Wednesday Wisdom

I'm going to have to get my quiet time on the road today, but wanted to keep the November streak going with today's Wednesday Wisdom post.

Who are you?
Are you the person that society has crafted?
Or are you the person you were born to be?

John

Researchers Needed!

Researchers sounds better than testers.
I'm going to accept the protein and omega 3 numbers from the fact site, but am especially interested in the "reportedly taste like bacon" part.

Let me know.
I'm already thinking of a compost to kitchen marketing for the ELT -- Earthworm, lettuce, tomato sandwich! I think sourdough should be the bread of choice.
Are you in?

John

Rain

It's cool and damp this morning after last night's rain. The overcast layer of clouds will be with us all day and there will be periodic showers and maybe a thunderstorm late in the evening with more rain likely tonight.

I'm thinking about how my thoughts on rain have changed throughout my life. As a kid, I never understood when adults would say that we needed rain. I was a kid and I needed the sun to be shining so that I could be outside playing. Summer showers meant baseball games getting rained out or playing on muddy fields. We weren't farmers and I didn't worry about the cost of produce. 

As an adult, I recognize the near drought conditions we've been experiencing this year and the need for rain. I don't like having to water the flower beds during the hot, dry summer and I am much more appreciative of the cooling effects of a summer shower.
I still believe that if you are going to pray for rain, you should pray for it to rain at night. That way the earth gets the water it needs, and we get nice, sunny days to enjoy.

I love sitting on the covered deck and enjoying a nice steady rainfall. The sound of the rain has a peaceful, calming effect on my soul. Sometimes I wonder how far this water (rain) has traveled. Maybe it evaporated in the tropics, was carried here by the Coriolis effect, cooled by the colder air from the northwest, and then dropped on the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri. If raindrops could tell the story of their travels, what would those stories be?

I should probably mention that while I still enjoy nighttime rain showers, I am now very aware of the unsheltered population and the problems they face with inclement weather. That knowledge has somewhat dampened (pardon the pun) my enjoyment.

Sun, rain, flowers, food -- it's all a part of the cycle of life.
A little rain is good for this morning's meditation.

John 

Just stuff in my head today...

Most of you know that I don't care much for always being around people. I think it needs to be said that it's not that I don't like people -- I just don't want to be around them much. Even so, there are some people that it feels good to be around. Their very presence can be an uplifting experience. Even their social media posts tend to make the virtual world a brighter place. I am always grateful for the moments I get to spend with them, the life energy they are willing to share with me, and the hugs. 

The hugs are a big deal.
As I have become more contemplative and self-aware of my own life force, energy, frequency, or whatever you want to call it -- I have also become more aware of frequencies that other people put out. Just like in music, some frequencies are more pleasing on their own, some harmonize and go together especially well with my frequency, while others make an uncomfortable sound, either on their own or when put together with mine. 
Although that harmony can be sensed by mere presence, I believe that it is best shared by physical touch -- a handshake, a pat on the back, an arm across the shoulders, a hug. 

Hugs are the best.
You can give energy (strength, comfort, love) to someone that needs it.
You can receive energy when you are in need of strength or restoration.
You can share energy and both be recharged and uplifted.

This morning I'm wondering about what happens to a person's life energy when their physical body is no longer alive. 
Does it go somewhere?
Is it given to loved ones to exist with their own energies?
Is it reclaimed by the universe?
Does it cease to exist?

I don't think it's the same as our soul, but I really don't know.

Hmmm...
Just stuff in my head this morning.

John

Just Another Saturday

It is most of the way through the day and I'm just realizing that I haven't posted and am about to miss my goal of posting for every day in November.
Taking Chris to the airport this morning was a change to my regular morning routine that includes my blog reading and writing time. I did manage to read a couple of my regular favorites, but my coffee drinking time and Chromebook time was cut short, so -- no blogging. Now that I'm enjoying the nice afternoon with a short robusto smoke and a bit of tequila, I just realized that I need to post.

It's a little depressing at how quickly the day passes and darkness swallows the Midwestern sky this time of year. It'll be dark around the time the UFC prelims start. I'll watch the early prelims on the deck, but will probably move inside for the rest of them. I don't know if I'll go out for the PPV, try to find a good stream at home, or just skip them. I'd say early money is on going out, but that may change. Staying home is always a safe bet.
The UFC and other MMA events are about the only sports I watch on TV anymore and I don't know too many people here that are big fans. I'm not even sure that I'd say I'm a big fan, but I do enjoy watching. It's probably strange that an old, fat guy is a fan of a sport that takes pretty extreme conditioning. Being a spectator doesn't take much conditioning at all.

There is a part of me that feels bad about contributing to a culture that idolizes entertainers and athletes with huge salaries while other more necessary professions are greatly undervalued. People need to be well compensated for being the best in their fields, but maybe teachers, mechanics, waiters, etc., need to have agents or better unions looking out for their interests as well.

Sorry for the late post today.
I'll work on being better in the remaining two weeks of November.

John

Is it a difference of opinion?

An interesting perspective on opinions and why opinions don't really matter.

John

Post-deconstruction Remodeling

I've never been a real fan of the term deconstruction to describe the evolution of my faith.
I get it. I certainly had to tear down and remove much of the bullshit that was nothing more than the rules of men and the control of religion. But I didn't just bulldoze everything and rebuild a faith or belief from scratch. It was (and still is) more of a remodeling project. Certain underpinnings of my previous faith remain foundational in my current beliefs and are what I am rebuilding upon. 

One of the biggest differences between the religious John of the past and the more spiritual John of the present is that I am now more concerned about my own faith and relationship with my Creator than I am about the relationships of others. In fact, I really feel like your relationship (or lack of one), or your faith is none of my business.
I am more than willing to share my thoughts, beliefs, and life philosophies with you. And I am equally willing to hear your thoughts, beliefs, and life philosophies. I just no longer feel it is important to me that you convert to my way of thinking.

