davidmastersadmin | David M Masters

Forgiveness and Judgment

To forgive or not to forgive, should not be the question. If Jesus or God is who They say They are, then They are the only ones with the right to truly exercise frue forgiveness and judgment. But we are taught to forgive others for their wrongs against us. In this case, forgiveness is for the forgiver to feel better about the wrongness they feel about the one they feel has wronged them.

What if the person who acted wrongly, offended, betrayed, or otherwise made you feel victimized didn’t actually do anything malicious to you? What then?

For instance, I live in the Pacific Northwest where we enjoy a certain amount of natural wildlife with which we share the environment. I heard a story that a cougar had been spotted lurking around a predominant neighborhood in an upscale community nearby. Radio and media alerted the city that a cougar had been spotted and to take special precautions.

Around this time, a mother playing with her young son in the fenced yard went inside to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. When she returned, the boy was gone. There was blood on the grass, and it appeared that the cat had followed its natural instincts.

The community gunned up, hunted down the cougar, and ascertained that the cougar was the culprit. A truly tragic story.

But who was wrong? Obviously not the child who was an innocent victim. The mother? The cougar?

Certainly, the mother and the neighbors assumed the cougar was wrong. But the cougar is a cougar. Yes, no doubt it was a tragedy, but that’s what cougars do. No, they don’t usually go around attacking children, but they do prey on living food, the easier the food is to get, the quicker they satisfy their hunger.

Not unlike your pet cat. If your pet cat sees a mouse, it is fair game, it can be fun or food or both fun and food. A wounded bird is even better.

In the case of the cougar and the child? It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the cougar is the offender, and the neighbors were the judge and jury, as they took matters into their own hands. Justice, as it were, was served. The cougar paid the price for its sins with its life.

The mother may someday wonder if she should forgive the cougar, or pray to Jesus or God that the sinning cougar is forgiven. But did the cougar sin?

No. The cougar just did what cougars do, what they were born to do. Did the cougar extend its practices beyond reasonable boundaries? Yes. Doing so may have put the cougar at additional risk, for which the cougar did pay the price.

But the cougar was just a cougar.

So it is, when someone commits a crime, possibly any crime. If the perpetrator is a cougar, could they have done anything else besides commit said crime? Maybe not. May he or she be just a cougar? It’s all they instinctively know to do. They have a hunger or a yearning to do something, and they do whatever they need to do to satisfy it. Just like the cougar.

If I have been offended by someone, another person, and I feel victimized, did that offender purposely intend to hurt me, or was he or she just doing the only thing they knew how to tend to themselves?

Are these offenders just doing the best they can with what they have?

I know I’m not perfect. I’ve hurt people’s feelings while in the act of doing the best I could with what I had. I didn’t even know that I was hurting anyone. Yet here it is. I can clearly see now in retrospect, that I did inadvertently offend someone in a manner that had never occurred to me while I was about the business of doing the best I could with what I had.

Should I Ask for Forgiveness?

If I am aware of my transgression, yes. I feel an obligation to appeal to that person and ask him or her for forgiveness, even if I was unaware of my transgression when it occurred because I never intended to do that. And I am ashamed of myself for not being more aware that someone else might have been hurt in my doing the best I could with what I had.

Should I Expect Someone Else to Ask Me for Forgiveness?

There was a time when I felt that would be appropriate when I thought that if someone hurt me in some way that I was owed an apology, or begged for my forgiveness for their sin. Later, I realized that forgiveness was a God issue, and not a “me” issue. So, I let go of that expectation.

I might still like an apology, but I wouldn’t expect it. Especially if the offender was a cougar.

Anyone Could be a Cougar

What if the person who offended or victimized me was a cougar? A cougar could take almost any shape or human form. A drug dealer, addict, drunk driver, lawyer, judge, doctor, neighbor, friend, spouse, sibling, or priest.

Anyone could be a cougar. Just doing the best they can with what they have. Nonetheless, a cougar. Even me. And like the cougar, if I offend the wrong person at the wrong place and time, I too may have to pay the price for doing so.

