Prison Door, Discerning Real Hope

PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING

We may become troubled when friends, family or even leaders veer from the comfortable paths of our own prejudices. When their words or actions challenge our feelings, thoughts or opinions. We may become offended! We may accuse! We may discount them, seeing them of being wrong or offensive to us, or those we desire to impress... until we stop and consider the complexity of our existence. 

At best, we gaze squintingly into the sun trying to examine its surface. We assume our mastery of reality through our crudely formed tools like String Theory Physics, assuring us that everything ties together nicely.  But in reality, we are extremely venerable and dependent on unseen higher powers for our very existence.  

Take care my friends! Remember to Celebrate each heartbeat! And find ways to appreciate the miracles of each moment. 

Consider this blast from the past by song writer Randy Stonehill.

Celebrate this Heartbeat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjETANpN5xA&list=PLmUj6RNm_D2qnb-bHHaE6ftvW4qxYHNlu&index=3

And Ponder This...

Opening Prison Doors

PRISON DOORS

It's easy to become locked into a prison of self-critical discontentment or socially imposed fear when we are unable to find the security, status or comfort we expected. Too often we become paralyzed by these feelings of discouragement and loose our momentum in life or our recovery, but we must remember that even the least among us today often experience greater riches than even....

Louis XIV..."The Sun King"...

“The Sun King had dinner each night alone. He chose from forty dishes, served on gold and silver plate. It took a staggering 498 people to prepare each meal. He was rich because he consumed the work of other people, mainly in the form of their services."

"He was rich because other people did things for him.

At that time, the average French family would have prepared and consumed its own meals as well as paid tax to support the King's servants in the palace. So it is not hard to conclude that Louis XIV was rich because of the sacrifices of the poor."

But what about today?

"Consider that you are an average person, say a woman of 35, living in, for the sake of argument, Paris and earning the median wage, with a working husband and two children. You are far from poor, but in relative terms, you are immeasurably poorer than Louis was."

"Where he was the richest of the rich in the world’s richest city, you have no servants, no palace, no carriage, no kingdom. As you toil home from work on the crowded Metro, stopping at the shop on the way to buy a ready meal for four, you might be thinking that Louis XIV’s dining arrangements were way beyond your reach."

And yet consider this.

"The cornucopia that greets you as you enter the supermarket dwarfs anything that Louis XIV ever experienced (and it is probably less likely to contain salmonella). You can buy a fresh, frozen, tinned, smoked or pre-prepared meal made with beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, prawns, scallops, eggs, potatoes, beans, carrots, cabbage, aubergine, kumquats, celeriac, okra, seven kinds of lettuce, cooked in olive, walnut, sunflower or peanut oil and flavored with cilantro, turmeric, basil or rosemary."

"You may have no chefs, but you can decide on a whim to choose between scores of nearby bistros, or Italian, Chinese, Japanese or Indian restaurants, in each of which a team of skilled chefs is waiting to serve your family at less than an hour’s notice. Think of this: never before this generation has the average person been able to afford to have somebody else prepare his meals."

"You employ no tailor, but you can browse the internet and instantly order from an almost infinite range of excellent, affordable clothes of cotton, silk, linen, wool and nylon made up for you in factories all over Asia."

"You have no carriage, but you can buy a ticket which will summon the services of a skilled pilot of a budget airline to fly you to one of hundreds of destinations that Louis never dreamed of seeing. You have no woodcutters to bring you logs for the fire, but the operators of gas rigs in Russia are clamoring to bring you clean central heating."

"You have no wick-trimming footman, but your light switch gives you the instant and brilliant produce of hardworking people at a grid of distant nuclear power stations. You have no runner to send messages, but even now a repairman is climbing a mobile-phone mast somewhere in the world to make sure it is working properly just in case you need to call that cell."

"You have no private apothecary, but your local pharmacy supplies you with the handiwork of many thousands of chemists, engineers and logistics experts. You have no government ministers, but diligent reporters are even now standing ready to tell you about a film star’s divorce if you will only switch to their channel or log on to their blogs."

