Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Friday, August 28, 2009
NOTE to READERS: You may wish to "start at the end" - in other words with the first blog way down the list. The blogs have information that "builds" from simpler to more complex in many cases, so the top one is the latest one. Make sense? Thanks for reading!
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For us Type A people - and notice I said "us" - we need to focus on "Be the music, not the conductor." more often.
Sure we have to be "in control" to get things done, but when we habitually slip into it so it is approacing 100% of our waking hours, maybe we need to remember to "be the music" to balance it out.
After all, why be conducting for something you never get to be???
Love to all,
Doctor Zest
www.DoctorZest.com for many FREE articles that will help when you need it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For us Type A people - and notice I said "us" - we need to focus on "Be the music, not the conductor." more often.
Sure we have to be "in control" to get things done, but when we habitually slip into it so it is approacing 100% of our waking hours, maybe we need to remember to "be the music" to balance it out.
After all, why be conducting for something you never get to be???
Love to all,
Doctor Zest
www.DoctorZest.com for many FREE articles that will help when you need it.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Perfectionist Grandfather
NOTE to READERS: You may wish to "start at the end" - in other words with the first blog way down the list. The blogs have information that "builds" from simpler to more complex in many cases, so the top one is the latest one. Make sense? Thanks for reading!
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My grandfather was a German truck patch farmer all the years I knew him. I guess at one point he had his own painting business. "I never worked for anyone except myself. Except when I went to fight the Kaiser in 1915. I worked for Uncle Sam for three years, but other than that, I worked for and by myself." Truth be known? No one would put up with him! Uncle Sam had to, but when free people were given a choice any other job looked good.
Grandpa would have had to be the worst co-worker or employee anyone ever had, for the five minutes it lasted. Five minutes tops--I don't want to exaggerate. Why was he so difficult? Back then, we would just have said he was a nasty old son of a bitch. Today, we would say he was a perfectionist. Either is SO true!
As a kid I stayed on the farm in the Summers. (I thought all kids did!) The truth was my Mom and one of her husbands were both working and they did not want to leave me home alone. (Social workers had tried to take me away once before, so they knew better than to try that again.)
Working with Bill Roedel was scary. You never knew when he would "fly off the handle." It almost always came as a shock when he did. After a few "near fatal" episodes you noticed the quivering lip. That was the sign to quickly get silent and as invisible as possible. And that was hard for a talkative guy like me. (Still is ;-) But he was my consistent male role model. His expression was "Don't explain. Don't complain." Yet, Bill Roedel was, without a doubt, the biggest complainer I ever met. Nothing was ever right. Nothing. I cannot tell you how many times he would get pissed off at the radio and storm out of the house, walking down the farm lane to cool off, hands clasped behind his back, muttering about how stupid Harry Truman still was. My Grandfather believed that Harry should have let MacArthur "take China" as he was poised to do when Harry said, "Get your ass home, Mac. You have gone off the deep end." And he had! Take China?!?! We barely beat Japan! I guess Mac thought that since we now had "The Bomb" we could just nuke our way to the Caspian Sea.
Well one thing: If MacArthur had had his way all those products would say "Made in USA" now!
He also would throw his coffee cup when on the porch. It was a heavy ironstone cup with a little bouquet of roses and some green leaves on it, as I recall. I retrieved it several times until Grandma warned me off. "Just leave it there, Tony. He should have to get it himself if he wants any coffee."
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My grandfather was a German truck patch farmer all the years I knew him. I guess at one point he had his own painting business. "I never worked for anyone except myself. Except when I went to fight the Kaiser in 1915. I worked for Uncle Sam for three years, but other than that, I worked for and by myself." Truth be known? No one would put up with him! Uncle Sam had to, but when free people were given a choice any other job looked good.
Grandpa would have had to be the worst co-worker or employee anyone ever had, for the five minutes it lasted. Five minutes tops--I don't want to exaggerate. Why was he so difficult? Back then, we would just have said he was a nasty old son of a bitch. Today, we would say he was a perfectionist. Either is SO true!
