Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Kids letters to God

Dear GOD,I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible.Love,Chris

Dear GOD,We read in school that Thomas Edison made light, but in Sunday School they said You did it. So I bet he stoled your idea.Sincerely,Donna

Dear GOD,I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.Nan

Dear GOD,Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother.Larry

Dear GOD,I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions.Ruth M.

Dear GOD,It rained for our whole vacation and is my father mad! He said some things about You that people are not supposed to say, but I hope You will not hurt him anyway.Your friend(But I am not going to tell you who I am)

Dear GOD,In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation?Jane

Dear GOD,Did you really mean "do unto others as they do unto you"? Because if you did, then I'm going to fix my brother!Darla

Dear GOD,Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up.Bruce

Dear GOD,Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't You just keep the ones You have now?Jane

Dear GOD,Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?Norma

Dear GOD,Who draws the lines around the countries?Nan

Dear GOD,Are you really invisible or is that just a trick?Lucy

Dear GOD,Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house?Love, Anita

Dear GOD,I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay?Neil

Dear GOD,If You give me a genie lamp like Aladin, I will give you anything you want except my money or my chess set.Raphael

Dear GOD,My brother is a rat. You should give him a tail.Ha ha.Danny

Dear GOD,Why is Sunday school on Sunday? I thought it was supposed to be our day of rest.Tom L.

Dear GOD,Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy.Joyce

Dear GOD,What does it mean You are a Jealous God? I thought You had everything.Jane


Dear GOD,I was thinkin that maybe you can make a mail service in heaven so we can write letters to some people up there or they can send us pictures of what heaven looks like and stuff like that.Caleigh

Dear GOD,Are you happy and healthy with all the people up there with you?Jacob

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Thursday, December 15, 2005

Giving and Receiving

Art of giving -

My friend's most painful memory is having gone to a rotary club gathering and collecting her scholarship and books in front of a group of people.

After many many years she shared this with tears - "I was in college and in the evening I had to go to this five star hotel to collect my scholarship. When I reached there, I was made to wait for the chief guest and the rest of the gathering was busy drinking whatever they choose to. When the chief guest came there were photographs taken and then they called me to hand over the books and the cheque and everyone clapped (when she said this she was choking). One member had the decency to ask me which college I was from, did I like the subject and also asked if I wanted to eat something, the rest of them behaved as if I did not exist. I still want to run away from the scene".

She does rub shoulders with the rotary club members these days but the pain has not eased.

I feel we are dehumanizing the person when we call them for a meeting and give away stuff in front of a large gathering. It could be the domestic help who has to collect her goodies in front of guests who come to visit us during festivals.

Karna is supposed to have "given" even with his left hand. When someone asked if it was not impolite, he said the mind is ever changing and in the process of transferring (money for ex) from one hand to another, your mind will ask you questions like should you give all of it, should you give it now, should it be for this person and your plans will change.

So give as soon as someone asks for something.

Can we learn from this story of Karna and what my friend suffers and be sensitive to the nuances of giving and the feelings of the receiver.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Focus, goal , direction

"Is your life run by compass or a clock", "Focus on the larger picture and don't expend your energy on short term goals", "Do you know what where you are going ?" These words of wisdom, (!!) scream at us from self help books, godmen, business tycoons, gurus etc.

In life there are two things that are definite, life and death. Once we are born, one of these deed is done and nothing can change that.

The the other one left is death. So in essence - death is the direction all of us are moving towards on a second, to minute, to day, to year basis.

Ironically though the end is obvious, we invest and expend our reserves on life, which is over the minute we came to earth. Isn't this a paradox that we constantly spend our energy on a futile battle to extend our lives, make believe (maya) that things are permanent, atleast semi permanent, leave an indelible mark, appearance, clothes, wealth, sensory pleasures etc etc and get caught in the web of life.

Maybe like a child who gets distracted by a chocolate before a shot is given by the doctor, life distracts us with all of this before life gives us the shot - death.

The focus could very well be on dissociating from earthly wants and pleasures, petty squabbles, enemity, illness etc. so that when the inevitable goal (the one we did not set for us, but is there in an unchangeable way) "death" is reached, it is easy for us to surrender ourselves to this goal with total comfort.

Friday, December 02, 2005

Musical torture or torturous music

Never thought that the two words music and torture will be uttered or written together.

Read in abc news that at abu ghraib they play loud eminem rap music and that prisoners find this tortorous and they confess.

Can't understand whether the torture is rap music, loudness, or the words in eminem song Anyways I knew music had healing powers, now I know it had other powers too - like drawing a confession