Ed Christian's World

The First Ammendment — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

With all the hoop-la the past few weeks over the latest decisions by our Supreme Court and the discourse by Church leaders and some in our Congress, I thought it just may be interesting to explain what the First Ammendment is all about.

In it’s forty-five words, the First Ammendment covers an astonishing amount of ground. It’s guarantees fall into two halves — religious guarantees first, guarantees of expressive rights next.

It is fairly clear what Congress, or the Government, can or can’t do in regards to churches as far as the establishment of religion or for the free exercise of any said religion. The key phrase here is ‘free exercise’ and our Country, as much as we hate to admit it, is based on diversity of religions, along with people and not based solely on the ‘Christian’ religion. In 1784, when the Constitution was developed, Churches were more setup and controlled by the States and the writers wanted to make sure it was understood by all the Federal Government had no place interfering.

The second section covers the freedoms we are guaranteed under the Constitution — The freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble and the right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. These all sound good, but the Government can stipulate conditions on these freedoms pretty much at well. Over the years they have only stepped in a few times, for National Security.

The Church, using the second section of the ammendment, petitioned the Court for a redress of grievances and asked the Court to make a judgment over several issues covering abortion, birth control and LGBT marriage. The Court, not wanting to get into the issue, pushed it back to the State. Unfortunately the Church was not satisfied and pushed until the issues found themselves back in front of the Court.

It may be interesting to note that at the same time the Church was complaining about how the Government was sticking it’s nose into the business that is considered sacred ground, violating the ‘separation of Church and State’.

In the end, the Court was forced to become involved and the decisions they made were not quite what the Church was expecting, so the whole mess blew up in their face. The diversity of our country required the Court to exercise equal rights for all since all Americans are covered under the Constitution and all have the same rights guaranteed.

To the Church the Court was making laws changing the intent of the Constitution and the whole foundation of the Church a direct violation of the Separation of Church and State therefore the Court was wrong in their eyes and they set out on a campaign to discredit the Justices.

The Court was right in it’s decision guaranteeing the rights of all Americans. Right or wrong, the diversity of the United States is what makes it so strong. I agree with the Court, in part, that if the Church wants Government to stay out of the Church, the Church needs to stay out of Government. We would be less divided, as a Country, if we would recognize the diversity of the people in the Country and remember we all have the same rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

I was once told by a minister that these rights are God given, what he failed to realize that we live in a country where these God given rights are guaranteed by a Constitution. Not every country in the world can say that.

If we, as Christians, believe that God puts people in Office for His Glory, we must also believe He led the Supreme Court Justices to these decisions for the same purpose. I trust God and know He has a purpose for everything. I am happy to follow the Bible and let the latest decisions work their way through to fruition, for His glory. His commandment to love your neighbor as I have loved you offers Christians an opportunity to display their love for all regardless of race, color or belief by setting the example on how Christians are supposed to live. Not judging, but standing firmly on the message of the Gospel leading others to Him.

Walk daily with God at your side.

Love,

Ed

Growing up with Grandfather as my mentor proved that my ability to pick up and learn something became easier and easier. It was then we discovered I had pretty much a photographic memory, which pretty much meant if I saw it I remembered it. All this was very exciting to learn, but it did have tendency to mark me as a nerd. Can you imagine being a nerd at the age of 8?

Mom enrolled me in a Mensa group to keep me occupied, but after a while that became boring because all we did was read. Don’t get me wrong, I love to read, but there is more to life than reading a book. Grandfather seeing this happening, sat me down and said – You need to listen to your mind and follow your heart!

What does that mean? Listen to your mind, well everything we do involves the mind – the intellectual center, the reasoning part of the human brain. Follow your heart, well we learn how to love in life, share our experiences and be happy in life.

Sometimes we, as humans, tend to over intellectualize things to the point that we take all the enjoyment out it. Life is meant to be an enjoyable learning experience, not something we do just to show accomplishment. We need, well I did, to take a step back and look at finding joy in our daily activities at the same time learning something new from the experience.

It is the joy in life that makes it worth living for joy is the source of love, kindness and gratitude – the very foundation of life. Faith that it’s not always in your hands or when things don’t always go the way you planned, but you have to have faith that there is a plan for you, and you must follow your heart and believe in yourself no matter what.

Trust your own instincts, go inside, follow your heart. Right from the start. go ahead and stand up for what you believe in. As I’ve learned, that’s the path to happiness. As Grandfather always said – Listen to your mind and follow your heart.

