It's a hard life - do not "poison" our children.

 

Dr. Martin King Jr,                                                                                                                                    taught us that there were no bad babies                                                                                                  born on the face of this earth.                                                                                                                      All babies are born good.

It's what we give them in love, what we teach them in education,                                                                What we lend to them in trust that they'll return to us in that dream of the future.

Whatever bitterness and hatred you harbour in your heart, let the cycle stop and don't pass it on to your children.                                                                        Because it is the greatest disease that you could expose them to                                                              'cause it's a hard life wherever you go.

Nanci Griffith 1999

It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go

 Song by Nanci Griffith

I am a backseat driver from America
They drive to the left on Falls Road
The man at the wheel's name is Seamus
We pass a child on the corner he knows
And Seamus says, "Now, what chance has that
Kid got?"
And I say from the back, "I don't know."
He says, "There's barbed wire at all of these exits
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid
To go."

It's a hard life
It's a hard life
It's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
If we poison our children with hatred
Then, the hard life is all that they'll know
And there ain't no place in (Belfast) for
These kids to go

A cafeteria line in Chicago
The fat man in front of me
Is calling black people trash to his children
He's the only trash here I see
And I'm thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep
But, they slip to their window and they see him
And they think that white hood's all they need

It's a hard life….

I was a child in the sixties
Dreams could be held through TV
With Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther
Oh, I believed, I believed, I believed
Now, I am the backseat driver from America
I am not at the wheel of control
I am guilty, I am war, I am the root of all evil
Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road

It's a hard life……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhs0qm9ozLs&ab_channel=SingDaily%21

 

Looking for a Job

 

Looking for a Job

There was a young man who didn’t like living at his father’s house because of the constant "nagging" he received:

"If you’re not using the fan, turn it off."

"The TV is on in the living room, and no one is there. Turn it off!"

"Close the door."

"Don’t waste so much water."

The son couldn’t stand his father correcting him over such "little things."

He endured this until one day, he received an invitation for a job interview.

"As soon as I get the job, I’ll leave this city. I won’t have to listen to my father’s complaints anymore," he thought.

Before leaving for the interview, his father gave him some advice:

"Answer all the questions confidently. Even if you don’t know the answer, say it with assurance."

He also gave him more money than he actually needed for the interview.

When the young man arrived at the interview location, he noticed there were no security guards at the door. The door was left open outward, which was likely inconvenient for people passing by. He closed the door before entering.

Walking through the garden, he saw beautiful flowers but also noticed the gardener had left the hose running, wasting water. He moved the hose toward other plants that needed it.

At the reception, there was no one present, but a sign indicated the interview was on the first floor. He climbed the stairs slowly.

He noticed a light still on, probably since the night before. He remembered his father’s words:

"Why are you leaving the room without turning off the light?"

Although the thought annoyed him, he turned off the light before continuing.

On the first floor, he found a large hall with many people waiting for their turn. Seeing so many applicants, he wondered if he even had a chance of getting the job.

Near the entrance, there was a welcome mat, but it was placed upside down. Although slightly irritated, he adjusted it properly.

In the front rows, people were sitting close together, while the back rows were empty, with several fans running unnecessarily. Once again, he recalled his father’s voice:

"Why are the fans running in an empty space?"

He turned off the unnecessary fans and sat in one of the empty chairs.

He noticed many candidates entering the interview room and leaving quickly through another door, making it impossible to guess what questions were being asked.

When his turn came, he stood nervously in front of the interviewer. The interviewer glanced at his documents without much attention and asked:

"When can you start working?"

The young man, confused, wondered if this was a trick question or if he was actually being offered the job.

Seeing his hesitation, the interviewer explained:

"We don’t ask questions here because we believe they don’t effectively evaluate someone’s skills. Instead, we observe behaviours through a series of tests. We have CCTV cameras monitoring everything. Of all the candidates today, you were the only one who closed the door, adjusted the welcome mat, turned off the unnecessary fans and lights, and reused the water from the hose. That’s why we decided to hire you."

