Tender MEMORIAL DAY read, first posted on 9/11 6 years after the day New York was attacked.
I felt many, if not all readers would enjoy this and pass it along to friends. Sometimes another perspective is helpful in order to appreciate the GOOD which comes from the service our men and women at war give to a world in need of hope. How about a point of view from a Freedom loving Iraqi and equally freedom loving America soldier...
An Iraqi, a tired American Soldier and...A MUST READ!
Letter by Sergeant Grant L. Pratt III, 1st Cav. Baghdad, Sept. 2007
Sergeant Grant Pratt, III is on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He is a Platoon Sergeant with the 1s Cavalry and supervises 23 other medics and an aid station in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of Baghdad. This letter home was sent September 11, 2007. In his own words he describes how one Iraqi has given him hope:
"Bury My Heart in the United States"
I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know of an experience I had here that really affected me.
I have wondered over the last seven months of my deployment if this war can be won militarily, or if there is any hope that this country can embrace a democratic government. In my eyes the people seem more intent on themselves and their contempt for other each other than making things work here.
With the things I have seen, experiences, and watching friends die I kind of believe that our endeavor here is pointless. I did not believe that there was a single Iraqi in this country that really cared if the violence stopped or that there were any that did not want to kill every American they see. Then I had something happen the other day that (did not change my mind necessarily) gave me some hope.
About a month ago an Iraqi came to my aid station; he is one of the Iraqis that works with us as an interpreter. His name is Sam and he is 20 years old. He came to my aid station with a severely broken and lacerated finger after it was shut in the 300 pound door of an armored vehicle. I spent about two hours cleaning his finger and suturing it, all the while making small talk. He continually told me how he wanted to come to America and join our Army so he could come back and do more for Iraq. He told me of how he loved Americans and all he wants is to become one.
I listened and talked with him until I was finished with my procedure and wished him well, and in my mind dismissed most of what he said as just words and never thought much else of it.
On September 9th it came across the radio that one of our vehicles had been hit by an explosion and we had one soldier killed, two wounded, as well as the interpreter that was with them. I put my gear on and went with the squadron commander to the hospital to check on our injured men.
It was quite a gruesome sight. First I saw my medic, who had minor wounds, then went to the young man who had served as the gunner. He had received blast wounds to the leg which had torn away a majority of his outer thigh. I then went to view the body of our fallen brother who died due to a head injury. We helped console the other members of the platoon as this was the second Soldier they had lost in five days. Overwhelmed by the experience, we walked in to see the interpreter, which turned out to be Sam.
Sam had suffered severe lacerations to the head, resulting in over 40 sutures and staples. He had a small skull fracture and a small brain hemorrhage. Despite his severe injuries he would only ask how the others were doing. He was covered in blood and in extreme pain and just wanted to be sure that the soldiers he was with were okay.
Once satisfied they would be taken care of, he took my commanders hand and said, "If I die please take my heart to the United States and bury it there." We assured him his injuries were not mortal and left him in the care of the doctors at the hospital and told him we would be back the next day to see him.
The next morning I received a call from the hospital telling me that Sam was going to be released to an Iraqi hospital, but that he did not want to go. He feared that because of his ethnic background that he would be denied treatment and sent away. I told them I would call back in a few minutes and that we would come and get him and continue his care at my aid station. After 20 minutes of talking to the commander and making arrangements, I called the hospital and told them we would be there shortly to pick him up when they informed me that they had already released him, and had given him money to get to the Iraqi hospital. Needless to say, we were a little upset.
We began searching the area around the hospital and could not locate Sam. We were worried that he would fall into the wrong hands as any Iraqi that works with the Americans are often killed because they are aiding the enemy.
Three hours later we got a call from the gate to our base that Sam was there. He had walked from the hospital to our base, about seven miles in flip flops and pajamas, despite fairly significant injuries. My medics brought him to the aid station and as we laid him on the bed I looked at him and said "You are a pretty tough guy." He grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes and said, "I knew if I got here you would take care of me, Sergeant."
Tears filled the corner of my eyes and I replied "You bet I will." He then said, "I had to get back here for two reasons. First the memorial service for Johnson (the soldier we had lost a few days prior) is tonight and I cannot miss that. We also have an important mission tomorrow and they need me." I informed him he would make it to the service, but would not be going on patrol anytime soon. He argued for a short time then agreed that it would be in his best interest to relax for a couple of weeks before going outside the wire, but still insisted his guys (the U.S. Soldiers from his platoon) needed him.
Later that night I sat two rows behind Sam as we paid tribute to our fallen brother and watched as he mourned and cried with the rest of us. I realized he is as committed as the rest of us and is considered a brother to us.
I just got done rechecking his wounds and talking with him. He still insists on going back out with his guys because they need him. He talked about his dreams of living in California some day. I have to say I admire this guy. He displays courage like no other Iraqi I have seen and in some ways made me think again of my views.
Despite what you see and hear on the news, there are Iraqis like Sam that are dedicated to seeing their country succeed. There may not be many, but some sacrifice along side us with a simple dream of their country being better off, or like Sam of being an American citizen. It gives me some hope that things will eventually work out here, and that someday Sam will be an American citizen, because he has earned that right.
Grant
Thank you for reading and sharing! MORE BLOG POSTS COMING from www.jmpratt.com and www.powerthink.com. James Pratt
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
LIFE AT DAYS "Bye Mom...Love You!"
A Little Boy, a Mom, and Me
I get story ideas wherever I am at the time; talking a walk, mowing the yard, and shopping at Day’s. So I wasn’t surprised to get my Mother’s Day Column while standing in line at my favorite family owned small town grocery, Day’s Market.
Jim the Bag Boy usually offers me something to write about, as he has with two memorable columns illuminating life and its pitfalls. I didn’t see the hard-working and totally delightful Down’s Syndrome adult yesterday. So… I wasn’t expecting another page of wholesome goodness to scroll itself across the right-brain screen of my mind; only temporarily devoid of action as I considered to buy or not to buy the Snickers bar tempting me to throw off my diet for one more day.
A story formed as a nine year-old boy ahead of me in line, counting pennies, nickels, and dimes to pay for what used to be “penny candy,” caused the voice of my Mom to speak to me the words of a card I found one year after her death.
I was in 1962 again and headed to Knolls Corner Market. I was on the three-speed bike with a playing card securely attached to the spokes of my back tire with a cloths pin. I had collected a quarter in pennies, nickels, and dimes, and knew it was enough for a Frostie Root Beer and a Butterfinger candy bar with a couple of Double Bubble Bubble Gum’s thrown in.
I was momentarily brought back to the present by the cashier saying, "Eleven more cents please," and watched the boy’s story unfold as he counted the change out just as millions of boys before him had at every grocery store in America.
I smiled, totally grateful for the time it was taking for the boy to carefully take each red cent from his small plastic sandwich bag.
See, I recently discovered a message my Mom had left for me to find after her death. She had put all my childhood report cards, photos, awards in a box, and in the “Baby Book” she knew I would open, there was the card; the words of her last message to me as penned by Marsha Newman:
“Bye Mom. Love you!”
I let you go alone to the store when you were only nine.
Your father said it was high time to let you go…
It was hard the first time. I knew you would come back,
An older boy full of talk about your grand adventure.
I knew you’d soon forget our world of popcorn and games,
Of peas porridge hot and peas porridge cold. Then one day,
You’d turn and say, “Bye Mom. Love You!”
And you’d be twenty years old.
And now our little world of games and finger play,
Has truly given way to other roads that never,
Quite lead home again. I comfort myself with knowledge,
That, although I don’t know where you’re going,
I do know where you’ve been.
On my knee.
Beside my bed in the dead of night.
And always close to my heart.
So when we must part, as inevitably we all must do…
The sweet good-bye you gave to me,
I now give back to you…
“Bye son…Love you!”
MOM
I miss you so much Mom! What can I do now but share that sentiment with others? God bless you now and forever!
James Michael Pratt, Author
MOM, The Woman Who Made Oatmeal Stick to My Ribs
www.jmpratt.com
I get story ideas wherever I am at the time; talking a walk, mowing the yard, and shopping at Day’s. So I wasn’t surprised to get my Mother’s Day Column while standing in line at my favorite family owned small town grocery, Day’s Market.
Jim the Bag Boy usually offers me something to write about, as he has with two memorable columns illuminating life and its pitfalls. I didn’t see the hard-working and totally delightful Down’s Syndrome adult yesterday. So… I wasn’t expecting another page of wholesome goodness to scroll itself across the right-brain screen of my mind; only temporarily devoid of action as I considered to buy or not to buy the Snickers bar tempting me to throw off my diet for one more day.
A story formed as a nine year-old boy ahead of me in line, counting pennies, nickels, and dimes to pay for what used to be “penny candy,” caused the voice of my Mom to speak to me the words of a card I found one year after her death.
I was in 1962 again and headed to Knolls Corner Market. I was on the three-speed bike with a playing card securely attached to the spokes of my back tire with a cloths pin. I had collected a quarter in pennies, nickels, and dimes, and knew it was enough for a Frostie Root Beer and a Butterfinger candy bar with a couple of Double Bubble Bubble Gum’s thrown in.
I was momentarily brought back to the present by the cashier saying, "Eleven more cents please," and watched the boy’s story unfold as he counted the change out just as millions of boys before him had at every grocery store in America.
I smiled, totally grateful for the time it was taking for the boy to carefully take each red cent from his small plastic sandwich bag.
See, I recently discovered a message my Mom had left for me to find after her death. She had put all my childhood report cards, photos, awards in a box, and in the “Baby Book” she knew I would open, there was the card; the words of her last message to me as penned by Marsha Newman:
“Bye Mom. Love you!”
I let you go alone to the store when you were only nine.
Your father said it was high time to let you go…
It was hard the first time. I knew you would come back,
An older boy full of talk about your grand adventure.
I knew you’d soon forget our world of popcorn and games,
Of peas porridge hot and peas porridge cold. Then one day,
You’d turn and say, “Bye Mom. Love You!”
And you’d be twenty years old.
And now our little world of games and finger play,
Has truly given way to other roads that never,
Quite lead home again. I comfort myself with knowledge,
That, although I don’t know where you’re going,
I do know where you’ve been.
On my knee.
Beside my bed in the dead of night.
And always close to my heart.
So when we must part, as inevitably we all must do…
The sweet good-bye you gave to me,
I now give back to you…
“Bye son…Love you!”
MOM
I miss you so much Mom! What can I do now but share that sentiment with others? God bless you now and forever!
James Michael Pratt, Author
MOM, The Woman Who Made Oatmeal Stick to My Ribs
www.jmpratt.com
Sunday, May 3, 2009
PANDEMICS, Fear, and You!
The Greatest Pandemic of All
A new strain of Swine Flu H1N1, in which thousands may become infected and die is the current world health headline. To put that in perspective 35,000 lives are taken annually in the United States by the common flu. All things being equal, the ending of life is tragic from whatever causes; illness, pandemic or not.
A “Pandemic” may be classed a noun describing an epidemic or widespread outbreak, or as an adjective describing a state of being. While the World Health Organization is definitely monitoring the threat level, now at 5 out of 6, the highest rating given, there is a state of being that causes more death-like symptoms among the living than any other outbreak known to man.It even kills…
HOPELESSNESS… is the surrender to chronic discouragement and depression. When you arrive at a hopeless state you have lost any inkling of healing physically, spiritually, morally, financially, and believe there is nothing left to “live” for.
DISCOURAGEMENT… is the precursor. Discouragement has many causes, and one size does not fit all. Life has dealt some strange and interesting hands to all of us. I’m an expert on discouragement, caused by varied experiences I never could have guessed would be mine to deal with; reversals in health, finances and economics, career, unexpected and sudden losses of family and friends, and other discouragements offered in a life-customized sort of way.
Some get discouraged rather easily in one department of living while another may seem impervious to the same negative details life throws at him or her.
There are issues with real and perceived discouragement triggers including:
Self-Esteem – Looks, Figure, Personal Talents
Wealth – Not Enough, Never Enough, None at All
Education – Affording, Maintaining, Learning Difficulties
Addictions – Drugs, Alcohol, Porn, Relationship, Lifestyle
DEPRESSION… is a cousin to hopelessness caused not only from some science confirmed in genetic studies but from chronic misdirected thinking, and focus upon negative life events past, present, or those perceived as future.
Mixing obsessive negativity with real biological disorders of mental and emotional kinds becomes a chronic cycle condemning one to see the darkness surrounding the stars at night rather than the majesty of the lights dispelling the darkness.
The antidote? It is said that... HOPE is the ingredient which makes life bearable. Man's hope may be born of great effort, trial, patience or from the luxury of a God-given gift of irrepressible positive energy I so admire in many.
Pliny the Elder said: “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man.”
Indeed, without hope one risks the loss of health and life. It is the “hopeless” who pull the trigger ending so many lives. Murder-suicides are becoming epidemic; all “hopeless” related. Heart attacks linked to blocked arteries, are often blamed upon diet, but did you know stress and anxiety causes plaque buildup, creates hypertension, (HBP)and causes immune system breakdown? The correlation between stress and anxiety and linkage to other illnesses and pains of a hundred kinds is indisputable. (A topic for another day.)
I feel such empathy for those lost souls, and plead for those others to not give up; those with emotional ability to choose the “light” and goodness, and sounds, and sights of beauty available in a world also suffering its “Pandemics...” DO NOT GIVE UP! Keep seeking the light of hope, the laughter that innocent joys, and good humor, and simple pleasures of life brings.
I hope the reader knows that I am not pointing a finger at the sufferers of depression and hopelessness. I am just pointing out that HOPELESSNESS is a bigger killer than swine flu ever will be. It strikes every second of every hour, and lasts sometimes for years. It increases the chance of the immune system weakening, thereby becoming vulnerable to a myriad of physical ailments that the body could otherwise defend against.
The news of today; unemployment, wars, disasters, and now Swine Flu Pandemic; all real, all frightening, must not be allowed to take anchor in our lives as if we depended on the outcome of news to “fix” the problems. The scythe called “hopelessness” isn’t diminished by waiting for something “good” to happen, for our “lottery ticket” to be pulled a winner. These uncontrollable events cannot “fix” themselves through more reporting.
The answer?
More on HOPE and PANDEMIC cures in my next post.
James www.jmpratt.com
A new strain of Swine Flu H1N1, in which thousands may become infected and die is the current world health headline. To put that in perspective 35,000 lives are taken annually in the United States by the common flu. All things being equal, the ending of life is tragic from whatever causes; illness, pandemic or not.
A “Pandemic” may be classed a noun describing an epidemic or widespread outbreak, or as an adjective describing a state of being. While the World Health Organization is definitely monitoring the threat level, now at 5 out of 6, the highest rating given, there is a state of being that causes more death-like symptoms among the living than any other outbreak known to man.It even kills…
HOPELESSNESS… is the surrender to chronic discouragement and depression. When you arrive at a hopeless state you have lost any inkling of healing physically, spiritually, morally, financially, and believe there is nothing left to “live” for.
DISCOURAGEMENT… is the precursor. Discouragement has many causes, and one size does not fit all. Life has dealt some strange and interesting hands to all of us. I’m an expert on discouragement, caused by varied experiences I never could have guessed would be mine to deal with; reversals in health, finances and economics, career, unexpected and sudden losses of family and friends, and other discouragements offered in a life-customized sort of way.
Some get discouraged rather easily in one department of living while another may seem impervious to the same negative details life throws at him or her.
There are issues with real and perceived discouragement triggers including:
Self-Esteem – Looks, Figure, Personal Talents
Wealth – Not Enough, Never Enough, None at All
Education – Affording, Maintaining, Learning Difficulties
Addictions – Drugs, Alcohol, Porn, Relationship, Lifestyle
DEPRESSION… is a cousin to hopelessness caused not only from some science confirmed in genetic studies but from chronic misdirected thinking, and focus upon negative life events past, present, or those perceived as future.
Mixing obsessive negativity with real biological disorders of mental and emotional kinds becomes a chronic cycle condemning one to see the darkness surrounding the stars at night rather than the majesty of the lights dispelling the darkness.
The antidote? It is said that... HOPE is the ingredient which makes life bearable. Man's hope may be born of great effort, trial, patience or from the luxury of a God-given gift of irrepressible positive energy I so admire in many.
Pliny the Elder said: “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man.”
Indeed, without hope one risks the loss of health and life. It is the “hopeless” who pull the trigger ending so many lives. Murder-suicides are becoming epidemic; all “hopeless” related. Heart attacks linked to blocked arteries, are often blamed upon diet, but did you know stress and anxiety causes plaque buildup, creates hypertension, (HBP)and causes immune system breakdown? The correlation between stress and anxiety and linkage to other illnesses and pains of a hundred kinds is indisputable. (A topic for another day.)
