(3 min read) Today we celebrate the independence of the United States of America Yaaaaaaaaaaaay. To me, this is the land that I chose to immigrate to and hold her Oh so very dear to my heart. I am indeed so very thankful for this beautiful America for it is indeed the land of FREEDOM. Coming here at the age of 21, and I am not knocking it down, I had very little freedom from whence I came from, and that makes me even in more gratitude for my lovely stunning and exquisite America.

For these specific reasons I am ever so keen on her always staying the Land of Freedom.

Freedom is just that; to act, speak or think as one wants and the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice.

But wait, halt, put on the brakes for one second here!!

There are two sides to this definition!!  Isn’t that RIGHT??

If your choice is the same as mine then it is freedom indeed. Hooray!!

What if my choice is the complete opposite of yours??

Is it;

Anarchy or Tyranny?

Order or Dictatorship?

Immoral or Moral?

Prejudice or Fairness?

This is where my people are today!   This is where my America is today!! My heart aches and I am sure as does yours!!!

WHO’s FAULT IS IT!!??

Woah Woah Woah   STOP right there!!  To answer is to BLAME. To blame is to ACCUSE. To accuse is to DENY Freedom of CHOICE to the ‘OTHER’ side. It is to CLAIM; if you do not choose “Like Me”, then you have no right to choose.

To stoke this inferno, to promote this fire, to add to the division is to slander the FREEDOM we’ve been afforded in this beautiful land we call the UNITED States of America.

“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control perseverance, and to perseverance godliness, and to godliness mutual affection, and to mutual affection LOVE.”   The Bible.

It is a long road, a step-by-step directions, but note what comes right before LOVE!!

Mutual Affection!! You cannot just skip it, gloss over it or ignore a step!!!

What is mutual affection??

Is it Freedom of choice!? Is it allowing the ‘other’ side to choose without labeling ‘them’??

Is it to choose opposites yet maintain mutual affection?  Is that what it is??

Is it my freedom should not infringe on your freedom?

Love is not a word to claim, rather an end result. Read the passage again. It is a very long step-by-step path.

Not voyaged through a lifetime! But traveled DAILY! I believe.

It is hard work for a human being to apply this daily! But it is what is necessary so that my Freedom does not infringe on your Freedom. So you can choose and I can choose. So that we will have mutual affection towards each other, REGARDLESS!

So do not stoke division rather build unity for the sake of our
Oh so wonderful United States of America.

Thank you my Lord and my God for this Land. Your word promotes endorses propagates LOVE from beginning to end. You also clearly give a step-by-step road-map of LOVE. You expound on choice. I want to choose love through the road-map You just listed for me. May I always preach that Your ultimate goal is LOVE through mutual affection. I love You and thank You my Creator for this beautiful land we call America and may Your blessings always be with her and beside her. Amen.

(4 min read) There seems to be a loud cry for Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter. The division in our society will automatically place you on one side or the other of this call. We have no middle ground in anything anymore. You probably just thought “There is no middle ground in this matter!!”

What is causing this? “Division” is what is causing it.

If, as a bystander, you hear Nathaniel say to Josh, “Try and see it from Sheryl’s perspective!” You will assume, and God knows every human being assumes, that Nathaniel is a peacemaker between Josh and Sheryl as they are fighting.

If you hear Nathaniel say to Josh, “Try and see it from the cop’s perspective!” The assumption is Nathaniel is against Black Lives Matter and Josh is against cops………

That’s what “DIVISION” sets us to assume of one another. FIGHT IT. The “you’re either with me or against me” is to instill DIVISION. FIGHT IT.

How can there be peacemaking conciliation mediation resolution when there is ZERO room for any of it??

We must create ROOM FOR RECONCILIATION!!

Yes I am asking this; “Forget what the media, the social pressure and in some cases what your spouse is asking you to pick ONE side. Forget about the immense pressure from all around us to pick that ONE side.

Reda!! Are you saying “Do Not Get Involved??”

There is a difference between SUPPORTING a side and PICKING a side. You know the difference!!

Reda!! Are you saying “Do Not Get Involved??”

