“Settle down people! I know this is exciting, but we need to get started. I am glad so many PEOPLE have joined us to hear the plan for our new great Godly nation. So let us begin! “

The tumultuous crowd settled a bit, consolidating there excited focus on The Speaker instead of each other.

“This is the preamble: We The People …”

With those words, the energy level jumped again. Many voices exclaimed in excitement at the same time. A few caught the orator’s attention, causing him to pause and look around.

Woman: “Ooooh this is so exciting!“
Person of color: “I can’t wait for this!”
Poor person: “Things are going to change for the better now!”

“Just a moment please!” Summoning an assistant, The Speaker whispered, “who let the livestock in? They should be removed immediately! This is not for them!”

The assistant immediately signaled to roughs and toughs at the various entrances, indicating that said undesirables should be removed instantly. The rest of the crowd looked on with quite a few nods of approval mixed with laughter. Shortly the only faces to be seen were wealthy elder Caucasian gentleman and their various collections of correctly pigmented male sycophants and thugs.

One of the guardian thugs approached. “Sir, there is an acceptable looking foreign gentleman at the door who wishes to join, should we let him in? He is here with his pregnant wife.”

“If he fills out the proper paperwork and has money, he may join us. If he has lots of money, then the paperwork is optional. His wife, of course, cannot, but her unborn child is welcome too.”

A short, rather unpleasant tussle later …

“Let me begin again. We the People, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense …”

At this point, several more voices were raised, again causing The Speaker to pause. “Is there a problem gentlemen?” he asked with mild annoyance.

“We have something to say about that!” one man proclaimed with heat, and many applauded, the loudest being the roughs and toughs.

The Speaker nodded. Looking around at the sea of patriarchal arrogant whiteness before him he said, “Of course! Everyone HERE has the right to say whatever they desire. That is part of the new plan!”

His assistant cleared his throat. “Um sir, we haven’t actually included that in the document.”

The Speaker looked nonplussed for the moment. then he said, “A mere oversight. we expected there might be a few changes as suggested by the PEOPLE before us. We’ll just call this the first amendment.” Scribbling a note on a piece of paper, he continued, “So sir, what is it you wanted to say?”

“With regards to the common defense, I think we all need guns …”

AND SO BEGAN A JOURNEY INTO THE ABSURD.

The post A more perfect union? first appeared on thrumyeyes.

The answer has always eluded me.

Am I the me others perceive based on their own experiences and expectations?

But I am also other.

Step back; forget what was; let go of expectation.

Be the observer.

Ask again.

Who am I?

I caught myself smiling for no reason this morning.

With a blinding flash it dawned on me that I have been asking the wrong question.

I should be asking, “Who do you want to be?”

I caught myself smiling for no reason this morning.

Him. I want to be him.

The post I caught myself smiling for no reason this morning first appeared on thrumyeyes.

At first, this gathering and shaping may be a mostly unconscious act, thus the people we believe ourselves to be are really a reflection of how others perceive us combined with how self aware we are. If we do not grow in self awareness, the shape that manifests will become more and more fixed as the gathering and shaping becomes defined by comfort. This form can be heavily influenced by others in our lives, as we develop habits that are the “norm” for the environment we are raised in. Eventually, the shape becomes rigid, and yesterday defines tomorrow. Essentially our now becomes an extension of the past, and the yet to be loses its newness. The future shifts from the free realm of possibility to the rather closed land of expectation.

For some, this is enough. This kind of living is safe; comfortable. No need to change what seems to work, even if others define the limits of life for us. We do not need to face fears, because we already know what to expect. No need to question; no need to seek alternatives that may shift our defined shape into something more pleasing and desirable for ourselves. I am comfortable with the way things are. If others are not, clearly they are not doing things right. If they just emulate my shape, they too will be comfortable.

This way leads to stagnation. Essentially, the future ceases to exist.

Life is DEFINED by change. A life affirming future REQUIRES change. But this can only happen by choice. If any part of us wants to improve our future, we must first step out of the past and learn to appreciate NOW. The past has happened. We cannot change that. But we CAN change how much we let it influence the shape of ourselves. Do we want to be a fixed piece, nothing more than a statue ultimately shaped by past efforts? Or do we want to be a constantly evolving work of art, growing in strength and beauty, returning the yet to be to one of surprise and wonder?

