Celebrating an Atheist Christmas

It goes without saying that, for an atheist like me, Christmas is not a time for religious expression – but neither is it a time that I would try to deny that expression to others – even in the public square. On the other hand, the meaning of Christmas is nothing but secular to me.

For me these days, the Christmas season is mostly about memories: of the familiarity and love of family and friends from when I was a young boy; memories of my wife, daughter, and I getting to know each other, and becoming a new family around our first few Christmas trees when I was a young man; of spending time with friends that I consider family today, and appreciating and loving my daughter for the wonderful woman she’s become.

Then there is the kindness and felicity of others to appreciate at his time of year, when so many set aside their differences and share good cheer and fellowship. While it’s not possible for a reasonable man to believe that Christmas will foster “peace on Earth, good will toward men”, it is certainly a pleasure to see simple acts of kindness being carried out around me; a solicitous type of behavior, even among strangers, that does not seem able to survive the daily grind during the rest of the year.

For all of these things and more I’m grateful, and it’s all because of the season, and what we were taught about it as children. Not having grown up in a religious family, the meaning of Christmas was about loving those closest to us, as well as a gentleness of spirit that we might share with those who were not so close.

For me, at this time of year, I sense within myself a fellowship with all rational beings; a sense of hope that it is possible for reason to prevail and that humanity can live in peace; that, despite our differences, we might someday overcome the largely irrational belief systems that separate us to find a way to share this world, and this life, in harmony.

This does not require belief in anything “greater” than me – or you.

While I do not expect to see this transformation in my lifetime, and while such thoughts may not be the most rational a man can have, it is each year at Christmas that I see the greatest possibility for these things to become reality. So, this Christmas season, I ask that you be hopeful and helpful; be kind and compassionate; be the type of caring and loving person you wish others would be and, just perhaps, we can make this world a better place to be.

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Life…

A PC Holiday Greeting

Hey everyone,

In an effort to be as inclusive as possible, and to promote diversity and togetherness, your Season’s Greeting this year should never be “Merry Christmas”, or even “Happy Holidays”, but instead should be “Mer’appy Kwanz-annukah Ramadismas!”

So, to one and all this holiday season, I say  Mer’appy Kwanz-annukah Ramadismas to you and your families!

Just sayin’…

Holiday Inspiration

I’ve been trying to think of something to post here as a “Christmas Message” that might offer inspiration, or peace, or joy to anyone who would see it. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t come up with anything, until I remembered this short piece that was being shared on Facebook just before Thanksgiving. The response was so enthusiastic, I thought today might be a good time to re-post it.

Some thoughts as we enter the holiday season…

It is important to remember that not everyone is surrounded by large wonderful families. Some of us have problems during the holidays, and some of us are overcome with great sadness when we remember the loved ones who are not with us. Many people have no one to spend these times with and are besieged by loneliness. We all need caring, loving thoughts right now. If I don’t see your name I will understand.

May I ask my friends, wherever you might be, to kindly copy, paste and post this status for one hour to give a moment of support for all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know someone cares? Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune. I hope to see this on the Facebook Timeline of all my friends, just for moral support. I know someone will! I did it for a friend and you can too!

I wish I could recall from whom I originally received this bit of writing, but I have no idea. So… Take it and use it as you please, and know that many will find and share it too.

Merry Christmas to all…

 

Thanksgiving Memories

In July 1983, my young family and I moved to the Denver area from Southern California. We were actually looking forward to our first winter – wondering what it would be like to “live in snow”. That first Thanksgiving in Colorado we found out, as we experienced not only our first snow storm, but also our first blizzard.

And what a blizzard it was, with about 2 FEET of snow falling in 36 hours or so. For a family from sunny California, it was an eye opening experience, to say the least.

At first, my daughter, wife, and I were delighted by the early arrival of winter. We had never seen anything so beautiful and, for those of you who’ve never experienced it, the SILENCE that accompanies a heavy snowfall is also a beautiful thing. Eventually though, it just became TOO much, and trying to move around town for the next couple of weeks was incredibly difficult.