I feel such empathy for those lost souls, and plead for those others to not give up; those with emotional ability to choose the “light” and goodness, and sounds, and sights of beauty available in a world also suffering its “Pandemics...” DO NOT GIVE UP! Keep seeking the light of hope, the laughter that innocent joys, and good humor, and simple pleasures of life brings.
I hope the reader knows that I am not pointing a finger at the sufferers of depression and hopelessness. I am just pointing out that HOPELESSNESS is a bigger killer than swine flu ever will be. It strikes every second of every hour, and lasts sometimes for years. It increases the chance of the immune system weakening, thereby becoming vulnerable to a myriad of physical ailments that the body could otherwise defend against.
The news of today; unemployment, wars, disasters, and now Swine Flu Pandemic; all real, all frightening, must not be allowed to take anchor in our lives as if we depended on the outcome of news to “fix” the problems. The scythe called “hopelessness” isn’t diminished by waiting for something “good” to happen, for our “lottery ticket” to be pulled a winner. These uncontrollable events cannot “fix” themselves through more reporting.
The answer?
More on HOPE and PANDEMIC cures in my next post.
James www.jmpratt.com
Monday, April 20, 2009
TELL ‘EM STORY!
Create Your Best Life Story, NOW!
“My grandfather, King George, he take-a-me walk-about. He teach-a-me black fella ways. Grandfather, he teach-a-me the greatest lesson of all; TELL ‘EM STORY!” -Nulla’s opening line from the movie, AUSTRALIA.
I love this movie! Movie Critics (people who cannot create) have given it a very hard time.
This movie has all the elements I enjoy in a masterpiece: epic drama, good guys, bad guys, romance, humor, historical and cultural references from each character’s point of view. More than a "chick flick" as some categorize it, the entire Three Act Play structure is fully developed for each of the main characters.
While critics have said it, “…goes on and on…” - I find myself enjoying that too. Why? Because you constantly get happy surprises just around the bend, and hope the story doesn't end. And, I love how a movie "wraps," begins and ends with the same premise. I won’t spoil that too much for you, though I hinted to it already.
Enjoy this film clip from You Tube:
We live in tough and turbulent times. Your life and mine is filled with drama, and sometimes epic in scope, it contains good guys and bad guys, romance, humor, and is based on our own individual historical and cultural elements.
The hero - “The Drover” played by Hugh Jackman - early on instructs Lady Ashby, played by Nicole Kidman, about how he has chosen to live his life simply, and without clutter when he answers a criticism with this:
"See, everything I own can be carried in this saddlebag here. At the end of the day your life’s story is all you own. I’m just trying to live a good one.”
As your personal life story continues on, that's something worth thinking about, pondering, and developing.
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
“My grandfather, King George, he take-a-me walk-about. He teach-a-me black fella ways. Grandfather, he teach-a-me the greatest lesson of all; TELL ‘EM STORY!” -Nulla’s opening line from the movie, AUSTRALIA.
I love this movie! Movie Critics (people who cannot create) have given it a very hard time.
This movie has all the elements I enjoy in a masterpiece: epic drama, good guys, bad guys, romance, humor, historical and cultural references from each character’s point of view. More than a "chick flick" as some categorize it, the entire Three Act Play structure is fully developed for each of the main characters.
While critics have said it, “…goes on and on…” - I find myself enjoying that too. Why? Because you constantly get happy surprises just around the bend, and hope the story doesn't end. And, I love how a movie "wraps," begins and ends with the same premise. I won’t spoil that too much for you, though I hinted to it already.
Enjoy this film clip from You Tube:
We live in tough and turbulent times. Your life and mine is filled with drama, and sometimes epic in scope, it contains good guys and bad guys, romance, humor, and is based on our own individual historical and cultural elements.
The hero - “The Drover” played by Hugh Jackman - early on instructs Lady Ashby, played by Nicole Kidman, about how he has chosen to live his life simply, and without clutter when he answers a criticism with this:
"See, everything I own can be carried in this saddlebag here. At the end of the day your life’s story is all you own. I’m just trying to live a good one.”
As your personal life story continues on, that's something worth thinking about, pondering, and developing.
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Saturday, April 11, 2009
EASTER 2009 WISHES
IN GOD, FAMILY, FAITH, FRIENDS… We Live, Love, and Hope
We live in a time of trouble, turmoil, disaster, despair. We need each other; family and friends. I often wonder, however, why a person would not want to add the faith and assurance of having God in the mix. In Him we find stronger arms, greater strength, mending broken hearts and minds…
Just over 2000 years ago a life proclaiming peace, love, and redemption both ended His life and then showed to over one hundred followers that He had conquered death, and the effects of mortal weakness, sin, loss, and temptation.
We celebrate Christmas and Easter, and many of us Passover, to honor this singular life; His meaning and victories.
I have no eloquence to share beyond what great men and women have already penned. I do pray, however, that my final words of life shall be these simple ones I freely offer now:
“I know my Redeemer lives. I know Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, Savior of all men and women.”
The Jewish carpenter’s son from Nazareth, who had used hammers to drive nails into beams to build useful things for others on so many occasions during his life, had his palms nailed to beams created by another carpenter in Jerusalem that awful day. Yet even in this, He was in the building business… When He breathed his last breath and said:
“It is finished!” he also meant, “It begins!”
You are Christ’s, and so am I, ransomed before we were even born by a willing builder of men and women. Is it such a hard thing to live for Him? To walk with Him?
I recommend to you a path less trodden. One often ridiculed by our world. In it you will find peace, faith, hope, love, and contentment; a knowledge that comes from deep within and tries to summon eloquence to describe it. But, in the end this knowledge can only be offered simply, and it is this:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!”
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
We live in a time of trouble, turmoil, disaster, despair. We need each other; family and friends. I often wonder, however, why a person would not want to add the faith and assurance of having God in the mix. In Him we find stronger arms, greater strength, mending broken hearts and minds…
Just over 2000 years ago a life proclaiming peace, love, and redemption both ended His life and then showed to over one hundred followers that He had conquered death, and the effects of mortal weakness, sin, loss, and temptation.
We celebrate Christmas and Easter, and many of us Passover, to honor this singular life; His meaning and victories.
I have no eloquence to share beyond what great men and women have already penned. I do pray, however, that my final words of life shall be these simple ones I freely offer now:
“I know my Redeemer lives. I know Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, Savior of all men and women.”
The Jewish carpenter’s son from Nazareth, who had used hammers to drive nails into beams to build useful things for others on so many occasions during his life, had his palms nailed to beams created by another carpenter in Jerusalem that awful day. Yet even in this, He was in the building business… When He breathed his last breath and said:
“It is finished!” he also meant, “It begins!”
You are Christ’s, and so am I, ransomed before we were even born by a willing builder of men and women. Is it such a hard thing to live for Him? To walk with Him?
I recommend to you a path less trodden. One often ridiculed by our world. In it you will find peace, faith, hope, love, and contentment; a knowledge that comes from deep within and tries to summon eloquence to describe it. But, in the end this knowledge can only be offered simply, and it is this:
“I know that my Redeemer lives!”
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Golden Rules of Love
New Book Coming Out This Summer
Over the past 14 years of writing, this theme has been with me and is threaded into the story fabric of each novel and non-fiction work I've been privileged to write. It isn't because I am someone special, but it is because I want to be; to my wife, friends, children, family members... May I share a condensed chapter?
Love is Life
“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.” --Voltaire
How important is love? Its touch brings renewed hope to the disheartened, pleasure to the eye, a quickening to the soul; love sustains mankind. It leads to commitment, then marriage, on to families and as such creates the social bond we call community.
Love is the glue to every worldly society for it ultimately calls the mother and father home to nurture the rising generations; it beckons the brother, sister, friend to give, serve, lift and care for one another.
No other emotion so powerfully affects us day to day. Love feeds the starving, clothes the naked and cares for the poor, homeless, widowed and fatherless. Love, like fire, burns at different degrees in all of us. The most hardened criminal can be touched by it, given the right mix of passions and compassion.
“Love is divine fire, with a large F.” --Truman Madsen
Love… Soliloquies issuing from the mouths of the dying have summoned it. Defined in written and spoken words it has been reviled and reveled in as played out on screen and stage. Philosophers have written tomes to fill libraries on it. The religious have enjoined it to the grand purposes of the Gods. Nations have fought wars in the name of it and men have risked their lives to seek but a taste of its sweet and addicting flavor.
“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” -- Plato
Love is a verb and a noun. To explore its dimensions in literature, song, dance, worship, art, and service is to touch the hand of the Divine Creator and partner with him in creating on earth a small space of heaven.
Love is food to the soul. It satiates spiritual thirst and puts a quicker beat into the heart, sending life-giving fluids bursting to every part of ones being. Love is from the fountain of the heart.
Indeed, we may say in truth, “Love is life.”
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
Over the past 14 years of writing, this theme has been with me and is threaded into the story fabric of each novel and non-fiction work I've been privileged to write. It isn't because I am someone special, but it is because I want to be; to my wife, friends, children, family members... May I share a condensed chapter?
Love is Life
“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.” --Voltaire
How important is love? Its touch brings renewed hope to the disheartened, pleasure to the eye, a quickening to the soul; love sustains mankind. It leads to commitment, then marriage, on to families and as such creates the social bond we call community.
Love is the glue to every worldly society for it ultimately calls the mother and father home to nurture the rising generations; it beckons the brother, sister, friend to give, serve, lift and care for one another.
No other emotion so powerfully affects us day to day. Love feeds the starving, clothes the naked and cares for the poor, homeless, widowed and fatherless. Love, like fire, burns at different degrees in all of us. The most hardened criminal can be touched by it, given the right mix of passions and compassion.
“Love is divine fire, with a large F.” --Truman Madsen
Love… Soliloquies issuing from the mouths of the dying have summoned it. Defined in written and spoken words it has been reviled and reveled in as played out on screen and stage. Philosophers have written tomes to fill libraries on it. The religious have enjoined it to the grand purposes of the Gods. Nations have fought wars in the name of it and men have risked their lives to seek but a taste of its sweet and addicting flavor.
“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.” -- Plato
Love is a verb and a noun. To explore its dimensions in literature, song, dance, worship, art, and service is to touch the hand of the Divine Creator and partner with him in creating on earth a small space of heaven.
Love is food to the soul. It satiates spiritual thirst and puts a quicker beat into the heart, sending life-giving fluids bursting to every part of ones being. Love is from the fountain of the heart.
Indeed, we may say in truth, “Love is life.”
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
Saturday, March 21, 2009
LOST CAUSES & the Jimmy Stewart Solution
The 1 Rule Solution to Every Day Crisis
The shortest column I have ever written is accompanied by this YOU TUBE from the classic 1939 film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. A newcomer, he takes up a lonely battle against the entrenched establishment in the US Senate.
We are faced with a "national crisis," and "international crisis" and for each one of us, at least one current "personal crisis." The national, international, and personal dilemmas have a solution. I think I'll let "Mr. Smith" share it.
What if we adopted Mr. Smith's solution? Just one rule...The Golden Rule?
James Pratt
jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
www.usconstitutioncoach.com
The shortest column I have ever written is accompanied by this YOU TUBE from the classic 1939 film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. A newcomer, he takes up a lonely battle against the entrenched establishment in the US Senate.
We are faced with a "national crisis," and "international crisis" and for each one of us, at least one current "personal crisis." The national, international, and personal dilemmas have a solution. I think I'll let "Mr. Smith" share it.
What if we adopted Mr. Smith's solution? Just one rule...The Golden Rule?
James Pratt
jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
www.usconstitutioncoach.com
Friday, March 20, 2009
5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen
An Elegant Thinker and Writer
Birth of a National Bestseller: I'm so proud to announce the birth of the 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION of W. Cleon Skousen's THE FIVE THOUSAND YEAR LEAP, commissioned by his sons and family to my small publishing company, American Documents, and distributed by PowerThink.
I met Dr. Skousen on several occasions, first in 1981 when this book was published and just before he passed away in 2006. I never met another man, outside of my own father, with a gentler and kinder spirit, and more firm conviction for God and country coupled with passion for truth, morality, ethics, law, and family.
It was the 1930's when law school student, and later FBI Agent W. Cleon Skousen, wondered why socialism was the college professor's choice in perspectives for successful governance. Working in the nation's capitol, he was further stunned by the average Congressman's lack of understanding of the US Constitution. He set out to remedy that in an age where an increasing number of college students and celebrities idolized men like Fascist Mussolini, and communists Lenin, and Stalin. Soon to arise on the international scene would be Hitler of Germany and Mao of China. No matter that 10's of millions had died and more than 100 million would yet die under their philosophies and regimes, those Marxist and socialist inspired ideologies were not about individuals, but the undoing of capitalism and the perceived ruling classes.
A populism driven by steel resulted; guns, bullets, bombs, and mayhem, the "people's revolutions" these despots preached was nothing more than "tyrants rule." Individuals were seen as expendable and no more valuable than grass to be trampled, cut down, or left to burn in the path of revolutionary fires.
I first studied Skousen's national bestseller, THE 5000 YEAR LEAP in 1981. It explores 28 principles the Founding Fathers used to create the 222 year-old document guiding the American success story. I could never have imagined this day, when everything it warned against would become an item of daily news.
This 30 Year Anniversary edition with Foreword by Glenn Beck (given by him to Skousen's sons and copyright holders for use in this edition) is now available at our website with other specials including our 7 day old CD ROM study tool, the US CONSTITUTION COACH KIT... a product I believe will be the only tool you will ever need to gain a thorough understanding of our 222 year old history and its founding documents.
By the way, no one illuminates the news, makes its meaning more applicable to Dr. Skousen's work than the highly entertaining Glenn Beck. He is a true friend to Dr. Skousen who would have loved him like a son. I urge all readers of this and my other blogs and works to enjoy his daily insights.
We are so honored to be authorized by the Skousen family to bring you this amazing book and its story. Only at: www.usconstitutioncoach.com, www.5000yearleap.com, and www.5000yearleap.net.
James M. Pratt
Birth of a National Bestseller: I'm so proud to announce the birth of the 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION of W. Cleon Skousen's THE FIVE THOUSAND YEAR LEAP, commissioned by his sons and family to my small publishing company, American Documents, and distributed by PowerThink.
I met Dr. Skousen on several occasions, first in 1981 when this book was published and just before he passed away in 2006. I never met another man, outside of my own father, with a gentler and kinder spirit, and more firm conviction for God and country coupled with passion for truth, morality, ethics, law, and family.
It was the 1930's when law school student, and later FBI Agent W. Cleon Skousen, wondered why socialism was the college professor's choice in perspectives for successful governance. Working in the nation's capitol, he was further stunned by the average Congressman's lack of understanding of the US Constitution. He set out to remedy that in an age where an increasing number of college students and celebrities idolized men like Fascist Mussolini, and communists Lenin, and Stalin. Soon to arise on the international scene would be Hitler of Germany and Mao of China. No matter that 10's of millions had died and more than 100 million would yet die under their philosophies and regimes, those Marxist and socialist inspired ideologies were not about individuals, but the undoing of capitalism and the perceived ruling classes.
A populism driven by steel resulted; guns, bullets, bombs, and mayhem, the "people's revolutions" these despots preached was nothing more than "tyrants rule." Individuals were seen as expendable and no more valuable than grass to be trampled, cut down, or left to burn in the path of revolutionary fires.
I first studied Skousen's national bestseller, THE 5000 YEAR LEAP in 1981. It explores 28 principles the Founding Fathers used to create the 222 year-old document guiding the American success story. I could never have imagined this day, when everything it warned against would become an item of daily news.
This 30 Year Anniversary edition with Foreword by Glenn Beck (given by him to Skousen's sons and copyright holders for use in this edition) is now available at our website with other specials including our 7 day old CD ROM study tool, the US CONSTITUTION COACH KIT... a product I believe will be the only tool you will ever need to gain a thorough understanding of our 222 year old history and its founding documents.
By the way, no one illuminates the news, makes its meaning more applicable to Dr. Skousen's work than the highly entertaining Glenn Beck. He is a true friend to Dr. Skousen who would have loved him like a son. I urge all readers of this and my other blogs and works to enjoy his daily insights.
We are so honored to be authorized by the Skousen family to bring you this amazing book and its story. Only at: www.usconstitutioncoach.com, www.5000yearleap.com, and www.5000yearleap.net.
James M. Pratt
Sunday, March 8, 2009
PAUL HARVEY, TOUGH TIMES, and You!
