Be +ve

Sunday Morning Sermon - Nov 24 2013

Mike is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Mike was there telling the guy how to look on the positive side of the prevailing situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Mike and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Hey man Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood."

"Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it."

"Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, but it isn't that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Mike said. Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. "The bottom line is: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Mike said. Soon thereafter, I left the country to start a new career as an expat contract worker in the Middle East. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Mike had also moved out of the country and was involved in a serious work related accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Mike was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw Mike about 6 months after his accident when I happened to visit home and he had returned to recuperate, too. I asked him, "Do you feel better now, mate?". He responded in his same old cheerful manner, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds but asked him what went through his mind during the fall. "The first thing that hit me during the fall was the well being of my wife and kids" he responded. "Weren't you scared, did you lose consciousness?", I asked.

Mike responded,"The Paramedics were great, they kept telling me I was going to be alright. However, when I was wheeled into the emergency room and saw the expressions on the faces of the medics I got the feeling that in their minds I was a dead man".

"So what did you say or do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting instructions to the rest of the support staff in emergency. She asked me if I was allergic to anything.  I said, 'Yes' and saw the expression in their faces change as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breadth and yelled 'Gravity'. Over their laughter I told them that I wanted to live. Operate on me as if I am alive and not dead", I told them."

Mike lived and pulled through this extremely difficult phase of his life mainly on account of his totally positive attitude. I learned from him, that day, that we all have the ability to choose to live our lives fully.

Its our attitude, after all,  that makes the big difference in life.

Sunday Morning Sermon - Nov 17 2013

Here's an interesting story from a young lady in south America that will interest you Peeps this Sunday.

The Dark Side of Environmental Conservation 

by Katie Black [native mid westerner, human rights lawyer, world traveler, yogi]

Unlike most law school students nearing the end of what can be a less than enjoyable experience, I spent my final semester living and working in the southern Caribbean region of Costa Rica. This experience was life-changing, and led to the establishment of The Rich Coast Project, a community storytelling and collective history project aimed at supporting and protecting the cultural heritage of coastal Afro-Caribbean populations and other communities living along Costa Rica’s Talamanca coast.

In an effort to learn more about the challenges facing communities in coastal Talamanca, I began interviewing people about their history, the precarious state of land tenure, and the threat this poses to their cultural survival. I quickly realized there was a story to be told – one that asks how environmental conservation measures can and should be balanced against the needs and rights of local communities. Better yet, how could these measures include the communities and incorporate the knowledge and best practices they have gained over centuries of stewardship to these lands?

Coastal Talamanca is a place that, until relatively recently, lived in virtual isolation, nestled between the lush forests of the Talamanca Mountains to the West and the Caribbean Sea to the East. English speaking Afro-Caribbean fishermen began settling this coastline beginning in the early 1800’s, and built their communities where they lived and worked: right next to the water. 

Over the past several years, local landowners in coastal Talamanca have been stripped of their property rights and economic development has been paralyzed. Homes and businesses have been threatened with demolition orders and residents have faced criminal charges for pursuing better lives for their families.

Costa Rica has developed an admirable policy imperative to protect and conserve its vast natural resources, and has established itself as an international leader on environmental issues. As this reputation has grown, so have the instability of land tenure and economic insecurity of the people living within the country’s vast protected areas.

What we're doing to help local landowners:

The Rich Coast Project wants to make sure that these communities have a chance to tell their own story. Our goal is to work within these communities to combine storytelling, visual advocacy, interdisciplinary research to update their recorded history, expose their present situation, and explore their hopes for the future of their children and neighbors.

We’re teaming with local residents, socially-engaged artists, and scholars from a range of disciplines to explore better approaches to the competing aims of environmental conservation and sustainable development through the example of this community’s experience.

• Law students at Northeastern University are researching the issue from Boston.
• Our partners at the Center for Digital Storytelling will help us work with local advocates to produce a collective memory of the area and its people through a community storytelling initiative.
• Experts and students in archival studies will help us develop a digital community archive to ensure that those stories have a home forever, even if the communities do not.

We’ll be taking our lead from the locals, letting the community drive the development of the project and considering how this approach – combining local storytelling with legal research – can be leveraged to support other communities in different parts of the world.

Lessons we've learned from our conversations, that you can put into practice:

Support local and regional NGOs. See if the big name NGOs you're thinking about supporting have good relationships with local and regional NGOs.