Superiority of Judgment

Yet, we feel so superior that we would expect to have the right to be asked for forgiveness and feel as though we have the right and power to offer such forgiveness. So, we judge them, until they have paid the price for offending us.

Then I am reminded of a Jesus story about a woman who had been accused of adultery. The self-righteous Pharisees were standing around her with a fistful of rocks ready to execute their brand of justice when Jesus interrupted them.

Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone

Were the Pharisees authorized to execute this action in John 8? Were they following Jewish law? Pretty much (though there were some concerns that possibly they may not have had all their ducks in a row at the time the punishment was to be delivered by the law. Certainly, all the players did not appear to be present as the law may have suggested).

Did the Pharisees have hidden sins? Apparently. When Jesus challenged them, they drops their rocks and walked away.

Were the Pharisees cougars?

Jesus did not condemn her and simply told her to go and sin no more. Maybe she was a cougar.

In Matthew 7, Jesus says not to judge lest we be judged, and if we judge someone harshly, we will be judged likewise. Then he asks how can you help a brother with a splinter in his eye when your own eye is blocked by lumber?

Good point. Right?

I like Jesus’ examples because He loved many people and had a heart for those who were less fortunate, most likely unworthy, and of questionable character, and His influence on their lives was undeniable.

The price of sin is death (ultimately) but Jesus by His death and resurrection was the sacrifice by which we all can have forgiveness for our transgressions, and claim the right to life more meaningful and long-lasting (eternal) than any of us might have been entitled to otherwise.

When we judge and are so self-righteous to think we are authorized to do so, are we not nullifying the words of Jesus or the perfection of His work on the cross?

These days, I would not run to usurp His authority.

Is it polite to forgive? Yes. Would it be nice if someone apologized or asked for forgiveness? Yes.

Should we expect or demand it?

From a cougar?

In this respect, forgiveness may be required by people who may not understand the divinity of all things, though being willing to let go and let God work out the details, especially if someone is a cougar, may lead to the higher road to travel through this life.

After all, aren’t we all just doing the best we can with what we have?

Something to think about…

Seek First to Understand

Many years ago, when I was being trained for counseling there was an impetus to spend the first few sessions to understand where a client was coming from to establish a baseline, then came along Stephen Covey with his 5^th Habit: Seek First to Understand, and this concept of understanding has evolved in my practice as I have as well.

Initially, “understanding” was basically an assessment tool, after which one would prepare a series of successive programs to guide a client from where they were at the initial consultation to where one’s training had determined was the proper destination for the client.

Only after years of practice did I begin to see that no manner of training was suitable for guiding each client to his or her highest and best. This could only be determined by challenging the client to reach deep inside and discover his or her own path and destination. In doing so, it became clear that there was no one size fits all solution, and every client was different. After a time, this increasingly made more sense to me.

If you are in the counseling or “help” business in any manner, shape, or form, it is easy to have preconceived ideas about what is generally, if not specifically, the best path that anyone should follow. Your drive might be to “fix” someone. That is to assert your perspective over that of the person you are trying to help. Instead, consider a deeper level of empathetic understanding.

Time and experience have humbled me and taught me that my opinions may not be the best for an individual, for if any given person is truly individual then the path they travel will be just as unique and individual as he or she is.

This really changes the emphasis on understanding and takes it to a new, empathetically deeper level, because now you have to take an entire life into consideration, and while your training may have equipped you to look for clues and probable suggestions for solutions, you should be ready for anything.

One thing that has helped me in this structural reframe is to allow the client to be right in all things and allow them to adjust their sense of rightness as we progress in a supportive coaching arrangement. I really try to get a sense of what it is like to walk in their shoes as they live through their life.

In retrospect, I am somewhat ashamed of the sense of superiority that I exercised with clients in the past, when I approached my work with clients as more structured and rigid. I have a much higher success rate based on the increased connection due to this increased understanding of a client.

Honoring where they are at any given moment, without judgment, standard recommendations, or preconceived outcomes.

My motivation is highly love-inspired because that is who I am. I sincerely and lovingly regard my clients and support them through whatever their process may be. To encourage and walk alongside the clients to discover where this journey leads.

I am not likely to tell a client what to do these days but am probably going to make many suggestions, giving them many options to choose for themselves what is the best door to open along the way.

