The opposite of love is not Hate rather Apathy ~ Ace Andres

(Apathy is the lack of emotions)

In my first go around with the definition of The Verb: “To Love”, I went into the roots of the word.  We discussed the 3 forms of love, Eros, (sex) Philia (brotherly) Agape (huh?)

Agape needs to be examined closer and I’ll try to keep it short. (I promise). Agape is the Love of mankind.  Imagine showing concern and love for someone you loath.  This is why we are instructed not to hate.  Hate, although it is an emotion, interferes with your ability to forgive and ultimately show love for your enemy.

Jesus said that it was easy to love those who love you. But what virtue exist in that?

I would presume with my finite pea brain that what Christ meant when he said: “Love your neighbor as yourself”, (In the parable of the Good Samaritan) He meant that if you show compassion for a stranger, you have become their neighbor. (Luke 10:25) If a stranger wants nothing to do with you, they are not your neighbor. Pray for them regardless.

Recently, I witnessed the death of a biker that passed me while I was going 4MPH on the freeway and he was going about 50 to 60. I saw a flash of a biker wearing a blue T-shirt.  In my mind (I know I wrote about this yesterday) I said to myself: “He’s going to kill himself”.  Less than a minute later I saw his lifeless body on the road and what was left of his motorcycle.  All I could do was pray for him.  In retrospect, had I shown love and compassion, and been a neighbor; I would have prayed for him as he flew by my driver’s door. (Not pass judgment on him) That is Agape love.  I failed.

Do you see how I’m thinking? I’m nowhere near the vicinity of perfect.  But I’m learning. When I see ad hominem attacks on politicians, I have to refrain from getting involved.  I need to remind myself to take the higher road.  Look for the opportunity to show agape love.

I want to be the Good Samaritan.

If you’re lucky; you’ll get to experience the 3 stages of life.

1. The Developmental stage. (birth to 21)
2. The Productive stage (22 to 60)
3. The Tertiary stage or the remainder of your life.

The developmental stage is perhaps the most important. Your life grid is determined by everyone you see, hear and meet.  In many cases, the best examples are not necessarily your parents.  But beware, should you have less than great examples for parents, they will have a direct or counter effect on your life.  Your conscience will decide.

If you have the parents of the year, you’re a lucky kid. You will know right from wrong and have seen it practiced.  Instead of spoiling you with the latest toys to show their concern, they will fund a college account.  Your parents will understand the need to help you through the learning process so you will get good enough grades AND understand the importance of a continued education.  If you’re truly lucky your parents will help you find your inner voice or passion.

Keep in mind, the above paragraph is like a hole in one, a 300 game in bowling, hitting for the cycle in Baseball or pitching a perfect game. Parents are the same as you and I.  They are humans trying to make their way through the jungle of life.  We are all different and most of us will not hear our parents advice (out of teen rebellion) or in odd counter-intuitive conditions, the child’s mind, which has been programmed by a church service or really good neighbors or perhaps by God on the other side, is able to see the parent’s wrongful behavior and say: “When I’m older, I’m not going to ….etc.”.

The good or bad part of the developmental stage is that it has a direct/proportional effect on your productive stage.

YOUR PRODUCTIVE STAGE

The 80/20 rule which you have heard thru-out your life is best described in your productive stage. What is the 80/20 rule?  In business it means that 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your customers, or certain sales, or certain district stores. Why does Christmas come sooner and sooner each year?  80% of a stores profits come during the holiday season.  Roughly 20% of the fiscal year.

In your productive stage of life (22 to 60) what you believe, do and say comes from 80% of what you see during your developmental stage, and 20% of what you are taught or told during the same time period. Sadly, what happens to you during your developmental years can lead to serious unintended consequences.  If you grow up in a liberal house hold where sex is looked upon without consequences (Like social disease or procreation) you will not even consider the unintended consequences of your sexual actions.  On the other hand if you are brought up in a “Leave it to Beaver” household, sex epitomizes the manifestation of spiritual unity. (Yeah think about that for a while).  It is something that you treat with respect and is held as something sacred.  It means much more than a penis and a vagina.

THE TERTIARY STAGE

This is the stage of your life when you accept that your physical gas tank is getting low. Your odometer has turned over. (Showing my age).  You realize that the above stages are BS as described.  You understand the term “Outlier”. (A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample).  During your “golden years” you have two choices.  Wait to die or plan how to go down making a statement.  Waiting to die is probably the quickest way to die.  (And there are so many ways your God can bring you home). But if you have a mission; it will stimulate the parts of your brain that keep your vital organs or nerves functioning.

Look at the Reverend Billy Graham. He has been quoted as saying that he is ready for God to bring him home. I don’t agree with his dogma, but he’s 97 years old. (Let me add that I do not question his Christianity) I frequently ask myself why God doesn’t bring him home. I believe that your most important work can be done after 60 if you are inspired to do so.  At that age, you’ve had time to quit blaming your upbringing.  You’ve accepted the mistakes you made during your productive years and you realize that your accomplishments mean little in the overall “Big Picture”.

