Walk in silence, Don’t walk away, in silence. See the danger, Always danger, Endless talking, Life rebuilding, Don’t walk away.
Walk in silence, Don’t turn away, in silence. Your confusion, My illusion, Worn like a mask of self-hate, Confronts and then dies. Don’t walk away.
People like you find it easy, Naked to see, Walking on air. Hunting by the rivers, Through the streets, Every corner abandoned too soon, Set down with due care. Don’t walk away, in silence, Don’t walk away.
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16
According to an article in Turning Point Daily Devotional, “Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn’t able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument.
“But to his great dismay, it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner’s home and offered to buy…
Left on my own, I would come up with a very different notion of God. My God would be static, unchanging; I would not conceive of God “coming” and “going.” My God would control all things with power, stamping out opposition swiftly and decisively. As a Muslim boy told psychiatrist Robert Coles, “Allah would tell the world, everyone, ‘God is great, very great’ … He would make everyone believe in Him, and if someone refused, he’d die— that’s what would happen if Allah came here.”
Because of Jesus, however, I must adjust my instinctive notions about God. (Perhaps that lay at the heart of his mission?) Jesus reveals a God who comes in search of us, a God who makes room for our freedom even when it costs the Son’s life, a God who is vulnerable. Above all, Jesus reveals a God who is love.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25
There is deep within the heart and soul of every one of us a need and longing to belong. The one who has no sense of belonging and being connected in relationship to at least one meaningful companion or friend, is more likely than not to become physically ill, depressed, a patient in a mental institution, or even suicidal. It may not be the most desirable but we can live without being in a romantic relationship, but we cannot live healthily without having at least one (and preferably more) healthy relationships.
Not belonging, not feeling loved and accepted and/or being rejected can be one of life’s most painful experiences. Ralph Keyes in his book Is…
Even though Valentines’ Day’s been over ages ago, I’d still post this lovely, poignant piece just for you today. I don’t usually celebrate it, but I think I’ll do so because you are an exception. My new-found friend from afar, who lives down in Colorado: this is solely dedicated for you.
Are you still deaf? I’ve been calling out your name while you kept bemoaning about how lonely you are over there. You wish to be with me, but you know I’ve been on a budget…and I don’t want you wasting all your savings just to risk coming over, down under.
Mean people are everywhere. We can’t change the way we are – our way, that is. If God allows it, you’d find work here where you can just live near me. Still, it’s all wishful thinking, and I’m being too sugary about my affections for you. Haha, I’m not always like this. At least, haven’t been for a very long time (when was that? Ten years ago!).
I’m being my most casual self here. Well, I have nothing to hide from you. You are a dear and you’re not easy to forget…sorry if I keep sounding like in some cheesy romantic soap opera…hang on…oh…I think this is fine, right? Years from now, I’d be laughing at this…ah, these sweet nothings! But thank you, for accepting me for who I am, anyway. Not many can I say about the others about you here. You respect and cherish me even without having met me – yet. Am I showing that all too familiar feeling being “young and in love”? Perhaps. But what is wrong with that? It isn’t like I can experience something like this all the time. I know and you know that we connect really well together. For your age, you are so energetic, and I wish that I have that in me all the time. You are more optimistic than I am and you think you might pull through here, where I live in now. You tend to think the grass is greener than your own pastures…I think we have to be a little more realistic here – I feel the same way about this place where I am.
I guess we just don’t belong anywhere. It isn’t the place, but people around us. You are as simple as I am – and in this all too complex world, there is little room for us to flourish. But please be very patient; let’s not rush like fools.
I’ve been playing this song over and over from my phone. I imagine sending you all my precious photographs of myself dressing up like a nice little T’boli native woman. Haha. I wish I was from that culture. And not one being a product of wasteful, materialistic commercial ads. It is saturated with filth over here, so don’t think it’s just you floundering in this chaos.
Better go now. And get some new refreshment by climbing up some mountains over there. You do like some adventure, don’t you? Well, I know you want to spend that over with me. Anyway, *mari, my love, and take care.
Culture is a difficult concept for most of us to understand and relate to. Culture is deep inside us and does functions unnoticed for most of us. It is a set of underlying basic assumptions, values and concepts that functions similar to an operating system. All groups of people develop over time such a model of assumptions and values that have been proven to be effective in dealing with the internal (within the group) and external environment. The culture is thus the basic underlying programming that has served the group well over time and allowed them to survive and prosper.
A culture is built up over many centuries and evolves only slow and is not easy to influence or adapt. There are many well documented so called culture shocks of groups that have been living in a stable environment which is suddenly disturbed by a sudden climatic change or a…
I like to start the morning watching the adorable animation 🙂
Beautiful and eerie, from Cal Arts grad Sabrina Cotugno this is the story of Beopup, a little fox who goes hunting in the woods and uncovers something rather unpleasant.
The Orange Way 