This means allowing the individuals to be comfortable in their world whatever it might look like and work from there.

This has allowed me to have the most entertaining and expansive experiences and has enabled me to have access to their innermost thoughts and data provided by the people that I work with that I would never have had access to otherwise.

All from truly seeking to first understand, allowing them to be or believe anything they want, and genuinely accepting and loving them through their process, supporting them as they find their way to new levels of personal and spiritual growth.

In the end, the client is blessed. Still, I feel that I am even more blessed because I was able to be there in those most precious of moments when perceptions shifted, epiphanies were experienced, and a new life metamorphosis happened before my very eyes.

Keep Em Separated

That is the entire agenda, to keep em separated. And I’d say it was a hidden agenda if it wasn’t so obvious. But was isn’t obvious for someone would appear to be hidden to someone else. It all starts soon after entry to the planet, especially if you are born into a family with other offspring.

The oldest sibling asserts his or her superiority, or the youngest exercises his or her ability to manipulate “the system” for his or her benefit.

“Mom! She’s touching me!” and endless cries of judgment, unfairness, victimization, and disrespect, then the cries for assistance and the attempt to demand justice and equality. “Stop him! He got the bigger half!” In an attempt to quell the disturbance, the more dominant parent demands that the squabbling siblings be separated. On and on it goes.

You would think that after we’ve grown old enough to leave the home and establish our own independence, we would grow out of such violent opposition.

As we enter adulthood many social mechanisms are pervasive in society to keep us separated from those we share the planet with including the news, other media, and even social media as well.

HEADLINES, IMAGES, and BOTS, Oh My!

There are forces who hire people to keep em separated, though most of us fall into the trap of promoting the separation for free for many psychological reasons, some deeply affected wounds or trauma fueling the angst to promote separation at all costs.

Headlines are made to appear as shocking and polarizing as possible to keep the hate rate rising. Even if the content actually contradicts the headline. This is an old newspaper-selling trick that still works today for the invaluable click-bait and increases the possibility that your misrepresented or fake news goes viral.

Images are easily altered to appear even more shocking than the original using manipulation methods made famous by the program, “Photoshop” which is now synonymous with the term for altered images. As these methods improve over time, it has become so difficult to detect an original photo from an altered photo that you are likely to suspect that any normal photo has been photoshopped.

And it’s not just people. Now there are automatically AI-programmed bots scouring the Internet looking for people to poke and disrespect just to raise your enthusiasm for supporting the separation, and they’re not even real people, just programs pretending to be people.

Internal Examination

Let’s just take an internal examination, checking with your inner self, or higher self if you dare, and ask yourself, “How do I feel inside when I watch the news?” Then ask yourself about the other forms of media that you expose yourself to. How do they make you feel?

Do they make you feel like you’re doing really good work in the world? Do you feel like you’re sharing positive/loving energy with like-minded people? Does this media exposure fill your heart full of love? Are you in the habit of letting that love overflow into the community and the world around you?

If you answered, “Yes,” to these questions, then congratulations, you are doing great.

If not, you might want to have another look at how your exposure is serving you. Maybe it is not in your best interest. Only you can determine this.

Since the media you are exposed to is probably programmed to make you feel bad and especially bad about someone or something else, you are more than likely feeling something that will feel like the opposite of healthy and lovingly.

It might be something you might want to take a look at.

Nothing Like Mom’s Homemade Chocolate Cake

So, there I was, talking to one of my younger brothers and he was telling me about this story from his childhood. He explained how our mother had made and baked one of her chocolate cakes from scratch so the boys could have something special in their lunch at school the following day.

Mom had always prepared the lunches the night before, so he had spent the whole night thinking about how great it would be to experience the reward of mom’s handmade chocolate cake complete with amazing chocolate icing for dessert the following day.

The boys even talked about how special this day would be thanks to mom’s cake which was safely secured in a Tupperware container inside their lunch bag. In fact, today’s lunch would have three lock-lid plastic containers inside.

