You Don't Know

...what you don't know. Realizing this gives us an insight that's very instructive. Watch the following link.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/01/130111-quasar-biggest-thing-universe-science-space-evolution/

If you have read the sectioned entitled God, you have a fair idea of how I view science and religion. And this isn't a jab at science (I could as easily direct you to Isaiah 45:7; KJV). It is simply further evidence that nobody knows all there is to know. That being the case, it seems obvious to me that we could benefit from a more inquisitive attitude towards these two disciplines. Less dogmatic and more flexible. I would further suggest that we could apply the same attitude toward our relationships (and improve them dramatically!) Being "right" seems to have an inordinate power to separate rather than resolve.

To answer, "I'm not sure" or "I don't know" isn't an acknowledgement of a defective intellect. Quite the contrary. Knowing what you don't know is powerful testimony to the accuracy of what you do know.

*Jesse Lewis

There is a Reason

Let Your Love Flow

There's a reason for the sunshine sky
And there's a reason why I'm feeling so high
Must be the season when that love light shines all around us

So let that feeling grab you deep inside
And send you reeling where your love can't hide
And then go stealing through the moonlit nights with your lover

Just let your love flow like a mountain stream
And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams
And let your love show and you'll know what I mean
It's the season

Let your love fly like a bird on the wing
And let your love bind you to all living things
And let you love shine and you'll know what I mean
That's the reason

There's a reason for the warm sweet nights
And there's a reason for the candle light
Must be the season when those love rights shine all around us

So let that wonder take you into space
And lay you under it's loving embrace
Just feel the thunder as it warms your face you can't hold back

Just let your love flow like a mountain stream
And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams
And let your love show and you'll know what I mean
It's the season

Let your love fly like a bird on the wing
And let your love bind you to all living things
And let your love shine and you'll know what I mean
That's the reason

~Lyrics by Larry E. Williams

*Chase Kowalski

Let Us Pray

An old friend 9 years sober recently reacted to a series of life events in a self-destructive manner. He has stopped going to meetings and isolated himself. He denies behavior obvious to friends and family. It is difficult to know how best to help. I asked a small group of close friends to pray for him. I ask you to pray for him as well.

Father, Mother, God
Come forth and hear my plea
To You I do petition
Understanding of what will be

Much is amiss with one I love
And the anguish of his heart
Beats against my sense's so
I don't know where to start

Perhaps begin with comfort
And total peace of mind
To anything that's not serene
Make him totally blind

Place Your spirit upon him
And strengthen his resolve
If any other problems remain
I beg that they dissolve

Let him know I love him
And wish I had the power
Of changing life's stinging thorns
Into bouquets of flowers

Finally Lord, I humbly pray
Remove the seeds of doubt
Let there be no question
What life is all about

~WPG

*Catherine Hubbard

Tactics

He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout
But love and I had the wit to win
We drew a circle that took him in

~Edwin Markham

*Madeleine Hsu

Hope I was funny...

Sometimes I am viewed as too hard on myself, or overly serious. Though I would disagree, I can understand how someone might form that opinion. However, when I come across humor, I always make a point of sharing it at the earliest opportunity. There are few things in life as enjoyable as making someone laugh. So go ahead and enjoy yourself!

Hokey Pokey Anonymous---A place you can turn yourself around.

Hyperbole is the best thing EVER!

Yoga---Its like Twister for the colorblind.

Hobbits are Tolkien minorities.

I avoid cliches like the plague.

Fibonacci---As easy as 1, 1, 2, 3...

Last but not least, before you ever publish, remember to use: Spell Czech.

Dust off the best joke you can remember and make a point of sharing it with someone today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tDRBb0apDg

*Dylan Hockley

Anchors Aweigh

Of this we can be certain, Life will challenge us to the "nth" degree. Over the course of our lifetime, we will be rocked to our core. How we respond to these difficulties determine the quality of life that we experience. It would behoove us then, to establish "core values" to see us through the tempests that are sure to come. This will provide an "anchor" so that we aren't blown upon the rocks or run aground. How do we go about forging this anchor? Link by link, that's how.

The best way that I found constructing each individual link in the chain is to ask myself; "who am I?" There are obvious answers for most of us; I am a ________ (lets fill in some blanks. Male, female, mother, father, wife, husband, son, daughter, sales rep, church goer, volunteer, etc etc). However, I don't believe we will achieve the tensile strength we desire in our chain if we stop there. These descriptions often become "roles" we play rather than a genuine expression of "who am I." Let me give a personal example. I could say, I am a writer; I am a poet. Or I could say, I am creative. The latter example removes the "role-defining" a. There is an inherent, self-imposed limitation to having that "a" there.

So this is my suggestion; boil your descriptions down to there absolute essence. Rather than saying, I am a caring, concerned individual; say, "I am empathetic." The links forged will be a series of "I Am's" that reveal exactly who you truly are. Knowing who you truly are is the anchor that will see you through the most violent storm.

*Josephine Gay

Reflection

If you do not go within,
You go without.

~Neale Donald Walsch 

*Olivia Engel