As a child I would often wonder with my limited view of the world, why bad things seemed to happen to really good people. My mom would often respond with the famous phrase “God works in mysterious ways” and then she would go about her business like nothing happened. This actually worked for me until I got older and learned to identify that as the biggest excuse ever for not saying “I don’t know, it seems kind of fucked up doesn’t it?” I mean it would make perfect sense that if there was a God, then he’d step in like a giant super hero and save us all. Organized religions have capitalized on this though, so if bad things are happening to you, it must mean you’re a sinner and have angered God. In some faiths, bad things happen to you because you did something bad to someone else and so you’re paying back spiritual debt or as it’s commonly referred to, karma. But what if God has nothing to do it and there’s a reason why these things happen… what if it’s you?
Read more “Perhaps God Doesn’t Work In Mysterious Ways”Year: 2018
Your Book of Gratitude
There are many days when life just seems too much to bare, when everything seems like it’s working against you and you’re barely making it. It’s during these trying times when observing the things in your life that are actually working is most important. You might be thinking “nothing is working right in my life right now, that’s exactly the problem!” However truth be told, if you’re reading this then your eye sight is still functioning and you have access to an electronic device, whether it be a computer or hand held, and that’s something that’s working. Turns out, if you take the time to take inventory all the good things, however small, you’ll discover there’s much to be thankful for. And that’s what’s called “A Book of Gratitude.”
Like many things on my spiritual journey, I didn’t realize a book of gratitude was actually a thing until I started to make one. I called it my “book of light” and it was a way of cheering myself up when things in my life weren’t going so great. It gave me permission to express my wishes and desires, but also provided a place to document everything that was actually going great for me. I sat by myself and really thought hard about everything… the smallest detail…that was “working.” I could see, hear, taste and touch, I could feel emotion, I had some food in the fridge, I had some way cool gel pens, I slept on a pillow last night, I had shelter… I wasn’t going to pass up anything. I figured it was more than fair since when we’re upset about things, we tend to make mountains out of molehills. So I did the same, but in the opposite direction and this was actually real… and tangible.
Read more “Your Book of Gratitude”Invalidating Affection
Cooking for someone is probably one of the most spritual and fundamental things you can do in a relationship. That warm and fuzzy feeling you get when enjoying a meal together prepared at home probably has some serious anthropological roots. Thousands of years ago ,when we existed as hunters and gatherers, we brought back our kill to the family or tribe and took pleasure in the consumption of an animal which would sustain us nutritionally and even possibly clothe us. Every part of the animal was utilized for our sustained existence and so it’s no wonder that sharing a meal with someone you care for, references some pretty ancient behaviors and feels pretty darn good.
Read more “Invalidating Affection”Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong
Astrology is the practice of observing the movements and positions of celestial bodies and making predictions based on this information. For example, a new king will be born and a new era will begin when this star appears in the East. Sound familiar? Heaven forbid you actually practice the very art form that foretold the coming of Christ. They just needed astrologers for the story and then they were all stoned to death I’m sure.
The level of hypocrisy I’m seeing with organized religion is astounding and it’s only getting worse. Common decency and morals are thrown out the window when convenient, sexual predators are adored with a cult like following and serious crimes are dealt with internally and not referred to law enforcement.
Within its own construct, religion itself can’t even come to a conclusion. There are over 800 versions of the Christian bible in English alone! Does anyone remember the violence and discrimination in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants? Seriously? Their small differences in beliefs, although for the same God, were enough to justify murder. Once again, all morals go out the window when it’s convenient.
Read more “Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong”You Either Have Freedom, Or You Don’t.
Last weekend I made myself a really nice grass fed steak dinner and then sat down with a bottle of wine to watch a movie. I would normally do this with my partner Eric, but since he was working on Saturday I resorted back to a ritual coined in HBO’s Sex and The City as “secret single behavior.” This is a practice you perform over and over again when no one is around, and cooking myself a really nice dinner is one of those things I love doing… even when alone. I was really in the mood for the something British, as I often am, and while scrolling through NetFlix I discovered a film called “The Duchess.” Starring Keira Knightly, this movie chronicles the marriage of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, to her husband William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire. Early in the film, the Duchess states during a dinner party “One is either free or one is not, the concept of freedom is an absolute.” This in response to a statement made by one of the Duke’s guests. It got me thinking… and it’s still working its magic on me days later.
