Monday, March 18, 2024

It's Still Winter!

It seems as if Nature is reminding us that there are still a few more hours of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Last night's temperatures were below freezing, and tonight's are forecast to be the same. I imagine that will damage some plants and early blossoming trees, but nature can be fickle.

Because of the extra winter day (Leap Day) this year, the Vernal Equinox takes place on March 19th. It doesn't happen until just after 10 PM here in the Midwest, so it will still be like the 20th is the first day of spring. With high temps today still being in the low 40s (6c), I'm calling it a stay inside day and not planning on doing much. I may be spending a final night at the shelter if there isn't a volunteer for tonight, so an easy day is a good plan for me.

As nature marks the passing of time with the changing seasons, this morning I'm thinking about the passing of time in my own life -- how I've arrived where I am, and what direction I seem to be heading.
I'm wondering about the outside forces or people that influence my thinking and doing in life. Some are influential because I've chosen to seek their wisdom, others are more forceful about how they bend the course of my life.
I'm not much of a fatalist, believing that things happen in a predetermined course, but rather I believe that the choices we make and the things we do set both the individual paths of our lives and influence the courses of the people and the communities that we touch.

So I am thinking...
How do you (or do you) determine the people and forces that you allow to influence your thoughts and actions?
Do you have a go-to person or persons that you see for guidance or counseling?
Do you seek spiritual guidance or believe in a Higher Power?
Or do you just go with the flow as the earth hurtles through space and time marches on?
What are you thinking about as one season ends and another begins?

John

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Thursday Theology

I've been rethinking this Thursday Theology thing.

First of all, I am no theologian and don't want anyone to think that I am.
In all honesty, I think that theologians are an arrogant lot. The idea that we can study God and know what God is thinking is pretty ludicrous. We use the words of men, say they are inspired by God, and then define and redefine them so we can say we know the mind of God. It seems to me that a task like that is far above the pay-grade of humanity, much less a poor, uneducated, insignificant fool like me.

According to this week's gospel reading, many of us (humans) can't recognize the voice of God when we hear it. That is an ideal condition for anyone that wants to insert their own will as that of God. It's no wonder that we are so easily manipulated as adherents to any kind of organized religion.
We (humans) want to be told what we need to do to curry favor with God.

Maybe a label of That's the way I see it! would be better than Thursday Theology. I'd lose the alliteration, but it would probably be more fitting. 
Hmmm...

I think I'll leave it as is. I don't expect the few readers I have to be misled by my wayward thoughts, and those of you that do read regularly already know I am an uneducated, insignificant fool when it comes to trying to figure out what God is all about. 

Saturday, March 09, 2024

Normal

What is normal?
And is it okay to be abnormal?

I would say that it is normal for an introvert to prefer not to spend a lot of time around other people.
It might be abnormal to really shun society and remain very isolated from other people -- even loved ones.
Damn, I think I am moving towards that abnormal range. The more time I spend with people, the more I think I should not be in that place.

I really do enjoy conversations about ideas and ideals.
I really do not enjoy talk about other people or mundane things.
Sometimes it is difficult to relate experiences without talking about people. I get that, and as long as the focus is on the experience and not the people, I'm okay.
I don't like small talk, and I don't like people that wander deep into the weeds when telling a story.

For example--
If you are telling a story of something that happened at work that involves -- say, Sally -- I don't need to know that Sally went to such-and-such high school, has three kids, drives an EV, and really needs to do something with her hairstyle unless that is relevant to the story -- which is unlikely.
Tell me the effing story without the unnecessary details.

Maybe I need help -- like some kind of counseling.
Even when I do venture out into public, I don't mind going out by myself. I go to baseball games by myself. I go listen to some friends play music by myself. I go to craft breweries by myself. And I usually do interact and talk with people at those places -- or not. I don't know if that's weird or odd or abnormal, but it's me and I don't mind. 

Mostly I don't mind being with people for short periods of time. I generally won't be the one to initiate an outing, but I usually enjoy meeting for a drink or a meal and some good conversation. A one-on-one, or a few people is way better than a crowd. Although people often tell me that I am good with people and make them feel comfortable, I don't know if I really do. I know it's work to make others feel comfortable and safe. It's a good thing if I succeed. It's also one of those things that you might never really know.

Anyway--
just some weird things in my head these days.

John

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

Raindrops on roses...

One of my recent gratitude prompts asked, "What makes you happy?" or "When are you happiest?" or something like that.

I've been thinking about that.
I'm mostly a pretty content guy that isn't really sure about how to best define being happy. I enjoy nice afternoons sitting on the deck (like now), but I don't know if I would say it makes me happy. I'd say that what I feel is contentment.

I enjoy a good cigar, a good bourbon or tequila, and I enjoy sharing those things with others that also enjoy them. I don't think I'd say they make me happy.
I like working in the garden or at least I recognize that working in the garden is necessary to be able to enjoy the flowers later in the year. I do enjoy watching the butterflies and hummingbirds at the beautiful flowers.
Again, I don't know if I'd describe that as being happy.

Being together as a family or just getting to spend time with the kids makes me happy. I am really looking forward to getting together in Mexico in a few weeks.
I'd also say that getting together with members of my birth family also makes me happy.

It's weird.
I certainly am not a sad person. In fact, I am generally pretty upbeat and positive. I'm just not sure that happy is the best way to describe myself. 

How about you?
What makes you happy?

