An Sionnach

Turn your mind away from things which are not permanent. – Buddha

Like Rome, Byzantium, Russia the US will have it’s day. Much like those countries and empires the US is focused on Power and Money, and it forgets about the needs of it’s people. You are all probably wondering what brought this up. Well as many of you know I have been on the job hunt for quite a while when I was out in Los Angeles. I was suppose to get a job at Herbalife, which would have brought me a very nice paycheck, somewhere in the 60,000 to 80,000 area.

Due to circumstances I have left LA and am now in Denver and have been looking at counseling opportunities, much like what I did at Eckerd Youth Alternatives. Not to my surprise they are offering $8.75 – $9.54 /hr at Outward Bound. Clearly people don’t do this for the money. When I worked at Eckerd we were paid for each day that we worked, which was a 24/hr day, and we would work anywhere from 5 days to 21 days straight. There was a lot of personal investment put in, and understandably < 10% of counselors would actually complete their 2 year contract. When we figured out the hourly it came out to be less than $3/hr for a new counselor, as a Senior Counselor you made less than $4/hr.

Where the hell are our priorities when we focus more on things like programming, diets, oil, gaming, Internet, TV, Clothing, etc and just toss our youth aside. I think it’s time we re-evaluate our priorities.

The candidate that can do that will get my vote.

You know I like to take these personality tests usually once a year. One reason just to check consistency, second is to see how I perceive myself. I usually tend to take different tests, just create some variety as well as help validate the answer. I took this one on Facebook. I think this time I am going to post the profile that goes with it, mainly because I think when dealing with people I think it’s important to know who they are, what they believe, and how they respond. This in turn helps to understand a little better why they tend to respond the way they do. If your on Facebook feel free to respond to my analysis and see if it matches up, or just comment here.

Here is the right up on the INFJ. Anything in {brackets} are things I don’t think match up entirely. Everything else is spot on or close.
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Well the journey west has begun. For all my life I have lived along the East coast. I was born in the great city of Boston, to shortly thereafter at the age of 5 move to New York, where I spent 25 years of my life. I had the opportunity to live in my Moms and Grandfathers hometown, Bangor Maine. It was then on to Philadelphia. Shortly after 9/11 I took a job working with adjudicated youth and lived in a tent for 2 years on a mountain just outside of Hendersonville, NC. The mountains grabbed me so much I decided to stick around and moved up to the city of Asheville, and spent almost 6 years driving through the mountainside. Never in my life has a place impacted me so much as the mountains of Western NC. Anyone who knows me has always said I am most at home when in the woods and mountains. Maybe it’s my the earthy element of my Celtic heritage. I knew these mountains, I even walked them from end to end in 1999.

But today I am leaving these mountains and taking another 2000 mile journey to Los Angeles. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail and reached the end I wondered where to now. As I looked past the terminus sign I saw blazes that led along the knifes edge, those blazes led down the mountain, to the yellow and white blazes of the highway. The Appalachian Trail never ends, because no matter where you look there are more white blazes leading along life’s trail. So while those mountains will sorely be missed I now journey West to another milestone in my life, marriage. Everything I have experienced and learned in my life in the East I am now going to share with my wonderful wife in the west. This seems to be the theme of my life. When it came to studying my faith it was a combination of East and West. Matter of fact it was something that Huw and I had named our combined blog.

This seems to be the theme of my life, it seems that life finds it’s balances. It’s Yin and Yang. When I have spent most of my time in the city it brings me to the woods, when in the woods to the city. Life in the East brings me to life in the West. The first half of my life was spent single or celibate as a Franciscan, the second half marriage. Is not God amazing?

So here I am 1/3rd of the way there. The past few weeks have been exhausting as I have finished up work, continued with classes, as have managed to eliminate so many things so as to get what I can could into my pickup. My 1st day on the road was short, very short. It was mostly to just get going. I stopped along the AT to see if I might run into any of the thru hikers for the year, the next day I drove 800 miles to a small hotel just on the border of Oklahoma. I thought about going another leg, but I saw the 36.95 sign with wireless and a bed called me. I was a little sketchy. I remember many of the 36 dollar hotels on the AT. But Interstate Motel had clean rooms and bathroom, cable TV, WiFi, and breakfast. The pillows could have had a bit more pillow to them. Combine the two, fold em, worked ok. But I advise bringing your own. The front wall is just single pane glass, so as the trucks roll by it sounds like the window is open. But for this tired kitsu, sleep was not a problem.

Well… Westward!!

I just finished reading an interesting article that was in last months Wired magazine. It basically went into the idea that most people would be willing to give larger amounts to assist one person over larger groups of people.  According to psychologists they believe this is hard wired into most of our brains.  For example you land on two separate sites asking for your help.  One site allows you to assist one person, the donation you send specifically goes to assist that one person with food, education, clothing, transportation, etc.  The second site allows you to make a donation to assist a campaign to provide build a school, feed thousands, etc.  While it would be great to think that we could help all these people, deep inside we know that we can not help all those people, and so we give a little less.  In the first example we see that we can directly affect one person, it becomes personal.  We know there is one life that can be save.  One life we can make a difference in, who hopefully can make a difference in other peoples lives.  Let me use a story to explain the point.

A man was walking along a beach one day, and sees a woman tossing starfish back into the ocean.  He notices that the tide has brought thousands upon thousands of starfish up onto the shore.  He knows that for as long as they sit there they will probably die due to sun.  So he asks the woman, “what is it your doing”.  She replies, “tossing starfish back into the ocean so they can live.”  “But there are so many of them, how can you possibly save them all?”.  She smiles and replies, “I can’t, but I can save this one”,  as she proceeds to toss another one in.

