Our Idols

The text book definition of idol is as follows:

1.    an image of a god, used as an object or instrument of worship

2.    in monotheistic belief, any heathen deity

3.    any object of ardent or excessive devotion or admiration

4.    a false notion or idea that causes errors in thinking or reasoning

My question is, “do we idolize the wrong people?”

In society today we have a tendency to idolize people who hold prominent places in society. Politicians, celebrities, athletes, business people, priests, ministers and other religious personnel and other people in authority who may or may not have earned that respect.

Almost always to a person this trust, this level of idolization leads to a total let down. Almost always this trust is broken. And when it is broken it is broken in a big way. Leaving us wondering, “What happened?”

A politician takes a course of action opposite of his campaign promises and we are surprised. An elected official commits a crime that would have put most of us in prison and is slapped on the wrist with a “censure.” We not only still idolize him we re-elect him. Celebrities and athletes get caught for DUI, non-payment of taxes, cruelty to animals. And ala Michael Vick we remember only as long as their next touchdown pass or hit movie. Madoff commits hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud and we chastise him. Anyone remember Martha Stewart. We again buy her magazines, watch her shows etc. we have a short memory because we are desperate for someone to idolize. Priests abuse children, nuns defraud colleges and we still put our trust in the church. Misplaced? Ministers betray trusts and spread gossip yet we still hold them in high regard. Are we that desperate for an idol? Maybe. But we are misplacing that trust. We are putting the wrong people on the pedestal. By definition - a false notion or idea that causes errors in thinking or reasoning

The common denominator in all these cases is the same. Humanity. We, humanity, are putting our trust in people who are only human. We are expecting too much from people who are no different than ourselves. Human. We are disappointed when they exhibit the frailties of human nature. We expect them to be above other mere mortals. But they themselves are mere mortals.

By misplacing this trust we are both setting them up for failure and setting ourselves up for failure. Meishu-Sama talks about the change from the age of night to the age of daylight. In the age of daylight things that previous went unseen will be exposed in the daylight. So maybe this false idolization we have is a result of years of misplaced trust that was just never exposed. Or perhaps when times are bad, wars, bad economy etc. we are just more in need of a hero. Someone to idolize.

Even so should we be idolizing celebrities and athletes? Should we live our life according to their belief structure? Should we allow politicians to become bigger than life? More than 20 years in the Senate. Really? Then you wonder why they feel like they are untouchable. Twenty million a year to play a game. Really? Are they worth that much more than teachers, firemen, me or you? Then we are surprised when the go wrong. We put our priest and ministers on the same level as God and we are surprised when they screw up. Really? They too are only human. They have no better line to God than you do. They are there to guide, to assist not replace God. But some allow position to go to their heads.

The point is there are better idols to look up to. Our parents, yes some of us screw up, but for the most part they only wanted the best for their children. True heroes. People who go about doing good in this world without massive compensation and without looking for notariety. The young men and woman who put their lives on the line every day for their country. You may not like the reason for the war, and some my screw up but they still do what needs to be done without earning twenty million a year and without the individual notariety.  

Or how about we just idolize God. Whoever you believe he is, however you worship him! I have found if you put your trust tin God he will never let you down. Yes sometimes you may not understand his methods. At least not right away. But he always has your best interest in mind.

Allow our athletes, celebrities, politicians, ministers to be what they are: HUMAN. And put your faith in one who deserves it.

Betrayals of trust

Trust is the most foundational block of any relationship. Trust is involved in all the basic elements of a healthy relationship: love (respect and consideration for another person), communication, commitment and honesty. Without trust you may get feelings, you may get the high of the "moment," you may get patience and tolerance but nothing will provide the strength and the solidity you need for a lasting relationship as trust. The root of trust is WHAT YOU BELIEVE about the other person. And your BELIEF about the other person is the accumulation of experiences that have either affirmed or corroded the original commitment or promise.

TRUST is not just about big promises and commitments. It could just be the other person's body language, their eyes or an air of authenticity. Have you ever felt like you are in the presence of a person for the first time and you find yourself saying "Somehow I trust this person." Trust is born in the way the other person reflects in us. Finally what you come to believe about another person is what directs your behavior and actions towards that person. So, trust is critical to the dynamics of any relationship, whether it is a business, politics, a working environment, marriage, family, religion or friendships.

When you have believed something about a person and that person has broken your "trust" in that belief, there isn't a whole lot left.