The entire metro Denver area shut down for days. We pretty much stayed inside and watched movies on the VCR, after trudging through the snow to rent them. (Remember renting movies on VHS tape?) We must have watched a dozen rented movies over that long weekend. And, of course, we also learned about shoveling snow and scraping windshields.

The snow was so heavy that weekend that we actually had remnants of it still on the ground when June rolled around.

Today of course, with the passage and blurring of time, it’s a fond memory of our first “wintry” experience together as a family, one that makes me smile and think “I remember how close it made us feel.”

That was quite a Thanksgiving, believe me.

This year, I hope your family creates a fond memory for you to share some day. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

There are No Random Acts of Violence

Richard's Ride

No human being has ever contemplated or taken a random action. Only nature is random. Human beings are at all times willful, while nature is not. Human action may be arbitrary, of course, but their actions may never be random.

Therefore, there can be no “random acts of violence,” or “random acts of kindness” either for that matter, when human beings take action – in any situation and under any circumstances.

Randomness implies a lack of conscious will, not simply a disregard for outcome. It also implies a lack of responsibility for outcome. However, an arbitrary action is a conscious act of will that is indifferent to the results of the action taken, yet the actor remains responsible for the result.

Words have meaning

The “gang banger” who fires a gun into a crowd without regard to whom the bullet hits has not committed a random act, and neither has…

View original post 170 more words

What Does Depression Feel Like?

Depression is something I’ve dealt with for many years, having been diagnosed originally in 1997. Since my original diagnosis, I’ve come to believe that I suffer from dysthymia, a mild but chronic form of depression. With this type of depression, certain situations can exacerbate the situation. For example, I’ve been more than mildly depressed every day since hearing about Robin Williams’ suicide. Yesterday was different, however.

I was working and feeling fine. I finished a project at about 11:30 AM, then poked around the internet for about half-an-hour. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an almost overwhelming feeling of despair hit me. I lost focus on anything external, and could only focus on me, and how I was feeling – which was pretty hopeless.

It was confusing in the extreme, since nothing had happened to spark such an episode; at least not consciously.

I took a short walk. I tried to resume work. I tried to watch the LLWS. I tried to read. I tried to nap. Nothing helped. All I wanted to do was sit down and cry, but I had nothing to cry about.

Episodes like this are unusual for me, which made the moment difficult to process. The good news is, I had no sense that I wanted to harm myself; I just continued to experience a sensation of feeling miserable – of being miserable. The best way to describe it is with a word that is not a word – BLECH!

The bad news is, such feelings tend to force a focus inward, which only seems to prolong the depression. It’s a bit like having a tooth ache, and worrying at it with your tongue until it goes away. It only makes the pain worse, as did the inward focus.

Yet, I simply could not concentrate on anything else.

I draw no conclusions from this. I have none to offer. I am simply trying to describe what happened, in the hope that it will bring clarity, for me, and anyone reading this and wondering what depression feels like.

It ain’t fun, believe me.

 

THX…

Thanks again for the ongoing support. (You know who you are.)

Richard

Thank you

I would just like to say a quick “Thank you” to those who were kind enough to help out so far. I’m very grateful for your generosity.

Richard

Why My Summer Became a Bummer

In my family, we were raised to be proud, of our family and ourselves, even of our family name.

There certainly are things I’ve done in my life about which I’m proud, just as there are things about which I’m not. This does not make me unique, of course. Time and experience present all of us with challenges. Some we meet and overcome, leading to a sense of pride, and some we don’t, leading to the opposite.

Today, I seem to find myself in one of those “don’t” times; presented with a challenge I’m unable to meet. Not proud, but embarrassed that my situation has gotten the best of me.