As a kid I stayed on the farm in the Summers. (I thought all kids did!) The truth was my Mom and one of her husbands were both working and they did not want to leave me home alone. (Social workers had tried to take me away once before, so they knew better than to try that again.)
Working with Bill Roedel was scary. You never knew when he would "fly off the handle." It almost always came as a shock when he did. After a few "near fatal" episodes you noticed the quivering lip. That was the sign to quickly get silent and as invisible as possible. And that was hard for a talkative guy like me. (Still is ;-) But he was my consistent male role model. His expression was "Don't explain. Don't complain." Yet, Bill Roedel was, without a doubt, the biggest complainer I ever met. Nothing was ever right. Nothing. I cannot tell you how many times he would get pissed off at the radio and storm out of the house, walking down the farm lane to cool off, hands clasped behind his back, muttering about how stupid Harry Truman still was. My Grandfather believed that Harry should have let MacArthur "take China" as he was poised to do when Harry said, "Get your ass home, Mac. You have gone off the deep end." And he had! Take China?!?! We barely beat Japan! I guess Mac thought that since we now had "The Bomb" we could just nuke our way to the Caspian Sea.
Well one thing: If MacArthur had had his way all those products would say "Made in USA" now!
He also would throw his coffee cup when on the porch. It was a heavy ironstone cup with a little bouquet of roses and some green leaves on it, as I recall. I retrieved it several times until Grandma warned me off. "Just leave it there, Tony. He should have to get it himself if he wants any coffee."
No such thing as Ordinary Day!
NOTE to READERS: You may wish to "start at the end" - in other words with the first blog way down the list. The blogs have information that "builds" from simpler to more complex in many cases, so the top one is the latest one. Make sense? Thanks for reading!
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Today is an ordinary day. Can't be. It may seem like it, but it cannot be true. It is like saying "almost round" - can't be. Something is either round or not round. You cannot be "almost pregnant" either. Or "near fatal" as in Channel 3's report: "There was a near fatal accident on Council Street this evening???" Hey, it is either fatal or not.
"Ordinary day" can't be. Each day is different. No two alike - ever. Each one unique. The interesting question is, "Why is this phrase so prevalent when it is so not based on the truth?" Because it is based on a "feeling" not on facts. The feeling that this day is the same as the last. Boring. Very boring. Extremely boring.
What is that feeling based on? And who are we going to blame if we are bored with our lives? There is only one person who is noticing that I am bored. Only one who can define how bored I truly am. My grandfather used to say, "If you find yourself sitting in a pile of shit, guess who pulled it in???"
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Today is an ordinary day. Can't be. It may seem like it, but it cannot be true. It is like saying "almost round" - can't be. Something is either round or not round. You cannot be "almost pregnant" either. Or "near fatal" as in Channel 3's report: "There was a near fatal accident on Council Street this evening???" Hey, it is either fatal or not.
"Ordinary day" can't be. Each day is different. No two alike - ever. Each one unique. The interesting question is, "Why is this phrase so prevalent when it is so not based on the truth?" Because it is based on a "feeling" not on facts. The feeling that this day is the same as the last. Boring. Very boring. Extremely boring.
What is that feeling based on? And who are we going to blame if we are bored with our lives? There is only one person who is noticing that I am bored. Only one who can define how bored I truly am. My grandfather used to say, "If you find yourself sitting in a pile of shit, guess who pulled it in???"
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Common Standards?