On the contrary, Get Involved! How? By doing something yourself to solve the issue, to find reconciliation and to ease tensions.

But there is nothing to do but to make my voice heard!!!

My friend, none of us is color blind. When you tell someone that they have beautiful hazel eyes, it is to make them feel special by acknowledging it. Right? Then reach out and tell your closest Black person how beautiful they are! He/she may ask you to listen to the plight. Then listen. To acknowledge is to admit and to admit is the beginning of change.

I believe that both sides agree to this; “Our American Black brothers and sisters are treated differently!! Let’s not make this about; what do you mean differently!?

Let’s not make this about the WHY the treatment is different!! For it leads to nowhere but instill DIVISION.

Let’s see how we, as individuals, can make a difference in improving this situation and eradicating it. That is how to FIGHT DIVISION.

Let’s not argue over which side you stand with, or over the why do you stand with ‘this’ or ‘that’ side!! That is how to FIGHT DIVISION.

A dear pastor once said; “Each of us walk into any situation carrying a bucket of water and a bucket of gasoline. Each of us has to decide for oneself; do I pour water or gasoline on this situation??

It seems to me that both sides believe that GASOLINE is what is needed right now….….
I hope you see this blog as water and not gasoline. If you see it as gasoline, call me and we’ll talk 🙂

The “Get Involved!” is indeed a must, but it seems that we as a society have deemed this ‘Get Involved’ as voicing “MY” opinion! It is like; “there I said it, therefore I’ve done my part.” This does resonate, doesn’t it!?

So if you want to wear that T-shirt, for either side, then great, wear it. This is America after all. Want to join a march? Do it. This is after all the land of the free, the beautiful and shinning America that we ALL love what it stands for.

But do not rest my friend. Talk is talk but what is needed is action

“Get Involved!”

Find that someone close to you, even if you have to travel a bit to find that someone and make a difference in their life. And if no one finds out what you did, so be it 🙂  But do not EVER STOP.

My God and my Creator; You seek me and find me. Over and Over again. No matter how many times I walk away. No matter how many times. You work in me. Oh so many times without anyone knowing what You are doing to help me. Oh my Lord. It is Your actions in my life that makes me believe in You over and over again. Your words are written all around me. Your voice is ever so clear if I am to listen. You never ever stop and say “Aren’t My words enough!?” You get involved in my life and get involved in my life and get involved in my life. O’ Lord how I thank You for getting involved and I will try as hard as I can to follow Your example no matter how many times I may fail, for Your GRACE is Oh so wonderful. Thank You. Amen.

(4.5min read) To kill or not to kill? Seems to be a pretty straightforward, uncomplicated, no wobble, razor sharp, cut and dry kind of question. Doesn’t it? People will be on one side or the other, no in between.

The only choice one has is to be on ‘this’ side of it or ‘that’ side of it.

I promise you, we’ll get back to the ‘ToKillOrNotToKill’. It was June 2018 when my wife and I reached a point of no return. Each considered the other to be completely utterly and outright unbearable, intolerable, and insufferable. It is the truth. The end of this relationship was literally and plainly in sight.

The question we each had to answer to oneself, and please stick with me here. The question we each had to answer to ONESELF is; “Do I believe there is HOPE to salvage this relationship!?”

The question was not; “How do WE salvage this relationship!?”     RATHER;

“Do I believe there is HOPE to salvage this relationship!?” each to oneself.

Do YOU believe there is HOPE to salvage YOUR relationship with the ‘OTHER’ side!?

Do not jump into the HOW if you are still so infuriated with the “’They’ are so evil and there is NO HOPE for ‘THEM’”. I hope you think there is HOPE to salvage.

My wife and I stumbled upon a counseling method that focused on

How can I look at what he/she does                        from her/his perspective

Not to agree, but to understand

WHY?

If she/he finds his/her love and compassion for ‘this’, she/he would understand

The KEY is not accusing ‘him/her’ with

“Aha …..You are NOT following the method”

Rather, a concerted effort by ONESELF to adhere as much as possible to the method.

Pretty simple yet excruciatingly difficult!!!

