I dont have enemies, i have not likers, but none of them are out to get me, nor am i out to get them. People stop talking to me for my gay-tivities but well its their stuff they have to go sort out, i took my time and sorted, cropped, shifted, de-shifted, primmed, stretched, botoxed, liposucked, and made something i call life with whatever was left.

I think we should agree to disagree on our interpretations. You and I see Davey’s advice, the definition of extreme, and others things on this forum in very different ways. That’s a good thing … it makes discussion possible.

I would ask that you not assume what “I realise (sic)” regarding the complexities of this world or the realities that each person experiences in their own way. We each have our own challenges; Goddess knows I’ve certainly had my share.

In such circumstances the offender cannot say “I’m sorry” because that leaves him in charge. The offender must ask / beg forgiveness; which I did.

Only three (neither Jimmy nor Sam) offered any attempt to give me any “benefit of the doubt.”

I truly believe that my life’s journey helps explain what happened, but I can understand that some at least would see that only as an excuse and self-justification.

I doubt that any of my “friends” read Davey Wavey. How I wish they did and that someday they might find it in their hearts to forgive me even if they never tell me directly.

Davey, thank you for your Post. I hope many, if not all, those who read this Post will have mercy on and forgive those who offend them.

To the sweet person who wrote that a new health care law would reduce the administrative burden on health care folks: You’ve not seen anything yet. When the Federal government gets involved your paperwork woes will greatly increase. The total weight of the paperwork will probably exceed the weight of the patient, the physician and the nurses. Remember most members of congress are attorneys who have never done any real work.

It’s all very well to send out lovely peaceful messages of hope and love, but the fact of the matter is the advice often doesn’t help people in real life, practical situations – and yes “extreme” examples are included. In fact those extreme examples are more common throughout the world then you realise, and generally speaking a non white middle class male will usually have lived that experience (although David would have suffered discrimination at some point for being gay).

I’m not criticising David for being white, middle class and male. What I am suggesting is that his views are narrow because of it. He obviously doesn’t understand in a very real sense that a lot of his advice doesn’t help people in real life. I often seek to highlight this in response to his posts. This is the unfortunate fact of human nature. Some pple are assh*les and no amount of peace and love is going to stop them being assholes, and often you can’t avoid them. Sometimes to the extreme – ie Nazi’s and you end up dead or severely damaged because of it.

If people want to give advice etc on the Net by all means do so, but make it practical and something people can use. Putting advice in CONTEXT is the key.

My point is that we live in a democracy. Discussion is encouraged. Contrary opinions are NOT discouraged.

Wavey Davey, who is beautiful, lovely and interesting, was angered by the old man’s opinion of the defective health care bill the politicians are about to thrust upon us. The old man’s opinions were contrary to Wavey Davey’s. Is that love? I was simply pointing this out to him.

Nothing was said about the holocaust, Buddha, Christ, or Mohamed. Regarding your reference to “white, middle class male”; are you a racist?

As to the holocaust victims, where was God? Was God loving?

I love Wavey davey like a brother and wnat hime to know that debate and discussion are good.

To all those that provide ~extreme~ examples and call Davey a hypocrite, etc. Have any of you actually ~met~ Buddha, the Christos, Mohamed or any of the other Wise Ones? Do you know for certain that they always lived blameless lives, practiced what they professed, and were constantly full of peace?

Does Davey’s (possible) upbringing or family history in any way lessen the messages that he brings us? I’m a child of Holocaust survivors and can assure you that there ~were~ peaceful and uplifting moments for many during the horrid times they lived in. Their secret? To live as best they could in the circumstances they were in while working ~daily~ to somehow make living less painful.

The constant refrain of “white, middle class male” gets very tiring after it is used to browbeat someone that has gleaned some wisdom at a younger age than it takes others to learn and accept it.

You can either choose to accept the ~message~ without judging the messenger or not. I choose to listen and be reminded of many things that I have been taught / learned / accepted over my life.

We should live our lives like Marcus Tullius Cicero http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero

He stood up for what he believed. He was a stoic & was a vitreous man. He believed:
1. Virtue is sufficient for happiness.
2. Only virtue is good.
3. You cannot trust the emotions.

If all men lived by these, there would be peace.

Of course our dear Wavey Davey does not live by what he espouses. Recently, he wrote of his anger at an old man who angered him as he had a different opinion about the horrid healthcare bill that needs many fixes. Wavey Davey is a tyrant and hypocrite when it comes to a different opinion to his own. Of course, we still love and enjoy Wavey Davey all the same.

PS. I am not against a health care bill but it needs fixing.

It’s true, you can choose not to fight, not to resist, and technically speaking there is no conflict because you are not resisting. But in doing so, you may very well be choosing death.

For instance, if we take the examples of the Jews, yes, it would have been futile of them to fight back against the soldiers marching them to the gas chamber. But they could have fought back and survived in more subtle ways (ie escape from prison with some other method), rather than lie down and take it, so to speak. I wouldn’t think this type of resistance is a waste of energy at all.

