Good Sabbath

July 15, 2006

"God is in the love
Which creates, protects, forgives
And stirring into life the formless beginnings
Of the new and better world."
(Mordecai M. Kaplan)

Words twill form history that the young will be forced to study and fools will allow themselves to repeat, time and again: Putin, a man for his times or another tyrant who recognizes only power, which is his god; Hezbollah, militants who hate peace or warriors for god; Israel, attacked from hour one or modern Goliath with nuclear capability. Everything depends upon the prism through which one sees "truth" and one rationalizes anything and everything.

"Man is a creature of impulse, emotion, and action, rather than reason. Reason is a very late development in our world, where, as far as we know, we
get along without it." (James T. Adams)

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you." (Don Marquis)

Fran and I went to see the new musical drama, "Doctor Zivago", I think I shared with you, and this man of intense integrity rebelled at hypocrisy and dishonesty; he would be even more doomed in modern times, where fact and fiction cannot be distinguished one from the other, where propaganda sifts into school books as well as book reviews.

Last night we went to the San Diego Pops and heard tunes from stage and film, sung by three wonderful entertainers, who sang even through fireworks. The renditions from Phantom of the Opera were rich in tone and made my brain search for residue from having watched the play in London, New York and L.A., where the tunes haunted as much as titillated. The loneliness of the Phantom was truly haunting, for loneliness is like greed, it knows no boundaries until it is healed, which greed cannot.

We were so happy that Bayne's lovely wife survived her lung cancer surgery just as my son's father-in-law came out of his cancer exploration ok. Fighting cancer weakens the immune system so much, but it's frightening name congeals the family's hope.

"He maketh men to walk in wisdom's ways;
In suffering he lays Foundations deep...."
(Aeschylus)

I went to my Master's of Science Degree in Real Estate graduation. Each grad told of that moment when his life had changed, the so called "a-ha moment". Each thanked attending parents with shades of beauty and sometimes tears; each had searched their mind to locate that moment of change, usually a series of experiences, rather than a sudden moment. The biggest impression I've received from the two classes that have graduated from the University of San Diego, was the marvelous camaraderie that evolved among former strangers as they constructed a love affair with real estate as more than making money, but having social good and personal achievement--a wonderful combination in these days of greed and destruction.

My conclusions are: strength comes from tragedies and human afflictions; from strangers who comprehend that helping others is the pathway to helping themselves, that loneliness is that deep but temporary condition before the discovery of new friendship, and that religions fanaticism always contains that which can destroy humanity-with or without weapons of mass destruction--the worst of which is hatred.

"When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even below those we hate." (Rochefoucauld)

I pray that the present is dotted with uncommon reason, reflections on God's messages of love and kindness and commandments to pursue justice by being willing to forgive. Yet all is possible, yet frequently impossible depending upon the depth of the passion.

sandy

 

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