Forgiveness is a Fable

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.
Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way,
so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”
Emo Philips

Forgiveness Fable

I read an excellent blog post the other day about the subject of forgiveness titled, Grappling with Forgiveness. One of my fellow bloggers wrote a comment about this post that really hit home with me. She wrote:

“You take things personally because they are personal and intended as personal. It is just that those callous hurtful people are like soul vandals, or internet virus creators. They don’t really care, they just want to hurt somebody, so they do. Empathetic people tend to see through social niceties to the person underneath, and that often is painful.

They don’t really want forgiveness, they want safety and power. Vandals, of all sorts, cause real pain and real hardship and do real damage. The only protection is to learn to recognize when it’s on purpose and when it is an honest mistake. As perceptive as you are, it won’t take you long to recognize the clues. You may have to work with such people, and interact, but you are not required to like them, or share your privacy, or voluntarily give them access to vulnerabilities, professional or personal.”

Let’s face it, there are people in this world that are vile, period. They have no moral compass, no values and no empathy. They believe that by just saying the words, “I’m sorry”, time after time that it fixes everything. Some people will never change, and their behavior is just part of who they are and their true nature.

There’s a fable I’m reminded of when I think of forgiveness, behavior and actions that are unforgivable. Some of you might be familiar with this fable:

A scorpion asks a frog to carry him over a river. The frog is afraid of being stung during the trip, but the scorpion argues that if it stung the frog, both would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog agrees and begins carrying the scorpion, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.

When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is its nature.

The moral is, “The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.”

I realize that forgiveness is important for us to move forward with our lives. Like the old saying goes, forgive and forget. Much easier to say than to do. Some people are extremely talented at hiding their evil tendencies with their sheepish costumes. In my opinion, these people I do not allow in my life and all their “I’m sorry’s” will not allow me to give them forgiveness. Especially when the hurt is deep and leaves a crippling wound that will never heal. Call me cynical, but I believe in some instances, forgiveness is a fable.

Shine On

A Real Hero

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“We must appreciate and
never underestimate
our own inner power.”
Noah Galloway

Noah Galloway, Dancing with the Stars Season 20 contestant.

A few years before the tragedy of 911, my son had to write a third grade essay about a hero. He asked me, “what makes a hero and who I thought was a hero?”

I told my young son that real heroes are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Heroes can be found in all walks of life. They are people who work jobs that are not only thankless but can also have jobs that jeopardize their own well-being. I told him that my heroes range from the janitor at his school to soldiers and veterans, policemen, firemen, doctors, nurses, teachers, all the unsung workers and the backbone of America.

On Monday evening on Dancing with the Stars I watched through tears, contestant Noah Galloway, a former United States Army soldier, a model and athlete dance his heart out. He dedicated the dance by saying, “This dance represents a journey of acceptance from the man I was to the man I’ve become.”

You see Noah was injured during the Iraq War, losing his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee. Before Noah danced his routine he told us his story. How he put his life back together after he was injured in 2005 during “Operation Iraqi Freedom”.

After years of spiraling downward in his life he awoke one day and looking in the mirror he stopped seeing what was missing and began seeing a reflection of what he still had.

Mr. Galloway is a true inspiration to young and old and represents to me, the true meaning of a real hero.

Shine On

Chasing My Tail

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“The ‘self-image’ is the key to human personality and human behavior.
Change the self-image and you change the personality and the behavior.”
Maxwell Maltz

Two Thousand pound baby elephant enjoying his bath.

Does My Butt Look Big in This Picture?

You have to admit, most questions you ask someone, you already know the answer. When it comes to a women’s body image, she should never ask her significant other if her butt looks big.

Why?

Because nine times out of ten he will lie and the other one time he’s truthful, it’s because he likes big butts on women.

After reading a recent fitness magazine article on women’s self-image, it stated that 64% of women do not like how their body looks. Another 59% would like to lose at least 10 pounds. A whopping 43% of women say their husband or boyfriend is the person most likely to make them feel good about their weight.

Most of women’s insecurity about their bodies is due to the fact for decades the fashion and movie industry showed us thin, skinny women as role models of beauty. Just in the past few years, with the popularity of stars such as, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Coco, some “junk in your trunk” has become fashionable. But, most insecurities begin long before you look at a fashion magazine.

I believe our insecurities about our physical and intellectual capabilities begin at an early age. Some people I have known, carry these insecurities with them to their grave. For me, it wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I really didn’t give a dam what other’s thought and began to believe in myself. It took a while for me to not let the negativity of others influence my self worth.

We just don’t realize how lucky we are with what we have, until we lose it. Whether it be our flaws that only we can see, or people in our life that we take for granted. We must be happy and grateful for each day. If we lived our lives with more gratitude and less envy, I believe we would enjoy more each and every day.

I’m learning to look forward instead of looking back and constantly chasing my tail.

Shine On

In Harmony with Animals

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“I think of my life’s work as a celebration of all of nature,
an orchestra that plays not the sounds of one musician,
the music of one species, but rather
an expression of all of nature’s songs”.
Gregory Colbert

Elephant with woman by photographer Gregory Colbert.

The other day I read, Larger Than Life, by Jodi Picoult. It’s a wonderfully written novella about a young woman researcher studying the memory in elephants. It’s the first time reading one of her books, but the story made such an impact on me, I will surely read other books by Ms Picoult.

I’ve always been intrigued and in awe by elephants. It saddens me to hear in the news about poaching in Botswana and other African countries. The thought of elephants becoming extinct frightens me. Hopefully, with the help of numerous writers, celebrities as well as photographers raising awareness of the terrible threat to these noble prehistoric pachyderms extinction will not happen.

There is one man, a not so famous celebrity by the name of Gregory Colbert who is making a difference in saving the elephant. He is a Canadian photographer/film maker who created Ashes and Snow, an ongoing traveling exhibition of photographs and films focusing on the exquisite interaction of humans and animals. Better known as the nomadic museum, these images and films are displayed in purposely built temporary structures that travel the world.

Mr. Colbert started this exhibit in 1992 in hopes of exploring the relationship between man and animals from the inside out. Ashes and Snow has been viewed by more than ten million visitors to date, making it the most attended exhibition by any living artist in history.

He is fast become my favorite photographer. Not only for his heart warming images, but for his beliefs. He has discovered the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, and is working towards restoring the common ground that once existed when people lived in harmony with animals.

Shine On