What'd You Go And Do That For?

They (the unknown authorities) say that change is inevitable. We either choose to resist that change, or we allow the flow of Life to show us the new thing.

I am staring directly into the eyes of the new thing.

I am not sure what I see, but I know one thing. I have begun to expand my writing to include topics that were not my original intent, and I find that I have allowed my main focus for this blog to move off center.

I have lost focus.

When I began to explore my feelings about exclusion and the act of separation (the verb), I found writing was an outlet that served two purposes. I could voice my opinion of course, which is something I do well. I could also take the opportunity to reflect on the words that came from within me and allow them to be for me.

It has been good therapy.

It is good to reflect and take stock of what we are accomplishing for good as we walk the earth. In my contemplation I have decided that I will begin again with There Is No Them. I will continue to rant and rave here as Jeff Baker (the ego) Talks. God knows I have a need to talk.

At the same time, I am so very conscious of the fact that I live in a world that is hurting, with some on the brink of despair. The situation we find ourselves faced with today resulted specifically because of the egos of the greedy individuals who would rule the world. I still see it in myself. How I pray it were not so.

For those of you who, like me, ultimately see this world as a place of beauty and promise, I will soon provide a link to a blog that is more in tune with what I know I am to speak about. There is no way I can ever look out from these tiring eyes again and see otherness. It is so clear that we are meant to be connected in an intricate and divine fashion.

That we are divided by racial, religious, social, or even geographical lines is the great lie cast upon us, by us.

In our ignorance, we have hurt our brothers and sisters in some name or for some cause. Through anger and revenge we have given the taking of another person's life a certain legitimacy... no matter the reason. It all must end soon.

We must forgive. It is our only hope. See you soon.

Peace -- jb

Leave It Better Than You Found It

Happy Friday Mom!

I have always believed that I have the ability to make something better than it was before I got involved, and I wish I could say that it is true in every case. That belief originally sprang from my need to control everything. In my controlling, I actually thought I was making improvement... oops.

Enter reality.

I know people today who have a gift for making things better with seemingly little or no effort, and I like that. In fact, as I have grown older and somewhat wiser, I have found that I can and do make some things better. I have the gift of gab, and I have the freedom to say what I want, so I normally do... thus the dawning of Jeff Baker Talks. I make no excuses for my opinions, whether I am right in someone's eyes or wrong means little to me. I never intend to offend, and I really try to be uplifting. At the same time, there are days when I lose patience with something or someone, and after much quiet restraint, I just let go and let it fly.

Do you relate?

I hope to make a case for thinking before speaking today as I am freshly reminded that even when speaking the truth, there are those who cannot and will not hear it :O

Not that I have a corner on the truth market mind you. I make plenty of mistakes, and not just with my tongue, yet I am blessed to have great friends who keep me in check. That is more than a blessing, it is the way life should be for all of us. That life assumes, of course, that I am able to make and keep friends. And it assumes that any truth spoken, is spoken in love.

Always.

I have a quick wit and a quick mouth, and believe me when I tell you that it is always better to think before speaking. Words do not have a rewind feature; they are like arrows shot from a bow and can have deadly aim. I have learned all too often the hard lesson of saying something only to regret it afterwards. My friends, this is something we should all be conscious of because the power of our words is truly underestimated.

When we think from a place of loving intent, then our words and deeds will reflect that. If not, well, you get the picture. And, that is the point of this post. Let me say for the record also, that even if you are speaking from love, the hard conversations might not go very well. That is ok, because you can rest in the peace of the effort and not regret the result of having said something difficult. Remember, you are not responsible for anyone except yourself in these conversations, so speak the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

I will leave you with a link to a remarkable blog, written by an equally remarkable lady named Wendi. She says things the way I think them. One day I will be able to write like her and that will be the day that I finally get picked up by a sponsor! That is not a pipe dream. I believe it, and it is so.

Peace for your weekend, love for your friends, and thoughts that are firmly rooted in the power of Love. -- jb

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Hello World! I've Got Something to Say!

I just started trying to use Word Press. Don't ask me why, and it's not because I don't like Blogger. I really like it a lot. It's just that I keep hearing how I can do more, and do it better or whatever. So I was playing around with it and I got tired. See, I had a tooth pulled yesterday, and it hurt so bad I am all wimpy... you know how men are. I am embarrassed to tell you that this is a copy and paste job. I humbly beg your forgiveness :-)

_______________________

My name is Jeff Baker, and I am what I refer to as a philosopher-pontificate(r)-thinker-type person. I know that may sound sort of strange, but you’ll soon see that it makes sense : )

I am here to blog about life and the experiences (most being my own) that can contribute to the better life. I am hopeful that I will soon learn the intricacies of Word Press as I am sticking with Blogger for now. I felt the easiest way to get my first post published was to try a simpler program and apparently Blogger is a lot simpler, but at the expense of some cool things. I like the stuff I see, but I haven’t figured out how to do any of it for myself yet, and even though I want to make the change, I am having a bit of a slow start. I guess I am indeed a writer and would rather do what I am passionate about, and leave the “figuring out how to do everything” to someone better suited for it like my very talented wife/editor/bestest friend in the whole-wide-worldestest, Cornelia. At the same time, this has turned out to be more fun than I ever dreamed, and I will indeed tame the monster that is Word Press… eventually. If I ever get back to it. Right now my tooth hurts :/

Until then, please check to see how I am doing. I am quite the newbie as a writer, but I’ve been told I have real potential to get discovered. I’d like to think so, and I would appreciate your honest feedback and suggestions. I have to be prepared for the critics one day, right? So it makes sense that I would want to experience all that now, and try to make them (you) fall in love with me and my writing before I am famous. Really, please be open to say whatever you like or don’t like about my stuff. I really appreciate it.

You’ll find that I write mostly about the act of exclusion, thus the reference to “them.” We all are connected to the process in some way. I don’t know about you yet, but I know I’ve been picked last, omitted from the e-mail list, ignored by friends, and even shunned by the church. It hurts. But it doesn’t have to keep hurting. We choose, and everything we experience has been given our personal seal of approval to be experienced. Think about it for a moment.

Think. About. It.

I ramble some. You’ve been warned. I cover the gamut, from connecting peace to something like a hurricane, to exclusion being a teacher, along with rock songs, forgiveness, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Experience is our greatest teacher, of course, and sharing our experiences with one another in the form of stories brings us closer together. I love to tell stories, and I love to hear great stories too. I have a passion for being around when someone says, “I get it now!” Oh, before I proceed I want to qualify the term “it.”

It is when you meet yourself again for the first time :O

More on that later, so stick around. I really hope to create dialogue and get us thinking about what we can do about the state of our world. I think we all have differing opinions about what it might look like, but in the end I believe that we will see world peace, because I am equally certain that I have to make peace before I am able to contribute to the cause of peace. Forgive. Allow. Accept. Love. Think. All I am really trying to do is get us to think. The rest will come if we want it. I would be honored if you would join me.

Peace is the way, love is here to stay, and our thoughts allow it to happen today. -– jb