Schwarzenegger on Success

Arnold Schwarzenegger gave this speech on graduation day at USC on May 15. Here are his Six Rules of Success:

1. Trust yourself.
2. Break the rules, not the law. You have to think outside the box.
3. Don't be afraid to fail.
4. Dont listen to the naysayers.
5. Work your butt off
6. Find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country.

I loved what the Governor had to say. It took me years to understand his #1 rule.. Christians like me often find it so hard to trust the voice of the Spirit within us because we are often taught by others to not trust our innermost being and instead lean on our own understanding or even worse the understanding of others.

You can catch the second part of the Governor's speech here.

Intellectual Property

This cartoon cracked me up and reminded me of the documents I once signed as a software designer working at the phone factory. Basically these documents signed over my rights to benefit from any of the ideas that I developed during working hours.. things that Ma Bell paid me to do belonged to them and not me.. I did not complain.. they paid me the going rate and my property was not all that "intellectual" :)

When I think of this whole idea of "the man" owning what I was paid to do I sometimes ponder how many pastors and other church workers don't embrace this idea of "Intellectual Property" and often make mega-bucks from marketing their sermons and books that were done on the church's dime. Somehow they see themselves as independent contractors when it comes to this stuff.. of course they still enjoy the perks of (non-contractor) health benefits, time-off and salaries.. it is an interesting world that they live in.

What do you think? Any experiences with "Intellectual Property"?

The Culture War

I recently got an email that was titled: "How We Lost the Culture War". The email was filled with all sorts of Christian Fundamentalist conspiracy theories. Here are a few excerpts from it with my comments:

Although 1980 and Ronald Reagan brought a new era for Evangelicals, and for me, as a new straight ticket Republican, I knew that laws would never truly change until hearts changed. The problem is, those whose hearts are hard toward the Gospel and moral truths began to organize an agenda to turn the hearts of America, and especially our children, away from God and morality. So, naturally, that parental protection instinct kicked in, and we began to fight back for our children, as well as for the ones whose voices would never be heard. But, it seems, the more we fought back, the stronger the enemy grew.

Not sure where to begin.. this sort of Christian vs Atheist picture is so often painted.. and many times the Republican Party is sucked into the rhetoric. The picture is painted with such a broad brush of good vs evil. Seldom are non-Christians ever painted in a good light.. self-righteousness seems to rule the message.

I have seen such vitriolic hatred coming from the left at Republicans, not because we are "conservative," but because so many of us are Christians! The left hates Christianity, and they will go to any length to demonize Christians.

Do you again hear the polarization? If you are a Democrat then you must be liberal and therefore most not only be a non-Christian but must hate Christianity.

My point is this: it has only been natural for true Believers and Followers of the Messiah to go on the offensive. And while adhering to the tenants of Scripture, we also, naturally, fall into the Republican mold. No, we shouldn't alienate ourselves from half the population where the Gospel is concerned, but if we identified ourselves with the Democrats, who have consistently and vigorously fought for immoral issues, we would be disobedient to God's Word. We MUST stand for truth.

What a sad picture of Christianity is painted by folks like this. I cringe when I read a phrase like "true Believers". Where is the love of Jesus in this? How do these folks ever expect to be relevant if they try to change the world by any means other than love?

I think that this "Culture War" is one made up by misguided religious people.. history is replete with such people who have brought shame on the cause of Christ. These same people are ones who bring dissension into religious circles because of a narrow view of right and wrong.. they see the world in black and white terms.. and refuse to embrace anything that is gray.. their culture is a dark one.

Of course this "war" is not a one-sided one.. folks on the left side of politics also have fundamentalist zealots.. I am just not on their mailing lists :)

FF: Saving Antelopes

In this edition of Friday Funnies, I submit this funny video that I got with this email note:

Dear Friends,

Most of you don't know, but I foolishly joined an animal rescue group recently and have been assigned to protect the African Antelope. Well, last week was my first real action, and fortunately my efforts were captured on the attached video. I hope you enjoy it.