At that moment, the young man recalled all his father’s teachings. Although he had always complained about his discipline, he realized it was thanks to that discipline that he got his first job. His frustration and resentment disappeared. He decided to go home and thank his father, eager to share the good news.

Everything our parents tell us is for our benefit, to ensure we have a bright future.

To become a person of value, we must accept corrections and guidance that help us eliminate bad habits. That’s what our parents do when they discipline us and set boundaries.

Our father is our teacher when we are young, a "villain" during our youth, but a guide for life.

Mothers often visit their children when they grow older, but fathers don’t always know how to do that.

It’s not worth hurting your parents while they are alive and regretting it when they’re gone.

Always treat them with love and respect.

  

 Respect for parents is a fundamental value in many cultures and religions. It involves showing love, consideration, and appreciation for the people who raised or supported you. Respecting your parents means recognizing their efforts, sacrifices, and roles in your life and treating them with kindness and gratitude. This respect can be expressed in many ways, including:

1. Listening to them: Giving your parents your time and attention when they speak, acknowledging their opinions and feelings.

2. Helping and supporting them: Whether it's providing emotional support or assisting with practical tasks, helping your parents shows that you care.

3. Being considerate of their needs: Understanding their physical, emotional, or financial needs as they age and offering assistance when needed.

4. Expressing gratitude: Saying thank you for the sacrifices they’ve made for your well-being, and showing appreciation for the things they’ve done for you.

5. Being patient and understanding: Parents are not perfect, and respecting them means accepting their flaws and showing patience with them, especially as they age or encounter challenges.

6. Following their guidance: In many cultures, honoring your parents also means taking their advice or instructions into consideration when making decisions.

   
   
   

Live a balanced life in 2025

 

𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝟏. 𝐆𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 (𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞)

Get outside. Often. Leave the screens behind and hike through the woods, camp by the sea, or just sit under a tree with a book. Nature doesn’t care about your LinkedIn achievements or Instagram followers. It humbles you. It’s honest, and when you’re surrounded by it, you remember how small — and alive — you are.

Go watch the sun rise. Listen to the wind. Hell, touch the dirt. Life feels a lot less chaotic when you’ve got the whole sky to yourself.

𝟐. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡

Ambition is beautiful until it eats you alive. The next raise, the next big gig, the next “thing” won’t always bring you peace. So, take a moment. Ask yourself, What does “enough” look like for me? When you answer that, you’ll stop running a race you don’t even want to win.

More isn’t always better. Sometimes, “just enough” is perfect.

𝟑. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

Stop glorifying exhaustion. If you’re always “on,” then when are you actually you? Get your sleep. Take your breaks. Nap on a Sunday afternoon without guilt. Life isn’t a sprint, and you’re no good to anyone — especially yourself — when you’re running on fumes.

Rest, because you deserve it. Rest, because the world will still turn without you for a while.

𝟒. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 Friends 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞

The older you get, the more you realize it’s not about how many friends you have, but how real they are. Find those people who’d drop everything when you call at 2 AM. The ones who sit with you in silence, laugh until they cry, and remind you of who you are when you forget.

Hold onto them. Relationships take work, but they’re worth it. Text that old friend. Call your mom. Say “yes” to the dinner, even if it’s inconvenient.

𝟓. 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥

You don’t have to become a fitness guru, but take care of the one body you’ve got. Move — not because you hate it, but because it feels good to stretch, sweat, and be alive. Hike, swim, dance like an idiot in your living room. Fuel yourself with good food. Drink your water.

The best version of you starts when you stop punishing yourself and start showing your body some kindness.

𝟔. 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐞

We live in a world where faster means better, but that’s a lie. Eat your meals slowly and taste every bite. Have conversations without checking your phone. Watch a film in silence — no distractions, no side comments. Life’s best moments happen when you’re paying attention.

You’ll miss it if you’re always rushing.

𝟕. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥

Work pays the bills, but your passions keep you alive. Write, paint, cook, play guitar, take up pottery, or plant a garden. You don’t have to be great at it — just do something for the joy of doing it.