When Times are Tough, Be a Creator…
This week I want to pay tribute to radio legend Paul Harvey… and lessons learned along the way about “creating.” Paul Harvey passed away this week at the age of 90. I cannot recall a time when I did not know the voice of Paul Harvey. See, that’s because I’m a “youngster;" a mere 55 years old. He was already broadcasting in an unploughed commercial radio medium for years before the doctor spanked me and told my Mom, “You have a son.”
His 10 plus minutes of news, humor, and inspirational American vignettes were carried daily by over 1000 radio stations for nearly six decades. It would be a really rare American who had never heard his soothing, sometimes folksy, but entirely self-trained and “All American” baritone monologue delivery of the “News with Paul Harvey” and “The Rest of the Story.”
What I find compelling is Paul Harvey had an "idea" and did not wait to be “found” or until conditions in the market place were “ideal.” He did not go to school and present credentials to interviewing employers; nor did he look for “approval” of others. He found a way to “create” what his mind envisioned and a service he could give. This is probably the best tribute I can make to a man I did not personally know, and one I am happy to offer:
He inspired me, because Paul Harvey was a CREATOR.
I am a creative writer. I have been writing all my life it seems, first in private journals, and just random thoughts. My first novel was published after suffering a near death experience and in recovery. But of the 10 books published over 11 years, just five of those years have been real “paying” years. In other words, I have stuck to “creating” anyway, even though at times feeling a bit delusional and very strapped financially. Why?
Creating is a way "out" for tough times, and the only option for beginning life fresh everyday.
Over the past six years I haven’t had the luxury to “wait” until “things turned around.” I just had to believe if I just put forth the effort, and gave my best, that what has happened for so many others – people like Paul Harvey, and fellow creators – would also inevitably happen for me.
Searching YOU TUBE for a perfect video message to fit this theme I found an inspiring 2 minute message worth watching:
What I am trying to say is that though “times are tough,” and are not “ideal for a new beginning” or start, and though it is quite natural to feel fear and anxiety...
THERE IS A REMEDY: It is found in a uniquely human and universal gift available to everyone called, “CREATING.” See, not being “ready” or polished, or capable, or top of the class in your gift or talent is no excuse. You simply need to have an interest.
It can be in writing, music, or any of the arts. It can be inventing, making home-made products, business, working with the mind, the voice, or the hands. Age is not a requirement, but being “alive” is.
When you are down, everything is “up.” Why not be a CREATOR? What’s the worse that can happen? Creating soothes the spirit, calms the soul, and draws others to you. It opens doors you may have never seen coming, and ones which never could have opened for you until you “created.”
It comes down to “value.” I have not been working for money for many years. I have been working for value, and for something else; a dream to touch you and others unknown to me. Money will come again and that is because “CREATING” produces “value.”
Never underestimate the unique quality in you, nor the one of highest importance and immeasurable by any means but by God; for you are His child.
For more on the life of Paul Harvey visit www.paulharvey.com
"Good day!"
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
This week I want to pay tribute to radio legend Paul Harvey… and lessons learned along the way about “creating.” Paul Harvey passed away this week at the age of 90. I cannot recall a time when I did not know the voice of Paul Harvey. See, that’s because I’m a “youngster;" a mere 55 years old. He was already broadcasting in an unploughed commercial radio medium for years before the doctor spanked me and told my Mom, “You have a son.”
His 10 plus minutes of news, humor, and inspirational American vignettes were carried daily by over 1000 radio stations for nearly six decades. It would be a really rare American who had never heard his soothing, sometimes folksy, but entirely self-trained and “All American” baritone monologue delivery of the “News with Paul Harvey” and “The Rest of the Story.”
What I find compelling is Paul Harvey had an "idea" and did not wait to be “found” or until conditions in the market place were “ideal.” He did not go to school and present credentials to interviewing employers; nor did he look for “approval” of others. He found a way to “create” what his mind envisioned and a service he could give. This is probably the best tribute I can make to a man I did not personally know, and one I am happy to offer:
He inspired me, because Paul Harvey was a CREATOR.
I am a creative writer. I have been writing all my life it seems, first in private journals, and just random thoughts. My first novel was published after suffering a near death experience and in recovery. But of the 10 books published over 11 years, just five of those years have been real “paying” years. In other words, I have stuck to “creating” anyway, even though at times feeling a bit delusional and very strapped financially. Why?
Creating is a way "out" for tough times, and the only option for beginning life fresh everyday.
Over the past six years I haven’t had the luxury to “wait” until “things turned around.” I just had to believe if I just put forth the effort, and gave my best, that what has happened for so many others – people like Paul Harvey, and fellow creators – would also inevitably happen for me.
Searching YOU TUBE for a perfect video message to fit this theme I found an inspiring 2 minute message worth watching:
What I am trying to say is that though “times are tough,” and are not “ideal for a new beginning” or start, and though it is quite natural to feel fear and anxiety...
THERE IS A REMEDY: It is found in a uniquely human and universal gift available to everyone called, “CREATING.” See, not being “ready” or polished, or capable, or top of the class in your gift or talent is no excuse. You simply need to have an interest.
It can be in writing, music, or any of the arts. It can be inventing, making home-made products, business, working with the mind, the voice, or the hands. Age is not a requirement, but being “alive” is.
When you are down, everything is “up.” Why not be a CREATOR? What’s the worse that can happen? Creating soothes the spirit, calms the soul, and draws others to you. It opens doors you may have never seen coming, and ones which never could have opened for you until you “created.”
It comes down to “value.” I have not been working for money for many years. I have been working for value, and for something else; a dream to touch you and others unknown to me. Money will come again and that is because “CREATING” produces “value.”
Never underestimate the unique quality in you, nor the one of highest importance and immeasurable by any means but by God; for you are His child.
For more on the life of Paul Harvey visit www.paulharvey.com
"Good day!"
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
PEACE, Troubles, Fear, Jean Valjean and You
I don't know why I am writing this. I have had trouble for two weeks finding the right inspiration for the next post. I had Valentine's Day all lined up... You know I wrote The Last Valentine, and was going to share some history of that magical first novel to be made into a Hallmark movie for next year; history few know about... but for some reason, with all that is troubling the world, and just life, the lover's holiday got by me.
So I share with you this... about finding peace in these toubled times. It is something I understand. I have had some experience getting through tough times and major reversals more than once. The lessons learned form Victor Hugo's masterpiece come to mind as I consider the feelings of my heart right now.
Jean Valjean’s Choice
I love the line in the film version of Les Miserable when the Bishop protects Jean Valjean from going back to prison.
The Set Up: We see Jean Valjean in the opening scene, a man wearing rags and asleep on a bench in a quiet French village at the turn of the nineteenth century. He is an “ex-convict,” just freed from a French prison where he had spent 19 years at hard labor for stealing bread as a hungry and homeless youth. Bitter, he must make his way to his home town by foot in three days and report to the Parole Officer, where he will be denied work because he is an ex-convict, and thus find himself once again in a position to starve.
An old woman prods him to wake up and tells him, “You can’t sleep here.” He tells her, “Leave me alone…” and that he hasn’t eaten and no one will give him a place to sleep. “You haven’t tried that door. Try that door,” she says pointing.
It is the local Protestant Bishop and his wife. Valjean is fed and offered a place to sleep. His smallness of soul and bitterness cause him to do something that could land him back in prison, and yet he, for the first time in his life, will be shown “mercy;” by the very Bishop he beats and robs. The Bishop teaches Valjean a lesson that will not only serve him but changes all those lives who come into contact with Valjean forever. Watch this collage of clips from the movie…
The Bishop’s Mercy:
Bishop: “Now Don't Forget, Don't ever Forget, you've promised to become a new man.”
Jean Valjean: “Promise? What, Why are you doing this?”
Bishop: “Jean Valjean my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I have bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God.”
Jean Valjean’s Lesson Learned:
The movie picks up years later. We see Valjean is a wealthy hermit of a man, having worked his way from the investment the Bishop made in him to owner of a factory. Though he prefers being left alone, he is so well respected for his honesty, tender regard for others, and humility, the people of the village of Vigot near Paris elect him Mayor. We see Jean Valjean as a good and merciful man who, like a ripple effect, adopted the goodness of the old Bishop and passes it forward in this new life of his.
Just as he thinks some peace may finally be his permanent reality, into his life comes a former enemy, a prison guard named Javert, now assigned to Vigot as “Inspector” (Chief of Police.)
To make a long story short Javert, his nemesis for the rest of the story, finds out that the mayor is really an ex “convict” by the name of Jean Valjean, and he is determined to see that he goes back to prison. The crisis continues as now Valjean must escape, create a new identity and seek some peace. Over the next 20 years he almost finds it and then Inspector Javert finds Valjean in Paris. Caught, he tells Valjean, who has committed no crimes, yet certain a criminal can never change: “It's a pity the law doesn't allow me to be merciful.”
The truth? Mercy is a choice. Forgiveness is a choice. Love is a choice. Only those who must follow some heartless list of rules exact punishment upon others long after the turbulent water has passed under the bridge once crossed by two who could not reconcile their differences.
Inspector Javert inspired fear in Valjean. He represented everything evil, unjust, and unfair about Jean Valjean’s earlier life.
Fear? The world has changed. Fear among the people across the globe is palpable. Many are faced with losing everything, and many more have had all their retirement and savings wiped out.
There is something we can do about it. Something that may seem small right now... It doesn't have to do with "getting" more stuff, or rescuing "things" but with giving away something more valuable than the financial and material things people are so fearful of losing. And... strangely, this very thing I recommend will begin to set the world right for you, and "getting things" restored that are lost will become not burdensome but a new adventure.
It is giving that unlocks getting: Is there someone who wronged you? Is there someone who has fear of you? Is there anyone who lacks peace because of hurt feelings, even if they are in the wrong? Does someone "owe" you? These are faced with wondering where God is for multiple reasons right now. They are filled with uncertainties about the future. They carry burdens and may carry one you do not intend for them to still carry. Release them...
The Bishop had told Valjean, after Valjean explained his torment for stealing to solve his hunger and the price he had to pay: “Man can be unjust.” Yet, the Bishop "freed" Valjean from his fears, and his only experience; the unjust nature of man and things, by a simple act of generosity and kindness and forgiveness...even though Valjean did certainly not "deserve" it at that moment.
Jean Valjean had to begin anew three times in this story. Jean Valjean was given multiple choices to get rid of Javert; twice violently, (and to all appearances no one would have missed the implacable Inspector) yet he would not allow the gift of the Bishop to become wasted. He spares Javert who then still will not let go...
In the end the victory was Valjean’s as he would not allow total destruction of one part of his life become the reason for an entire life of self-pity, fear, doubt and despair. The victory was priceless.
The wealth Valjean accumulated over time never solved the underlying problems of his fears… And with the hard-earned wealth he could not have purchased the peace of mind and heart that he longed for without giving something else away. It was giving away that which was given to him; passing it along...that gave him meaning and well-deserved peace from fear at last.
It was the reliance upon a power of mighty mercy that was the gift the Bishop gave to Jean Valjean and I recommend to you… It was Valjean’s losing himself for others, and giving mercy and forgiveness away that gained him every other victory.
Lose everything (I have twice) and your health (twice there also) yet do not lose your soul and hope. “Stuff” can been gained again, and health restored, but the satisfying peace that comes from knowing your heart is right with the world… that is priceless.
We can all have claim to it… Like the silver given to Valjean from the Bishop, we have the redemption from fear of one who did no harm; one who reached out to all to have his palms pierced, and who still reaches out to calm troubled hearts... if we will reach back, and in turn pass it along to others.
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
So I share with you this... about finding peace in these toubled times. It is something I understand. I have had some experience getting through tough times and major reversals more than once. The lessons learned form Victor Hugo's masterpiece come to mind as I consider the feelings of my heart right now.
Jean Valjean’s Choice
I love the line in the film version of Les Miserable when the Bishop protects Jean Valjean from going back to prison.
The Set Up: We see Jean Valjean in the opening scene, a man wearing rags and asleep on a bench in a quiet French village at the turn of the nineteenth century. He is an “ex-convict,” just freed from a French prison where he had spent 19 years at hard labor for stealing bread as a hungry and homeless youth. Bitter, he must make his way to his home town by foot in three days and report to the Parole Officer, where he will be denied work because he is an ex-convict, and thus find himself once again in a position to starve.
An old woman prods him to wake up and tells him, “You can’t sleep here.” He tells her, “Leave me alone…” and that he hasn’t eaten and no one will give him a place to sleep. “You haven’t tried that door. Try that door,” she says pointing.
It is the local Protestant Bishop and his wife. Valjean is fed and offered a place to sleep. His smallness of soul and bitterness cause him to do something that could land him back in prison, and yet he, for the first time in his life, will be shown “mercy;” by the very Bishop he beats and robs. The Bishop teaches Valjean a lesson that will not only serve him but changes all those lives who come into contact with Valjean forever. Watch this collage of clips from the movie…
The Bishop’s Mercy:
Bishop: “Now Don't Forget, Don't ever Forget, you've promised to become a new man.”
Jean Valjean: “Promise? What, Why are you doing this?”
Bishop: “Jean Valjean my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I have bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God.”
Jean Valjean’s Lesson Learned:
The movie picks up years later. We see Valjean is a wealthy hermit of a man, having worked his way from the investment the Bishop made in him to owner of a factory. Though he prefers being left alone, he is so well respected for his honesty, tender regard for others, and humility, the people of the village of Vigot near Paris elect him Mayor. We see Jean Valjean as a good and merciful man who, like a ripple effect, adopted the goodness of the old Bishop and passes it forward in this new life of his.
Just as he thinks some peace may finally be his permanent reality, into his life comes a former enemy, a prison guard named Javert, now assigned to Vigot as “Inspector” (Chief of Police.)
To make a long story short Javert, his nemesis for the rest of the story, finds out that the mayor is really an ex “convict” by the name of Jean Valjean, and he is determined to see that he goes back to prison. The crisis continues as now Valjean must escape, create a new identity and seek some peace. Over the next 20 years he almost finds it and then Inspector Javert finds Valjean in Paris. Caught, he tells Valjean, who has committed no crimes, yet certain a criminal can never change: “It's a pity the law doesn't allow me to be merciful.”
The truth? Mercy is a choice. Forgiveness is a choice. Love is a choice. Only those who must follow some heartless list of rules exact punishment upon others long after the turbulent water has passed under the bridge once crossed by two who could not reconcile their differences.
Inspector Javert inspired fear in Valjean. He represented everything evil, unjust, and unfair about Jean Valjean’s earlier life.
Fear? The world has changed. Fear among the people across the globe is palpable. Many are faced with losing everything, and many more have had all their retirement and savings wiped out.
There is something we can do about it. Something that may seem small right now... It doesn't have to do with "getting" more stuff, or rescuing "things" but with giving away something more valuable than the financial and material things people are so fearful of losing. And... strangely, this very thing I recommend will begin to set the world right for you, and "getting things" restored that are lost will become not burdensome but a new adventure.
It is giving that unlocks getting: Is there someone who wronged you? Is there someone who has fear of you? Is there anyone who lacks peace because of hurt feelings, even if they are in the wrong? Does someone "owe" you? These are faced with wondering where God is for multiple reasons right now. They are filled with uncertainties about the future. They carry burdens and may carry one you do not intend for them to still carry. Release them...
The Bishop had told Valjean, after Valjean explained his torment for stealing to solve his hunger and the price he had to pay: “Man can be unjust.” Yet, the Bishop "freed" Valjean from his fears, and his only experience; the unjust nature of man and things, by a simple act of generosity and kindness and forgiveness...even though Valjean did certainly not "deserve" it at that moment.
Jean Valjean had to begin anew three times in this story. Jean Valjean was given multiple choices to get rid of Javert; twice violently, (and to all appearances no one would have missed the implacable Inspector) yet he would not allow the gift of the Bishop to become wasted. He spares Javert who then still will not let go...
In the end the victory was Valjean’s as he would not allow total destruction of one part of his life become the reason for an entire life of self-pity, fear, doubt and despair. The victory was priceless.
The wealth Valjean accumulated over time never solved the underlying problems of his fears… And with the hard-earned wealth he could not have purchased the peace of mind and heart that he longed for without giving something else away. It was giving away that which was given to him; passing it along...that gave him meaning and well-deserved peace from fear at last.
It was the reliance upon a power of mighty mercy that was the gift the Bishop gave to Jean Valjean and I recommend to you… It was Valjean’s losing himself for others, and giving mercy and forgiveness away that gained him every other victory.
Lose everything (I have twice) and your health (twice there also) yet do not lose your soul and hope. “Stuff” can been gained again, and health restored, but the satisfying peace that comes from knowing your heart is right with the world… that is priceless.
We can all have claim to it… Like the silver given to Valjean from the Bishop, we have the redemption from fear of one who did no harm; one who reached out to all to have his palms pierced, and who still reaches out to calm troubled hearts... if we will reach back, and in turn pass it along to others.