How about you, have you made room for happiness in life?

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love,

Ed

PS: If you have a topic you would like me to write about, let me know, I am always looking for topics. Thanks

The Nature Of Life…
There is nothing more precious than to look out over a field at sunrise and see the bright golden haze washing across the dew covered blades of grass. I feel this new freshness every morning is Gods way of showing mankind a new beginning – a new life.
I live in the country and for the most part am a country boy. I have a fairly decent education and am considered to be somewhat above average in intelligence. But even with all this education and knowledge I find I am still being educated on a daily basis by the wonders of nature. I have learned every creature, even the ant has a special place in our everyday living. I am in awe over the lessons we, as people, seem to overlook in our very busy lives.
Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. Yet we don’t take the time to enjoy the glory of it’s birth. I remember when Grandfather would tell me to stop to smell the roses, enjoy the beauty of it’s birth. Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. It all has meaning in life, so take the time to learn and enjoy natures lessons.
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. If you are going to even begin to understand what life really means, you have to take time to learn how nature portrays life.
Over the years I have learned it is all about love, the freshness of the dew covered grass, the beauty of the new blossom on the flower – it is God showing us His love on a daily basis, gently showing us there is more to love than meets the eye. Love is the key to everything in life and He shows us that rather than loving to live we should live to love.
I guess if we are to live to love, we should know what love really is. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows us – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. When Jesus commanded us to Love our neighbors as He has loved us, I think he had this in mind. He wants us to do everything, everyday with the love He has given us.
Love is life, and if you miss love, you miss life. Love is stronger than knowledge. I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.
When I look at life, I see something that overcomes all and something that we all should be sharing every minute of everyday. Love is more easily experienced than defined. As a theological virtue, by which we love God above all things and neighbors as ourselves for his sake, it seems remote until we encounter it enfleshed, so to say, in the life of another – in acts of kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice.
Love’s the one thing that can never hurt anyone, although it may cost dearly. The paradox of love is that it is supremely free yet attaches us with bonds stronger than death. It cannot be bought or sold; there is nothing it cannot face; love is life’s greatest blessing.
Love is the nature of life, and life is not worth living without it. You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, nature offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Nature is love given to us everyday, love so special that one can’t help but notice – if you just take the time to look at everything God has given us. I love life and I live to love. How about you?
Walk daily with God at your side!
Love always,
Ed

The less, the more – the good, the bad – the sweet and bitter. If we wish to pry within the truths of a thing, we must perforce have recourse to it’s opposite, it’s twin. But know that our Creator’s eyes are blind because He has no opposite, no like, comparison nor similitude; and His Essence, all such opposites are one. How faint, how small our knowledge of this truth, for knowledge is distinction, nor can we distinguish aught except between two things. The portals of distinction have been closed by Unity, and if you should attain to gnosis in the One, then recognize that though He be possessed of attributed, His Essence is but one.
Now that I have your attention, let’s break all that down to something a little easier to comprehend.
Life is multi – dimensional….
You need to look beyond the surface to appreciate the heights and depths of your life’s experiences. Every experience we encounter has depth, width and height. We must learn to look beyond the surface to realize the full potential of what life is handing us, the blessings we are being given. Rarely is the full meaning only on the surface.
Genesis chapter one tells us: in the beginning God created the heavens and earth…. Ever wonder what was before the beginning? – God was! God had already known of us and created a world for us to live in and a heaven for us to return to. He gave us the best of what He had, then later came to earth to live among us and to set the example as how we were to live.
Following His example you should give the best of what you have and the best will come back to you. In a previous post “I can only touch you now” I talked about ascending the mountain, spreading seeds of hope and you will reach the sun tipped peaks of your life experience. Know that when you have reached the mountain top, then shall you begin to climb. You discover another dimension of life to explore and share. There is much to be said for challenging fate, instead of ducking behind it. Never be afraid to step forward to try a new direction, and always be willing to share your experience with others.
It is one of the most beautiful compensation’s of life that no man can help another without helping himself. We have be given unlimited access to knowledge, so there is really nothing you can’t do, if you are willing to work for it. The one way of making a thing unattainable is by believing it is. Don’t limit yourself or your life. All things are possible to those who believe and nothing is impossible for those willing to work for it.
There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart. Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and over indulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.
What is success? To me, it is a measure of how you spread the seeds of hope along the way, the love you share with your neighbors and the joy of making others happy. It is how you measure success that counts with Him.
QUESTIONS are the constant companions of our transit in this world. FAITH, if you have it, will provide relief, but not an explanation. Faith is to worthy accomplishments what seeds are to bountiful harvests. So as you walk your path, you are always going to have questions as to where and why, just continue on your journey with faith, spreading your seeds of hope and love, the answers will be there at journeys end.
Wherever you are going… God will be there with you. So don’t be afraid to look into the many dimensions of life.
Psalm 139:9-10: If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
On a final note: It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
Soft as the voice of an angel, whispering truths yet unheard.
Love you,
Ed

Perhaps Confucius said it best: “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.”