Living now allows this to happen. CHOOSING how we live TODAY means the past does not decide today OR tomorrow. Now decides tomorrow. And tomorrow we get to choose again. This is how we return the future to the realm of possibility.

Appreciate the past. Learn from the past. But let the past go and live now. Choose who we are today and tomorrow we have created a new past to appreciate and learn from. In the process, we open up the possibilities for tomorrow. The future become an ongoing choice based on now, instead of a forgone conclusion based on yesterday.

Choose your future.

The post Choose your future first appeared on thrumyeyes.

momentous

mō-mĕn′təs

adjective

Of utmost importance; of outstanding significance or consequence.

From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

A few days ago my morning started as it always does. I woke up because for various reasons my body decided it was time to wake up. On this particular morning my reaction to waking up was one of pleasant expectation. It varies depending on the quality of my sleep, the nature of my dreams, and the weather. The mood being appropriate, I set out doing the morning rituals with energy (not always the case). These rituals include getting my self started on the day’s journey and attending to Her Most Royal and Beloved Majesty, Brown Dog. Of course she has her own rituals as well. A quick(?) timeline of the morning:

• Wake up
• My ‘Behind closed doors’ stuff
• Bribe Brown Dog to take the medication she is currently taking
• Turn on the computer, and make sure all the tools I am likely to use during the day are current and functioning
• Stimulate my mind a bit (translation … play some games)
• Notice Her Majesty is demanding my attention, meaning it is time to give her a Dental Chew, one of the collection of goodies that qualify as Doggy Crack
• Enjoy watching the dance of pure pleasure Brown Dog performs when I give her said yummy
• Go back to what I was doing
• Notice Her Majesty is demanding my attention, meaning it is time to go out on the deck with Brown Dog so we can “meditate” together

And so the post actually begins …

I have seen the view to the left countless times. I have take hundreds of photos of that view …so many that I thought there was no point in taking any more.

EPIPHANY

Stillness does not exist. Every aspect of EVERYTHING is in constant motion. On a macrocosmic scale everything is constantly moving, even if from a local perspective it does not seem so. On a microcosmic scale the ‘stuff’ that everything is made of is always in motion. Stillness does not exist.

What follows from this is that we can never view something the exact same way twice. Thus a new photo would be a NEW photo. Our perceptions might not agree. And so we limit ourselves.

PERSONAL STAGNATION IS A STATE OF MIND

If everything seems stale and repetitive, that is because we choose to perceive it as so. But it can’t be. So we need to change our perception. How? Embrace the moment. I’ve said it before. The past is past, unalterable. The future is a shaping idea, not realized until its moment comes. THIS moment is the only real truth.

All of this hit me in a glorious moment of release. Suddenly all that went before was gone from my awareness, and the yet to be was … well … yet to be. I simply breathed in THIS moment, and it was pure bliss. Then I took out my phone/camera/whatever the hell it is and took a few NEW (new New nEw neW) pictures. The two above and a couple of Brown Dog’s

MOMENTOUS DECISION

Do I lie down?

Yes. I do.

The only thing that creates equivalence between THIS moment and THAT moment is that we will be inevitably faced with a choice. The choice may be to simply be or not. Or maybe it will be more involved than that. Every choice we make determines the qualities of the next moment. This ultimately means that

EPIPHANY GROWS

EVERY choice we make is the most important decision of the moment. In other words, it is a MOMENTOUS decision in the purist sense of the word. The very NEXT moment is determined by what happens in THIS moment. This is a basic fact of existence ( at least if we have a linear view of reality. It could be that all these moments happen simultaneously, but that does not really change what I am saying here).

SIMPLIFY

Embrace THIS moment. Make MOMENTOUS decisions. Find the inherent peace and joy of doing so.

Live a momentous life.

The post A momentous life first appeared on thrumyeyes.

