We are living in the most interesting time in human history.

 Did we choose it? Did God make a mistake by allowing “Original Sin?” Can God make mistakes? Would perfect eternal life that never ends have been better for us humans, considering what we have now?

My favorite question about the entire problem is, did the woman cause our eternal problem by listening to the serpent instead of to God? When I read the bible in Hebrew, I feel women are blamed for things perhaps more than they should be, considering all the stories. We forget they are the mothers, mates, life-giving humans doing what God tells them to do. They take a tiny bit of material, light in this case, and convert it to a human who obeys or ignores the will of the creator. The most important person in my life is a woman and I remain alive because of her love. Yet I never have found a satisfactory explanation for the question of what is love. To understand “Love” we need a story. A human mind creates stories. The story becomes reality. Go ahead. Think about it. Thinking makes you and me human. A rock or a tree may think also, but at a different speed. We only deal with what we can compare to in our environment. Figure that out.

Why do I think we exist in the most interesting time ever?

I was comfortable in the time of the Cold War. The Soviet Empire and the Capitalist nations were close to equal on the world stage and no one had the upper hand. People started weaponizing money and hurting each other’s economies. War and military industries took over and resources went to killing instead of improving life. Russia lost Afghanistan, the Berlin Wall collapsed and Putin took over Crimea. Everywhere poor migrants attempted to find a better life, and many died. The Soviet block was starving and well-equipped armies faced off, like Iran against Iraq. The world became more dangerous. Even family units fought to get on sinking boats and human smuggling flourished. Many people realized that there was no safe place for them to go to. Can it get more interesting? It did. Human extinction loomed around.

A beautiful world that has all we need is being wasted while not just humans but also animals are suffering pains worse than death for so many, who mostly have done nothing to deserve it. Some are fighting often just to get on the top of the pile. Most of them don’t need to do so. They want to win or be ahead, enjoying their addictions and not even trying to break bad habits. They lost their moral compass. I am watching a world in danger of destroying itself. I call it “Interesting.”

I am a human and I fear living in such interesting times. We, the people that after the great wars wanted to give everything to our children. The children didn’t appreciate the gift and simply wanted more. We gave to other people, to people who selfishly took what they could without considering how or when to pay back. They lost the honor that we tried to instill in them. Some attempted to copy us and make sacrifices, while many considered cheating to be good business. The leaders gave a bad example. Not a world to envy. My fear for the world increased. Russian armies attacked Ukraine, while Israeli armies demolished terrorist camps mercilessly. The innocent, easily led by religious ferver, died in the thousands. They still do. They can’t defend themselves, so resort to lies and deception, which weakens their ability to hold the moral grounds.

My world is unpredictable and interesting, but there is not much holding it together. We humans set some of it up against the rest and the peaceful valley that I hide in is in danger of breaking. People use Social Media to attack each other. Some level of evil filtered through my perch, causing my ability to use the power of God to diminish, but I desperately need it while the world is in turmoil.

My body is facing extinction from the inside. Doctors, technology, and God himself seem to fight for me, but something inside me is not lined up. I need perfect harmony with the universe which I can’t get.

The world is moving on its own, motivated by a force that I do not understand but fully trust to do the right thing. Will there be a world for me after this life is over? I believe so.

Others will bury or cremate me and say the right words. The “I am” with my name will not know what has changed. If you are dead, you don’t see yourself from the outside. At least that is what I think.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

 

Like water under a bridge, time can’t stop.

 

Like water under a bridge, time can’t stop.

Life is a constant change. Nothing ever stays the same for long, and it is filtered by the human mind. Only some events are remembered, while others must be forgotten. The most important event in my human memory is my birth into this world, and I remember none of it. Many thousands of years ago, humans appeared on earth. Later, writing happened, and a story emerged. Humans were created from nothing and were assigned names. The male human was told to name all the other creatures, and they recorded in writing. The humans were destined to suffer by working for a living and giving birth. That was written. Hundreds of thousands of years later, memory at last.

Memories aside, I wish to know about my humble beginnings. All that I can know is from the memories of those older than me and their stories are not the same. I remember some things on my own, but my mind is playing tricks on me. Is it trying to remember the good and forget the bad? Could it be remembering the most useful information? Useful for who or what? Confusing.

Does the mind try to remember things to lead me to behave or make choices other than I would make on my own? I wish I knew.

Would that be the wish or direction of God? Is He the boss or do I have free will?

I belong to a big church organization we call Roman Catholic. There are many others and we should honor them all for their good intentions. Many we should be careful with, especially where money is concerned. It’s easy to lose faith in God if we are cheated. Sex plays a part as well. Christ didn’t teach about pleasure, but people expect pleasure and benefit from religion.

A few years ago, my church elected a new leader. The Pope can assume a name other than his birth name and use it for inspiration. Our newly elected Pope chose the name Francis, based on the most popular saint in the world, St Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is popular with Catholics and other religions. He is the most Christ-like person we know of. The name inspired people all over. It does not remind people of prosperity or winning in competition. Francis in the 12th century tried to be a soldier but ended up paying a ransom for his freedom. He was a classic case of God directing a human towards a divine goal.