Pay the extra penny and try to be a socially-responsible consumer. Certification schemes like Rainforest Alliance may not be perfect institutions but they are better for local communities than Hersheys or Mondelez are.

Be a responsible tourist. Try to support the local economy when you choose where to stay and what to do. Both of these things can work to crowdsource relationships with communities, empowering them economically and socially.

Support conservation efforts in your own community. Buy local whenever possible, compost and recycle, be mindful of your energy and water consumption. Even small behavioral changes can start a virtuous cycle within your own community.

If you'd like to support our project, you can contact us, join our volunteer network, or donate to our Indiegogo campaign until November 24 (or to our Fiscal Sponsor after this date). If you’re an interested organization, grantmaker, media outlet, creative professional, academic, or anyone with good ideas, we want to partner with you! Click here to add your support to your To-Do list.

This project is part of GOOD's series Push for Good-- our guide to crowdsourcing creative progress.

The Rich Coast Project is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of The Rich Coast Project must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.

—AMEN!

Remembering the Dead

Sunday Morning Sermon - Nov 10 2013

"Death leaves a heartache no one can steal, love leaves a memory no one can steal" - taken from a headstone in Ireland.

Poppy day is just around and remembering the war dead from the many wars that have passed before has become a vital part of our lives in November.

Ian Hussein, director for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), states that the act of remembering the dead of the First and Second World War, is an important message in helping avoid future wars. Describing the remembrance period as "highly significant", he said: "It's to pay tribute to those who gave their lives but also to remember this is part of our history. It's very important to understand what happened, why it happened and what can be done in the future to prevent future conflict."

But is this really a fact of life?

We have, surely, seen the Vietnam war, the conflicts in Korea & Cambodia, The Cold War, 911 and its aftermath of the many wars still raging in Iraq & Afghanistan, The Palestinian mess, and now the many upheavals and flies burning around the globe. 

How has remembering the war dead helped to keep these fires from erupting, time and again?

War and conflict are a part and parcel of human society as long as borders remain intact and people think in terms of nationality, ethnicity, and tribes. Even with the emergence of the Global Village concept, massive migrations, and even people seeking asylum and refugee status in many far away lands, the differences that spur conflict still remains.

What is the best way to remove this brainwashed ideology from our minds?

We are all different even if we belong to a particular group, sect or community. Each human is unique in his or her own special way. Even twins and triplets do have teir variances however identical they may look. on the outside.

No one can fathom the soul of a living being. Its only the possessor who will be able to comprehend it fully.

Its time to wake up and live like real human beings.

Amen!

Desecrating the Holy

Sunday Morning Sermon - Nov 2 2013

In recent days we are hearing more stories and happenings of one religious group desecrating and destroying the shrines and holy places of other religious groups. Such hatred and the ensuing havoc is mostly being generated by radical elements of one religion against another, especially in multi cultural societies.

The problem is rampant in the third world while, we are also seeing some signs of it surfacing in the developed world, surprisingly.

Religious conflict, across the globe, has always been a part and parcel of life on our planet earth since the beginning of time. Many are the wars that have been fought over religious issues. The USA was created because of religious persecution in England and Europe.

It is often that you hear and see many of those folks who belong to these various religions claim that their God, Deity, Goddess, or Guru, will surely take revenge for this kind of carnage on those who perpetrate them. While this may be a psychological way for them to appease themselves and stay calm it truly doesnt make any sense whatsoever from a common sense logical point of view.

The basic question that needs to asked and appraised is why dont these super beings ensure that their holy places are not attacked and take immediate action on the evil oned even before they create their mischief? If they are all powerful, omnipotent, and whatever else that is attributed to them, then surely they must know before hand what the mischief makers are up to, and surely they are able to punish them upfront?

Doesnt make any sense to me at all.

Amen!

Road Rage

Sunday Morning Sermon - Oct 27 2013

Would you be surprised that road rage can be good for society? Or that most crashes happen on sunny, dry days? That our minds can trick us into thinking the next lane is moving faster? Or that you can gauge a nation’s driving behavior by its levels of corruption? These are only a few of the remarkable dynamics that have been explored in recent times by travelling through the mysteries of the road for almost 5 decades. 

Why 

​do ​

we drive the way we do, and what 

​does ​

our driving say about 

​our personality​

? Most of us do think and believe that we are "decent" drivers. Are you sure you are one? What are the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are? Why is it that plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents? Do you know that roundabouts, which can feel dangerous and chaotic, actually make roads safer—and reduce traffic in the bargain. Who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. Why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots.