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Monday, February 9, 2009
ABOUT LIFE and CAMELOT, Cory and You
Camelot, An Idea, and Your Highest Meaning
“Consider your origin; you were not formed to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.” --Dante’s Divine Comedy
Animals and Men:
Animals exist. They do not reason. They do not plan. They offer pleasure and affection as pets, nutrition as staples for diets, and balance nature in the wild. In short, they serve the destiny nature and God intended.
Men and women were made in “the image of God…” to those who are believers, and at least highly evolved, rational, reasoning, and intelligent species to those who have not acquired a belief system which includes the concept of a divine ancestral nature.
King Arthur, Camelot, and an Idea:
I’ve placed a film clip in this column below. It is 6 minutes worth watching which wraps the story of a King who once was a boy, with the story of another boy who has the heart to become a king. It is about dreamers, and making a change in life through your heart and head before the actual event is finished.
But before you watch it you should know it is the ending scene. It is a brief moment of hope where King Arthur tells an aged Knight something of great importance. "Pele" the forgetful King of a place he can't remember, brings Arthur's sword but asks, "Who is that?" referring to a boy he sees running from the scene. "One what we all are Pele. Less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sun lit sea!"
It Begins With Knowing Who We Are
The 1967 Academy Award winning film offers deep introspection in the opening monologue as Richard Harris, playing King Arthur prays to his wizard Merlin. Arthur is preparing to send his forces against the walls of Lancelot’s Castle. He loved Lancelot like a son, he having been the right hand to Arthur at his famous “Round Table” where “right made might” and not “might made right.”
Though both Lancelot and Queen Guinevere are now repentant, and seek forgiveness, Arthur is forced by his other Knights of the Round Table to fight for honor’s sake. His men seek revenge for the betrayal Lancelot showed in his affair with Guinevere. He asks several things of Merlin. One thing that has always touched my heart is this line in the first few moments of the film:
“Oh Merlin, I have seen many men die in battle not asking, ‘Why must I die?’ but rather, ‘Why have I ever lived?’” Then he goes on, “Merlin, if I am to die in battle this day, let me not die bewildered.”
Honor, Character, Betrayal: The 2 hour plus movie then takes place and we learn of the deep love of Arthur for his queen; her's for him. We enjoy honor displayed. We see how a vision by one man can transform an entire nation. We learn of “right for right,” and real justice, and honor because honor and character are worth having, and that the Round Table suggested all men may be truly equal. We finally witness the crumbling of an empire; the frail nature of good men and women who cause a kingdom to fall because of passion and betrayal of the highest meaning in them.
As all good stories go, we learn that redemption is possible when a stow-a-way boy named Tom of Warick announces his dream to be a Knight and his intention to fight in the battle. That 6 minute ending from the movie is located below. I want you to think about how it applies to all of us, but first...
Just Existing and Cory Joyner
Cory is a homeless man from South Carolina. Living on the good will of others, I fed him for three days in a row last week. But each time I really grilled him. See, I have seen his story a thousand times, including up close with loved ones choosing to live just a step above living on the streets.
In the lecture this 30 year-old got direct counsel, warnings, and the truth: “Cory, you deserve better than you are giving yourself. You were not created to live like this, but you are a son of God. You have value. You are living like some discarded junk on the street. You need to choose discipline, decide to change, believe in your potential. God knows you and does not want you throwing your life away.”
He quickly put his hand on his heart and tapped it, and with a gasp said, “I felt that. I know that right here,” he said, wide-eyed. Cory felt pure potential and love for just a moment. I fed him, and hoped that he would take the hands that were reaching down, look up, and see more than he was seeing on the street.
I asked where he was from. “South Carolina,” he said. “Do you have a Dad?” He answered, “No.”
"I'm your Dad today and going to ask some questions then give advice," I said. “Family?” He answered, “A brother who is a computer programmer and a sister in college.” "Job skills?" I persued. "Trained chef," he answered.
“Cory,” I began. “You deserve more than you are giving yourself. Will they take you in to get cleaned up and a fresh start?”
“My brother wants me to come home but I love this girl, see. She is in jail for drug dealing, and I have to wait for her to get out.”
“Hum… In love. Addicted.” I could tell he was barely listening now. Finally I gave him lunch money and said good-bye with, “Love is hard.” He nodded and in low voice whispered, “It sure is.”
Day two and three he looked me up again. I’m easy; he knew it and I did too. So I grilled him some more. I reminded him of his divine potential and then said, “So when she gets out of jail, she gets you as a bonus?” I asked. “Look at you! You deserve more self-respect than you are offering yourself and her." Then I gave easy and direct advice on starting over and all the advantages he had going, if he'd just expect more from himself. I finished with, "Are you and her, with your combined habits and criminal records, going to step up and make something of yourself?”
“I don’t know man. No,” he added. “I guess not.”
“So you have no plans, make no decisions, just slum and hit people up everyday? Hang out, do 'dime bags' get in trouble and hope for the best... Your life is a result of choices, Cory. You have potential from God, because you are made of the same stuff!”
He was looking down, probably trying to figure out how to get away from me, yet compelled enough to stay for lunch. “You don’t feel the pain enough to change,” I added. (I wasn’t going easy on this guy on day three. That would be of no service to him.)
“Man I want to change. But I don’t know how to start.” I tapped my skull, then my heart and said, “You’ve got to want to. I reached out to you. Your brother and sister are reaching out to you. You just haven’t decided to reach back. Step 1 is, ‘you got to want to!’ It all begins here and here,” I ended, tapping again on my head and heart. "Run from this life, Cory. Run! People will give you a break if you do."
Well – there was more to the story but I will save it for later. See Camelot is an idea. It is a transformation in thinking. It was, to King Arthur, the idea that the best that existed in a man could come out of him if he would decide that it could. It was that a man was not formed to live like an animal but to be as a Knight dealing good, and justly to all. It was about dreaming, and how a boy became a King!
Now I think you will enjoy watching this ending to one of Hollywood's greatest movies…
See... It isn't just that, we are "...less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea!" as Arthur said to Pele. It is what he finished with to Tom of Warick:
"But it seems that some of the drops sparkle Pele! Some of them do sparkle! Run Boy! Run Boy! Run!!! Oh run, my boy...."
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
“Consider your origin; you were not formed to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.” --Dante’s Divine Comedy
Animals and Men:
Animals exist. They do not reason. They do not plan. They offer pleasure and affection as pets, nutrition as staples for diets, and balance nature in the wild. In short, they serve the destiny nature and God intended.
Men and women were made in “the image of God…” to those who are believers, and at least highly evolved, rational, reasoning, and intelligent species to those who have not acquired a belief system which includes the concept of a divine ancestral nature.
King Arthur, Camelot, and an Idea:
I’ve placed a film clip in this column below. It is 6 minutes worth watching which wraps the story of a King who once was a boy, with the story of another boy who has the heart to become a king. It is about dreamers, and making a change in life through your heart and head before the actual event is finished.
But before you watch it you should know it is the ending scene. It is a brief moment of hope where King Arthur tells an aged Knight something of great importance. "Pele" the forgetful King of a place he can't remember, brings Arthur's sword but asks, "Who is that?" referring to a boy he sees running from the scene. "One what we all are Pele. Less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sun lit sea!"
It Begins With Knowing Who We Are
The 1967 Academy Award winning film offers deep introspection in the opening monologue as Richard Harris, playing King Arthur prays to his wizard Merlin. Arthur is preparing to send his forces against the walls of Lancelot’s Castle. He loved Lancelot like a son, he having been the right hand to Arthur at his famous “Round Table” where “right made might” and not “might made right.”
Though both Lancelot and Queen Guinevere are now repentant, and seek forgiveness, Arthur is forced by his other Knights of the Round Table to fight for honor’s sake. His men seek revenge for the betrayal Lancelot showed in his affair with Guinevere. He asks several things of Merlin. One thing that has always touched my heart is this line in the first few moments of the film:
“Oh Merlin, I have seen many men die in battle not asking, ‘Why must I die?’ but rather, ‘Why have I ever lived?’” Then he goes on, “Merlin, if I am to die in battle this day, let me not die bewildered.”
Honor, Character, Betrayal: The 2 hour plus movie then takes place and we learn of the deep love of Arthur for his queen; her's for him. We enjoy honor displayed. We see how a vision by one man can transform an entire nation. We learn of “right for right,” and real justice, and honor because honor and character are worth having, and that the Round Table suggested all men may be truly equal. We finally witness the crumbling of an empire; the frail nature of good men and women who cause a kingdom to fall because of passion and betrayal of the highest meaning in them.
As all good stories go, we learn that redemption is possible when a stow-a-way boy named Tom of Warick announces his dream to be a Knight and his intention to fight in the battle. That 6 minute ending from the movie is located below. I want you to think about how it applies to all of us, but first...
Just Existing and Cory Joyner
Cory is a homeless man from South Carolina. Living on the good will of others, I fed him for three days in a row last week. But each time I really grilled him. See, I have seen his story a thousand times, including up close with loved ones choosing to live just a step above living on the streets.
In the lecture this 30 year-old got direct counsel, warnings, and the truth: “Cory, you deserve better than you are giving yourself. You were not created to live like this, but you are a son of God. You have value. You are living like some discarded junk on the street. You need to choose discipline, decide to change, believe in your potential. God knows you and does not want you throwing your life away.”
He quickly put his hand on his heart and tapped it, and with a gasp said, “I felt that. I know that right here,” he said, wide-eyed. Cory felt pure potential and love for just a moment. I fed him, and hoped that he would take the hands that were reaching down, look up, and see more than he was seeing on the street.
I asked where he was from. “South Carolina,” he said. “Do you have a Dad?” He answered, “No.”
"I'm your Dad today and going to ask some questions then give advice," I said. “Family?” He answered, “A brother who is a computer programmer and a sister in college.” "Job skills?" I persued. "Trained chef," he answered.
“Cory,” I began. “You deserve more than you are giving yourself. Will they take you in to get cleaned up and a fresh start?”
“My brother wants me to come home but I love this girl, see. She is in jail for drug dealing, and I have to wait for her to get out.”
“Hum… In love. Addicted.” I could tell he was barely listening now. Finally I gave him lunch money and said good-bye with, “Love is hard.” He nodded and in low voice whispered, “It sure is.”
Day two and three he looked me up again. I’m easy; he knew it and I did too. So I grilled him some more. I reminded him of his divine potential and then said, “So when she gets out of jail, she gets you as a bonus?” I asked. “Look at you! You deserve more self-respect than you are offering yourself and her." Then I gave easy and direct advice on starting over and all the advantages he had going, if he'd just expect more from himself. I finished with, "Are you and her, with your combined habits and criminal records, going to step up and make something of yourself?”
“I don’t know man. No,” he added. “I guess not.”
“So you have no plans, make no decisions, just slum and hit people up everyday? Hang out, do 'dime bags' get in trouble and hope for the best... Your life is a result of choices, Cory. You have potential from God, because you are made of the same stuff!”
He was looking down, probably trying to figure out how to get away from me, yet compelled enough to stay for lunch. “You don’t feel the pain enough to change,” I added. (I wasn’t going easy on this guy on day three. That would be of no service to him.)
“Man I want to change. But I don’t know how to start.” I tapped my skull, then my heart and said, “You’ve got to want to. I reached out to you. Your brother and sister are reaching out to you. You just haven’t decided to reach back. Step 1 is, ‘you got to want to!’ It all begins here and here,” I ended, tapping again on my head and heart. "Run from this life, Cory. Run! People will give you a break if you do."
Well – there was more to the story but I will save it for later. See Camelot is an idea. It is a transformation in thinking. It was, to King Arthur, the idea that the best that existed in a man could come out of him if he would decide that it could. It was that a man was not formed to live like an animal but to be as a Knight dealing good, and justly to all. It was about dreaming, and how a boy became a King!
Now I think you will enjoy watching this ending to one of Hollywood's greatest movies…
See... It isn't just that, we are "...less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea!" as Arthur said to Pele. It is what he finished with to Tom of Warick:
"But it seems that some of the drops sparkle Pele! Some of them do sparkle! Run Boy! Run Boy! Run!!! Oh run, my boy...."
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
AN END IS A BEGINNING UPSIDE DOWN
Beginnings and endings are very close…
This column is written with true concern for those feeling the stress, fear, and anxiety from recent losses. If it applies, I hope you may take courage. If it is useful for those you know facing losses, and believe it will be helpful to someone near you, I hope you will share it.
What matters is the perspective we have on what really matters most; the highest meaning in our lives. An economy is lost. A way of living ends. BUT... perhaps also the beginning to a new way of living, loving, enjoying life is also at the door... That depends on how we respond to life's curve balls...
Today a man in Los Angeles took his life, his wife's and his three children because they lost their jobs, and as he said, "Life just wasn't worth living anymore." Over the course of many weeks, multi-millionaires have been committing suicide out of shame, fear, and realization that what gave them their "meaning" (personal fortunes) was seemingly lost. Self-esteem is a fragile thing when tied to "stuff" and appearances.
What really matters most? To many basic survival, to others their image, to many the stuff they don't want to live without...
During the past several months I have had several friends ask me to pray with them, and I am delighted to do so. This is a positive thing for it indicates faith in a higher power, and an ego not so highly wrapped up in material matters that they cannot see that in the end, we control nothing, but God controls all. I was particularity delighted that my daughter, who indicates little use for God, would ask for Dad and Mom's prayers. (More on this later, but "faith power" is an absolute necessity in tumultuous times.)
So... these beloved friends recognize that control over their lives has slipped. Jobs have been lost. A way of life is jeopardized because of new economic uncertainties. Health issues abound, stress over debt unpaid mounts... I am very uniquely qualified to offer solace having been severely hammered economically (and unexpectedly) four times in four decades. I understand starting over, losing everything, including beginning again from a hospital bed. (Story found in next week's column) I have tender feelings for the fear being experienced. There is hope, even in the darkest night. I know from surviving beyond anything I ever anticipated... BUT rather than share a dozen hard luck stories with you, and how everything finally works out, I prefer to ask you to do this one thing right now; Believe in power beyond yours to make things right...
Opportunity knocks more often when starting over than in the flow of constant comfort and predictable results day after day. Why? A few thoughts…but first watch this, or simply listen to the music and continue reading:
Humans Beings Create and Possess Potential for “Re-Creating”—
We are best when challenged. We are human "beings," (the present tense) and as such, creators. We take raw material and fashion homes, clothing, harness energy, make metal ships fly and float, communicate in milliseconds to any part of the planet, create drugs that heal, fortify foods, make entertainment that allows a symphony orchestra travel with us if we choose, access encyclopedias of information in seconds, and the list goes on.
Children of God, are part Supermen and Superwomen—
Believe it. This is not some hyperbole. You and I really have chemistry and stuff made of the stars, and the Universe, and everything… So look up... What do you want to "be?"
"Being" something new is a choice in the present moment, so choose! And then, address the greatest "Being" of all; God, regarding your choice. Here's how:
Give thanks for what you've had (have) and just talk. Share the pain you are going through, and ask for ideas to help guide you. Listen (or better yet feel) for the peace. Peace is the answer that you are on the right path. Trust is the next step. If you do not feel peaceful, maybe it is also answer... Perhaps not how you see best, but how he sees best for you is happening. Let him be the extra set of eyes you need in this quest of new beginnings and a path you may not recognize today. He will begin to partner with you if you choose to let Him. Can you trust Him?
Personal Meaning is Purpose Filled Living—
Each person, at some time of their life, will face deeply searching questions about “who” they are, “why” they are here, “what life is really all about.” The sooner that happens, the sooner a deep and rewarding personal “meaning” is developed; a meaning and purpose which can drive you through any obstacle, over any mountain, and out of deepest despair. (This kind of "meaning" has spiritual power in it. When you lose a job you won't kill yourself over it, you'll just say "Next?")
When you live with "meaning" you live "on purpose."
Having purpose means you are partnering with someone in the Universe greater than you, and yet focused on making decisions (from your freedom of choice and free will) designed to be in harmony with this wonderful feeling of real worth, meaning, and value.
The biggest blessings in life may not be the calm and peaceful seas we travel upon, but the storms which force us to ask those questions about our meaning and purpose and then develop the answers.
Please… Understand—
That Super Being most believing in you is the one most willing to love, forgive, and partner with you!
When stripped of his cloths, a carpenter who used hammers and nails to build things, had them used upon him and then was hung on a cross, (ironically built by another carpenter that day) and mocked, ridiculed, and at the end… was laid in a borrowed tomb— (Not much real estate to show for a perfectly lived life, huh? Think He understands?)
