Caught Red-Handed, Figuratively Speaking: God

As you all know, my life has been a whirling eddy of disruption and misery as of late. But now, as the dust settles, it has become crystal clear to me that it all had significant purpose and reason; God most definitely needed to shake me to the core to wake me up to a lot of changes that needed to occur in my life.

Of course, during all of this trauma, I wasn't able to step out of my situation to remember that precious metals must be put through the fire in order to be purified. While I realize I'm no precious metal, God definitely has bigger plans for me. My faith has been tested--severely--and I'm so happy to say my faith is growing even stronger for having gone through my recent pain and suffering. God may work in mysterious ways, but it doesn't take a forensic scientist to lift God's fingerprints off of what has been going on.

I'm onto you, God. And thanks for not giving up on me, even when I did. Your patience, mercy, and love are completely overwhelming. In a good way. :)

The Brilliance of Confucius

The other day, I blogged about how a certain quote from Socrates really helped give me insight into some issues with a certain person that I was forced to deal with over the weekend. Well, I was sitting there, fretting and feeling quite overwhelmed by the evil and wrongs that were spitefully done to me, when I came across a quote from Confucius, which I could have easily interpreted as a direct text from God, as applicable and important as it was to see at that very moment:


To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.


Wow. How wonderfully profound and uplifting! So the best approach I have now, in the wake of such evil, is to simply forget all of it as fully and quickly as possible. With a little practice and time, this will get easier and easier. Soon, this person and all of this person's damage (and great drama) will be just a distant memory. All my thanks go to God, for sharing with me this beautiful wisdom. And to Confucius, of course. He wasn't too shabby. :)

Spirituality, Delusion, and Evil

I've always thought that spirituality meant a strong (and growing) relationship with God, essentially. It has only recently begun to seep in to me that "spirituality" isn't always about being good or about doing positive, honest, and righteous things by God. There are some people who use their spirituality, such as radical Muslim extremists (although not limited to them, by any means), to justify any and all selfish behavior and, hence, worship darkness instead of light. So in this vein, I suppose even satanism and devil worship could be considered "spirituality," as oxymoronic as that still seems to me.

The reason these people are so dangerous is that they have fully and truly deluded themselves into thinking their position is right by God. If you are doing things out of spite, anger, and cruelty, you obviously are not right with God. But then again, some people embrace the darkness as if it were light, hence the delusion. The best that can be done with people like that is to remove them from your life, protect yourself fully, and pray that God gives them the wake up call they sorely need. God help their pitiful souls in this life and then next. Indeed, may God have mercy on us all, every one.

The Wisdom of Socrates

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge. -- Socrates


I've come across this quote from Socrates in several places over the last few days, but I wasn't quite piecing together what God was trying to tell me. Until today.

I now realize that God was bracing me for today, in which I found that this saying holds especially true in regards to people. It is truly impossible to know certain people; I used to think I knew someone, yet I was sadly mistaken. The selfish and irrational behaviors of others are sometimes beyond reason, and apparently accountability (although God leaves no evil unpunished, that is for certain). And accepting this of a person aids me in understanding them completely. Although the road to recover from their damage will be long and arduous, I will be a better person for having learned this lesson. And that is a very good thing. Stay focused on God (a positive reminder for us all).

The Foggy Forest of Emotion

Recent events have got me to thinking about how emotions gum up rational thought and moral reasoning. When a person puts all of his or her time and energy into emotionally reacting to everything--essentially using one's emotions as a moral compass--then the odds of good and rational results can only be left to chance.

And it is very much like a fog; when one is caught up in emotion (and I know from recent experience), one truly cannot objectively see what's before them. It takes a tremendous amount of focus to overcome this emotional fog, but it's a lot like not being able to see the forest whilst in the middle of it.

I'm not quite out of that forest yet, as I have some intense personal distractions that, God-willing, will be resolved soon. But at least, with self-awareness of my emotional state, I can approach what's coming as objectively and optimistically as possible. At least that is my goal. May God help us all maintain clarity.

The Death of a Friendship

Losing a friendship is often like an actual death, as it needs to be mourned in much the same way. One must process the residual feelings of sadness, regret, anger, pain, loss, etc.

Losing a friend is always a sad thing, and losing a lifelong friend is downright bitterly sad. This happened to me recently, with a friend of over twenty years.

The hows and whys? Let's just say things were said--on both sides--that did permanent damage and could not be forgiven. And when both people feel hurt, and justified, then no repair can happen, as listening ceases at that point (yes, I was just as guilty of this). The other half of the problem is that of change. When one person in a friendship changes, and the other doesn't, well sometimes an impassable chasm is created. This is also known as "growing apart," although this usually occurs over a long period of time. In our case, the change was sudden, perceived as such on both sides, and the change of the other was simply unacceptable. But I suppose there's no point in beating a dead horse.

Yes, the whole thing is so very sad and regrettable, but one must recover and move on. And after such a thing happens, soul searching and personal improvement is mandatory, lest one be destined to repeat history. And I have no intention of letting this happen again. Time for much prayer and reflection.

Dealing with Exhaustion

I'm exhausted, and have been for a few days now. And I know this is a really common problem for a lot of people, so I have been thinking about the best ways to deal with it. And here are my suggestions, for what they're worth:

Dealing with Exhaustion

1. It's Temporary - keep in mind that it is a temporary condition (unless it's chronic, obviously, like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). You will feel better eventually.

2. Stay Focused - even the smallest tasks can be dangerous if you don't pay attention. And if you are overly tired, never drive; it's equivalent to drunk driving.

3. Delegate - if you can, share the burden of your daily tasks. Loved ones will jump at the chance to help you. Really.

4. Find Pick-Me-Ups - if you do caffeine, do so. If sugar perks you up, have some (if your diet allows). Singing, dancing, and laughter are all positive eye-openers. Sometimes a quick chat with a good friend is a sufficient booster.

5. Exercise - nothing wakes a body up faster than blood pumping through it.

6. Rest - as often as you can during your day, rest. Sit down between tasks. Lie down, even if you can't nap. Shutting your eyes for a few minutes can sometimes feel like paradise.

7. Eat Well - proper nutrition plays a huge role in how much energy one has.

8. Remove the Excess - any extra noise, light, distractions, or commotion can wear on your ten times faster when you're already tired. Be pro-active and eliminate what you can, including non-crucial tasks that could be put off until you feel better.

9. Ask Your Doctor - if your exhaustion is persistent, maybe your doctor can help.

10. Check Your Bed - study your bed, as it might be the cause of some of your problem. If you're not 100% comfortable when you lie down, you should be. Try to remedy that as soon as you can.

11. Change Your Times - push up your bedtime and back your wake up time as much as you can. Even a few minutes can make the difference.

12. Pray - God can help, too. Just ask.