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Tribalism

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Tribalism –

It is incredibly easy to start an argument these days. Declare your allegiance to a political party, voice your opinion on an issue, talk about who you voted for or why you didn’t vote for the other person, accuse someone of not caring because they don’t share the same convictions you do.

I am amazed, but not really, how terribly divided our world, nations, states, communities and even our families are over matters of the mind and heart. We are so quick to pick a fight, defend our position, be suspect of anyone and everyone.

I was reflecting today over what it will take to bring us back together again. Then I wondered if we had ever, truly, been together. Maybe all the hate and vitriol had been under the surface all along and we couldn’t keep it hidden any longer. I don’t like thinking that way. I’d rather believe we, humanity, are going through a rough spot and, in time, something deeper will bring us back together. To be honest I don’t have much hope in what’s deeper being what’s better. Throughout human history we have hated, warred, fought against, killed and used one another to further our own goals with little thought of how it impacts the other.

Wisdom teaches humility first. Serving, helping, putting our neighbor (hint: everyone’s our neighbor, including our “enemies”) and their needs above our own. It doesn’t seem likely to happen soon, if ever, but it starts with the choice to love, be kind, refusing to see the other as separate, apart from us. We are human. If we could only find our purpose, our “being”.

For more reflections, posts, and other writings, please visit: http://www.thewannabesaint.com

blessings,
@BrianLoging

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Everywhere

Jun 10

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Everywhere –

This morning, sitting in church with my arm around my wife, I felt her stiffen up and begin looking nervous. I bent my head to her ear and asked; “What’s wrong?” “Wasp!” was her reply. I looked at the window behind us and there was the feared insect. My wife is allergic to any kind of sting and we did not have her Epi-pen. We hoped it would stay there and turned our attention back to the preacher. A few moments later the insect flew between us and landed on the top of a pew about 10 feet away. The woman sitting in front of us and directly behind the wasp saw it, took out a hymnal, and; “Whack!” No more bug, no more danger. We both breathed a sigh of relief.

Reflecting on the wasp’s last flight I am reminded that no matter the place or the time there is always and everywhere a danger lurking. Maybe it’s a sense of unworthiness, a reminder of a loved one gone too soon, a habit, a hurt, a hangup. We must be aware and empowered realizing we are not helpless. There is a difference between living life scared and living it vigilantly. Freedom comes from knowing your enemy not from having no enemies. The difference makes all the difference.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life, Mental Health

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Tags: # moments, #allergic, #attention, #beaware, #behind, #bentmyhead, #between, #blessings, #breathed, #danger, #difference, #differencemakesallthedifference, #directly, #empowered, #enemies, #Everywhere, #feared, #freedom, #gonetoosoon, #habit, #hangup, #hoped, #hurt, #knowingyourenemy, #livinglife, #lovedone, #lurking, #nervous, #nomoredanger, #place, #reflecting, #reminded, #scared, #senseofunworthiness, #sighofrelief, #stiffen, #tense, #thewannabesaint.com, #vigilantly, #Whack, #Whatswrong, @BrianLoging

Another Way

Mar 25

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Another Way –

This morning the pastor spoke from a selection of scripture regarding the story of how David, from the Bible, became King and conquered Jerusalem. It is an interesting story from the book of Second Samuel. When David, newly anointed, marched with his armies to the city of Jerusalem to reclaim it from the Jebusites, the foreigners were unimpressed. A ragtag, wannabe, King with his little army? How could they defeat the Jebusite army who far outnumbered them and were held up in the city of Jerusalem which had a great wall around it to repel invasion forces? They mocked David and told him they could put blind and lame men at the main gate and David still wouldn’t get in. However, David knew there was an access to the city through its water supply and his men came up through a well in the city and mounted a surprise attack to conquer the Jebusites.

“The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.[a]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”

David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces[b] inward. And he became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him.”
-Book of Second Samuel, Chapter 5

As I listened to the story I thought of challenges, difficulties, illnesses and other “enemies” had strongholds in my life. It seemed no matter what I tried I couldn’t defeat them. It was only after I stopped trying to take them “head on” that wisdom made known to me another way. There are battles for our spirits, emotions, our innermost being that requires us to be not frantic but still, not exhausting ourselves but saving our strength, not egotistical but willing to ask for and accept help, not stubborn but soft and bending, not stronger but wiser.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #accept, #access, #another, #anotherway, #area, #askfor, #attack, #battles, #being, #bending, #blessings, #blind, #builtup, #called, #captured, #challenges, #chapter, #conquer, #defeat, #difficulties, #egotistical, #emotions, #enemies, #exhausting, #forces, #frantic, #greatwall, #headon, #heldup, #help, #Illnesses, #innermost, #interesting, #Invasion, #inward, #lame, #life, #listened, #marched, #mocked, #mounted, #ourselves, #outnumbered, #powerful, #ragtag, #reclaim, #repel, #requires, #residence, #Samuel, #saving, #second, #secondsamuel, #seemed, #shaft, #soft, #spirits, #spoke, #still, #stopped, #strength, #stronger, #strongholds, #stubborn, #supply, #surprise, #thewannabesaint.com, #tried, #trying, #unimpressed, #wannabe, #ward, #water, #way, #well, #willing, #wisdom, #wiser, @BrianLoging, Pastor, Thought

Enemies

Feb 6

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Enemies –

I sat and talked with a gentleman yesterday about a disappointing experience which had happened to him in recent days. We spoke about turning negatives into positives and how what we might label as “bad” doesn’t have to be a continuing negative experience. “What you do with this extra time, a time you might not have wanted, but have been given will go a long way in shaping the rest of your life. This time is either a blessing or a curse and the choice is yours.”