Cheating, lying, gossip, "backstabbing," disloyalty, miscommunication or the lack of it, dishonesty, not being on time, an unreturned to call, are all promises that once broken change the level of trust someone has placed on you. Trust is broken by changing the belief system another person has about you.

Now, I know we have all broken promises. I have broken many promises, many times and it hurts me in the pit of my stomach when I realize I miserably failed so many times and have let so many people down. We are after all human. So this is not from a guy that has never lost trust from people but about someone who realizes what happened and took steps to recover the trust I lost when I failed. Sometimes you can sometimes you can’t. But the point is to try.

You can regain the trust you lost. That is, if the other person has a good heart towards you.

When you let someone down and betray their trust you have actually betrayed yourself first and foremost all. That's the first person you must work with: YOURSELF! You must come to terms with your own failure, your own humanity. What happened? Why did it happen? Was an accident or is that a pattern of your character? Proud people stumble on this first one and simply cannot do it!

When you let someone down and betray their trust you must acknowledge you did it and that will hurt your pride. If you are not ready to be humble and talk to the person whose trust you betrayed, you are not ready to regain trust from that person.

When you let someone down and betray their trust it's going to take time and effort to recover it. It will not happen instantly. This is one of the greatest challenges "betrayers" face. They usually want to "just move on." They want instant gratification. It just doesn't happen that way!

When you let someone down and betray their trust, in spite of what you may do to regain their trust you should be ready to possibly be rejected and you may never regain the lost trust again. In that case it is out of your hands, even if it hurts! What kicks in here is character: you did the right thing and your heart is right. Move on knowing that you are flawed, you have erred and learn from it so that in the future you do not betray others trust.  



We are what we eat!!!

So just an interesting turn of events over the last 24 hours. I don't know if anyone else put 1,2 and 3 together but here goes. First we have Senate Bill 510 Food Safety Modernization Act. A bill which if left intact and enforced at face value would provide for our food safety by eliminating the ability for farmers to clean and reuse seeds from previously grown crops. A process which worked well for hundreds if not thousands of years. Certainly our parents and grandparents were raised on such seeds. Until that is Monsanto thought it would be safer for all farmers to use their genetically engineered seeds. Engineering that is needed because we spent so many years using the chemicals and pesticides (originally produced by Monsanto) that our ground cannot produce healthy fruits and vegetables. That is unless of course we use Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds made to overcome the chemical poisoning. Healthy???? This bill not only covers our farm grown produce but allows for the government to reach into our own backyards and charge us with a crime if we use our own seeds. Goodbye Heirloom Tomatoes!!!!! This is not just a matter of health but also a matter or freedom.
Number 2  - The US Army today announced that it was embracing healthy foods for their new recruits. Genetically Engineered healthy food I'm sure. The military increasingly believes that producing quality recruits starts at the dinner table during basic training, so it has started a more emphatic effort to change their eating habits. Color-coded labels point the way to healthy items, and drill sergeants stand watch over the chow line, calling out soldiers who don't put enough fruit on their plates. So instead of education they are using color-coding and intimidation. How well do you think that will go over? Will they remain healthy right up until we put their lives in danger in the battlefield. Then what color-coded K-rations? Of course our government thinks its better to wait until our children turn 18 or 19 to teach nutrition rather than start at an early age.
Which brings us to Number 3 - House Republicans have temporarily blocked legislation to feed school meals to thousands more hungry children. Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday to try to amend the $4.5 billion bill, which would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier. "It's not about making our children healthy and active," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee. "We all want to see our children healthy and active. This is about spending and the role of government and the size of government — a debate about whether we're listening to our constituents or not." So it's about the role of government unless of course it involves Monsanto, seeds and the military.
I don't know if anyone else put these 3 stories together or even saw all 3 of these stories but as I said in Blog #1 my mind is a busy place. Health is definitely not on the minds of our lawmakers. Money certainly is. Control certainly is. As I also say don't pay attention to the story pay attention to who the story comes from and what they have to gain. Food is no longer a matter of nutrition its just another way of making money. Nutritional food is not as important as profits, if it were it would be cheaper to eat apples than potato chips. Shirley and I belong to a religion known here in the US as Izunome. It's 3 basic beliefs are Johrei, Appreciation of Art and Beauty and Natural Foods and farming. Our founder, Meishu-Sama, taught natural farming and eating healthy foods over 60 years ago. He once said the day will come when we go into a store, a big modern beautiful store that has every food imaginable, but none of it is edible. Thanks to Monsanto and our Government that day is almost here.