Coming from a proud family as I do, I’ve also found that swallowing my pride has always been one of the most difficult challenges I can be presented with. I have trouble asking for help. Doing so hurts, and has a powerful effect on my sense of self, as well as my sense of pride.

Yet, here I am, struggling to succeed with my writing business; struggling to pay my bills; struggling with the need to ask others to help me.

Without going into too much detail…

Early this year I took in a roommate to help cover my rent and living expenses. After one month however, he disappeared and I had to find another. Needless to say, this put me behind the eight ball and, since then, I’ve been struggling to catch up. With the annual downturn in business that hits every summer, I now find myself unable to meet my obligations.

So, I’ve decided to swallow my pride in public, and ask for help from my online family and friends. If you are able – and willing – to offer help, please use the “Donate” button on this page to help out a silly old man who just can’t seem to get it right sometimes. (PayPal account not required.)

I will be more grateful than you can imagine, and promise to do my best to keep my pride in check, and to never need this type of help again. I also promise to “pay it forward,” as soon as I am able.

Thank you,
Richard

 

We the People – Frustration vs. Indifference

As the news cycle changes, so does the focus of debate across the US. However, becoming bored or frustrated by a particular subject, and your inability to effect change, does not mean we should forget about the various scandals and/or policy questions that have been dropped from the headlines of an equally bored, frustrated, or disinterested media.

We must all take care to not allow our frustration to become indifference. Here are five of the most important stories, and scandals, We the People cannot allow ourselves to forget:

VA Scandal – and the actions taken to resolve the wide range of unethical and illegal practices that have become standard practice in the 2^nd largest department in our Federal system. Obviously, this is not the result of the inaction of the current administration exclusively. It takes many years for a culture of neglect and indifference to grow and flourish in any bureaucracy. Yet, President Obama campaigned on the problems at the VA before winning his first term, and his administration has just as obviously been ineffective at cleaning up the mess he “inherited.” Congress too shares some of the responsibility here, for their lack of oversight and lack of action concerning problems which were well known in DC, though not throughout the rest of the country. This article outlines the actions that have so far been taken to improve care within the VA system; some of them admirable, while some appear to be mere window dressing.

To date, no one has been prosecuted for the many illegal acts that have been documented, and few have been “fired,” while others have resigned their positions, allowing them to retain their federal pensions.

Benghazi Terrorist Attack – the scandal which will not go away, nor should it, as the administration, in its indictment of the recently captured suspect in the attack on the US Consulate, contradicts its own argument (and that of Hillary Clinton) that the incident was inspired by a video posted to YouTube six months before the attack.

From the article: “The Justice Department’s indictment spells out a calculated conspiracy by Ahmed Abu Khatallah and associates to attack the U.S. diplomatic mission and CIA annex, which killed four Americans. The indictment might be viewed as a death knell for a theory that the attack resulted from a spontaneous protest against a U.S.-produced video.”

Benghazi Terrorist Attack 2 – the House Select Committee refuses to let go of the scandal, nor should it. This article outlines the actions taken to bring the committee up to speed, with an anticipated timeline for action.

IRS Targeting Scandal – and the missing, or “lost,” emails of Lois Lerner and six others at the IRS. The possible long-term ramifications of this story are vast, and disturbing. If there is one thing we know about government bureaucracies, it is that, once they’ve exceeded their mandate, they will not stop. In fact, they will continue to push for ever more power and influence. This story outlines the court case against the IRS by Judicial Watch, who claim the IRS has refused to conform to the orders of the court to divulge all emails requested under the Freedom for Information Act, and in fact, have actively resisted the court’s orders to do so.

Bowe Bergdahl Story – there are still many questions which need to be answered about the Bergdahl situation; among them, whether deserted his post, whether he conspired with his captors, whether the trade for five high-value detainees should have been made – basically, whether he was worth it. This story outlines the efforts of the US Army to further his “reintegration” into society.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the scandals and policy blunders made by the current administration and others in DC, nor is it meant to be. My goal in posting this is to simply remind and inform.