Finally, when the school’s lunch bell rang, my brother grabbed his lunch bag and hurried to the lunchroom, where he unpacked the Tupperware containers and lined them up. First, he opened the sandwich container and there was the main dish, an excellently crafted peanut butter and jelly sandwich, made just he way he liked them.

After he finished the first course, he moved on to the round container that contained quite predictably, apple sauce, which he consumed slowly to add to the excitement of the soon the be enjoyed chocolate mom-cake.

Now the time had come. The cake was clearly too tall for the container because he could see the frosting inside the lid of the container which was another special treat. He would first eat the cake, then lick off the icing from inside the lid in that final glorious moment.

He cracked open the cake container only to discover applesauce inside. Panicked, he raced over to find our younger brother to investigate his sack lunch, maybe he had two pieces of cake, and maybe there was still time to retrieve one of them. He was in a hurry because our younger brother was more likely to devour the cake first.

He got there in time and popped open the younger brother’s cake container which also contained applesauce. It turns out that the stepfather had gotten up in the middle of the night, and eaten the entire chocolate cake as a midnight snack. Still unsatisfied, he cracked open the kids’ lunches and raided their lunch cakes as well, replacing them with apple sauce.

As my brother told the story, he was expressing to me a tale of a simple story of a young child’s heartbreak and the moment when he began to see his stepfather as a potentially disruptive, if not evil, influence in his familial life.

In contrast, what I saw in this story was a descriptive predictor of my younger brother, the man he was even at that young age, the man who would grow up to be, and the man who sat before me, telling me this story in the restaurant.

Even at that young age, this younger brother understood the concept of delayed gratification, not unlike the marshmallow effect. His plan was to move through the meal in successive order with every bite leading the way to the anticipated cake, leaving the frosting for last.

This is how my brother has approached all things in life and still does—diligently moving through life, one bite at a time, doing the work necessary, saving the best for savoring last.

This is clearly demonstrated by the near-miraculous success stories that permeate his adult life.

I am inspired by my brother’s cake story, and I think we all could learn a lesson from it. Not just allowing ourselves to be so tied to an expected outcome, so much that our little hearts are broken, and we are devastated because someone blindsided us, but to move through life, like my brother eats his cake, when he actually gets to.

Much later in life, he did get his cake and he got to eat it too, but that is another story.

This Is How I Want You to Treat Me

I would like to think that you are the kind of person who might respect me enough to treat me in the manner that I would like to be treated. So, this is how I want you to treat me if you are interested. And if so, I would be eternally grateful.

1. Be Polite

Really, just being polite goes a long way. I am not impressed by how quickly and effectively you can put someone down. Just try to be nice, if you can, that would be nice.

1. Respect Me

I know we are different people and we come from different backgrounds so you and I may have different points of view. Please respect me enough not to call me stupid, or assert your superiority over me. Disrespecting me is a pretty good way to shut down any listening skills I might have for what you have to say.

1. Try to Understand Me

I may not use the same words as you do. I might not say things the right way. Please don’t jump to conclusions and assume that I said something wrong or feel like I am confronting you or attacking you because I am not like that. If you are having trouble understanding me, please do not hesitate to ask for clarification for I long to be understood by you.

1. Don’t be Defensive.

As we continue to communicate with each other I am bound to say something that may upset or be offensive to you. Please understand that I have no intention to offend you in any way, but I am only human. Please don’t strike out at me in defense of something that might be a misunderstanding. It just makes us both feel bad. Consider giving me the benefit of the doubt, or ask me for more information if you are in doubt.

1. Be Trustworthy

Of course, I don’t expect to be able to trust you with my innermost details because I don’t know you that well, yet, but I am likely to assume that you are at least somewhat trustworthy, so I will open up to you. Based on our mutual trust experience, I will trust you more, and be able to be more transparent with you as we get to know each other better.

1. Remain Confidential

If I tell you something in confidence, please keep it confidential, just between you and me. There is no accident that this immediately follows trust as they are intimately connected. Please, if I have intimated something personal to you, keep it confidential. If there is any question, ask me. I will be okay if you share some things about me, but I may have prequalifications, like not using certain intimate details or using a different name, etc. It would be nice if you checked with me first.