I am a child of the universe. I know of no past, no present, or no future for time is of no essence. Since I am not limited by the boundaries of time, I can be in many places at the same time. My sole purpose in life is to touch the minds of others and show them that they are too. I believe every living thing in this universe has a song to sing, a tale to tell. Listen carefully to their tales for they will open unlimited secrets of life.

Being an outdoors person, I feel close to nature and the animals. Some have even told me that I have a special gift of being able to talk to the animals and listen to what they have to say, for sure they follow my directions very well. I feel at home with nature among the trees, flowers and animals. Grandfather said “Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others – even the dull and ignorant for they too have a story to tell.” What he didn’t tell me was that even the plants and animals have a song to sing and a tale to tell and as I sit here among the trees and flowers, listening to the birds sing and watching the deer wander in the grass, I realize how special all living things are and how their stories shape our future.

I believe we should give a little sunshine to everyone we touch… It helps generate a whole world of feeling. Share your experiences with others, good and bad, for they are lessons that may help others explain what is happening in their life. In turn they may just open a world of feeling and grace you never knew you had. Remember, God never closes one door – without first opening another. Stop and think about this for a minute, you are never left unprotected by His grace. But when you stop to think – remember to start again.

One of Grandfather’s lessons was on worry. “Worry over tomorrow casts shadows on today” he said. “You don’t need to worry about yesterday for it is already gone, don’t worry about today for He is here to guide you, and you don’t need to worry about tomorrow because He is already there.”

Dreams are the visions of hope – The power needed to make wishes come true. Many times the answer we most need for a challenge we are facing comes in our dreams. Like angels whispering in our ears. Grandfather was very adamant about this adding we control our day much more than we realize. “As the corners of your mouth go, so goes the rest of your day.”

I have learned that even with the toughest challenges, you are to keep ascending the mountain by daily scattering seeds of hope along the way, to everyone you meet, and, should mists hide the mountain top, continue undaunted and you will reach the sun tipped heights in your own life – experience. Change yourself and your work will seem different. What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humankind.

The bird with the broken pinion never soared so high again, but the song it sings is sweeter! The lesson here is that you can fail many times, but you aren’t a failure until you begin to blame someone else. We all fail sometimes in our life, but we learn from our experience and pick ourself up and try again. Life experiences are valuable lessons, don’t be afraid to sing your song!

Speech may sometimes do harm; but so may silence and a worse harm at that. No insult ever caused so deep a wound as a tenderness expected and withheld, and no spoken indiscretion was ever so bitterly regretted as the word that one did not speak. An admission of error is a sign of strength rather than a confession of weakness. Why is this so hard for people to grasp?

The best and most beautiful things in the universe cannot be seen nor touched – but are felt in the heart. Solitude is the ante – chamber of God; only one more step and you will be in His immediate presence.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you – undoubtedly the universe is unfolding as it should.

I can only touch you now…and then I must go.

With all my heart!

Love,

Ed

As I look back over the past 50 years of my life, I find a definite change in philosophy and a deeper understanding of the philosophical side of life. The internal calm God has blessed me with and a deeper appreciation of life in general. As I am sharing my world with you I offer some things to consider:

There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person. We start our life with a blank page, a page we draw on, write on and even scribble on as we grow up. Sometimes we write nonsense and go back and erase it to start all over. Sometimes we write prose and songs. It doesn’t matter what we draw or write for we are defining ourself in life. We learn from what we put on our page, good and bad, and use that experience to develop what we have become to date. We end up taking the best and growing from there.

I believe there are no coincidences in life. The person that wandered in and out of your life was there for some purpose, even if they caused you harm. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense the short periods of time we get with people, or the outcomes from their choices. However, if you turn it over to God he promises that you will see the big picture in the hereafter. Nothing is too small to be a mistake. The people we meet in life are drawn to us because we have gifts to share, we seek each other because we need the gifts. This is important because each person we touch or that touches us leaves a gift or memory that helps form our life. We also leave a gift with them. The impact of that touch is a lesson to share with others. This is how we grow.

