Good insights

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work - Family - Health - Friends - Spirit, and you're keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevoca...bly scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.

They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

1. Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

2. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

3. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

4. Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

5. Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

6. Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.

7. Don't be afraid to encounter risks It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

8. Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

9. Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

10. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

11. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

12. Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

From the book "Suzanne's Diary to Nicholas" by James Patterson

Worldwide Communion Sunday - 2011

Today is Worldwide Communion Sunday. I am unsure who decided that the first Sunday of October would be so designated (and I am too lazy to do a Google search), however, it is nice to know that most followers of Jesus of Nazareth will break bread today.

Call me a spiritual romantic, I think that thinking about sharing this meal with fellow believers around the world on the same day is very uplifting.

We may speak different languages, worship in different settings, sing different songs, yet our unity is built one one simple reality: the death of Jesus Christ on a cross 2,000 years ago.

In many Christian traditions, this simple meal is call the Eucharist. The word, eucharist, means 'thanksgiving.' We are in union in our thanks to our Savior for laying down his life for us.

In taking this meal, we say we too lay down our lives for Christ and for each other.

I am looking forward to reflecting on this universal unity today.

Zero interest rates are killing our country.

You know by now that the Federal reserve has moved the country as close as it can to Zero interest rates. The assumption is that zero interest rates will motivate the economy and leave more money in your pocket.

There is a huge problem. Zero interest rates mean that no one is making any money on their money or your money.

You give your money to the insurance company to cover any unexpected healthcare costs. The insurance company puts your money into investments which will give a return so that a. they can cover their costs, b. they can pay your medical bills, and c. pay their stockholders for investing in them (if they are a shareholder-owned company). If there is zero interest rates, they are not making any money on your money.There is only a few ways to make money a. cut services, b. reduce reimbursements to providers, c. raise their rates which is why healthcare rates rose 9% in an economy with zero growth.

This scenario is what is driving banks to charge more fees. They are not making any interest (or a very low rate of interest) on your deposits so they have to find other ways to pay their costs.

Some will argue you have to control interest rates or you have inflation. Actually supply and demand drives interest inflation more than interest rates. If you only have 4 widgets and there are 3 buyers, the price of widgets stay low; if you have 4 widgets and 10 buyers you can raise the price because the demand is outstripping the supply. While it is true that interest rates are a "pass along" cost, they are also a "pass along" engine in the economy. Retirees today who are seeing less than a 1% return on their certificates of deposit are not spending money to encourage the local economy.


My prediction: the debate about how the Federal Reserve is managing the economy is going to heat up a lot in the next 12 months.

Back to Seattle -

Just got an invite for a repeat appearance by the Ernest Becker Foundation. I was there in July for a conference, now going to another one in about  3 weeks. If any of you are nearby come and join the conversation.

I will be talking about Christian Fundamentalism: Roots of Denial about Global Warming?

(It is a question because not all agree on the premise.)

http://www.ernestbecker.org/

The problem with People-Pleasing

“For as long as you can remember, you have been a pleaser, depending on others to give you an identity. You need not look at that only in a negative way. You wanted to give your heart to others, and you did so quickly and easily. But now you are being asked to let go of all these self-made props and trust that God is enough for you. You must stop being a pleaser and reclaim your identity as a free self.”


- Henri Nouwen

Commentary:

In the 12 step program, we talk about "people-pleasing" as a character defect. Because it is socially acceptable to be a people-pleaser many people do not see this as an issue which causes them to stumble in their sobriety and sanity. As a people-pleaser I recognize both the fault and the consequences.

Henri Nouwen on Prayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.”

—	Henri Nouwen