"My point is that you have far, far more than 498 servants at your immediate beck and call. Of course, unlike the Sun King’s servants, these people work for many other people too, but from your perspective what is the difference?"

This is truly a marvelous time to be alive, and your contribution will only make it better for those who follow you as you work step 12. But we must open the doors in our own mind and walk out of the prisons of resentment and blame that we may have created for ourselves. The following link is to a series of speakers as they share about achieving Recovery.

Hear them at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc7nB8Z7S2L-_fKC4npRUQZDMZpFnyOa_

Original unedited posting found at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ToddWilliam11/posts/PnKmjgpgKeB

Photo at: http://www.tourist-destinations.com/2014/09/palace-of-versailles.html

and: https://romaniadacia.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/communist-prisons/

=======================================================

Some further reflections...

TIME TO LAPSE:

Looking for the unseen splendor and appreciating

the beauty created by  the artist and author of all!

The Creation around us is only a dim reflection

of His Beauty and each of us have been created

to express the glory of His Image.

-CLICK YOUTUBE link TO ENLARGE-

--- a celebration of ---

--Imago Die --

-- The Image of God --

=======================================

REAL CRISIS SANITY...

The sanity of recovery is about maintaining perspective in a world of uncertainty. It is knowing that a sober surrendered relationship with our Maker is enough.

It is finding the good, like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin’?”

It is accepting this world as it is, both good and bad and still experiencing reasonable joy and hope.

Photo source: http://medio-ambiente.practicopedia.lainformacion.com/catastrofes-naturales/como-se-forma-un-tornado-13198

Celebrating Messages of Hope Courage

Celebrating Messages of  Hope Courage and Integrity

and the Need for Greater Intolerance!

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai were both honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

In doing so the Noble Commission in Norway honored: A
Victim who would #NotBeSilenced and a   #GlobalVictimsAdvocate .  

It has been estimated that 90% of any population group can be controlled by a 10% minority that is willing to organize and intimidate their neighbors.

Simply said: The  two honored prize winners chose not to be intimidated, but rather to work to organize the 90%. 

In America during the Civil Rights Movement the, "Freedom Riders," did a similar thing. They immersed themselves into the conflict. They became witnesses, and companions to the suffering. Their presence brought the struggle to the homes of everyday America,  black and white. Their presence ensured social awareness and highlighted the  injustice of segregation, exposing a system that could no longer be tolerated.  Below is to and excellent PBS special, "The Freedom Riders."

The Freedom Riders 

Click Link below to see video  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL0TBRZAKU0

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai are Freedom Riders in the Greatest Sense... a Hindu, and a Muslim...an Indian and a Pakistani..

Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti also worked to change the 90%. Taseer a Muslim and Bhatti Christian stepped forward and worked together in Pakistan to expose injustice, but few in Pakistan were able to follow, and their culture could not respond.

In 1989, 25 years earlier, the Students of Tiananmen Square  in China  stepped  forward as well,  but the people of China were not free to respond. 

One year earlier in 1988, The Singing Revolution occurred in the Baltic states. It was successful and the Tank Commanders joined the protesters in, "Freedom Rider," type activities, and together they broke free from the Communist System.

9:16 / 14:25

How Song and Poetry Inspired the Baltic Revolution | Gina Ochsner | TEDxSalem

And

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6A4vYooRk4

The Estonian Singing Revolution: An Anthem of Independence

Eshaan Chandani

So, why such dramatically different outcomes?

I suggest that the, "Judeo-Christian Culture had a huge effect; that as the population of the Established Power Structure had a strong Cultural Identification with the values of, "Christianity," peaceful Protestantism was much more likely to be effective.

Why?... because of the values? .....the challenging nature of, "Protestantism"?...  or the fear of God? I think Lincoln would say the Fear of God. (see Lincoln's 2nd inaugural Address)

Today our culture has redefined it's values along humanistic lines and all but abandoned ideas of, "Fearing God," but we continue to honor the, "Challenging Nature of, Protestantism" as displayed in modern time by the acts Mandela and Gandhi in British controlled South Africa, and India and Dr Martin Luther King Jr in America.  Both with great success I might add.

