Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

"Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all", 
or
"No thinking is worse than pointless thinking."?

"Until things happen, they haven't happened."

If Your Religion...

If your religion is not about generosity, about the release from injustice, about mercy for all mankind, about giving others hope....

If your religion encourages fear, allows hate without rebuke, ignores poverty and racism...

then you do not have a connection to God, you have a policeman to keep the current evil order.

Watch Out for Hangers!

Hangry: Anger fueled by hunger.  A cranky state resulting from lack of food, especially sweet things.

Five Symptoms of Laziness

1. 

Spiritual Economics

A person's economic level is not their worth.

Upward mobility often accompanies downward spirituality.

We should spend time being better, not being better off.

A Damn Good Listener

One of my folks came up to after worship just now and said, "That's a hell of a good sermon today.". I love my church.

Talk

"It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with." 
Pete Seeger. 

Weight Loss

I lost about 500 pounds since I stopped exaggerating.
(Jeff Chastain)

What We Say

Don't believe what anyone says, because they will almost always tell you what you want to hear, or what they want you to hear. Don't believe a person's non-verbal communication, because that only expresses what they feel for an instant. Believe what they do, because people's everyday lives are who they really are.

Dreamer

You say you only see what you can see
And all of my dreams are captured in my mind
That the desert you love is ample for you
But I hear music up above

The Philosopher and the Oppressed

Comic from xkcd

It isn't enough to think, building up thoughts like a castle around you
If you never use your thoughts to notice and to love the needy around you.

Growing Up

Maturity only happens through suffering
Those who succeed in being mature are those
Who have a storehouse of joy and freedom
To cushion the suffering that makes us grow.
For this reason we need to protect children
Give them freedom and joy and protection
To give them a strong life.

Suffering

Unless the hero surrenders all, even his life, he cannot be honored or even noticed.

Unless the heroine loses her way and faces the villain who threatens her life, she is only a girl.

Unless the robin pierces his breast with the thorn, he is an unremarkable bird among millions.

Unless a child suffers under a life-sucking cancer, the genius will not invent the cure.

Until the police brutalize and kill the protester, the wrong will never be righted.

Unless the mother loses many nights, breaking her body and spirit, weeping at her weariness, the child will not be fed or loved to become the strong generation that will change the world.

Without suffering, nothing worthwhile is accomplished.

Boring

Sobriety is boring. It doesn't make our lives more exciting or more interesting. But without sobriety, we can do nothing to make our lives meaningful.

Self discipline is the bottom requirement for us to get to the end of our lives and say proudly, "This is what I did."

Chosen

Broken man, sitting on the road
Mourning for what once was
Jealous of the settled lives rolling by
Longing for a can of forgetfulness or two…
You
Yes, you
Are the chosen one.
The Great One has abandoned his children
Abandoned his saints
And chosen you,
who cannot endure this life,
who must beg for a coat or tent,
who is told where to go and what to do
To bring life to all.

Burning

As the skilled forester burns, kills, demolishes and destroys so that life might abound,
So does the Creator of trees.
How we regret suffering and death
Yet death is the only pathway to abundant life.

Broken

The broken is the vessel which understands it cannot be filled.
It has destroyed itself, breaking its sides with pleasure and narrow-mindedness;
It has been battered, struggling with what others find simple;
It has chosen the difficult path, only to find it is not sturdy enough to endure;
It has been abused, shattered.
Yet the broken is the chosen vessel of God.
What is useless to anyone else
Is precious without compare to He who creates beauty.

First Things First

You cannot encourage unless you also listen
You cannot love unless you also rest.
You cannot pray unless you are world-involved.
You cannot listen unless you remain silent.
You cannot give unless you notice need.
You cannot express beauty unless you experience beauty.
You cannot grow until you see your smallness.

War 1

Control with harshness 

results in fear, resentment 

and barely controlled violence.

Inspire peace, 

guide to love 

and you will release 

respect 

and natural harmony.

Monster's Day

On the day politeness, apologies and regulations are done away with
 shall the monsters crush the weak.
“Do away with charity and assistance; 

 selfishness will grant all moderation”
Behind their backs chaos and death await to pounce.