Remembering

"If a man reaches the heart of his own religion, he has reached the heart of others too." Mahatma Gandhi

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend -- or a meaningful day." Dalai Lama'

I hope that today is filled with the memories of the joyful times that you spent with your loved ones who are no longer with us.

As soon as I get a couple of major health issues taken care of I will be back writing more in this journal.

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What A Compliment!

"The human soul travels from the law to love, from discipline to freedom, from the moral plane to the spiritual plane." Rabindranath Tagore

"No one can understand the sound of a drum, without understanding both the drum and the drummer." The Upanishads

I got the most wonderful compliment from my boss today. She asked how my weekend was and I told her busy. I had to go 28 miles to the nearest town with a Walgreen’s to get my Mom's medicines. Her mail order Walgreen’s had sent a prescription for one of her medicines and then found out from the manufacturer that the medicine was double was it was suppose to be so they sent her a letter by regular mail warning her which arrived almost 2 weeks after they had been informed. I had to get her the proper medicine and we couldn't wait for the mail order. Considering that this dosage is potentially lethal you would think they would call wouldn't you?

Any way my boss said that she hoped she was as active as my Mom when she gets to be her age and if she needs taking care of that her daughters would take as good of care of her as I take of my Mom. Isn't that sweet? I was just bowled over and it made the rest of the day a lot less frustrating in spite of all of the posting problems we had.

It does point out one of my core beliefs however that we are not on this earth just for ourselves but to help others. Maybe it goes back to what Bono once said in an interview about "good old Catholic guilt." It may have that at its core but it is also something that really makes me feel good about myself. I love to be able to help others.

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Thunder on a Thursday

"You may have expected that enlightenment would come ZAP! instantaneous and permanent. This is unlikely. After the first 'ah ha' experience, it can be thought of as the thinning of a layer of clouds." Ram Dass"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality." Dalai Lama

We are expecting more storms tonight. From Merlin's behavior I think the end of the world is coming. ;-) I believe that cat is more then a little paranoid.

Enlightenment can sure hit you over the head sometimes. The person I least expected to be a supporter of Barak Obama is the lady at work who is really prejudiced. I heard her talking to another lady who is a Obama supporter and was astonished to hear her say he was the only one he would support. She made a comment that I hadn't heard before about the controversy with Obama's former pastor. She said "at least he has a pastor."

I wish more people would share knowledge instead of pretending knowledge they don't have. I think it is worse to pretend you know what you are doing rather then say you are at a lost. We have lost two days worth of billing time from an "upgrade" on our computer at work. It has been an unmitigated disaster but the head of DP assured Administration that everything would be just great. She is incapable of admitting that the computer system is a piece of junk and needs to be replaced by another vendor. She recommended the system we have in the first place and a loss of millions in revenue isn't enough for her to admit to her error.

The picture is called Up in the Air Tonight."

Catching Up On the Quotes

"One cannot do good to the country by injuring himself or his family. Similarly one cannot serve the country by injuring the world at large." Mahatma Gandhi

"Love is life, hatred is death." Swami Vivekananda

"For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope." Sanskrit proverb

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Dalai Lama

"Whether one believes in religion or not, there is no one who does not appreciate love and compassion. Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents; later in life, when facing the sufferings of disease and old age, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. If at the beginning and end of our lives we depend upon others' kindness, why then in the middle should we not act kindly towards others?" Dalai Lama

"We need to actively cultivate the antidotes to hatred: patience and tolerance." Dalai Lama

"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values." Dalai Lama

Some nice thoughts above to get the old mind working. All of them resonate with me. I'll write more when I can think clearer when this sinus infection goes away and I'm not so drowsy. In the meantime the picture above was what I came up with that was inspired by the photograph I posted a couple of days ago. Ironically my Mom like my picture better then the photograph because she thinks it look more real.

Friday. Friday

"Life is like a garden. Quite naturally, leaves wither and flowers fade. Only if we clear the decay of the past then and there can we really enjoy the beauty of the new leaves and flowers." Mata Amritanandamayi

"I get the impression that when people are not much interested in religion they also neglect values like compassion, a sense of sharing, a sense of caring - all the things people consider to be a religious message and reject. That's a mistake. These are secular ethics, not a religious message, and they are for everyone." Dalai Lama

A friend sent me the above photograph and entitled it The Day God Spilled the Paint. What a beautiful sentiment and a beautiful picture. I had to share the picture with everyone. I am going to play on my computer and see if I can do a picture with that theme.

A person that I least expected it from came to my defense today and quite pointedly called out to the Administration an injustice that had been done to me yesterday. I was touched by her sincerity and goodness. She really hit the nail on the head and put certain people on notice that the situation can not remain the way it has.

I really resonate to the Dalai Lama's quote. I have encountered people who profess to be atheists and against religion and they certainly have also thrown the decent qualities of compassion and caring out the window. They seem to think that a lack of personal belief in God gives them the right to be abusive. Their are also certain people who profess to be religious who do the same thing.

Whether you believe in God or not is a personal choice but regardless of your beliefs it doesn't change the fact that you are living with other human beings and theyall deserve to be treated decently. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is not just a religious suggestion. It applies to everyone.

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