He then arose to new life, and offers that same new life to you! God made no junk, a bumper sticker once read. That is because you are literally made of Divine DNA… Perfect stuff, just on a ride on an imperfect planet spinning through time and elements of space, with all the potential of divine matter residing within.
What you will do with it matters…
Endings are Just New Beginnings—James
NEXT WEEK: ABOUT LIFE 101 - How to Begin a New One
This column is written with true concern for those feeling the stress, fear, and anxiety from recent losses. If it applies, I hope you may take courage. If it is useful for those you know facing losses, and believe it will be helpful to someone near you, I hope you will share it.
What matters is the perspective we have on what really matters most; the highest meaning in our lives. An economy is lost. A way of living ends. BUT... perhaps also the beginning to a new way of living, loving, enjoying life is also at the door... That depends on how we respond to life's curve balls...
Today a man in Los Angeles took his life, his wife's and his three children because they lost their jobs, and as he said, "Life just wasn't worth living anymore." Over the course of many weeks, multi-millionaires have been committing suicide out of shame, fear, and realization that what gave them their "meaning" (personal fortunes) was seemingly lost. Self-esteem is a fragile thing when tied to "stuff" and appearances.
What really matters most? To many basic survival, to others their image, to many the stuff they don't want to live without...
During the past several months I have had several friends ask me to pray with them, and I am delighted to do so. This is a positive thing for it indicates faith in a higher power, and an ego not so highly wrapped up in material matters that they cannot see that in the end, we control nothing, but God controls all. I was particularity delighted that my daughter, who indicates little use for God, would ask for Dad and Mom's prayers. (More on this later, but "faith power" is an absolute necessity in tumultuous times.)
So... these beloved friends recognize that control over their lives has slipped. Jobs have been lost. A way of life is jeopardized because of new economic uncertainties. Health issues abound, stress over debt unpaid mounts... I am very uniquely qualified to offer solace having been severely hammered economically (and unexpectedly) four times in four decades. I understand starting over, losing everything, including beginning again from a hospital bed. (Story found in next week's column) I have tender feelings for the fear being experienced. There is hope, even in the darkest night. I know from surviving beyond anything I ever anticipated... BUT rather than share a dozen hard luck stories with you, and how everything finally works out, I prefer to ask you to do this one thing right now; Believe in power beyond yours to make things right...
Opportunity knocks more often when starting over than in the flow of constant comfort and predictable results day after day. Why? A few thoughts…but first watch this, or simply listen to the music and continue reading:
Humans Beings Create and Possess Potential for “Re-Creating”—
We are best when challenged. We are human "beings," (the present tense) and as such, creators. We take raw material and fashion homes, clothing, harness energy, make metal ships fly and float, communicate in milliseconds to any part of the planet, create drugs that heal, fortify foods, make entertainment that allows a symphony orchestra travel with us if we choose, access encyclopedias of information in seconds, and the list goes on.
Children of God, are part Supermen and Superwomen—
Believe it. This is not some hyperbole. You and I really have chemistry and stuff made of the stars, and the Universe, and everything… So look up... What do you want to "be?"
"Being" something new is a choice in the present moment, so choose! And then, address the greatest "Being" of all; God, regarding your choice. Here's how:
Give thanks for what you've had (have) and just talk. Share the pain you are going through, and ask for ideas to help guide you. Listen (or better yet feel) for the peace. Peace is the answer that you are on the right path. Trust is the next step. If you do not feel peaceful, maybe it is also answer... Perhaps not how you see best, but how he sees best for you is happening. Let him be the extra set of eyes you need in this quest of new beginnings and a path you may not recognize today. He will begin to partner with you if you choose to let Him. Can you trust Him?
Personal Meaning is Purpose Filled Living—
Each person, at some time of their life, will face deeply searching questions about “who” they are, “why” they are here, “what life is really all about.” The sooner that happens, the sooner a deep and rewarding personal “meaning” is developed; a meaning and purpose which can drive you through any obstacle, over any mountain, and out of deepest despair. (This kind of "meaning" has spiritual power in it. When you lose a job you won't kill yourself over it, you'll just say "Next?")
When you live with "meaning" you live "on purpose."
Having purpose means you are partnering with someone in the Universe greater than you, and yet focused on making decisions (from your freedom of choice and free will) designed to be in harmony with this wonderful feeling of real worth, meaning, and value.
The biggest blessings in life may not be the calm and peaceful seas we travel upon, but the storms which force us to ask those questions about our meaning and purpose and then develop the answers.
Please… Understand—
That Super Being most believing in you is the one most willing to love, forgive, and partner with you!
When stripped of his cloths, a carpenter who used hammers and nails to build things, had them used upon him and then was hung on a cross, (ironically built by another carpenter that day) and mocked, ridiculed, and at the end… was laid in a borrowed tomb— (Not much real estate to show for a perfectly lived life, huh? Think He understands?)
He then arose to new life, and offers that same new life to you! God made no junk, a bumper sticker once read. That is because you are literally made of Divine DNA… Perfect stuff, just on a ride on an imperfect planet spinning through time and elements of space, with all the potential of divine matter residing within.
What you will do with it matters…
Endings are Just New Beginnings—James
NEXT WEEK: ABOUT LIFE 101 - How to Begin a New One
Saturday, January 17, 2009
UPSIDE of the DOWNTURN
Finishing Strong!
Going, going...
MONEY!
COMFORT!
SUCCESS!
Gone?
The fear across the land is palpable. It is mostly related to the economy and so let's begin there....
MONEY: Need some? Who doesn't? From Saudi Princes, to the most respected banks, every corner of the globe is looking under rugs to seek out lost pennies. Billionaires and millionaires have been taking their lives over the last weeks as their fortunes dwindle; along with wisdom; an understanding of what matters most.
Money & Success: Let's create some perspective on real success before we deal too much with the money problem...
I was a finisher...a tradesman in one of my previous work lives. After framers, hangers, and others do the rough start to a wall job, along come the finishers...those trusted to make the final wall look like framers had never been there; just an architect and owner's vision should become apparent.
In carpentry, "finishing" is the art part of making raw materials and basic structure appear as if the piece of wood was always meant to be an elegant paneled room, a deck for watching stars, a library that was meant for the best books, and chair that was built for a king. (Jesus of Nazareth, for example, was both framer and finisher.)
Starting over every day with new raw materials was never easy. But, just like life, it is something everyone must do with the rising sun, and the first step toward whatever you call "success." Finishing strong...day after day; that's where hard work blends with talent, ending up in a daily satisfying victory.
Daily Bread: It might feel like MONEY gives “life” to all things but it doesn’t. After living in a desperate third world country for two years and seeing enough destitution and squalor beyond any that a young lower-income California suburbanite's mind ever imagined, I swore I would never complain again. I learned if you had "daily bread" you could start over again. Hunger does an interesting thing; it motivates -- it moves you to action. Comfort doesn't do that.
Though I saw enough pain to break any heart, I also witnessed the ingredients for real success that guides me to this day. And, I quickly learned that...
Not all bread is equal: Coming back to a recession in California in the 1970’s was like going to the “Magic Kingdom” – Disneyland - for the first time. At home there was more bread than I could eat; a fridge that overflowed with so much stuff in one place; something I hadn't seen for years! After asking Mom if I could eat anything I wanted, I dove in, and then crashed at the kitchen table...
THE CONSTRAST between real poverty and simple abundance! Everything sparkled, and “hope” seemed to hang in the air. In fact the air was so thick with “anything was possible” that I felt, though penniless at the time and without a college education or vocational training, that I could literally become anything I wanted. After all, I was starting at the bottom... and looking up was filled with every dream or possibility imaginable! And I had my daily bread!
Fast forward 2009...
MONEY by the trillions lost in just 90 days! You need some?
COMFORT has dissipated in three months. You want some?
SUCCESS in the big things seems to have faded... You desire it again?
Having lived in shacks, surviving with what dignity I could during three recessions, I have witnessed many people “reach up,” take hold of their circumstances, rekindle hope, walk before they rode again, restore wealth, and get it for the first time under often mind-boggling conditions. Many have more peace in their life because of the perspective losing has given...
(My first book contract was given to me over the phone in my hospital bed with tubes coming out of three parts of body, no health insurance and no job.)
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING: Someone said, "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." The current situation of financial chaos and political unrest is not your burden to carry alone, but felt by billions of people in the world today; it may require you to "build a door" just as finishers do. I tell you this from experience, but...
To encourage you a bit more, stop everything. Watch this:
How do people pull themselves up after losing everything?
Before you go away scroll down and listen to to a short piece of Paul Pott's "Britain's Got Talent" rendition of the opera "Nesum Dorma," as it ends with "Vincero! Vincero! Vincero!"
I will be addressing tried and true "solutions" during all of 2009.
MONEY, COMFORT, SUCCESS...It takes hard work, and conquering frequent despair, but also simple belief in dreams, looking at raw materials with inspiration for what they can become, and...
FINISHING STRONG!
NEXT WEEK: "Going the Distance - Endings and Beginnings Are Very Close."
James Pratt
www.powerthink.com
www.jmpratt.com
Going, going...
MONEY!
COMFORT!
SUCCESS!
Gone?
The fear across the land is palpable. It is mostly related to the economy and so let's begin there....
MONEY: Need some? Who doesn't? From Saudi Princes, to the most respected banks, every corner of the globe is looking under rugs to seek out lost pennies. Billionaires and millionaires have been taking their lives over the last weeks as their fortunes dwindle; along with wisdom; an understanding of what matters most.
Money & Success: Let's create some perspective on real success before we deal too much with the money problem...
I was a finisher...a tradesman in one of my previous work lives. After framers, hangers, and others do the rough start to a wall job, along come the finishers...those trusted to make the final wall look like framers had never been there; just an architect and owner's vision should become apparent.
In carpentry, "finishing" is the art part of making raw materials and basic structure appear as if the piece of wood was always meant to be an elegant paneled room, a deck for watching stars, a library that was meant for the best books, and chair that was built for a king. (Jesus of Nazareth, for example, was both framer and finisher.)
Starting over every day with new raw materials was never easy. But, just like life, it is something everyone must do with the rising sun, and the first step toward whatever you call "success." Finishing strong...day after day; that's where hard work blends with talent, ending up in a daily satisfying victory.
Daily Bread: It might feel like MONEY gives “life” to all things but it doesn’t. After living in a desperate third world country for two years and seeing enough destitution and squalor beyond any that a young lower-income California suburbanite's mind ever imagined, I swore I would never complain again. I learned if you had "daily bread" you could start over again. Hunger does an interesting thing; it motivates -- it moves you to action. Comfort doesn't do that.
Though I saw enough pain to break any heart, I also witnessed the ingredients for real success that guides me to this day. And, I quickly learned that...
Not all bread is equal: Coming back to a recession in California in the 1970’s was like going to the “Magic Kingdom” – Disneyland - for the first time. At home there was more bread than I could eat; a fridge that overflowed with so much stuff in one place; something I hadn't seen for years! After asking Mom if I could eat anything I wanted, I dove in, and then crashed at the kitchen table...
THE CONSTRAST between real poverty and simple abundance! Everything sparkled, and “hope” seemed to hang in the air. In fact the air was so thick with “anything was possible” that I felt, though penniless at the time and without a college education or vocational training, that I could literally become anything I wanted. After all, I was starting at the bottom... and looking up was filled with every dream or possibility imaginable! And I had my daily bread!
Fast forward 2009...
MONEY by the trillions lost in just 90 days! You need some?
COMFORT has dissipated in three months. You want some?
SUCCESS in the big things seems to have faded... You desire it again?
Having lived in shacks, surviving with what dignity I could during three recessions, I have witnessed many people “reach up,” take hold of their circumstances, rekindle hope, walk before they rode again, restore wealth, and get it for the first time under often mind-boggling conditions. Many have more peace in their life because of the perspective losing has given...
(My first book contract was given to me over the phone in my hospital bed with tubes coming out of three parts of body, no health insurance and no job.)
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING: Someone said, "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." The current situation of financial chaos and political unrest is not your burden to carry alone, but felt by billions of people in the world today; it may require you to "build a door" just as finishers do. I tell you this from experience, but...
To encourage you a bit more, stop everything. Watch this:
How do people pull themselves up after losing everything?
Before you go away scroll down and listen to to a short piece of Paul Pott's "Britain's Got Talent" rendition of the opera "Nesum Dorma," as it ends with "Vincero! Vincero! Vincero!"
I will be addressing tried and true "solutions" during all of 2009.
MONEY, COMFORT, SUCCESS...It takes hard work, and conquering frequent despair, but also simple belief in dreams, looking at raw materials with inspiration for what they can become, and...
FINISHING STRONG!
NEXT WEEK: "Going the Distance - Endings and Beginnings Are Very Close."
James Pratt
www.powerthink.com
www.jmpratt.com
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Paul Potts VINCERO; "I Will Win"
New Year's Hope for All Who Will Step on Stage...
Last year an insecure mobile phone warehouseman from Wales stepped onto Simon Cowl's "Britain's Got Talent" stage and stunned the judges, and the audience. If you are not touched in ten seconds by this video, get a heart exam. Listen for the Italian word "Vincero." It means, "I will win [conquer.]"
The point? With all that i s going on in the world, negative reports of economic chaos, and the gut-check on the reality of our world-wide dilemma, there is still room for something more; YOU AND YOUR UNIQUE TALENT...
IF YOU WILL STEP UP TO THE STAGE.
More coming next week: "UPSIDE of the DOWNTURN."
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Last year an insecure mobile phone warehouseman from Wales stepped onto Simon Cowl's "Britain's Got Talent" stage and stunned the judges, and the audience. If you are not touched in ten seconds by this video, get a heart exam. Listen for the Italian word "Vincero." It means, "I will win [conquer.]"
The point? With all that i s going on in the world, negative reports of economic chaos, and the gut-check on the reality of our world-wide dilemma, there is still room for something more; YOU AND YOUR UNIQUE TALENT...
IF YOU WILL STEP UP TO THE STAGE.
More coming next week: "UPSIDE of the DOWNTURN."
James Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Saturday, December 13, 2008
MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS WISH
A Gift for You
During these times of war, confusion, economic chaos, world turmoil, there is hope found in a place you or I can go any time... It is the safety of our heart's most cherished beliefs. Beliefs root and ground us in a foundation that stays firm though the earth moves uncontrollably. Along with pleasant memories of innocence, an inner voice calls to us to "believe" in what Christ's Mass is all about.
I wish I could wave a magic wand for all my friends and family who suffer, or long for just the sweet peace of child-like dreams. If I could I would wave it and make the heartaches and frenetic pace accompanying life in a 21st century world; a world sometimes seeming out of our control, go away.
Amy Grant sings a song I have loved for many years. "My Grown Up Christmas List" which answers the question what I would "wish" for you. It really brings it all home; At the end of the day all I care about is what Amy Grant sings, "MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS LIST."
ALONG WITH THAT WISH I want to offer you a book FOR SHIPPING COST ONLY. It needs to find homes and friends before publishers and distributors will take note, and I hope you may enjoy it along with the cost: FREE with shipping only.
FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS...and friends & family: I wrote a story 6 years ago that is only now in its first few months of birth in paperback form. THE CHRIST REPORT, a story of hope, redemption, love, and return to simple beliefs. Cynical New York television host Sam Robertson, ailing with a broken heart and deeply in love, must help a man from the past if he is to survive one more Christmas; an innkeeper from 2,000 years ago and similarly with a broken heart but for a different reason. Their message? The secrets found in The Christ Report. It isn't in stores yet. But it is available to you for FREE... a limited edition and autographed. All I require is the cost of shipping at the check out of my new website: www.powerthink.com/store. Click on The Christ Report and follow the instructions.
Enter the "Redemption Code" word: CHRISTMAS (in caps.) I'll ship it out immediately.
Please feel free to share with all your friends and family. Books with inspiration-filled messages in a box under the tree are better than in a box in storage...
I will be sharing the "silver lining" in the economic storm clouds all next year... Until then:
May this Christmas be simple, and filled with the warmth of hope, faith, and love!
James
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
During these times of war, confusion, economic chaos, world turmoil, there is hope found in a place you or I can go any time... It is the safety of our heart's most cherished beliefs. Beliefs root and ground us in a foundation that stays firm though the earth moves uncontrollably. Along with pleasant memories of innocence, an inner voice calls to us to "believe" in what Christ's Mass is all about.
I wish I could wave a magic wand for all my friends and family who suffer, or long for just the sweet peace of child-like dreams. If I could I would wave it and make the heartaches and frenetic pace accompanying life in a 21st century world; a world sometimes seeming out of our control, go away.
