Oh My, It Can't Be Done

 Do you often think about difficulties, failure and disasters?


Do you keep thinking about the negative news you have seen on the TV or read in the newspapers?


Do you see yourself stuck and unable to improve your life or your health?


Do you frequently think that you do not deserve happiness or money, or that it is too difficult to get them?

When we close our minds to the possibility of new opportunities, we behave in manners that repel people and cause opportunities to die. Negative thinking, unfortunately, is more prevalent than positive thinking. Why? Positive thinking definitely requires more action than being cynical, so many of us choose to pattern our thoughts after the most negative views because these views are so prevalent and, therefore, easy to accept through our passive minds.

The media is one powerful source of negative information. Usually, the most miserable stories makes headlines. All the bad news, scandals, and other negativity flow from the media and easily sink into our subconscious minds. Later, this mind set manifests as a habitual manner of thinking. We have become bleating sheep of pessimism as our main influence, the media, stokes the fires of gloom and agony with tragedy after tragedy.

Stephanie Staples ("The Pursuit of Happiness," Nurse Together LLC, 2009) relates the frustration and waste of spending too much time on rehashing old problems. Stephanie believes the pursuit of happiness occurs the very moment we decide to stop waiting for better times and accept some simple principles at hand. Happiness is within  our control and not solely dependent upon others. She says a lesson from the King of Bhutan, a tiny country in the Eastern Himalayas, is very enlightening. The King coined “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) to connect with the Buddhist notion that the ultimate purpose of life is inner happiness. Here is the key to GNH:

· take and hoard less; give and share more 
· complain and criticize less; accept and praise more 
· work and frown less; smile, laugh and play more

Staples says, "I have long been fascinated by the stories of people who have overcome tremendous odds and come out on top. You’ve seen these people too, haven’t you? They have been your patients, your colleagues, your friends. I have always wondered what makes some people succumb to adversity, whether it is illness or misfortune, and what makes other people overcome it. Working with hundreds of inspiring people has taught me many things, not the least of which is the answer to my own question. Happy people, successful people, fulfilled people and people who overcome adversity have simply decided to do so."

Tony Price (a Boston-based sports reporter, collegiate athletics administrator, and head basketball coach) laments about the problems of marketing his book, An Unsung Coach: Lessons on Coaching and Life (2009). He finds getting his message of "showing black athletes there is more to life than just sports" to the masses is exceedingly difficult. Price contends the following:

"Maybe it’s because I’m not a celebrity, maybe it’s because no one wants to admit there is a problem, borderline epidemic that thousands of young people are pinning their futures on becoming pro-athletes or entertainers to no avail without a back up plan.  

"Maybe if I spread gossip, or slandered someone’s name, talked about all of the stuff we now call news, I’d become the next great literary sensation with a calendar filled with events and appearances.  I just don’t get it at times I feel like scrapping the whole mission and jumping on the “Give the people what they want” bandwagon." 

But, in the end, Price accepts his lot, promotes his stand, and fights the odds. Along the way, he accepts small victories and enjoys his small steps of positivity. He remains hopeful that the message he has to share will eventually flower. Price concludes: "I leave you with this thought; the results you seek when trying to fulfill your purpose may be slow to come and at times will cause you to question if you are in fact walking in the right direction, but don’t give up, if God gave you the vision press on, an keep your eyes and ears open as the rewards may come in small packages!"

About Tony Price:  http://www.baystatebanner.com/local14-2009-06-25

The Truth - Setting You Free?

If
(excerpt)

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling 

  Who is credible enough to deserve our attention? Who do we typically listen to when we want to find answers? Spinned content, bias content, content quoted out of context, content reported without dependence upon reliable sources, circular argumentative content, ad hominem (attacking the person, not the issue), and extreme pathos (emotional appeal over content) -- the news is a minefield of false and slanted information. Truth is more difficult to find than the idiomatic "needle in a haystack." It seems no public figure, politician, or institution is immune to using any means to cover mistakes and internal problems.

Never have we believed in truth less while being exposed to more trashy, speculative content. To some, the truth is worth little or nothing in itself. To such people, ignorance is bliss while a lie is much more pleasant. As they attempt to block out the truth or merely not accept personal responsibility for the truth, they merely cling to their personal denials, for the real truth remains, no matter what method of deception they use.

The fact of the matter is that truth, like the sun, still burns. Clouds of deceit may cover its form, but it is ever-present. Just as the sun provides life, the truth is essential to humans living together in harmony. Skeptics may doubt this, but history has proven time after time that truth is eternal and undeniable for human existence. 

Clarie Carlisle states, "Socrates, who became the hero of western philosophy, believed that truth was worth more than life itself: on his deathbed, he quite calmly told his friends that he was happy to die because his earthly, embodied existence was like a prison that barred his way to knowledge of the eternal Ideas or Forms." ("Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil," Richmond Journal of Philosophy, Summer 2003)

In his review of Michael P. Lynch's work, True To Life: Why Truth Matters (MIT Press, 2004), Eric Bain-Selbo discusses Lynch's important contribution to defending truth on the one hand and praising him for making a compelling, constructive argument for the role of truth in the good life and the good society. Of course, Lynch and Bain-Selbo reject absolute truth as a certainty in all situations; however, Lynch argues for truth to be paramount in the search for freedom, understanding, and equality.