NOTE to READERS: You may wish to "start at the end" - in other words with the first blog way down the list. The blogs have information that "builds" from simpler to more complex in many cases, so the top one is the latest one. Make sense? Thanks for reading!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Common Standards"
Has there ever been a more appropriate name for making every state and child the same as "Common Standards"? Perfect. Let's go back to the factory-inspired schools of the industrial age when we needed mostly compliant drones to run all the factories so that the fat cats could get fatter. Sure. Let's just make everyone common and boring and mundance and drones again. But for what reason now? There ARE no factories needing drones anymore. They could at least have called them Clear Standards, but maybe that is not what they mean. Common standards in a Race for the Top. If you read Arne Duncan's set criteria for who is going to be in the Race for the few billions the government is giving to states to boost their educational systems, it is going to be the ones MOST COMPLIANT. Common and Compliant. Holy Cow, how obvious can they be, and what scares the crap out of me, is that states are already prepping to go after it by pretending to be the MOST compliant rather than saying, "Here's the truth: You institute universal, non-personalized standards and make them more "rigorous" and "higher" - which may sound good to some - but you have 500,000 kids a year who cannot meet the standards that exist, much less higher and more rigorous ones. Wake up! What do you think happens when kids cannot reach the heights required? They drop out. Quit. And my prediction is that any benefits garnered by this maneuver will be sadly outweighed by the increased dropout rate. What is the human cost? Dramatic will be the cost of even more at-risk kids, more crime, violence, mental illness, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and the list goes on.
I am, sometimes sarcastically asked, "Well, what would YOU do? Simple. Spend the money getting great teachers to work with the kids who need compensatory help. Deliberately aim at keeping kids in school with more experienced and caring teachers, and extra aides and materials, in order to give potential dropouts encouraging personal compensatory education until they catch on and can fend for themselves. Help them succeed, no matter what. Recruit educators who love them, believe in them and know what the hell they are doing. Get a crop of go-getter educators that will never give up, who respect kids for exactly who they are and are willing to look past symptoms and aim at enhancing the abilities of children rather than push them out the door so they can work with already college-bound kids. Use that money in the WORST schools with fresh eyes and attitudes; send in a busload of angel/warrior educators that run towards the school and outlast the janitors before the lights go off.
"Where are you going to find that kind of educator," people will say. "There are NO teachers like that!" You want to bet? I know teachers who have been in my at-risk education classes that I KNOW for a fact you could airdrop into a batch of shadow children with nothing more than a pencil and they would fire those kids up like you wouldn't believe! Come get them from our DIAL Master's Program at Marian University because they are there! Park your ass in the parking lot next week at the Summer Institute in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and I will introduce you to over 30 of them at once. I worship the ground they walk on, and they know it. And they will never, ever, ever quit --- and it is not just because they know I would break into their house at night and retrieve their diplomas if they did. It will be because we attract great educators and make them into greater professionals.
They are out there Mr. Duncan. But you gotta go find them. Here is a very practical idea that I know would work: For one year hire some recruiters to go find the angel/warriors, and offer them $100,000 a year for six years and they will clean up and create schools of greatness in whatever schools you put them in. And you will still have one year left in your second term to evaluate how many lives you just saved and/or made better, and everyone will call you a hero when you leave the White House. A REAL Hero. You got the money, use it well.
Just Do It!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Common Standards"
Has there ever been a more appropriate name for making every state and child the same as "Common Standards"? Perfect. Let's go back to the factory-inspired schools of the industrial age when we needed mostly compliant drones to run all the factories so that the fat cats could get fatter. Sure. Let's just make everyone common and boring and mundance and drones again. But for what reason now? There ARE no factories needing drones anymore. They could at least have called them Clear Standards, but maybe that is not what they mean. Common standards in a Race for the Top. If you read Arne Duncan's set criteria for who is going to be in the Race for the few billions the government is giving to states to boost their educational systems, it is going to be the ones MOST COMPLIANT. Common and Compliant. Holy Cow, how obvious can they be, and what scares the crap out of me, is that states are already prepping to go after it by pretending to be the MOST compliant rather than saying, "Here's the truth: You institute universal, non-personalized standards and make them more "rigorous" and "higher" - which may sound good to some - but you have 500,000 kids a year who cannot meet the standards that exist, much less higher and more rigorous ones. Wake up! What do you think happens when kids cannot reach the heights required? They drop out. Quit. And my prediction is that any benefits garnered by this maneuver will be sadly outweighed by the increased dropout rate. What is the human cost? Dramatic will be the cost of even more at-risk kids, more crime, violence, mental illness, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and the list goes on.