Amy Grant sings a song I have loved for many years. "My Grown Up Christmas List" which answers the question what I would "wish" for you. It really brings it all home; At the end of the day all I care about is what Amy Grant sings, "MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS LIST."
ALONG WITH THAT WISH I want to offer you a book FOR SHIPPING COST ONLY. It needs to find homes and friends before publishers and distributors will take note, and I hope you may enjoy it along with the cost: FREE with shipping only.
FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS...and friends & family: I wrote a story 6 years ago that is only now in its first few months of birth in paperback form. THE CHRIST REPORT, a story of hope, redemption, love, and return to simple beliefs. Cynical New York television host Sam Robertson, ailing with a broken heart and deeply in love, must help a man from the past if he is to survive one more Christmas; an innkeeper from 2,000 years ago and similarly with a broken heart but for a different reason. Their message? The secrets found in The Christ Report. It isn't in stores yet. But it is available to you for FREE... a limited edition and autographed. All I require is the cost of shipping at the check out of my new website: www.powerthink.com/store. Click on The Christ Report and follow the instructions.
Enter the "Redemption Code" word: CHRISTMAS (in caps.) I'll ship it out immediately.
Please feel free to share with all your friends and family. Books with inspiration-filled messages in a box under the tree are better than in a box in storage...
I will be sharing the "silver lining" in the economic storm clouds all next year... Until then:
May this Christmas be simple, and filled with the warmth of hope, faith, and love!
James
www.jmpratt.com
www.powerthink.com
Monday, December 1, 2008
PROCLAIM LIBERTY...For Christmas
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Leviticus 25:10.
Inscribed upon THE LIBERTY BELL, at its permanent residence in Philadelphia, PA. are those words from Leviticus of the Old Testament. Wise and enduring words which would bring peace to everyone all year around. Speaking of "peace..."
“Christ’s Mass” is upon us. I love this time of year. It is more joy-filled, light-hearted, and giving. I believe the spirit of Christmas is literally a spiritual manifestation from God of how the world could be all the time if we proclaimed His liberty and freedom to all…
The Christmas season is a perfect occasion to rejoice and celebrate the words “freedom” and “liberty.” Most often associated in the average mind with country and independence, the words come from the God of Israel thousands of years before the United States was established as a free nation. When liberty was spoken of by God it had dual meanings:
Personal Liberty: One was the liberty and freedom from the effects of sin and breaking laws through an atoning Redeemer, thus giving us freedom from the burden, weight, and punishment that is a natural consequence of law-breaking. By simply offering “virtue” as a path, God offers “freedom” to any individual who is willing to try his experiment in "liberty."
National Liberty: The other meaning God had in mind is quite literal; that we should offer the same equality within God’s framework of laws to every man, woman and child. By “proclaiming liberty” to act, according to morals and virtue, God expected people to choose leaders of conscience and virtue to ensure personal freedoms were never trampled or denied.
This nation was established by men and women who believed it would take a high degree of individual morals and virtue to “self-govern;” an experiment seldom tried in past history. I will be sharing their written words upon this subject in coming months. Know this; most nations had always been governed by “rulers” who set the “policy,” created the laws, and expected compliance.
Our Founding Fathers offered, “We the People” the governing role through the vote, trusting us to pick wise and morally virtuous people who understood that “self-government” also meant “self-control.” A “balance of power” was also inspired so that no “single person” could be the total “policy” maker or “ruler.”
Without going into today's headlines, allow me to ask:“How much self-control as individuals and as governing parties are you seeing in our nation's leaders today? How much liberty is being established upon tried and true morals and virtue?” The list of national ills and dangers is long but has simple solutions and remedies. (Not simplistic but “simple” as in “reasonable and reliable.”)
US Constitution Coach and American Documents websites:I will be exploring thoughts on new websites being built with some very high powered associates who are fed up with the Constitution of the United States being walked on, disrespected, and generally disregarded as not relevant for today. Our aim is to “enlighten” and guide all, even those who may be sincere in their disagreement with the Founding Father’s vision, as to what “liberty” really means. We will link with other great websites, news sources, and original source documents to give the tools for anyone seeking clarity on what our rights as Americans are, and how to maintain them.
PROCLAIM LIBERTY for Christmas: I will offer you some FREE electronic downloads now and for the next several years as, “We the people” decide to collectively, “Proclaim liberty, throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof."
Please send this gift to all your friends, post comments on this site below, and watch for the new: www.usconstitutioncoach.com.
I will be inviting everyone I know to become a US Constitution Coach. Our country may be on the skids, and our Constitution hanging by a thread, but we have solutions and tools. The solution is “knowledge” rightly applied by "the people." It involves a revolution of virtue, morals, and sound judgement. The tool is the Internet and email connectivity with a willingness to have courage to share. It does not matter what political party or affiliation a person has. Not to me… and it shouldn't matter to you. Liberty from God invokes the sentiments of kindness and love, but it invokes courage too. We may debate issues with others but we must never debate the need for real and lasting LIBERTY.
Will you “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof,” with me? Let’s begin at Christmas and follow up all year long. It doesn't take money. I will give you all the tools needed to learn and share with the hundreds of friends and family members you communicate with. Freely give to them and encourage them to do likewise. We will build a fire that burns as bright as when the Founders first lit it if you accept... I promise.
At the end of the day, "Liberty" is God's call to all of us. What else matters if we can't breathe the exhilarating air of freedom?
Watch for www.usconstitutioncoach.com to go “live” in January. In the meantime, I have FREE offers for you to share with everyone. Offers are found in the “History and Freedom” collection at my website store found at www.powerthink.com. Go there create a “Login Account” and use the code: Constitution (with a capital “C.”) Three documents are FREE with this code:
"US Constitution,” “Federalist Papers,” and “Democracy in America.”
Freedom is a gift to protect. Don't wait to begin to learn and understand how blessed this land has been because of our founding principles. And don't wait to...
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Leviticus 25:10.
James
www.powerthink.com
www.jmpratt.com
Inscribed upon THE LIBERTY BELL, at its permanent residence in Philadelphia, PA. are those words from Leviticus of the Old Testament. Wise and enduring words which would bring peace to everyone all year around. Speaking of "peace..."
“Christ’s Mass” is upon us. I love this time of year. It is more joy-filled, light-hearted, and giving. I believe the spirit of Christmas is literally a spiritual manifestation from God of how the world could be all the time if we proclaimed His liberty and freedom to all…
The Christmas season is a perfect occasion to rejoice and celebrate the words “freedom” and “liberty.” Most often associated in the average mind with country and independence, the words come from the God of Israel thousands of years before the United States was established as a free nation. When liberty was spoken of by God it had dual meanings:
Personal Liberty: One was the liberty and freedom from the effects of sin and breaking laws through an atoning Redeemer, thus giving us freedom from the burden, weight, and punishment that is a natural consequence of law-breaking. By simply offering “virtue” as a path, God offers “freedom” to any individual who is willing to try his experiment in "liberty."
National Liberty: The other meaning God had in mind is quite literal; that we should offer the same equality within God’s framework of laws to every man, woman and child. By “proclaiming liberty” to act, according to morals and virtue, God expected people to choose leaders of conscience and virtue to ensure personal freedoms were never trampled or denied.
This nation was established by men and women who believed it would take a high degree of individual morals and virtue to “self-govern;” an experiment seldom tried in past history. I will be sharing their written words upon this subject in coming months. Know this; most nations had always been governed by “rulers” who set the “policy,” created the laws, and expected compliance.
Our Founding Fathers offered, “We the People” the governing role through the vote, trusting us to pick wise and morally virtuous people who understood that “self-government” also meant “self-control.” A “balance of power” was also inspired so that no “single person” could be the total “policy” maker or “ruler.”
Without going into today's headlines, allow me to ask:“How much self-control as individuals and as governing parties are you seeing in our nation's leaders today? How much liberty is being established upon tried and true morals and virtue?” The list of national ills and dangers is long but has simple solutions and remedies. (Not simplistic but “simple” as in “reasonable and reliable.”)
US Constitution Coach and American Documents websites:I will be exploring thoughts on new websites being built with some very high powered associates who are fed up with the Constitution of the United States being walked on, disrespected, and generally disregarded as not relevant for today. Our aim is to “enlighten” and guide all, even those who may be sincere in their disagreement with the Founding Father’s vision, as to what “liberty” really means. We will link with other great websites, news sources, and original source documents to give the tools for anyone seeking clarity on what our rights as Americans are, and how to maintain them.
PROCLAIM LIBERTY for Christmas: I will offer you some FREE electronic downloads now and for the next several years as, “We the people” decide to collectively, “Proclaim liberty, throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof."
Please send this gift to all your friends, post comments on this site below, and watch for the new: www.usconstitutioncoach.com.
I will be inviting everyone I know to become a US Constitution Coach. Our country may be on the skids, and our Constitution hanging by a thread, but we have solutions and tools. The solution is “knowledge” rightly applied by "the people." It involves a revolution of virtue, morals, and sound judgement. The tool is the Internet and email connectivity with a willingness to have courage to share. It does not matter what political party or affiliation a person has. Not to me… and it shouldn't matter to you. Liberty from God invokes the sentiments of kindness and love, but it invokes courage too. We may debate issues with others but we must never debate the need for real and lasting LIBERTY.
Will you “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof,” with me? Let’s begin at Christmas and follow up all year long. It doesn't take money. I will give you all the tools needed to learn and share with the hundreds of friends and family members you communicate with. Freely give to them and encourage them to do likewise. We will build a fire that burns as bright as when the Founders first lit it if you accept... I promise.
At the end of the day, "Liberty" is God's call to all of us. What else matters if we can't breathe the exhilarating air of freedom?
Watch for www.usconstitutioncoach.com to go “live” in January. In the meantime, I have FREE offers for you to share with everyone. Offers are found in the “History and Freedom” collection at my website store found at www.powerthink.com. Go there create a “Login Account” and use the code: Constitution (with a capital “C.”) Three documents are FREE with this code:
"US Constitution,” “Federalist Papers,” and “Democracy in America.”
Freedom is a gift to protect. Don't wait to begin to learn and understand how blessed this land has been because of our founding principles. And don't wait to...
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Leviticus 25:10.
James
www.powerthink.com
www.jmpratt.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
100 YEARS TO LIVE
THANKS and GRATITUDE for Life & "The Battle for Everything"
Having Thanksgiving and Christmas within 30 days gives us all time to pause, take a breather and an inventory of our lives. It is a time for reflection, family, friends, God, and giving. We are allowed to relax, and just “be” whoever we are at this time of our life.
I miss a lot about friends and family gone on; gone at 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 33, 40, 45, 50… and beyond. I find myself considering that I will join them in God’s time, and reflective of what everyone living and passed on have meant to me. I consider the smiling faces of the departed, the reunion and “abrazos” for my brothers and sisters, the sweetness of arms around parents, and my heart fills with love and gratitude.
I am looking over my shoulder and living with the end in mind in moments like these; considering all the years gone by. I have become my father, and am very aware how “time flies.” I believe living with “the end in mind” is healthy. It argues the necessity for being “grateful” and causes one to pause and consider his ways when making decisions that have meaning for self and others.
Suddenly “having it all” takes second place to “having you all” in my life; and being who I was born to be.
We are still breathing if reading this, we are probably eating enough, and have a warm place to sleep. There is a lot to be grateful for, (even in scary and tough times for so many) especially if you have lived abroad in a third world or under-developed nation for any time at all. I think about just what we have as Americans...too much here to list in the "gratitude" department but I am especially mindful of those who, in their youth, died in wars, and the living who fought for ideals and their American comrades... I can't tell you how deeply I am touched by heroism and love that men and women freely show in laying everything that matters to them at the altar of freedom.
The American experience is 221 years old since the Constitution had its first birthday. I am 55. That means I have lived 1/4th of our nation’s history. If you are reading this and half my age, I have some good advice. So write me... Or just keep reading my blogs. I promise to be clear and won’t let you down. With all the chaos going on right now, just know America is always well, and will rise above financial, moral, or political chaos, if the dream of goodness, honor, and freedom remains bright in the hearts of its citizens. I believe the dream still does...
The Battle for Everything: If you are over 25, you are getting on into serious life and seeing that life can seem, at times, a “battle for everything;” the trials, loses, and accompanying emotions you experience will make you reevaluate values and beliefs. But, during the struggle there are moments of clarity; exhilaration, friendships, love, is when the bitter past accentuates the “sweet” joys of the present. Gratitude, a smile on the face, and the knowledge that all is not lost is the result. Hard times do not last forever, and broken hearts get compensating relief along the way. Having survived means more, and so does life...
I write tearjerkers; so I am told. I am reminded by Emerson how that really works: “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” Emotion, even hard times, allows us to grow and consider what matters most as time so blithely moves on in this modern world of life tugging at us at light speed.
Once in awhile a popular tune really grabs me and speaks of a common theme we all experience. One by the group “Five for Fighting” is filled with sweetness, reflection, and speaks a fundamental truth about how fleeting life is. I wanted to share the lyrics with you as I look back with gratitude for every blessing, for being American, for making it through the many life-struggles, and having hope to continue to make a difference with my, “100 Years to Live.”
“100 Years to Live” from the album, Battle For Everything
I'm 15 for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20 and I'm just dreaming… Counting the ways to where you are.
I'm 22 for a moment, she feels better than ever and we're on fire, making our way back from Mars.
15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose. 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live…
I'm 33 for a moment, still the man but you see I'm a “they…” a kid on the way, a family on my mind.
I'm 45 for a moment, the sea is high and I'm heading into a crisis, chasing the years of my life.
15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star. 15 I'm all right with you. 15… there's never a wish better than this, when you only got 100 years to live.
Half time goes by, suddenly you’re wise, another blink of an eye, 67 is gone. The sun is getting high, we're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment, dying for just another moment and I'm just dreaming… Counting the ways to where you are…
15, there's still time for you, 22 I feel her too, 33 you’re on your way… Every day's a new day... 15 there's still time for you…
Time to buy and time to choose, hey 15, there's never a wish better than this; when you only got 100 years to live.
Group -Five for Fighting
May you feel God's love and enjoy a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! JMP
FREE ebooks: Go to my website: create an account at my store. Don’t need to buy anything. Test drive the FREE ebook downloads for your computer found in the “History and Freedom” section. They are: US Constitution, Democracy in America, Federalist Papers.
REDEMPTION CODE: Constitution. (with upper case "C.") Go to www.powerthink.com/store
Having Thanksgiving and Christmas within 30 days gives us all time to pause, take a breather and an inventory of our lives. It is a time for reflection, family, friends, God, and giving. We are allowed to relax, and just “be” whoever we are at this time of our life.
I miss a lot about friends and family gone on; gone at 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 33, 40, 45, 50… and beyond. I find myself considering that I will join them in God’s time, and reflective of what everyone living and passed on have meant to me. I consider the smiling faces of the departed, the reunion and “abrazos” for my brothers and sisters, the sweetness of arms around parents, and my heart fills with love and gratitude.
I am looking over my shoulder and living with the end in mind in moments like these; considering all the years gone by. I have become my father, and am very aware how “time flies.” I believe living with “the end in mind” is healthy. It argues the necessity for being “grateful” and causes one to pause and consider his ways when making decisions that have meaning for self and others.
Suddenly “having it all” takes second place to “having you all” in my life; and being who I was born to be.
We are still breathing if reading this, we are probably eating enough, and have a warm place to sleep. There is a lot to be grateful for, (even in scary and tough times for so many) especially if you have lived abroad in a third world or under-developed nation for any time at all. I think about just what we have as Americans...too much here to list in the "gratitude" department but I am especially mindful of those who, in their youth, died in wars, and the living who fought for ideals and their American comrades... I can't tell you how deeply I am touched by heroism and love that men and women freely show in laying everything that matters to them at the altar of freedom.
The American experience is 221 years old since the Constitution had its first birthday. I am 55. That means I have lived 1/4th of our nation’s history. If you are reading this and half my age, I have some good advice. So write me... Or just keep reading my blogs. I promise to be clear and won’t let you down. With all the chaos going on right now, just know America is always well, and will rise above financial, moral, or political chaos, if the dream of goodness, honor, and freedom remains bright in the hearts of its citizens. I believe the dream still does...
The Battle for Everything: If you are over 25, you are getting on into serious life and seeing that life can seem, at times, a “battle for everything;” the trials, loses, and accompanying emotions you experience will make you reevaluate values and beliefs. But, during the struggle there are moments of clarity; exhilaration, friendships, love, is when the bitter past accentuates the “sweet” joys of the present. Gratitude, a smile on the face, and the knowledge that all is not lost is the result. Hard times do not last forever, and broken hearts get compensating relief along the way. Having survived means more, and so does life...