I have many websites, and they have all fallen silent over the past couple of years for the same reason. I still maintain them, despite the fact that few visit them (if anyone actually does). I cannot fully explain why I do this. Maybe I am reluctant to dispose of the evidence of effort and creativity that I had put into them. Maybe it is the challenge of keeping something functioning when every “update” and “improvement” someone throws out inevitably breaks them. Or maybe I am just waiting for them to have relevance in my life again. Probably a bit of “all of the above”. Whatever the motivations, they still remain.

So why did these aspects of my voice fall silent? It is a simple yet profound reason. I lost my power; I lost my belief that I can make a difference in the course of my own life, let alone that of humanity in general. I am nobody special. I have few skills (even if I am quite capable). From the perspective of those who designed the (to me) backwards structure of human culture I am not a productive or even necessary member of society. I don’t believe that life has any specific meaning; that there is a designated purpose to everyone’s existence. Rather I believe we create our own purpose and meaning, and I have so far failed to create a lasting purpose and meaning for myself. In short I am a powerless being.

The events of the last few years of my life and what is happening to the world in general of late has done little to ease this sense. If anything my relinquishing of power has just been reinforced or justified. So I exercise. I meditate. I walk my dog. I escape when I can. I deal with the responsibilities I have accepted in my life, occasionally even a bit gracefully. And I wonder why I bother.

Today I was reminded. I may not feel I have power to change much of anything, but that does not prevent me from recognizing the NEED for change. It does not prevent me from the rush of anger every time the bullies bully; the selfish and greedy reach for more; the compassionless manipulate for their own benefit despite what harm they might cause. I still WANT to do something even when I do not know what would make a difference. I get angry, I vent and rage and when the steam is released I …

… do nothing.

Yesterday my anger was ignited again as my bank decided to continue the war on the poor and powerless that is allowed (and even supported) by our skewed societal mores. Without unnecessary details, suffice to say instead of a personal confrontation at the bank that may have had a brief emotional release but no positive benefit beyond that, I wrote them a letter.

And had an epiphany.

Ideas are like seeds. They have potential to sprout into something beautiful and useful, but it is no more than potential if they are never even planted. Whether an idea flourishes or not depends on the soil it is planted in and how well its needs are met, but it will NEVER become more than a seed if it is not even planted. This is a fundamental truth. Also the key to reclaiming (creating?) some power for myself. If humanity is a garden, society its soil, I am no gardener. Some might consider me no more that a weed. I have little ability to nourish the soil, or otherwise tend to the needs of other sprouting seeds. Yet I often do not like how the garden is growing or even what is growing in it. So what can I do?

The answer is again profound but simple. I can create new seeds. I can plant them. I can learn how to make them grow, and in the process maybe help others learn as well. If enough new seeds are planted and allowed to reach their full growth, who knows how the garden will change.

I am posting these thoughts on this particular website because this is one of my seeds. I forgot this. I may have planted this particular seed in the wrong soil, or perhaps lacked the skill to nourish it properly, but it still has potential to grow. As can any seed if it is at least planted. I do not even know if anyone will read what I am sharing here. I am just casting seeds into the wind, hoping they will take somewhere. Still, now they have a chance.

I leave you with this. If you do not like how things are and have ideas how to change them but feel powerless to make those ideas a reality … share them anyway. Sign that petition even if you believe signing it will make no difference. Make that donation. Do that project. It may be small, but even small is better than not at all. Plant your seeds so they do not die before they even have a chance to germinate.

Plant your seeds.

The post Preventing the death of ideas first appeared on thrumyeyes.

• This website is fully functional now that it has been remade.
•  Start with the body → the website has also been completely remade and is now fully functional.
• thru my eyes by taochild → I had to rebuild the site from scratch. it is fully functional now but far from complete
• The odd ramblings of a mind that does not quite fit → the website has also been completely remade and is now fully functional. Now I just need to post something!
• PAX Nation → It is again fully functional, but it also needs a lot of work and probably a lot of modification.

The other websites either do not need much done to them, I have yet to get to them, or most likely I do not know WHAT I want to do with them. My momentum is still strong, so it is likely all of them will get a least a superficial makeover. The next challenges include actually posting things and then getting others to read what I post. The first I have already begun (even if mostly here). The second might be more a matter of luck or accident than anything!