I am, sometimes sarcastically asked, "Well, what would YOU do? Simple. Spend the money getting great teachers to work with the kids who need compensatory help. Deliberately aim at keeping kids in school with more experienced and caring teachers, and extra aides and materials, in order to give potential dropouts encouraging personal compensatory education until they catch on and can fend for themselves. Help them succeed, no matter what. Recruit educators who love them, believe in them and know what the hell they are doing. Get a crop of go-getter educators that will never give up, who respect kids for exactly who they are and are willing to look past symptoms and aim at enhancing the abilities of children rather than push them out the door so they can work with already college-bound kids. Use that money in the WORST schools with fresh eyes and attitudes; send in a busload of angel/warrior educators that run towards the school and outlast the janitors before the lights go off.
"Where are you going to find that kind of educator," people will say. "There are NO teachers like that!" You want to bet? I know teachers who have been in my at-risk education classes that I KNOW for a fact you could airdrop into a batch of shadow children with nothing more than a pencil and they would fire those kids up like you wouldn't believe! Come get them from our DIAL Master's Program at Marian University because they are there! Park your ass in the parking lot next week at the Summer Institute in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and I will introduce you to over 30 of them at once. I worship the ground they walk on, and they know it. And they will never, ever, ever quit --- and it is not just because they know I would break into their house at night and retrieve their diplomas if they did. It will be because we attract great educators and make them into greater professionals.
They are out there Mr. Duncan. But you gotta go find them. Here is a very practical idea that I know would work: For one year hire some recruiters to go find the angel/warriors, and offer them $100,000 a year for six years and they will clean up and create schools of greatness in whatever schools you put them in. And you will still have one year left in your second term to evaluate how many lives you just saved and/or made better, and everyone will call you a hero when you leave the White House. A REAL Hero. You got the money, use it well.
Just Do It!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What we need is more testing in education!
When I recently read Arne Duncan's latest (June 14) address* at the Governor's Symposium on Education - well, mostly it made me ill. Only people with short memories could get a good shot of motivation from such a ridiculous speech. Holding Tommy Thompson up as a remarkable leader in educational reform - mmm, if any teacher who was teaching at the time of Tommy's administration in Wisconsin heard this you might have to restart their heart.
Secondly, Arne claims to have taken the pulse of educators by saying, "The U.S. Department of Education started asking for comments on policy issues through the Web site. Our first question was about raising standards." He goes on to say that the first respondent was a library media specialist who said the weakest point in education was that "the level of standards differs for every state." His next statement is: "Another woman wrote, 'If all states followed the same standards then there would be less inequities for our students.'" I agree with them both" Arne states. That's it, Arne? He then uses this library media specialist and a nameless other woman as his launching pad of PROOF that he is justified in saying next, "With higher standards that are common across states we can share best practices and collaborate on curricula." Like we cannot do that now? Later he makes one of the most ignorant statements that every experienced educator would refute: "But common sense also tells us that "Kids in big cities like Newark and San Francisco – or small towns like Tarboro, North Carolina -- are no different from each other." ??? I have two sons, and they are different as hell, and they lived in the same house! Kids are a LOT different, and it is the very ignorance of this fact that has created this mess we are in with Standardized Testing. (1/9th of the school year is now spent on prepping and practicing for achievement tests to see if kids are all alike, and if so, why not.)
I guess I am saying that for Our Federal Leader on education to justify Uniform Standards as the next new savior of education - AND the federal mandates that will follow later - on this kind of (I will be polite...) "stuff" is reprehensible. Embarrassing. Okay: Stupid. 'Stupid is as stupid does', is never more true.
I could go on through this speech and almost every other paragraph is - well, you read it*, then think to yourself: What did he just say?
Two thirds of the way through his speech Duncan says: "...and that brings me to the real point of this speech – which is the assessments. Once new standards are set and adopted you need to create new tests that measure whether students are meeting those standards."
Ohhhh, so THAT is what we need!! NEW TESTS! Cool. Wow. I think not, Mr. Duncan. I think not. That is NOT "What we need", sir. Besides, Duncan also assumes a lot when he says, "Once new standards are set and adopted..." as if that is a no-brainer. Of course we will get on board and go along with his well thought out plan. I think not, Mr. Duncan. Don't be in such a hurry to make the assumption that MORE TESTS and HIGHER STANDARDS (when we have kids that cannot reach the ones we have, for Pete's sake!) is just the shot in the arm education needs. I think not.
