Pro-life and Mortality

           A thought, God gave us our mortality. We, as a World Religious view, look at murder as something sinful. That is to say, it distances us from God, the God who gave us life. 

          These two, Pro-life and mortality, are important companions in our relationship with God. God gave us our mortality so that we may have a life to live. God gave us the “Commandments” to help guide us in a “Pro-life” manner. This gives us the chance to live a life without considerable fear of a
pre-determined death, or, of a random act of violence. 

          Abortion, the killing of a fetus (Latin for baby), is a planned death. The fetus’s life was not given the opportunity to live. And so it is considered a sin, or separation from God. Respect for life, in general, is a given, regardless of how high or low the life form is considered. 

          In Genesis, (chapter 1), God calls all life “good” until the creation of man, then God calls the birth of humanity, “very good.” Humanity is special to God. God blessed all creation, but gave “dominion” to humanity, to “care of Gods’ creations”. (Genesis 2: 15) 

          To CARE for God’s creations. God blessed Humanity and said “Be fertile and multiply”, and take care of God’s creation. The golden rule (Matt 7: 12), the greatest commandment (Matt 22: 37-40) and 1 Corinthians 13, where love is charity and charity is kindness to all. ALL! 

          It’s almost sad that God had to put in writing “shall not kill” and soften revenge with only “an eye for and eye” (Exodus 21: 24) and finally “turn the other one (cheek) to him as well”. (Matt 5: 39) These, however, are for those of us lucky enough to live and apply Gods word. An aborted fetus has no opportunity. 

          No opportunity to live. An innocent’s death should not be chosen out of convenience. Care should be taken by husband and wife to plan for children, not to plan how to rid of children. We should not be so quick to distance ourselves from God. The road back is hard. But not impossible. 

          The hard road is true for men as well as women. In Matt 1, Joseph wanted to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame. Exposing her to shame would have meant death by stoning for Mary and her fetus, Jesus. Instead he listened to the angel of God, and married her. And cared for them. 

          We are given our mortality to give us a chance to follow a road in life. OUR MORTALITY to experience life. Which road we choose, with its many forks and diversions, is a freedom God has given us. We must first have a life, before we can experience our mortality and our humanity to make these choices. 

May your choices come from a place of care and kindness. 

David E. Gonzales

The Gift of Mortality

If we were all immortal, then there would be no reason to live. There would be no one to take care for. There would be no one to nourish. There would be no births, no deaths, no babies, no aged and no disease. There would be no one; new. We would be as we are. We would have no desire to learn, for we would know all things necessary to know.

Life would not be worth living. Oh, sure, there would still be buildings to build and re-build, clothing to make, food to grow. But those things would simply be the status quo. Impressing your neighbors would be a moot point. All things that could be done would already have been done.

Truly living is to be engaged. Engaged in life, in people and in creating things new and better. Immortality takes away any incentive to engage anything. This make our mortality a gift. The gift of desire. To be engaged. To give birth, to aid the aged, and the inflicted. Even grief, as painful as it is, is a gift. For we can’t grieve without first having loved. And love [charity] is our greatest calling. Charity is what brings us the most gratification.

Charity is born from our mortality. Charity houses and clothes the poor and feeds the hungry. Charity brings light to injustice and justice to the most vulnerable. Our mortality brings out our humanity in us. Our mortality is a gift, not a scourge, from God. For without our mortality, complacency would be the rule. Immortality would allow us to live forever, but our mortality allows us to be alive!

May you always be alive in life!

David E. Gonzales

Dad (Words of Remembrance)

Dad. As kids that’s all we really called dad, just dad. No fancy or clever nicknames. Dad, born April 1st, 1930, had an interesting sense of humor. Perhaps being born on April Fool’s Day had something to do with it? Or perhaps it was being born the seventh of ten children. Then again it could have been growing up with six sisters. But for me, I have to think it was more in line with having only one bathroom to share with the entire family. And this, with only cold water. I think this helped develop his unique sense of humor. And more often than not, it had just a little sarcasm built into the punch line.

