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It’s quite a quandry. It’s important, as we grow up, to have parents (and a family) who encourage us to listen carefully, follow your conscience (which keeps us safe by our folloing right from wrong), correct us when we’re wrong, and teach us responsibility. The obviously should not coddle us too much, but more so teach us to stand on our own two feet.

An older friend of mine shared that on occassion, when he was standing up against wrong, he felt like his legs had become like steel beams set deep into the ground. He felt immovable. From what I had gathered, he had good parents while growing up and learned to distinguish right from wrong, taking responsibility.

Today, in a toxic environment, we’re surrounded by messaging. Some messaging is good, others not good. But the only way we can differentiate is by ourselves being well informed, but also honest inside, never following the wrong, but listening to our own inner voice. Kind of like just knowing without knowing how you know.

I have a friend who champions the cause of removing those here illegally. I must agree. But to wade through the commercials, the magazine and newspaper articles, and billboards is something else. Then, on top of that and more, living in a work environment, neighborhood, and so forth where all too many have bought the propaganda, making the challenge of standing for what’s right all that more difficult.

After all, no one wants to live in a neighborhood, work in a company, and hear/see people whispering about you, then wondering why people don’t talk to you anymore. It’s like that. Woke. And it’s not done in truth. But you know the truth.

Downtown, I saw a couple of large billboards about how Ice is doing wrong and all too many good people are being targeted. Earlier, on television, I think at a congressional hearing or other, we heard a couple of people talking about their hardships and how they love this country, however, they didn’t talk about how they are not legally in this country.

This article is not about illegal migrants, although they are here illegally. They can always return to their country and apply legally. But it’s about how education, television, and many other modes of communication have been utilized to create disinformation and sew discontent and division in our society.

I must admit, even I have been affected. Due to a variety of reasons. And I have a friend, who has taught many years, and I can tell he’s become (what Natan Shiransky explained) a double-thinker. In other words, he knows the educational system is a far cry from what it should be and was, but he can’t admit that to himself even as he tries to do the best job possible. If he said to me, I know the system is broken, but better I be in that room than someone else, I would say I understand. Then, do the best for those students. But he can’t, because in his mind, he knows the problems, knows what the unions are doing politically, against his core beliefs, so he has to find a way to make it okay in his mind by saying he’s thankful for the union.

That’s what happens to us. We find that we must compromise in some areas, but to avoid a core belief conflict, we find ways to justify, or rewrite what is. Well, the union is still doing a good job for us and so forth.

Look, I’ve known families that are here illegally, though I’ve moved since then. I doubt that I would ever turn them in, more so, because I knew them and they were part of my neighborhood. Good people in my book. At that same time, if they were told to return to their country, I would sympathize with them, but I would also understand why our country would return them. They have to follow the rules/laws. I would only hope that, upon returning, they would reapply.

This goes throughout so much in our lives. Other areas too. And here’s something key. Very often, the one’s who are defending those breaking rules, laws, and what we know is right are doing so our of ulterior motives. In other words, they don’t really care. They’re gaining something by those rules, laws, and what we know is right being broken. And that’s where good parenting comes in. And when we have good parenting, as we grow up, we become mature and honest adults, able to distinguish between right from wrong. And we can then encourage others.

Some time back, my friend and I helped another with a blog about following the rabbit of reason along the road of understanding. In talking with a recent friend, I realized something needed to be added. A caution.

The caution is intent. You must be honest with yourself. Because, when you follow the rabbit of reason, what you come to understand may not be to your liking. Understanding is understanding. Truth is truth. Real is real. So you must know, to some degree, what you’re looking to find, for some you will not know until you see it, then you cannot unsee.

Once you begin to understand things, more understanding will show up. You might be walking down the road, and bling, you see and understand. You might be driving, working, watching a movie, reading a good book, and bling. And some of it, depending upon the direction, you might not like. You might even want to stop seeing. And that might not be possible. Like the Matrix, you have to decide between the red and blue pill.

I’ll give a for instance. It’s a made up situation, but based in part in reality and personal observations, also talks with others. Let’s say, you’re wondering why people tell lies, or perhaps someone you have in mind. So, at times, you ponder. Maybe you ask a friend and discuss. Maybe, you read books and discover. However, in following the rabbit of reason, you start to see your own “lies” or “deceit.” Or you really see the reason why your friend hasn’t been up front with you, why he/she has not always been honest, and so forth. But there’s another difficulty. You might start seeing “lies” where none exists, having thought about this too much. So, we have to be honest with ourselves. We can’t be “excited” to follow the rabbit of reason down the road of understanding. The rabbit isn’t excited. He’s calm and thoughtful, and isn’t always thinking. Sometimes, he’s just smelling the wonderful flowers, talking with friends, watching the sun set, or reading a good book. In other words, we can ponder without becoming obsessed. Understanding takes it’s own time.