Read more “You Either Have Freedom, Or You Don’t.”The Lesson iPhones Teach Us
If you find yourself with nothing to do one day, take a little fiber optic field to trip over to ebay and do a search for Commodore 64 computers. Some of you might not even know what a Commodore is, because by the time you were able to suck your thumb, they were stashed away in your family’s garage or attic, like some heirloom, sharing space with wedding dresses and photo albums. It’s also quite possible that your parents don’t even know what a Commodore 64 is, since it’s been 35 years when they first appeared on store shelves, being one of the first affordable home computers of their time at around $600. The 64 doesn’t stand for bit or gigs by the way, it stands for kilobyte. To put that in perspective for all the Glee kids out there, it would take over 120 of them to have enough RAM to store an average song from iTunes, or 256,000 of them to have the same memory as a pathetic 16GB iPhone. Like OMG WTF? Like, who buys a 16GB iPhone anymore, like whatever. Yet the most interesting fact about these 35 year old machines with lots of moving buttons and springs on their keyboards, is they still work as good as the day your family brought one home. Which is why you can still buy one and they’re pretty popular as collectibles.
Around the end of the millennia (holy fuck I’m old), I was attending a training class in Melbourne, a racist part of Florida otherwise known as the Space Coast, for a new content management solution we were deploying at work. During my initial visit I learned that many people there were connected with the aerospace industry in some way or another, which made perfect sense considering their proximity to Kennedy Space Center. After all, that’s where most of the Space Shuttle missions were launched. I also learned that Taco Bell in Melbourne closed at 9 PM on a Saturday night and that yes, I do look Latino, so much so that the very smiley and very nice lady at the Deli counter in Winn-Dixie stopped being so nice when she turned and looked at me, angrily asking “can I help you?” When I took my purchases prepared by racist white lady to the young cashier, I was told in a creepy horror movie sort of way “you’re not from around here are you?” Okay so I’m losing myself here… where was I before this took a Stephen King turn… oh yes… I also learned that NASA was buying old IBM PC computers on our friend ebay, because they needed the chips for the fleet of aging Space Shuttles. Yup, they needed spare parts and turns out, computer chips last a pretty darn long time.
Read more “The Lesson iPhones Teach Us”When Mom Gets Old
I’m getting to be that age, you hear it often around the office almost on a weekly basis, someone’s parent is ill or has suddenly passed away. I’m very blessed because my mom is still around, about to have her 81st birthday. My mom isn’t in the best of health, and I often worry about her and how’s she feeling. It’s difficult for her to catch her breath and she’s constantly connected to a variety of oxygen machines, concentrators they call them, and they sustain her life. When she walks out the door, the gentle hum of the machine she’s carrying can be heard underneath her words. She’s a talker like me, that’s where I get it from, and I often have to stop her and say “breathe through your nose” so she can get some O2. You can probably guess I love my mom very much and I don’t know what I’d do without her.
Instant Pot Whatever You Have Geek Stew
The first time I made this delicious and hardy beef stew recipe, I barely had any vegetables on hand. I decided to go for it anyways, inspired by one of my favorite childhood stories Nail Broth. So this recipe will vary slightly depending on what you have. The basics are the same though… kind of like making vanilla ice cream. Using organic veggies increasing the flavor exponentially.
Thanking the cow for its service to you is also and awesome thing to do. 🙂
We Are More Than A Party
When I first realized I was gay I was 17 years old and terrified. Although I was sexually attracted to other men, I was frightened to become a part of the stereotype I saw on television and magazines. Of course times were different and what you saw on television was exactly that, a stereotype. As I began to meet other gay people I realized we were a diverse crowd of Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics and any other ethnic category you could find on a college application. We celebrated our diversity because we needed to, our sites were set on fighting the AIDS epidemic, acceptance and equal rights. I quickly realized the scary images I saw in my youth were no where near the Gays and Lesbians I had come to know.
Good Nutrition Is An Uphill Climb
Each day, consumers are offered more and more ways to make better choices and eat healthier, which will hopefully lead to a longer life with less visits to the doctor. Organic versions of our favorite foods are increasingly popular and available, even foods that you didn’t even think could be organic are showing up on supermarket shelves. While walking through the beautiful pristine isles of Target recently, I spotted an organic version of Capri Sun fruit drink. Yes, the sugar and chemical mix of yesteryear is now organic. But is it any better for you? Healthy labels may sound great, but more choices actually means more research for the person trying to do the right thing. As it’s often noted, food has a story and you should know the characters involved and the journey its made, before it ends up in your stomach.