1. Have Some Empathy

If you become aware of some inner struggle that I am having, instead of jumping to conclusions, trying to fix me, or judging me, take a moment and ask yourself, what might I be feeling? What must it be like to walk a mile in my shoes? And have some empathy.

1. Allow Me to Find My Way

Please do not try to make me be like you or try to beat me up for not believing or being like you. I promise, if you’re treating me with the previous considerations, I will hear you. I will listen to you, but I may not take action on what you say immediately or on demand. I am a good person and I am in the habit of reviewing data regularly and making adjustments in my life accordingly, and I don’t take this lightly. So tell me your thoughts and give me space to think about it.

9. Celebrate My individuality

I can pretty much guarantee that I am not exactly like anyone you’ve ever met, and I like that. I like me. I’m actually very fond of me and proud of who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I’m going. You might even come to like the idea that we’re different from each other, adding a little spice to life. I’d love it if you could support me and where I am today, in my particular uniqueness and individuality.

10. I Am Constantly Evolving

I hope you understand and appreciate that I am always open to new perspectives and ideas. I am constantly growing and changing on my own, and it occurs to me that you might be the same way. Whether you are or you are not, I honor your right to be you in any way that you want to.

And Here’s the Deal

And here’s the deal that I will make with you today. If you can understand that this is how I want you to treat me, and you try to honor me in this communication and relationship that we share, no matter how casual or deep it might be, I promise you this:

That I will do everything in my power to treat you the same way, or any other way that you might like to be respectfully treated, to the best of my ability.

The Golden Rule

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

~ Jesus

(Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12)

We Are One

I am one. We are one. I am a divinely made unique individual. I am also one part of the body of like-minded individuals who are united in faith, as well as one with all who are blessed to call this planet our home.

Imagine if this were true. What would that look like?

A celebration of individuality and collectiveness simultaneously. Neighbors as brethren, lifting each other up, loving and helping each other for the common good. If my brother or sister is in need, wouldn’t I find a way to help him or her in his or her time of need? Absolutely.

Younger generations would have no compulsion for separation. No prejudice. No social cliques. No murmuring or conspiring behind someone else’s back. No bullying. This could be the loving example that would lead to healing future generations.

If we, as the human race, could see each one of us as a part of everyone else, this is the path to peace and harmony for the future. For if I disrespect you, I am disrespecting myself. I honor you, just as much as I expect you to honor me.

What would be the need for war in a world like that? Your land is my land. Your oil is my oil. Your son or daughter is my son or daughter. Just as I would not kill my own son or daughter, I would not even think of having my son or daughter kill your son or daughter.

Peace will only come when we realize that it cannot be achieved by violence.

You cannot legislate love. You cannot fight, argue, debate with, imprison or kill enough people to proliferate love. Only love can perpetuate love.

And faith? Your Beliefs? They should be as unique as you are. Believe what you like based on who and where you are at the time because while we are individually unique, we are also each other expressed in different ways.

Just like in me, there are many facets that make up who I am on this day at this moment, and I am ever-changing and evolving as I interact with those around me, within the circumstances and the environment in the world where I live.

I may believe one thing today and another thing tomorrow based on new information or experience. I expect to be respected for doing the best with what I have and reciprocate such respect to anyone else.

I see a world where we all are grateful for the life with which we have been gifted, so we care for each other and respect the world that we have been bequeathed. I love the idea of reforestation. I am so glad that we are going there.

The idea that as we take something from our environment to benefit us in any given way, we honor the earth’s sacrifice by replenishing it as best we can, is impressive and can be extrapolated to include all resources. Our planet is a closed system. We have abundant yet limited resources. Let’s use them with gratitude, wisely, giving back as we consume responsibly.

If we have faith and love it should be apparent as a part of our life’s expression, without fear, separation, disrespect, the threat of harm, loss, or destructive violence. Instead edifying each other’s uniqueness in love as we are all a part of the “us” that makes the world go round.

In honor of this authentic synergy of myself, the peoples around me and abroad, and the planet for all that she does to support us all, I often find myself sending love to the world, for an even brighter future for all life.

If Global Warming Continues

There is some confusion in the world of science which may contradict the science of our world. For instance, answers to, “What caused the great flood?” The answer could alert us to what potential threat might lay before us.

