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gpocon
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Country: United States
Gender: Male
Interests: Music (Classical and Country Western pre Nashville), Reading,(Poetry and fiction. Riding motorcycle.
Expertise: Mostly reading, listening to news on xm radio as well as listening to classical and country western music
Occupation: Retired
Industry: Other
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
6/12/2003
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| Saturday, 2 April 2005
Quiet day. Reflecting on the death of the Pope. Watched pre season game between Mariners and Cubs. Cubs stole the game in the 9th with two home runs.
When you see the Pope at 58 when he bacame Pope and compare him to the frail old man at his death you certainly see why the Buddha became the Buddha. He saw the unreality of this material world in that he saw that nothing is permanent. Not even our thoughts which follow one another in rather rapid succession. Same with emotions one moment happy next moment sad. Healthy and then sick. Strong then weak. When you get right down to it attachment to anything can bring suffering. Like wanting the Red Sox to win then they lose to the Yankees or vice versa. Life is just a passing thing like a flowing river. You can’t really hold on to anything because nothing remains the same. Spritual values remain the same. I suppose that is where transcendence comes into the picture.
They say that the Pope was always praying when not directly involved in interactions with others. Reporters say he could often be seen with his head bowed in prayer and his lips moving. Even following exhausting schedules he could be seen with his Rosary.
Very spritual people really do not give this world first priority. Buddhists in meditation let go of all material things. People of all religions have mystics who go into deep meditation on a savior like Christ or a Principle like Christian Science which goes a long way to doing away with material existence completely.
It is reported that the last word the Pope spoke was Amen. I have no doubt that he was deep in meditative prayer probably to the Blessed Virgin to whom he had special reverence.
It is especially true at the time of death when it just you against the abyss that you realize that there is no other person on the face of the earth that can help you that you search for spritual reality.
Well for the next several weeks the Church will get a lot of favorable press which they deserve after the scandals that have plagued them. It is important to remember the 2000 year history of the Church has produced extemely deep thinkers and a very large number of contemplatives who were no fools by a long shot.
The atheists of today could not have stood up to Aquinas or Augustine or hundreds of other Catholic theologians. When you see a man protest against religion or God you can bet it is primarily because it forbids him from committing sin. We all prefer our petty lusts don’t we?
When men put away a belief in God or a higher power they worship themselves and that results in the secularism that pervades Europe.
Enough rambling for tonight. Tomorrow Red Sox versus Yankees. let the games begin. Even if they are transient. Go Red Sox.
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| Started the day with a nice morning walk. Rainy with blustery wind which had blown out the stagnant air and replaced it with fresh, clean air. Rain shining on the trees and on the pavement under the street lights. A very delightful start to the day.
Got back to turn on the TV to see the Pope was near death. Though the world is about to lose one of its great lights it is difficult to be too sad. The Pope has led a completely full and useful life. I wish I could say the say the same for myself. I have compromised many times in my life. I wish I could have had his moral courage. He goes to the presence of his Lord with a head held high. I think that he will probably say hello to Terri Schiavo. They have entered heaven almost together.
It will be interesting to see who the Lord chooses as his next servant on earth. There is a lot of thought that the next Pope may come from Africa where the Church is growing rapidly. It probably will not be from the United States. We shall see.
I am looking forward to the Yankees/Red Sox game Sunday on ESPN. It will be a great way to kick off the new baseball season. That dogone Dish is a great invention. For old retired people like me it is a Godsend. I will be able to watch a game every day and perhaps more than one a day can heaven be better than this?
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| Thursday, 31 March 2005
Rest in Peace Terri Schiavo
If she had been allowed to live she may have outlived her husband. She was not a terminally ill person. She was a mentally disabled person. Her husband, the one who should have stood by her side; became her murderer. With the assistance of the court (siding with love of death lawyers) had her murdered. I never thought that I would live to see my country join the decadent European nations in their encouragement of euthenasia. Now the mentally disabled had better hope that none of their relatives want them out of the way because all they have to do is persuade a judge that they did not want to live in a less than perfect state of physicla or mental health.
THE INSTINCT OF HOPE
Is there another world for this frail dust
To warm with life and be itself again?
Something about me daily speaks there must,
And why should instinct nourish hopes in vain?
'Tis nature’s prophesy that such will be,
And everything seems struggling to explain
The close sealed volume of its mystery.
Time wandering onward keeps its usual pace
As seeming anxious of eternity,
To meet that calm and find a resting place.
E'en the small violet feels a future power
And waits each year renewing blooms to bring,
And surely man is no inferior flower
To die unworthy of a second spring?
John Clare
Home
Infinity is home for me
As well as it is for you;
It's where God brought us from
And where we're going to.
George P. O'Connell
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| Now the Supreme court is trying to decide if we have the right to display the 10 commandments in public places. The case was begun by a homeless lawyer with too much time on his hands. Athiests keep trying to attack what they do not believe in. It is so religious of them. It is what gives their lives meaning.
I feel the Supreme Court will find a reason to let the ten commandments remain in public places. They are not only religious but also the basis of law in most countries in the world. It is just difficult to believe that this is even being debated.
One of the justices said we must beware of becoming completely secular which is an antireligious religion. Just look at France to see where that nonsense leads.
Got to watch the Washington Nationals beat the Mets in their first spring training game as a new team. It was great to see the boys of summer coming back on the field. One of the kids in the stand had a tee shirt that read "Life Begins on Opening Day". Actually it begins in spring training for some of us. Tomorrow it is Philys and Yankees. Life is good. | | |
| Rainy Nights
Irene Thompson
I like the town on rainy nights
When everything is wet -
When all the town has magic lights
And streets of shining jet!
When al lthe rain about the town
Is like a looking-glass,
And all the lights are upside-down
Below me as I pass.
In all the pools are velvet skies,
And down the dazzling street
A fairy city gleams and lies
In beauty at my feet.
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