            There’re a couple of little ditties that dad would recite with some regularity. One was based on food. The verse he would sing, reads like this:

“There’s Spam and wham and deviled ham,
And somethin' new called Zoom
Just take it home and heat it to the temperature of the room
And you can bake it, flake it, Shake it, make it, take it,

Any way you choose.
And that's the situation, when you got those, Duration Blues”

I had always thought this was some cute ditty dad had learned as a youth and just never forgot. Then about a year or so ago I did a search and found out it was a song from WWII. This song was really about rationing. Rationing was of course, a reality in his day, and so it makes sense that this would stick with him. But to me it’s more about his sense of humor, and his notion of life.

            The second ditty is a little more obscure. This one is about attitude. And it goes like this:

Your troubles will vanish like a bubble,

If you only take the trouble, just to smile.

Dad’s sense humor and his sense of life were uniquely inter-tangled. A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.

            Dad was also a builder. Dad built a business, he built the building for the business. Dad built a second building so he could sell the business and retire. He tiled the walkway leading up to the house. Dad laid the tiles throughout the downstairs of the house. He, along with mom and I, installed the wood flooring upstairs and the stair case. Dad built the basin for the fountain. He laid the block for the planters, and designed the landscaping. And of course dad designed and built the St. Francis mission on the side of house. He then proudly named it, Mission impossible.

Dad was dad, a unique personality. He had a glow about him, a glow that made you feel like he knew something you didn’t. Dad was a provider. Work hard, play hard, play for fun, play to win, because there’s no fun in losing. Do it right the first time, because it takes even longer to do it twice. No one is going to give you anything, you have to earn it.

Goodbye dad 

Dad, family man. Dedicated and loving husband to mom for 62 years, father of three, grandfather to six.

I’ve tried to express not the physical exploits of dad, but instead the essence of dad. Each of us has a different idea or feel of what constitutes dad. Today we say goodbye to the physical dad. And I believe that God has lovingly accepted dad’s soul in to his kingdom. But the essence of dad will be with us as long as we tell our stories, and remember that “feel” that we had around, dad.

Thank you so much for being here this morning. You are all greatly appreciated, and loved.

David E. Gonzales, son

God Has No Plan

This post will undoubtedly upset some of you reading this. If you are, I will apologize in advance. With that said, I think this post has some merit that should be considered.

I’ve heard it said that “God has a plan for you”, or something to that extent. I think this is an incorrect, albeit, easy and common way to explain the hardships, we as his children experience during our lifetimes. It is difficult to answer questions as to the “why” in life. As in “He or she is such a good person, how or why did this horrible thing happen to them.” It is here I hear the answer, “it’s all in God’s plan.” I must disagree.

God doesn’t have a plan for our lives. This time between our birth and our death. God may very well know what is in store for us here. But that’s not the same as making a plan. One reason I don’t believe that God plans out our lives is that our lives are filled with hardship. God, and as our parents, don’t wish hardships on us. Also, I do not believe that God tests our faith through our hardships, although through our hardships our faith is lessened or strengthened.

There is something important about having us go through the process of life. There is something important about making the decisions, big and small, that make our lives what they are. I do not believe that God micro-manages our lives. God is not controlling our every step along the way. If this were true then we would be little more than robots, with no free will. God does not have a plan for us, but God didn’t leave us completely to our own accord either. God did give us a guide. Three in fact.

God gave us this guide to support us as we make our decisions, big and small, every day in our lives. This guide is the root of our faith. It is the root of almost every faith. This guide is called Faith, Hope, and Love.

Love, especially in the New Testament, is translated from the Latin word “agape” and this is where we get our word for “charity.” I have written in some of my other posts that our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. That every sin against humanity is a sin against God. And the simplest form of charity is kindness.

Faith, each of us understand our Faith in our unique way. Simply, Faith is offered to us by the Grace God to accept or reject, freely. It is through study, prayer and our life experiences we make our decisions. Our Faith may vary in depth, becoming weaker or stronger as we grow and mature.

Hope. It is Hope, in my opinion, that gives us the driving force to face tomorrow. It is persons without Hope that have no will to continue. All those with the gift of hope can face all the tomorrow’s that are in our time of life.

Whether your Hope is rooted on a Faith or is just something you feel welling up inside, it is Hope that that gets us through each day. No matter if it’s the best or worst of times. It is Hope that keeps us moving forward. It is Hope that gives us courage. It is Hope that allows us to expand our world beyond the confides of our physical and intellectual present.

