LOVE, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE ELDERLY!

When we grow older, our bodies and our purposes become totally different than they had ever been before, when we had been so much younger.  The elderly person's heart is now filled with so much love and so very much more desire for love, than at any other time during that person's younger life.  This is so very true.  The problem is; that these elderly people have never been old before, so becoming older is quite a very NEW experience for them. They remember their younger years and exactly how all of those things had come to pass so very long ago. However, those things of the past, can no longer apply to their very NEW, elderly status and to the concept of their now, very NEW elderly lives. The truth is that, we really do not know how to begin to start a NEW, relationship with another elderly person; not even with another elderly person whom we might even love quite dearly. We can only know how to relate to other elderly people; specifically, those whom we may have already known and loved for so very many years. This is because we have no other previous experiences or any other frame of reference, regarding this kind of elderly love-life. Most of us elderly people are fearful of failure, while others may lack the necessary confidence. Many of the elderly may also be fearful of new commitments. But to be honest; we just don't know how to do it. It had been done very successfully by many elderly people in the past. However, all of those very elderly people who had so very successfully accomplished all of this so very successfully in the past, are no longer here to give us any good advice. Also, those who are younger than us have no idea, what it feels like to become elderly, so they cannot give us any good advice either.  So we pray a lot; because it would take a miracle for us to find a way to solve this problem.  So, we find it much more rewarding and so much easier, just to give all of our love to our very dear Children and Grandchildren, while hoping that they will reciprocate, by returning all of their love to us as well.

PERFECT ENGLISH

My perception of the English language; as seen from my very own point of view:
My thanks to my dear friend Vicky, for inspiring me to write this!

What I have written here, has all been written with regards to those of us, who have been born in the U.S.A. and those of us who speak English as their primary language.  I invite your rebuttal or any other comments, which you may care to make.  Whether you will agree with my viewpoint or not, I think that you might find it quite interesting....