Here are some of Michael Lynch's ideas about the importance of truth:

1. It is important that an individual know the truth about him/herself. This is the classic dictum to “know thyself.” Without a “sense of self” people are incapable of knowing what their commitments are, what projects they wish to accomplish, and what kind of people they are or want to be. An ignorance of those things that give life meaning causes no development of self. Thus, Lynch argues that self-knowledge is a part of personal happiness.


2. Just as caring about the good entails the exercise of the moral virtues, caring about the truth entails the exercise of intellectual virtues. Integrity is chief among these intellectual values. Integrity requires that 1) one care for the truth for its own sake; 2) one is willing to pursue the truth; 3) one stands up for what he/she believes is true; and 4) one is open to the truth because it is the truth, and thus one is capable of recognizing when he or she is wrong


3. Lynch also turns to the role of truth in the personal interactions that occur within any community. In particular, he focuses on the issues of lying and sincerity. While there certainly are practical reasons for why lying is problematic (How can we have a community if we cannot trust that people are telling the
truth?), Lynch wants to make the point that “lying is bad partly because believing the truth is good." 

In other words, believing the truth is good for its own sake not simply because it is a means to some other end; conversely, lying is bad not simply because it prevents the attainment of some end but because the truth is good for its own sake. Both lying and insincerity show a lack of respect for others. Lynch claims that respect for
others and self-respect are two sides of the same coin.


4. Lynch turns his attention to the issue of truth and political life. He argues that “[c]oncern for truth is a constitutive part of liberal democracy” concern for equal respect and other liberal values among the citizens of a democratic government requires a concern for truth” This body of law seems consistent with our understanding of what it means to be a human being and to form human communities. Thus, we legitimately can argue that rights are true.
 
In the end, Lynch concludes: “No one, and no government, is infallible. We can make mistakes, but this should not stop us from aiming at the truth; it simply reminds us that the very act of aiming at the truth requires admitting the
possibility that you may never hit the target." In short, though we never can achieve absolute or certain knowledge, truth does matter, whether we are talking about individual happiness, interpersonal relationships, or political life. 


Site for the article   http://www.jcrt.org/archives/06.3/bain-selbo.pdf
Site for Lynch's book   The MIT Press  http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10244

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."  -- Winston Churchill

I Won! I Won!

Some claim that winning is the only dutiful outcome. I would contend that such victory is not always possible and not always a measurable goal of success for any event, cause, or movement.

If winning was the ultimate goal in important historical struggles in places such as Korea, why was the Koran War never fought to conclusion but ended in armistice in 1953 that allowed continuing struggles with a sabre-rattling, nuclear-endowed dictator who sits above the 38th parallel? If winning were paramount in achievement and commitment to involvement, what legacy is left from the loss of the valiant struggle to free South Vietnam?

And, if victory is the only acceptable consequence, why does the Federal government largely overlook its major role and offer inadequate support in horrendous situations that weaken human rights and human conditions such as poverty, illegal immigration, inalienable rights, and drug abuse?

"The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory."  --Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Blaise Pascal (famous scientist mathematician, and philosopher) contended that if people actually took survey of themselves, they would be terrified to find that their material being, given by nature, is between "two abysses of the infinite and nothing." This revelation could be a frightening view for anyone. 

Pascal viewed man in nature as the following: "A nothing in regard to the infinite, a whole in regard to nothing, a mean between nothing and the whole; infinitely moved from understanding either extreme. The end of things and their beginnings are invincibly hidden from him in impenetrable secrecy, he is equally incapable of seeing the nothing whence he was taken, and the infinite in which he is engulfed."

Pascal was a devoutly religious man who had gone through a an intense religious experience which brought him total conviction (of a kind inaccessible to the rational intellect alone) of God's reality and presence.This conversion, as well as his realization of the human struggle with the infinite and the finite, led him to believe that reason alone is unable to bring one to God. Pascal believed that only God holds the power to deliver the human being into the hand of the divine. People, like it or not, are amidst the ever-present struggles of their earthly domain.

"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason."  --Blaise Pascal

Having found himself in a world of fragile nature in many social relationships, a world often filled with unsatisfactory legal and political concepts, he held social hierarchy to be based on arbitrariness rather than justice. As with his moral and social being, man's metaphysical nature added to this dissatisfaction. Pascal contended that "man is a unique creature, but condemned to die in an infinite, impersonal universe." Although not a rosy, totally optimistic philosophy, Pascal's view confirmed many realistic frailties. 


Finding himself unable to experience a complete temporal (worldly) victory, Pascal immersed himself in the worthy struggles of a useful, temporary life on earth. Pascal recognized that man could not arrive at all knowledge by his own wisdom. He wrote that "Faith tells us what the senses cannot, but it is not contradictory to their findings." And, despite a short life with constant sickness and pain, this devout Christian made outstanding contributions to science, mathematics, and literature.
 