A balanced life isn’t just about surviving; it’s about having little pieces of your day that remind you why you love being alive.

𝟖. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧

Carrying grudges, toxic relationships, or the weight of who you think you should be will only drag you under. Drop them. Let go. Not everything deserves space in your heart, and not everyone deserves a seat at your table.

Life feels a hell of a lot lighter when you stop carrying what isn’t yours to hold.

𝟗. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭

Turn it off. Your phone, your laptop, your endless need to be reachable. Sometimes, the best way to find balance is to be unavailable. Let yourself get bored. Sit in the quiet. Talk to strangers. Do nothing for once, and see what happens.

The world will wait for you.

𝟏𝟎. 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 (𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐈𝐬)

Here’s the hard truth: you don’t have forever. None of us do. So, say the words, take the trip, spend the time. Use the good china. Laugh loudly. Love people as fiercely as you can, because one day you won’t get to anymore.

A balanced life isn’t perfect. It’s real, messy, and full of choices that remind you to live instead of just exist.

So in 2025, make those choices. Life’s too short to get it all right, but it’s long enough to get the important parts right.

Start there.

 

 

"A Pastor's Musings + Stop the Genocide"

 

Christmas Eve 2024.  A Pastor’s Musings.

Tonight is a night like any other night this past week, month, year. Another night with rain, snow, blizzard, drought, war, famine, family violence, addictions.  On the surface, that’s true. That’s the world in which we live socially, politically, religiously, and climatically.         

    Beneath this miserable insanity, there are cries and prayers for peace. Not peace at any price. Peace that lasts in mind and heart. Peace that brings  people together even if they disagree with each other. Peace that is understood and felt by its quality. There are those who live in peace like the silence in the center of a hurricane. They are consciously aware of the turmoil around them. They have learned to be at peace, to be at home in their own skin, mind and soul. Humanity lived in a peaceful environment until someone was not satisfied with his lot in life. That charismatic negativity bloomed, and, for a period of time, darkness came over the land.               But "a light shone in the darkness." There have always been those who opened their mind and heart, door and pocketbook, risked their lives for those others deemed to be “outsiders,” “immigrants” “the enemy.” In doing so they shone a light into the darkness and gave hope and inspiration to others to follow.                                        

   It’s not easy being the first to shine a light in the darkness. We do not know what we will find or see. Sometimes it is a mirror in which we find ourselves looking at that aspect of who we are and which we do not wish to see. But there it is with a light on it.                  

  Tonight, Death will escort those who have decided to cross over into Eternity and lead them home. God will be present to those who are hurt, injured, - mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. God did not do anything to them, as a child once told her teacher: “God doesn’t do it to us. God gets us through it.”                                                                                                          Tonight is different from all other nights. Tonight, we remember a child born in a room warmed by the presence of animals, and who slept in their warm straw. Tonight, we remember that that child matured and grew into a charismatic Teacher/Rabbi who taught us by word and example how to live spiritually in our human nature. The light he shone still burns around the world and is experienced in a cup of water, a hug, a sandwich, any and all good done in his name. Tonight we “Go tell it on the Mountain, Jesus Christ is born.”                                                                      Shalome/peace.               Séamus

“My name is Amos Goldberg. I am an Israeli Professor of Holocaust Studies. For nearly 30 years I have researched and taught the Holocaust, genocide and state violence.

And I want to tell whoever is willing to listen that what’s happening now in Gaza is a genocide.

A year ago when October 7th happened, like all Israelis I was in shock. It was a war crime and a crime against humanity. 1200 people - more than 800 of them civilians - were killed in one day. Children and the elderly were among those taken hostage. Communities were destroyed. It was outrageous, traumatizing, personal. Like most Israelis, I know people who were killed, who lost loved ones or whose loved ones were taken hostage.

But immediately afterwards came Israel’s response and within weeks thousands of civilians were killed in Gaza. It took me some time to digest what was unfolding before my eyes. It was agonizing to confront that reality. I was reluctant to call it a genocide.