This type of work is rather tiring and dangerous for a man of my age, but it is most rewarding. But even so, one or two rescues a month is all I can handle right now.

Please keep me in your prayers.

Billy Cosby

Growing up in the 60s one of my favorite comedy albums was "Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right!".. I loved his funny stories.. still remember the conversation that Noah had with God.. very funny. I also liked Cosby in I Spy and back in the 80s my family was addicted to The Cosby Show on Thursday nights. As of late the elder and wiser Cosby has opined a bit on life and culture.. here are a few things he has said:

Gray hair is God's graffiti. (my favorite)

Old is always fifteen years from now. (my second favorite)

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

Like everyone else who makes the mistake of getting older, I begin each day with coffee and obituaries.

Men and women belong to different species and communications between them is still in its infancy.

Let us now set forth one of the fundamental truths about marriage: the wife is in charge.

Parents are not interested in justice, they're interested in peace and quiet.

The main goal of the future is to stop violence. The world is addicted to it.

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

Nothing I've ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children.

World MS Day

Thought I would share this informative video with you to honor today - World MS Day.
Many of you know that my wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2002. Last year Ann was rediagnosed with Devics Disease.. a disease that has many of the symptoms of MS. Please join with me encouraging those with MS and praying for a cure.

F. on W. | ★★★★★★★

Yeah.. my middle name begins with "F".. don't call me KF :)

Last night Ann and I watched this video with our son.. he loves this kind of political stuff - wonder where he got that from. I thought that it was a very interesting look at the life and presidency of George W. Bush. Going in I understood that it would be a biased Oliver Stone view of his life.. but I sort-of liked it anyway.. felt like I could weed out most of the junk.. mainly the scenes of the presidential years. What I saw most through the movie's eyes was the influence that others had on W.. and he on them.

• His father, affectionately called "Poppy", was a huge influence on W. Initially he was the one who seemed to always be bailing W out and trying to create employment opportunities for the young Bush. You see a lot of contention in this relationship.. it eventually manifests in their conflicting views on foreign policy. You also get the impression that Poppy was not supportive of W and tended to favor his son Jeb as both sons were running for governor of Texas and Florida.
  
  
• Dick Cheney was mostly demoted in this flick. In just about every scene that they share W comes across as the one who is in charge. W puts Cheney in his place on several occasions. Not the image you got over the years from various media sources as well as spoofs on Saturday Night Live.
  
  
• Karl Rove is depicted as a person who scripts most of what the political W says and the guy who masterminds the image people saw in Texas and in America. At one point we see Rove telling W to pretty much stick to the script.
  
  
• Colin Powell is shown as someone who was used by Bush to grab power but was minimalized in W's cabinet. I thought that this was one of the most biased depictions in the movie. Powell was certainly not the weakling he was depicted as being.
  
  
• Condoleezza Rice comes across as a pitiful excuse for a National Security Adviser who is transfixed by W's charm and power. I seriously doubt all of that.. another example of Stone's bias.
  
  
• Laura Bush is portrayed mostly in a positive light.. comes across as a pretty strong individual.. maybe not as demur as we think she is. Guess I didn't know she used to smoke.
  

Overall I thought that the movie was entertaining. I enjoyed seeing the early life aspects of President George W Bush portrayed.. helped me get a better picture of the man. In general I was irked by the way that Stone portrayed W as a power hungry manipulating hypocrite that forced people to pray at the conclusion of staff meetings. Anyone who bought that stuff probably already had an anti-W predisposition. On a scale of 10 I give this movie ★★★★★★★

Will Sotomayor replace Souter?

5/26/09 Update: News just broke that President Obama will nominate Sonia Sotomayor to the high court later this morning. Should be an interesting confirmation process.

---

5/1/09 Update: Yesterday's news of Justice David Souter retiring in June got me thinking back to this post. Of course Justice Ginsburg may also choose to retire in June when the current session of the court comes to an end. Interesting to consider that this President HW Bush 1990 supreme court nominee could be replaced by someone that he nominated for a lower court in 1991.