"Man is a but a reed, weakest in nature, but a reed which thinks. It needs not that the whole Universe should arm to crush him. A vapour, a drop of water is enough to kill him. But were the Universe to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which has slain him, because he knows that he dies, and that the Universe has the better of him. The Universe knows nothing of this."  --Blaise Pascal


Victory, it seems, may often be secondary to the struggle. Struggle, itself, is built into the nature of life, and only after struggle does opportunity present itself. Some believe the last victory for our rights, if there is one, lies within ourselves. So, why does the struggle please? The upward movement of the struggling individual constantly encourages that person to climb toward success, even under tremendous odds. 

With the help of others, the struggle represents the most self-gratifying work to all individuals in the team. Good work is accomplished in struggle. But, if victory does result, a group cannot rest on their laurels long before new struggles arise and new work must begin.

My Rights! My Rights!

Wandering around within the boundary of words, we find terms of interpretation. As well meaning as word constructs appear -- definitions, thoughts, ideas -- their debatable nature allows for connotations. Almost nothing written is above the very nature of the beast: that is, a word is a representation that symbolizes and communicates a meaning. A symbol, in turn, merely represents something else. So, the whole concept of a word is logically muddy from its conception. Words become essential human attempts that often fail to capture complex understandings.

The importance of words must never be understated, for without their incredible power to communicate essential meaning, we lose the very construct of civilization. Words represents the building blocks of every important document and utterance in history. Laws, principles, rights, even nations are built on human-initiated attempts at creating precision with words. Here is an example from the Bill of Rights in the Ohio Constitution drafted in 1851

1.01 Inalienable Rights (1851)  The Ohio Constitution



All men are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety. 

This is quite a wide statement here that opens grounds for countless connotations! How much precision does the phase "inalienable rights" provide? What represents the word symbols for abstractions such as "free" and "independent"? What wide interpretations do broad attempts to describe emotions of "enjoying" and "happiness" imply? Such mixed interpretations and confusing associations often create massive problems for residents who do not understand the precise intentions of those who frame the words.

The very first section of the Ohio Bill of Rights is, at best, a domesticated animal that wanders a wide, free range of interpretation. As much as we would like to stand upon the solid ground of Ohio residency and its intended protection and enforcement of our rights, we soon realize that certitude of protection is a big "Well, maybe..."

Who could argue that many Ohioans suffer daily because


1. They cannot adequately protect their own property under the law.


2. They, after repeated attempts to secure the promise, still remain reasonably unhappy and unsafe.


3. They continually lose personal liberties because of a minority of bad citizens who should be punished for their daily intrusions, threats, and forms of intimidation.

The key words in 1.01 are "certain inalienable rights." Natural rights (also called moral rights or unalienable rights) are rights which are not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of a particular society or polity. Natural rights are thus necessarily universal, whereas legal rights are culturally and politically relative. According to philosopher John Locke, these inalienable rights are our sovereign rights. We cannot surrender, sell, or transfer unalienable rights because they are a gift from the Creator to the individual. And, as seen in the Ohio Bill of Rights, all individuals are afforded these God-given rights.

Because humans are divine, and divinely created, we naturally deserve to have governments serve us, and not the other way around. And, because we possess inalienable rights given to us by our creator, governments must not violate those rights. This cognition by Thomas Jefferson of the inherent reality of the nature of man was the true “vision” of the founders. America was destined to be the nation that leads the world to this common re- “cognition.” Christ said “the truth shall set you free.” Jefferson, himself, was convinced this was not only a statement of a personal spiritual freedom, but also a more broad statement of the truth that when humans “woke up” to an understanding of their divine essence, that enlightenment would naturally lead to political freedom as well.

Protection From Crime

Mortimer J. Adler, Ph.D. ("On Unalienable Rights," Center for the Study of Great Ideas, 2008) contends, "First, the criminal by his antisocial conduct and by his violation of a just law has forfeited not the right, but the temporary exercise of it. His incarceration in prison does not completely remove his freedom of action, but it severely limits the exercise of that freedom for the period of imprisonment.

"The right remains in existence both during imprisonment and after release from prison. If the prison warden attempted to make the prisoner his personal slave, that would be an act of injustice on his part, because enslavement would be a violation of the human right to the status of a free man. This human right belongs to those in a prison as well as those outside its walls.

"When the criminal's term of imprisonment comes to an end, what is restored is not the individual's right to liberty (as if that had been taken away when he entered the prison), but only his fuller exercise of that right. It is the exercise of that right that is given back to him when he walks out of the prison gates, not the right itself, for that was never taken away or alienated."

In Closing

Police protection is not guaranteed. For example, in Ohio, as a citizen, we can depend on the Sheriff’s Office to help make a community that is safe and trouble free. But to be truly effective, a Sheriff’s Office depends on our cooperation. (Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association, 2009) Shouldn't it be easier to access our inalienable rights when we become active, concerned citizens?

And, police aren’t required to protect us: In Warren v. District of Columbia (1981), the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled, “official police personnel and the government employing them are not generally liable to victims of criminal acts for failure to provide adequate police protection . . . a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular citizen.” In Bowers v. DeVito (1982), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “[T]here is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen.”

We must join together as citizens to protect our inalienable rights. To do less would be to invite further disaster into an already volatile situation. No once should have to suffer the suspension of sovereign privileges. These guarantees to our freedom supersede legal restrictions. Soon, the good people will prove this idea through dedicated, self-motivated action for all needy brethren.

