To Be Or Not To Be

To be, or not to be; that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them.

by William Shakespeare, Soliloquy from "Hamlet"

Now if you know the story of Hamlet, you might think that suicide is the theme here, but no. The question is, are we going to take arms against the sea of troubles and outrageous fortune? We can sit here and wring our hands, bitch and moan about how unfair it is, worry ourselves senseless, point our fingers at everyone else, beat our heads against the wall in frustration, etc. Denial and/or panic are neither one good strategies, so let's try this. How about we see the problems clearly, look at our options, prioritize them, and then actually do something! Our problems are eminently fixable.

Give, and It Will Be Given to You

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. Luke 6:38

God has given us enough that we can give to others. Whatever we have, it is more than enough to sustain not only ourselves as individuals but also those around us. This is not obvious, unless one makes the leap of faith. If you don't believe me, just try it today and see. It has worked for me over and over throughout my life, and the same principles will apply to yours. It may not look on the surface that you have one crumb to give away. But you do if you look at it the right way. Give your time, or strength, or love, or goods, or money, or kindness, or whatever it is you do have. Give it away with joy and love in your heart and it will return to you overflowing, and then give it away again. It will return again, over and over.

Remember the loaves and the fishes. It works every time...

An Inconvenient Truth

Yes, Al Gore whose Oscar winning movie An Inconvenient Truth made waves earlier, did get hot under the collar recently with those who deny the inconvenient reality of global warming. Yes, he did use some rather salty language which belied his dignity a tad. But he has a big point to make, and those who are late to the game are more hard-pressed than ever in the task of sticking their heads in the sand at the evidence of global warming. His point is that until we recognize the facts, we cannot possibly accept what we're doing to the Earth and take action to correct our mistakes. Unfortunately, we may already be too late. Dependence on fossil fuels, unabated mismanagement of resources, wasteful and toxic human practices are taking their toll on our environment.

We all need to wake up and smell the coffee on this critical issue. Scientists and environmentalists from all areas of study continue to point to the same incontrovertible conclusions. When will you get involved in making this earth a better place for yourself and your fellow man? What about now?