And yet, the protests of the Arab Spring failed to bring movement toward resolution, but rather the destruction of order and devolution into greater factitious fighting. Hopefully theses will also resolve toward a better future. Lord Knows, there was great turmoil at the time of Gandhi and King. Turmoil that took both or their lives.

The playlist below suggests truths that transcend national, cultural and  religious mandate.  Some examine conflicts and responses both positive and negative.

Click the link directly below for Playlist, then Play All.

It is labeled.

Comparing Modern Reformations,

20th Century America's and Pakistan's

(see it at:)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc7nB8Z7S2L9kiMRWlN6z4qjnf_Ayjuat

But back to slavery.... and Kailash and Malala.

The children of the world are needed to feed our appetites, and our appetites enslave the children of the world.

#Cheaplabor,  #CheapPornography and  #Sexualenslavement are only a few of the appetites driving demand for the young as we in the west grow the demand for cheap merchandise and surrender to habits of personal corruption. But this is not a problem of the west alone. In the East these practices occur without shame. In many parts of the "Non-Christian" world young women are expected to work as prostitutes for a period of time to pay back their parents for the cost of raising them, often starting as young as age 8. Their culture sees it as their duty, and so escape is next to impossible.

Sadly: This is a global and historical characteristic of humankind.

Corrupting our future sells, and when it does, the younger generations pay a huge price. 

The Clips in Play List below are focused on education and exposing or escaping from various forms of slavery, and organizations committed to bringing restoration. 

The 3rd clip is an excellent speech given by #KailashSatyarthi several years ago on his work to free enslaved children and end the #cyclethatentraps their  families.

Click the link below or click Play all to view all. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXatIqAO9cA&list=PLc7nB8Z7S2L-tkJK4oU_fyY14bO4-gdNY&index=3

Heartfelt Thoughts from others:

Heartfelt Thoughts 
from others: 

 Dear younger me, 

Shared by permission of the writer.

To the girl who was too ashamed to look at herself, the one who could only see her own mistakes. The little child who thought she wasn't worthy of love. The hands that held a razor to cut herself oh so many times. To the fragile heart that couldn't see past the flaws of the past. 

You, yes you, you are the child that I am most proud of. You are incredible. The hurt you have been feeling, it will pass. As I look into my past I find you there in the corner crying because you care about what others think of you. You put your value and worth into their greedy hands. You in the future is better than you could have hoped. 

I want to say thank you for giving yourself all those chances, for never actually going through with all those plans to end the the gift of life. 

You in the future is the person who you wished you had growing up. You in the future is thoughtful and kind. The heart you have so many years later is stronger than you dared to believe. 

Be proud of your flaws and mistakes. They are what got you to today. You, younger me are the one I challenge. The child you were is not the child you are. For you see, we had a childhood taken away from us, we were forced to grow up oh so much faster than our peers. 

You know that you're different but you don't know why. You see being different as being an outcast, and you couldn't be farther from the truth. Being different is your biggest strength. 

You thrive in challenges and you conquer trials. Stop blaming yourself dear child for keeping secrets, you didn't know. Please trust me when I say you are a force to be reckoned with. One day soon you will understand that who you are is not defined by your flaws, by the past, by the ones who are close to you. 

No, sweet little me, the one that defines you, the one who holds your worth... He will never leave you, nor will he forsake you. Let go of your past and forgive yourself. 

You are a princess, a child of the King of Kings and Lord the Lords. He alone is the one who saves. He knows your flaws, but he calls you by your name. No more being ashamed. Young one, it's been 10 years of fighting to prove your worth. Ten years since you first realized you weren't who you wanted to be. Be proud of yourself. You've done so much. You are proud of yourself. You know your name. ❤

I want to thank everyone I have come in contact with for the past 19 years, without you, I assure you I would not be where I am today. Much love! Oh and btw, I'm extremely proud of who I was, who I am, and I am looking forward to seeing who I become. God bless.❤ #mylifeofhope #Godslittlegirl

Written by a girl at our church.