If anybody is reading these posts other than myself (and maybe my family), they might be wondering why I have so many sites. The short answer is: “That is a very good question!”. The long answer is really too long not to require a rather wordy post of its own (which maybe I will do at some point), but suffice to say each site represents a specific area of interest for me, and it seemed easier to me to separate those interest instead of combining them all into one extremely extensive site. I have enough of a challenge getting people to my simpler sites!

Now that I have made a level of progress that even makes ME feel like I have accomplished something, I might have to slow down on the design side an maybe start POSTING a few creations!

Until the next time!

P.S. I am still pretty sure I am talking to myself.

The post And so it begins … first appeared on thrumyeyes.

I have no interest in religion. I personally think it is one of the worse inventions that came out of the mind of man. But I was raised in the Jewish tradition, and it is part of my history, a history of which I am NOT ashamed.

Because of this simple fact, certain people hate me.

When I was a child, there were some in my neighborhood who would physically attack me, simply because I was Jewish. Wise minds, believers in compassion, would tell me to ignore them, they will just go away.

So I ignored them, until the next time they jumped me, beat me, screaming nonsense like “You killed Jesus!”.

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

So I ignored them, until one threw a rock at me, hitting me in the skull giving a scar that I still bear today.

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

So I ignored them, until the rock thrower’s mother attacked MY mother, while his brother held a knife to my throat saying “I will kill you if you do anything to help her.”

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

So I ignored them, until the knife wielder picked a fight with me in the school yard, calling me kike. I stood my ground, with a fellow Jewish boy willing to defend. The principle pulls US into the office. “Stay away from him, he is psychotic.” As far as I know, nothing was done to him.

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

So I ignored them, until the same psycho, decided to light my shirt on fire in the middle of homeroom in high school.

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

So I ignored them. Twenty plus years later, a young man goes on a killing spree in the name of ethnic cleansing or some such nonsense. He is the son of the boy who did all those things to me.

“Ignore them, they will just go away.”

Guess what folks. We’ve been ignoring them for over 40 years. They have NOT gone away. Maybe it is time we STOP ignoring them, and actually DO SOMETHING.

The post Ignore them, they will just go away (a.k.a. stick your head in the sand) first appeared on thrumyeyes.

PAX Nation is one BIG dream, and I entered the path towards it realizing that it may never be more than just an idealistic fantasy. However I am not one to shy from a task that I believe in just because it supposedly can’t be done. The modern world is DEFINED by people doing what they were told they couldn’t do. I still believe that nationalism has over-stayed its welcome. I still believe that the best hope for humanity’s continued growth is to embrace compassion and cooperation. I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of One World, One People … even if it is not triggered by my crazy little project.

Yet I realize that many do not agree with my view of the world … all too often those who have the power to influence the path of civilization. I also realize that I am really a nobody with grand ideas. This is not self-deprecation … just a full understanding of who I am. I have few resources and very little influence with anyone who has a power base of any sort. With effort and a fair amount of good luck, this could always change, but my general ineffectiveness is my current reality, and has been for quite some time. I am a very capable person … alone that is rarely enough to change the world. I have been working on this idea of mine for several years now, with varying degrees of devotion, and what I have arrived at is essentially a community of one with high aims and a decent website. As one might imagine, this is quite frustrating. With the rather depressing trend of the United States (and much of the rest of the world for that matter) towards selfish and greed based governance, I found myself feeling pretty powerless. Powerless to the point of giving up on working on just about everything I believe in.

It goes without saying (yet say it I will), GIVING UP on life is no way to live. I wrestled with my demons through the winter months, and came out on top. My last post was kind of my victory shout. Now I am working on taking my own advice (often a challenge), Instead of focusing on what I cannot do, I am once again working with what I CAN do. My greatest skills are understanding and creating. So that is what I will continue to do. I will continue to create, for the sake of creation itself. I will continue to keep compassion alive through my ability to understand others. I am NOT giving up on PAX Nation. But I am modifying the dream as needed.

