I had sought to punish the driver of the truck, and in doing so, I punished myself by breaking my front light. And then, it dawned on me what the Bible says about revenge. “’Vengeance is mine, I will repay’, says the Lord.” (Lev.19:18)It then occurred to me how useless of an emotion that anger really is.  It may be good if it stimulates assertiveness, but when it triggers vengeance and other malicious feelings, it does not do any good.After this little incident, I realized that there might be legitimate reasons that this person had parked so close to my car.  Perhaps they had an emergency; perhaps they didn’t notice how close they had parked; or perhaps they were in a hurry as is so typical nowadays.  Or, maybe it is true, that this individual may be an uncaring and heartless type who didn’t care that they had blocked me in.  Even if this is the case, I realized that such a person deserves a prayer from me, not a retaliation to their already disturbed personality. So, this incident taught me a valuable lesson: to think twice before allowing anger to simmer inside me. Perhaps there is a better way to handle a situation.And as for my front light, as luck would have it, my handyman had come over that afternoon and was able to put the light back in its place for $15!It’s all good… 

Amidst the bright spots of India, there are many–foremost which come to my mind are the values of God and family.  Their culture is rich in  both of these respects.  Their religion is rooted in ancient Vedanta (the term used to describe the roots of Hinduism).  Also, there is a sublime religious tolerance here.  And family is very important.  Even the poorest of the poor seem to enjoy these two values: religion and family.

The women dress modestly wearing sari’s or other similar garments.  I find this to be appealing taste…

I love India…

• Monday: Keep It Simple Monday
• Tuesday: Easy Does It Tuesday
• Wednesday: Gratitude Wednesday
• Thursday: Serve Others Thursday
• Friday: Have Fun Friday

Saturday and Sunday are off!

I have been around long enough, in fact I am 44 years of age today, that I know that the good life requires faith.  Faith is about believing that I have enough, no matter how much the evidence may seem to the contrary.  It reminds me of children,  who I like to work with.  They have implicit faith.  If you were to explain faith to them, and then ask them if they had it, they would look you funny in the eye and let out a belly laugh.  Of course, they have it!  Without it, how could they survive?  They are at the tender mercy of the adult world.  They  know faith.

I think the greater question than whether faith is necessary or not, is how to react or respond to what life deals us.  Isn’t that the great message of so many of our American movies?  For example, in It’s a Beautiful Life, the hero transforms his circumstances of being a prisoner of a Nazi Concentration Camp, and tells his son that this is a big adventure.  He tells him this to his dying moment, at which point the son sees that it is truly an adventure.

 That is the purpose of faith. Without it, life is meaningless.  With it, life is meaningful.  How we translate our interpretation of the events of our life by faith, and thus ascribe meaning to them, is the goal I think of existence.  It may be called the dance, the play, the song, the whatever.

 Today I have faith.  Tomorrow I will have faith.  This is the logic and the mantra which gets me through to the other side, when I can say emphatically, “this is the meaning of such a course of events.”

This moving was well done, educational, moving.

I don’t want to politically preach, but if you like captivating movies, which bring you to tears, then see this one.  And since it is a based on truth, it may have a lasting effect on you, as it did on me.

Here is a link for more info: http://www.blooddiamondaction.org/

i liked western ireland because it was out in the country, and we had our own farmhouse with sheep and a donkey named Bill.  when you looked out, all you saw was grass going on and on.  every single day it rained, so it was useful if you brought a umbrella.  and if you looked south, you saw the ocean.

Below are the extensive photos I took while there the first time.  The airplane shots are from when we rode on a small plane over the Canyon.   It was quite an experience!  At first, we were a bit scared, as the plane rocked back and forth from the wind, but soon we forgot about our predicament, and enjoyed the ride!

http://www.tomracanelli.com/personal/travel/GrandCanyon-2006/index.htm

The Grand Canyon amazes me more than I thought it would.  First of all, it is so old!  I don’t know exactly, but somewhere in the neighborhood of…millions…maybe even hundreds of millions, years old.  And you can see the different color rock layers which represent different epochs of time.

Secondly, it is so immense.  I think it is at least one mile deep and seven to eight miles across.  And, once again this is only a guess, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 miles around its perimeter.

Here is a Wiki link to demolish my pseudo-facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon

 Lastly, it is so beautiful and silent.  When I hike down, even just for one half an hour (and when other people do not hike by talking, I am amazed at the utter silence it exudes.  It almost has a ’silent hum’ to it.  And it is beautiful.  The colors and shapes and enormity make it  a pleasure to stare and gawk at.

If you live in S. California and have not yet visited this place, do yourself a favor and plan  a trip. It is only a 7 - 8 hour ride from there, and it is worth it!