Do YOU have hope to reconcile with the ‘OTHER’ side??

Here’s an example about the opposing positions on the ‘To Kill or Not to Kill’;

Sally comes asking you for advice. She wants to join the army as she believes it is her duty to protect and serve her country. Sally believes that killing another human being is wrong and unacceptable! The army’s code of conduct is that it is OK to kill another human being in battle. Sally says, “What do I do?”

What do you tell Sally!?

I’ve been presented with a question and there is a ‘me’ need to tell Sally what I believe.

That’s what we do today………… I GOTTA tell them what I believe………….

I believe ‘this’ you believe ‘that’ and then we are in arms against each other!! Me and Sally are either on the same side, or end up fighting as we’ll stand for what we believe in.

Known as DIVISION.

How to bring UNION through this scenario?

Sally dear, your compassion and love for your country is moving you to join the army. Your kindness and gentleness for mankind is moving you to be against killing another human being. It is also the compassion and love of the army for its own country that allows killing in battle. So you have to decide where and how to apply your love and compassion. But please know that both sides are indeed loving and compassionate!

This is HOW you look at the ‘OTHER’ side to understand where THEY are coming from. Not to agree, as you will end up believing that one side is right and the other side wrong.

But you will disagree while understanding the ‘OTHER’.  Known as UNION.

It is OK to disagree but without instilling DISGUST or REPULSION against another. Resist the drive of “They have NO love or compassion”.

So when someone asks you about Capital Punishment, you can see that one side has more compassion towards not taking a life while the other has more compassion towards the life that has been taken. You can still stand for or against Capital Punishment, that won’t change, but no reason to be disgusted repulsed and appalled at the ‘other’ side.

And when someone asks you about abortion, I do not have to tell you what or how, but you stand strongly for or against Abortion, but find the way NOT to be disgusted repulsed and appalled at the ‘other’ side, cause their is compassion there as well.

It is when we see the love and compassion of people, because we all have love and compassion, and not focus totally completely and utterly on how one is applying them, then and only then we can move away from focusing totally completely and utterly on what DIVIDES US and we can show love and compassion to the ‘OTHER’ side amidst the disagreements. They key; both sides have to apply this.

My God and my Lord, oh how You seek for us to Love One Another as in ALL human beings and ALL humanity. Disgusted Repulsed Appalled at one another is a far cry from LOVE. Teach me O’ Lord, better yet, may I be open to Your teaching O’ Lord to find the ways to not be Disgusted Repulsed Appalled at any ‘other’ human being. Thank You my Creator and Maker for never being Disgusted Repulsed or Appalled at me for what I may do or even think. Thank You. Amen.

(2.5 min read) Ethical is following a code of conduct that is deemed to be ‘RIGHT’. By whom? Well, that could be the law of the land, or a group of people that believe for ‘THIS’ whatever ‘THIS’ may be, to be ‘RIGHT’. So believe it or not; ethics can separate one group from another, simply because it is a code of conduct approved accepted condoned sanctioned permitted tolerated by XXX peoples. The YYY peoples would have their own ethical code of conduct that is different contrasting unlike opposite contrary to that of group XXX. Then they face off. Mind you, each group is fully convinced that they are Right Correct Just Truthful Loyal Dependable Upholder Protector. Again, each side is fully convinced of these SAME attributes defining them, but each from their own perspective.

Attributes like Compassionate Loving Giving Sympathetic Concerned Kind Caring Considerate Sensitive Charitable Tender Thoughtful are what each one of us typically uses to evaluate what is moral.

Why are the moral attributes not possible or applicable to describe ethics??? Glad you asked.

There won’t be disagreement on what is considered loving compassionate kind or considerate. Morality is the same in all human being’s eyes.

How we apply morality creates a set of ethics that people go to war over.

Ethical and Moral are ever so close but really represent very different things.

DO NOT CONFUSE THEM OR LUMP THEM TOGETHER. Consciously keep them separate.

Then and only then, the DIVISION created touted hyped glorified by the ethics of each group can find COMMON GROUND in simply asking oneself, “Are my ethics in line with my morals.” It is a hard question.