My nation may only be a nation of one, but it is a nation that welcomes ANYONE who seeks to be here. PAX Nation will continue to grow … within the limits of my own resources and abilities … but grow it will. If I cannot offer armies of world changers, then I will offer what I CAN. Sanctuary. If you want a place to step away from the strife of a contentious world, welcome to PAX Nation. If  … by visiting … you find some needed help, then you are welcome to it. If you find that this sanctuary has a sense of home about it, you are welcome to stay. Those who would control others for their own dark needs will never truly be victorious as long as even ONE person remains to oppose them. If all I can offer is a breath of fresh air, then fresh air is what I will give. And if my sanctuary manages to grow in resources and influence, LOOK OUT WORLD!

In the mean time, the door is always open …

Sometimes, all we need is a place to feel safe.

The post Sanctuary first appeared on thrumyeyes.

adjective: having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.

noun: latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.

In physics, potential refers to the amount of work necessary to bring something from A to B, A and B defined by what you are measuring. (This is a very LOOSE definition).

THE CHALLENGE:

Anyone observing humanity will note that humans have GREAT potential. This sounds like a positive trait until we look more closely at this potential. Humans have a great capacity to create. We have a limitless imagination, which allows us to constantly break beyond limits that were previously considered inviolate. This is a good thing. However we have an equal capacity to destroy, with the same backing of that limitless imagination.

Our potential can be quite dangerous.

Having potential and converting that potential to something of practical value are two different things. Physically, potential is how much work is needed to achieve a specific goal, but until that work is applied, the goal remains nothing more than a possibility. This applies to the human condition as well; we have great potential both for the good and the not so good, but unless we put the work in that potential will never really mean anything to ourselves and our world. If, and how, we use our potential is a matter of choice. We each have to decide if we are WILLING to do the best we can do. We also have the choice of HOW we use our abilities. Until we make those choices, our potential will remain in the realm of the imagination.

The HOW choice is often the most difficult one, especially when it comes to who benefits. This is the issue that really divides us. On one side we have those who think that all our actions should ultimately benefit ourselves … the rest of humanity … and even the world … be damned. The flip side of this is those who believe that the needs of the many far surpass the needs of the few or the one, and that should guide our actions. The ongoing conflict in our world is a direct result of these deferring extremes.

Unfortunately, those who lean towards selfishness tend to run the show for one simple reason  … they are willing to do what is necessary to achieve their goals. To such people, compassion is a weakness. Those who work for the many are driven by compassion, which means there are actions they simply will not take for success. How can someone who has moral limits actually stop someone who will do anything that meets their needs?

That is the uphill battle that those who seek a compassionate world continually face. Sometimes the climb can seem so difficult as to be not worth the effort.

THE SOLUTION:

I don’t have a specific answer to the above question. The dark turn humanity has taken in recent years damaged my own resolve. I failed to live up to my OWN potential of late, which does no one any good. How do we fight for compassion when those who have none are in charge; when a majority of people WILLINGLY let such people make choices for them because it is so much easier than actually making their own choices? Thus this project, and others I have started, aimlessly drifted.

Until I was reminded that the only way to FIND a solution is to focus on finding solutions. If we focus on the problem we will never get anywhere. Not doing anything is as good as admitting defeat. The heartless will always win if the compassionate simply roll over and let them. If we want the world to become a more compassionate one, we have to continually remind people WHAT compassion is. But we have to also remind OURSELVES that being compassionate does NOT mean letting others with no limits do as they will. Oppression can only exist if the oppressed let it. The same applies to tyrannical rule. We have to recognize that sometimes we must do what is necessary ourselves. Hoping someone who has no compassion will suddenly come into it if we ask enough times is nothing more than naiveté. We have to recognize that SOMETIMES we may have to do things that we do not like to get anywhere. But we also need to remember such choices should always be a LAST resort.

