Say That Again?

If I fight for a country but plunder it later on and plunge most everyone to poverty except my family and friends, I can still be declared a hero and be buried in honor?

I'm all for forgiveness and God is the ultimate judge but what message does this send to our children and future generation?

This dictator sought greatness all his life in whatever means possible, and even in death. He made sure he was well provided for in life and now decades later, he lies in state in a manner that few in our impoverished country can afford as his family demands a hero's burial. It is STILL all about them even after death. I cannot comprehend how this man and his family are totally devoid of humility and repentance. I am not his judge, God is. But, I will not set him up as a role model and bury him in a heroes' cemetery - a place where every single grave should tell ONLY the story of the love of God and country above one's self.

It is troubling that the word "Hero" has been so overused and abused these days. Maybe we have to find another word that can represent it because the standards have gone so utterly low.

Creating Memories

The reactions that we have to a circumstance reveal a lot about what we have inside our hearts. How we choose to deal with it reveals even more. We can choose to listen to the superficial voice that justifies us lashing out in anger, or to the still, small voice that usually tells us things about ourselves that we don't want to hear about.

Whatever action we take creates a memory. It is up to us whether we make it a good one or not - good not just for us but for those that are around us, as well. How well remembered it will be is determined by the action itself, the timing and ocassion, and how it reverberates with all those that we choose to involve.

We can make ourselves feel good for that moment by lashing out, dealing with the rebuke that follows later on, and picking up the pieces of all the hearts we have broken. Or, we may listen to the still, small voice, ask God to help us deal with our issues and lead us to a wiser course of action and save ourselves and others grief.

My memories evoke different emotions. There are those that make me happy, those that make me sad and then those that embarrass me. The first two usually involve actions by me and/or by those around me within a circumstance. The third one though, I put solely on me no matter who instigated it and how justified I feel at that moment. These are the actions and reactions I have had that does not make me proud - situations that I know I could have handled better if I thought beyond myself and how it made the others around me feel.

Remembering those times is what makes me more determined to create better memories for myself in the years to come. The other thing that helps me is remembering what my father always used to tell me. "No matter how right you are, you give up being right when the delivery of your message is wrong."

Human as I am, I am hoping that I have created and will continue to create more memories that will not cause me to go cold and hot in shame and dismay, but wrap me in happiness and warmth as I grow old.

Change We Need

I don't mean it in the way of the now famous slogan of Barack Obama. The change I mean is in the way we covet things.

The culture of instant gratification and obscene materialism is the cause of the situation that we find ourselves in right now. Saving and delayed gratification are time-tested values. We do not have to possess the things we want right at this moment. If we do, then what else is there to look forward to? To not get what we want all the time can be a blessing, so we should count it as such.

Why do people who seem to have it all sometimes end their lives? It's because their ability to gratify almost every desire immediately leaves them with less and less to look forward to. Nothing saps the life out of us more than the loss of anticipation.

I find that the happiest people I've known are not necessarily those that accumulate wealth, but those that accumulate the qualities that build their character. If we do not get something that we want, we should consider it a character-building exercise. Good character brings a more lasting kind of happiness than wealth and material things ever will.