---

3/14/09: George Stephanopoulos recently posted this observation:

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg raised a few eyebrows today with her prediction that President Barack Obama would "surely" pick a Supreme Court justice "soon." 

Here's my question: what are the chances that Obama DOESN'T pick Sonia Sotomayor? 

In her favor, she was appointed to the federal bench by George H.W. Bush. Elevated to the Appeals Court by Bill Clinton. She's a protégé of Daniel Patrick Moynihan and a prosecutor with Robert Morgenthau.  Graduate of Princeton and Yale after growing up in the South Bronx.

And, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic Justice on the Supreme Court bench

From what I can tell Judge Sotomayor is a liberal and is pro-choice. I wonder how our "pro-life" senators will vote if she is nominated.. of course we could thank "pro-lifer" George HW Bush for nominating her when he was president.

Rushmore Revisited

Methinks some of my friends have already envisioned this addition :)

Gentle Heroes

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell was listed as MIA while piloting a helicopter on a mission in Cambodia on March 24, 1970. His remains were recovered and interred at Arlington National Cemetery on August 16, 2001. He was a gentle hero who gave his life for his country. Here is a poem that he wrote:

If you are able,
save them a place
inside of you
and save one backward glance
when you are leaving
for the places they can
no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say
you loved them,
though you may
or may not have always.
Take what they have left
and what they have taught you
with their dying
and keep it with your own.
And in that time
when men decide and feel safe
to call the war insane,
take one moment to embrace
those gentle heroes
you left behind.

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
January 1, 1970
Dak To, Vietnam

On this memorial day please take a moment and offering a time of silence or a prayer of thanksgiving in honor of the many who gave so much.

All Gave Some but Some Gave All

Take a moment and remember all of the fallen on this Memorial Day weekend!

Idol Worship

Saw this over at Grace's place and was so surprised to see American Idol winner Kris Allen leading worship.. the video made me smile.. there is no one like our God.

Caption Needed

Spitzer on Fixing Wall Street

An interesting twelve minute Morning Joe clip featuring former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer explaining why the New York Fed is run by CEOs who "have failed America" and the need to change their focus away from bonuses before Wall Street can recover.

Political Vitriol vs Civil Debate

A few weeks ago former Missouri Senator (and Episcopal clergyman) John Danforth addressed folks at the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City. Here is the way that his speech started:

A few months ago, Rush Limbaugh said he hoped President Obama fails. If the President fails, the nation fails, and people now suffering in our economy will suffer even more. While I don’t agree with the President on important issues, I hope he succeeds. I hope he is right and I am wrong, and I pray for him and for his success.

Limbaugh’s tone isn’t unique. It’s an example of today’s political discourse. Sure of their own opinions, some think that opposing views are worse than error. For them, opponents are demonic. Turn on cable news and listen for as long as you can stand it. They’re called “talking heads,” but they are shouting heads. On the left, there’s MSNBC. On the right, Fox News.

Joe Scarborough (i.e. Morning Joe) has also been talking about this idea of political tone saying that we need the tone as well as the conservatism of Ronald Reagan. Here are a few blips from Danforth's speech that speaks to this issue of tone:

• Hot button politics serves two purposes: It creates a rabidly loyal following, and it turns complex subjects into short bursts of frenzy.
• Political extremes can bring success.
• Stoking anger is easier than serious thinking. It takes but a few highly charged words to switch attention from big issues to fleeting passion.
• The message is, “I know God’s truth, I am on God’s side. You are an enemy of God.” There’s an Armageddon quality to much in politics.
• Nothing is more divisive than the claim that you are on God’s side.
  

Danforth begins to end his message by saying:

You bring together people, ideas and perspective so that civil debate is possible. You create ground for adversaries with strongly held views to meet with mutual respect, even if not with agreement. You create a place for debate. But it isn’t a battlefield, and it isn’t Armageddon.

I strongly support this idea of having civil discourse and debate. I guess it is why I do not like the vitriol often presented by the squawk television and radio entertainers. I think it is why I like the round-table formats of some of the talk shows.. these venues seem to present diverse views by a wide variety of people.