It stands to reason that whatever caused such a catastrophic event could happen again.

If it was a comet or meteor shower, as science suggests, then we must focus our attention on building a way to combat such a threat from space in order to deflect, eliminate, or at least de-escalate such a threat.

Recent evidence of our sun being on a nova-flare cycle could make a more plausible scenario, and if so, it would mean that our sun does experience such an event regularly, every 12,000 years or so.

Why is this important?

Because depending on the cause of previous catastrophic events, we can better prepare for similar challenges facing our planet, based on patterns established in the past. And the cyclical nature of our sun’s nova flares is substantiated as having occurred on this 12,000-year cycle.

We survived

Even facing complete extinction, 2,000 to 10,000 of our ancestors globally, survived the last apocalyptic event, and we are proof that there is a good chance some may survive the next one.

How are we prepared?

We, as a population are not prepared because we’ve been distracted by this global warming period being represented as being caused by the industrialization of our society and general disrespect for our planet.

False sense of security

This lulls us into a false sense of security, giving us the impression that we can witness the rising temperature and think we can do something about it. If it were known that there was nothing we could do about the next global catastrophe, it would be conspiratorial in nature to distract the greater population with such false information.

Who is prepared?

Some eccentric survivalists may be prepared while their contemporaries make fun of them, while the high-level politicians, and extremely wealthy have underground bunkers and shelters to run to when the next one comes.

How well are they prepared?

In my opinion, not so much, because what good would it be if you were “safe” underground under 5,000 feet of glacial ice?

Where’s a better location?

I agree with the author, Herb Roi Richards, who says within 15 degrees on either side of the equator is the place to be. He asserts that this is the place where our species originated, and it is clearly the survival zone for humanity as it is relatively unaffected by a global catastrophe. Richards refers to it as the “Life Zone.”

You cannot legislate solar activity

The sun will do what it has been doing for billions of years. It remains on this 12,000-year cycle and another apocalyptic solar event is in our immediate future, expected within the next forty years or so. No laws, regulations, policies, or social movements will be able to influence it.

The undeniable truth

The truth can be found in the sedimentary layers of our planet, and we can see the effects our sun has on other planets in our solar system, all confirming this 12,000-year cycle. The truth is out there, though there appears to be a cover-up of the scientific data.

Conspiracy?

It appears that the statistics have been changed to match the agenda of those who would like us to believe that we are the cause for global warming, not the sun. For instance, pre-year-2,000, data was readily available on the warming period of the Middle Ages and the little ice age, so that the current graph shows our globe’s temperature as a flat line with only the latest increase in temperature to influence a state of panic.

What can you do?

Don’t take anyone’s word for anything. Get out there and online, exercise your right to discover the truth for yourself, and decide what you can do based on the information you discover.

Herb Roi Richards’ book, If Global Warming Continues might be a good place to start.

What is Global Warming?

No doubt, global warming is big business that feeds the big money machine which includes the banks, media, corporations, energy companies, and government agencies based on the propaganda coup.

The hysteria has succeeded in appropriating hundreds of billions of tax dollars, and increased utility rates, and gas prices.

Politically, statistics suggest that republicans are far less enthusiastic about the threat of global warming than the concern and fear wielded by the democrats, but those who believe that global warming is a hoax, regardless of political party, are the most passionate about their stance of all.

The earth has been through many major ice ages, and we’re one-third the way through the latest ice age that we have heard about that took out the dinosaurs 20,000 years ago. An ice age can easily last 60,000 years with millions of years in between ice ages.

We will remain in a continual state of warming for the next 40,000 years or so, with occasional visits from alternating mini-ice ages and warming trends for flavor, until we can enjoy a planet unencumbered by a major ice age for millions of years. That’s right, in the year 42023.

Though this planet has been this warm previously, i.e., in the Minoan, Roman, and Medieval warming periods.

But the polar bears are dying!

Actually, that’s unfounded propaganda as well. Since 1980 we have seen steady growth in polar bear populations. Since then, we’ve seen their population grow from around 7,000 to 26,000 today.

The coral reefs are melting away!