Taking a Path

 The Path That Leads Nowhere

(Excerpt)

All the ways that lead to Somewhere
        Echo with the hurrying feet
    Of the Struggling and the Striving,
        But the way I find so sweet
    Bids me dream and bids me linger,
        Joy and Beauty are its goal,—
    On the path that leads to Nowhere
        I have sometimes found my soul! 

Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, sister of Theodore Roosevelt

Goal-minded, good-meaning people, after careful consideration and considerable investigation, often set themselves onto a safe, definite path that leads to a predetermined destination. These people have invested considerable time and effort into the itinerary of their journey. They have accessed their abilities and talents; then, they have cast off into a journey on the well-traveled water made by many before them. They encounter obstacles along the way; however, these people know that "to stray from the path" could present even deadlier dangers.

On the other hand, the explorers, despite thorough preparation, eventually reach a point in their travels that presents them with the unknown, a place where only new thought and new imagination will serve them as useful tools. These adventurers are in their natural element when they leave the path to carve new maps of understanding. As Corinne Roosevelt relates, "But the way I find so sweet/ Bids me dream and bids me linger/ Joy and Beauty are its goal." In its novel design, Roosevelt's "path that leads to Nowhere" seems especially rewarding to her speaker's very soul.

Many people consider all obscurity to be dark and evil, full of cunning forces bent on destroying any intruders. How many times have mentors and love ones advised curious children never "to leave the path." Of course, this advice, given wisely, pertains to the illumination of goodness in well-trodden steps of tried and true obedience. But, if the explorer were forever to heed this warning, nothing new would surface. And, most people, as part of their nature, do disobey certain temptations as their curiosity overrides their internal compass.  

The remarkable thing about "paths that lead to somewhere" is that most people are willing to follow them, even when they suspect the path violates their basic, chosen principles. The majority feel great security in following the leader and the well-known method even if the course leads them straight over a cliff. Today, conviction is often derived from polling friends and acquaintances, not from striking new chords in the face of the masses. The initiative to open new roads of discovery is often reduced to griping, complaining, and sidelining. 

Also, people are sensitive to a herd mentality as their social skills erode. Confidence in working with strangers has given way to fear of failure. Unfortunately, the world gives no guarantees to the individual stepping waist-deep into problems and into new territories that require group efforts. No computer memory, virtual reality simulation, or twitter of approval is going to produce the human interaction needed to solve complex problems in society.

The only way to be "on the path that leads to Nowhere" is to be physically a part of the team of discovery. The impact of the work of such a group can never be realized until a new and better trail has been blazed and then retrodden by many others. Better ways to accomplish any mission loom on the horizon, just out of touch. The discovery requires humans to break the envelope and pave the way. Until a significant number follow, the path will remain small and will risk deterioration due to lack of use.

As the path to Nowhere inspires the soul, it also provides numerous excuses for individuals to shirk pragmatic theory and involvement. How can new and workable tools arise when people risk nothing other than a simple opinion? Working together improves the self confidence of individuals within the group framework. Working together increases production as it provides visible results. And, perhaps, most importantly, working together diminishes feelings of hopelessness and fear.

People who never take the path to Nowhere --

1. Say, "I'd like to but..."

2. Promise ventures but never get on-board.

3. Gripe, gripe, gripe but never lend a hand to a solution.

4. Blame others for their lack of active participation.

5. Refuse to joust with windmills for fear of failure.

6. Agree with causes but believe that opinion represents the extent of involvement.

7. Never risk anything other than what they already know is expendable. 

8. Lack vision and creativity to dream.

9. See change as impossible.

10. Lose an opportunity to find an undiscovered part of their souls.

I Looked So Happy Then

"How Sweet Are the Hopes and Pleasures of Youth"  by Anne S. Bushby



How sweet are the hopes and the pleasures of youth,

Ere misfortune has blighted their springs to the heart,

Ere the seeds of suspicion, and envy, and art,

Have supplanted the feelings of candour and truth!

In life's joyous morning, how glowing, how bright, 

Are the dreams of the future--by Fancy inspired!

Like bubbles, that ere they are form'd have expired,

So vanish its sorrows, as transient, as light. 

 

But soon, oh! too soon, must these feelings decay,

The storms of the world they can never survive;

And alas! when once gone they can never revive 

To soothe or to brighten life's desolate way.

To constantly believe that your true happiness is past is to affirm the fact that you continue to make decisions that do not build a better present but ultimately extend into a more miserable future. Dwelling upon old times, while being reflective and pleasant, can also detract from your ability to move ahead in positive, constructive relationships.You become "frozen in time" and cease to entertain thoughts of vital growth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           When you covet a wonderful past, you realize that it is so much easier to look back at what was comfortable instead of facing the unknown. The "grass is greener" in pastures of the past because you have already overcome the obstacles. The problem is that you can easily lose control of the direction in which your life is going by taking your eyes from the present positive road. The present or future may be painful, frightening, or challenging, but when you focus on your past, you avoid responsibility for your own future and you shirk the duty to overcome new pitfalls.