Perspective on the Press

Got this photo from a recent twitter message from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here is the way that he captioned the photo:

"Thought it might be fun for you to see the press from my perspective instead of the other way around."

Many of my friends have a very polarized perspective of the press.. some slam it saying that it is a part of the main stream elite media and say that it is not to be trusted at all.. of course many of them hear this rhetoric from other members of the "press". Others say that only their favorite news channel or radio/television show has the "right" news.. I like Morning Joe.. others like O'Reilly.. some enjoy Olbermann.. to each his or her own.

I kind of think that most of these reporters and journalists are a lot like most of us - they have a hard time seperating their personal views from their jobs.. they are sometimes biased.. some are more biased than others.. get over it.. they are just people trying to make the "news" a bit entertaining.

What do you think? What is your perspective on those folks holding microphones?

Life's Waiting Rooms

I am an impatient man that is becoming more patient with the passing of each day. I am learning to take advantage of life's waiting rooms. So often life is not about making something happen but reveling in the life that is happening. This reveling of the heart is not dependent on our circumstances.. we can even revel in waiting.. the waiting room can be so good for our soul.. if we will just relinquish control.. and simply wait. Here are a few quotes on the subject and my comments:

How much of human life is lost in waiting. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life can be gained (and not lost) as we wait if we have the right attitude about life and about waiting.

I never thought it was worth it, you know waiting for your love, and then I felt your kiss, I could wait forever for this. -Anonymous

How many of us can relate to a dream fulfilled? Good to reflect on those memories when we are in life's waiting room.. good to remember those past times when we experienced life's kiss.

None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives. -Kathleen Norris

The future is an unknown wonder.. it is so difficult to wait because waiting seems to be so useless.. unless we have the right perspective about waiting.. and about life.

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." -Muhammad Ali

It is helpful to think of the waiting room as a training room because it is in this room that we prepare for the future. How many times do we realize that we can only understand life in the past tense?

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. -Joseph Campbell

I think that the secret of thriving in the waiting room is to understand that the only thing that can be controlled is us.. this self control is an inner battle.. read here for more about this kind of control.. and read here for more about waiting.

Spock Obama: Where no Prez has Gone B4

Just a bit of Friday night cartoon fun while I wait out the rain before the Royals game.
I did like what our president said yesterday about deficit spending. Here is an excerpt from the Bloomberg report:

President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”

My first reaction to this news was disbelief.. I really didn't think that the president thought this way. Gotta wonder why he has been spending the way that he has. I think this might be a good sign. What do you think?

Do you think that the president will make any substantial cuts or is this just a bit of covering your back? If things get bad he can always point back to yesterday and say "I told you so".. not that he will :)

Friday Pessimistic Optimism

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. -Helen Keller

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. -William Arthur Ward

Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole! -Oscar Wilde

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. -Maria Robinson

In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. -Daniel L. Reardon

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power. -William James

Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again. -Alex Tan

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -Winston Churchill

This Day in History

For your entertainment and amusement.. on this day in:

• 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn;
  
  
• 1998 the last episode of Seinfeld was aired;
  
  
• 1944 Star Wars creator Gorge Lucas was born;
  
  
• 1969 actress Cate Blanchett was born;
  
  
• 1878 Vaseline Petroleum Jelly was trademarked in America;
  
  
• 1643 Louis XIV becomes the King of France at the age of four;
  
  
• 1936 singer Bobby Darin was born;
  
  
• 1796 Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox vaccination;
  
  
• 1973 Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched;
  

And lastly.. in 1949.. in a hospital in New York City.. Kansas Bob arrived.

My 2¢ on Snail Mail

It seems that the only times I use the US Snail Mail any more is to send cards on holidays. We pay our bills online and use email to communicate with friends. Guess that is why the extra two cents doesn't bother me.

What about you? What do you use snail mail for?

Conscience and Consciousness

Saw this sign at my granddaughters pre-school graduation last night.. I loved the message! Do you think that most of us at some inner level really know the right thing to do.. most of the time? I think that most of us call it having a conscience.. and most of us understand that it is never a good idea to betray your conscience.