#Learningmoment from today;
Tonight I went to visit a friend and there were a few kids she was babysitting. I was glad to come help.

Anyway, one of the little girls got a piece of glass or metal stuck in her foot (it's out now and she's all better) but I was trying to help her and it ended up making me so upset that she wouldn't let anyone help her, it was kicking and screaming pretty much the whole time.

I eventually moved myself away from the scenario and #recollectedmythoughts. But it got me thinking... What am I holding onto in my own life, for fear it might hurt more than it does right now?

How many things are hindering my perception of life because I am #tooscaredtotrust those who want to help?

Am I going to carry the pain for years when I could have overcome it within a couple months instead?

The most amazing thing I took away from this learning experience is how much #Godlovesme.

While I'm kicking and screaming from the pain and fear constantly going through my head, He never fails to be right beside me wanting to take care of me.

As I keep resisting the unknown his perfect love is casting away all my fears.

Father, thank you for never giving up on me and never taking a break from my screaming. You are so much more patient than I am, and I can't thank You enough for never losing your grip on me.

Please teach me how to embrace the unknown and look forward to the challenges. Humble me so I can learn from those around me who want to help me and please give me opportunities to demonstrate the fruits of Your spirit. These are the desires of my heart tonight as I come to You. In your holy name, amen. 9/16/17

A VERY BIG THANK YOU!

To all my peers at Unity...Thank you so much!

It took me a little time to process my thoughts, and by then my E-mail was closed and I didn't want to leave it unsaid, so...

Thank you Aimee and Beth and everyone who contributed! I can't begin to express the gratitude that I felt with your generous gifts and your displays of recognition and appreciation at my retirement party! The gifts were PERFECT! I was truly overwhelmed! Thank you so much for your kindness, your presence, your hugs and your good-wishes!

Many of you expressed surprise and some were saddened with my decision to suddenly retire as I was so intensely engaged in efforts to influence and improve our PES environment. If you were counting on me to be there, I apologize.

Most of you also know that these last few months were very challenging for me, (as they were for all of us after the OHA audit), and how the OHA bump in the road abruptly shifted our focus. From a clear focus of stabilizing our city's most vulnerable patients... To one of demonstrating compliance with the ever so tedious task of searching for the correct locations in the randomly organized, multifaceted non-emergent computer charting system to record our redundancies. Although I am certain that the data miners are thrilled. This was something I had hoped to avoid by leaving floor nursing.

I want you all to know that through this time I personally found everyone in the nursing field at Unity, including my manager extremely supportive, both personally and professionally. Among those I especially appreciated due to their timely actions were each of my charge nurses, Kevin, Sarah, Elisha, Jeff and Jen.  Thank you Jen for normalizing the idea of filling in every box, even when COMPLETELY REDUNDANT. I needed that to survive. (It still makes no sense to me)

Thank you Kevin for your unique openness and friendship and for helping me to see the big picture in how to get organized on the EPIC system. I appreciated your kindness and persistence in checking my efforts and offering respectful and supportive encouragement. I appreciated your willingness to trust me as we team worked with many of our most difficult people. 

Thank you Elisha, Sarah and Jeff for standing up for me specifically and for all of us Nurses in general as you responded to  situations where Corrective Actions were taken against acceptable but uniquely prioritized nursing practices. Good Job on seeking and obtaining greater representation! You guys are amazing! This is the first time that I have heard of a group unionizing to obtain greater freedom to pursue excellence in serving their community! Usually it is about wages or vacations! I hope that the Legacy Organization realizes what an asset they have in you and listens carefully to your insights in the future!

I also want to thank you Aimee. I appreciate the confidence and faith you placed in me. I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and adapt as we opened the PES and as you know I enjoyed thinking on my feet and applying my skills in the ever changing ED setting. It was a challenge that I feel we all grew into. Thank you for your efforts in helping me to overcome the obstacles that came up, and the graciousness that you extended in our meetings. I appreciate the times that you went to bat for me when there were misunderstandings with medical staff.

So what was the problem?  And, why did I decide to leave? ...