That said, there are a few things we can focus on:

• Cooperation – the best chance to overcome selfish individuals who have a strong power base is COOPERATION. They only have a strong power base because others support them. Therefore we have to support each other in opposition. If we create a larger and stronger compassion based community than change WILL happen.
• Do what you can do – when we constantly find the ‘bad’ guy winning, it is easy to feel that our efforts are wasted, so why bother. The simple truth is that nothing can be achieved if not at least ATTEMPTED. Don’t focus on what we can not do, but rather on what we CAN do.
• Be flexible – don’t lock on one path. If one thing does not seem to work, maybe we need to approach it from a different angle. Don’t give up. Just rethink.
• Educate, don’t pontificate – the only way to teach someone who does not want to be taught is to demonstrate. Don’t try to convince someone who does not want to be convinced. Just show them they are wrong. Either they will open their eyes, or they will suffer the consequences of their own willful blindness. Either way, don’t waste your energy on them.

When darkness threatens, a single candle will provide light. A single candle can also light other candles. If enough candles are lit, the darkness will no longer be there.

The post Be a candle! Chase away the darkness … first appeared on thrumyeyes.

I have not written anything in weeks. For that matter, I have really done nothing creative at all in weeks. No that is not quite it either. I have not LIVED at all in weeks.

I am (have been but no more?) simply existing.

The only activity that I have participated in with any regularity is questioning myself. I have been hitting myself relentlessly with ALL the hard questions: Who am I? What am I? WHY am I?

When and where were the only questions that required no thought.

To say I have been despondent would make despondent a cheerful child. Dark thoughts have been my primary companions, the kind of dark thoughts that have medical and law enforcement professionals worried. Not that these thoughts meant anything. They were simply me fighting off a spiritual infection. Healing means accepting that often things will get worse before they get better. So what has changed? Am I all  cupcakes and roses now? ⇐ Me being creative  The simple answer is my attitude. The stew that I have been cooking still has all the same ingredients … I am just determined to make it taste good now.

“Tell me what has been troubling you!” no one with any sense will be saying right now. Fortunately No One (with or without sense) is exactly who I actually EXPECT to read this, so I will a tell on. Enter a LIST:

• LIFE HAS NO MEANING … this is not a cry of despair (anymore) but rather an epiphany. We all want everything to make some sort of sense, and use every trick in the book to make that happen. And when we fail miserably (if we in fact fail miserably) we are … well … miserable. My simple yet profound realization (one I keep having and then forgetting), is the ONLY meaning to our lives is that which we CREATE FOR OURSELVES. I’ll blame the weather for my forgetting this simple truth yet again.
• THE ‘BAD’ GUY ALWAYS WINS … I am a firm believer in compassion. The one problem with being a compassionate soul is we actually have lines we won’t cross. Unfortunately, this means that anyone who has no such restriction will inevitably use us as floor mats. We can express ideas such as “Good will always win in the end” and such, but the demonstrable reality is, frankly, quite the opposite. Just look at the state of human society. This is not me saying we might as well give up on compassion and embrace the dark side. Just a recognition that until ALL of humanity embraces compassion things will not readily change.
• EXPECTATIONS … I keep getting trapped by what is ‘supposed’ to happen, which is a concept that does not have any basis in reality (see my first list item) other than in the mind. The worse expectations that I keep failing to meet are those expectations that I expect others expect of me. Ironically, those are the only expectations that anyone can truly have (other than our own expectations of ourselves, which are heavily influenced by those expectations that we expect others expect of us). Thus meeting these self-created yet ultimately meaningless expectations can be a rather difficult task. Worse is getting caught up in the supposed failure of meeting said mystical creatures. The answer is to just remove the expectations from the picture. Then there is no failure to fret about.

My list is rather short, but it really covers the gist of my interior battle. I could break it out into a huge ‘ailment’ list, but No One would be even less likely to read THAT and such a list would really serve no purpose. Simply put, darkness comes and goes … even the happiest of people will occasional be visited by shadows. We can either choose to let the darkness take over, or we can find that inner spark that resides within each of us and do what is necessary to build a fire. Fuel the spark; fan the flame, and before you know it the darkness is pushed back by a roaring bonfire.

Often the hard part is CHOOSING to build the fire in the first place.

The post Found some kindling first appeared on thrumyeyes.