I wonder if the idea of conscience is just a part of being conscious? Maybe having a conscience somewhat defines what it means to being human? Animals domesticated by humans seem to exhibit this trait of conscience sometimes but I am not sure that animals in the wild have this sense of doing the right thing and treating others right.

What do you think? Does conscience define human consciousness?

ALS Awareness Day

Today is the National ALS Awareness Day. In honor of the day I am posting this 2007 video of my cyber-friend Jill Hollis. I have posted about Jill before.. her blog is filled with the courage, transparency and vulnerability of this amazing woman who is battling this awful disease. I recommend this short video to you.. it shows Jill before she was wheelchair bound.. I also commend you to Jill's blog.

Ethical Pro-? Riddles

Steven Waldman, editor-in-chief and co-founder of BeliefNet, recently posed these ethical questions:

For Pro-Lifers he asked:

You are running out of a burning hospital and can run into the fertility clinic to save a liquid nitrogen container holding 500 zygotes, or into the natal unit and save a baby. Which do you do?

For Pro-Choicers he asked:

Let's assume that abortion is fully legal, right up until the point of birth. Would you feel morally comfortable aborting the fetus one day before the birth date? Under what circumstances? And if you feel like that's too late in the pregnancy, where would you personally draw the line?

I am a pro-lifer so I will answer the first question: I would first go to the natal unit.. time permitting I would go to the fertility clinic.. if I even knew it was there.

Your turn.. depending on your pro-? position.. how would you answer?

The Cultivator

If you are interested in the background of the words on this picture please check out my post from four years ago where I talk about a vision I had. If you are a mom then please take these words of encouragement to heart.. your children appreciate the tears, words and deeds that you have cultivated into their lives.

Love is an Orientation

I commend you today to a book review by Michael Spencer (Internet Monk).
Here are a few excerpts from his review and his comments:

If you had two books to choose from, whatever I will write and what Andrew Marin has written in Love Is An Orientation, I would want you to buy Andrew’s book.
...
When it comes to our interaction with the Gay community- and the Gay Christians in our midst- we have made a five-star mess of things. To make it worse, it’s a mess we’re either ignorant of or proud of.

We’ve invested hours and dollars in hearing over and over the assurance that these particular sexual sins are condemned in scripture. We’ve insured that our default idea of conversation with gay persons is being shouted out by angry advocates of hate. We’ve given the culture warriors the floor to say whatever they wanted in whatever way they wanted.

We’ve avoided the subject when it wasn’t on our turf. We’ve made sure that our sources never came at us from a side of the subject we weren’t prepared to hear. We controlled the stories that came to us so they were always properly scripted.

We’ve treated gays with almost no appreciation for their real situation. We’ve obsessed on sex, forgotten how painful it is to be human, minimized the pain of exclusion and become apologists for the worst among us because they believed the same Bible we do.
...
Marin is not cooperating with the coopting of the conversation down the same tired roads. This isn’t a book about the issues of how to announce what’s wrong more loudly. As I read this book, every kind of Christian would benefit. Marin beautifully lays out the message and DEMANDS of the Gospel to all of us WITHOUT SINGLING OUT someone because of sex.
...
Marin tells stories of being rejected by gays he wanted to befriend. But he makes it clear that the defining experience for thousands of gays was their treatment by Christians, and that treatment wasn’t speaking the truth in love, commitment, perseverance and kindness.
...
Many gays are angry and hurt. Most of them were mistreated by people like me.

I am often dismayed and disappointed about the way that homosexuals are slammed by Christians. Michael's review, and his ensuing comments, was a refreshing change.. catch the whole iMonk review here.. you may be glad you did :)

Rehabilitating Criminal Rehabilitation

My cyberfriend Joe recently shared his thoughts about capital punishment in a post titled Thoughts on Church, Torture and Capital Punishment. Here are a few excerpts from our comment thread:

Bob: Having ministered in prisons and jails for the past 7 years I have to admit that our penal system really sucks. It is uber-expensive.. it seems that it puts a huge burden on the tax payers. Any thoughts about what should be done and how we should treat those who commit murder?

