Archive | July 2017

Ignorance is not bliss


via Daily Prompt: Bumble

“He who knows not,
and knows not that he knows not,
is a fool; shun him.

He who knows not,
and knows that he knows not,                 
is a student; Teach him.

He who knows,
and knows not that he knows,
is asleep; Wake him.

He who knows,
and knows that he knows,
is Wise; Follow him.”

― Arabian



Image result for knowledge and wisdom pictures







I just want peace

via Daily Prompt: Bury


It can’t be bought or sold, but it can be planted and cultivated. Don’t even try to understand it because you won’t. However, you’ll recognize it when it’s around, and you’ll know when it’s gone. It’s  both accessible and elusive. While it is the opposite of strife, men have fought wars to gain it without knowing it comes from within. What I’m talking about is peace.

I can usually predict when an otherwise well-kempt student is going to have a bad day by looking at their hair. Almost invariably, if they come into the classroom in the morning with uncombed or unfixed hair, their behavior follows suit for that day. They generally cause problems during instruction, in the hallway, or in the cafeteria. Sometimes, they end up getting in a physical fight with a classmate. They may blame their opponent for starting the fight with them but after some prodding, you realize that the fight began with them before they arrived at school. They had an issue that began at home that was not resolved and since misery likes company, they brought it to school.

Anger, resentment, frustration, hate, and bitterness create inner turmoil. These emotions rupture our internal equilibrium, and if left unresolved can destroy our lives. If a spouse offends us and we don’t talk about the problem. we set ourselves up for a divorce. One small hurt festers into something big. We all have problems in our lives; how we handle them is what separates the resourceful from the helpless. Failure to acknowledge our issues or burying our anger is not the best way to deal with the challenges that we face every day.  We must recognize and deal with negative emotions head on so that they don’t overwhelm us.

It does not mean that we are in control of our emotional well-being because we don’t go to work throwing chairs and firing shots at our coworkers. Disparaging a subordinate in front of others, agreeing with wrong simply to please others, and covertly discriminating against someone because of the person’s race, gender, and origin are symptomatic of deeper problems in our lives. We hurt others because we have hurt. Unfortunately, many of us don’t even know that we do and if it’s revealed to us, we will not admit it because we are afraid to confront us. We have been taught so long to bury our emotions to save face that we have become numb to ourselves. Consequently, we have a lot of functional dysfunctional people working in our institutions.

They are a disaster waiting to happen.

We see it over and over again in the news. Mother murders children. Judge commits suicide. Doctor shoots former coworkers. The list goes on, but I must not forget the number of killings carried out by disgruntled postal workers in recent years. It became so frequent that the expression “going postal” has become part of our vocabulary. It’s sad that people laugh at this expression.

Lack of peace is not a laughing matter. Although we shy away from talking about it, we are seeing the effects of it in our society and in other parts of the world. There are wars and rumors in foreign lands, terrorism, and unthinkable forms of an atrocity of man against man. In our country, it seems like every man is against his brother and his brother against him. Nobody wants to bury the hatchet. From the highest to the lowest office in our land, people denigrate each other and engage in immoral and illegal acts, but are unwilling to admit wrong. All these are the result of the absence of peace.

To say that a person who has peace has a pollyannish view is mistaken. Having peace does not mean that one does have emotions like anger or that one is without problems. It means that one is able to cope with stress because one has or can access the resources for doing so. Moreover, one does not go into denial and buries the problem, hoping it will never resurface.

Since peace is not a commodity we buy in the store, it can only be accessed spiritually. God is the beginning and end of real peace, and without Him, there is no right calm. Those who accept Him will receive His peace and exude it. There are many assuring scriptures that He has given us to keep us as we journey through this life:

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus ( Phillipians 4:6-7 KJV).
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:33, KJV).
 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3, KJV).
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful( Colossians 3:15, KJV).
 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14, KJV).


Let them play!

via Daily Prompt: Caper   

My grandson strikes a goofy pose in the middle of Time Square. I see this picture several times during the day as I move about in my kitchen. It’s sitting at the front of my refrigerator, and I smile every time I see it as if I’m noticing it for the first time. There are other photos of my grandson on the fridge, but this one captures my heart more than the others.

Perhaps it does because my grandson has this silly grin and a mischievous glint in his eye. Moreover, he has managed to contort his body in a funny position, and it seems that he has enjoyed it immensely. Elijah’s intention was to entertain his spectators, and he has achieved his goal with me. I’m drawn to the energy and exuberance in that photo. Children ought to be that way: carefree, energetic, happy, playful, and a little mischievous.

Something pulls far down in the pit of my stomach every time I hear of another child being kidnapped, raped, or killed. I can’t bear seeing a hungry child on TV or even worse, for unscrupulous adults to parade the faces of disadvantaged kids for soliciting money and cheap publicity. Call me old fashioned, but there is nothing more refreshing than little girls dressed in pretty frocks and hats and boys in suits, especially on Easter Sunday.  Jeans, shorts, skirts, T-shirts and other forms of clothing are fine too.

However, my pet peeve is when parents try to dress their children as miniature adults. Why should little girls wear sexually revealing clothes and be subjected to the negative attention of some who are morally bankrupt? Although there is no correlation between dress and the sexual exploitation of young children, we cannot ignore the fact that clothing affects the perception of the beholder. For example, the worst criminal will appear before a judge in his best attire to create a good impression. Therefore, parents must take into consideration what story their child is unintentionally telling when they dress him or her each day.

Parents have an obligation to take care of their children. They cannot choose which responsibilities they will or will not assume regarding their offspring. Attending a parent teacher conference at least once during the school year is no less important than taking one’s child to Disney World. Sometimes telling your child no also shows that you care. Children need parents to guide and set boundaries for them as they continue to nurture their sense of inquiry.

God had a reason for delaying the full development of the frontal lobe in humans until the earlier part of our adults. Decision making, planning, problem-solving and emotional control are functions that occur in this area of the brain. Considering that children need to explore and learn about their environment, risk taking would be stymied with a full blown frontal lobe. Gradual development correlates with physical maturation.

Since the frontal lobe gives our children more “room to mess up,” they are more inclined to take risks, and less inhibited in expressing their emotions. Immediate gratification matters more to them than what the future holds. That is why they caper, frolic, and play. They feel invincible, so they do things that make you cringe. Let them cavort and laugh and grab life with both hands, but don’t leave them to their own devices. They need you to be their scaffold. Teach them to love God, respect themselves, treat their neighbors kindly, and protect the earth.

Childhood is what shapes our adulthood. Let’s help our children to enjoy this wonderful stage of their lives. Therefore, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).