I write tearjerkers; so I am told. I am reminded by Emerson how that really works: “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” Emotion, even hard times, allows us to grow and consider what matters most as time so blithely moves on in this modern world of life tugging at us at light speed.
Once in awhile a popular tune really grabs me and speaks of a common theme we all experience. One by the group “Five for Fighting” is filled with sweetness, reflection, and speaks a fundamental truth about how fleeting life is. I wanted to share the lyrics with you as I look back with gratitude for every blessing, for being American, for making it through the many life-struggles, and having hope to continue to make a difference with my, “100 Years to Live.”
“100 Years to Live” from the album, Battle For Everything
I'm 15 for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20 and I'm just dreaming… Counting the ways to where you are.
I'm 22 for a moment, she feels better than ever and we're on fire, making our way back from Mars.
15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose. 15, there's never a wish better than this When you only got 100 years to live…
I'm 33 for a moment, still the man but you see I'm a “they…” a kid on the way, a family on my mind.
I'm 45 for a moment, the sea is high and I'm heading into a crisis, chasing the years of my life.
15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star. 15 I'm all right with you. 15… there's never a wish better than this, when you only got 100 years to live.
Half time goes by, suddenly you’re wise, another blink of an eye, 67 is gone. The sun is getting high, we're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment, dying for just another moment and I'm just dreaming… Counting the ways to where you are…
15, there's still time for you, 22 I feel her too, 33 you’re on your way… Every day's a new day... 15 there's still time for you…
Time to buy and time to choose, hey 15, there's never a wish better than this; when you only got 100 years to live.
Group -Five for Fighting
May you feel God's love and enjoy a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! JMP
FREE ebooks: Go to my website: create an account at my store. Don’t need to buy anything. Test drive the FREE ebook downloads for your computer found in the “History and Freedom” section. They are: US Constitution, Democracy in America, Federalist Papers.
REDEMPTION CODE: Constitution. (with upper case "C.") Go to www.powerthink.com/store
Sunday, November 16, 2008
HEART and MIND in TOUGH TIMES
AS A MAN THINKETH…In His Heart
Thoughts are things: For 37 years now I have kept a copy of James Allen’s 1902 opus, As a Man Thinketh upon my desk or near it to remind me, “thoughts are things.” The basic premise is this: “We become what we think about. Therefore cultivate thoughts carefully. You will get out what you put in and it will reveal itself in circumstance.” Who can argue that?
Yet argue we do: As “human beings” we are constantly in an argument with our “human becomings.” Passions, desires, worldly distractions often drown a natural child-like voice of the inner man and woman calling to us to “become” something greater than we find our self “being.” The tough part is discipline of the thoughts we allow to just "hang out" in our brain. We habituate thought patterns of worry, and so we naturally "worry" about things we may or may not have control over. We caress the dominant thoughts of unbridled passion, and naturally careless passion manifests itself bringing heartache after the pleasure. We focus upon what politicos have in the way of control over us, and we are dominated by the politicians, our anger, resentment and feelings of helplessness.
We must simply take control of thought so that thought's negative offspring; our actions and circumstance, do not control us. In times such as these, and which are sure to come, we can ill afford "lack of control" and be at the mercy of circumstances thrust upon us.
To simplify, I often tell my kids: "Think good, get good. Think bad, get bad." It is essential to understand that thought is the birthplace of all "action" or "inaction." I add, when giving the good-bye lecture: "Life is already hard enough. Make good choices. They begin here," I'll say as I point to my heart.
SO, what's the answer to control and "thinking good to get good?" Part of the answer lies with the heart, but first...
Back to Basics After a National Election filled with High Passion: I won't stop writing on my feelings for American freedoms I hold dear, just will do it at a different blog location, soon be announced. Politics really isn’t religion and politicians really do not wield God’s power. The faith we practice is one we discover along the way and determine to obey, even formalize with a religious membership in a church. Our church is not the “state” and our God is not a man living in the White House.
May I suggest? Let’s take a step back from all the raucousness of politics and economy to examine the inner man or woman. No one (but politicians) ever promised a smooth road to financial and other securities in life. Even God said to Adam, "By the sweat of thy brow, shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life..." and "Thorns and thistles and noxious weeds shall I plant to afflict and torment man..."
We shall suffer some “equity” losses during life as we go through the storms. Thursday night last, thousands of Southern Californians from the area where I spent most of my life growing up and working, enjoyed sleep in homes that were suddenly and ruthlessly destroyed Friday night. To count, some 800 homes were totally and quickly destroyed from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles suburbs; rich to the poorest, just as certain as a fire-bombing experienced in World War Two European cities wiped out homes and thousands of lives in hours.
Lifestyles were changed immediately. Inner fortitude will carry the day with many, others will suffer almost fatal despair. There is no government "bailout" for the emotions, the losses of personal and cherished possessions (journals, heirlooms, photos, letters, other family history.) Life is filled with unwanted tragedy; often when we least expect it.
I know the sting of personal loss and tragedy is real from many tough experiences, and so I hope to suggest some ways to pick oneself back up after the hard blows; after uncontrollable events or controllable choices in life knock the wind out of us.
Economic firestorms: We are in for an interesting ride. Markets are collapsing to be propped up by "bailouts" from those in government boats full of their own holes. (No one talks much about this; government debtors bailing out the debt-ridden; another topic for another day.) I have experienced multiple financial firestorms in my adult life; unwanted, unexpected, and unforeseen wipe-outs. It has built something in me that I cannot give to others; only share and encourage. "It" is this…
As we think in our hearts, we indeed are. The control of mental thought begins with the planting of good ones in the heart. From the heart a man lives. It is from there life-blood flows to every cell of the body. The brain does not live, nor cause life but only upon the mercy and good-will of the beating heart. IF THE HEART WERE TO STOP, it may yet be transplanted to give life to another. Not so with the brain.
Here is what I am suggesting: Be strong at heart. Have a firm resolve what you will think about, how you will think, and what you will control. Plant it deep within your soul, where the heart resides. The brain will obey firm resolve. It seems a simple formula to change thought habits. Though simple, yet the brain won't give in without a fight. The brain habituates easily, never sleeps, constantly begging for attention, stimulation, and more information to process--it can become like a nagging child always wanting more...
The way to modify brain dominance is with core convictions, firmly planted and created like the ancient King of Israel stated: "As a man thinketh...in his heart, so is he."
Life is a journey and not the destination we think it is. Faith to get you through the tough times is something one must want. Along with faith one must desire change. It doesn’t matter which way the winds of life-circumstances outside our control blow; it matters what the heart believes. Having a deep inner-meaning gives purpose to life, desire to change, and credibility to a brain that really doesn't want its "flow" of thought interrupted by new instructions. The answer to credibility, where the brain is concerned, is the heart offering the instructions...
It matters what the mind accepts. It matters “what we want to become” no matter how hard an economy, how bad a relationship is, how tumultuous the experience in body or spirit is; whatever we "think in our heart" will either become our stumbling block or path to final victory.
So how can I share something very hard earned? This is a “book pitch” I guess. Might sound crass, but no margin = no mission. It is about the mission of this gift to me, written with no income and no resources to fall back upon. One of the greatest blessings of my life, and a journey of immense spiritual growth...came as a result of losing everything years before the present financial crisis; which will cause others to experience what I have just passed through. I needed to have the pain to offer some solutions and do my mission in writing. so I share it with you.
Visit my website www.powerthink.com and buy the “2 for 1” of my latest paperback; the advanced reader edition of AS A MAN THINKETH…In His Heart. I want you to go on a journey with me to Ilfracombe, England where I met James Allen, who died in 1912. Go with me to a cottage on “Lamp Hill Lane,” far away from all the noise going on in our world. Stay there for awhile with me and discover “Power Thinking.” Share the free copy with a family member or friend. Spread the word that real "change and hope" is but a "thought in the heart" away...
IF I had not had everything taken away one more time just recently: well, this book would not have been produced. Good can come out of a dark night IF it comes from the heart… Take courage and take heart!
James Michael Pratt
www.powerthink.com
Thoughts are things: For 37 years now I have kept a copy of James Allen’s 1902 opus, As a Man Thinketh upon my desk or near it to remind me, “thoughts are things.” The basic premise is this: “We become what we think about. Therefore cultivate thoughts carefully. You will get out what you put in and it will reveal itself in circumstance.” Who can argue that?
Yet argue we do: As “human beings” we are constantly in an argument with our “human becomings.” Passions, desires, worldly distractions often drown a natural child-like voice of the inner man and woman calling to us to “become” something greater than we find our self “being.” The tough part is discipline of the thoughts we allow to just "hang out" in our brain. We habituate thought patterns of worry, and so we naturally "worry" about things we may or may not have control over. We caress the dominant thoughts of unbridled passion, and naturally careless passion manifests itself bringing heartache after the pleasure. We focus upon what politicos have in the way of control over us, and we are dominated by the politicians, our anger, resentment and feelings of helplessness.
We must simply take control of thought so that thought's negative offspring; our actions and circumstance, do not control us. In times such as these, and which are sure to come, we can ill afford "lack of control" and be at the mercy of circumstances thrust upon us.
To simplify, I often tell my kids: "Think good, get good. Think bad, get bad." It is essential to understand that thought is the birthplace of all "action" or "inaction." I add, when giving the good-bye lecture: "Life is already hard enough. Make good choices. They begin here," I'll say as I point to my heart.
SO, what's the answer to control and "thinking good to get good?" Part of the answer lies with the heart, but first...
Back to Basics After a National Election filled with High Passion: I won't stop writing on my feelings for American freedoms I hold dear, just will do it at a different blog location, soon be announced. Politics really isn’t religion and politicians really do not wield God’s power. The faith we practice is one we discover along the way and determine to obey, even formalize with a religious membership in a church. Our church is not the “state” and our God is not a man living in the White House.
May I suggest? Let’s take a step back from all the raucousness of politics and economy to examine the inner man or woman. No one (but politicians) ever promised a smooth road to financial and other securities in life. Even God said to Adam, "By the sweat of thy brow, shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life..." and "Thorns and thistles and noxious weeds shall I plant to afflict and torment man..."
We shall suffer some “equity” losses during life as we go through the storms. Thursday night last, thousands of Southern Californians from the area where I spent most of my life growing up and working, enjoyed sleep in homes that were suddenly and ruthlessly destroyed Friday night. To count, some 800 homes were totally and quickly destroyed from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles suburbs; rich to the poorest, just as certain as a fire-bombing experienced in World War Two European cities wiped out homes and thousands of lives in hours.
Lifestyles were changed immediately. Inner fortitude will carry the day with many, others will suffer almost fatal despair. There is no government "bailout" for the emotions, the losses of personal and cherished possessions (journals, heirlooms, photos, letters, other family history.) Life is filled with unwanted tragedy; often when we least expect it.
I know the sting of personal loss and tragedy is real from many tough experiences, and so I hope to suggest some ways to pick oneself back up after the hard blows; after uncontrollable events or controllable choices in life knock the wind out of us.
Economic firestorms: We are in for an interesting ride. Markets are collapsing to be propped up by "bailouts" from those in government boats full of their own holes. (No one talks much about this; government debtors bailing out the debt-ridden; another topic for another day.) I have experienced multiple financial firestorms in my adult life; unwanted, unexpected, and unforeseen wipe-outs. It has built something in me that I cannot give to others; only share and encourage. "It" is this…
As we think in our hearts, we indeed are. The control of mental thought begins with the planting of good ones in the heart. From the heart a man lives. It is from there life-blood flows to every cell of the body. The brain does not live, nor cause life but only upon the mercy and good-will of the beating heart. IF THE HEART WERE TO STOP, it may yet be transplanted to give life to another. Not so with the brain.
Here is what I am suggesting: Be strong at heart. Have a firm resolve what you will think about, how you will think, and what you will control. Plant it deep within your soul, where the heart resides. The brain will obey firm resolve. It seems a simple formula to change thought habits. Though simple, yet the brain won't give in without a fight. The brain habituates easily, never sleeps, constantly begging for attention, stimulation, and more information to process--it can become like a nagging child always wanting more...
The way to modify brain dominance is with core convictions, firmly planted and created like the ancient King of Israel stated: "As a man thinketh...in his heart, so is he."
Life is a journey and not the destination we think it is. Faith to get you through the tough times is something one must want. Along with faith one must desire change. It doesn’t matter which way the winds of life-circumstances outside our control blow; it matters what the heart believes. Having a deep inner-meaning gives purpose to life, desire to change, and credibility to a brain that really doesn't want its "flow" of thought interrupted by new instructions. The answer to credibility, where the brain is concerned, is the heart offering the instructions...
It matters what the mind accepts. It matters “what we want to become” no matter how hard an economy, how bad a relationship is, how tumultuous the experience in body or spirit is; whatever we "think in our heart" will either become our stumbling block or path to final victory.
So how can I share something very hard earned? This is a “book pitch” I guess. Might sound crass, but no margin = no mission. It is about the mission of this gift to me, written with no income and no resources to fall back upon. One of the greatest blessings of my life, and a journey of immense spiritual growth...came as a result of losing everything years before the present financial crisis; which will cause others to experience what I have just passed through. I needed to have the pain to offer some solutions and do my mission in writing. so I share it with you.
Visit my website www.powerthink.com and buy the “2 for 1” of my latest paperback; the advanced reader edition of AS A MAN THINKETH…In His Heart. I want you to go on a journey with me to Ilfracombe, England where I met James Allen, who died in 1912. Go with me to a cottage on “Lamp Hill Lane,” far away from all the noise going on in our world. Stay there for awhile with me and discover “Power Thinking.” Share the free copy with a family member or friend. Spread the word that real "change and hope" is but a "thought in the heart" away...
IF I had not had everything taken away one more time just recently: well, this book would not have been produced. Good can come out of a dark night IF it comes from the heart… Take courage and take heart!
James Michael Pratt
www.powerthink.com
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
TRADITION, AMERICA, VALUES
ELECTION EXPECTATIONS & TRADITIONAL VALUES
My Vote: It’s been one week. I voted against the man who won, and voted for the VP on the ticket of the man who lost. Outside of that I confess to nothing. Goes to show when you can’t be passionate for the leader of your side on fundamentals, how hard it will become for voters to push him to the finish line in to first place.
I wasn’t passionate because I feel the conservative movement is dead. I have a hard time mingling my vote with those who want to “reach out across the aisle” to people who want to cut your hand off. (Not cynicism, just reality) I don’t vote for “compromise.” I, like the liberals who won the election, want to vote for the “win" and the "winner” because we believe in the values he/she stands for. I voted against the other side because I don't believe in their track record or rhetoric. So much for that.
Liberals and Conservatives in America. We need each other. It clarifies things and gives feeling of empowerment when we can state our views. Opposition can be forceful but doesn't need to be nasty. We are empowered through the vote. Some of us believe in "change" because we want to get back to fundamentals that have proven reliable, and some want "change" because of a new vision for an old recipe...in spite of the fact those recipes have poor records on rising to their promises.
“Change” has always been the “raison de vivre” for the left and liberals, and often because it is more exciting (less boring) than substance. I believe in action. I love action, but "action for action sake" may take one down a road with a predictable dead end.
Liberals experiment, Conservatives stick with values and virtues that have a proven track record. Liberal ideology seeks to re-invent failed social experiments as if experimenting enough will finally “fix it”; whatever “it” is. A mature person does not believe in “change” for change’s sake; "change” without definition of what that means.
PRESERVING VALUES: I have liberal friends. I have liberal family members. We debate. I just disagree on the direction that will be best for America based upon the past evidence, present circumstances, and probable future if we choose to obey principles that work versus experimentation.
“Conservative” comes from the word “conservation,” which means to “preserve.” I prefer to “preserve” American values, not ‘re-create.’
Not guessing: It really isn’t a guess on my part when I make these statements. History is in on socialism, for example. It hasn’t worked well. It stifles creativity, kills dreams, not to mention people. Tyrants and autocrats have failed somewhere near 100% when they employed it, and democracies have fared no better. The reason is simple. Government becoming the “Super Nanny” dehumanizes the individual; taking over personal responsibility, the traditional role of religion, and even family, to create utopia. And the kicker? It actually takes money to do this. You really want to invest? The cultural elites who back this stuff never feel the pain of the people who suffer from the stuff. They look out for each other. So...
Where does the money come from? Not a money tree. It comes from taxes which, deducts, takes away, robs, incentives from private business--the engine builders of economy, killing job growth, which jobs pay our bills until killed by over-regulation and high taxation, which puts the citizenry in a position of asking the government for a pay-check, which gives the socialist government the power they seek, until there is no more money and the people revolt...etc., etc. Let's list all the great socialist governments whose citizens controlled by fear and guns finally gave up on the Marxist dream and bolted to capitalism:
Former Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Chechslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,...to name a few. Let's ask those who remember the post WWII 45 years of socialist repression, "IF" we should adopt even 1 percent what they went through... You know what the answer will be. The Berlin Wall fell and the truth of socialist glory was exposed. Present day socialists long for that kind of lost power, believing it just wasn't done right.