Joe: I believe murderers should be punished. I don’t believe that the punishment for murder must be life imprisonment. I think that many but not all criminals can be rehabilitated. I think it would be uncivilized to imprison criminals without also trying to rehabilitate them. If imprisonment does not include an all out effort to rehabilitate, then we are wasting the taxpayer’s money. The criminal deserves punishment and his or her punishment is a deterrent to others. The taxpayer deserves that the system rehabilitates the criminal so that s/he can be released as soon as the punishment is complete with a reasonable expectation that s/he will not return to crime.

Bob: I get what you are saying Joe.. just think that we need practical steps to change the culture.. until the culture is changed we need to focus on protecting citizens.

From my perspective our penal system seems to really focus on rehabilitating inmates.. just not sure (from my interactions with inmates) that many have the desire to change.. even the ones in our bible studies exuded an amazing amount of ego.. I sometimes wondered if they really understood why they were in jail when they complained about being forced to attend rehab classes.

Quick story: one of our prison volunteers took in a "rehabilitated" prisoner when he completed his sentence. It was a nightmare.. the guy who was angelic in our bible studies turned into Satan when he got out.

I shudder to think about letting violent folks return to society thinking that they are rehabilitated. Of course the system today does allow for some criminals (even murderers) to be paroled.. so life-imprisonment is not always for life.

Our dialog at Joe's place is ongoing.. feel free to join our conversation.. these excerpts are limited to the penal system but Joe has some good things to say about capital punishment and the death penalty.

So what do you think the focus of our penal system should be? Do you think it is working? Should conditions in prisons be austere (i.e. no TV or air conditioning) or do you think the atmosphere should be more of a collegial one where the focus is on education and learning? Or should it be something totally different?

Geeky Gifts for Mom

Just in time for you procrastinators.. in case you need some special ideas for what to get that special woman for Mother's Day.. ZD Net has Gifts for the Geeky Mom.. like this beautiful Kailo Chic in Mocha Floral laptop tote :)

Other gifts include cameras, netbooks and the Kindle 2.. anyone plan to go geeky this weekend?

National Day of Prayer

To celebrate the day I am asking a question over at An Eye for Redemption.

Stop by and let me know what you think!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Disappointed Trekkers..

LOL: Trekkers Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

American Idolatry

Anybody watching American Idol this season? I have been enjoying the show.. great young singers this year.. and a great final four singing this week.

My pick to take it all had a hiccup last week when Adam Lambert hit the bottom three.

Who are you picking to win it all?

He Ain't Heavy

My heart sinks when I see pictures like this one.. it is reminiscent of Cain's questioning answer to God in the fourth chapter of Genesis:

Am I my brother's keeper?

Now I am not saying that people need to be bailed out.. all I am saying is that this in-your-face kind of callous rhetoric really bothers me.. it so lacks class, grace and compassion.



Maybe the following song from 1969 gives us a better response to people who have made mistakes.. people who are hurting.. people who know that they have blown it and so need someone to encourage them.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

The road is long with many of winding turns
That lead us to who knows where,
who knows where
But I'm strong,
strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear, we'll get there

For I know
he would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all,
I am laden with sadness that
everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
of Love for one another

It's a long long road
From which there is no return
while we're on our way to there why not share

And the load doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy , he's my brother

Say it with me.. He ain't heavy.. He's my brother.

Everybody is Worried

To Forgive is Divine

I think that we sometime enter into the realm of the Divine when we forgive. When we relinquish our right to judge and embrace loving others through forgiveness we set ourselves free. Here are a few things that people have said about forgiveness:

He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. -Mahatma Gandhi

There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love. -Bryant H. McGill

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. -Robert Muller

Forgiveness is the oil of relationships. -Josh McDowell

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. -Lewis B. Smedes

When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive. -Alan Paton

To err is human, to forgive divine. -Alexander Pope