In  my practice, my Nursing Goal in the PES was simple. Of course there is safety and labs and meds and all the rest... and then there was my patient stabilization goal...

"To connect with, and to identify and explore a reasonable Hope."

which could be as simple as 
(fully enjoying)... smell, feel, taste, and 
describe the effect,
 of a cup of tea together, 
(i.e.... grounding before directing or problem solving) 

To be honest, with the busy-ness of the additional computer tasks I found that I was no longer taking the time to accomplish my stabilization goal. I was not consistently doing both. I could do one, or the other, but often I could not do both.

I also found that doing med audits for four months placed me under suspicion with our medical staff and their confidence in my actions and assessments seemed to have evaporated. Eventually my actions, statements and decisions were being questioned by some on a near daily basis. I was even accused of lying about the side effects I observed. As you can imagine, this saddened me. But later when the patient,  expressed great relief and gratitude for the effectiveness of the medication I (wrongly) gave. I was very glad I followed my training and instincts. Instincts which also led to my leaving.

Since the options in life do not include Do-Over's, and I had just spent four months proving myself only to have a very negative outcome, it seemed best to leave and reap the benefits of my other investments.

(Did I tell you I just bought a new windsurf board?)

click link below to read about my passion for, "blasting."

https://www.seekinghigherbeing.org/2024/07/awakening-to-true-change.html

So I end with a suggestion on how to have greater unity at Unity.

Please be patient as I try to illustrate.

The culture at my previous hospital was influenced by a mission statement..., "To demonstrate in human form the healing ministry of Jesus Christ." which was often referred to as, "SACRED WORK." This mission attempts to capture ideas of "moral truth," like healing, comfort, compassion and patience, e.t.c...

Legacy's culture which extends to Unity, promotes ideals of, Social Justice, which are also held by many in a sense as, "SACRED WORK," and presented in their statement... 

"ABOVE ALL, we will do THE RIGHT THING." 

The status of sacredness can be seen in our fervency to display reverent social etiquette toward marginalized groups, much like the reverent speech displayed in many formal prayers. The "moral truth" extended... Intense Fairness.

Whether every individual in the organization personally holds either of these messages as sacred was actually unimportant. In reality they serve as identity markers to rallying forms of focused altruistic effort. 

Unfortunately it is also the nature of humanity to harbor mistrust and form judgments and then reward or punish along perceived lines of allegiance. I saw this at AMC toward a peer who jokingly coined the phrase, "badventist," and I believe this happens often at Unity toward anyone that does not show enough zeal in their displays of reverence toward cultural change.

Is it possible to humbly and respectfully disagree on some perceptions of morality? Or do we all have to mercilessly be beaten and pushed  into the same mold? 

The Following TED talk is very good on this topic.

 it can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs41JrnGaxc

If you think that the main point of the talk is to create punishments that will be effective in bringing greater fairness, then you are lost in the Matrix he is discribing. 

The challenging question is... Setting aside his personal tastes on religious systems and going back to the data. Is it better to function on two channels and ignore the other three, or recognize and UTILIZE ALL FIVE and WEIGHT THEM PROPERLY on a MOMENT TO MOMENT basis? 

Which leads to my final suggestion, to bring greater fairness and unity to Unity... 

Create a hybrid Mission Statement like...

 "Above All, We Will Respect Human Dignity, 

As Our Sacred Duty."

We will humbly respect...

• The dignity of our patients, their families and their circumstance, and not ridicule.
• The dignity of our peers, providers, managers, even if we disagree strongly with them on what we feel are very important issues
• The dignity of those who serve among us in other capacities.

Hopefully this would result in a refrain from gossip and derision and segregating from, or singling out those who hold differing values. If we were to extend the benefit of graciousness rather then scolding or judgmental criticisms and avoid punitive action toward those who hold differing opinions. This would also be a great step toward,  "Intense Fairness."

  

Again, Thank you ALL and May God Bless us each and every one!

Stop and See

Stop and (SEE) the Miracles!
Pause and (ENJOY) the Moments. 
(KNOW) His loving eyes watch over you.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.