A great need exists for you to face the present. Sonce Reese, ("The Psychology of Why People Dwell on Their Pasts," Helium, www.helium.com/items, 2010) says, "Our minds also give us what we put into them. If you want to continue to dwell in the past, the mind will continue to create that for you. It is only when you decide to let go of the past and move forward that your mind will produce that outcome. You will only leave the past behind when you are psychologically ready to let go and move forward." In essence, you must make the conscious decision to move ahead.

When you are dwelling on the past or living in the past, you are usually talking about returning to certain memories over and over again like a bookmarked page. No new information is coming out. According to psychologist Adele Gregory, ("The Psychology of Why People Dwell on the Past, Helium, www.helium.com/items, 2010) "One possible explanation for this could be a variation of what Gestalt psychotherapists call "unfinished business" where past experiences intrude into the present because they didn't reach a satisfactory conclusion the first time around. A crucial element, such as an explanation, acknowledgment or apology is missing which keeps the person from being able to fully move on."

Sometimes when you dwell "on" the past, you frequently recount or cast up an event, often a perceived injustice. It might also happen in reverse, where you return to the past from regret over something you didn't do or say. The time spent worrying about such past events usually results in nothing positive.

The more important question may be not "why is someone dwelling in the past?" but "why are they disengaging with the present?" Gregory believes, "This opens the possibility that people dwell on the past because they find something in the present fulfilling, uncomfortable or confusing and an earlier time somehow holds the comfort or clarity they're searching for." For example, if you continually recount old adventures, you could see your present life as lacking excitement or freedom. You may also return to a time when you enjoyed a greater degree of success, respect or belonging in order to re-affirm your identity or restore your self-esteem.

Reliving the past, you can also return to a time when you enjoyed a greater degree of success, respect or belonging in order to re-affirm your identity or restore your self-esteem. Regret can preserve your belief that a happier or more successful state of affairs (than you face today) was at least possible - the past offers a defense mechanism for past events that have left you feeling disadvantaged in some way.

Then, Where Lies Happiness?

Several years ago, James Montier, a “global equity strategist”, took a break from investing in order to publish a brief overview of existing research into the psychology of happiness. (The Psychology of Happiness, www.trendfollowing.com, June 17 2004) Montier learned that happiness comprises three components:

• About 50% of individual happiness comes from a genetic set point. That is, we’re each predisposed to a certain level of happiness. Some of us are just naturally more inclined to be cheery than others.
• About 10% of our happiness is due to our circumstances. Our age, race, gender, personal history, and, yes, wealth, only make up about one-tenth of our happiness.
• The remaining 40% of an individual’s happiness seems to be derived from intentional activity, from “discrete actions or practices that people can choose to do."

If you have no control over our genetic “happy point," and if you have little control over your circumstances, then it makes sense to focus on those things that you can do to make you happy. According to Montier's paper, these activities include sex, exercise, sleep, and close relationships.

Dependently Independent

My belief in numbers dwindles as my confidence in a dedicated few increases, further defending my belief that a lack of mass dependence creates new-found individual independence in the most dire situations. In this stubborn, "stick to my own comfort zone" society, the needy individual is often suspended in the middle of mass indifference so great that others around him have grown accustomed to replying "Good luck with that" to any ill outside the zone. Over and over again, I observe people who identify and realize these problems while they willingly think in line but immediately halt the line at a call to action.

As wonderful as empathy and sympathy may be, they pale to productive action. I notice people are more than ready to throw their emotions and verbal support into a good effort and expect their voice of agreement to bring needed change. What is lacking is their supporting hands. They have grown accustomed to believing that petitions and speeches and well-chosen phrases get work done. Hands do work.

Meanwhile, great numbers of wrongdoers work every angle finding active means to thwart the vocal but "do nothing" people and their good intentions. Criminals are creative and dedicated to their work. They often extend their activities to incredible heights out of need. Unlike many apathetic good folk, the bad people do understand that their frequent and repeated actions can produce results that completely stifle the opposition.

Today, criminals and crooks are constantly busy in many successful enterprises that could be stopped by citizens who banded together to not only "outthink" but also "outdo" their real enemies. But, most people troubled by crime are content to repeat "Go luck with that." What are the victims really saying? They are saying, "Face your bad fate on your own. You don't have a chance."

Think of it. At one time in our brief history as a nation, people realized the necessity of banding together in mass and finding creative, unique ways to overcome harmful circumstances. The people simply "had to" to survive and to overcome those who would use their advantage for bad purposes. With that necessary dependence, our ancestors found responsibility in response and success in initiation of group interaction. Now, the Blame Game has become so convenient that personal responsibility has taken second seat to finger pointing and hiding behind hot air.

Nothing...NOTHING knits the fabric of society better than mutual work and direct action. I have witnessed unbelievable feats accomplished by those working toward a common cause. United positive energy must move, not merely sit and idle. The shift into movement makes not some, but ALL the difference. So many people expect too few individuals to do the work that requires many to accomplish. Not all must contribute with the same talents but all must recognize and provide the potential work that they can accomplish with their individual talents. Combined with honest commitment, this expended work results in a powerful mass movement.