Also, just more spin doctor fodder. We have seen the greatest growth in coral reefs since 1985 when we started monitoring them.

The world is on fire! We’re being burned alive!

In 1900 about 4.5 percent of the earth was destroyed by fire. Yearly fires on earth have declined regularly over time, and last year only 2.5 percent of our planet was burned, thanks to mankind. Our technology and mindfulness have greatly decreased the damage that previously plagued the land by the destructive power of fire.

In 1920, you were only expected to live some 36 years, since then life expectancy has grown to 76 years or so. In fact, the planet’s in great shape. We have increased agriculture capacity, though much of the land is unused, and we have lowered the toxicity of breathable air pollution over the last hundred years.

How can you say that?

A hundred years ago, burning wood and animal excrement were the methods used to cook food, expelling far more toxic pollution than we have today.

We Are Doing So Much Better Today

Every year 138,000 people were lifted out of poverty. 200 years ago, almost everyone was poor. 90 to 95% of us lived on “1 dollar a day,” was the saying, but it was actually about $2.50. Now, less than 10% are poor.

But you don’t hear about that in the media because it is not scary.

Negative news is far more attractive to us, especially if the message is hugely menacing or apocalyptic in nature.

Our world and living conditions are the best they’ve ever been, and we have greatly reduced the number of people lost to natural disasters or local and global threats. We have an increased level of science that helps us to better predict or anticipate challenges, giving us increased time to react pre-event.

We, the populace, have the peace of mind to react to something that has worldwide impact, like global warming, and the media and the government has us all excited about escalated fear that the end of the world may be near, and they are proposing that you and I can do something about it.

And the public is answering the call, committing to take action to reduce CO2. Herb Roi Richards says, “The answer is simple: Plant more trees.”

While global warming is a problem that needs to be addressed is one thing, to red alert, Defcon 1, and promote it as the end of the world, is another, entirely.

The real problem is that the overhyped apocalyptic cries from the media are leaving Americans and the world open to making poor decisions elsewhere while in a state of panic regarding the end of our world.

Global Warming Climate Change

Politicians, media, and people all over America and the world have been clamoring about the impending doom of climate change.

Somehow, the idea was promoted that we could have some impact on global climate change and that we backed by our governments could affect a change that would better serve us.

Human beings have no impact on climate change. We did not cause it and we cannot fix it, for there is nothing to fix. The world has been in this constant state of climate change alternating between warming and cooling with noticeable variances since it first appeared in the cosmos, and it will continue to do so regardless of how you are able to convince the public otherwise and create policies and laws based on this fallacy.

Modest global warming over time is expected and will be beneficial to our environment which should be celebrated. Fighting climate change is futile and trying to do so is a waste of energy and resources.

There is a problem, but it has less to do with the changing temperature of our planet and more with the rampant narcissism of a government and political system that thinks they could pass laws to change the nature of our planet. Allowed to continue, the system tries to manage the world’s energy which has the direct opposite of the intended result.

If their intention is to control enough of the energy production and distribution that it will make the world a better place, and this is what they have been trying to assert, how is that working for us?

Nation economies are failing, the middle class has evaporated, the standard of living is plummeting, while conflict between nations escalated over who will control the keys to the world’s energy, while the people fight amongst themselves and against each other. International unrest, military conflict, and suicide are at all-time highs.

This is not to say that burning fossil fuels do not affect the environment. It does compromise the air we breathe, filling our atmosphere with CO2 that does absorb infrared radiation (heat). This is a thing that does need to be addressed.

Henny Penguins shouts, “The glaciers are melting! The glaciers are melting!” as she runs through the town waving her flippers in the air. And, yes, the glaciers are melting which causes the ocean to rise a bit, but to say that this is mankind’s doing, is illogical egocentricity.

Misguided scientists assert, the fact remains, that CO2 in the atmosphere is escalating while ice caps are deescalating. True enough, but that doesn’t mean there is any connection between the two.

So many things far more significant than mankind affect changes in the earth’s temperature, such as our planet’s variations in orbit, its changing terrain (growing mountains, deepening underwater beds, volcanic eruptions, etc.), and changes in the sun’s provision.