We underestimate the moments and seasons in our lives that are unwanted and seem to be working against the goals and dreams we have for the present and the future. Wisdom teaches us that every experience can enlighten us, give us knowledge and wisdom, and take us further along the path of life we all are traveling.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: # moments, #against, #bad, #blessing, #blessings, #choice, #continuing, #curse, #disappointing, #dreams, #enemies, #enlighten, #experience, #extra, #further, #Future, #gentleman, #given, #goals, #knowledge, #label, #life, #negatives, #path, #positives, #present, #rest, #seasons, #shaping, #talked, #teaches, #time, #traveling, #turning, #underestimate, #unwanted, #wanted, #way, #wisdom, #working, Negative

Go Your Own Way

Jan 30

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Go Your Own Way –

A friend of mine told me a story yesterday and I told her; “That would make a good blog post!” So, here goes…

My friend had a procedure done yesterday and needed someone to drive her home from the doctor’s office and to any other place she needed to go. However, on the way to her appointment, my friend’s friend was telling her to go and drive a certain way. On the way home, when my friend’s friend was driving she did the same thing. Because they are good friends and can tell each other almost anything they quickly made a deal. They agreed to allow the other person to drive the way they drive and to go the route they wanted to go. The one who was the passenger would only be a passenger, not a side seat driver. Problem solved. My friend made the comment; “She goes and does her way, I go and do mine. As long as we get where we need to go, the other stuff doesn’t matter.”

I’ve reflected on this story for the last two days. We live in a world divided. People argue and end friendships over big and small things. It makes me wonder why we can’t agree to disagree. We don’t have to be enemies with those who challenge our beliefs, think differently, walk another path, find peace and do kindness different from us. What matters is we all get where we need to go.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Secrets

Dec 29

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Secrets –

Secrets can destroy lives. Secrets can make enemies of friends. Secrets have a way of eating at us, not giving us any peace and taking over all we say and do. Yet, most of us still hold on to them for fear the secret being found out is worse than the misery it causes each day.

Several years ago I had a friend who was ready to leave his current job for a “better” one. We went out to eat and he laid all his grievances out about his current job. He disliked his occupation, didn’t agree with his boss about the direction of the company and was sick to his gut every day he came to work. To others, he was the model employee but secretly he desperately wanted to go somewhere else. After he finished making his case he took a breath and we talked about the new opportunity and I told him I would be happy to give him a recommendation.

A few hours after our lunch my cell phone rang and it was my friend. We chit chatted a few moments and then he said; “I forgot to ask you, what do you think about me leaving?” I told him it sounded like a good job, the move on his family would be disruptive but manageable and to remember wherever he went he was taking himself with him. I went on to explain that some of his unease and difficulty with his present position was not just the job but were the secrets and burdens he carried with him. “No matter where you go,’ I said quoting one of my favorite wisdom teachers, ‘there you are. “

Don’t carry your secrets and burdens with you.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Tags: # moments, #after, #ago, #agree, #blessings, #boss, #burdens, #carried, #carry, #case, #causes, #company, #current, #desperately, #destroy, #difficulty, #direction, #disliked, #disruptive, #eating, #employee, #enemies, #explain, #favorite, #fear, #finished, #forgot, #found, #friend, #friends, #giving, #grievances, #gut, #hold, #laid, #leave, #Leaving, #lives, #manageable, #misery, #model, #move, #occupation, #opportunity, #position, #present, #quoting, #ready, #recommendation, #remember, #sayanddo, #secretly, #secrets, #several, #sick, #sounded, #takingover, #teachers, #unease, #wanted, #way, #wisdom, #worse, #years, Family, breath, Peace

Hugging our Enemy

Sep 11

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Hugging Our Enemy –

I am not a hugger! Could be my social anxiety, could be the belief that hugging is reserved for special people and special occasions. It’s probably both.

I do however like the sentiments of this quote; “Hug your haters and kill them with kindness.” The first thing I like about it is that hugging and kindness are powerful. They will; “kill” our enemies. I don’t think they will literally kill a difficult, obstinate person, but by offering kindness in return for hatred, they will cease being our enemies.

The next bit of this quote I find worthy of reflection is the deliberate act of hugging of one who would never dream of embracing us. I find it humorous to imagine the look on an adversary’s face if just out of the blue you were to hug them. Might be a wonderful act of grace received or result in a punch in the face. Again, as understood above, to hug a hater is to metaphorically stop looking at them as an opponent and begin seeing them as a friend.

The quote puts the emphasis, action, intent, on us. We are to change the way we view those folks in our lives. Every enemy is a friend in waiting.

“I defeat my enemy by making them my friend.” Abraham Lincoln

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #enemies, #friend, #friendship, #Hug, #hugger, #killthemwithkindness, #kindness, #life, #metaphorical, #quote, #wisdom

TheWannabeSaint.com

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Blog Archives

Tribalism

Everywhere

Another Way

Enemies

Go Your Own Way

Secrets

Hugging our Enemy

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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…..a place for sojourners on this spiritual path called life

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Everywhere

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Another Way

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Enemies

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Go Your Own Way

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Secrets

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Hugging our Enemy

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Brian Loging, OSBO

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