The Ineffectiveness of Fences in Modern America, Pt 1

 I grew up in an isolated, semi-rural smaller town on the outskirts

of Tampa. Access to the Big City, but not a lot of influence in my 

daily life. We lived in a lower middle-class subdivision filled with

fairly average Floridians of varying degrees of 'Country.' My mother's

family were literally farmers and cowboys. Both parents had been poor. 

So when I moved to a small, rural, Southwest Georgia town...I really 

thought I was prepared for what to expect.

I had never been more wrong in my life.

And that ever-alarming wake-up call was being received before the 

events of a black man being elected President for the first time...

Before he was re-elected.

Before it looked like a woman might win the highest office in the land.

Before a hurricane decimated the town.

Before the housing market imploded.

Before social media became the dark corrupting force it is today.

Before meth addiction crippled the area.

Before our economy and job market died..

Before right-wing fascism exploded onto the scene unapologetically.

Before "Black Lives Matter" and "Defund the Police" were a thing.

Before people started questioning the legitimacy of elections, even as

they attempted to steal them for themselves.

Before a global pandemic hit even the sleepiest corners of America.

Before violent insurrection was attempted at our country's seat of power.

Before we had a fully-imbedded media circus that could convince half

the country no such event had occurred.

Each and every one of those developments increased the challenge

of living in an area that is hospitable only in the brochures and when they

desire your dollars. But now a once-tolerable challenging area has become

another beast all together. Open hostility, targeting folks for abuse, allowing

injustices: These are standard descriptors for a small town where the ruling

majority have political ideations that don't bode well for the rest of its residents.

As a gay man, I have faced plenty of obstacles and outright hatred 

living in the South all my life. The Bible Belt's emphasis is on "Use the 

Good Book to justify your prejudices and small-mindedness," not on

"Follow the word and life of Jesus as a guide for how to live YOUR life."

I never thought that my sexual orientation would still be an issue 5 decades

later, nor did I imagine that my political or religious affiliations would be 

used as justification for severe mistreatment, targeted abuse, or willful

withholding of services.

But you live...and you learn.

 

"Go Tell it on the Mountain!"

Love it!

***

When Evil Penetrates the Home front (and rear)

I was checking messages on the phone and then I heard it.

My stomach imploded as the cold, withered hand of Satan crawled
up my asshole to accompany the Deliverance-banjo-themed screech
of the 700 Club owner telling me of 'God's graces.'

The moron who blamed gays and anti-abortionists for the September
11th attacks...telling ME about God. Offering for HIM to pray for MY
soul. The guy who blames natural disasters on Democratic presidents
and gay rights. This knuckle-dragging ignoramus has something to
offer me?

The One Who Shall Remain Nameless lest he wrest my soul was
on the recording, selling whomever was unfortunate enough to hear
of how great his god was. Well, for starters, if he's allowing you to
present his message to the world, one things for certain; either you're
doing the work of the wrong guy, or he ain't fer reals!

Because failed Presidential candidate Robertson is a scheming, lying,
nut bag with delusions of grandeur and a hate-streak a mile long.

I want everyone with a clue and a conscience to take a moment
and pick up the phone...maybe while fixing dinner or doing dishes,
when you have a minute to be left on hold while you wait for an
operator. Call Pat's Prayer Buddies line and clog it up so they can't
bilk any more old ladies out of their pensions.

The number is 1-800-759-0700

And when they answer, tell them you DO want to have them take
a prayer request. The request is;
A) That Pat find a soul.
B) That Pat get a clue.
C) That Pat grow a beating heart.
and D) That Pat actually met the real Jesus and learn something.

Enough with the charlatans and clowns.

And please...do pass this on to ALL your friends.

"The 'God' Thang" miscellaney part 7

34.
There is room at the table for all interpretations of God; one person's notion does not discredit or 'disprove' another's. It all ties in together; varying aspects of the same whole.

The brilliance of God is such that everything is possible.

I enjoyed a story someone shared about the blind men and the elephant; The men were all feeling different parts of the elephant's anatomy and coming up with different experiences to show for their tactile insights. They argued over who was right, as if an absolute was to be maintained.

But they were all correct; there was no need to introduce debate or bristle at the unknown.

(Don't ask your pastor or priest about all this; ask God. Look within.)



35.
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!

