"The Sound of Silence"

Hello again. Feels good to be back writing and sharing my thoughts with you.

You must have noticed the title of my post is enclosed in quotation marks. That's because it's a borrowed title ... from one of Simon and Garfunkel's hits, of the same title. Beautiful song with a timeless message.

"People talking without speaking,

 People hearing without listening ...."

How can we better describe the way people relate to one another than by those lines from said song? As Art Garfunkel, in singing the song with Paul Simon during one of their live performances, said: " ... what you see around you is people who are unable to love each other."

Indeed.

The word "love" is the most abused word in the English language, don't you think? It has become so common it doesn't seem to mean anything anymore. Too often we say "I love ..." when what we really mean is: "I like ...."

Have you thought of truly loving -- in the real sense of the word -- lately? Good if you did because most people don't. And the reason they don't is because they don't hear the "sound of silence." They are lost in the din of their preoccupations.

It is in silence that we can hear ... that we can think deeply ... that we can imagine vividly ... that we can be filled with wisdom "from above" ... that we can better ourselves.

What good would all the knowledge we've acquired (there's no lack of it in this age and time when we have the Internet for ready access) be if we don't have wisdom, understanding and discernment?

I can go on talking about these things but I'd rather leave it to you to consider ... to pause for a moment and ponder as you listen to The Sound of Silence.

Thanks again for sparing me a moment of your time. Till next post. Have a pleasant day. 

Of Friends and Friendships

Friends are "dime-a-dozen." Anybody can be our friend just as we can be a friend to anybody. For as long as we interact -- and relate -- with people, we will always have friends.

But haven't you noticed that although we do not intend to do so, still, we do not treat everyone of our friends equally. There are those we regard as good friends, or "close friends" and perhaps one or two whom we call, "my best friend." The differentiation just comes naturally without any conscious effort on our part.

What do you think makes our friends distinct from one another so that we deal with each one of them based on our perception of who and what each friend is?

Is there such a thing as "real friend"? If so, what makes a real friend ... and what makes true friendship? Does it come by definition or criteria? What is our yardstick in determining who is who among our friends? Good looks? Intelligence? Personality? Sex? Race? Humor? Influence? Money? Character? 

In the first place, why do we want friends ... and what do we want them for? Is it some basic need that needs to be satisfied? Are we so created that we can't live without friends?

And why is it that friendships could sour in the course of time? Are they not supposed to get better as time passes like wine getting better as it ages? 

Why ... why ... why?

Please bear with me but I think it is not being naive asking such questions. You see, it is not normal that relationships should sour or go bad. There are universal laws that govern human conduct notably the Law of Cause and Effect.

Nothing happens without a cause and every cause has a corresponding effect. Good begets good and the opposite is just as true. There is no way that we can go around that.

Usually, the cause of soured relationship is pride and offense. I don't have to elaborate on this because it is self-explanatory. Besides, I think it is safe to say that everyone, except the toddlers still in diapers, has experienced this fact-of-life enough to understand.

So ... what are we supposed to do if we want to keep our friends for life and our friendship to stay sweet -- and last -- forever?

The Book of Proverbs has the answer:

• Pro 17:17:  "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." 

• Pro 18:24: " A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

• Pro 22:11:  "He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend."

• Pro 27:9:  "Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel."

• Pro 27:10:  "Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off."

• Pro 27:14:  "He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him."   

"What Is Man?"

Hello again, my friend. Nice to be back with another blog post that ...

... could be appreciated or ...

... ridiculed, sneered at, scoffed at.

No matter. Can't please everyone anyway. 

But you, my friend ... have you ever wondered what you ... or every man, woman, and child for that matter ... are, in the grand scheme of things on this planet -- the only green orb that can sustain life out of the billions and billions of heavenly bodies in the vast limitless universe?

Are there beings out there who can be like us in any way? 

Three or so millennia ago, King David, the man GOD called "a man after my own heart," looked up and beheld God's glorious works in the heavens one beautiful, starry and moonlit night, and pondered: “… what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?” (Psalm 8:4).

Indeed, who or what are we before God? Puny men that we are, do we matter to Him at all?

AIDS truth exposed: Un-cut exclusive footage from House of Numbers

So Easy ...

I'm back for another post, hello again. How's it been going with you these past days, Friend?

"You Lie," Rep. Joe Wilson shouted from his seat as President Barack Obama spoke about his health care program before a joint session of the U.S. Congress early last month. News of that incident spread fast and wide around the world and tons of opinion have been published since.

I am not going to comment on that on my post today for I am not in any position to do so, not because I am not an American which necessitates that I keep my mouth shut on the matter out of respect, but because of the fact that I have, on occasion, lied, myself, albeit white lies (e.g., when a friend asks me if I have already eaten lunch or dinner and I say 'yes' when 'not yet' is the truth). But white lies or big lies, it makes no difference. A lie is a lie and is ... unjustifiable.

Can anyone come out clean -- spic-and-span -- as regards lying?

"He who is without sin, cast the first stone," Jesus Christ told the crowd who put before Him a woman they accused of adultery, allegedly caught red-handed.

Lying is the EASIEST thing to do in any given situation and requires very little effort (none at all, in fact, with white lies) to do it. And so we see people lying with abandon ... even kids, barely out of the crib, who lie their way out by resorting to crying when confronted.

A Hearty Laugh For A Healthy Heart

The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, said: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven ...."

Wisdom is not limited to "serious stuff." Quoting a line from King Solomon's Book, Ecclesiastes:

" ... a time to weep and a TIME TO LAUGH, a time to mourn and a time to dance." 

God is a God of humor. If He is not then we won't be seeing anything like this:

Or this:

So, how about a good laugh today, eh?

Here's one from the "Dead Poets ..." Green-ery:

"From 20 to 30 if a man lives right,

     It's one in the morning, and one at night.

From 30 to 40 if he still lives right,

     He cuts either one, the morning or the night.

From 40 to 50, it's every now and then,

     From 50 to 60, only God knows when.

But from 60 to 70, if he is still inclined,

     Don't let him kid you, it's only in his mind." (AFP)

Here's another good one:

That's all Folks! Till next post. C ya :)