Religious intolerance

Religious intolerance is the bane of our society. People point fingers at "them"; speak cruelly about each other based upon their unique interpretation of what a higher power is; I call it The Creator. Call that power what you will, for it truly matters little whether you believe or not, or how you believe, The Creator does not need you to believe, its existence is not dependant on your opinions.

What I have found is that the more we become myopic upon our interpretation of The Creator, the more we determine that our way the ONLY way, the more we will determine that everyone else's interpretation is wrong and needs to be diminished, destroyed, belittled.

To determine a person’s worth by what they are, they do, some title they carry, some honor they earned, by their belief system, is no different than determining a person's worth by their race, color, creed, net worth or any other measuring stick. They are all equally separatist, divisional, and counter-productive.

I feel like that story about teh cat in captivity

Day 9,356 of my captivity, except its 3423 days since I was Reduced In Force (laid-off) from 3Com. In that time I have worked in alot of retail, meet my love, moved out of Illinois, become a ski instructor, an adaptive ski instructor, and taken my ceremony officiant business to a more than busy passtime. I am happy, healthy, and well liked.
So losing my "good paying" job was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have a 40 hour a week job at Home Depot, it is interesting work, some routines, some surprises every day, just not enough money to fly anymore, but thaqt is okay too.
There is a new adventure in my future, it starts Monday night. Looking forward to it. I'll chat about it after I have been there.

DailyOM. Keeping Things in Perspective - ////mountans

From a distance, mountains remind us of how small we are, which often comes as a wonderful relief.
Mountains have always captured our imaginations, calling us to scale their heights, to circle and worship at their feet, and to pay homage to their greatness. Mountains can be seen from thousands of miles away, and if we are lucky enough to be on top of one, we can see great stretches of the surrounding earth. As a result, mountains symbolize vision, the ability to rise above the adjacent lowlands and see beyond our immediate vicinity. From the top of the mountain, we are able to witness life from a new perspective—cities and towns that seem so large when we are in them look tiny. We can take the whole thing in with a single glance, regaining our composure and our sense of proportion as we realize how much bigger this world is than we sometimes remember it to be.
Mountains are almost always considered holy and spiritual places, and the energy at the top of a mountain is undeniably unique. When we are on top of a mountain, it is as if we have ascended to an alternate realm, one in which the air is purer and the energy lighter. Many a human being has climbed to the top of a mountain in order to connect with a higher source of understanding, and many have come back down feeling stronger and wiser. Whenever we are feeling trapped or limited in our vision, a trip to our nearest mountain may be just the cure we need.
There’s a reason that mountain views are so highly prized in this world, and it is because, even from a distance, mountains remind us of how small we are, which often comes as a wonderful relief. In addition, they illustrate our ability to connect with higher energy. As they rise up from the earth, sometimes disappearing in the clouds that gather around them, they are a visual symbol of earth reaching up into the heavens. Whether we have a mountain view out of our window or just a photograph of a mountain where we see it every day, we can rely on these earthly giants to provide inspiration, vision, and a daily reminder of our humble place in the grand scheme of life.


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Jeffersonian Constitutionalism

I am a Jeffersonian Constitutionalist.

That philosophy is summed up by this statement from Thomas Jefferson on interpreting the Constitution.

"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debate (federalist papers) and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."