Tolerance

Tolerance or toleration a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

Seeing this definition I have to ask if many people have ever read it.  It seems to me that anytime I hear tolerance used it is only being discussed on one side of the argument.  That seems a little self defeating to me.  The more noise, arguments and publicity given to whatever folks choose to complaint about merely serves as more fuel on the proverbial fire.  

We praise our country as being free while at the same time we seem to seek to restrict opinion and speech if it doesn't agree with this week's cause. When did the ability to have an opinion and state that opinion become wrong?  Good, bad or neutral every person has a right to their own opinion and should not be persecuted or prosecuted for expressing that opinion.

Preach not with one hand while the other swings a murderous sword.

I have heard many people preach The Word of God one day and swear blind allegiance and willingness to bring violence against the "enemies" of their friends the next day.  To you I ask "Where in the Bible does it tell you this is right?"

When I was a boy I was taught quite simply if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.  There is a fine line between this and expressing your own opinion.  We all know there are many people that profess hate, bigotry, racism and sexism and wield these as weapons of hate.  As horrible as all these may be, none are against the law and all are opinions.  Stand for what you believe but think hard about how you do that.  Are you doing it from a place of love or a place of hate?

I know I seem to have less patience for people as I get older.  I don't know if that's good or bad but I simply refuse to participate in the degradation of human relations that seems to be all around us.  When I smile and say HI to a stranger on the street I feel sorry for him that he cannot return the greeting and chooses to look down at the ground instead.

Have we learned Tolerance or have we actually just use it as another way to segregate ourselves from others? 

Gratitude

I am grateful for every day and every moment with my Lique.  The rescue of the three girls in Cleveland has really got my mind running on overdrive.  I went through some very hard times with my divorce and custody battle.  Many time going days without knowing where Lique was, enduring threats of her being taken from the country.  It took a heavy toll on me which I still feel to this day.  

I don't know if I could have lasted ten years not knowing where she was.  Hy heart goes out to those girls and their families.  I pray that they find the strength, guidance, wisdom, love and support to get through each day.  Their lives have changed in ways we can never even imagine.  They have had so much taken from them that they will never get back.  I hope they find the ability to grab onto life and experience the wonderful things again.

That little 6-year old girl is going to need everyone in her life.  Her life started the day she was rescued. She has missed preschool, kindergarten and many days at the park with other kids.  We all hope and pray that she finds some way to have a semblance of a childhood.  It is said that children heal emotionally better than adults.  I hope this is true for her sake.

My own emotions have been on such a roller coaster this week.  I can't begin to imagine what those girls are going through.  Each of us needs to stop and really express the gratitude not just for our children but to our children.  I know so much of my daily strength and gratitude comes directly from my Lique.  

May God Bless Each Of You.

I feel pain

I feel pain and for many years I was selfish and kept that pain to myself.  Sounds pretty silly doesn't it?  I kept it inside because as a man growing up you are not supposed to feel pain and if you do you certainly don't show it or share it with anyone.  Hence, I was selfish.  I was, for quite a long time very adept at back burnering pain and forgetting about it.  However what I didn't realize was though I may have left it on a back burner, that burner still produced heat.  When it hit the point where it overheated my life got real messy, real fast.  What I realized is pain is like good food.  It should be take off the burner altogether and shared with good friends and family.  There is a chance that that situation may not go well, but more times than not sharing it helps.  I know I had some things on that back burner for over 40 years.  When I did finally take it off and shared it you can bet that it was not a pleasant experience.  It brought out parts of me that I never knew existed. 

It is said by some that we are all capable of inflicting great harm upon out fellow man.  Only by acknowledging this fact and making a conscious decision to never forget it do we find a way to control it.  I have felt strong enough pain that I knew without a doubt I was capable of hurting someone badly yet by knowing that fact I am able to know that I won't hurt someone out of anger.

I know also that I share pain from other people.  I am drawn to it like a moth to light.  Not because of the pain they feel but because of the relief of pain that I know they will experience.  I do not seek out people in pain.  I believe they are put into my life so that by being there for them I can continue to grow and handle my own pain wisely.

Today still, I feel pain.