The car has long been a central part of human life; especially our generation. Whether we see it as a symbol of freedom or a symptom of sprawl, we define ourselves by what and how we drive. Driving is a provocatively revealing prism for examining how our minds work and the ways in which we interact with one another. It is also about human nature. 

The need to move ahead of the car in front of you is something that even psychologists will find hard to unravel. Cutting across lanes without even signalling is another common feature of today's drivers.

Why do they take these risks knowing very well that a small mistake on the drivers part could cause tremendous hardship to vehicles, passengers, and drivers on the road? Some call it an ego trip when a person gets behind the wheel. Some even say its a sexual thing.

How often have you found yourself being bugged by a nagging driver behind you who wants to move ahead even though there is a line of traffic in front of you?

How many times have you encountered a jerk trying to overtake you from the wrong side?

Sure you must have been in a situation where the dude in front of you failed to signal his intent to turn and kept you guessing behind him?

And when it comes to blowing your horn, Oh My God, its a bloody orchestra out there playing totally out of synch with the music.

When I first started driving in Colombo in the 60s, my Granpda called me over and taught ne one simple golden rule. He said, "Son, when you are driving on the road, remember this. Always say to the other driver, 'YOU FIRST'. I have never forgotten his words to date" even though it is not easy to achieve.

Drive safely fellers.

Amen!

Lets Build our Coffee Wall

Coffee on the Wall: A Great feat of Compassion (came in the mail today)

I sat with a friend in a high-class coffee shop in a small town near Venice, Italy.

As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, "Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall."

We heard this order with some interest and observed that he was served with only one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter pasted a piece of paper on the wall with the words written 'A Cup of Coffee'.

While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, "Two on the table and one on the wall." They had only two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time again, the waiter did the same; he pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying, 'A Cup of Coffee'.

It seemed that this gesture as a norm at this place. However, it was something unique and perplexing for us. Since we had nothing to do with the matter we finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.

After a few days, we happened to visit this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man entered. The way the man was dressed did not match the standard nor the atmosphere of the coffee shop. Poverty was evident from the look on his face and his attire. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, "One cup of coffee from the wall please." The waiter served a coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity. The man drank his coffee and left without paying.

We were amazed to watch all this when we also noticed that the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dust bin. Then it dawned on us what this custom was all about. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants of this town welled up our eyes with tears. Coffee is not a need of our society, nor a necessity of life. The point to note is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who appreciate that specific blessing as much as we do but they cannot afford to have it. Note the character of the waiter, who is playing a consistent and generous role to get the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face. Ponder upon this man in need. He enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-esteem.

He has no need to beg for a free cup of coffee. He only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left. When we analyze this story, along with the other characters, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of the dwellers of this town.

What a way to show compassion and maintain human dignity for all.

Can we build a wall at our coffee shop today, please?

In the Beginning

Sunday Morning Sermon Oct 20 2013

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning there was the Cell.

The word cell comes from the Latin cella, meaning "small room". It was coined by Robert Hooke in his book, MICROGRAPHIA (1655), in which he compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small rooms that monks used to live in. The cell is the basic structural, functional and biological unit of all known living organisms. Cells are the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and are often called the "building blocks of life".

Cells consist of a protoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Organisms can be classified as unicellular (consisting of a single cell; including most bacteria) or multicellular (including plants and animals). While the number of cells in plants and animals varies from species to species, humans contain about 100 trillion (1014) cells. Most plant and animal cells are visible only under the microscope, with dimensions between 1 and 100 micrometers.

And the Cell divided. It was the first ever mathematical function that took place in the Universe. Actually this division gave rise to another math function. Multiplication. Sounds comical, huh?

The oldest cells on Earth are single-cell organisms called bacteria. Fossil records indicate that mounds of bacteria once covered young Earth. Some began making their own food using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and energy they harvested from the sun. This process (called photosynthesis) produced enough oxygen to change Earth's atmosphere. Soon afterward, new oxygen-breathing life forms came onto the scene. With a population of increasingly diverse bacterial life, the stage was set for some amazing things to happen.

The endosymbiotic theory infers that "Symbiosis" occurs when two different species benefit from living and working together. When one organism actually lives inside the other it's called endosymbiosis. The endosymbiotic theory describes how a large host cell and ingested bacteria could easily become dependent on one another for survival, resulting in a permanent relationship.