Babies are born with the quest for language and speech, already genetically present within their brains, and from the moment of their birth and forward, the baby's brain begins to absorb and to process all of the incoming information.  The baby's brain sorts out all of the information all on its very own accord, and it is not necessary for the baby to be required to concentrate on whatever he may understand and just how that information should be interpreted.
Now after saying this to you; I can now tell you for certain, that if immediately after birth, a baby were to be capable of reading a text book, which would very perfectly describe the structure and the process of the English language; that baby would then immediately begin to develop that skill within his brain, and that baby would then be able to speak perfect English, right from the very first moment in time, when his very first words are about to be spoken. However, this is not possible, so the baby must learn by "association".  This means that the baby will then learn very much about speaking the English language mostly from listening to his parents, as well as listening to others around him, who are always very close to him. All of this will then occur, long before this child will ever receive his very first, formal English lesson, from a school.  The baby's brain will always try to interpret the incoming information in the most simple manner.  The baby's brain will always search for the easiest way!  The easiest way for the baby's brain to do this, is to evaluate every spoken word that he may hear.  These are the spoken words which are learned from those who would be there, and very close to him.  Those people around him do not speak perfect English either, for this very same reason. So this problem is now very much self perpetuated.  By the time that baby (child) goes to school, his knowledge and speaking skills will have already been very well established, and as far as the child's brain is concerned, he already knows all that he needs to know about speaking and comprehending the English words. Now, after about 6 years of experience, this child will then go to school. His brain is then struck with some new information from a teacher and some text books, which are now informing the child, that what he had already learned (so far), is really not entirely correct. He is then being led to believe that his brain must now make some very necessary reparations in order to improve his English comprehension and speaking skills. He must now learn how to speak the English language, in the most proper and predetermined manner. The child's brain doesn't like this idea very much, because his brain has already become quite accustomed to, and quite satisfied with the manner in which it has already learned this skill.  His brain is now wondering why, something which works so perfectly well, must be changed. But this child had also learned about discipline very early on. He understands the meaning of order and uniformity, and so the child knows that he must now follow some new rules and instructions.  This child will then listen to the teacher with full comprehension, and he will read his text books.  He will then learn all of the new information as it is being presented to him.  He will now learn to read, speak and to write in accordance with this new English language information, doing this in the very new manner in which he is now being taught.  Much of this new information will change the child's understanding of the English language for the child's entire lifetime.  However, the logic within that child's brain, will allow him to accept only the changes which will allow that child to respond to any new incoming information, in a manner in which that child's brain can determine to be the least complicated. Logic, will then dictate to that child, that it is very illogical to choose to apply a very complex action or thought process, when the most simple action or thought process, will work equally as well. The least complicated manner will also require the use of much less energy and time. Truly, it would require very, very much concentration and self discipline for anyone to totally change their interpretation of the English language, along with that person's methods of applying it.  Many people can actually accomplish this, but most will not.  Now why is this so???  ...When all of us look around, and we witness the activities of others, we can then realize that everything (regarding the use of the English language), is working PERFECTLY well for us. Everyone can speak, write and read this simplified, wrong form of the English language, so perfectly well. So logically, why should we change it?  I am one of such a person.  I have altered and improved my English language perception very much during the course of my lifetime. However, I have done so, only because my choices regarding my learning and my use of proper English, to the very best of my ability, has given me much dignity, respect, and also the rewarding feeling of accomplishment. When I attempt to write something to a very special person, or if I may write something which might require public exposure; I will always try to do my very best to make all of my English statements very properly legible. I would also be following just as close to the correct rules of English, as I possibly could. However, I have not achieved perfection in all of these endeavors.  Now, it would be impossible for me to do any better, because there is that little voice, deep down inside of me which repeatedly continues to inform me of the fact that: Everybody around me still continues to read, speak and write, while using the English language in the most simplified manner.  We can also comprehend everyone's version of the English language very perfectly well.  We experience no comprehension problems what-so-ever from the errors of our grammar. We can also understand those people who use 'perfect English', just as easily as we can understand those who do not. Logic determines that it is a lot easier and much more simple to do it the wrong way, than it is to do it the right way.  So, if we find that there is really no logical reason why we should do it the right way; then why should we do it the right way at all?  When I had been in High School, I had taken a course in English.  I had a very excellent and wonderful English teacher, who had known perfect English, very well.  This teacher would speak and demonstrate very many examples of perfect English to our class, so very remarkably well.  Then one day, I have had the opportunity to accidentally overhear my English teacher while she had been engaging in a spontaneous conversation with another teacher.  While she had been speaking so very eloquently with the use of her English skills, I had still noticed that her manner of speech had been slightly different than the English which she had been teaching in the classroom. It had then occurred to me that she had known perfect English, she could teach perfect English, but she could not speak perfect English while she had been actively engaged in a spontaneous conversation with another person. This had been quite amusing to me.  It has been said that "Old Habits Die Hard"!  I would venture to say that this statement is very true to life.  Especially when those old habits had been formed so very early on, in a person's life.  When we speak in a very simple manner, this leaves us so very much more room for us to apply additional words of power, as well as emotion, to whatever feelings or emotions, which we may be attempting to express.  Poets and Songwriters, have always done this as well, and they still continue to do so.  This is what is known as "Poetic License".  Poetic License, is actually a license to do it the wrong way.  Regarding any of those Poets from the past (even the very best), who had ever written a very beautiful and emotional poem; this would not have been possible, if that Poet would have chosen to use perfect English for expressing his feelings and emotions.  I guess that when it comes to the English language; sometimes even bad things can be good!
My conclusion to all of this, is that people will always love to strive for perfection, even though it is not possible to achieve perfection. There are no perfect human beings.  We may always fall short of our goals by some degree, but we can find so very much satisfaction and pride, with just knowing that we had done our very best in all that we have attempted to do.

SPOILED ROTTEN?

I think it was because I had grown up, in the wake of WWII.  Then only a few years later, there had been Korea!  I had to continue to grow up during that mess as well.  Then, just when I had turned 21 (becoming a young adult), I had been drafted into the "Vietnam Era" as well.  My Country had called upon me for help and I was quite proud to be of service to my country and to the people whom I had loved. My entire YOUNG LIFE had been lived under the influence of WAR!  My siblings and I had grown up during some of the toughest years of modern times.  These times were especially tough for my parents.  They needed to raise 3 children on extremely limited resources.  My parents wanted to give the entire world and everything in it, to us Kids, but they had been stuck in a rut, with very little to offer to us.  These times had been extremely hard for them.  Many times I would see my Mother crying and I would ask her why she had been crying.  She tried to explain the situation to me, but as a child, without very much experience in living, there just had been no way that I could possibly understand the tremendous impact that these hardships could possibly have had upon my parents. We Kids however, did feel the impact of their troubles and we had to go through all of those very tough times, in the dear, loving care of our amazing, struggling parents.  We did make it through all of those very difficult times.  Hardships?  Yes; we had gone through all of it together, and we can remember it all so very well.  However, because of our parent's hardships, we children had grown to become such amazingly strong adults. As adults; we could now understand the hardships of our parents.  We had then turned to our very own children, and we had very desperately wanted to give them everything that we had never had as children.  Almost all parents of my generation had given so very much to their children. Some children had received much, and some children had received much less.  But nearly all of our children had received everything that they had needed and so very much more. They had received all of our love and compassion, as well.  As more new generations come to pass, some very important and interesting questions arise.  Could it be that we had given the children of generations following us, just a little bit too much?  Could it be that we had spoiled them rotten?  They seem to cry, every time things don't go exactly as they had planned.  They seem to be quite irresponsible and they blame others for their very own short-comings.  They never seem to be happy enough anymore.  I could be wrong, but the way that I see all of this, is that we had not had succeeded in making our children stronger as our parents had done with us.  We had made them much weaker.  I, now think of 'Human nature' as very strange, when I find that hard times and very difficult struggles, tends to make us so very much stronger, while good times, and very much abundance, seems to make us so very weak and vulnerable!  Maybe there is a happy medium out there somewhere; but if there possibly is; we certainly are having a very hard time, finding it.                

CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN THE USA

Our culture and society in the USA, is just about as good as any way of life could  possibly offer.  The reason is "Freedom".  No human society is perfect, because humans are not perfect.  This is true all around the world.  We humans are all the same in basically every way.  We all basically need and want the very same things. However; here in the USA, there is nothing to prevent you from becoming anyone or everything that you want to be.  You can have all that your heart desires.  You can go anywhere you please and do anything that you wish to do. All of your needs and desires can be yours in the USA, if it's your true desire.  None of these things however; will be handed to you in the USA.  You will need to want and desire these things with all your heart and soul.  You will need to work very, very hard to improve yourself in every possible way.  You will need to make yourself as strong as possible, both mentally and physically. You must have a very strong  will and determination.  You will need very powerful self control. You will need to keep moving forward without looking back. You must be very determined to fulfill your dreams. All of these things must be done in a very positive light.  You must be very careful not to hurt anyone as you continue to improve yourself. It all takes so very much WILL POWER, but nothing is impossible when it comes to being the person that you want to be.  There are many more factors and situations which will affect everything that you do. You must proceed very cautiously so that you do not overstep your bounds. Such mistakes can lead to disaster. Most people cannot accomplish everything that they desire.  Sometimes they fall short of their hopes, dreams and their goals. You must be wise enough to recognize your limits, and then compromise with all that you had accomplished in the required amount of time.  Most people in the USA work very hard for a very good life and they become quite satisfied with whatever they had accomplished, just as long as they can honestly know and realize that they had done their very best. It doesn't matter if you fall short of your goals and dreams. You will always become a very happy and content person, just as long as you know that you had tried to the best of your ability.  We can't all get to the top of the ladder; but as long as we had done all that we possibly could, we will thereafter, always be happy and content.
Then, there is the "Downside"! There are the problems which so very many other people experience as well:
The lack of will power.
The lack of determination.
The lack of commitment.
The lack of confidence.
The lake of initiative.
The lack of skills.
The lack of intuition.
The lack of creativity.
The lack of responsibility.
The lack of self control.
The lack of family.
The lack of hope.
The lack of dreams.
The list goes on and on. There is so much more. Then; there's the worst one of all:
The lack of caring and loving! Love is something that every human being needs and yet many never can obtain it. For those of us in this category; this becomes the most difficult situation of all. It is ALMOST impossible for such person to accomplish much of anything. The bottom line then, is just plain LAZINESS.  Laziness will always lead to  complete failure and loss.  That is always the case, and that is so very sad, because there just happens to be so very many lazy people. All human beings are intelligent, but in order for us to know just how much intelligence we may posses, we must be tested.  No; I don't mean an IQ test.  Never accept any secondary determination of your level of intelligence.  Only trust and test yourself.  However; the only way you can do this; is not to be be lazy. Give it all you've got; and see just how far it will take you. You will surely find out just what your limits may be. Just believe in yourself.  That is what is most important.
No; ours is not a perfect culture or society, but if there are any societies in this world which are better or without such (or similar) problems; I have yet to hear of it. Dealing with such problems then becomes the responsibility of the government (that is to say; the more fortunate working class people). All of us must deal with these problems, and there is just no easy or fair way out of it, for anybody. Again; we must earnestly apply all of our very well earned values to help those who truly are in need, in the most fair and honest manner and method. This is in spite of all of the ill feelings regarding this matter.  Yes; the USA is a free country, but that doesn't mean that there is no price to pay for the freedom. Unless we have nothing at all; we must pay our dues!  Everything that I have said here is my view of the truth.  However; my information here, is quite condensed. In all reality, things are actually much more complicated in so many other ways. The intelligence of human beings varies greatly.  However; we must all strive to be all that we could possibly become.  You may have more potential than you are aware of; or maybe less.  All things will quite naturally tend to reach a certain, specific level for anyone and everyone. We must therefor accept, just who we are and where we are in life.  The possibilities are endless, and we can never know just how far we can actually go until we try just as hard as we possibly can.