I, for one, get very discouraged about the comfortable feelings of some as long as a scourge of absolute destruction spreads out of control. Matters for the common good become political. Matters for the common good become negotiable. Matters for the common good become controlled by private interests and big business. But, I believe evil is definable and largely recognizable. Attempts by those to disguise evil as something remotely good are simply greedy deceptions. Matters for the common good must be held in proper esteem above attempts of lobbyists who would use words and money to twist their proper form.

So, my hope lies in increasing the energy of a few until the masses help work to place the machine of righteousness into the gear of great movement. Then, people will realize their true sense of independence, their power of interaction, and their ability to produce needed change. If it were possible to think away threats, people would never feel threatened. Unfortunately, thoughts left to the actions of fate and the work of a few are totally unpredictable. In this case, the only changes that will definitely occur will occur within the minds of those who choose action. So, wish them luck if the sidelines is your zone of comfort. Wouldn't it be much more rewarding to step onto the field and to participate? Positions are certainly open.  

The Real Me

You know, we all spend so much of our time trying to be completely understood. In the end, this process proves almost futile considering the result. We pretty much feel like cave people communicating our essential thoughts to others with a series of grunts and random minimalistic mutterings. Try counting how many people you know who really understand you and your reasoning through thick and thin. Try as you may, you usually count just a few people as those who share your precious feelings.

We naturally encounter impediments to good communication. We must take all the impediments to this process into consideration as we attempt to be understood. The following questions represent important considerations for communicating. (V. Saxena, "Communicating Effectively: Five Impediments to Communication," www.associatedcontent.com, October 8 2008)

1. Are we speaking the same language as our recipient or is the language itself unfamiliar?

2. Does bad timing on the recipient's part keep our message from being heard?  

3. Does the recipient of the subject matter have a bad attitude toward us?  


4. Does a relationship exists between us and the recipient that may inhibit communication? 


5. Do differences in people such as age, experiences, gender, intelligence, race, and religion affect how our message is received?

We could go on and on about problems and barriers to effective communication; however, we seldom encounter a perfect environment with perfect conditions and perfect conversational participants. These ideal conditions just seldom happen, and today, with bits and pieces of information replacing longer content, we tend to over-condense the material and tune out the message. My point is that, try as we might, people seem less willing to find common ground on issues and beliefs of disagreement.

Today, we are quick to provide slanted views and one-sided considerations. Our noble goal of knowing the honest interests and makeup of others has fallen below our selfish goal to keep a safe perch above others we know. Intimidation, fear of exposing faults, and outright partisan behavior have all played parts in the breakdown. The buddies on our old playgrounds of grade school with whom we scratched and clawed nearly every day until we perfected wonderful and respectful relationships through mutual experience, have grown old and moved away. We are left to our own devices for acquiring those who eventually understand us.

I must tell you that most people will not understand the real you. You can condense yourself to billboards, to articles, to Facebook, to books, to ad campaigns, to press releases, to public soapboxes. You are just muddying the waters in which you swim. The human spirit and particular understandings you possess are unique and defy the greatest efforts of communication. That is not to say "a real you" doesn't exist, and it certainly doesn't mean you should stop communicating its existence. But, maybe it does suggest that we shouldn't spend so much time trying to convey our product to others and just live our lives.

One Or the Other

When I growl, one thinks a bear,
The other an empty stomach.

If I shed a tear, one thinks sad rain,
The other despises a weakling.

As I sit quiet, one is certain I am hickory,
The other assumes I clear my mind. 

When I speak out, one observes rash barking,
The other longs to fire my words like a rifle.

After I fall and fail, one thinks "stupid clown."
The other brings words of healing.

My self-portrayal knows no bounds
As it forms in the minds of one or the other.

Monitoring and Courts

What can help the epidemic of drug abuse in Appalachia? Much research is being conducted and many professionals are uniting to help curb the deadly problem. In fact, Appalachia is dealing with addiction, death, and related criminal activity on many fronts. The Appalachian states are facing drug addiction head-on. The solutions to such horrific destruction always depends upon good education and intelligence; however, when in the midst of a storm, people expect action and results immediately. Here are some things to consider.

Drug Courts

Drug courts are one way states are trying to decrease prescription drug misuse and the unintentional deaths associated with it. According to the National Drug Court Institute, researchers find drug courts a solution that works with nonviolent offenders. The institute found drug courts to “work better than jail or prison, better than probation and better than treatment alone. Drug courts significantly reduce drug abuse and crime and do so at less expense than any other justice strategy.”

The Department of Justice has funded drug courts since 1995, and courts are operating in all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than 70 tribal locations. Federal funding for developing state drug courts has historically attracted state and local funding at seven times the federal investment, once the drug courts started to realize savings.

Although up-front costs for drug courts were generally higher than for probation, drug courts were found to be more cost-effective in the long run because they avoided law enforcement efforts, judicial case-processing and victimization resulting from future criminal activity.

Drug courts exist in fewer than half of U.S. counties and only serve a fraction of the drug offenders who could benefit from the services, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

In his experience, Judge Lewis Nicholls, a retired Kentucky senior judge, found 80 percent of defendants in the
criminal justice system were addicted or drug dependent, and two-thirds of them were taking prescription medication. He credits the combined supervision and drug treatment available through the state drug court program to reducing the drug court recidivism rates to 20 percent compared to 57 percent among those who received prison and parole. “Drug courts work exceptionally well for clients whose crimes are motivated by an addiction to prescription drugs,” Nicholls said.

