LEAVE IT TO PEEVER

Words

– Bumper sticker of the week: Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

– Quote of the week: "Make someone happy today. Mind your own business." Ann Landers

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." Julia Child

– Hope: "I sure hope things get better." Hope is one of those words that can make you lazy. Hope needs to be closely tied to action, or at the very least, some minute level of initiative. Hope is a good thing to have, but needs a little help. Hope might be what keeps you going, but it will eventually wear thin without action. For all the hoping in the world will not get you a better job, or win you the lotto, or help your spouse to quit drinking, or make your health better. Oh, there is nothing wrong with thinking things can get better. But there is something wrong with leaving it at that. You have to get up off the couch, leave the sporting event or soap opera for someone else to deal with, and make your hope blossom into reality. Life is nothing without hope. Hope is nothing without hard work.

– Love: Love is at the heart of life. But it is hard to know what one means when they say, "I love you," or "I really love this job," or "I sure love life." Love is a four letter word that does not like to get pinned down. Love is a lot of things. Love for parents is different from the love you share with friends. Love between two lovers is most often what we think about when we think and talk about love. Here is a love that can taste of sweetness, and in the next instant, burn like Tabasco. One minute you're in heaven, the next you swear you're in hell. That's love. It bobs and weaves thru our lives. It speaks to our happiest times and often to our saddest. Its hold on our heart opens up the possibility to see, touch, and feel The Great Mystery.

– Faith: "You got to have faith." The question would be: In what? Most often, having faith refers to having a belief in God. Faith in God requires a leap into the unknown, the unprovable. For that matter, can we know anything with certainty? You either believe or you don't. There's not much of a halfway point. Taking that leap is difficult for a lot of people, including myself. You want to dive over the cliff’s edge, like a bungee jumper, but you don't quite trust it. The cord. The distance. The bounce. Generally speaking, I could use a shove, but that is not how it work. It's you who must face the doubt and uncertainty. I try to leap across the chasm in two leaps, but that's not how it works. Faith is a word that has troubled me for a long time. I seem to find it, and lose it. Find it and lose it.

– The Call: I've heard it all my life, but have not always answered. It doesn't come on a cell phone, it's not written in a book, or seen on TV. It comes out of nowhere. It tugs at your heart. It is an invitation to your soul. It carries with it the promise of freedom. It is what Joseph Campbell calls, "following your bliss." It is a transformative and sacred call. As Maimonides, the twelfth–century rabbinic authority, physician, and philosopher said, "The sound of the shofar calls to us: Awaken, sleepers, from your sleep, arise, slumberers, from your slumber, and examine your deeds….look after your own souls, and improve your ways.” Our purpose on Earth as humans might well be to hear the call and respond. It might take you a long time to answer: yes.