Jonathots Daily Blog
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Weeds weeds
Still grow from seeds
Grass and reeds
Don’t meet no needs
Look quite green
Is what I mean
Strongest bean
I ever seen
Pull them, son
Come on, it’s fun
But they are plenty
Much too many.
Most folks ain’t bad
More often just sad
Stop being mad
Make someone glad
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2885)
G-Pop wonders if his children know the difference between a lost cause and a losing one.
In the same manner, can they distinguish between a losing concern and a lasting effort?
Lost, losing, lasting.
It may be one of the secret ingredients in the special sauce that makes life palatable.
There are lost causes.
It’s when the Universe has said no and some people still continue to promote the bad idea.
In the garden of humanity, the weeds are always those individuals who promote ignorance and prejudice. They are also always dug up and cast aside.
Even when some new incarnation of an old stupidity and bigotry tries to surface, it is eventually exposed as a fruitless endeavor.
A lost cause is when the Universe has said no and there are those who still insist on pursuing.
Then there’s a losing cause. That’s when people are saying no.
The funny thing about people is that on occasion they tap the more divine part of their nature–but equally as often, it’s “monkey see, monkey do.”
So it is sometimes difficult to assess whether a project is virtuous or vacuous based simply upon immediate acceptance in the marketplace.
That’s why a lasting cause helps us maintain our energy and sanity.
A lasting cause is one where a negative response from humanity is insignificant because eventually the goodness that comes to fruition proves the value.
There aren’t many lasting causes. There are only three that abide, and that’s faith, hope and love.
Faith is that which makes us understand that we are not alone.
Hope encourages us to do something because we have been given breath and life to achieve.
And love is the willingness to commit to others and our cause, even when it initially may appear to be the last in line.
G-Pop is concerned that his children will become jaded and weary because the world around them is so content with mediocrity that suggesting improvement often invokes a snicker.
A lost cause is easily discovered by listening to the Universe.
A losing cause is having the wisdom to hear the heart of humanity without totally trusting that everything being shared is pure.
But a lasting cause is when faith, hope and love are given more than reverence, but pushed forward to discover the ultimate relevance.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2346)
Let’s settle one major misconception–children are not born desiring video games, I-phones, Sesame Street, toys, candy and the latest fad or trend. They are coerced through advertising and peer pressure to pursue these products and attitudes by big-budget corporations which use their advertising dollars as efficiently as possible.
Don’t be paranoid but by the same token, be careful what media outlets you allow your children to watch or otherwise, you will suffer the backlash of cultural greed.
Now that you have a child who has gained speech, feet and knows where to poop, it’s a good idea to approach this young creature as a garden.
You’ve got to plant some corn and carrots.
I call it corn because most people in our time consider it to be “corny” to feel for others. Yet without this introspection, we are worse than animals gnawing on each other in the jungle, because we actually do have a brain with the capacity for empathy.
So rather than assuming that every child born in America is destined to want to play computer games, intervene and create a garden, where you plant corniness and generosity, allowing for healthier attitudes.
A suggestion: teach your children to share the sad and the happy. Put them in environments so they can understand that someone is sad and they should feel something about it. Likewise, when they run a race and lose, encourage them to do better next time, while you also insist that they rejoice with the winner.
They are not going to want to do this.
That is irrelevant. You made this person, and you have the keys to their soul until you turn them over at age eighteen and they become responsible for their own destiny.
Perhaps it is corny, but teach your children to cry for something other than the fact that they didn’t get a candy bar in the checkout line at Wal-Mart.
Alert them to the importance of being happy for others. There is no way to continually be happy if you only celebrate your own victories.
And finally, you should plant some carrots. Yes–teach them to “care about it.” Shall we put it under the banner of “share the wealth?”
Since it’s virtually impossible to bounce two balls at the same time, gently nudge or purposefully demand that your child share one with a friend, even if he or she does not immediately produce joy in their heart over the experience.
We’re planting a garden. From age 3-6 the soil is very fertile–and therefore also susceptible to weeds. And in our society, a weed is any belief that we must grab and run instead of nurture and share.
Remember–they’re kids, not humans. You are in charge of their journey to discovering Eden by planting a garden within them.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(2168)
I think most people have found themselves in the embarrassing situation of arriving late to an appointment, being held up by traffic, and requiring an ice-breaker to share when entering the room of awaiting friends.
