fast distractions July 23, 2012
Posted by needinc in emPulse.add a comment
Nooooo. This is not a story about a Bugatti Veyron. Truthfully, I would rather be driving one than ever writing about one. This is a story about the speed of our lives, that often feels as if it is approaching the speed of a Veyron (247.2 mph). As a society we move w-a-y too fast. Our careers seem to have taken over our lives, rather than providing income so that we might have a life. The proliferation of ¨fast food¨ (if in fact it is food) should be proof enough of our life´s increased velocity.
We move at such a life-pace that we rarely STOP long enough to take the time to discuss the important stuff- our goals, life ambitions & dreams, values, weaknesses and fears. Most of us just work, crash & burn. OR, we escape in TV, sports, movies, alcohol, or non-stop social activities. Sometimes, sadly, it is too late to remedy the past stream of events and we must endure the less-than-pleasant consequences of our actions.
So before you are over-run (or run-over) by your own life consider trying these action-steps:
1. STOP moving so fast. You really DO NOT have to fill every waking moment of your existence.
2. Find THIRTY MINUTES a day wherein you do NOTHING: no work, no TV, no people or activities. You simply sit or walk alone with yourself…, & God, if he chooses to join you.
3. SIT with your spouse, partner, or group of good friends and TALK about those more consequential issues of life. What is my purpose? What do I want out of life? Is there a God? What difference does it make if there is/isn’t? What am I doing to leave a life-legacy?
4. SING. Yes, Sing. For some of us this is best done in a shower or in a forest deep. There is just something that happens to your soul when you sing.
5. ASK God…, well, anything. Then WAIT for an answer. You might be surprised.
6. DETERMINE to DO one unnecessary thing for someone else at least once a week. [Extra bonus points for doing so in a slinky, stealthy manner.]
Great insights and solutions often come unexpectedly in times of private reflection and solitude. So, again, slow it down and smell the coffee. Unless, of course, you are behind the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron.
Have a nice week,
Gary
…and justice for all July 9, 2012
Posted by needinc in emPulse.Tags: human-rights, inequitable, judicial system, justice, law, rule of law, white collar crimes
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If you’ve ever had occasion to interact with the American judicial system at any level you quickly discover that rulings are made not in accordance with a sense of justice, but rather in compliance with the precedency of the law. The Rule of Law has been in place since ancient times. In the time of Job, 2,000-1,500 BCE (Eusebius), prior to the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, there was no justice. The Biblical writer Job protested before God-
“Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response;
though I call for help, there is no justice.“(Job 19:7 NIV)
He began the echo of the masses throughout history. From Egypt to Israel, Greece to Rome, China to the warlords of Japan, to the twentieth century Holocaust, and the slaughters in Syria, there has been no justice. Individuals and nations stand by in silence as great harm, evil, is enacted upon others. Though international tribunals have been established to judge the war-crimes, the deeds are done; lives have been brutally ended. Yet the cry for justice rises above Law, which seems oft too inequitable and too late to make a difference.
How many of the guilty have been set free on a technicality? How many war criminals have taken refuge in countries sympathetic to their crimes, no matter how heinous? How many white collar crimes, have gone unpunished, and even rewarded, millions of homes have been devastated by their greed. King David, writing in the (1040 – 970 BCE), sang,
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. -Psalm 13
Our Courts of Law may or may not grant justice to those wronged. The odds are not, historically, in our favor. Sometimes the only course of action left us is to turn to the God who made us and to seek His face. This is not always as gratifying as justice or vengeance, but it may be our only recourse. The Lord God is, afterall, the Judge of us all. Selah.
quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur July 5, 2012
Posted by needinc in emPulse.Tags: communication, cultural division, culture, intellect, language, latin, society, translation, words
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Language has played a multidimensional role in human history. Ever since Babel, confusion and cultural divisions have reigned. Today’s whole field of cross-cultural communications has expanded to indispensable proportions. Language has both united us and divided us every bit as much as ideology. In our day we have the convenience of instant written and vocal translation devices. Yet in Western culture we oft fall back on our mother tongue, Latin, to accentuate a point.
Acta non verba- Action, not words; the motto of the U.S Merchant Marine Academy is used across the English speaking world. From Aesop we received alterius non sit qui suus esse potest- Let no man be another’s who can be his own. Author John Steinbeck, told he would be a writer when pigs flew, tagged all his subsequent works with Ad astra per alas porci- to the stars on the wings of a pig. And of course, amor vincit amnia- love conquers all. [Ah, FTL. (That’s yet another language.)]
The English language is steeped in Latin roots. -dict- to say, as in dictation; -ject- to throw, as in project or eject; -port- to carry, as in import or support. Then there are the myriad of prefixes and suffixes. Latin all! Words just sound more, well, correct, in Latin.
But seriously, erudition aside, what is the point? Unless you are presenting a paper at a medical college, or lecturing at an international theological or ornithology gathering, Latin may otherwise be out-of-place. The issues at stake in any human intercourse are clear communication, with personal integrity and individual trustworthiness. If these three elements are not present, phrasing a thought in another language will do little to give it legitimacy.
Of all the parts language has played in human history, no role is more important than clear, honest, communication. Thus, for what it’s worth, in Latin or English, this challenge remains for each of us— Do we mean what we say? Or do we use words to conceal a part of the truth? Do we twist what is true, what is wholly true? Or do we use words to shield us from reprimand for wrong-doing? In Truth, are we being at least honest? Latin erudition can disguise our fear only so far.
Oh, the title of this emPulse translates “whatever has been said in Latin seems deep.”
Uh-huh.
Arguendo,
Gary