It is Hope, not a plan, which God gives us. Faith and Love complete the balance in our lives. And it is truly our lives to live. And it is by the gifts of God that we are able to live it.

May God’s gift of Hope be with you always.

David E. Gonzales

The Golden Rule / Karma

Is this life in a nutshell? Is The Golden Rule/Karma the simplest manner to explain nearly all the World’s faiths? Is this the reason why the “me first” way of life is generally looked down upon in nearly every society today. And not only today but throughout history? This simple “rule” is really quite expansive, as it covers the basics of human interaction.

Not only is the Golden rule/Karma between me and anyone I meet, it also extends to how I treat someone, anyone, in need and as to how I am treated when I am in need. The return on my kindness may not be immediate, it may not even happen in this life. It may not come until I have become debilitated, incapacitated, and/or feeble, but it will come. I believe in The Golden Rule/Karma.

Karma will pat you on the back or kick you in the rear. And it’s all dependent on you. How you treat others is Karma’s motivation. I think it is because of my belief in The Golden Rule/Karma that I’m not a vindictive person. I don’t feel the motivation to “get” someone, or to “get back at” anyone. And yes I’ve had the occasion to feel I should or could do just that. It’ll happen, even if I don’t see it happen, or know it happened. Or, speaking eternally, that it may happen in the next life.

This doesn’t mean that I haven’t had The Golden Rule/Karma kick me a few times. I’ve been on the not so nice end of life. I’m not proud of it, but it’s a fact of life, and I acknowledge it and live with it. I do my best to live The Golden Rule, and I admit, I’m still learning. Yes, I believe in The Golden Rule and Karma. They are one and the same. Different traditions, but very much the same.

There’s the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” And then there’s the evil twin, “Do unto others before they do unto you.” We all have our choices to make, and the freedom to accept or reject the good or pernicious. And yes, they both can be accepted and/or rejected. Each with its rewards or penalties.

To accept the good is to move forward, looking ahead with a positive attitude, kindness, graciousness, charity, respect, forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance. The Golden Rule/Karma will follow this trail. To reject the good is to move forward taking advantage of the less wily, knowledgeable, the weak, old and ill. The Golden Rule/Karma will follow this trail also. This is to live a life while looking over your shoulder. Always wondering when Karma’s steel-toed boot is going to leave its mark. Sounds like a tough way to live, certainly not a peaceful way.

So, take your pick, make your choice. Lend a helping hand or slap one away. Just remember, this is your hand you are offering, or your hand you are slapping. This is your future, perhaps soon or perhaps in eternity,…….. Your eternity.

 The Golden Rule/Karma, pay it forward

Scripture is from the NABRE:

Mat. 7; 12a. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.

Also Luke 6:31. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

by David E. Gonzales

Racism; A Cure?

I’ve heard people say that racism is taught, which it is. However I don’t believe that’s the only dynamic involved with this issue. What I’m bringing into the conversation is that racism is also a decision made. What I’ve been hearing and reading are individuals making the popular statement about racism being taught and following it up with a pointed example. This seems ok, except they usually follow-up their point with something like “THE END, OR THAT IS ALL” This of course is meant to end the conversation. Ah, if it were only that simple.

            President Obama recently stated in a speech that racism hasn’t been cured. And I have to agree with that statement. What I don’t agree with is the idea that there is a cure.

There is not now, nor will there ever be a cure for racism. Racism can be taught, yes, but that is not the only way people become racists. Another method could be that a person sees another person, and that other person looks different. The human mind immediately goes into motion and tries to understand what it’s seeing. The mind can come to many different conclusions. One of those conclusions could be, “if it’s different than me it must be less than me, or flawed in some way”. Once the mind comes to define something in this manner, it may at this time become a sub-conscience truth. It may be very hard, if not impossible, to change the mindset of that

conclusion.

            The mindset of racism is a motivation for people to gather. People tend to congregate with those of similar qualities. Other more common qualities are skin color, language, cultural traditions, and/or religious practices. These commonalities have been around since the earliest of times.

In the Bible racism is largely absent from mindset of its writers. Religious bigotry is a very different matter. There’s also the very prevalent matter of birthright written in the pages of the Bible. You were either Jewish or not Jewish, a Roman citizen or not a Roman citizen, wealthy or poor, and of course later, a Christian or not a Christian. Each one came with its specific rights and privileges. Thankfully, the Bible also tells us how to deal with racism and bigotry.