Neither side, please, do not jump to a fast and furious, “Of course my ethics are in line with my morals!!” I beg you please to remember the attributes listed above to describe express clarify explain how you and I seek to find what is moral, before you answer or decide.

In finding COMMON GROUND we may over time get closer and closer to UNITY. May your moral compass, which some of us term the Holy Spirit, guide you.

My Lord and my God, You are clear in Your word, at least to me, that You are all about the Compassionate Loving Giving Sympathetic Concerned Kind Caring Considerate Sensitive Charitable Tender Thoughtful person You want me to be. And none of these, to me, have a fighting spirit in any sort or shape or form in them. May my attitude reflect the morality that You teach us day in and day out. More importantly, may I and may we use the morals You teach us to examine the code of conduct that I and that we follow and deem ‘Right’. Thank You my Father and my Creator for always forgiving me when I follow what I believe to be true correct and right although it may only be so to me. I love and thank You my God. Amen.

(3.5 min read) Mark and Steve were heavily into a Texas Hold’em poker game. Each player has two cards to themselves and three face up community cards are placed on the table. Bets are placed. A fourth community card is placed; Bets please; Then a final fifth community card; more bets please, then the reveal.

Mark was so very excited as he has two Aces in his hand, and he thought to himself, “Oh man, only if one more Ace gets placed on the table that would give me a very solid hand… Three Aces is just fantastic….”

Mark watched as the first community card was a Deuce, the second was a Jack, and the third was a Nine. Mark was still hoping for an Ace to come, so he placed a bet. The fourth community card was dealt.

AN ACE!!! OH MY GOODNESS……… Mark’s heart was pounding a mile a minute………. Although that was his internal reaction, he calmly kept a Poker face. So thrilled, Mark raised the bets once again.

The fifth community card was dealt…….. wouldn’t you know it…………. ANOTHER ACE………… Can you feel Mark’s elation at that moment!!?

Mark did not raise the bets, not to scare anyone, but Steve did. So Mark matched and raised some. No more bets were placed.

Mark jumped out of his seat to reveal that he had two Aces and with two Aces of the community cards, HE HAD FOUR ACES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The surprise, the shock, the astonishment and the disbelief came when Steve laughed loudly and said;

“What two Aces on the community cards Mark! These are two Deuces an Ace a Nine and a Jack………..!!! And I got two Deuces in my hand……………. So my four Deuces beat your three Aces and the pot is mine!!!”

You, the reader, may think, “It’s Cards for God’s sake!!! Either Mark or Steve are lying!!”

Sure enough Mark and Steve started pointing fingers and making accusations at each other. The crowd around them, friends of either Mark or Steve, started taking sides and a brawl ensued. Mind you, no one went to the table to look or point to the cards. It did not matter what the cards actually are…….

Asinine! Correct?

You, me and the other person are living our lives today in a brawl with the “other” side.

Isn’t it time for you, me and the other person to;

“Refuse to accept the lies!?”

“Look at the events instead of the reporting of the events!?”

“Take the time to FIND OUT instead of listen to “my” friends!?”

“To be courageous to look at the table and the cards instead of be consumed by the brawl!?”

As people chanted “Black Lives Matter”, a passer-by with disagreement and an obscene gesture yelled back “ALL Lives Matter”. As if saying “Black Lives Matter” is to say ‘no other lives matter!!’

If you do not already know that “Black Lives Matter” is to say ‘just like all other lives and not any less!!’ Then what is there to converse about!?

To teach anti-racism is simply to undo the racism that has been taught, and it has.

Let us now break the cycle. It starts with you, with me individually REFUSING TO ACCEPT THE LIES.

DIVISION BREEDS THINGS SUCH AS RACISM and much more.

UNITY IS THE ONLY WEAPON AGAINST DIVISION.

How to bring UNITY?

Look at the cards spend the time to look at the facts. A fact is a fact is a fact.

Opinions are great, but not about facts. No such thing as an alternate fact.

Resist joining the brawl, it leads to nothing but to DIVISION. When you hear, see or witness someone adding words for division, STAND UP to whoever is fueling it. Peacefully call it out, for silence fuels Division as well.