Growing, changing, evolving as a spiritual being is a full-time gig for me. Being nice is a daily struggle when my natural tendency is to be a snarky, sarcastic asshole. 
Trying to understand and follow the teachings of Jesus seems to work for me, but it is an ongoing project. I have to admit, it's a little bit disheartening to think that I'm going to be changing constantly and never really complete the remodeling project of becoming the John that I need to be, but the work continues. Maybe I need a sign -- Please excuse my mess. Remodeling in progress.

John

 

Wednesday Wisdom

I wasn't sure if I should post this today or save it for tomorrow's Thursday theology. It works pretty well for both.

John

Twitter/X; Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I've been considering leaving X for some time now, but haven't yet. I get a lot of my news from the sources I follow there. It has become such a platform for misinformation and there are just so many ads that I spend most of my time scrolling rather than reading.

+ I like that I can follow accounts without being followed back or that individuals can follow me and I don't have to follow them. 
+ I like that there are many sources and varieties of sources available.
+ I like that it is a popular social media platform.
+ It's free

- I don't like the ad targeting, but realize that I'm going to get that (to some degree) anywhere.
- I don't like that I'm seeing fewer posts from accounts I follow and more targeted posts that seem to be aggressively opposite to my tastes.
- I am not a fan of Elon Musk.

I don't know if Blue Sky will be the social media platform that people switch to, or if it will be something else. Blue Sky began in Twitter, before Twitter was bought by Musk, and has since separated. I've done a little reading about it and have opened an account there. I decided to stick with the  magicianary handle even though it really isn't me anymore. Look me up if you are on Blue Sky.

I have been working on spending less time on social media. I do like using Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, especially since I never actually see many of them in person. Maybe I'll just drop X and not replace it with anything.
Facebook, Instagram, X, etc., can be good connections to news sources, but it's easy enough to go direct to the news sites or get links to breaking stories sent to your phone. The social platforms can be entertaining if you are entertained by the stories, experiences, and stupidity of other people's lives. They can also be educational if you choose to follow sites that share science, history, art, etc.

Since I only have a couple dozen direct followers to Out of My Hat, chances are good that you are here from a social media link. I don't think that people read or follow blogs as much as they once did. Both Facebook and Twitter were pretty much in their infancy when I started blogging and personal blogs like mine were popular. As more and more people turned to those platforms for expression, most of the blogs I followed just disappeared.

I suppose I have continued publishing Out of My Hat because writing helps me to organize the thoughts in my head. I don't expect to be a great influence in the world, nor do I think that my thoughts and ideas are particularly brilliant.
Mostly writing just gives me something to do.

Admittedly, I like when people read my words and feel moved to respond or leave a comment. I miss some of the bloggers that I once followed and that followed me. I wonder what they are doing and why they decided to quit blogging.
Some of us have kept at it, perhaps because we are set in our ways and unwilling to adapt to the changing world. We're like the group of old people you might find gathered for coffee and breakfast at any given McDonald's in any small town in the US. We often have different perspectives of the world around us, but the blogger community seems more reasonable about our areas of disagreement than other social platforms.

For now, I'm just going to leave this here. Maybe the only change I'll make is to spend less time on my social media accounts. 

John

Thinking of Spring

I know it isn't even winter yet, but this morning finds me thinking of spring and some spring gardening plans. It's another cool morning for sitting on the deck and the low southern sun shines on my face making typing on the Chromebook visually challenging. I don't complain about the bright sun because the sun is my friend. Sometimes it just makes it difficult to see.

Back to spring planning and spring planting.
I'm looking at another area for a long flower bed that I plan to fill with mixed zinnias. 
I recently read a story of a guy that owned a field next to a country highway. He planted the field with zinnias (and maybe some other flowers) and made them available to anybody that wanted freshly cut flowers for their home. There were paths to walk through the field. There were pruning shears to cut flowers, even vases to put them in. People stopped along the highway to cut flowers for themselves or for their friends. Some even left vases for others to use.
I don't have the traffic to really do that kind of thing, but I think I will make my flowers available to my neighbors and friends next year.

That story doesn't really have anything to do with planting another big flower bed in the back yard, other than to say that I'd like more flowers. Although zinnias are annuals, they are so pretty that I just want more of them!
I should probably work on my gardening for food game, but I currently find much more pleasure in the gardening for beauty game and just providing food for the birds, bees, and butterflies.

That is where my morning thoughts are taking me this morning.
I would like to add more perennials into my flower mix. I'm pretty much limited to full-sun flowers and plants because there is very little shade. The east side of the house only gets a few hours of morning sun, but everything else gets far too much sun for even partial-shade plants.

In my head -- it's always summer. 
I might be making plans for spring planting, but I'm really thinking about the summer beauty.
It might be cool on the deck this fall morning, but every once in a while I sit back, close my eyes and feel the sun on my face. With my eyes closed the sun is still so bright that all I can see is the brilliant yellow-red of the inside of my eyelids. 

Warm sun on my face  
Bright red glow in my eyes
Cool air inhaled through the nose
Neighbor's rooster crowing and birds singing
An occasional sip of my Ethiopian cold brew
Peaceful thoughts of summer in my head

Morning meditations should be simple sensory (or at least, sense aware) experiences.
In this moment there is no strife, there is no stress, there is peace.
I am aware that this peace is a privilege that not many will have today.
Work, money, family needs, health, food, shelter -- all things that will rob us of peace -- crowd into our heads and into our days.

I hope you have a moment today when you can pause, lift your face to the sun, breathe deeply for a few breaths, still your mind, slow your heart, and find a moment of peace.

Be well, my friends.

John