NB: Since I first sent this on January 11, 2015, I have added more to it a number of times, the last time--so far--being 9/24/2017. LS
------------------------------------
Hey, you. :-)
Some people are just off their rockers with
ridiculous fear and worry. Like about brown terrorists somehow descending upon America in droves--as if that fear were not being driven by our own homegrown terrorists [LINK]. I pray that
you are not one of those fearful people and that you can, without fear, rise
against those who are afraid, not with hatred but with love and
determination. One way or another, raise yourself up I say; do be unafraid. If
you are not doing it you can do it. Other people are doing it. We can learn from them if need be. We are always learning from each other anyway, all the different messages, parts of the whole. And we get to choose which messages to take home with us.
The classic book by cancer survivor and well-known author Barbara Ehrenreich (Wikipedia link) that I have referenced many times is valuable for keeping one's balance. It is not only, and not even mainly, about her personal experience with cancer. It just starts there.
Bright-Sided:
How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America (2009) (226 customer reviews on Amazon)
Do remember, "Do not compare yourself
with others. There will always be someone better than you and
someone worse than you."
The statement below in this paragraph might be instinctive for some or
many--not naming names here, you know some of them even if you
are not one of them--but it is dead stupid, as many instincts
may be before we manage to overcome them, to grow past them. Of
course this is stupid. But please think about it anyway and
reinforce in yourself the idea that it really IS stupid, TOTALLY--just as a practical matter, i.e., it will not work, never happen ever:
"But, if we just kill some more of them, the rest will settle
down and be our friends."— kara vallow (kidding,
just from the context where I found it) Please remember, that statement is false "wisdom." Please hold that thought, for the sake of everyone else if not for your own sake. I have never been more serious.
Walk cheerfully over the world,
answering that of God in everyone.
If you are going to be driven, let it by by something other than fear.
For me it is first
The Light Within and then country, not the other way
around.
And here are seven more major messages that are alive and very well, thank you, even though the dates are slightly older than this (4/2/15 now) update:
sent 12/2/12 MAJOR-"I like myself *unconditionally*"
sent 10/4/14 major: on the seriously negative effects of fear
sent 12/16/14 (2 short videos) great messages from inspiring people, quite different one from the other
sent 2/14/14 Nonviolent Communication--hugely important short quotations
sent 1/22/15 of personal import: "Faces of civility"
sent 3/20/15 big inspirations from Brian, Sunday March 15, 2015 at Honeoye United Church of Christ
sent 3/24/15 almost miraculous, seriously, yet another one: big inspirations from Brian, Sunday March 22, 2015 at Honeoye United Church of Christ
sent 4/2/15 #3 from Brian; linking my Quakerism to Brian's Jungian Christianity
sent 6/30/15 Sunday, June 21, 2015:
"We of the wonderful little choir with which I've been singing
lately on Sunday mornings did our last performance for the season on
Sunday, June 21st, nine days ago now. I would love for you to hear
our performances of that day, most especially the later one. The
later one was joint with the great bell choir that blesses this
particular congregation, so to speak, with the bell choir conductor
Kelly conducting both choirs for that performance. You can watch it
and listen to it at:
https://vimeo.com/131408193
Do please start by listening to the very beginning. That is not
some routine beginning. It was special. Brian did that. The
particular bell choir and voice choir performance whereof I speak is
from 13 min 35 seconds to 17 min 44 sec. I give you permission to
cry during the performance. You can see me at the usual spot to the
upper right, but you cannot hear me as plainly, which is a good
thing. There was another big bass there by special invitation
Sunday, so the bass section sound is a blend, a better sound. There
were good tenors also, even though our regular lead tenor did not
sing because he was playing in the bell choir right then.
Brian's sermon came later. I loved it. Heavily paraphrased: "We
have no idea what is going to happen next. Some"--or maybe he said
"much"--"of it is going to be hard, most likely. Whatever is
going to happen, keep the feeling of
being led."
OR in the voice of Larry Scott, if you can imagine--I am a bass you
know: "KEEP THE FAITH, BABY!--WHATEVER happens next!"
sent 4/8/15 Francis Weller: "The Reverence of Approach"
sent 4/10/15 "None Shall Make Them Afraid: 5 Virtues of Responsible News Consumption"
new 6/18/15: sent 5/23/15 Winning in America is still possible sometimes: A win for clean air
song for the day 6/9/15, "Jamie," by Hedge & Donna
new 6/10/16 You might cry with joy "By
Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them," by Charles Eisenstein. Once again I suggest reading that very slowly, because there is a
beautiful complexity of intermingled thoughts--about dealing with
two realities, I would say.
new 6/10/16 three by Dushka-Zapata, Quora writer:
1. What
are the keys to a happy life?
2. Existence:
I feel lost. What is going on?
3. Do the top writers in "life advice" practice what they preach? Are
they all successful and happy all day every day?
new 6/22/16 sent 6/23/16 Movie--great beauty: INNER WORLD/OUTER WORLDS
new 11/11/16, sermon by Rev. J.K. Boody given 11/6/16. J.K. gave this two days before the 11/8/16 election, but it is most timely, I think. Yes, it might be time for us each to help speak truth to power even more than we have in the past. "UCC
Honeoye 11-6-2016 Worship Service: Why No Flags" The sermon
starts at 46:16.
new 2/4/17 from Sojourners: 5
Spiritual Survival Strategies in the Trump Era
new 2/18/17 from Huffington Post: "10
Things Therapists Do When They’re Stressed By Politics,"
by Lindsay Holmes, Huffington Post, updated February 10,
2017
new 3/6/17 from Slate" This one's a big switch from most of the others. The sixth and last big tip in the Professor's list is to swear a lot. "The
resistance is all in your head: 6 ways to fight Trump brain rot,"
by Sophia McClennan, Professor of International Affairs and
Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, Salon,
March 4, 2017
new 8/2/17 sermon by J.K. Boody given July 16, 2017. UCC Honeoye 7-16-2017 Worship Service: "Faith vs. Fear." Do note the very useful secular authorities he cited in addition to the biblical. The sermon begins at 31:00 and ends at 47:07--16 minutes total.
new 9/24/2017 sermon by Forrest Church given September 20, 1998 at All Souls Church in Manhattan. sent 11/28/13 "How My Mind Changed" PASS THIS TO AT LEAST SIX PEOPLE IN THE NEXT 10 MINUTES