One more quote from our fearless Leader. He has coined the phrase, "Race to The Top!" for the 5B dollar infusion that is coming one day to help reform all of us and the kids we advocate for. "Race to The Top"? Would somebody please mail Arne Duncan a copy of Butterflies are Free? What a stupid phrase. A Race to the Top means most will lose. There is only one winner in a race.
Two guys are hacking their way through the jungle with machetes.
One guy says, "Uh, Jim, I think we are lost."
And Jim says, "Shut up and keep hacking, we are making GREAT time!"
So to lead us in The Race to The Top, Arne has seen fit to have Joanne Weiss head this up. Joanne Weiss is a biochemist. She has never taught in the public schools a day in her life. And she is on top of our 5B reform package. Stupid is...
I hate being so negative. I was told that if I am not careful I will soon sound like Andy Rooney. Eeek! What I want to sound like is someone who cares a lot about kids who are lost. I want to sound like someone demanding that the person in charge of leading us through the jungle has a compass, not just a machete. I want to sound like someone who says, "Elect someone like Lynn Stoddard** to head up the "Race to the top" ---because he would NEVER let kids forget about discovery, creativity, and True Learning. He would of course have the 3Rs approach covered but as a vehicle of learning, not the end product itself.
He would remember that teachers are here to serve students and not politicians, and that heart is as important as head in education.
Doctor Zest
Twitter.com/doctorzest
*Arne Duncan's speech on June 14: http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/06/06142009.html
**Educating for Human Greatness – A must read if you can find a copy.
Secondly, Arne claims to have taken the pulse of educators by saying, "The U.S. Department of Education started asking for comments on policy issues through the Web site. Our first question was about raising standards." He goes on to say that the first respondent was a library media specialist who said the weakest point in education was that "the level of standards differs for every state." His next statement is: "Another woman wrote, 'If all states followed the same standards then there would be less inequities for our students.'" I agree with them both" Arne states. That's it, Arne? He then uses this library media specialist and a nameless other woman as his launching pad of PROOF that he is justified in saying next, "With higher standards that are common across states we can share best practices and collaborate on curricula." Like we cannot do that now? Later he makes one of the most ignorant statements that every experienced educator would refute: "But common sense also tells us that "Kids in big cities like Newark and San Francisco – or small towns like Tarboro, North Carolina -- are no different from each other." ??? I have two sons, and they are different as hell, and they lived in the same house! Kids are a LOT different, and it is the very ignorance of this fact that has created this mess we are in with Standardized Testing. (1/9th of the school year is now spent on prepping and practicing for achievement tests to see if kids are all alike, and if so, why not.)
I guess I am saying that for Our Federal Leader on education to justify Uniform Standards as the next new savior of education - AND the federal mandates that will follow later - on this kind of (I will be polite...) "stuff" is reprehensible. Embarrassing. Okay: Stupid. 'Stupid is as stupid does', is never more true.
I could go on through this speech and almost every other paragraph is - well, you read it*, then think to yourself: What did he just say?
Two thirds of the way through his speech Duncan says: "...and that brings me to the real point of this speech – which is the assessments. Once new standards are set and adopted you need to create new tests that measure whether students are meeting those standards."
Ohhhh, so THAT is what we need!! NEW TESTS! Cool. Wow. I think not, Mr. Duncan. I think not. That is NOT "What we need", sir. Besides, Duncan also assumes a lot when he says, "Once new standards are set and adopted..." as if that is a no-brainer. Of course we will get on board and go along with his well thought out plan. I think not, Mr. Duncan. Don't be in such a hurry to make the assumption that MORE TESTS and HIGHER STANDARDS (when we have kids that cannot reach the ones we have, for Pete's sake!) is just the shot in the arm education needs. I think not.
