Sunday, July 29, 2012
Don't Put Off 'Til Tomorrow What Should Have Been Done Yesterday
The past few weeks I have been re-staining my log home. This is one of those jobs that I have been putting off for a while until finally I couldn't wait any longer or there would have been lasting damage done to my home. Now, I like to build things and I get real satisfaction from it, but painting never has done much for me, hence the procrastination.
This monotonous job has given me a little time to think and I have been able to draw some parallels from this project to my life.
The first is that I can put important things off only so long. People seem to think that we can neglect ourselves and no one will notice. When we seek to hide our lack of growth or avoid the work it takes to improve, justifying ourselves in our lack of effort, we tend to magnify our problems.
The second is that once I have let something go too long without correction it takes a lot of hard work to put myself back into shape. A great example of this in my life is my tendency to eat wrong and not exercise. It is so easy to do this, requiring no effort. On the other hand, to eat right and get myself into good physical shape is such hard work!
Getting myself into good mental and spiritual shape can be even harder. This requires hard work as well. The rewards for doing so are awesome. I love the feeling of being a well honed instrument when I keep myself in good physical, mental and spiritual shape.
So, let's stop putting off the inevitable and begin the work it will take to improve ourselves, the reward will be awesome!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
My Vision of Freedom
Happy Independence Day! I know this is coming out a little late for most of you, but technically it is still July 4 in Alaska. As I was sitting around the campfire with my family I had some thoughts running through my mind, as sometimes happens at times like that. I was thinking of the miracle it is that I was born in this land of freedom while the majority of the worlds' peoples live in less free circumstances.
I was thinking of the men like James Madison, John Adams, and George Washington who had the vision of freedom. The vision gained from reading authors such as,Montesquieu, Locke, Burke and others who instilled in them the thoughts that people should live free. Their vision was gained by studying the Magna Carta, the writings of Aristotle and the Reformers who said that man should be more than he has been. The vision gained by working their own land for their own benefit, knowing that what they sowed, they also should reap.
With this vision, these men worked out a Constitution through struggle and compromise that would allow us if we chose it, to be the freest people in history. Since its ratification there has been a struggle to seize that sovereignty back from the people and centralize it in Washington. The courts, the political parties, power seekers and others have all been grasping for that sovereignty which was so gallantly fought for. Today we are told what we must buy, what we must eat, if our opinions are correct and when we must not pray. We can do business only at the behest of our government, which requires that we be licensed through them so that we can be well regulated and taxed at every turn. This is the reality with which we now live.
I would not dwell on this only I hope that it may motivate some to see the vision of what could be lost if we continue on this path. I would see a vision of a people who would educate themselves in the ways of freedom. Who would become entrepreneurs, winning their fortunes, so as to have the time and freedom to participate in governing. People who would give their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor to the cause of liberty. Who would make decisions of governance from a perspective of what is the right thing to do and not from the perspective of what can be gotten from the decision.
I would see a people who seek ways to serve, not be served. I would see a people who would not be as the "summer soldier"but would stand through the trials and tribulations at hand. I believe those people are out there and they are beginning to awaken. I pray that the awakening continues because the people are the last check on a power hungry central government. If this generation doesn't do it, the next may not have the choice.
I was thinking of the men like James Madison, John Adams, and George Washington who had the vision of freedom. The vision gained from reading authors such as,Montesquieu, Locke, Burke and others who instilled in them the thoughts that people should live free. Their vision was gained by studying the Magna Carta, the writings of Aristotle and the Reformers who said that man should be more than he has been. The vision gained by working their own land for their own benefit, knowing that what they sowed, they also should reap.
With this vision, these men worked out a Constitution through struggle and compromise that would allow us if we chose it, to be the freest people in history. Since its ratification there has been a struggle to seize that sovereignty back from the people and centralize it in Washington. The courts, the political parties, power seekers and others have all been grasping for that sovereignty which was so gallantly fought for. Today we are told what we must buy, what we must eat, if our opinions are correct and when we must not pray. We can do business only at the behest of our government, which requires that we be licensed through them so that we can be well regulated and taxed at every turn. This is the reality with which we now live.
I would not dwell on this only I hope that it may motivate some to see the vision of what could be lost if we continue on this path. I would see a vision of a people who would educate themselves in the ways of freedom. Who would become entrepreneurs, winning their fortunes, so as to have the time and freedom to participate in governing. People who would give their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor to the cause of liberty. Who would make decisions of governance from a perspective of what is the right thing to do and not from the perspective of what can be gotten from the decision.
I would see a people who seek ways to serve, not be served. I would see a people who would not be as the "summer soldier"but would stand through the trials and tribulations at hand. I believe those people are out there and they are beginning to awaken. I pray that the awakening continues because the people are the last check on a power hungry central government. If this generation doesn't do it, the next may not have the choice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)