The world is your exercise book, the pages on which you do your sums. It is not reality, although you can express reality there if you wish. You are also free to write nonsense or even tear the pages. Life happens, it is up to you to make the best of it. Don’t waste it!

A cloud does not know why it moves in such a direction and at such a speed, it feels an impulsion…, this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond the horizon. Only you have the power to lift yourself up, no one else can do it for you.

As you consider this, keep in mind that you are never given a wish without also given the power to make it come true. However, you may have to work for it!

The original sin is placing limits on the inner self, Don’t!!!

When we take the time to consider our life, you need to remember you are the sole foundation for your world. Without you it isn’t. The truth you speak has no past and no future. It is, and that’s all it needs to be.

The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. Consider what the caterpillar calls the end of life, – the Master calls a butterfly! Consider listening to the song the rose sings – about the joy and happiness it shares with the world. Your heart sings the same song! The more of your world you share – the more of a world you will have to share.

Now, ask yourself where do you stand with yourself? You must understand yourself before you can begin to understand others. We are limited only by the boundaries we set up in our minds. The walls go up a lot easier than they come down. But — it all starts with the first rock. Let the sunshine of your heart light up your face. Give me a smile with everything in it, I’ll pass it on.

Remember this above all else – Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished, if you’re alive it isn’t!

Beyond work and love, I would add two other ingredients that give meaning to life. First, to fulfill whatever talents we are born with. However blessed we are by fate with different abilities and strengths, we should try to develop them to the fullest, rather than allow them to atrophy and decay. We all know individuals who did not fulfill the promise they showed in childhood. Many of them became haunted by the image of what they might have become. Instead of blaming fate, I think we should accept ourselves as we are and try to fulfill whatever dreams are within our capability.

Second, we should try to leave the world a better place than when we entered it. As individuals, we can make a difference, whether it is to probe the secrets of Nature, to clean up the environment or work for peace and social justice, or to nurture the inquisitive, vibrant spirit of the young by being a mentor and a guide.

I have shared my world with you, how about sharing yours with me.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love,

Ed

In today’s post I will present six more of my verses of philosophy, opening more of my world for you to see. I am presenting these in hope of opening your world to the wonders that await you.
YOUR friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a lifetime.
Have you ever paid attention how some people you meet make you feel as if you have known each other for a lifetime? It is amazing how close we come to some, while some you actually have known most of your life know very little about you. Cherish these people, as they cherish you, special friends like that only come a few times in your life.
YOU are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self.
DON’T turn away from possible futures before you’re certain you don’t have anything to learn from them.
YOU’RE always free to change your mind and choose a different future or past.
Your inner spirit or inner self leads or guides you through many obstacles in life. It is important that you explore all the paths you are led to. There are possible futures there that will make or break you, but if you turn and go another direction you just may be passing up the brightest star in your life. The best part of it is that if you decide you want another direction or path, you’re free to change directions and start over with a new future.
I have changed my future many times in my life and have always found happiness and peace in all of them. Life is full of promises and we should freely make good use of all of them.
THERE is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in it’s hands.
YOU seek problems because you need their gifts.
This is probably the most important phrase in my handbook because we are constantly faced with one problem or another. It reminds us that in every situation in our life, we should look for the good in it and make the best of it because in the end we end up wiser and stronger because of it. This is a gift from God and we learn to seek these problems to work through for the physical and spiritual gifts they contain. Grandfather always said when life deals you a box of lemons, make lemonade. There is good in everything so look beyond the bad and seek the good.
THE bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others life.
RARELY do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
This reminds us that respect for others and joy in each others life is the glue that bonds people together. Blood may be thicker than water, but respect of others bridges that blood forever. It is this respect and joy in each other’s life that forms the true family.
ARGUE for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
You can do anything you want is life, your only limit is the boundaries you place on yourself. Pretty self explanatory, so why do so many insist they can’t do things?
IMAGINE the universe beautiful and just and perfect, then be sure of one thing:
GOD has imagined it quite a bit better than you have.
Life in a nutshell, you have to crack the shell to experience it to the fullest.
Walk daily with God at your side!
Love,
Ed

Back in 1971, as I was transitioning back to civilian life, I wrote what I call The Life Handbook. It consisted of a number of one and two sentence phrases that reflected where I saw myself in life and what I considered important to continue on.