One of the favorites quips is the gasping exclamation, “It’s a jungle out there!”
It usually evokes some laughter–partly due to its corniness–but mostly because we have all become a bit convinced by society, entertainment and even religion that human beings are depraved animals.
So rather than looking at life and our potentials with optimism, we find ourselves desperately trying to avoid the human representations of silly monkeys, ravenous lions and venomous snakes.
Somewhere along the line we have forgotten the beautiful explanation that man and woman were spawned in a garden. Maybe it’s too idealistic. Perhaps the world around us will not permit us to believe that such beauty is attainable and such blessing within our grasp.
I just don’t know what we ever gain by allowing the underbrush of weeds and human mediocrity to surround us, causing us to retreat to our caves in fear. Yes, I think there’s a choice. Am I going to continue to live in a jungle or am I going to do my best, before I leave here, to turn the earth–or at least my portion of it–into a garden?
Two things are necessary to transform a jungle into a garden:
1. You’ve got to cool things down.
Jungles are steamy and hot, breeding all sorts of creeping, crawling vermin which welcome such a searing climate. Sometimes the greatest thing we can do in any situation is to refuse to participate in frenetic energy and heated debate, find a quiet place, sit down and wait for things to cool off. I do think it’s what Jesus meant when he suggested that the “meek inherit the earth.” As long as you’re struggling, punching and fighting with everyone for the dead carcass in the middle of the Serengeti, you are exhausting yourself–not to mention casting your lot with the more unseemly actions of the beasts.
Cool things down.
Occasionally I find myself in an argument and realize that the flame is rising and the intelligence is leaving. The situation requires that somebody shut up. When I actually am wise enough to do so, things cool down.
2. Clear things out.
I have been focusing this year on eliminating the scrub brush that suffocates my life, making me feel paranoid and claustrophobic. There are things I just don’t need, require or even desire anymore. Maybe they were once status symbols or security blankets, but now they’ve just become all-encompassing. If you’re going to grow something, you often have to remove what is occupying space but is useless.
Clear things out.
When you cool things down, all the hot-headed animals and the plant life that is tropical disappear. When you clear things out, you find soil underneath the tangled mess of weeds. Then you’re prepared to plant a garden.
And what is a garden? A glorious three-step process. A garden give me the chance to:
A. Seed what I need.
Yes, to actually get specific instead of hoping for the best or praying for miracles because I failed to do my job.
B. Grow what I know.
I realized last week that I don’t lack wisdom. I lack frequent flyer miles using it. There is so much I can do, say, share, perform and be that I squander in pursuit of things unknown or beyond my capability.
C. And finally, receive what I believe.
Having come to peace with myself and my own gifts in the garden I have cleared off, and knowing that things have cooled down, I can be a good farmer. Yes:
You can think whatever you want–I believe we were born in a garden … and have settled for a jungle.
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Jonathots Daily Blog
(1981)
Just plant the seed
Hoe down some weeds
Trust Father and Mother
Harvest timely … and rejoice.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event
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I started my hunt.
I was looking for fellow-people who shared my message–and also for the possibility of some sort of divine order in the universe sympathetic to my cause.
And then an amazing thing happened. I found a brook within a stream of humanity that seemed to grasp the concept that “NoOne is better than anyone else.”
“All men are created equal.”
“With malice toward none and charity toward all…”
“People should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
Jefferson, Lincolnand King–a plantation owner, a lawyer and a preacher. All three came to the same conclusion as mine. I was onto something. They shared only one thing in common–they had come to America to escape injustice. So this is why I am proud to be an American. At least in our field of activity, the seed of commonality has been sown, even though we permit weeds to prosper. I have brothers and I have sisters. My message has forefathers, contemporaries and even the promise of a future generation of proclaimers.
So then I searched for a God. Why, you may ask? Why not just relish the message? Because on dark nights, when our mission is being battered by critics, we need the fellowship of other human beings and the confirmation that somewhere in the heavens we are being supported.
I found Jesus. Although he is hampered by much religious fussiness and tied to too many failing causes, at the heart of his message is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Pretty close, huh? Almost “NoOne is better than anyone else.”
He also said that God is our Father. If that is true, it usually means that a father doesn’t have favorite children. Jesus gave me a God who doesn’t think that some of His seed is better than others. There you go.