But if you read Raphael Lemkin – the Jewish-Polish legal scholar who coined the term ‘genocide’ and was the major driving force behind the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention – what is happening in Gaza now is exactly what he had in mind when he spoke about genocide.

It does not need to look like the Holocaust to be a genocide. Each genocide looks different and not all involve killing of millions or the entire group. The United Nations Genocide Convention explicitly asserts that genocide is the act of deliberately destroying a group in whole or in part. Those are the words.

But there does need to be a clear intent.

And indeed, there are clear indications of intent to destroy Gaza:

Israel’s leaders - including the prime minister and the minister of defence - and many high-ranking military officers, media personalities, rabbis, as well as ordinary soldiers were very open about what they wanted to achieve. There were countless documented incitements to turn the whole of Gaza into rubble and claims that there are no innocent people living there.

A radical atmosphere of dehumanization of the Palestinians prevails in Israeli society to an extent that I can’t remember in my 58 years of living here.

Now that vision has been enacted.

Tens of thousands of innocent children, women and men have been killed. Over a hundred thousand were wounded.

There is a near total destruction of infrastructure, intentional starvation and blocking of humanitarian aid.

There are mass graves and reliable testimony of summary executions. Children that were shot by snipers.

All the universities and almost all hospitals are gone. Almost all the population is displaced. There have been numerous bombings of civilians in so-called ‘safe zones’.

Gaza does not exist anymore. It is completely destroyed. Thus, the outcome fits perfectly with the stated intentions of Israel’s leadership.

Lemkin - that scholar who coined the term ‘genocide’ - described two phases of a genocide. The first is the destruction of the annihilated group and the second is what he called ‘imposition of the national pattern’ of the perpetrator. We are now witnessing the second phase as Israel prepares ethnically cleansed areas for Israeli settlements.

And therefore, I have come to the conclusion that this is exactly what a genocide looks like.

We don’t teach about genocides in order to realize it retrospectively. We teach about it in order to prevent it and to stop it. But like in every other case of genocide in history right now we have mass denial. Both here in Israel and around the world.

But reality cannot be denied.

So yes, it is a genocide.

And once you come to this conclusion you cannot remain silent.” -Amos Goldberg

Jiri Rezac

A 296 page report from Amnesty International details the evidence.

This 6 minute video summarizes their findings:

https://www.filmsforaction.org/.../israels-genocide.../

 

Pope Francis in his Christmas message said the following :

".This Christmas, at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every individual, and all peoples and nations, to find the courage needed to walk through that Door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions!

May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine! May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.

May the sound of arms be silenced in the Middle East! In contemplating the Crib of Bethlehem, I think of the Christian communities in Palestine and in Israel, particularly the dear community in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave. May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war. I express my closeness to the Christian community in Lebanon, especially in the south, and to that of Syria, at this most delicate time. May the doors of dialogue and peace be flung open throughout the region, devastated by conflict. Here I also think of the Libyan people and encourage them to seek solutions that enable national reconciliation.

May the birth of the Saviour bring a new season of hope to the families of thousands of children who are dying from an outbreak of measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the people of the East of that country, and of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mozambique. The humanitarian crisis that affects them is caused mainly by armed conflicts and the scourge of terrorism, aggravated by the devastating effects of climate change, resulting in the loss of life and the displacement of millions of people. My thoughts also turn to the peoples of the nations of the Horn of Africa, for whom I implore the gifts of peace, concord and fraternity. May the Son of the Most High sustain the efforts of the international community to facilitate access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Sudan and to initiate new negotiations for a ceasefire.

May the proclamation of Christmas bring comfort to the people of Myanmar, who, due to the ongoing clash of arms, suffer greatly and are forced to flee their homes.

May the Infant Jesus inspire the political authorities and all people of good will on the American continent to find as soon as possible effective solutions, in justice and truth, to promote social harmony, particularly in Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua. May they work, particularly during this Jubilee Year, to advance the common good and respect the dignity of each person, surmounting political divisions."

Give time to listen to the attached Christmas message. ( you might need to download and to view there !!