Find out what is a Deuce and what is an Ace. For Your Self.

My Lord and my Creator; You want me to be fair and You want me to be unbiased, You want me to be impartial and You want me to be undiscriminating. You want me to put in the work to find out the facts in order to be these adjectives; fair, unbiased, impartial, undiscriminating. May I indeed put in the work to figure out what is what, especially in the world today that bombards me with OPPOSITE INFORMATION yet each claiming the other to be ‘fake news’. I need you my God, I need you my Lord to help me dig through and find out the fact from the fiction. I love and I thank you my Creator. Amen.

(a 4 minute read) As a nurse serving patients in a CoVid-19 ward did a tour of 4 weeks. I am so very excited to go home to see my seven year old son. I missed his embrace, as he’s the kind that holds onto you, as if it is for dear life. Oh how good it feels when he does that. Then, at that moment I remembered……….. I have to isolate for fourteen more days before I can touch him, hold him, kiss him, embrace him. Now that’s gonna suck more, a thousand times more than the four week tour. Just sitting there waiting doing nothing, counting the hours and the days. Do you, yes you the reader, feel me? Should I quarantine, self-isolate, separate myself from my beloved son???

My daughter came to me to announce that she’s joining the army at the height of the Afghanistan war. She further explained that she is so excited that her battalion will be serving on the front-line once deployed. I am of course excited for her excitement. I am so very proud of her that she is serving the country that I adore. But what is happening on the inside of me as a father……….!? Is there fear for her safety? Am I aching for her well-being? Would I even rather, as a father, that my daughter ain’t the one going? Do you, yes you the reader, feel me? Should I try and talk her out of it???

I imagine that your response is; Of course the nurse should self-isolate! Why? Dah, it’s the safety of her son that matters!! As for the father; Of course do not talk the daughter out of joining the army!! Why? Because it ain’t about you dad, it’s about your daughter and what she wants to do to serve her country!!

If these are indeed your gut reactions to these scenarios, then why is there such an angry sentiment out there around this shelter in place stuff going around!!?? Don’t get me wrong;

Does it suck                                         Not just suck, it bites a BIG one

Is it making me go crazy                                Not just crazy, but how about insane

Is it causing my business to suffer            Not only suffer, but go bankrupt

But we are not only at war, we are at war with an invisible something. Can’t shoot it, can’t build a barrier to block it, can’t even see it to protect myself against it………………. What’s offered as a solution?? The only weapon I’ve been provided is;

Shelter in place                 WHY?                    For the sake of others.

For the sake of my son I have to quarantine myself

For the sake of my daughter I won’t try and talk her out of it

For at peace I should not come first but more importantly

                AT WAR;  I CANNOT COME FIRST

Remember, the WORLD IS AT WAR TOGETHER. The shelter in place is not an American invention, it is a worldwide action taken to minimize, at best, the impact of this CoVid-19 pandemic. Look at the world around us……………… it is a for real thing.

At war, our daughters, sons, brothers and sisters go out ‘there’ and defend us. If we are invaded, we ‘here’ have to form a resistance together and fight. Why? So we can someday overcome the invasion.

So when you hear words, stances, positions and sides; when you hear “them” and “us” during this invasion, think of this;

Is it the great inconveniences I am suffering right now? That matter most??

Or uniting to form a resistance against this, this worldwide invader………… If this sounds like a line from a movie, ask yourself, is what we see on the screens of worldwide EMPTY streets not like a movie!!?

It ain’t a movie, it is our reality.

Let’s unite and care for one another as we go out there and reopen.

My Lord and my Creator let me not put “me” first. That is after all what You have commanded. Let me, no matter what is happening to me, remind myself that I am serving another that may die from this virus. Not sure whom that person is, which makes it so much harder, but may I remind myself Lord that I am serving You my God first and foremost by my actions. Grant me patience and understanding so I bare no ill-will or anger blaming “him” or “her” for the great inconveniences that are happening. It is just simply happening and no man has found a weapon to defeat it, YET. I love and I thank You my Lord.