He became the living example of a perfect human being for those of us who care about what a human should be like. Most of us humans can only wish to have a role model of a human that is worth trying to be like. Our constant search for how to be better, stronger, more powerful, and so on, blocks us from becoming better persons. The best we can manage is increased production or other traits that don’t improve the kind of human we become.

Pope Francis, who was elected to be the spiritual leader of over a billion human beings, made a statement by choosing the name of the simple little Frier Francis, who changed the church a thousand years ago. If the Church is going to survive into future generations, it must change. Not change into a more attractive or popular form but into the vision of the founder, known to its followers as the son of God. A thousand years of making the institution more rich, elaborate, and beautiful, must go back to the original teachings. The greatest commandment of them all is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How could it be done without destroying the fabric that held it together remains unknown.

The Pope wants change, so change will come. It will be a change in the hearts and minds of its people or it will fail. The vast organization is searching for how to change back to its origins. We are looking for a simpler way of life. No better artwork, more financial influence, or artistic expression. Humans are looking to improve the way we exist together.

The change is happening in the remote prairies of Canada. Where there are only a few churches and a sparse population, churches are burning down. The art is destroyed, becoming burnt black holes and the music almost stops. The church is changing whether we like it. Those who cause the change feel justified by an old vendetta. Unmarked graves. So sad that it came to this.

The predominant religions will all need to change. They strayed away from the original goals and must correct the destination. People are needed to build a new society and we can only get them from around us. We will harness our efforts towards working together. Humans have the power of God in them. It can only release and be usefully combined with others. Free will works only when humans want it to work, for a common good goal. It is happening here and now.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.

It is 2024 and my little mountain community is quiet and pleasant.

 

It is 2024 and my little mountain community is quiet and pleasant.

 There is not much snow but it will change. The mountains will be white and people will get to wear their gift winter attires and new snow boots. In the evenings, the streetlights come on, and the picture changes. I love what I see. Some people come out for a walk, while others talk in the stores and everyone is greeted with a nod or a warm hello if they know others or even if they don’t. I close my eyes and think, am I alive or is this the world that the bible calls the Kingdom? How would I improve it? I have no idea.

We do not design some things for improvement. A human cannot imagine something better than what we have, so we leave it alone for a while. Otherwise, we make very small unneeded changes.

Since I finished a set of cancer treatments recently, I will not know about next Christmas for a while. I have tremendous help on the medical side and technology, plus experience bending over to keep me alive. I also have the benefit of people praying for me. It helps those of us who believe that it does. Some do and others don’t. I do.

I see on the news hospitals in Canada buckling down under pressure and staff shortages. Doctors walk between sick people on the floor in emergency rooms, unable to help. The politicians who failed to plan and use resources properly are working hard to shift blame from themselves. Some poor immigrants with mops are wiping dark spots off the floors. Some of them are not food-secured and are unhoused people. Nurses are all talking about changing professions. Gone are the days in which we all banged pots and pans cheering our most needed yet lowest-paid workers who saved us from a pandemic.

I used to see signs on businesses saying “under new management.” Now we should have banners stating “under poor management.” Our money is going to what we don’t care about while health care, education, and infrastructure are not attended to. According to the leaders, I show more concern for transgender issues than for the well-being of grandmothers in senior homes.  The leaders are wrong.

It’s not all bad, however. I arrived at our hospital at around 8:00 pm in severe pain. In less than ten minutes, a very professional nurse took all my information, not skipping a step. I was screaming in pain, so they isolated me and in a few more minutes, an intern checked me. She was followed by a doctor who had already talked with my physician and had a plan.

On the next day, the situation repeated and a new doctor was trying other medications and in two hours I was stabilized and could go home. The lab and x-ray departments were working, and the staff was not only professional but also had the best bedside manners we can imagine. On the way home, I noticed how beautiful our municipality was at night. How do I deserve that? I chose right when I was going to retire. Sadly, I couldn’t have more choice about provincial and Federal elections. The private media interfered, I think. I don’t know how they did it. Here we have private media but it is operating as media used to work in the good old days.

I review my situation on the way home. Many friends and family are getting ready for winter vacations while others are coming here to enjoy our winter. Bless them all. Life may be ours to enjoy, but many are suffering while we don’t need to suffer. There is more than enough for all of us if we just share. People will help even those who don’t work. We always do. Trust the divine spark in humanity. It’s there. My heart cries for all the young people fighting wars. We count civilians killed and maimed but rarely mention the soldiers on either side.

I try to pray for peace. People around me are making a show of praying and it makes me feel bad. We can’t ask God for peace while maximizing our pleasure by disregarding those who suffer. God knows who is sincere and who isn’t, and I am not even sure about myself.

I don’t know how long I will live, but I wish to live where there is peace and goodwill. The Crowsnest Pass is close to it. People offer me help and pray for me. Others use their skills and hard work to keep me and my family happy.

A dark cloud is forming in front of my home. Someone threw a dog a bone and the neighbors, including me, are snarling, baring their teeth. A person is threatening to steal a view that others purchased in good faith and the council is debating. Private interest collides with the use of the commons.

Will something irreparably ruin my dream of a wonderful place to retire?

The weather is cooling, and winter is here. What will 2024 bring us if we don’t ask for too much and care about each other? God bless us all. Keep on thinking. It’s our best gift in this life. Take what you need and share the rest. I will try to do the same.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.