A convenient society

The society we have is one of convenience and instant gratification. There is very little that we have to wait for. If there is something we want we go out and get it. We have machines to do our work and the globe becomes smaller everyday. As the world gets faster, our patients gets slower. Because we no longer have to wait for the things we want it creates a sense of entitlement. Because we don’t have to rely on our community for help, we have an over inflated sense of self. We do things when it is convenient for us, like keep our word.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard, “Oh I'm amazed I never actually thought you'd do that, even though you said you would!” or “You know I had so many people who said that they would do X for me and you were the only one who showed up!”. My grandfather had an expression, “take it slow”. I found out later that it was an old military saying and didn't mean exactly what I thought. Regardless, we all need to take it slow. We need to slow down a bit, stop smell the roses and realize that we aren't as important as we think we are. Of anything your word is of utmost importance. If you say you are going to do something, do it! Not when it is convenient for you, or unless something better comes along, or well life just got in the way. Life got in the way because you allowed it. You thought you were more important that the commitment you made. By default that means you think you are better than the person you made it too. If you respected them as much as you respected yourself then you would have never broken your promise or failed to do the things you had said you would.

That doesn't mean that there isn't ever a time when you just simply can't do something. If you are ill, there is a natural disaster, or some other completely random inescapable thing it becomes understandable. If things haven't turned out the way you want to, or it's not convenient for you, there is no excuse. This goes for employment as well. A person has nothing if they don't have their word.

Spring has sprung the grass is riz

This week end has been one of those week ends where you take pause look around and congratulate yourself for doing a lot of work when it felt like nothing at all. These times for me are few and far between and it is a breath of fresh air to be able to claim that. Perhaps it was the warm kiss of spring on the air that allowed me to work so fervently. As most of you probably guessed I love my little yard and I was anxious to clean it up and make it my own little room. Nothing has pleased me greater in the last little while than to sit in my little yard, drink a cup of hot tea and sit down on my laptop. Hopefully some decent writing will come about this summer.

It always amazes me how quickly the earth renews it's self. I literal watched a plant grow all afternoon. It had just poked it's little head out of the dirt and I watched in amazement how much it had grown in the day.

This week has been full of ups and downs. It was a prime example of the broken world that we live in. A man who worked with the vulnerable sector had gone to court for sexually assaulting them. The court allowed him to walk free. The judge spoke and said that he believed each and every one of the victims (including myself), and disbelieved the accused. The confines of the law is the accused must be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense lawyer did his job and created just that. Reasonable doubt. Although the judge thought that the man was guilty of the horrendous crimes he had to let him go due to the constraint of the law. I went through many different emotions, relief that the ordeal was over, anger at the broken system (I felt no animosity to the judge), disappointment, fear, betrayal and many more. The universe has a way of balancing everything out. What appears as chaos and destruction life was created. From the shadow of the evil of this man I was shown wonderful, true, honest and good people exist. The opposite of this man and his wife. In the end it is not the justice of man that will prevail. You reap what you sow. It did remind me of this passage:

Matthew 7:15-20English Standard Version (ESV)

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.


The fruit is not the good work that he claims to be doing, but the people with whom he is working.

Sometimes words aren't necessary

I had the pleasure this week of visiting a new born baby. I happen to be friends with the new Grandfather and as luck would have it, he needed a ride to go out to see her. It is amazing what power brand new life has over people. This little infant, so helpless, completely dependent on others but oh what power she has over the world already. With joy I watched as her family interacted with her. I watched her completely ensnare her grandfather without even opening an eye. He stood spell bound staring at her afraid to pick her up. When he finally did hold her he stood enraptured gazing down at her. So powerful was her enchantment that he couldn't tear his eyes off of her. He was amazed at this little life that his daughter produced. Everything he was thinking was written clearly on his face and everything he was thinking was about her. Yes I believe that there is love at first sight, because I watched a man fall in love with his grand daughter in that moment.