The Bible states throughout, especially in the New Testament, that love is the answer. It teaches us that love is lived through charity, kindness, respect, forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance. Living life through love, and teaching through example can no doubt reduce racism throughout our society.

We are predominantly a society of religions. If we truly live our lives as our faiths teach, we can minimalize and delegitimize the idea of racism and bigotry. We will never be able to eliminate racism or bigotry, but we can diminish it to the point that it becomes a scourge on those who practice this belief, and not worn as a badge of honor.

There is no honor in hatred. Hatred begets hatred, love begets love, and love always triumphs. (1 Cor. 13)

May you always practice what you preach, and may you always preach love!

by David E. Gonzales

Related link: God Hates The--- 

Definitions via the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary:

rac·ism

: a belief that race is the primary determinate of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

: racial prejudice or discrimination

big·ot

: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance

Alzheimer’s, A Thousand Good Bye’s

           Each day, sometimes hour, there’s a new realization, a deeper understanding of this most egregious disease. Alzheimer’s is a slow and unpredictable demise of the afflicted and simply the most despicable type of torture ever devised by nature. No man could think up any method more emotionally or physically debilitating.

          Each day is a new good bye. And yet there he is, dad, sitting there, starring back at me. Sometimes he stares at me with a smile, Sometimes it’s as blank as night. I never know if there will be a dawn. Sometimes he speaks fluently, if only for a short sentence. Then it’s back to mumbling, fidgeting with is hands. He attempts to stand, only to wonder why. A customer needs help, a meeting needs to be attended, a car needs to be washed and readied for the customer to pick-up. But that was fifteen years ago.

          Time no longer matters. There’s no longer a difference between dawn or dusk, between Sunday or any day. It’s just today, it’s just right now, and it’s just never going to be the same. As his personality slowly vanishes, the reality of his mortality increasingly develops. After all. He is my hero, my mentor, that bigger than life guy I still remember from when I was a kid.

          And then there’s the dilemma of the end. I know what that means, for there’s only one end to Alzheimer’s. Except with Alzheimer’s there’s more than one death. I want so much for my father’s suffering to end. But that would mean a new suffering would begin, but this time it would be my mother who suffers. The suffering of grief.

          Grief, that despicable yet emotionally necessary process of healing. There’s no time limit on grief, and Alzheimer’s, that thousand different ways and days of saying goodbye grinds out every drop of emotional fortitude. This is grieving in advance, preparing for grieving post. It’s going to happen, my father’s death, I’ll miss dad, and I’ll be happy for dad, while hurting for mom.

          I thank God for his grace that allows me the strength to deal with the ever changing and challenging emotional and psychological drain this disease affects. I am thankful for my training in chaplaincy and religious study to help me, and hopefully my family, through this most difficult time. And to help us through the difficult time that is most certainly yet to come.

          I’ll never be sure when dad will leave us for good, I do know that he will leave us before he dies. There’s so much to say, ………. That will never be said.

by David E. Gonzales

“In his great love,

the God of all consolation gave us the gift of life.

May he bless you with faith,

in the resurrection of his Son,

and with the hope of rising to new life.”

Amen-

From the “Shorter Book of Blessings”

The difference between you and I-

The difference between you and I is everything,

And nothing.

We’re both human, I don’t recall making that choice.

Our differences or our similarities in our skin color is irrelevant because neither of us had a choice in this matter.

            The same is true with the difference in our facial features, hair, teeth, height, athletic ability, artistic expression, and intelligence.

Our speech patterns may be more genetically induced,

while our accents are a product of our environment. Neither of which was of our choice.

Our differences or our similarities in our spoken language is irrelevant because neither of us had a choice in our native language.

googleimages/differences 

Our taste in clothing is based largely in the environments we grew up in, and neither of us had a choice in that either.

            Growing up in poverty or wealth, attending public or private school, not a choice of ours.

Our choices regarding religion and/or faith are largely taught to us when we are young. Almost all of them (religious institutions) allow us to make a choice later in life on how or if we wish to follow in that faith.

