Tag: inspiration

Let’s “contemplate” how often we use “contempt” in our daily interactions on line, in person, and socially.

~ Sue Brown ~ Leave a comment

Wait! Am I saying we should be better Humans in THOUGHT, WORD, and DEED? Hell yeah!

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “contempt” as “the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration.” It is ultimately derived from the Latin word contemptus which means “to scorn or despise.” As ONE PEOPLE we seem to be doing this quite frequently and more so each day. We actually have contempt of another! It matters little whether it is politics (Dems vs Rep), among races (Black vs White), nationalities (Americans vs China)… it just goes on and on ad nauseam. Enough already!

 I still get a kick out of my old-school Latin and how often our Modern Society defers to it. As written in The New York Times, contempt is not the same thing as strongly disagreeing with someone. Not only are strong disagreements inevitable, but “Disagreement helps us innovate, improve, and find the truth.” It also leads to common understanding and new ideas. The problem isn’t that we disagree; it’s how we disagree. Increasingly, disagreements today are characterized by a “noxious brew of anger and disgust,” which is directed not only at bad ideas, but also at the people who espouse them. Mmmm… This goes beyond incivility and it’s just plain rudeness.

 It even goes beyond intolerance. It’s the conviction that while your side “is driven by benevolence,” the other side “is evil and motivated by hatred.”  Who does this help?  No one! You can probably think of several examples of contempt recently directed at other religions and cultures.. So can I. However, to paraphrase the First Letter of John,  if we say that we are free of contempt, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That’s worth a long thought.

Can we honestly say that we never think of our opponents, in any area, as: not quite as informed, educated, or forward thinking as we are?  Do we always strive to be “greater than thou” with people while we criticize their ideas? The fact that we  ourselves are often unjustly maligned… isn’t a reason to reciprocate in kind. In the case of contempt for our opponents, things like social media, cable news, and political websites can be such occasions. These are the mechanisms and media for modern propaganda and word peddlers.  They are  folks who profit from the culture of contempt.

Contempt is not the same thing as strongly disagreeing with someone. Not only are strong disagreements inevitable, but disagreement helps us innovate, improve, and find the truth.” It also leads to common understanding and new ideas.The problem isn’t that we disagree; it’s how we disagree. Increasingly, disagreements today are characterized by a “noxious brew of anger and disgust,” which is directed not only at bad ideas, but also at the people who espouse them. Mmmm…This goes beyond incivility and rudeness. 

It’s the conviction that while your side “is driven by benevolence,” the other side “is evil and motivated by hatred.”  Who does this help?  No one!?  Do we always strive to be “greater than thou” with people while we criticize their ideas? The fact that we  ourselves are often unjustly maligned… isn’t a reason to reciprocate in kind.

Keeping it Going…

~ Sue Brown ~ Leave a comment

A HUMAN’S PURPOSE aka JOURNEY

SpiritUnbroken the Blog (c) by Sue Brown

When a long journey begins, or when a quest is undertaken, be it a pilgrimage of  Spirit or an ambition, desire, or hope… there is the excitement at the beginning… because the unknown still lies before us. But at some stage, we tire. The terrain can become unfamiliar. Issues arise, challenges greet us, and at this point, too many feel that this must not be meant to be – for we have told ourself that if it is truly meant to be, it will be easy. This is not always the case. Rarely, is LIFE easy.

It appears to be, for all, in both the seen and unseen worlds, there are parts of the “great journey” that require: stamina, courage, and endurance – our ability to commit, and to stay with the task until we have made it.  Do not enter into challenges lightly – enter into them, if at all, wholeheartedly.

Without what we describe as “a challenge,” there will be no growth. If we work through the challenges, we will emerge stronger, and then be more able to realize the next dream. If we run at the first sign of difficulty, we will never forget it; it will be considered a personal failure.  Perhaps, the time has come in life and work for us to build up your endurance. Commit. Practice. Train! No matter what the goal… give it our all. That’s endurance of thought, word, or deed.

We may believe we are weak mentally or physically unable to complete a task. We may be committed to believing that there is no way our “strength” can increase. It is usually not about our physicality – so often, it is the amazing endurance of Spirit and Soul. Our creative force requires the ability to go that little bit further, to reach a little higher, to extend ourselves, to go well beyond our individual comfort zones.

The second part of our strength is preparing ourself and strength will come through, just at the point we are ready to give up. Keep going. And we can go so much further than we believe we can! This is not the time to turn back or to allow the challenges/ tests to take us.

This is the time to continue the journey you committed to – because you are being tested and you can pass this test. But you must keep going. Eyes forward. Intention focused. Purpose clear!

IT AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER!

Featured ~ Sue Brown ~ Leave a comment

We live in a world of constant and often frightening change and never know of our tomorrow (s). I often ask myself … what will tomorrow  bring!  Will I have a blessed day with no worries or sickness upon me? Will I be able to cope with what will be passed to me through my day?  Will I make a difference?

Finally, it dawns on me that I am so blessed to just be able to wake up and open my eyes each and every morning.  I get to experience glorious Life, yet again.  I should treasure each day and make everyday day count in my life.

We must not dwell on the past and ruin our present. Our past sometimes can haunt us and make our present day not too enjoyable. If your own past has haunted you and it’s fixable, then go after the problem and resolve it, so that you can live in peace. If it cannot be fixed, then choose to let it go.

As time and moments pass us by, they are then called memories and can be either positive or negative. We all want to have in our lives the best and happiest memories.  None of us want to have bad memories of anything, but unfortunately, we will have many of them and disappointments to go along with them.  It’s good to put everything in perspective.

I try to live everyday to the fullest and make each day count because there is no guarantee to the length of our individual times on Earth. In my journey, there have been acquired lessons of great value. Treat all people with respect and kindness.  Turn the other cheek as hard as it might be. Learn to love and respect yourself, because without that, you will have a hard time loving and respecting others.

Really appreciate what you have in your Life and don’t take anything for granted.  We can all improve the quality of our existence with some extra hard work to achieve a personal goal.  However, if that goal is not achieved, the gain is in the personal knowledge that all effort was put forth in the venture of trying.

I try to make it a habit to glance into the sky and say thanks for all things in Life… exactly as given. My days are rewarding; yet challenging, happy; while melancholy at times, enlightening; even at this point in my life, and exhausting; while at the same time… I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Each day we experience is as different and individual as each one of us. May we choose to live it well.