You Can Do to Be a Bridge to the People Around You
Drawing Attention … October 21st, 2020
Jonathots Daily Blog
(4561)
Shine On
(tap the picture to see the video)
Music: No One Is Better Than Anyone Else
by Jonathan Richard Cring
Scrambles … October 20th, 2020
Jonathots Daily Blog
(4553)
Take a few minutes and unscramble this week’s inspirational thought from the words provided:
makes
then
the
is
jail.
you
If
lying
free
being
in
truth
P. S. Find the unscrambled answer in today’s jonathotsjr.com
1 Thing You Can Do This Week to Improve Your Spiritual Health … October 19th, 2020
Think of God as ‘Abba’
A friend of mine once said that if you think about God too much you go crazy. (He also believed if you licked the back of a frog, it was like taking LSD.)
He had a lot of ideas and didn’t mind sharing them.
Still–I don’t think it’s how MUCH you think about God that makes you crazy but rather, HOW you think about him. Some beliefs going around about God can certainly alienate you from your fellow-humans. For instance:
- God is all-powerful.
- God is mean.
- God is American.
- God is Jewish.
- God is Arab.
- God is rock and roll.
Each one of those particular incarnations of the Almighty has its own personality, style and demeanor.
I have concluded that of all the choices available, thinking of Him (or Her) as a Father is pretty good–that is, if you mean father as in the dad we all wish we had instead of the substitute-teacher-figure who ended up in our homeroom in the eighth grade.
So if God is a dad, who would he be?
My choice would be Harrison Ford when he played the President in Air Force One.
If you don’t remember the movie, even though the plane is hijacked by Russian subversives with really bad accents, Harrison, as the President, decides to stay onboard, fight them and save his family. He does a whole bunch of brave stuff that you know he would not really be able to do, but believing he was willing adds a lot of fun to the story.
Yeah, God could be Harrison Ford.
Note: I don’t know if it would be advantageous to me to think of God as my ACTUAL dad. I mean, I don’t have anything against him. He was a small, German man who normally didn’t say more than six things during the week and five of those were explanations on why he wasn’t talking. No, I couldn’t really tolerate a silent God. I’d always be wondering why He stopped speaking to me.
I kind of like the idea of God fighting for me.
I kind of like the idea of God being that kind of Father.
Of course, according to my friend’s philosophy, I’ve already talked enough about God to earn a 72-hour hold at Bellevue.
So remember–it’s not about how MUCH you think about God.
It’s about how you think of Him.
Living a Legendary Life … October 18th, 2020
Sitting 1
Seen in Secret
It really doesn’t make any difference to me what name you use. Perhaps someday, when we cross over the vast chasm of misinformation, we will discover that there is an actual name above all other names.
But for the sake of discussion in this book, please understand I don’t really care what name or title you use.
What I’m talking about, of course, is the name we prefer for that Unseen Beyond Us That Sees All.
Call him God, Allah, Jesus, Vishnu, Mohammed, Jehovah, Enlightened One or even Larry. It makes no difference to me. Even atheism will receive no condemnation from this author.
Yet in the practical application of our everyday lives, and for the sake of pursuing the excellence of a legendary existence, it seems to me that we must acknowledge an Unseen That Sees All — even if this personage is of our own creation.
So if you will allow me in this book, I will use the name Larry.
Yes, Larry.
A Generic Deity
I know this may upset the religious soul, but my main problem with organized religion is that it worships a god who shows up for praise and worship and then disappears, leaving us, during the rest of our week, to our own devices.
The result is that some of the most avid followers occupying mosque, church, synagogue and monastery are also the greatest agnostics in the world. They have a form of godliness but deny the real power and message of a lifestyle. And here is how I describe that legendary lifestyle:
We believe in order to receive, becoming more generous to ourselves and more open to others.
Now, this should be the conclusion of a spiritual encounter. Alas (as they used to say) religion tends to be the disease infesting and infecting us.
So for the sake of this sitting, please allow me to call this unseen presence, Larry. I think it will prevent any disgruntled religious folk from feeling I expressed favoritism. And to those not inclined to any formal religion at all, it will introduce a friendly, neutral presence
Larry is of us. Larry knows how we work. He knows our drawbacks.
Our greatest weakness? Theory over substance. We prefer discussion to decision. We relish committees to commitment and favor argument to agreement. You see it in the church, in business, in politics and even in entertainment. Why is this?
Because laziness is our mooching second cousin and fussiness our adopted Jewish mother. Therefore, mulling over principle robs all the time for principled action. Political maneuvering eliminates policy change.
Larry knows our weakness. Maybe it’s a creative flaw — a design malfunction. Maybe it’s a symptom of general wear and tear. Or, more likely, it’s deterioration in our consciousness.
We have chosen repeating over repenting. Yes, repeat over repent.
After all, spirituality in theory is interesting. On the other hand, spirituality in practice is a festering reminder of our inadequacy. So it’s much easier to believe that Larry extends grace to us, cutting us slack for our shortcomings and allowing us to muddle on in our lives in some sort of bewildered dream cloud. But there is a shocker:
Larry Sees
Even in the moments when we feel like it doesn’t make any difference — those times we think that effort is anal — Larry sees.