John

Monday, March 04, 2024

Monday Meditation: finding my place

Since my retirement I have become a pretty non-productive member of society. I've come to terms with that and am okay with it. A good pension, a little retirement savings, and Social Security have put me in a comfortable retirement place. I no longer have to produce anything in the way of product nor service to barter for food, housing, or necessities of life.
I am still a consumer. I still contribute to society by paying for those things. I just don't have to do the work part anymore.

Last week I spent some time talking with a friend of mine. It was a guy that I really enjoy spending time with. It's weird that I know there are people that I get so much benefit from just being in their presence, and yet I never really think that I might be that person for someone else.
Recent comments from others along with some recent interactions are starting to make me aware that it may actually be the case and I'm processing how I feel about it. It seems like a pretty big responsibility.

Maybe my current and future contributions to society will be simple like growing flowers for birds, bees, and butterflies. Maybe I'll find myself just being present and sharing some positive energy with others from time to time. I'm really too lazy and too unskilled to do much else at this point in life. I know several other retired air traffic controllers that are doing jobs, starting businesses, investing in income producing hobbies, and otherwise being productive members of society.
I'm just sitting on my deck drinking coffee and sharing the futon with Groucho the cat.
And I'm okay with that.

I planted some spring bulbs yesterday and hope to start some more seeds in pots today. That's my productivity schedule for the day.
Oh! And I need to do some laundry. That would be good.

Are you where you want to be in life?
Or in a place that will get you there?
For better or worse, I am content.

John

Sunday, March 03, 2024

Sunny Sunday

I am really enjoying my morning coffee and quiet time on the deck.
I know there will still be mornings when it is going to be too cold to be comfortable out here, but I am going to enjoy being out here more often as we get closer to spring and summer. 

I suppose "quiet time" is a bit of a misnomer. The morning chatter from the birds, the dogs barking in the distance, and the constant hum of traffic from the nearby highway are not very quiet. Even so, this is my peaceful (if not quiet) place.
I had a thought that I might actually go to church this morning, but I'm pretty comfortable here and I don't think that being in a building with a bunch of people will bring me any closer to my Creator. It's true that there is a benefit to the corporate worship (the musicians, singers and worship leader at The Venues are excellent) and the message is usually very good, but I am finding church time to be less and less beneficial to my everyday relationship with God and all things spiritual. The church community is beneficial and there are always people there that I am happy to see. I'm just not certain that the few moments of "Hi, how are you?" are enough to make me want to actually be there.

I hope that today will be a good day for you.
I hope that you find time to connect with God through nature or through other people.
I hope that the warm, sunny mornings will continue to be more frequent and that cool ones will fade away as winter finally comes to an end.
I hope...

John 

Friday, March 01, 2024

March 1st

March 1st
9 PM
From anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere 
Face due south and look up

That bright star is Sirius, the Dog Star.
Sirius is easy to find on any night when it's out. It's just to the left of the constellation Orion. Above Sirius you'll find the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. Above and to the right of Orion you can find the Pleiades cluster and Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus the bull.

The constellation of Orion is very large and includes the Orion Nebula, the bright white Rigel, and the red super giant Betelgeuse. 
Although I love looking at this area of the night sky, I am looking forward to these winter stars moving on and making way for the stars of spring and summer.

John

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Thursday Theology: Why churches suck

It's pretty late in the day for my usual posting habit, but it has just been that kind of day. I took a brief look at writing this in the wee hours of the morning while working at the Crisis Cold Weather Shelter and decided that I just didn't have the mental energy for it. After getting the shelter put away this morning, I had a nice breakfast with a couple of the volunteers, spent a couple of hours winding down at home, and then managed a few hours of sleep.

Now I've been up for a few hours, had dinner, finished my book, and decided that I should probably just go ahead and force myself to write something. I think a big part of not wanting to write this is that it is a little depressing.

The gospel text from this week's schedule is John 2:13-22.
Honestly, after reading it you probably won't get the same depressing vibe that I do. I don't know what thoughts come to your mind with this text, but I can't help but think that things haven't changed much in 2,000 years. The Jews of Jesus's day had made the process of worship more important than the act of worship. Like many of today's churches, there might have been more to the following of rules about worship and profiting from the commerce of worship than there was about actually worshiping God.
I wonder what kind of table tossing Jesus would be doing in the "christian" churches of the US if he were to visit us.

This is supposed to be the Bible belt. On any given weekend, there are around 600 churches that gather for worship under the banner of Christianity in Springfield MO. Only about a dozen of those churches help in sheltering and serving the homeless and hungry of our community. 
It's odd that many of them will spend big bucks and invest time and trips to help people in other countries, but turn their backs on the people of our own community. I don't understand why there are so few pastors that would encourage church goers to actually serve people in our community.
I guess it's hard to recruit new members (that's church talk for generate more money) when you're offering a job of volunteering to mop floors and clean toilets at the shelter.

There are certainly churches that serve our community in other ways, but there are truly far too few that seem to be interested in doing anything that doesn't profit them in some way.

I really do find it to be a bit depressing.
It's probably a good thing that I'm no longer a preacher. I suck at the business of religion.

John

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Wednesday Wisdom

No meme today; just a thought about a lesson I'm still learning.

Silence is hard.

I've gone from being vocal and arguing
to being more contemplative and discussing
to being silent.

On social media--
I've gone from responding
to typing out a response that I delete before publishing (usually)
to just scrolling on.

It's still hard.
It's easier to avoid people and stay off of social platforms.
But (slowly) I'm learning.

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Proverbs 17:28

John