human being in exchange for an emotion of equal depth.  If we were capable of loving each other in the way that Jesus Christ loves us, then perhaps we could resolve worldly problems.  I for one, believe that mankind is not equipped for this level of spiritual love, at least not in this life.  At the human level, being loved is the end result of having chosen to be loved and loving another is the direct result of having chosen to give love.  Love in itself, is no more than an emotion.  The feelings that emanate after it is given and received are the rewards mentioned above. May we all strive for the highest level of spiritual love and may we all choose to give and receive love in our secular lives also.   

Reflections of New Year's Eve

As I laid upon my bed New Year's Eve of 2007 waiting for sleep to whisk me off into that wonderful land of dreams, I found myself thinking about New Year resolutions and I began to question why people need a particular day (such as New Year's Eve) to seriously focus on the change or changes they want to make in their lives.  For the most part, there are 365 days in a year yet we seem to need a motivational catapult to launch us into taking the first steps in making changes, or at least considering what we would like to change.  It would seem to me that losing weight, quitting smoking, being kinder to others, getting in touch with ourselves et al, should be important enough to undertake at any point.  So why is it that we seem to require that psychological crutch of a new beginning to do things that we need to do?  Is it simply popular to verbalize what our resolutions will be on New Year's Eve because that is what the majority of people do, or are we all experts in procrastination and are therefore capable of putting off making the unpleasant alterations?  In any event, I personally do not make New Year resolutions because I see no value  in setting myself up  for failure so early in the year. I seldom accomplish my resolutions, so I have vowed to stop making them.  I'd rather just enjoy the New Year day by day and if I want to accomplish something really meaningful let it be that I walk more closely with Jesus.                                                       

The Elderly in America

I have never been a fan of nursing homes.  I am sure they purportedly render a service to some, but the comforts of the family home seem far more humane to me. That being said, my theory for this week involves a possible "use" of those precious individuals whose fates were chosen for them.  Many nursing home residents are quite lucid and ambulatory upon admission into their "new home."  Once there for awhile, however, they began to slowly deteriorate, partly due to lack of intellectual stimulation and partly from realizing that they are no longer needed as they once were needed by those they love most.  I believe that a Republic thrives by utilizing  it's own resources.  Let me now introduce a new variable....Day Care.  Although day care has become more affordable, many are still unable to afford it. So, why not designate an area in local nursing homes (chosen for quality and standards) as day care centers.  The higher level residents would provide care to children under the supervision of the staff.  This could be the marriage of two major concerns, 1. Affordable day care for minimal donations and 2. Intellectual stimulatiom, activity and a restoration of feeling needed for the residents involved.  I realize that many smaller issues would need to be worked through, but what better use of our aging citizerns?

Attitude

Exactly what is "Attitude?"  I've heard it said that if one can change their attitude, one can change their life!  That sounds relatively simple to me...perhaps too simple? Is the word a noun as in, "She has such a pleasant attitude," or is it an adjective as in, "He needs an attitude adjustment?"  I know from my own life experiences that attitude is an important factor in how others perceive us within a social milieu. Often it determines whether or not people will choose to associate with us at all, which falls within the parameters of being a bit judgmental.  Nonetheless, I often hear a person being superficially described by his/her "Attitude."  And exactly what is a "bad attitude?"  If someone does something to someone that isn't terribly nice, wouldn't you expect some sort of negative reaction without it being labeled as a "bad attitude?" How important in the global order of traits is Attitude?  Let me read some comments on this. 

Internet Love

At the close of yesterday's post, I stated that I would pursue the topic of Love further. My plan was to utilize the feedback that readers left in the Comments Section, however, there was but one, so I will discuss another of my personal non-scientific observations instead. My question today is, can "real" love be found on the internet?   I highlighted the word "real" because I know that the internet is filled with people who feel very alone and who are seeking any form of affiirmation that they are important and special to somebody.   Every one needs to believe that, in spite of their differences, they are worthy of being loved.  The internet provides easy access to innumerable people,, but is it possible to fall in love with another person through typed words, shared pictures and perhaps even some "verbal intimacy?"  I'm not referring to love as in how we love a friend.  I am referring to the kind of love that makes us commit to another person for the rest of our lives.  I know that the feelings of love can be there, or can they?  They certainly feel as profound and if the relationship "Wasn't all that it appeared to be," the heartache is equallly profound.  What do you think?    

Love

There have been innumerable expositions on the subject of Love, or more specifically, what Love is.   I do not claim to be an expert on the topic, but I conducted an unscientific survey (I asked 10 people the same question), "What is Love?"  The responses were unsurprisingly diverse.  I will share a few of them with you and then you can tell me what Love means to you?

1:  It is the passion that is felt for another human being

2:  A feeling of emptiness when not in the presence of the one you love

3:  Wanting to see only the good things in the other person, even though you know the bad exist

4:  Feeling as though  your life has changed forever after you met someone and fell in love

5:  A sharing of thoughts, emotions, direction and life-goals

Please let me know what your response would be to the question: "What is Love?"   My next post will take this further.