WOMEN VS. MEN - MONEY VS. LOVE

OK Ladies; now don't you go getting angry with me!
I know that the AVERAGE working woman makes less money than the AVERAGE working man.  But is all of this actually being caused by men dominating the work place?  Maybe so, in many cases.  There are "Creeps" everywhere and nothing will ever change that. I do believe however, that if the shoe of dominance had happened to be on the "other foot"; the very same would hold true, only with the genders being reversed. No need to re-kindle "THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES" again. I really don't think that this could be of very serious concern to anyone.  Now; granted; I don't know the exact figures (mathematically broken down) within the nature of all of this; however, I honestly feel that my way of thinking in this case, is most likely the correct way.  I do feel however, that if I were in charge of hiring someone to work for a firm in which I had been placed in charge of employment; I know that I would certainly hire the person who is most qualified for that particular job, regardless of gender.  However; there are some jobs out there which are "gender sensitive" and will always tend to support one gender over another.  This does work both ways however. While it might seem morally wrong in some ways, I'm sure that the law of averages in this type of situation would clearly show that any developing differences would be very minimal and quite acceptable. Let us now face some very basic but very truthful facts:  WHEN IT COMES TO JOBS; women have been at a disadvantage, ever since the beginning of time. It's all because; women have babies and men do not.  History and Archaeology have shown that even during the stone age, men had always been the "Hunter-Gatherers", while women's role had always been, to tend to the personal needs of the family.  I should think that this would have set a very powerful "Grandfathered-in (or should I say; "Grandmothered-in) precedence.  It is a very intelligent and appropriate arrangement however.  It is how mankind had survived for all of the many centuries gone by. It is also why (when it comes to marriage), MOST women still attempt to find the best male provider as a mate, basically (and hopefully) for the benefit of their future offspring.  Yes; over the years and in recent times there have been a lot of changes. Women have made a whole lot of progress when it comes to financial equality.  However, some things have not changed and although the gap between men and women has narrowed greatly, the average financial earnings are still in favor of the man.  Again; this is still because of the "ever lasting" male-female role of man-kind, still existing now, and through-out all of history.  In my opinion; I don't see this ever changing until such time when women will no longer need men. Men will no longer need women; and a time when there will be no sexual bonding between them.  A time when women would be able to purchase semen from a sperm bank, develop their babies in some sort of test tube and/or choose to become pregnant by "invitro fertilization".  Then, after the child's birth; they might employ robots to tend to the child, while they are so very hard at work, making all that great money. I do honestly believe that there may be some folks in this world who would actually favor a time and life such as that, but my feelings about this are:..... OMG!!!!!!!!  How horribly sad would that be? The good news is that I don't feel that such a horrible thing could ever happen. 
The sexual compatibility between women and men is biologically indelible as well as the most important part of who we are. It so happens to be the wonderful way in which WE had ALL come to be. Heterosexual sexuality, (done within its intended purpose), is the most intimate, wonderful and rewarding love that any man and women could possibly share with one another.  It is the gift of life from our divine creator. It is the blessing of primal love, which makes our world so unique and so very abundantly filled with ALL of the highest forms of life. It is the most important responsibility trusted into the hands of humanity. It is the beginning of all of the very many other forms of love which man-kind had ever, or will ever have known or experienced. We do not have the right to ignore it! Sometimes I wonder if some women can truly understand and appreciate just how unique and wonderful they truly are, or just how beautiful it is to become a Mom.  Women are so very special. Being a man; I can only imagine what it must be like, to be a woman.  Of course, there will always be the possibility of unfavorable and unfortunate circumstances between a woman and a man, which would tend to ruin their relationship with each other. Disregarding that however, being a man; I can honestly say that; from a man's point of view; I basically respect and fully appreciate all women.  I place them all on a very high pedestal before me and adore them in a very special way, more than anything else in the world.  No; there is no ladder tall enough for me or any other man (in my opinion) to reach her; even if he could stand up on top of the huge heap of money which he might have had earned during his entire lifetime. Although a man can earn more money on the job, than a very caring and nurturing mother, he could never earn enough money to repay her for all that she has done.  Money could never repay her for devoting her very life and all of her time in doing all of those very amazing, necessary and marvelous things, that all Moms in the past had done for their beloved families.  That is something that can only come from a WOMANS' heart and no money could ever buy anything so very beautiful. So ladies (especially you Moms), if you have children; even if you never work a day outside of your home, you have done so much more than any man could ever do.  Only you could do this.  Although your man and/or your children may not always show enough appreciation for you, or nearly as often as they should have; deep down inside they do appreciate you and love you very, very dearly.  All of us, often have that nasty habit of taking the most precious things in life, for granted. Under normal conditions and situations; your loved ones will gratefully provide you with so very much of the pure, sweet love, joy and happiness that you truly deserve.  There is just not enough money in the world that could ever buy such a treasure. You are the best! All you Guys out there;....Don't you forget that! I know that I never will. 