So even though I would not call myself a conventional Christian, I am a follower of Jesus and a believer in my Father who art in heaven. When people try to get religious with me, I go back to my message. When people deny my message, I go to another village.
I will end my life that way–because I know if some people are better than other people, then most certainly, beyond a doubt, there is no God.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
I am not beautiful.
I have known this for some time. Ever since I realized that the mirror before me was a reflecting piece of glass instead of a gateway to find Alice, I have been fairly aware of my status. What astounds me is the evolution that has occurred in the reaction I receive from people when making that simple statement. When I was a kid, if I said, “I am not beautiful,” the response from those around me would be, “Well, who is?” But now there’s a severe emotional handicap that causes people to literally rebuke me if I happen to be candid about my obvious condition. To say “I’m not beautiful” is considered poor self-worth, a blemish on self-esteem.
So nowadays, human beings,rather than finding a way to be truthful about their own feelings in situations, have to hide them behind a mask of verbal propriety, which literally requires that we always put their best foot forward and never become critical of their situations. Now, I might be impressed with this if it actually made better people. But instead, it creates haughtiness, a defensive nature and a whole lot of cover-up about what we know to be true.
I arrived early for my gig last night, so I found a secluded section of the parking lot and sat, enjoying the beauty of the day. Directly in front of my eyes was a patch of weeds which the landscaper had obviously ignored or had not yet put on his daily list of activities. I thought to myself, how do I know these are weeds? They’re perfectly green–just like other plants. They’re growing like …well… like a weed. Some of them even had little flowers on them, to increase the possibility for approval. But I knew they were weeds, and because I had this knowledge, I judged them harshly. It made me laugh. Basically, I am a weed.
Here I was, sitting in the parking lot of this strange church, ready to go in to set up my equipment and do my presentation–and I can tell you of a certainty, after forty years of performing, I am still not confident of my own ability. I am never sure I have enough. Truthfully, I do not know why anyone would want to listen. I am aware of the many distractions that leap before the human eye, to draw people away to other pursuits. Lots of folks would think it’s ridiculous for me to be so insecure about what I do, which they would tell me is done quite well.
But the answer is simple:
That particular three-pronged passage would cause many people to be critical of me, telling me that I need to have more confidence and be more assertive. But it’s just not true. If I wrote in this jonathots that I’m a winner, that I can’t lose and that I have never been a loser, you might nod your head because society tells you that such proclamations have become appropriate.
But honestly, part of you would despise me. None of us like arrogant people, even when their conceit has some basis in reality. We want our geniuses to admit to moments of stupidity. We want our beauty queens to share a story about their battle with pimples. We want our politicians to admit they made a mistake, and therefore they are flip-flopping towards a more enlightened conclusion. I think we’re all grateful for a God who destroyed the world with a flood, but then turned around and admitted He was sorry He did it.
There is no power in being beautiful. There is no warmth in proclaiming your superiority. Anyone who would get in a van and travel across this country meeting strangers every single week, should be a little uncertain of the conclusions. If he or she isn’t, they are just self-deluded and overwrought about their own talents.
I believe I am valuable to God and other people because I know I’m not beautiful. I cannot stand in front of an audience with a straight face and tell them that all of my choices, ideas and ventures have been successful. They haven’t.
But until we understand that weakness, losing and even being a loser is a part of this experience on our cruise of earth, we will be in danger of either becoming obnoxious or just outright liars.
Because I am not beautiful and I am a loser, here’s what I do:
1. I work on my heart–my emotions. I want them pure. I try the best I can to make sure that what I tell people is the closest thing to the truth as I see it now.
2. I also put my soul on notice that it is not allowed to be pompous or religious. My soul has two jobs–to be grateful to God and free of condemnation of others.
3. Because I know I’m a loser, I renew my mind by keeping it young, contemporary and evolving it towards discovering things that I don’t presently know.
4. And when it comes to my body, what I can do–my best choice–is to perform as well as I can without looking ridiculous. That’s it.
Trying to keep from being a loser is forsaking your humanity and attempting to make yourself a God among your peers. But when you’re able to admit you’re a loser and you work on your heart to keep it pure, your soul to be grateful and free of condemnation, your mind to be young and evolving and your body, to do the best it can without “jumping the shark,” you will have fellowship with many people and be of value to the world around you.
I am not beautiful–and by the way … I am so glad.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
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A voice writing in the wilderness
Jonathots Daily Blog 