PERSPECTIVE – Use it or lose it.

Remember where you came from, where you’re going and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place. It’s all good training and you’ll enjoy it more if you keep the facts in mind.

LEARNING is finding out what you already know.
DOING is demonstrating that you know it.
TEACHING is reminding others that they know just as well as you.

We are all learners, doers and teachers.

Use it wisely!

These are just two examples of how my mind works or worked back in 1971. I guess for the most part it still does and I will try to expand on the above “idea” in this post.

Let’s talk about perspective first: If we don’t use it we will lose it. Everything we do in life is because we chose to do it. It is this thing called free will that allows us to chose our path. When we make mistakes, and we all do, we usually learn something from them and in the future we have this perspective not to do it again. If we insist on doing it all over again and the result is the same what have we learned? You created a mess and you are now forced to live with it. When you take the time to reflect on how you got into this mess, you just may decide to change direction and start a new path in life. We always have to option to reinvent ourselves and start a new life path.

That leads us to the next phrase:

When we were born, God had already programed everything we would grow to know in our brains. Learning is what unlocks that knowledge that has been locked away in our brain. Doing or living that knowledge gives us confidence that we know it. Showing others the gateway is teaching others that they know it also. So we are all learners, doers and teachers.

God has blessed us all with gifts that are ours for the asking. They are all locked up inside our brains just waiting for the moment to reveal themselves to us. God has promised us abundance, peace, and eternal life. These treasures are ours for the asking; all we must do is claim them. One of the great mysteries of life is why on earth do so many of us wait so very long to lay claim to God’s gifts?

Life’s Handbook is full of phrases like this, some of them go pretty deep, and all of them are designed to make you think about how you live life. My hope is to present these a little at a time, explaining where I was coming from so that maybe my readers will begin to understand where they are in their life and maybe show them an alternative path to follow.

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love you,

Ed

Why Forgiveness Is Important…

I have written many times on forgiveness and still have people tell me they can never forgive someone for the hurt they caused to them. So I am going to introduce a few points of consideration to help you realize that change comes from within. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. These lessons from my Grandfather were given to me early in life, but have stayed with me all these years.

Some say that they would only be happy if they can turn the tables back on the person that hurt them. An eye for eye will only end up making the whole world blind. We need to explore better options.

Fighting evil with evil won’t help anyone. You always choose how to react to something, it is called free will. When you can incorporate such a thought habit more and more into your life then you can react in a way that is more useful to you and others.

You realize that forgiving and letting go of the past will do you and the people in your world a great service. And spending your time in some negative memory won’t help you after you have learned the lessons you can learn from that experience. You’ll probably just cause yourself more suffering and paralyze yourself from taking action in this present moment.

If you don’t forgive then you let the past and another person to control how you feel. By forgiving you release yourself from those bonds. And then you can focus totally on, for instance, the next point.

If you change yourself you will change your world. If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. And so the world around you will change. Not only because you are now viewing your environment through new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also because the change within can allow you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or maybe even have thought about – while stuck in your old thought patterns.

And the problem with changing your outer world without changing yourself is that you will still be you when you reach that change you have strived for. You will still have your flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies etc. intact.

And so in this new situation you will still not find what you hoped for since your mind is still seeping with that negative stuff. And if you get more without having some insight into and distance from your ego it may grow more powerful. Since your ego loves to divide things, to find enemies and to create separation it may start to try to create even more problems and conflicts in your life and world.

So there must be some action or effort on your part to improve your outlook on life. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” Grandfather used that on me many times.

Without taking action very little will be done. However, taking action can be hard and difficult. There can be much inner resistance. So, to really get where you want to go and to really understand yourself and your world you need to practice. Books can mostly just bring you knowledge. You have to take action and translate that knowledge into results and understanding.

Take care of this moment!

I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.

The best way that I have found to overcome the inner resistance that often stops us from taking action is to stay in the present as much as possible and to be accepting.

Why? Well, when you are in the present moment you don’t worry about the next moment that you can’t control anyway. And the resistance to action that comes from you imagining negative future consequences – or reflecting on past failures – of your actions loses its power. And so it becomes easier to both take action and to keep your focus on this moment and perform better.

Remember that reconnecting with and staying in the now is a mental habit – a sort of muscle – that you grow. Over time it becomes more powerful and makes it easier to slip into the present moment.