(2.5 minute read) If someone asks me; “Are you faithful to your wife?” My answer will be fully animated, with eyebrows raised, neck leaning backwards, the hairs on my arms standing, eyes wide open and my voice screechy and loud with an emphatic; “Of course!!”

But did I stop for a second before I answer to think what “faithful” is!? Nope. It is an automatic response. I do not cheat on my wife, therefore I am faithful.

Where else do we typically hear that word; “faithful”??

“God is always faithful”            “God will be faithful”

What do we mean by these statements?      What does faithful mean?

Without a frame of reference it is left for personal interpretation!!

Well, in my opinion, most references today, especially at this time of CoVid-19, we tend to use this phrase to indicate that the Lord, being faithful to us, will keep us safe, protected, secure, and on and on. There is nothing wrong with these feelings, but we should not attribute these hopes as God’s faithfulness.

Think about it for a second. Me wanting to be favored, me wanting to be treated as being special, preferred, chosen, elected…… etc.; is that me being spoiled? Desiring Special Treatment, no, no, almost deserving Special Treatment………. Sorry, but that does not sound like my Lord and my Creator. It’s almost me wanting God to behave with nepotism; Wanting the Savior to discriminate against those that are not in-the-click. The Lord is none of these things.

No, I am not saying God is not faithful. Of Course the Lord is faithful. It is our idea, definition, impression, perception of “faithful” that throws us off.

Back to my wife for a second; When I stood in front of her at our wedding and recited those vows, what did I say, what did I imply, what did I promise??

No matter what, through thick or thin, poor or rich, healthy or sick,

I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS

That is it. Plain and Simple. We are the bride of Christ. The Lord has promised over and over and says

I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS

Somehow we find writings and sayings that make us feel that the Lord is For-Me. But you know the Lord. You know God’s nature. To be For-You, then the Lord has to be Against-Someone else……

Is this the Lord that I worship? A God that I am actually hoping would be Against-Someone else!?

My Creator and my Lord. Oh how i should be thankful that You not only promise, but that You are ALWAYS with me. ALWAYS. May my thanks be continuous for Your presence. May i never wish, hope or expect that Your presence would be like holding a magic wand. i love and i thank You my Creator. Amen.

(a 2.5 minute read) Today is mother’s day in the USA and it dawned on me that the account of God creating Eve is a bit strange. The account sounds like God created Adam, placed him in the Garden. Even commands Adam not to eat from the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Then God brings all the animals to Adam to name, but no suitable helper was found for Adam. Still no Eve!

The Bible does not say the following, but to me, and maybe it is just me, that the creation of Eve was like an ‘after thought’, God even creates Eve from a rib from Adam…….. Hold on, Hold on, before you get all bent out of shape at me, be honest, did this thought ever enter your mind?

If it did, EXPEL it. You and I know that God’s plan has no AFTER THOUGHTS about it. The Lord is ALL knowing and ALL encompassing. Then the question that needs to be asked is; “Why does the account make it seem that way? Like Eve was an after-thought that is!?”

The only answer, to me, is that God wanted Adam to VALUE Eve in ways unimaginable. The proof; “Love your wives just as Christ loved the Church!” Christ DIED for the Church. What in this account would make Adam value Eve in ways unimaginable??

Imagine you are given everything a person can think of……………. That’s what Adam had. A beautiful Garden. All the animals with dominion over them. Imagine yourself on an island though all by yourself with everything around you any person can have. But remember, you are ALONE. How are you feeling right now?? You are thirsty for company, Hungry for a conversation, Aching for a touch, Hurting for a hug…….. You feeling it??

Then God present a COMPANION, EVE. How is Adam feeling right now??? You see!! That’s why, I think, the account is presented as it is 🙂

The proof again; “Love your wives as Christ has loved the Church!” Christ DIED for the Church. That’s how we ALL should VALUE any Eve out there. Celebrate every Eve out there. A dear pastor that Sheppard me, on Mother’s day, would say; “If you have a mother stand up. Happy Mother’s day.” Who does not have a mother, RIGHT!? So, whether you are an Eve that is a mother or have a mother, we celebrate you today.