It is important to know that we are not alone in our actions. Or perhaps better phrased, our inactions. Because most of the sins of humans are transgressions in omission instead of commission. In other words, we fail most often by delaying, not by prematurely jumping in.
We have trained ourselves to be spectators in our own lives, victims of chance and circumstance, adrift on the seas of fate. Larry disagrees.
The first step to leading a legendary life is realizing that Larry sees, Larry cares and Larry is prepared to reward those souls who dare to become intimately involved in their own lives by making quality choices.
For Larry sees in secret. And once we bring our secret life under our own review, we begin to set in motion true empowerment to garner success. And what is that success? Real success comes from deriving soul satisfaction at the end of a well-thought-out day.
Yes, Larry sees in secret. Not in order to punish, but rather, to alert and bestow benefit upon those folks who become caretakers of their own space.
But how do we override the sensation that some things just really don’t matter?
1. Slow your life down
Take the time to enjoy the time to redeem the time to have the time to create the time to make the time mean more.
And this isn’t just another “stop and smell the roses” speech. This is actively avoiding the horrendous practice of multi-tasking (which is just producing the possibility of multi-erroring) and finding out the unexplored value of the common. For instance, the grocery store is not only stocked with food, but with people, surprises, deals, samples, and conversation for those shoppers who will slow the pace down a bit and take in the whole experience.
The jobsite is not merely the joint where we pick up our paycheck, but rather, a place to rehearse excellence, interact with people who disagree and discover better use of time and energy.
Larry sees — not because he’s nosy, but because Larry knows we are better people when we do more than hit our marks but instead, pace ourselves and enjoy the journey.
2. Notice
We are a visual people needing a vision. There are others trying.
Notice them.
For instance, every morning, Larry and Nature put together a fireworks extravaganza that we glibly call “dawn.” And every night they repeat the process — dusk. Notice.
Notice one thing today that you did not notice yesterday. Then you’ll have three hundred sixty-five things in your bank of discovery at the end of the year — not to mention the interest you have earned from other folks around you.
3. Acknowledge
There are people who are trying to be involved with others by being more attentive to their own life. Acknowledge when you see them already doing what you want to do. Acknowledge courtesy. Acknowledge excellence. Acknowledge tenderness. Acknowledge awareness. Acknowledge when someone has pursued something further than expected.
There are people who have figured out that Larry is watching.
The instant we contend that there are no caring people, someone will crop up in our midst and do something really delightfully human — human in the sense of how we were intended to be. Surprise!
What is the purpose of possessing the greatest brainpower on the planet and using it to stumble through a series of repetitive chores?
What is the value of having a capacity to love at a fevered intensity and yawn our way through a bunch of boring relationships?
To live a legendary existence means we must live as if we understand that we are seen — even in our secret moments.
Larry isn’t trying to condemn us, but rather, motivate us to become keepers of our own destiny.
Larry is watching because he gives a damn–and he hopes that we can learn to feel the same way.
From the Stacks … October 16th, 2020
Upon occasion, something written by Jonathan long ago seems downright prophetic. When I happen upon one of these, I shall publish it under the category, “From the Stacks.”
The little essay was below written in 2017 (though never published on Jonathots Daily Blog).
It is both prophetic and funny–no easy feat in this day and age. –J Clazzy
The Thirty Second Philosophy
Watching television yesterday, my program was interrupted by a testing of the Emergency Broadcast System–thirty seconds of beeps and buzzes, making me wonder why it was necessary.
But it got me thinking.
What if that broadcasting system started to proclaim that a disaster was in the making?
Maybe a meteor struck the Earth, an atomic bomb?
Or what if a tidal wave from an angry ocean was descending upon us?
What if I had just thirty seconds to live?
What would I do?
I was amazed at how quickly I came up with an answer.
Four things came to my mind:
1. “Thanks, God.”
After all, no need to get grumpy at this point, right?
2. “I love you all.”
Getting picky over people right now seems really ridiculous.
3. “I hope we’re right about that heaven thing.”
Worse than dying in thirty seconds is the whole idea that you’re REALLY, REALLY dead.
And finally:
4. “You can have anything left in my refrigerator.”
Honestly? There’s some pretty good stuff in there.
As the Emergency Broadcast System test ended, I paused and thought over my list.
I liked it.
Matter of fact, I’ve decided to adopt it, even when I’m NOT threatened by termination.
I have dubbed it my Thirty Second Philosophy, which I shall use 24/7.
Let’s all practice it:
- Thanks, God.
- I love you all.
- Sure hope we’re right about heaven.
- And you are welcome to anything left over in my refrigerator.
3 Things … October 15th, 2020
That Make Planet Earth Smile
The whole temperature of Planet Earth is geared to three different emotions, and our job is to know when to use them:
Care
There’s pain in the air and suffering has made its mark. Being able to dip into a heart filled with grace and provide care is bringing heaven to Earth.
Aware
Sometimes there’s a chance to do something truly significant, but it is buried under inconvenience or arrives on a day when we’ve already determined that “we’re too busy.” Yet, for those who are aware and have tuned their ears, eyes and passions to possibility, these little treasures can carry you into the future and place you in great positions.
Dare
When bigotry or fear has shut down the world around us, Planet Earth needs someone to step out of the box of conformity and do something different. This always provides immediate benefit. Can we dare to do it?
