Contrast is Calling

If it were not for contrast in our experiences, would we have the capability of recognizing just how good Life really is? This may seem a strange question at first glance. However, being confronted with change, which is simply contrast -- or opposites as others put it -- we are offered opportunities to consider things from a different perspective, and this equates to growth potential.

But Please Pay Attention!

Bloggers come from all walks of life, and I have been given a larger world view completely free of charge just by being open to what they write about. In the same way, being open to change lessens resistance to growth, and we find that we flow more naturally with the current of Life. I have found that it is much more enjoyable than swimming upstream! And the key is the awareness that change is not intended to hurt me.

Stop Fighting Change.

Allow. I did not say tolerate. Tolerance screams, "I still disapprove!" Allowing simply allows. No fighting. No judgement. In much the same way we are guided through this life by a benevolent Love, we can more easily maneuver the maze-like "obstacles" we sometimes face by just letting go of the desire to control.

Desire is good. Control is dangerous.

Would you rather win, or would you rather offer love? Do you prefer being right over being open? Do you even think about it?

Think. About. It.

Do something ridiculously kind for someone in need today. And do it for no other reason except to experience the contrast of otherwise pretending to be too busy to see them.

There is no them, and I love you! -- jb

these days

i love days when everything's certain

so why are there days like these?

i can't see the future at all anymore

my crystal ball's broken to pieces

yet when i rest my mind for a moment

i can see that today is still mine

no need for seers, incantations or potions

i can see where before i was blind

i know all is well when i let it

controlling is futile at best

i knew it as soon as i said it

allowing allows me to rest

these days are created for living

no worries, no hurries, no fear

i find that when i am giving

peace, joy and patience appear

let it go, let it out, let it be

live today like tomorrow won't come

remember your choice makes you free

and freedom today wrote a poem

-- jb

i drive myself crazy sometimes by forgetting that i choose how i see it. i see large amounts of abundance, freedom, and peace for these days... there, i feel better already. how do you see it?

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

What Are You So Afraid Of?

I was driving around town yesterday and my mind began to wander towards an issue I've been dealing with and I felt it... that unmistakable twist in my gut, and I instantly knew I was going down the wrong road. Do you relate?

Sometimes we can fall prey to this attack without even knowing it, and before we have a chance to react, we have already made life miserable for others. Today, I am much better because I was able to recognize that deeply internal, egoic effort working at keeping me in a place of uncertainty, which invariably was just another face of fear. So what did I do? I corrected my thinking to reflect the truth of my situation and observed in amazement (once more) how quickly my true feelings about me and my future emerged.

Fear. What a persistently sneaky and insidious illusion. One possessing the potential of destroying everything in its path. Much like the storms of recent weeks down here in my neck of the woods, fear is only as strong as the conditions involved will allow it to be. Considering the indisputable fact that I created those perfect conditions, I just took control of the elements and decided that I was not afraid... and so it is.

These days are seemingly filled with elements that lend themselves to unnecessary confusion, hurt, and pain. There are unprecedented numbers of individuals bent on projecting their fears into the lives of those around them. Remember that old adage "Misery loves company"? Well, it may be a fact, but I am not miserable and I still love company. I love the company of friends that are traversing this beautiful, yet unpredictable path along with me. Constantly supportive, undying in their commitment to me, they are responsible for coming to my rescue when I am unclear or cloudy... or when someone is out to get me... lol.

If you, my friend, ever find yourself dealing with people who seem intent on making your life or the lives of those closest to you miserable, make the choice today to put distance between you and them. Keep in mind that they are lost in their own confusion, and there is no benefit for anyone involved if you just keep putting up with meanness and judgement when there are healthy alternatives :)

You see, we are not alone. We are never alone, and we are in this thing together. Loving these poor souls is the right choice... just do it from a happier place and leave them alone to their private war all by themselves. Eventually they may even wake up and discover for themselves how fear has nullified their potential for good. Offer them peace in your prayers and meditation, but do not allow yourself to be the victim. Again, it is your choice.

Choose to love them and watch their power over you dissolve into thin air. Love them and you can rest your mind about them and get on with living your life the way it is intended to be lived. Free of judgement; free of conflicting emotions, free of fear. Who knows? If enough of us will just let it be, your former "victimizers" might come to the awareness that they have no power over you anymore and they will quietly go their own way.

May you never be afraid, may you always feel loved and accepted, and may you know that no one can make you into a victim. Only you have that power.

Peace -- jb