            The difference between you and I is how we choose to live our lives. The difference is what we learn from our life’s lessons and how we choose to apply them. Whether it is be productive, destructive - loving, apathetic – positive, negative - isolated or engaged, these are our choices, and this is the difference between you and me. I understand we will never be “the same”. In fact I hope we never are! I do hope that in our own ways we can be on the “good” side of “different”, for different is what makes life exciting. And “good” is what makes life worth living.

I hope to meet your different on the good side of life. Until then, may all good and different blessings be with you.

by David E. Gonzales

Give your life for another?

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”. John, 15; 13

Most certainly our men and women in uniform deserve all the accolades as possible for their sacrifices to all of us individually and as a Nation. This is more about a secondary meaning of “giving your life” than any attempt to disregard the traditional understanding of this thread of Holy Scripture. It is easier to give your life once in death than to keep on living to care for and to give of yourself to others. In life, Jesus gave his life to all in preaching and teaching his Father’s ways. In death, Jesus gave his life for our salvation.

This is about “charity” not so much about giving up your life to death, but is instead giving your life, in life, with service to the poor. To physically die to protect someone’s life is indeed a great sacrifice; to give your life in charity is a lifelong endeavor. To give your life to protect a life is a onetime offering; to give your life in charity is to give life throughout your life.  I believe that this is in congruence with the teachings of Christ. Jesus taught us throughout the Gospels to love one another. Charity is consistently taught to us as a personal lesson.

In the verse preceding John, 15; 13, Jesus gives his greatest commandment: “love one another as I love you”. In the following verses Jesus calls his disciples “Friends” and explains why he does so. (John 15; 15), “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”  In keeping chapter fifteen (15; 1-16) in context, it is clear that Jesus is commanding that we take of each other. He is teaching his disciples that love is expressed through acts of charity, and that charity is how we love each other.

In these teaching of Jesus we can extract a sense that Jesus in not teaching a collective type of charity. Jesus’ teachings were directed at Jews and the leaders of the temple in Israel. Jesus was teaching a personal sense of love/charity. At no time did he direct the government, any government, to centralize charity. Love expressed is the work of disciples and apostles of God, both individually and through the Church. Charity is the work of salvation, not salvation deserved, but instead salvation preserved.

May blessings of Love and Charity be in your heart.

All scripture is from the NABRE

by David E. Gonzales

Change and the Void Created

Whenever change happens a void is created. When it happens that something is left behind or removed from our lives then a void is created within us. A void leaves a hole, an empty space within our being and it’s a scary feeling. We crave to either regain, or replace what was lost. It is this feeling of loss; this fear of having lost this piece of ourselves that drives us back to what we lost or pushes us forward to fill this void created.

This is the reason that so many people will return to or hold on to a spouse that is abusive or other unhealthy situation. The unknown future of a lost relationship is scarier than the abuse endured by the abused. When the loss is great enough in the mind of a person, the attempt to fill this void can be through drug, alcohol or extreme behavior that lashes out at other people or society in general. We as people strive to feel complete, and in doing so we make rash decisions reaching out to grab the first possible solution to our dilemma.

In our attempt to fill this void created, we as a society so often end up in much the same situation that led to our dilemma. I have noticed that people with a solid spiritual foundation will avoid these undesirable situations more often than not. It seems that having the ability to retreat into prayer or mediation of some sort helps to ease the pain of loss that first fills the void. By first drawing back into a reflective state of mind, by accepting the past as a fact, by keeping those facts in the context of reality, the anxiety of the future is lessened.

As our anxiety is lessened or relaxed we are increasingly able to see the present in the context of reality. The essence of our existence becomes increasingly self reliant. This feeling of being self-reliant leads to a self confidence that in turn helps us make better and increasingly thoughtful decisions. This can then lead to a better quality of life. Not just in our physical state, but in our spiritual state of being as well.

As we created a better understanding of our spirituality we are better able to fill the voids created by loss with our spiritual center. Instead of reaching out into the physical world to fill these voids we have the necessary tools to step back and evaluate our lives. This ability to step back and to see and accept the how and why of our place in time can bring about peace in the void created.

“Patience is a virtue” is an old saying that gets thrown around quite haphazardly. But patience by itself isn't worth much unless you can fill it with a productive process. Developing a process that has the inclination to bring about a positive outcome in your life is essential to personal peace. Developing a strong spiritual center can go a long way in preventing negative events that may have, in the past, taken control your life. Each person has to find their way of spirituality, most find it in a combination of styles. Many in today’s society find combining traditional prayer with other kinds of meditations increasingly fulfills their needs. They have a better grasp of their spirituality and this makes it harder for them to be shaken by natural events that are bound to happen to most of us.