I think you hit the nail on the cuticle.

Anyway, I love wavey davey.

Knowing or believing something is quite different than doing it at all times and in all places. For example, I know that I am unlikely to win at casino gaming. I tell people that the odds are against them and they probably won’t win. And yet I sometimes go to the casino despite the odds. I don’t believe it’s hypocrisy so much as choosing to act against my better judgement. I never tell people not to go to the casino and I never tell them that I wouldn’t go. I merely state what works best if one doesn’t want to lose money.

Likewise, Davey isn’t telling us we must do as he says. He’s writing what he feels and believes. It’s up to us to take and use whatever we find useful and discard whatever we don’t.

Being free from conflict doesn’t imply that everything will work out the way we want it to. However when we are not resisting another’s actions we are free to act constructively. Working against something, even something that we view as morally objectionable, we expend copious resources just to counter the actions of the opposing force. We, therefore, have nothing (or little, at best) left to actually create the possibilities we want for the world. Rather than resisting, if we were to allow whatever is happening in the here and the now, we can work with our full force to create a new reality, not merely stopping that with which we disagree but creating something that – if it has merit – will cause people to give up the other option.

This is not new wisdom. The ancient Taoist and Buddhist philosophers embraced the principle of non-resistance. So did Aesop in his fables:

A very large Oak was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It fell among some Reeds, which it thus addressed: “I wonder how you, who are so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds.” They replied, “You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape.

When we resist, typically we end up just like the oak. Even if we ‘win’ the situation (i.e., the wind dies down but we remain) we come out of it broken and battered.

1 John 4:18 (The Bible)

The problem with the current bill is politics. Politics gives politicians many things, to paraphrase CICERO; a clean pair of hands is not one of them. The bill was tailored with self serving goals in mind. But mind you no bill so far will be applicable to members of congress, they have their own insurance and it is good.

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Understanding this fundamental truth is one of the most important keys to unlocking the doors to higher levels of consciousness/awareness.

Once we start seeing everyone (including ourselves) with this knowledge, it changes our perspective on the entire world.

Here’s a simple analogy:

You are a junior in high school; you know that you have learned more, and know more about Life than you did in each of the preceding grades – sophomore back thru pre-school. You know that as you advanced thru each grade level, you grew and became more knowledgeable and changed your behavior accordingly. You also know that the students currently in those grades aren’t yet as knowledgeable and aware of “Life stuff” as you currently are. Their lack of knowledge and awareness doesn’t make them lesser beings, just less knowledgeable and less aware, and still growing and learning.
Remember: They are where you once were.

Conversely, if you look ahead at those students who are currently seniors in high school and freshmen thru grad students in college, you know that they have learned more and know more “Life stuff” than you do. This doesn’t mean that you are lesser than them, just that you are not yet as knowledgeable and aware as they are, and that you are still growing and learning.
Remember: They are where you will one day be.

Knowing that we are all on the same journey, but just in different places (grades) on the pathway, we can live without passing judgment on or assigning blame to other people for their actions. Indeed, they are responsible for their own actions and reactions in Life, just as we are responsible for our own. But, we can view these actions and reactions with a higher understanding, and know that it is all part of the learning process that we must each go thru. We don’t need to condone “bad” behavior, just understand why some people act that way.

Wherever you are on the path, know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, just as everyone else is exactly where they are supposed to be. There is no better than or less than, or any other form of comparative measure or value for where we each are on that path. We each learn and progress at our own pace – it’s not a competition or race to see who gets there first.

In the big picture it’s an individual, yet co-operative, effort for all of us. We can look at those “behind” us and reach out to them with an open heart and open hand, and offer them unconditional love, understanding, and support on their journeys. We might actually be the spark that ignites their awakening to a higher level of awareness. We can also look to those “ahead” of us for their unconditional love, understanding, and support on our own journeys. And, one of them might just help ignite a part of our own awakening.

So, as Davey stated, we really have no enemies – just fellow travelers on our journey thru Life. Some of them are “ahead” of us on the path, and some of them are “behind” us. The important thing to remember is that we are ALL on the path.

Peace, Love, and Truth,

Todd in VA

2. It takes two to tango. Conflict can’t be brought into your life without your participation; if you respond with love, peace, compassion and understanding, your life will be free from conflict. Conflict grows when you nurture it with the fertilizers of violence, energy or hate, and withers when you respond with your heart.

Hmm, so let me get this straight if the Jews in Nazi Germany just responded with love and kindness they would have been ok, not rounded up, gassed and murdered in the millions. It was clearly partially there fault then since they apparently didn’t respond with live and kindness. The answer was just s simple all along it’s hard to believe that everybody missed it!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Your views are largely representative of your white, middle class and sheltered view of the world.