Something you discover after the rollercoaster comes back to the station is the existence of your spiritual life. It’s something that’s been in you since you became you.  I don’t know if you are born with a spirit or if it sprouts during the years of life that you can’t remember. (Less than 4 years of age).

Once you accept the existence of your spiritual life, the morality aspect of your life comes into clearer focus. Fear of God turns into respect for God.  Respect for God turns into Love for God.  Perhaps in the end, that is why we were given this very short human experience.

It’s just my 2 cents. Live each day as if it’s your last.  I’ve been alive to see Billy Graham live to the age of 97. (He’s still going) Mother Theresa only made it to 87 but she also spent a great deal of her life in 3^rd world cultures.

I was alive in 1959 when Ritchie Valens died at the age of 17. To this day his songs as well as Buddy Holly’s are recorded by people like myself and others.

Remember this: “If you get to heaven there is only one thing that you cannot do in heaven that you can on this spinning ball, lead spirits to God.

Maybe that’s why God keeps Billy Graham around?

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction ~ Isaac Newton

Life is a game of balance that is focused on the 4 major aspects of your life

1. The Physical
2. The Emotional
3. The Education
4. The Spiritual

The Physical condition gets the most attention because if you’re fat it shows. If you are unclean it smells.  If you are not solid it effects the other 3 aspects of your life.  There are two ways to establish your physical condition.  A healthy diet and exercise.  The “Key” to managing those two aspects is dependent on the other three aspects.

When our emotions are out of balance we tend to over eat or not eat at all. If the conditions are unsustainable; enter drugs and alcohol.  These will destroy your physical condition and make you sick.

When our educational condition becomes clouded, we do not make smart choices. We allow our vices to affect our physical condition.  We know a glass of red wine has 400 calories but by our third glass, who cares?  If not properly educated you will pay a non-monetary price for eating that bacon wrapped pizza.

When we neglect our spiritual properties; we stray from caring about right from wrong. See above abuses which also arise from not being spiritually grounded.

The Emotional Condition

Again, the other three aspects of life affect your emotions. If you are physically undesirable, you will become insecure.  Insecurity leads to poor choices (education) and neglect of your spiritual existence.

The Education Condition

The more educated you are in this world, the more you are aware of. Why? Because you know the cause and effect behind those decisions.  Educated people think three dimensionally.  This allows them to avoid or at least minimalize unintended consequences.  We gather knowledge in the classroom but more so by experience.  The latter (although more memorable) is less forgiving.  If your Wechsler (I.Q.) score is under 100; life might be tough. It could mean the difference between “hard” work and “smart” work.

The Spiritual Condition

I’m not referring to your dogma or religious beliefs, but if you are aware of the existence of a part of your person which is connected to another dimension you are lucky to be scrapping the surface of spirituality. Your spiritual life is based on an understanding of that which cannot be defined.  It helps you understand right from wrong.  It is your foundation for choosing righteousness over evil.  It is the bond that is responsible for the phenomena called love.  The opposite of love is not hate.  It is apathy.  It takes feelings to hate someone or something, feelings are generated by your spiritual belief system.  You can measure your spirituality by your body’s vibration. (Hz).  Low vibrational humans occupy our prisons or haven’t been caught yet.  Low vibrational humans are attracted to the darkness of life.  Unlike “high” vibrational humans, low vibrational humans are dark.  In religious literature, one of the seven sins is “Sloth”.  This another word for laziness.  As sentient creatures we can only look to the ancient writings or listen to our inner voice which I’ll refer to as a conscience.  The low vibrational spirits have learned to ignore their conscience.  High vibrational spirits go through life by following their consciences and the writings of those who claimed to have followed deities.  (God)

If there are any unbalances in your life; let it be an excess in your spiritual life as it is the only thing that connects you to the next dimension. Some say we all have invisible silver cords that attach our spirits to the “other side”.  When we die, those silver cords are severed and our spirits are collected in another place.  Your spiritual life is the most important aspect of your life.

If your physical life is not in Olympic balance, you will die sooner; however we will all die a physical death. If we let our emotions guide our life, we will make poor, sometimes regretful decisions but the worst thing that will happen is that it will lead to apathy and affect your spiritual belief system.

Neglecting the educational condition of your life will make you a target. You will often make poor choices.  Conversely, the over educated often does so at the cost of their social skills.  The highly educated and highly uneducated do so at the cost of their emotional condition.  Both can lead to a life of insecurity.  Without the spirit keeping your life in balance, you will be the one known as the “Know it all” or the “Idiot”.  But keep in mind, Harvard Graduates have ruined the United States while some of America’s greatest Heroes were high school drop outs.

Summary:

Your spirit is the only thing you take with you when you go. Prioritize it!  A good heart, mind and brain will help you develop that spirit.  But excess and neglect tend to ruin almost everything earthly.  Fear not the physical death, but fear today the suggestion of a spiritual death.