All cells contain DNA, the encoded instructions that are used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. Ne of the important properties of DNA is duplication, or making copies. This takes place when cells divide and the DNA within is replicated in the divided parts. DNA is now used to research the origins of living beings and the source of their genealogy.

While debates, discussions, and discourse still plague the human mind about Darwins Theory of Evolution, where one species evolves into another through time using the process of natural selection, the fact remains that cells have always divided themselves and evolved into multiple cells that have given rise to increase in their populations. Hence one can easily conclude from this that the preservation and survival of all species is based on cell division which delivers its multiplication.

And then, we have Creation. The First Man, and The First Woman. The First Chicken, and The First Egg. The First Mother, and The First Child. And so on. Followers of the Darwinian branch of evolutionary science usually ask the question about what existed before Creation? Religionists respond to this by answering "Nothing did except God, The Creator". The Darwinians then counter question with the famous line, "Who Created God". To the religionist, this is a question that treads on blasphemy because he bases all his faith and thought on the simple assumption that God is the Beginning. In fact he even goes further back to deny any beginning at all because God was always there and didn’t need to be born or have started from something else before Him. To the Darwinist or to even most secular modern scientists thinking it becomes a bit difficult to put a blank before God because most scientific facts are based on a "source and object" formula, where the latter is a product of the former with no beginning nor end. I remember my first Chemistry text book during my O levels starting with the line "matter can neither be created nor destroyed". Now if this statement were true then God certainly bows out of the equation. And as for those who choose the other route they have to simply assume that life is a cycle with no beginning or end. What other choice do we have until such time as someone comes up with some solid proof of how it all began? Yes, we do have the "big bang" theory that survives among many pundits these days. Yet, even for the big bang to happen there had to be something in existence before that to make the bang. You can't bang something out of nothing, surely?

The Nobel Prize winning scientist Linus Pauling, aptly described science as the search for truth.  Science does this by continuously comparing its theories objectively with evidence in the natural world.  When theories no longer conform to the evidence, they are modified or rejected in favor of new theories that do conform.  In other words, science constantly tries to prove its assumptions to be false and rejects implausible explanations.  In this way, scientific knowledge and understanding grow over time.  Religious explanations for the order of things are not science because they are based primarily on faith and do not subject themselves to be objectively falsified.  Because of this fundamental difference in the approach to understanding our natural world, the U.S. Supreme Court in effect decided in 1987 that the Biblically based "creation science" is not a science and cannot be taught as such in public schools as an alternative or in addition to the mainstream evolutionary theory of the biological sciences.  However, religious creation stories and the idea of "intelligent design" can be taught in philosophy, religion, or history courses.  Religion and Science provide different approaches to knowledge.  It is important to understand both.

It was sometime in the '90s that the Creationists started challenging the Scientists about the anomaly where it was announced that the Universe was around 15 billion  years old while some stars were thought to be 18 billion years old. Surely you can't have a child older than its mother? The response by the men of science was, that the methods of measurement used then, were not as accurate and sophisticated as it is now with gadgets like Hubble in space. Further the plus or minus factor that plays into these numbers balances the anomaly since 3 billion doesn’t make much difference when you are counting 15 and 18 billion. 15 plus or minus 3 and 18 plus or minus 3 somewhat equates to a reasonable balance. Today, science has a firm foundation on time, distance, length, and space with minimal error. The very fact that scientific probes to the moon, mars and other planets are making their journeys with pin point accuracy goes to prove this beyond any doubt whatsoever.

And so, the Cell divided and grew into multiple cells that flourished across the hills and valleys, rivers and streams, Oceans and seas, on our little planet called earth. Science teaches us that in its 4.6 billion years circling the sun, the Earth has harbored an increasing diversity of life forms. From Cells to Bacteria to Multi Cellular Life, to Animals, Fish, Plants, Insects, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals, Birds, Flowers, Primates, and Humans. Who comes next is a good question to pose? And also when, where and how? Science also teaches s that many species have already become extinct through this long span of time. The Anaerobes, the Trilobites and the Dinosaur. Humans are supposed to have roamed our planet only about 2.5 million  years ago. Taking that as a valid fact of science and looking before to the rest of the 4.6 billion years one begins to wonder whether this era was one of nothingness and absolute silence. How would the religionist explain what God Was Doing during this time? Even if they do say He was simply thinking or resting one would surely tend to ask why does He need to think or rest, anyways?

Amen!