One more quote from our fearless Leader. He has coined the phrase, "Race to The Top!" for the 5B dollar infusion that is coming one day to help reform all of us and the kids we advocate for. "Race to The Top"? Would somebody please mail Arne Duncan a copy of Butterflies are Free? What a stupid phrase. A Race to the Top means most will lose. There is only one winner in a race.
Two guys are hacking their way through the jungle with machetes.
One guy says, "Uh, Jim, I think we are lost."
And Jim says, "Shut up and keep hacking, we are making GREAT time!"
So to lead us in The Race to The Top, Arne has seen fit to have Joanne Weiss head this up. Joanne Weiss is a biochemist. She has never taught in the public schools a day in her life. And she is on top of our 5B reform package. Stupid is...
I hate being so negative. I was told that if I am not careful I will soon sound like Andy Rooney. Eeek! What I want to sound like is someone who cares a lot about kids who are lost. I want to sound like someone demanding that the person in charge of leading us through the jungle has a compass, not just a machete. I want to sound like someone who says, "Elect someone like Lynn Stoddard** to head up the "Race to the top" ---because he would NEVER let kids forget about discovery, creativity, and True Learning. He would of course have the 3Rs approach covered but as a vehicle of learning, not the end product itself.
He would remember that teachers are here to serve students and not politicians, and that heart is as important as head in education.
Doctor Zest
Twitter.com/doctorzest
*Arne Duncan's speech on June 14: http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/06/06142009.html
**Educating for Human Greatness – A must read if you can find a copy.
Monday, July 13, 2009
HOPE by Doctor Zest
NOTE to READERS: I write on the human condition as I see it. I am different now. I have had MANY experiences that are exciting to talk about but they were all a result of restlessness. Now I am at rest. I see what is more interesting is looking at our interactivity with the world - our reality - and finding a way to live better. Thanks for reading!
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HOPE
All is lost. Run for your lives. The pestilence is upon us. "Wait, STOP!," says Herb to the crowd, "There IS a way for us to get out of this." Everyone calms down. Really, Herb?? Tell us.
What just happened? And it is not an unusual moment in human existence. Things are going to hell, and someone steps forward and says, I have a dream. Yes we can. I want a donut. (urr, forget that one) There IS a way.
Hope. All looked lost and someone has said there is this narrow little escape route. We perk up. Really, Herb??? Tell us of the secret path that right now only YOU know about. Tell us tell us tell us tell us--pleez pleez pleez pleez, Herb, tell us, pleez.
Herb says, "I was only kidding!" and the mob kills him.
Herb says, "I have learned of this escape path, and it is narrow and tough but you can do it! I will show you the Way." and we are all ears. (That's a picture.)
God Bless, Herb, he may even believe his own delusion. So, we like Herb, for a while. Until he can't find the Way, like he would have if we were in a movie.
I am here to tell you: There is no Way. None at all. Before you kill the blasphemer, let me say one more thing: There is no Way, and no Way is needed. Now kill me. Oh, wait, don't kill him yet. He said "no way is needed" so maybe there is hope after all. Let's listen, we can always kill 'em later.
Anyone that disappoints us we want to kill in some way. Smack 'em around. Hurt them. They "let us down" mothersonofhell! Well, the only reason you look for Herbs is because you think you need a Way. If there is no needed Way, there is no reason for Herb or Herbalikes (Herbal Ikes ;-).
What in the hell is Doctor Zest talking about????
[We all need to meditate more.] The Way our society provides direction has bound us for disappointment, even tragedy. We are misled to think that happiness and the pinnacle of success is wealth and popularity. [Now, I know, you are saying: "All this coming from a guy living in a penthouse overlooking the Gulf of Mexico---yeah, right, give up on the American Dream."] Yes, I am a happy person, but not because I live here overlooking that. It is only after arriving here that I actually realize that happiness is not a secret held by a select few: the wealthy and the popular. No, far from it.
Happiness is accepting what is so. Our society teaches us to aspire for something - always something - so we can then be wealthy and popular. I cannot tell you how many unhappy wealthy and popular people I have known. Quite a few. The point is, our "society" (meaning the general way of life that we assume is correct) has set us up to aspire for something other than THIS (Right Here, Right Now), promising us wealth and popularity if we can just manage to get it. All that drive does is drift us further from the truth. Happiness is right here! Closer than your breath.