Remember everyone is human and will make mistakes.

I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I know, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps. It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

When you start to make myths out of people – even though they may have produced extraordinary results – you run the risk of becoming disconnected from them. You can start to feel like you could never achieve similar things that they did because they are so very different. So it’s important to keep in mind that everyone is just a human being no matter who they are.

I think it’s important to remember that we are all human and prone to make mistakes. Holding people to unreasonable standards will only create more unnecessary conflicts in your world and negativity within you.

It’s also important to remember this to avoid falling into the pretty useless habit of beating yourself up over mistakes that you have made. And instead be able to see with clarity where you went wrong and what you can learn from your mistake. And then try again.

Most importantly see the good in people and help them. I try to look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others. Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men. I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.

There is pretty much always something good in people. And things that may not be so good. But you can choose what things to focus on. And if you want improvement then focusing on the good in people is a useful choice. It also makes life easier for you as your world and relationships become more pleasant and positive.

When you see the good in people it becomes easier to motivate yourself to be of service to them. By being of service to other people, by giving them value you not only make their lives better. Over time you tend to get what you give. And the people you help may feel more inclined to help other people. And so you, together, create an upward spiral of positive change that grows and becomes stronger.

By strengthening your social skills you can become a more influential person and make this upward spiral even stronger.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

I think that one of the best tips for improving your social skills is to behave in a congruent manner and communicate in an authentic way. People seem to really like authentic communication. There is much inner enjoyment to be found when your thoughts, words and actions are aligned. You feel powerful and good about yourself.

When words and thoughts are aligned then that shows through in your communication. Because now you have your voice tonality and body language – some say they are over 90 percent of communication – in alignment with your words. With these channels in alignment people tend to really listen to what you’re saying. You are communicating without incongruency, mixed messages or perhaps a sort of phoniness. Also, if your actions aren’t in alignment with what you’re communicating then you start to hurt your own belief in what you can do. And other people’s belief in you too.

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position. You can pretty much always improve your skills, habits or re-evaluate your evaluations. You can gain deeper understanding of yourself and the world.

Sure, you may look inconsistent or like you don’t know what you are doing from time to time. You may have trouble to act congruently or to communicate authentically. But if you don’t then you will drive yourself into a false position. A place where you try to uphold or cling to your old views to appear consistent while you realize within that something is wrong. It’s not a fun place to be. To choose to grow and evolve is a happier and more useful path to take.

These are a few points I have found to work in my life as I was growing up. My Grandfather was my teacher and has given me a true understanding of life and how my life affects the life’s of all I meet. My hope is that you find some wisdom in these words also.

Walk daily with God at your side.

Love always,

Ed

I remember back when I was just a toddler running around in the fields. In those days a life was worth more than it is today. Today, it seems life is expendable and watching the news we hear just about everyday that someone has either been killed or killed someone. The media pushes a lot about police killing unarmed men and today it was broadcast that two police officers were shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. When are we going to wake up and realize all this waste of life is eventually going to kill this Country?

When did we all decide that the sanctity of life has no value? Who are we to decide that life is expendable? During my time in Vietnam I fought for my life and Country. I killed many of the enemy and watched many of my comrades die. I still live with those days and the horror of death and those I killed through nightmares.

The sanctity of life means we are all created in Gods image through His love. He gave us life and for the most part gave everything else we have. I know there are those who don’t believe in God, and feel everything they have, they earned. I am not going to debate whether God exists or not, in my life He does.

While a sanctity of human life ethic may be disparaged by the world, it is God’s view. His Word is clear: human life at all ages and stages is precious.

While the culture in which we live appears to favor a perspective that regards humans as enhanced primates, as Christians we serve a God who tells us clearly in His Word that we are made in His image. Likening God to a potter, a vocation that was common in those days, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “We are all the work of His hands” (Isaiah 64:8).

When it becomes easier to claim self defense or to take a life just because of hate, then we have to look at ourselves and ask why do we have so much disrespect for life? For that matter why is there so much disrespect for people in general?

When I was growing up we were taught to respect our elders, teachers, the police and fire officers and just about everyone we came across. I don’t see that in our youth and young adults today. Is it because of poor parenting or peer pressure? I often wonder. But I can say for sure it is not good for relations in this country and just may be one of the reasons we are seeing so many homicides today.

We are God’s creatures and we are all brothers and sisters to each other. We need to remember this everyday of our lives.

Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. :Robert H. Schuller

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love,

Ed