Successful Socialism? Socialism can’t be invented to work successfully unless success is defined by some low-level economic equalizing of all incomes and living standards.
>Think “gray apartment buildings.”
>Think “trash heaps.”
>Think no heating, poor sanitation.
>Think long lines for doctor's visits, dying from illness unnecessarily.
>Think food, gasoline, medicine, water, "rationing."
>Think third world countries...
I'm not kidding. I’ve seen it, and I’ve lived in it. I am NOT guessing about the results. Should we just keep trying until it does work?
So until something else becomes clearly preferable to that which really has worked, I feel strongly about “traditional values” being the ongoing answer for America. That means “equal rights” for all to succeed, fail, have a voice, vote as they please, and live the ideal life they choose. The evidence is clear that it has worked. It has built a beacon of hope and prosperity unlike any country or empire that ever existed in human history. And all this in 230 years.
Traditional Values and America: In 230 years versus the previous 5,000 years of recorded history, we have gone from handcarts to space travel, from letters to email, from speed of oil lamp to “speed of light” in all areas of endeavors. The founders of our country believed in economy, no debt, progress, individual improvement, freedom of speech, freedom from state religion, freedom to explore, grow, live and breathe the exhilarating air of progress where men and women choose their leaders; where we govern the governors.
I am a “traditional All-American” who believes in the values of the Founding Fathers, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and especially appreciate that we can have opposing views. Opposing views, like market-place competition vs. regulated commerce, clarifies things, helps us formulate opinion and action. Finally...
HIGH EXPECTATIONS. There are high expectations, set by the Presidential election. The winner has promoted “change we need” and “hope,” and promised in his victory speech “We will get there…” Wherever “there” is. I have chills up and down my spine, but not for the reason the immature who buy empty rhetoric as facts may be feeling.
One thing is sure. The higher the bar is set, the higher the expectation and the harder to satisfy those who buy-in to the dream. We are already half-way to full socialism. Will the promoters of "change" be able to fulfill the promises of "hope?" New national leadership can’t fall far for those of us who don't understand the rhetoric of non-defined change, and yet do understand dead-end hope-filled infatuation with a promised and coming socialized culture.
We accept his win though. We do not expect him to change things for the better unless he can formulate and articulate an actual reason and plan with substance, that departs from the present and past policies of failure. We hope he will govern with wisdom and intelligence and not as his chief strategist Ms. Jarrett said he would on a weekend talk-show; that he would,"...be ready to rule from day one."
For a FREE COPY of the US Constitution for your computer, go to my website www.powerthink.com/store and choose the History and Freedom category. Select US Constitution, Democracy in America, or The Federalist Papers (all three are available for free) and go through "check out." You will supply a "Redemption Code" when prompted. The code is: Constitution. (Be sure to upper-case 'C' - it is case sensitive.) Please feel free to share with others.
More coming on AMERICAN VALUES...
James Pratt
My Vote: It’s been one week. I voted against the man who won, and voted for the VP on the ticket of the man who lost. Outside of that I confess to nothing. Goes to show when you can’t be passionate for the leader of your side on fundamentals, how hard it will become for voters to push him to the finish line in to first place.
I wasn’t passionate because I feel the conservative movement is dead. I have a hard time mingling my vote with those who want to “reach out across the aisle” to people who want to cut your hand off. (Not cynicism, just reality) I don’t vote for “compromise.” I, like the liberals who won the election, want to vote for the “win" and the "winner” because we believe in the values he/she stands for. I voted against the other side because I don't believe in their track record or rhetoric. So much for that.
Liberals and Conservatives in America. We need each other. It clarifies things and gives feeling of empowerment when we can state our views. Opposition can be forceful but doesn't need to be nasty. We are empowered through the vote. Some of us believe in "change" because we want to get back to fundamentals that have proven reliable, and some want "change" because of a new vision for an old recipe...in spite of the fact those recipes have poor records on rising to their promises.
“Change” has always been the “raison de vivre” for the left and liberals, and often because it is more exciting (less boring) than substance. I believe in action. I love action, but "action for action sake" may take one down a road with a predictable dead end.
Liberals experiment, Conservatives stick with values and virtues that have a proven track record. Liberal ideology seeks to re-invent failed social experiments as if experimenting enough will finally “fix it”; whatever “it” is. A mature person does not believe in “change” for change’s sake; "change” without definition of what that means.
PRESERVING VALUES: I have liberal friends. I have liberal family members. We debate. I just disagree on the direction that will be best for America based upon the past evidence, present circumstances, and probable future if we choose to obey principles that work versus experimentation.
“Conservative” comes from the word “conservation,” which means to “preserve.” I prefer to “preserve” American values, not ‘re-create.’
Not guessing: It really isn’t a guess on my part when I make these statements. History is in on socialism, for example. It hasn’t worked well. It stifles creativity, kills dreams, not to mention people. Tyrants and autocrats have failed somewhere near 100% when they employed it, and democracies have fared no better. The reason is simple. Government becoming the “Super Nanny” dehumanizes the individual; taking over personal responsibility, the traditional role of religion, and even family, to create utopia. And the kicker? It actually takes money to do this. You really want to invest? The cultural elites who back this stuff never feel the pain of the people who suffer from the stuff. They look out for each other. So...
Where does the money come from? Not a money tree. It comes from taxes which, deducts, takes away, robs, incentives from private business--the engine builders of economy, killing job growth, which jobs pay our bills until killed by over-regulation and high taxation, which puts the citizenry in a position of asking the government for a pay-check, which gives the socialist government the power they seek, until there is no more money and the people revolt...etc., etc. Let's list all the great socialist governments whose citizens controlled by fear and guns finally gave up on the Marxist dream and bolted to capitalism:
Former Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Chechslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,...to name a few. Let's ask those who remember the post WWII 45 years of socialist repression, "IF" we should adopt even 1 percent what they went through... You know what the answer will be. The Berlin Wall fell and the truth of socialist glory was exposed. Present day socialists long for that kind of lost power, believing it just wasn't done right.
Successful Socialism? Socialism can’t be invented to work successfully unless success is defined by some low-level economic equalizing of all incomes and living standards.
>Think “gray apartment buildings.”
>Think “trash heaps.”
>Think no heating, poor sanitation.
>Think long lines for doctor's visits, dying from illness unnecessarily.
>Think food, gasoline, medicine, water, "rationing."
>Think third world countries...
I'm not kidding. I’ve seen it, and I’ve lived in it. I am NOT guessing about the results. Should we just keep trying until it does work?
So until something else becomes clearly preferable to that which really has worked, I feel strongly about “traditional values” being the ongoing answer for America. That means “equal rights” for all to succeed, fail, have a voice, vote as they please, and live the ideal life they choose. The evidence is clear that it has worked. It has built a beacon of hope and prosperity unlike any country or empire that ever existed in human history. And all this in 230 years.
Traditional Values and America: In 230 years versus the previous 5,000 years of recorded history, we have gone from handcarts to space travel, from letters to email, from speed of oil lamp to “speed of light” in all areas of endeavors. The founders of our country believed in economy, no debt, progress, individual improvement, freedom of speech, freedom from state religion, freedom to explore, grow, live and breathe the exhilarating air of progress where men and women choose their leaders; where we govern the governors.
I am a “traditional All-American” who believes in the values of the Founding Fathers, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and especially appreciate that we can have opposing views. Opposing views, like market-place competition vs. regulated commerce, clarifies things, helps us formulate opinion and action. Finally...
HIGH EXPECTATIONS. There are high expectations, set by the Presidential election. The winner has promoted “change we need” and “hope,” and promised in his victory speech “We will get there…” Wherever “there” is. I have chills up and down my spine, but not for the reason the immature who buy empty rhetoric as facts may be feeling.
One thing is sure. The higher the bar is set, the higher the expectation and the harder to satisfy those who buy-in to the dream. We are already half-way to full socialism. Will the promoters of "change" be able to fulfill the promises of "hope?" New national leadership can’t fall far for those of us who don't understand the rhetoric of non-defined change, and yet do understand dead-end hope-filled infatuation with a promised and coming socialized culture.
We accept his win though. We do not expect him to change things for the better unless he can formulate and articulate an actual reason and plan with substance, that departs from the present and past policies of failure. We hope he will govern with wisdom and intelligence and not as his chief strategist Ms. Jarrett said he would on a weekend talk-show; that he would,"...be ready to rule from day one."
For a FREE COPY of the US Constitution for your computer, go to my website www.powerthink.com/store and choose the History and Freedom category. Select US Constitution, Democracy in America, or The Federalist Papers (all three are available for free) and go through "check out." You will supply a "Redemption Code" when prompted. The code is: Constitution. (Be sure to upper-case 'C' - it is case sensitive.) Please feel free to share with others.
More coming on AMERICAN VALUES...
James Pratt
Saturday, November 1, 2008
SUPER POWERs & WHO WE TRUST
SUPER POWERS, POLITICOS and ELECTIONS
The political machines of two dominate parties in high gear, we are days from electing our "future." The candidates are all making promises, thick enough if spread beneath their feet over the average lake in your neck of the woods, they could literally walk on water. Politicians are asking for power and would have you and I trust them. They offer “God bless America,” just enough to make you feel they really mean it. Some do, of course. But that’s not the point.
Much is made of the United States, Russia, and China as “Super Powers.” The difference lies in which country honors the real “Super Power.” Other countries such as Iran, North Korea, seek weapons in order to “join the club.” “Joining the club” of political Super Powers through political and military might isn’t the way it works. It's about people, their will, and what they grant in the way of power that makes a nation great.
The point is this. The people of a nation must govern their leaders and insure that those elected officials remember who is the REAL Super Power. When that check and balance of people governing elected officials, and God acknowledged in public and private freely, along with freedoms established by a Constitution guaranteeing such rights, the term “Super Power” begins to have real muscle.
It’s simple really. The United States of America was the only place on earth, when first established, where the RIGHT to worship God according to the individual dictates of the conscious was a primary protection. The founders, including my ancestor Lt. William Pratt who settled in Massachusetts and then Connecticut in the 1640's, came to this land for religious and economic reasons; in a word "Freedom."
Every other country on the planet was either secular in nature or ruled by a strong central figure coupled with a “State” authorized religion. Belief in “super powers” was often highly controlled. Not much has changed unless…
You consider the great debates resulting in the Constitutional Convention (1787) and the resulting document deemed sacred to Americans for over 200 years. Every time I look at a US minted coin and see, “In God we trust…” I hear a prophetic Isaiah of Israel (Isa. 42:1-3) who must have foreseen our day. We know what happens when faith is persecuted and prosecuted. My paternal ancestors fled England in search of “Freedom of Faith” – to be who they wanted to be, worship as they wanted to worship, build a society in the fashion of their ideals based upon individual effort in collaboration with others of the same desire.
More moral freedom always encourages personal and community growth and greatness. Openness to faith and the promotion of the moral compass inherently found in faith creates not only individual character, but the character of an entire nation; resulting in “Super Power” status.
Mantras of Change: Beware of those who find it necessary to change a successful formula, or tweak it with ideals and social experimenting that has a track record of failure and oppression. All one needs to know is found in the reading of history, and where failure is concerned, a study of political change in the 20th Century.
Take God out of the ‘Super Power” and you have a hollow inside with an outer shell of bellicose rhetoric, some angry men and women guiding a nation on their own, mixed with intercontinental ballistic missiles, and self-worshipping ego-centric “follow me” attitudes the size of the title “Super Power.”
The Autocrats: Chairman Maos, the Castros, the Stalins, Hitlers, Pol Pots, dictators small and large come and go. While tens of millions have died under their power faith lives, and their memory is one of contempt. Heaven forbid we ever elect one...
China, Russia, and other supposed “Super Powers” will never rise to the level of greatness that their people as individuals aspire to until they learn the lesson of faith in a power beyond themselves, and power beyond theirs to control. As long as the human spirit yearns for faith, the bands of political control may never contain it.
To remain a SUPER POWER we in the United States must rule the leaders. We grant them the “power” to manage the greatest nation ever conceived in mortal history. The sacred document organizing our United States was agonized over by a group of wise men who began their deliberations with prayer each day during the summer of 1787. The Founding Fathers looking beyond their day and into ours, knew that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If we get back to the genius inspired principles of balance of power, free market economics, (Adam Smith, author Wealth of Nations, was the Founder's hero...available at my website www.powerthink.com)along with freedoms of faith and others guaranteed by their concensus in the US Constitution, our position as a people and a country will remain blessed and secure.
“In God We Trust” and “God Bless America” are located on coinage and through the written and spoken word. To the degree they are genuine and heartfelt we will remain a free nation and Super Power.
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
The political machines of two dominate parties in high gear, we are days from electing our "future." The candidates are all making promises, thick enough if spread beneath their feet over the average lake in your neck of the woods, they could literally walk on water. Politicians are asking for power and would have you and I trust them. They offer “God bless America,” just enough to make you feel they really mean it. Some do, of course. But that’s not the point.
Much is made of the United States, Russia, and China as “Super Powers.” The difference lies in which country honors the real “Super Power.” Other countries such as Iran, North Korea, seek weapons in order to “join the club.” “Joining the club” of political Super Powers through political and military might isn’t the way it works. It's about people, their will, and what they grant in the way of power that makes a nation great.
The point is this. The people of a nation must govern their leaders and insure that those elected officials remember who is the REAL Super Power. When that check and balance of people governing elected officials, and God acknowledged in public and private freely, along with freedoms established by a Constitution guaranteeing such rights, the term “Super Power” begins to have real muscle.
It’s simple really. The United States of America was the only place on earth, when first established, where the RIGHT to worship God according to the individual dictates of the conscious was a primary protection. The founders, including my ancestor Lt. William Pratt who settled in Massachusetts and then Connecticut in the 1640's, came to this land for religious and economic reasons; in a word "Freedom."
Every other country on the planet was either secular in nature or ruled by a strong central figure coupled with a “State” authorized religion. Belief in “super powers” was often highly controlled. Not much has changed unless…
You consider the great debates resulting in the Constitutional Convention (1787) and the resulting document deemed sacred to Americans for over 200 years. Every time I look at a US minted coin and see, “In God we trust…” I hear a prophetic Isaiah of Israel (Isa. 42:1-3) who must have foreseen our day. We know what happens when faith is persecuted and prosecuted. My paternal ancestors fled England in search of “Freedom of Faith” – to be who they wanted to be, worship as they wanted to worship, build a society in the fashion of their ideals based upon individual effort in collaboration with others of the same desire.
More moral freedom always encourages personal and community growth and greatness. Openness to faith and the promotion of the moral compass inherently found in faith creates not only individual character, but the character of an entire nation; resulting in “Super Power” status.
Mantras of Change: Beware of those who find it necessary to change a successful formula, or tweak it with ideals and social experimenting that has a track record of failure and oppression. All one needs to know is found in the reading of history, and where failure is concerned, a study of political change in the 20th Century.
Take God out of the ‘Super Power” and you have a hollow inside with an outer shell of bellicose rhetoric, some angry men and women guiding a nation on their own, mixed with intercontinental ballistic missiles, and self-worshipping ego-centric “follow me” attitudes the size of the title “Super Power.”
The Autocrats: Chairman Maos, the Castros, the Stalins, Hitlers, Pol Pots, dictators small and large come and go. While tens of millions have died under their power faith lives, and their memory is one of contempt. Heaven forbid we ever elect one...
China, Russia, and other supposed “Super Powers” will never rise to the level of greatness that their people as individuals aspire to until they learn the lesson of faith in a power beyond themselves, and power beyond theirs to control. As long as the human spirit yearns for faith, the bands of political control may never contain it.
To remain a SUPER POWER we in the United States must rule the leaders. We grant them the “power” to manage the greatest nation ever conceived in mortal history. The sacred document organizing our United States was agonized over by a group of wise men who began their deliberations with prayer each day during the summer of 1787. The Founding Fathers looking beyond their day and into ours, knew that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If we get back to the genius inspired principles of balance of power, free market economics, (Adam Smith, author Wealth of Nations, was the Founder's hero...available at my website www.powerthink.com)along with freedoms of faith and others guaranteed by their concensus in the US Constitution, our position as a people and a country will remain blessed and secure.
“In God We Trust” and “God Bless America” are located on coinage and through the written and spoken word. To the degree they are genuine and heartfelt we will remain a free nation and Super Power.
James Michael Pratt
www.jmpratt.com
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