My God and my LORD, I ask that I remember why Your account of the creation of Eve is as such. NEVER to make her second, or in any way less than Adam. On the contrary, and the complete opposite. You have this account as such so that I, that we, ALL VALUE any EVE out there in ways unimaginable. Thank You my Lord for ALL the Eves you continue to CREATE. Amen.

(a 2.5 minute read) So I read this article about a study on the use of Zoom video conferencing and the human psyche. It is all good and nothing against its use, before you go “Now WHAT!” 😀

I will vouch for the results as it is true to me and the 4 people I asked 😀  So the study indicated that almost everyone using Zoom, spends quite a bit of time looking at themselves. As humans, since we can see ourselves, each one is evaluating even if it is subconsciously, how am I behaving? What are my facial expressions? How does my hair look? And so on. This constant self-monitoring is actually at ZERO in a Human to Human conversation……. as we are unable to see ourselves.

The study expresses that this self-monitoring is distracting one from focusing on the other Human(s) in the conversation, as we naturally would do in an in-person encounter (not on video). Of course this applies to any Video App you happen to be using.

So here’s a suggested solution, if you would choose to remove self from focusing on me, and choose to focus on the other Human(s) in the conversation……. Drum roll pleaaaaaaase  😀

Use a sticky note, cut to size, see picture with this post, and cover “your selfie” portion on your screen. The other person will never know you did that, as they cannot see your screen. Note to self; when I hate having that sticky note covering ME, fight like hell not to remove it. FIGHT….. FIGHT, cause its gonna come….. FIGHT and DO NOT GIVE UP………… Get YOURSELF out of the PICTURE…. Pun intended.

Put your mind to rest from self-monitoring and focusing on YOU. Rather put 100% of your attention on the one you are talking with. Again, Get ‘ME’ out of the Picture.

Proverbs talks much about how we ought to behave. Why? So we are focusing on our brethren, not on oneself, and in doing so, putting a SMILE on our Creator’s Face 🙂  The funny part is, Proverbs, I believe, says that the way to accomplish the taking the focus away from me, is through self-monitoring our actions. So the self-monitoring is a must, but the “Of What!” is the KEY.

My Creator and my Maker, the hardest task ever presented to me is to self-monitor my actions to see if they are Pleasing to You, the hardest my Father. May I be able, as much as possible, to apply what I’ve learned about a Video Call, but to apply it on taking the focus off of myself and place it onto OTHERS, for I know that it will bring a Smile to Your face every time it is successful. Thank You. Amen

(a 2 minute read) “No, no, you cannot assume good will. You’re opening yourself up to get hurt, and probably hurt bad!” Granted that this is indeed the case, the question is; do all teachings, point us to assume good will!?   Do they!?

“We got you there Reda! Have you not read the warnings about people out there!? Or protecting yourself from what others can do to you!?”

How jaded, cynical, skeptical, suspicious and distrustful have we become??

How much is written in any book religious or not about
being jaded wears you out!
being cynical immerses you in worry!
being skeptical overwhelms you with stress!
being suspicious engulfs you with fear!
being distrustful feeds your anxiety!

You know real well that all faiths religious or not, WARN you about
worry / stress / fear / anxiety

So as intended, the choice is always mine;

Do I heed the warnings about others that may or may not cause harm to me!!??
(less than a 50-50 chance, by far if you ask me)

Or do I heed the warnings that are guaranteed (100%) to cause me
anxiety, stress, worry and fear to name a few!!??

Do I follow how our world’s culture, traditions, viewpoint
and attitude is dragging me along with it??

I think you agree that this indeed is the way of the world now;
Division Fear Distrust Anxiety…….

OR;    Assume Good Will? And gain inner peace with the full knowledge and risk
that I am opening myself up.

“No great achievement comes without risk.” I did not come up with that, there are 100s of iterations  🙂 of this quote

My Creator and my Maker thank You for always giving me the choice. And yes, You warn about both sides, but may how often You teach about the essentiality of PEACE and JOY for my own sake overwhelm any apprehensions on my part of assuming Good Will. Thank You for loving me so much to give me the choice. May my choice, daily, be to assume Good Will. Amen.