As Far as the East is From the West: November 2011

and neither will you.

I gave thanks for this fact last week. A brother asked for the back-story, and you know I'm happy to oblige, so...

I read a lot and contemplate even more. I read the stuff of thinkers, contemplators like me. People like us think we're going to stumble upon some great secret of the universe, secrets we are, of course, morally bound to share with the commonality.
These so enlightened have written the books that teach all things from 'new math' to how to listen to music or look at art. They teach there's a right way to feed a baby, organize a closet, eat food (or not eat it), love your familiy and be nice to strangers. If you read them, and really get them, you'll be happier, smarter and more generous.
Yeah, everyone's after a formula for perfection, and just as many are happy to sell one.

I always read with an open mind but, not being one to fall for snake oil, I never worried about being unduly influenced. I figure it's likely someone has unlocked some truth in a way I haven't. But lately, I've been unlocking another kind of truth... at least as it pertains to all that is really true, it's all been said before. All this stuff I read. It's not dejavu, it's not that I'm smart, it's that Someone Else already figured it out and wrote it down, or passed it along some other way. We've all been beaten to the punch, we thinkers.

Turns out if you want to be good at math, you have to do math. Wanna be a great piano player? Practice makes perfect, yes it does, and lots of it. It's easier to keep stuff in order if you have less stuff to keep in order. If you eat too much, you'll get fat... especially stuff like Twinkies. God didn't make Twinkies. Babies need to eat and it's good to hold them. We don't need a lot of stuff to be happy. We should give more than we do.
What's worth doing is hard to do, and it only gets done by doing it.

And then there's this:
"whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement"
"whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery"
"let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."
"if anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also."
"give to him who asks you , and from him who wants to borrow form you do not turn away."
"love your enemies"
"do good to those that hate you"
"when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"
"when you pray go into your room, and when you shut your door, pray to your Father... in secret"
"if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"
"when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face"
"where your treasure is there your heart will be"
"no one can serve two masters"
"do not worry about your life"
"do not worry about tomorrow"
"judge not"
"narrow is the gate"
"difficult is the way"
"every good tree bears good fruit"

The words in red. There's more where that came from, I just gave a sampling. If I read the red...

What more is there, really?

Someone invented the wheel. It's perfectly round with perfect spokes. It's.... perfection. It cannot be improved upon. We can talk about that wheel, sure, but it's not in need of any re-design. It's fine to use new words to talk about that wheel, so long as the new words are, in fact, describing the wheel. A wheel is a wheel. It gets reproduced yes, but not reinvented. As long as it's made from the original design and model, it'll roll.
So that's the story. Radical? Yes. New?
Not a chance.

and still counting in the thousands...