A Movie Worth Seeing

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The movie "Stop Loss" (2007) outlines, in dramatic and personal ways, the cost of this obscene war in Iraq. This is not the economic cost, which is astronomical; it will take our children decades to pay it off, since the war has cost approximately three trillion (million million) dollars.

All this money was used to feed the greed of oil-executives and the politicians in their pockets. But the war went tragically wrong, and was a stupid idea in the first place. Nearly one million people have been killed in the Middle East-- all due to this war and its aftermath; and an astonishing number have been women and children. The movie, however, speaks to a higher cost of the war-- much higher. For its cost in terms of emotion are immense. And when a person has served his time in the army, and then, is expected to return to duty, the horrors are even deeper, and worse.

Lives, and entire families, are destroyed by this careless policy. And the lives of so many who survive the war are so irreversibly ruined that one might say that the "lucky" ones were those four thousand American girls and boys who so tragically and horrifyingly perished there. The movie also gives us a glimpse into the nightmare of some who survived, but might have wished that they had died.

This movie will move your heart; if you are a sensitive type, it will bring you to tears-- several times. The movie is a touching protest to a war that has killed thousands of American girls and boys and hundreds of thousands of Islamic people-- all to be laid at the door of careless American imperialism and greed for oil.

When are we finally going to drop the most expensive habit in the world-- that of relentless, incessant greed? It is far more dangerous, expensive, and harmful than any drug-habit. We would never consider electing anyone with a serious drug-habit to the White House. So, let us refuse also to elect anyone who has this more terrible habit-- that of unquenchable greed and obscene violence.
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Finding Time for Reading

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We truly understand what it feels like not to have had a break since the second grade!:) Btdt-- been there, did that!:) But please never forget that one can just "burn up" or "kill" time, or one can invest it. Reading a good spiritual book (and they are far fewer than most people assume) is this kind of beautiful selfinvestment; so, sometimes, we might have to "make" the time, as it does not simply fall "out of the sky into our laps," although we might often wish that it could, or would!:) If
you can devote only a couple of minutes to reading a paragraph or two a day, this would add up in time.:):)
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What is Spirituality?, by a franciscan taoist

Spirituality can assault us with an onslaught that seems like being washed away in Niagara Falls! There is simply so much of it! "Spiritual" writing seems to know no end, and it can be overwhelming! It can swamp and lose the mind.

So, let us try to be as simple as possible, following the "K.I.S.S." principle-- "keep it super-simple." Spirituality is not, in its core-definition, thousands of gurus, ministers, Scriptures, books, ideas, concepts, and explanations contained in thousands of libraries and bookstores. As you might suspect, it is simpler. (Many great mastersages emphasize simplicity.)

Spirituality is Love--the complex choreography of balancing Love for yourself with Love for others. The Christ mentioned this as the principle, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So, if we love our neighbor less than ourselves, we have introduced imbalance into the equation. But if we love our neighbors more than ourselves, we have also made a significant error.

The ancient mystics wrote," God is Love." So, they also solved the great mystery of "God," and made even this most complex universal Mystery simple. For if we exercise compassion, kindness, goodness, and other forms of Love-- if indeed, we worship Love as God-- we will make no significant karmic errors, and will be able to avoid all negative karmic repercussions.

For the Buddha taught that all karma arises from intention. Do we have to be "perfect" in order to create a future life completely free from all negative karma? No, we do not. The good news is that, if we act with good and pure intention, we can be karmafree. For we cannot control what will become of our words once they have gone forth into the world; but we can control our intentions. And, in a just and fair universe, we should be held responsible for only that which we can control.

So, begin right now: Do an act of Love for yourself or for another living creature. Work to make this a life-pattern, a positive habit, and you will never regret your wise decision.

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