Tag: bloggingfundamentals

The Shrew View: On Good Will

Blogging for Blogging’s Sake

Where have my last two weeks gone!!  I haven’t been blogging.  Instead, I’ve used a lot of energy and creativity to work with other volunteers in my circle of goodwill to bring what we hope to be messages of joy and harmony.

Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy. – Ludwig Borne

There are so many opportunities to give to others.  I may not have grand sums of money to impart, but I would like to think that my time and effort has just as much value.  Have you ever thought about the value of goodwill?  I’d like to pose a break down of what is typically needed when taking on a campaign of goodwill:

  • Identifying the need…
  • Rallying the team…
  • Generating the task outline…
  • Mobilizing the funds if needed…
  • Delegating the responsibilities…
  • Implementing the effort…
  • Measuring the outcome…
  • Assessing for any needed improvements…
  • Thanking everyone involved!

Cause + Inspiration + Innovation + Benefators + Effort = Goodwill = Value

People take these efforts on all of the time.  If there is  no political aspect or greed attached to the effort then the value is enhanced tremendously because pure  generosity is the goal.

My two weeks off from blogging were time well spent. Until next time, peace out 🙂

I’m Shrewd: On Being Thankful

On Being Thankful…

My minister this past Sunday preached on the topic of “Decolonizing Our Faith” during what is traditionally our service of Thanksgiving.  She took a hard line approach on how the greed of Europeans who came to the Americas for riches eventually lead to the genocide of 98% of the Native American people.  I must admit that I was taken aback by the topic and tried my hardest to open my mind to how it related to Thanksgiving.  I left the sermon thinking that I should feel very guilty about my privilege rather than thankful for the blessings of community and my part in sharing with others the bounty of my hard work.

The dilemma of the current trend to identify white privilege and associate this with the term white supremacy I think keeps the United States focused on a regressive experience of shame.  It also assumes that there has never been progress achieved for healing deep wounds of our struggles around racism.

I love to reminisce about what pre-discovery Native American culture must have been like.  They cared for the earth and honored the changing climate by understanding that all of their possessions were not totally secure.  Mother Nature and Father Spirit could be unpredictable and it was necessary to move from time to time and adapt.  We know that there were boundaries between the tribes.  At times they challenged these boundaries among them, and death and destruction would occur.  This is the unfortunate truth of our human species.  As one native might have rationalized, “If I need to go onto unfamiliar lands to hunt buffalo in order to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for my family, I am going to take a chance and do that for our survival.”  Then, as another native of a different tribe might have rationalized, “Your tribe has killed our most honored buffalo on our ancestors’ sacred lands.  You must pay for your actions with your life!”  And so, the human struggle plays out as it has for generation upon generation on every continent.\

For a moment, let’s leave out how imperialist countries used their wealth and power to colonize American soil.  Let’s instead turn our focus on the Pilgrims.  Freedom to worship God in their own way was their cause for escape from their homeland.  They took a chance and came to unfamiliar territory.  And with an open mind the natives helped the pilgrims through a harsh winter.  The Pilgrims were thankful for the blessings of community and shared with their neighbors the bounty of their hard work….That’s it!  That is the message of Thanksgiving.

Without guilt or shame, a struggle to save lives was met with shared courage and deeper understanding.  This is the Female Principle in action all those many years ago.  Why do we ignore this?

Shrew U: Religion and the History of Violence

 

Higher Learning

Fields of Blood…

In this first installment of Shrew University, I would like to challenge you to read the non-fiction book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence By Karen Armstrong.

In this anthology of humanity’s struggle with spiritual vs. animal instinct I give Ms. Armstrong much credit for her research and cohesive presentation, however I do believe she is reaching at times in order to present a picture of what Utopianism could be as opposed to what reality actually presents.

Even peace may be purchased at too high a price. – Benjamin Franklin

 

I have begun to question why a group like Isis (or ISIL if you wish) has sprung up from what seemed like nowhere!  Sure you have your Taliban and your Hamas with their hate-filled demands and their suicide bombers, but this latest group of terrorists knows no bounds; they bring their social media propaganda directly to us from their desert!  And where is the religion?  I am here to tell you that there isn’t any…

Islam in this manner is simply the next form of political control.  When a group forms, or a “State” in this case, it needs rules and laws and a point person.  The point person is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Caliph Ibrahim and the rules and laws are the Caliphate.  ISIL is out to control the world…No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Armstrong’s book always has a leader who is central to the conflict.  She argues that it really is not religion that is to blame for the warring but rather secular motivations most times brought on by greed.  I think this is pretty safe to assume since to truly practice a religion requires one to humble themselves before their creator and uphold life; think “The Golden Rule”…All religions have this aspect to them.  If Islam is trying to form a “State”, then the religion of Islam is not being practiced as proved by their terrorist actions.  This is certainly not Utopia!  ISIL is trying to stream-line (as in secularize) Islam for the greedy motivation of universal control.  It is an invasive seed choking out the roots that uphold “natural” rights (read my Shrew View 11/3/17).

Natural rights are equal to rights of human liberty and the individual’s direct relationship with their Creator.  ISIL is in direct conflict with this idea. As rational beings, we must challenge any state or religion that puts women in a subservient position to men.  Why does Isis hate Chritianity so much? Consider the parable of the leaven which is directly after the parable of the mustard seed (out of a small concept sprouts a transformative belief available to everyone).  In the Gospel of Luke Jesus said:

“To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?  It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in 3 measures of flour until it was a leavened.”

Leaven means to transform something for the better.  Women own this central idea as the Female Priciple.  Jesus knew this and developed this idea from his Jewish roots.

Next up…Shrewd Awakenings