Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Things That Are Clear This February


I was thinking how simpler life is when one believes in God, predestination, and fate. If everything is God's Will and if everything is predestined and fated, one does not have so many questions to answer. One only needs to surrender to God and place all in his/her hands.

Those who do not have a religion but who still believe in consciousness and energy, turn to spirituality and metaphysics for answers. I have no idea how atheists cope with the probing questions of life; I only know that when I go to an uncensored religious forum I will find atheists in perpetual "argument mode." I thought I could find some camaraderie there but it turned out to be an exercise in the art of having an argument. The older I get, the less inclined I am to argue -- to each our own.

When the going gets tough, those with religion can turn to their faith for strength and direction. Likewise, those without religion turn to their metaphysical beliefs for strength and direction. Recently, I watched an 8 part series of short videos capturing the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. The survivors were of different beliefs and faiths and they each coped with the event and the challenges beyond that event in their own way. I can only guess that atheists believe that since we come from nothing and go back to this state of nothingness when we die, that they find comfort in that. They don't have to deal with the concept of eternity.

I’ve been 10 years in this neighborhood. For the first 5 years, I went to the gym and didn’t have any problems with the neighbors as I hardly saw them. Then I stopped the gym memberships and started to walk the dogs for exercise. Dog walking allowed the neighbors to have some sort of contact with me. This is good for a semi-recluse like me for I need to stay connected with other humans. However, a puzzling pattern soon unfolded. One day a Caucasian would be friendly and sociable on the streets and the next day, the same Caucasian would be avoiding me or not looking at me when we passed on the streets. The other day, the man with the cute dog a road away from me could hardly contain his disgust when I stopped to chat about his dog. He used to be friendly. I suspect someone in the neighborhood is spreading some negative stuff about me to cause these Caucasians to behave this way toward me. The neighborhood is a small place. With this going on in the background, it can be unpleasant walking dogs. I even bought an exercise machine last March to avoid the neighbors after Sharpei passed and I didn’t have to walk dogs in the evening. I would allow someone else to walk Bu in the mornings. All this is before the neighbors even read my memoir. I can’t imagine what the neighborhood would be like after they read my memoir. Yikes.


Things that are clear this February:

1. I have to be calm before I can even take in a YouTube video or an article, let alone a book.
2. Before doing something really important, I should wait a few days. If I still feel it is the right thing to do after a few days, then I go ahead and do it. If time doesn’t make me change my mind, then I’m not acting spontaneously or impulsively. The more time has gone by before I act on the decision to do something, the better.
3.  Humans complain about having to work for a living and about responsibilities. Yet without these “distractions,” there will be too much time to think about the deeper stuff of life and that’s where people fail to cope with life. Mentally ill patients struggle to cope with their thoughts day in and day out. They need to find something else to do with their time -- “An idle mind is a Devil’s workshop.” I recently met such a character online who shared that the internet helps to distract him from his otherwise “schizophrenic” thoughts.
4. Yes, if you have a lot of time, you can become a deep thinker but if you don’t find a way to monetize the “deep thoughts” and to stay connected to the world, the practicalities of life can get the better of you.
5. When you really believe in yourself and in what you do, you can’t care much what others think about your ideas and decisions.
6. I’ve started writing reviews for other indie writers. I only write reviews if I can help to sell their books. I won’t write negative reviews. I believe reviews should help others to navigate the books better.
7. I had to take a very hard decision lately and it had to do with the birds. I had to stop feeding the birds and I had to stop others in my house from doing the same as they were shitting all over the place. I prefer to feed the stray dogs. At least they don’t shit all over my (and the neighbors’) property. Life is like this. Whether humans or animals, if you are full of shit and you shit all over the place, you will not be welcomed.