BLINDERS, ROSE COLORED GLASSES AND MICROSCOPES

I swear that my whole life has been a search for balance. I'm beginning to think such is impossible given the limitations involved. Yes, some claim to have a balanced life, but I'm not quite as wonderful as they are. The problem is my vision. It throws off my balance. When I'm seeing everything in some kind of balance that for the moment makes sense, I see out of the corner of my eye something that throws it all off. The hoped for static, dynamic tension is broken and I muddle on. It's not such a big deal as it has been in the past. I far more accept the disparity, especially if I don't have to wear those blinders, look at everything through a microscope, or worry where I left my rose colored glasses. Eyes wide open means no squinting in order that only just the right things appear together.

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OH! THE HUMANITY 

To my own embarrassment and personal loss, I have a bad habit of prematurely jettisoning that which is special to me because I could unquestionably see that the context was far more than what was advertised. Socrates famous quote about the unexamined life being not worth living is wise to a point. I would say the same thing about the over-examined life. Everything that happens to you can't have a meaning, things don't necessarily happen for some mysterious purpose or reason, things don't necessarily indicate something about the fate of your eternal soul, things don't necessarily happen because you willed them into your life, things don't necessarily determine rightness or wrongness, and things don't necessarily guarantee happiness  ...or unhappiness.

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Happiness and unhappiness ultimately comes from you and rightly so. It's your determination. They don't come from not having a clue, from deliberately blocking out big junks of the world, form seeing only the good or from having a special knowledge that comes from a microscopic source. Contrary to the social and talk show standard, happiness can come with seeing everything for what it really is, with not having the answer, with being remarkably uncomfortable, with not fitting into a group, with not knowing the latest pop references, with only having limited relationships, with a lack of mainstream success, and with not having external approval. There is no need to be afraid of what is. Be disgusted ...and be inspired.

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THIS SAME SENTIMENT CAN BE SEEN IN MANY OTHER PLACES, WITH OR WITHOUT THE FINGER GESTURES.

CREDITS: HUFF POST-Shadee Ashtari, Katherine Brooks, Paige Lavender, Jade Walker, Braden Goyett, Dominque Mosbergen, Anna Horowitz,Yasmine Hafiz, Antonia Blumberg, Emily Cohn, Cavan Sieczkowski THE FISCAL TIMES-Maureen Mackey AP-Peter Leonard, Jake Pearson CNN-Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin THE BLAZE-Dave Urbanski THE RAW STORY-Tom Boggioni GETTY, FLICKER, ART DAILY.ORG

TRUST ....AND OBEY?

As I always say to my wife, "The only people I trust are you and me, and I'm beginning to get a little nervous about you." Trust seems to something that's often asked for but seldom deserved. Mainly I think, it's because few can provide a real foundation to assure even a semblance of veracity. Most everyone knows by now not to trust salespersons, contractors, and politicians. Insert your favorite antidote here. But when you get closer to home, as it were, it doesn't seem so black and white but over time, some things become rather clear.

1. Few have your best interests in mind. The best you can do is a mixture of yours and theirs. Beware of people who think you need a haircut.

2. A lot depends on whether they like you or not. Don't expect good people to extend good graces. Suck up as much as you can. Tell people what they want to hear.

3. Alluding to an authority doesn't mean there's any justification involved. It just means they think there's a higher law that everyone should live by until it interferes with their own lives. "I was agin' it before I was it."

4. Don't buy into the "Hearts and Flowers" routine of someone who has abused you, especially if it is physical. They will do it again. But do buy a baseball bat to wake them up in the morning. The general rule is to keep hitting until they wake up.

5. Trust doesn't come from belonging to a special group that has special knowledge and insight. No group loves in special way just because they dress and act the same. Grape Kool Aid is a good  communal drink, but a nice Chardonnay will be remembered. 

6. Trust breaks down when someone finds an excuse for what they did, even though they have judged you and others for the very same thing. There's a difference when a family-values politician or pastor solicits homosexual sex, they're usually under a lot of stress.

7. Trust comes from including all there is, not from excluding whole chunks of experience and understanding as being BS or irrelevant. Your life began with your first breath, not with your latest enlightenment, unless you're Oprah.

8. Trust is hollow if you are following one person or interpreter, or a narrow set of tenets that are absolute do's and don'ts. If you want to worship someone, first check their garbage can, or computer history.

9. Falling into some group-think or community can be beneficial if you can ask questions, state doubts, be who you really are and leave without recrimination or judgment. Don't confuse acceptance with the group's head count. And stay clear of any group that begins with R, N, F, S or C. Especially Chuck's Pretty Good, Down Home, Good Enough For Now, Prairie Party For The Preservation of Pheasants. I hear they've taken the naked fire dance to a whole new level.

10. And of course, trust suffers when people don't have basic common sense or the ability to identify what is rational. It's simply amazing how hypocrisy, incoherence and made-up facts are overlooked as long as they have the so called "right" or "left" label. When did honesty become a liability? 
  



OH THE HUMANITY

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WHY? WHY? WHY?

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CREDITS: RAW STORY - DAVID EDWARDS, DAVID FERGUSON, HUFF POST - ANTONIA BLUMBERG, LAUREN BASSET, BENJAMIN HALLMAN, RELIGION NEWS SERVICE - KAREN ECKSTROM. LAUREN MARKOE, AP - MARK KENNEDY, MANNIK BANNERJEE, ART DAILY.ORG, GETTY, FLICKER, MIKE VILLA