1. A recent study of nine adult drug courts in California reported that re-arrest rates over a 4-year period were 29% for drug court clients (and only 17% for drug court graduates) as compared to 41% for similar drug offenders who did not participate in drug court.  

Carey, S. M., Finigan, M., Crumpton, D., & Waller, M. (2006). California drug courts: Outcomes, costs and promising practices: An overview of phase II in a statewide study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, SARC Supplement 3

2. A recent long-term evaluation of the Multnomah County (Portland, OR) Drug Court found that crime was reduced by 30% over 5 years and effects on crime were still detectable an astounding 14 years from the time of arrest.

Finigan, M., Carey, S. M., & Cox, A. (2007, April). The impact of a mature drug court over 10 years of operation: Recidivism and costs. Portland, OR: NPC Research, Inc.


3. Another economic analysis in California concluded that drug courts cost an average of about $3,000 per client, but save an average of $11,000 per client over the long term. 

Carey, S. M., Finigan, M., Crumpton, D., & Waller, M. (2006). California drug courts: Outcomes, costs and promising practices: An overview of phase II in a statewide study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, SARC Supplement 3.

 

Controlling Misuse and Abuse

As of November 2008, 32 states had monitoring programs for prescriptions filled within their borders. Since
2002, the Department of Justice’s Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring has supported program development, and the number of states operating programs has more than doubled—from 14 to 32.
But the programs are costly: The Department of Justice estimates it costs $350,000 to start a state prescription drug
monitoring program, and the states operate the programs with annual budgets ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.

All prescription drug monitoring programs are designed to protect patient privacy and specify who has access to the
information. Physicians and pharmacists are educated on how they can request information from the program to better manage a patient’s drug regimen, refer patients for addiction treatment and reduce the availability of drugs for overuse.

Law enforcement officials can request prescription information when gathering evidence of prescription drug diversion, enabling them to act more efficiently and quickly by identifying the pharmacies where prescriptions were filled.

States estimate prescription programs can save at least 80 percent of the time spent on investigations because officers don’t have to investigate every pharmacy where prescriptions may have been filled. A 2006 study by Simone Associates also found that monitoring programs reduce the per capita supply of prescription pain medications in a state.

1. States are also working together to strengthen efforts to prevent diversion of prescription drugs. Prescription drug diversion is "the illegal removal of a prescription drug anywhere along its path from the manufacturer to the patient," said John Burke, president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

2. Some state public health agencies, such as Massachusetts, exchange bulk prescription data— without patient identifiers— with neighboring states to determine how many people are crossing state lines to fill prescriptions. The results are used to educate in-state physicians on these trends.

3. State prescription programs are also working together to evaluate program costs and benefits by developing performance standards and monitoring expected outcomes.


4. In regard to doctor shopping, even with the advances in prescription tracking programs, only a few states are working to develop a system to share information among states.

Information sharing could be important, especially when it comes to doctor shoppers—those patients who shop for prescriptions from multiple doctors, often in bordering states where no prescription program exists, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Danna Droz, administrator for the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy’s prescription drug monitoring program believes out-of-state information is vital to a complete picture of controlled drug use or misuse in a particular community or state. Droz reviewed prescription data from six states—Virginia, New York, California, Ohio, Kentucky and Nevada—and found up to 15 percent of prescriptions in each state are written by out-of-state prescribers and up to 7 percent of patients are from out of state.

“As prescription drug abuse continues to expand, pharmacists and prescribers have a greater need to monitor the prescriptions that their patients receive,” said Droz. She said medical professionals can sign up for multiple state prescription drug monitoring programs to obtain prescription history information, but it is an inefficient and time-consuming process.

“A much better approach would be to create a system where a prescriber or pharmacist could make one requestto access prescription data from more than one (prescription monitoring program),” Droz said. The Kentucky legislature authorized sharing prescription monitoring information with other states in 2005, and Kentucky
and Ohio plan to begin sharing information this year. Working with the Department of Justice-funded Integrated
Justice Information Systems Institute to develop the technological solution, the two state systems expect to exchange test data by early this year.

The pilot project uses a secure hub server that communicates only with state prescription management program databases. The monitoring programs encrypt all prescription data for privacy reasons when it is passed through the secure hub. For example, an Ohio physician who wants information on his patient’s prescriptions filled in Kentucky makes the request to the Ohio program. The Ohio program then encrypts the request and passes it through the secure hub to Kentucky. The Kentucky program would open the request and send an encrypted response back through the hub to Ohio. The Ohio program then opens the response and transmits it to the requesting Ohio physician.

Dave Hopkins manages the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services prescription drug monitoring program
known as KASPER and is vice-chair of the Department of Justice steering committee of eight states and six technology vendors working on sharing prescription data between states.

Hopkins said the Kentucky program has worked to develop standards, agreements and software to enable data sharing with other state drug monitoring program since early 2008. Kentucky expects to be able to share data with Ohio and one other state this year. “We have had strong direction from the state legislature and Secretary Janie
Miller to implement this system and by late 2009 we expect to be able to share data to support patient treatment by health care providers and to expedite our investigation of Kentucky residents involvedin illicit prescription drug use across our borders,” Hopkins said.