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE

I totally believe that the lives of all human beings are driven by divine purpose.  Each and every one of us is born with a very special, positive and predetermined purpose which had been predetermined by God, shortly before each of us were born.  Each of us had agreed to this very special purpose before we could be born, even though we knew that once we were here, we would not remember exactly what this very special purpose might have been. Control of this very special purpose is held within the hands of God and He will always lead the way.  God guides each one of us by constantly changing our direction, through life.  He closes the doors to where we are not to go and He opens doors to where we need to go.  If you are a true servant of God and not someone who may have been influenced by an evil entity, you will follow all of the pathways through which God will lead you. Once you enter a doorway that God has opened for you, you will remain there until all of the required actions within that doorway have been met.  Then He closes that door and opens another which leads you to another phase of your very unique, over-all purpose.  This goes on and on until your ultimate objective (purpose) has been fulfilled.  It may not be quite that easy for some of us however. There may be multiple purposes that many of us (as individuals) had been selected to fulfill. It is possible that some individuals will fail at fulfilling some of their intended purposes, while being successful with fulfilling other purposes. In this case; God will then adjust the pathways and doorways of others, until this particular purpose is finally fulfilled.  What I have said here is a very simplified accounting of what I believe to be "The purpose driven life".  However, all of it is much more complicated than that. We must remember that each of us has been granted "free will".  Free will, always will prove to be very wonderful for all of us who are true servants of God, while it may be total confusion and disaster for all of those who (through their own "free will") choose to turn away from Him.  

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

“THE SECRETS OF HEAVEN”

According to the words taken from the ancient texts found in a middle eastern cave in 1977 and proven by “radio carbon dating” to be authentic of that era and time (about 80A.D.) these words were considered to be and entitled; “THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS”. Judas Iscariot was a disciple of Jesus Christ and according to the four Gospels; Mark, Mathew, Luke and John, he was the disciple who had betrayed Jesus with a kiss for the love of money. According to this Gospel, Jesus had known that the ancient scriptures which had marked his coming needed to be fulfilled in order that He would accomplish completely, his purpose for being. Accordingly, Jesus had told Judas (in private) that he was the one who had been chosen for the role of the betrayer and that he would be hated by the world for doing so. Accordingly, Judas had felt very disturbed that he had to do this and that he really was disappointed in carrying out that role, but Jesus had called him to the side and had a private conversation with him in which He had told Judas that he would be considered to be “The Greatest Of All”, in the eyes of God because his actions were necessary in order for the scriptures to be fulfilled. It was said that Judas had carried out that role for the love of Christ and not as the perpetrator of greed and dislike. Accordingly, Jesus had shown His appreciation for Judas by sharing with him “THE SECRETS OF HEAVEN”. According to the ancient scripts of Judas, these were the secrets:

“THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM”.

“IT IS A GREAT AND BOUNDLESS REALM WHICH NO EYE OF AN ANGEL HAS EVER SEEN, NO THOUGHT OF THE HEART HAS EVER COMPREHENDED AND IT WAS NEVER CALLED BY NAME".

This text had apparently been circulated in the time of it’s writing and had been taught in the early times of Christianity by the “GNOSTICS” of that era. Later, both the Gnostic teachings and the text were declared as “HERETICAL” by the new Christian Church and they were intended to be stricken from the records and banned forever. This was the case until the most recent finding of the texts which were found in the cave in 1977.
This is a very controversial revolution and stirs the basis of Christianity as it stands today but should never undermine the teachings of Christianity when considering the words: “JUDGE NOT LEST YOU BE JUDGED”.