Happiness is accepting what is so. If you move up a notch to 'Affirming what is so', then you have arrived at bliss (Happiness +). Read the book, Vivation: The Skill of Happiness, by my very good friend, now deceased, Jim Leonard. It is the only book you will ever need to be happy. No matter if you be Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Mennonite, it applies to you. Male, female, child, President of these United States, you, me, it applies to as well. I don't know where you can get it.
Then, meditate more.
A good day is at hand,
Your friend with a flashlight that you don't really need,
DZ
If you are going to insist on solving one problem after another, then read my book, PRIMARY DOMINO THINKING. I do know where you can get that! www.DoctorZest.com
www.Twitter.com/DoctorZest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOPE
All is lost. Run for your lives. The pestilence is upon us. "Wait, STOP!," says Herb to the crowd, "There IS a way for us to get out of this." Everyone calms down. Really, Herb?? Tell us.
What just happened? And it is not an unusual moment in human existence. Things are going to hell, and someone steps forward and says, I have a dream. Yes we can. I want a donut. (urr, forget that one) There IS a way.
Hope. All looked lost and someone has said there is this narrow little escape route. We perk up. Really, Herb??? Tell us of the secret path that right now only YOU know about. Tell us tell us tell us tell us--pleez pleez pleez pleez, Herb, tell us, pleez.
Herb says, "I was only kidding!" and the mob kills him.
Herb says, "I have learned of this escape path, and it is narrow and tough but you can do it! I will show you the Way." and we are all ears. (That's a picture.)
God Bless, Herb, he may even believe his own delusion. So, we like Herb, for a while. Until he can't find the Way, like he would have if we were in a movie.
I am here to tell you: There is no Way. None at all. Before you kill the blasphemer, let me say one more thing: There is no Way, and no Way is needed. Now kill me. Oh, wait, don't kill him yet. He said "no way is needed" so maybe there is hope after all. Let's listen, we can always kill 'em later.
Anyone that disappoints us we want to kill in some way. Smack 'em around. Hurt them. They "let us down" mothersonofhell! Well, the only reason you look for Herbs is because you think you need a Way. If there is no needed Way, there is no reason for Herb or Herbalikes (Herbal Ikes ;-).
What in the hell is Doctor Zest talking about????
[We all need to meditate more.] The Way our society provides direction has bound us for disappointment, even tragedy. We are misled to think that happiness and the pinnacle of success is wealth and popularity. [Now, I know, you are saying: "All this coming from a guy living in a penthouse overlooking the Gulf of Mexico---yeah, right, give up on the American Dream."] Yes, I am a happy person, but not because I live here overlooking that. It is only after arriving here that I actually realize that happiness is not a secret held by a select few: the wealthy and the popular. No, far from it.
Happiness is accepting what is so. Our society teaches us to aspire for something - always something - so we can then be wealthy and popular. I cannot tell you how many unhappy wealthy and popular people I have known. Quite a few. The point is, our "society" (meaning the general way of life that we assume is correct) has set us up to aspire for something other than THIS (Right Here, Right Now), promising us wealth and popularity if we can just manage to get it. All that drive does is drift us further from the truth. Happiness is right here! Closer than your breath.
Happiness is accepting what is so. If you move up a notch to 'Affirming what is so', then you have arrived at bliss (Happiness +). Read the book, Vivation: The Skill of Happiness, by my very good friend, now deceased, Jim Leonard. It is the only book you will ever need to be happy. No matter if you be Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Mennonite, it applies to you. Male, female, child, President of these United States, you, me, it applies to as well. I don't know where you can get it.
Then, meditate more.
A good day is at hand,
Your friend with a flashlight that you don't really need,
DZ
If you are going to insist on solving one problem after another, then read my book, PRIMARY DOMINO THINKING. I do know where you can get that! www.DoctorZest.com
www.Twitter.com/DoctorZest
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