Just because organized religion and the established churches have distorted the message, don't assume that there isn't a God withing the message!

The simplest, purest, blessed parts of all religions (The Beatitudes, The Seven Spiritual Principles, etc.) hold true and universal.

By taking the established and decorated aspects of God's love and mangling them with the dictates of the church and man added on, people have screwed every one's perception of Love up royally.

There then becomes so much confusion and incompatibility and nonsense, that people are turned off and dispense with the whole of religion (leaving the spirituality behind as well.)

That's what the architects want; If you assume that the only way to a wondrous afterlife (or to get the answers you seek here) is by being a member of one of the 'ordained' groups with their 'holy message' and 'key to God's love,' then you will continue to support the church and bring their income and glory.

To live apart is to risk condemnation, isolation, rejection, slander, and more; but it is NOT to risk those things from God--only man.

36.
The obvious answer is usually the right one.

Most world religions maintain many similarities, but choose to ignore that in favor of differences.
The same hostile, xenophobic, limited view of other peoples and beliefs that permeates the Judeo-Christian Bible is implicit in the Code of Hammurabi and the Koran; yet they all consider themselves superior to one another in culture and mind!

On the positive side, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism all have similarly uplifting and inclusive positivity-based beliefs. They don't spend time worrying about business cards and televangelism.

37.
If the touching of genitals is consensual and between adults, it is no one else's business!


38.
If we are happy with our selves, we have no need to find fault with others.
If we are being our best selves, we have no time to try and control others.
If we are being true to God, we do not need to speak of others and their actions.

Speak truth.
Act nobly.
Focus on self.
Give freely.

All else will care for itself.


39.
I trust very little, but a wise friend told me;
"Put your arms out, let go, and fall back....trusting that you will be caught.
Sometimes you just have to be willing to try faith."

That's a huge leap of faith. It's definitely easier said than done. But this deceptively simple act
can work in accordance with any belief system, once you get to the point of accepting. That journey to accepting that old ways are no longer working may take a while. The act of falling may take a lot of practice. Heck, easy things take practice; how many times should it take before you get the art of 'giving in' down pat? (Notice; giving in...not giving up.)



Whatever your beliefs, there is something to find hope with; life itself. Whatever will be, will be; trusting in the flow of life to put you where you need to be and to have what you need to have.
Not that circumstances will be ideal or what you anticipated; that's the whole point.

Letting go and releasing expectation and worry means giving in to life itself; recognizing the limits of man's ability to affect much on the planet. We cease struggling and we surrender to our lacking, and it is finally okay.

Whether you know it's Jesus, your own connection to love, other people, Buddha, God, Muhammad, Allah, Nature, the Universe, or Fate, you can relinquish control and find peace.

"The 'God' Thang" miscellaney, part 3

11.
God is not violent or war-like or angry or condemning or unforgiving.
It does not take sides in wars; God mourns all loss of life.

The basis of love is that it does not need to justify itself or rule or infringe upon
others. All things can occur simultaneously. There is no room at the table for all
persons to be correct, but there is plenty of room for all persons to be respectful.

Love is right. Judgment is wrong. God does not need man to take any human to task,
or take up authority, or assume righteousness or assume superiority in God's name. Such actions are as far from God as one can get.


12.
God has no use for religion. God is love in action, not an exclusive select group. It is not located in a building. It is not requiring funds and donations and guilt and fear and loathing.

God sees us all equally as one; loving unconditionally and supporting fully. The closer we come to acting like God, the more we see God in our lives, but God is not absent from our lives even when we act cruelly, selfishly, or with intent to harm.

We are closer to God when we are close to one another. To care for another is to care for God.
It is a means of expressing God's gift of love, attaining a higher plane of existence, and fulfilling our purpose. Life is all about loving one another.


13.
Negativity, pain, struggle, despair, effort, and heartache are part of the lessons of life no matter how elevated we are. With greater diligence to higher goals, we can better respond to and overcome such adversities. But they are an aspect of the ebb and flow of life.

It may take time to leave the past behind and heal from prior hurts, but we can come to see our strength in creating a new, blessed, better life slowly but surely.

Our intentions form the world within us, and around us. Connecting to the light is possible for everyone. The first step is accepting that possibility. How we react to what goes on in life is the biggest battle we face; far more significant than the actual tribulations themselves. Becoming closer to God is possible for every man and woman; no exceptions.