But I believe, it’s important to understand. It’s also important to forgive, and realize not everyone see’s their own errors. They may not even realize their own motivations. So, we have to be patient, thoughtful, and also forgiving because we also have wrongs in our own lives that we haven’t seen.

To be thoughtful. To ponder. To care. To be kind. To draw a strong line when necessary. To be a good example. To appreciate the good we see.

Recently, we were watching our president and staff attending a funeral regarding six service people who had died in the recent war. A necessary war to rid the world of terrorism and a very real threat. A threat that has endangered, and killed, for a very long time. Perhaps, soon to be no longer. Perhaps, soon, we will have a greater peace than ever before, certainly in recent decades. And those six, along with the other service people who have worked to stop the danger.

This next paragraph is a bit difficult to explain, but I will try. During a commercial, the topic of care about our appearances. I think it included hair care, skin care, and the hope of a better social life. Switching the stations, I saw an advertisement about a show all about people only concerned with what they want in their lives, but not considering what is truly good and true.

Remembering a friend’s comment about distraction being the method of destruction: destruction of the human heart, I wondered. And that is it. Where our mind is is where our heart is. What fills our minds, our days, is what others see. I can remember, when I was young, wondering what the adults in the world were thinking about. A friend mentioned crying once, when he thought the adults didn’t care. I asked what he was talking about. He said something about an apparent lack of concern over some difficult times they were going through.

What is love? I’ve asked that question before. I’m sure others have as well. In one writing, love includes kindness, overlooking, forgiving, caring, helping, and so forth. Going the extra mile, sometimes even when it personally hurts a lot, for the sake of others. I know those six service people, including those who worked along side, and many others, love. They see what is important in this world, and they go well beyond the extra mile. And while it’s painful to the families of those service people, there is love in their hearts: for their loved ones and their country.

Where we are in our minds and hearts is where we are. While the “world” would have us concerned about our looks, that new sports car, making sure our 401k’s are intact and growing, that we get health care for next to nothing, and that our retirement is filled with trips, enjoyment, and time to do our own thing, what is really important?

Someone once told me, and I think we all fall short, that the moment we seek to help, but we’re also thinking how we are personally affected, the moment is gone. I think it’s a matter of where our heart is. What we spend most of our time considering. What example we are setting. What is important and why. And I think, and this might sound “odd” to some people, it goes with the saying that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. In other words, to help without any consideration about one’s self. Just help the nice elderly lady next door, and afterwards, go on with the next thing without any thought of having done anything good. Give to good charities, and immediate forget that you had done so, but look to the next thing. And forget about face creams, hair coloring, and whether you’ll retire with plenty to rest on. Which means, you can enjoy, but it not being a top priority.

While we have a very good president and excellent staff, together with caring Americans supporting and doing their part, the future is not set. What makes America great is a people caring. What makes America great is a people who do take care of themselves, and their hearts are for their families, friends, neighbors, and country, remembering what is good and true.

***At first, we had considered the title: Are We Dying Inside. People walking around but they’re empty inside. People saddened because they wonder what has happened to family members, to friends, and to people in the world. Remember, it’s about true love.

How many people have wondered about the meaning of life? How many pondered the reason they were given life and what that means? Surprisingly, I discovered not every person considers this while others have pondered this all of their lives.

Recently, I was talking with a relative, one who I thought was religious, only to discover she believes life ends at the grave. That surprised me. So, I asked her if that made sense. I explained we all have a desire to live, and wouldn’t we prefer to find meaning. I’ll leave the reader to ponder this.

However, when I was looking for a car, test-driving a Toyota, the sales person shared he believed. We had a delightful conversation. I believe life is to live for others. To love God with all of your heart. To love your neighbor as yourself, but also to think of others more highly than yourself. Many people don’t realize the bible is about love. For those who remember, and those who haven’t heard.

Consider this. Why are scientists unable to create life? The life we have is given. We were created because Someone loves us, made us, and continues to keep us alive. We live because life is continually given to us. We are aware because we are given awareness and understanding. And we can take the time to ponder the depth of what life, our lives, and the lives of others mean. In yourself, when you have time to really ponder, what do you really hope for?