What about alternatives to oil-based fuels?

Oil-based energy is actually quite an efficient conversion ratio, the best we have so far

Alternatives are extremely costly to convert to energy and are only viable as subsidized by government funding and are therefore inefficient

Energy conservation does make sense. This is something that man can do to cut back on waste and help boost the economy while reducing the overall price of energy.

Propaganda campaigns fueling the global warming “crisis” have created a financial windfall for “green” organizations legislatively empowered to penalize and enforce government policies concerning those who refuse to comply with short-sighted mandated policies. These organizations are profiting in the neighborhood of $100 Billion a year, and the overall systems that support them, are just as much or more.

On the other hand, a modest warming trend and growing CO2 levels are actually beneficial to reforestation and agriculture, as CO2 is important fuel for vegetation of all kinds. Our entire ecology requires this balance, including humans and all beasts great and small.

There is no energy crisis or global warming crisis. Concerned individuals would be better off focusing their energy and resources on fighting poverty, and disease, providing clean water, and increasing hygiene, and food provisions.

If you want to fight for something fight against global terrorism and nuclear warfare. Don’t let them distract you with misleading information about global warming.

I Hope We All Can Heal from Those Unspoken Things

We all gather and store traumatic experiences, keeping them buried deep inside, afraid to disclose the details of these experiences due to fear, the fear of being judged, unaccepted, or being told that we’re making a mountain out of a molehill, and we’re further traumatized by being told to “just get over it.” I hope we all can heal from those unspoken things.

All this pent-up trauma leads us to try to find hope, anything that might help relieve the pressure we feel building up inside of us. And what is this pressure doing to us? What is the cost of hiding and feeling as though we cannot talk about the things that trouble us the most?

As an Olympian Life Coach and spiritual consultant, I am blessed to have lived a life of helping others voice their inner struggles with past trauma. And my longing is echoed in Jared Peterson’s statement made on September 8, 2022, “I hope you heal from things you don’t talk about.” The quote’s author is unassignable, but the sentiment strikes a chord in the heartbeat of Americans who try to ignore the past for the greater good, and/or the bravest of those who contemplate seeking alternatives for releasing the pressure of withholding.

Yes, there is healing from brokenness, few can find such healing in solitude, but better results are realized by reaching out for assistance in digging up the past, one’s deepest darkest secrets, unearthing the root cause of unhealthy negative ruminations, disconnecting painful triggers, and battling one’s inner demons.

A traumatic past can destroy your life

Therefore, unexpressed anger can cause disease. These withheld secrets can kill you. Hidden memories of a traumatic past haunt the energetic sphere that surrounds us all.

Unspoken trauma doesn’t just go away.

In the search for relief, believers may find themselves searching for bible scriptures for heartbreak. Christian counselors can be sought out, but many of them are ill-prepared to help individuals do the deep inner work necessary. Unfortunately, these victims of destructive trauma, are encouraged to trust God or pray about it. In a sense, forgive, forget, and just get over it. This can burden the victim with guilt or shame, now questioning “what is wrong with me,” when the standard Christian recommended solution offers little or no relief.

St. Paul says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). This is to say that regardless of the adversity we face or how we have been exploited or victimized, all of this can lead to the glorification of God’s goodness.

Also, “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Given the sacred space necessary, in compassionate love, and understanding, without judgment, one can be empowered to do the deep work without fear of rejection or being accused of “attracting the trauma.” It cannot be swept aside by playing the “karma” card. Being allowed to fully release the trauma in a safe environment is necessary for finding healing in brokenness unashamedly.

I hope we all can heal from those unspoken things, and this is a more likely result of following this process of dealing with one’s traumatic past. Failing to do so causes infectious festering inner wounds to spread disease throughout the body. This can be realized and witnessed in a lack of energy, weakness, and a compromised immune system, leading to sickness, disease, and premature death if left unaddressed.

I am honored to have experienced the immense transformation of individuals who have overcome these kinds of challenges and am excited about results that can include the ability to help others who could be facing these kinds of victimizing circumstances.

This is the power of God realized in healing from brokenness, and in this way, the painfully broken can help others, doing their part to make the world a better place.