This also reminds me of when I took a trip to Honduras to help do some work for a small impoverished  village located in the mountains.  I remember getting there and seeing how many broken down homes there were. Everyone using what they could find in order to keep their homes in repair, and keep their families safe.  I looked at it all, and thought to myself.  There is so much work to be done here.  If I maintained that outlook I would have been overwhelmed by the shear numbers of people who needed help.  But each day we picked 1 home to work on.  One house we placed a cement floor so they would no longer have to live in the mud. 2 other homes we built or rebuilt the roof.  With each project we increased the quality of living for that person or family.  They no longer needed to worry about keeping dry, or sleeping in the mud, and could now focus on other things, including that of helping others in the village.

So when we look at the world, and think to ourselves how could I possibly help any of these people.  You can’t as long as you focus on the large numbers of people that need help.  But you can make a huge impact in one persons life.  And when you think of the amount of people just here in the US, think about how many people that can affect.

At the end of the month of Ramadan, Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their worth to help the needy.  Thats 2.5%, think about how much you give the government in taxes, or to purchase CD’s, movies, another widescreen TV, or 500 channels of cable TV/internet and phone service.  How much of that do you really use, or need?  Do you really need it.  And if you don’t have money, how about your time.  How much of you time is spent in front of the computer, TV, on the phone, playing games, working, or just doing nothing.  2.5% is about 4 hours of your time.  Think of the impact you could make by just donating a little bit of that time to helping someone else.

The first week of Ramadan focuses on the Mercy of God.  It is a time of reflection, where we examine our lives and focus on the great mercy that God bestows upon us.  Let us all give a little bit of ourselves and be a mercy to one person.

Most of you who have been around my blog, or any of the sites I have designed, have seen some of my graphical work.  For years I have been toying around with graphics.  Outside of any formal art classes from back in high school, everything I have learned has been self taught, as well a being a gift from my creator.  For years my mom, dad, and aunt have hassled me about wasting this God given talent that I have.  Friends have pointed out my natural gift and have always asked for assistance when working on designs themselves.  And it wasn’t until recently that I realized that I am completely wasting this gift, and settling for something far less that only gets me by.  So after thorough examination of myself, my gifts and what I want in life; as well as some encouragement from some people close to me I have decided to enroll myself into college for a degree in Graphic Design.  It is an online course, fully accredited.  The first year focuses on the graphical aspects of the course, which will give me a diploma, as well as the skills to begin work as a graphical artist.  Once I have the diploma I can then pursue my Associates and Bachelors degree in one of two fields.  Graphic Design or Interactive Graphical Media allowing me to progress further into the field.  Classes start on Oct 1st, so InshAllah (God Willing) my Federal Loans with pull through in enough time to purchase books, supplies, and possibly a Mac.  I could stick with the PC, which I will stick with if I need to, but most graphical artists use a Mac and are usually looking for someone with Mac experience.  If I purchase one later then I will have to repurchase most of the software again for the Mac OS.  So hopefully things will work out.  The other tough part will be working, and taking courses at the same time.  Fortunately with online courses you can work on your own schedule, as long as you meet the necessary requirements set by the school.  I have to say I am pretty excited, and looking for this yet another challenge in my life.

Interesting, but simple article on find Truth

My heart tells me it is distressed with Him,
but I can only laugh at such pretended injuries.
Be fair, You who are the Glory of the just.
You, Soul, free of “we” and “I,”
subtle spirit within each man and woman.
When a man and a woman become one, that “one” is You.
And when that one is obliterated, there You are.
Where is this “we” and this “I”?
By the side of the Beloved.
You made this “we” and this “I” in order that you might play this game of courtship with Yourself,
that all “you’s” and “I’s” might become one soul and finally drown in the Beloved.
All this is true. Come!
You who are the Creative Word: Be You, so far beyond description.
Is it possible for the bodily eyes to see You?
Can thought comprehend Your laughter or grief?
Tell me now, can it possibly see You at all?
Such a heart has only borrowed things to live with.
The garden of love is green without limit and yields many fruits other than sorrow or joy. Love is beyond either condition:
without spring, without autumn, it is always fresh.

-Rumi

By Hesham Hassaballa, July 20, 2007

Suicide terrorism is a relatively new phenomenon. Although most commonly associated with Muslims, it has been well documented that many non-Muslim terrorist groups have utilized the tactic of the suicide attack. Still, it is hard for most people – including the author – to understand how someone could resolve to strap a bomb on his chest and detonate it among innocent people in order to commit mass murder. For the terrorists of the Muslim flavor, they justify such action by claiming that being a suicide bomber is an act of “holy war,” and in traditional Muslim theology, the one who dies in “holy war” will become a martyr that instantly goes to Heaven.

I have thought long and hard over their religious justifications. They make absolutely no sense. First of all, murder is strictly forbidden in Islam:

“And do not take a life that God has made sacred, except for just cause.” (17:33)

Continue reading here

Orthodox and Muslim alike believe very strongly in this phrase “If God Will’s It” or as other say “In Gods time”. At it’s root this is basically to say that nothing happens be it by the Will of God. But is this just a cop out on claiming responsibility for our own actions? Because I hardly think that God wills that children and women get raped and molested, that God wishes that people get murdered in cold blood. I am sure that God does not will that people divide themselves on matters of faith. I am sure that Gods will is not divided to want one type of people to terrorize one type of people to have them terrorize them back, both claiming that it is God’s will. This sounds more like either a God who is masochistic, or a people refusing to accept responsibility for their own actions. Did God will Adam and Eve to fall at the Garden, or did He give them free will, as well as the consequences of their actions. For if everything was by the will of God we could not convict criminals, we should not shun rapists and child molesters.  Could I be accountable for any of the wrongs I have done?

If all that happens is the will of God, then we are but puppets, so why bother even trying?

What say you?