Life is an unexpected experience, be prepared for the uncertainty of life with a strong spiritual center. When voids are created and pain attempts to fill this void and drive your life, have the strength to step back and meet the pain head on. Have the strength to embrace and accept the events of life. For me this spirituality centers on the Holy Trinity, for you spirituality may be a whole other experience.

It is my hope that this may, even in some small way, help you to find your spiritual being and to find peace in this life.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you.

By David E. Gonzales

Honestly! - Part One

 *Honest = honorable in principles, intentions, and actions, upright and fair

Spirituality = how you live your life in relationship to, how you understand your higher power

            So, just how honest are you? No, not with all those other people, just how honest are you with you? Just how well do you live a life that is in line with your spiritual beliefs? How consistent are you in practice? Are you comfortable in your own skin? If you didn’t respond with a resounding “VERY WELL” then please read on.

Many people have difficulties, or challenges that stem from their spirituality, or their lack of a practiced spirituality. Unfortunately, most people don’t even realize that the feeling they have of imbalance in life is very much in tune to the way they live their lives. One example may be; a man and woman are living together outside of marriage, one or the other or even both may have a conflict within themselves that causes conflict in the relationship. I use this example only due to its commonality. Their personal ethical, moral, or religious ideals do not reflect the life that they desire or believe they should be living. The solution then is to resolve the conflict between how they are living their lives and how they perceive their lives should be lived. They will have to make a physical, emotional and spiritual decision as to how they will bring their current situation into balance. These are hard decisions to make; but before they can make a confident decision that will affect not only their life but the lives of their family and friends, they need to fully understand themselves and their God.  Bringing your spiritual life in concert with your physical life can help with these decisions and bring tremendous peace into your existence.

The first key, as simple as it sounds, is to understand your God or, if you desire, your higher power. A person may believe that their God is a good and kind God, but then they ask God “why have you given me this pain to deal with”. They may not even realize that this is a conflict within their own understanding of God and it is causing them the emotional imbalance that they are currently experiencing. It is not God that is causing their pain, but conceivably it is simply the environment that they live in. How well do you take care of yourself? What kind of people do you associate with? What is the environment in your neighborhood, or your employ? Or it could be because of the decisions they have made in the past. You can’t change the past, but you can certainly shape the future.

            The next key is to understand you, and this is probably the most difficult. Can you honestly answer this; what kind of person am I? Now, can you answer this question in detail? For instance; when you are in traffic do you act as politely to the person that cut you off as you do when you’re with family? Are you as kind at home as you are when dealing with business partners or old friends? Is your God with you at all times, or just when it’s convenient? These could be the personal questions that you need to come to a conclusive understanding of. But indeed, you need to come to a conclusive understanding of yourself. The better you understand yourself and your tendencies the better you can react to all the different challenges that life will bring about. The better prepared you will be to not make the same mistakes again and again.

Remember God does not cause us pain. Sin, pain and death came into this world through the sin of Adam. These anxieties or pains can be caused by ourselves or at least by our environment, our entire environment, where we live, the people we associate ourselves with etc. And of course sometimes events just happen; unfortunate circumstances in many cases simply cannot be avoided. How we react depends in part to how we live and comprehend our existence in our relationship with our God. This requires an internal evaluation of who we are, who we really are. Not the ideal we wish for, but the true person that engages others in our everyday lives. This also requires the study of what each individual calls God. In order to live a life that is spirituality honest, you must first understand your God.

This is a brief illustration of being honest with ourselves in our Spirituality. By understanding who you are as a person and what you believe in, you can live a more peaceful and a exceedingly balanced life. Understanding yourself, your beliefs and how they work together is the key to finding a consistently happy life. You are an evolving being, as a lump of clay can be shaped into a fine vase; you too can shape your lived life and your spiritual life to be one in the same.  This is approximately one page of text that will inevitably lead to a lifetime of soul searching. Take your time; be honest with yourself and with others. Oh, and remember to smile as often as possible.

           

*Dictionary.com

By David E.Gonzales