But sharing this kind of information also comes at a cost. The Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute estimates it could cost from $100,000 to $200,000 for state prescription monitoring systems to participate in this kind of hub-based datasharing among states, depending on the existing capabilities of the state system.

http://www.healthystates.csg.org/NR/rdonlyres/3F157E26-8562-4F09-BD45-DFC39D17A918/0/AccidentalOverdoseSNFEB092.pdf

http://www.ndci.org/research

The Future

Future Dreams 

As the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,
Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better
By using nonviolence, the weapon of the strong.

Their strength does not come from physical capacity but from indomitable will
And action, which may not always bring success, but must taken to achieve a taste
Of happiness in this world of imperfection. 


The weak become stronger after they find failure is assured by trying to please everyone,
So they must proceed to move ahead and accept their errors as true portals of discovery, 
Heaven-born things that fly to their native seat. 

To be and to be accepted as unique means unreasonable people must fight the rigid globe
With imagination more important than knowledge and never take their eyes off the goal
Of living a life they examine to the fullest.


Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion and considerable struggle,
And the most wise remember that all great successes and failures are never final.
The journey is the just reward.


 By Frank R. Thompson

Thanks to George Bernard Shaw, Roger Babson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Georg Hegel, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, James Joyce, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bill Cosby, Benjamin Disraeli, Chinese Proverbs.

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." --Elizabeth Kubler Ross

 

A Looking Glass

Sometimes I wonder what people are trying to see as they look into a mirror. A mirror is defined as "a surface capable of reflecting sufficient undiffused light to form an image of an object placed in front of it." It has no reflective quality without either artificial or natural light. In the dark, a mirror is quite useless. To some, the gaze is anything but pleasing.

A mirror can become an object of important self expression  -- a tool used to help enhance one's image or a device used to explore one's self adoration. Poll after poll, even in this age of beauty worship and stunning perfection, will report that the personality is the most vital part of the human. Still, in truth, beauty seems to drive the portrayal of most successful relationships. Conceit certainly seems common in the beautiful world. "The beautiful people" reportedly receive most advantages and attention, even at a cost to those less physically gifted. What is reflection and how much attention should people give to its relative properties?

The classic myth of reflection is credited to the Greek writer Ovid, found in book 3 of his Metamorphoses (completed 8 AD). Here is the basic story of the myth of Narcissus.

Liriope, a blue Nymph, had become encircled by the river god Cephisus with the windings of his streams, and thus trapping her, had seduced the Nymph, who gave birth to an exceptionally beautiful boy named Narcissus. Liriope, concerned about the welfare of such a beautiful child, consulted the prophet Tiresias regarding her son's future. Tiresias told Liriope that Narcissus would live to a ripe old age, "if he didn't come to know himself."

In the tale, Narcissus became a noted hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia, who was renowned for his beauty and his self conceit. As a young man, in his sixteenth year, this exceptional pride caused him to hate all of those who attempted to love him as a suitor although everyone wanted his affection. He stubbornly spurned them all.

Echo, a nymph, still fell in love with the vain youth Narcissus. One day while Narcissus was hunting deer in the woods, the smitten Echo built up her courage, called out, showed herself, and rushed to embrace the lovely youth. He pulled away from the nymph and vainly told her to leave him alone.

Thus, Narcissus left Echo heartbroken and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the love she never knew, until only her voice remained. It was told that not even her bones remained, having been turned into stone, and that her voice remained but was made utterly brief (an echo) by the anger of Hera (the Queen of Heaven who walked in golden sandals, and always remained a virgin, for she recovered her maidenhood every year by bathing in a spring called Canathus in Argolis - quite a revengeful queen who blamed talkative Echo for creating ruses to let other nymphs dally with her husband, Zeus). 
  
But before her death, Echo prayed to the goddess of love, Venus, to take revenge on Narcissus for rejecting her so. Venus heard this prayer and sent Narcissus his punishment.

As divine punishment he was made to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool, not realizing it was merely an image.

Narcissus brought his lips near to take a kiss from the water; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. He could not tear himself away; he lost all thought of food or rest, while he hovered over the brink of the fountain gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit: "Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me."

And, he wasted away to death from starvation or excessive self-love, not being able to leave the beauty of his own image.

As he died, the bodiless Echo came upon him and felt sorrow and pity. But when they prepared his funeral pyre, they could not find his body. Instead they found the narcissus flower that today bears his name. His soul was sent to "the darkest hell." It is said that Narcissus still keeps gazing on his image in the waters of the river Styx in the underworld.

It seems the words of the profit came true - Narcissus didn't come to know himself. His insistent love for his own reflection, a false image of a person, sealed his fate. The myth speaks of the terrible importance humans place on self-love and ego. And, it sadly describes the search for perfection, a state of unattainable degree. Perhaps the only remnant of a true love for flawlessness is a brief echo in a wise life.  


"What you seek is nowhere; but turn yourself away, and the object of your love will be no more. That which you behold is but the shadow of a reflected form and has no substance of its own. With you it comes, with you it stays, and it will go with you ..." (Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.433).