Let no man take from you what God has promised.

God is not absent in life as a result of difficulty; God is present in spite of it.



14.
Change your mind,
change your choices,
change your life.

The opportunities and possibilities are around us every day. It is believing that fact to be untrue that keeps us disconnected from love.

It is an aversion to higher self based on the hypocrisy of those who misuse the name God.

Negativity is the result of assuming that the majority or the mighty or the mouthy have a claim to the universe more than the rest of us.

Merry Christmas ?

I wish I could shoot back a chipper "Merry Christmas to you, too!" in response to 'well-wishers' who want you to know they haven't lost the 'Reason for the Season.' But I get the clumsy words stuck in my throat; hesitant because what some wish Christ to mean has come SO far from what His message and life was truly about.

It's strange to see how far things have gone wrong, and I can't help but wish Jesus were truly coming back, just as his self-proclaimed followers (in name only) profess, though I believe we'd most likely see THEIR gladness turn to sorrow as they would be shunned from the Gates of Heaven and turned to pillars of salt. They say that history is in the hands of those that survive, and I couldn't agree more. Here's a little slice of Reality to go alongside the Humble Pie ol' J.C.'s devoted are having this Holiday.

Jesus was a rebel, an anarchist, a whistle-blower, and an activist. He was labeled a fruitcake of the times. He was an old-time Hippie. He was considered immoral and his 'lifestyle' in bad taste. He and his doctrine were wholly devalued not because of the beliefs of his lineage were in question, but because of the message of love and acceptance he lived. I said LIVED...not "talked about once a week in services."

He was compassionate and did not render judgement on those different from him, including non-believers. He embraced the disgraced, the disenfranchised, the diverse, the marginalized. He didn't "tolerate," denoting superiority; he loved wholly and fully, accepting the unloved without reservation or qualification. He combatted those who did true wrong; the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the tax gatherers, the rich, the idolaters, the scribes, the merchants, and his followers who judged and condemned. He chastised the haughty, and took the fight to the temple. He rebuked those more concerned with posturing and pretense than with his actual message of love and acceptance.

Yes, we really could stand for J.C. to show back up today. I do not believe myself near as compassionate or long-suffering of evil as he was, but I do recognize the disparity between Christ's message and life, and how his followers live today.

These worshippers in name only, these self-appointed mandaters of all that is good and bad. All of which is based on their own ego, their adherence to man's fear and ignorance. None based on the word, the tone, or the pulse of Jesus' love. He never told anyone to condemn their fellow brothers and sisters. Never said to pass laws in his name and command others what to think, how to speak, what to do. His dictate was to live as he had lived, and to show BY EXAMPLE what love and compassion was.

No talk of hardened hearts or hateful speech or laws that create inequity and division. He would burn modern churches to the ground for what has transpired in his name there.

To be of Jesus means doing right and honorable things no matter how much in the minority, no matter the slings and arrows faced. To fight the Powers That Be despite the odds. To take on those that threaten and bully and enjoy division and keeping others' spirits down. He lived humble and pure, not from absence of fear or impulses, but despite them. He was great in spite of his limitations and worries.

Let's take time at what is ostensibly the season to celebrate Christ's birth, and let's reflect on the real message of the man. Not the bastardized, corrupted version that man has spread like a plague. Allow providence, mercy, and truth of man's interconnected sameness enter your heart and transform you. Every day.

I can't change how other people live; no one can. I can only live the best life I can live, ever aspiring to be as strong as Jesus or Dr. King Jr. or Gandhi or Mother Teresa.Believing that others, despite appearances, may be trying to do the same. I guess I feel okay wishing a Merry Christmas after all.

Lovingly,
Robert Sayre
Georgia Unity
*********************************************************************

"Each of them is Jesus in disguise." - Mother Teresa of Calcutta about how she could stay amongst the 'sick' and the 'sinners.'

"The authors of the gospels were unlettered and ignorant men,and the teachings of Jesus have come to us mutilated, misstated and unintelligible." - Thomas Jefferson

"I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky.I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong." - John Lennon

"When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children of two-parent families or children who didn't have mental or physical handicaps. He said 'Let all children come unto me.' " - Marian Wright Edelman