Happy Fathers, Daughters and Sons day

Of course every day is father’s day, but once you have your own nucleus of a family, father’s day becomes special. My father was very special to me and I am blessed with his infinite affection to last for my life time, and I deeply feel for those who did not have one.

There are many of us out there who grew up without a father, or if we had one, he was not there for us. I feel the pain and incompleteness one feels and I extend that fatherly affection to you, even if you don’t know me, I hope you feel the energy, I am with you. You are welcome to call me to chat for a few moments. This father’s day belongs to my kids and you; you could be of any age.

God (causer/creator/she/it) has programmed us to be adaptable, what we miss in a father, we may find in a Mother, an older brother, uncle or a friend. My heart goes out to those of you who have had an abusive father, and I want you to know that God may have appeared to be cruel to you at times, but you endured it and your rewards with the lord would be bountiful, spiritually you are ahead of most of us. Indeed, you are truly blessed by God to experience the pain just as Jesus had endured it for the humanity.

Continued: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/happy-fathers-daughters-and-sons-day.html

Shape your life, you are the decider

Thank God all the bad news is consolidated on our Television sets. Shamelessly most of the talk shows run 100% bad news, creating chaos rather than find solutions. Is life that way? The Good: Bad news component ought to be 80:20 reflecting the real world, rather than 1:99 as they portray.

This morning NPR (National Public Radio) carried a beautiful story of a non-profit gym in the inner Boston, where many a people cannot afford to go to gym and end up being out of shape. So this Gym is built to facilitate those who want to be in shape, some of the funding comes from the other for profit gyms and those who can afford pay $10/month. There is whole lot of good going on there and am sure you are surrounded with those stories, why not make a habit of sharing good stories and uplift ourselves and others around us?

Disproportionate news sinks you, so limit what drowns you to a maximum of 30 minutes a week and the time saved can be spent on serving others, see the joy you receive from it, it is incredible. It is in your hands how you want your day to be. It will change your life.

I have not watched NEWS in 2 and Half years now except the two super bowls, even though I have been on it many a times. I do catch up with major News items on the public Radio (NPR) every now and then, and watch clips of critical items of major disasters where we can do something. I have not missed a thing. Who wants to hear the hate talks and pollute the purity of our hearts? You and I perhaps don't eat rotted food worried that it will mess our tummy, then why should we consume talks that does the same to our mind? Every time I got the temptation to watch the TV, pick up the phone and call friends to see how they are doing.

Doing things for others gives you joy as long as you do not expect a return or reward, the moment you want wages, it depletes the joy in a hurry. The Bhagvad Gita adds, "let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction".

You will find your blessings and joy when you are not driven by results in the pursuits of your life (except business). Simply doing things for others enhances the quality of your life, try it, you will get hooked, it is contagious.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India, Peace and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Diversity is the standard

Is diversity a standard? It appears that way, look at the nature no tree is alike, no snow flake is alike and no dirt is alike. Look up in the sky, there are trillions of stars out there and none of them is alike; billions of galaxies yet each one is different, and we accept their uniqueness without an iota of doubt.

Imagine going to a party where every male is 6' tall and female is 5'6". All men have their hair cut short and have parted their hair precisely the same way, and the women have done their hair as if it came from the same dye. All women wear size 6 shoes and are 5” heeled black pumps whereas all men wear size ten. Every woman weighs 128 pound; not an ounce less or more and men weigh 160 pounds on the needle.

Then every one walks up to the perfect rose garden ever; some 500 rose plants cut exactly to 4’ tall, and esactly five flowers per plant were blooming and each one of them is pink with 25 petals to be exact.

Who sets the standards?

A few men resent the hair styles of some other men or hate their pants sliding off over their butt; a few women would like to comment on the dresses of other women… think about it, who sets the standards as to what to wear?

There are nearly seven billion of us and each one of has a different thumb print and a unique DNA combination which we accept that as our uniqueness.

There are at least 250 religious traditions out there, perhaps even more, and each tradition is beautiful to the followers, then what really holds us from accepting the uniqueness of other's faith? Arrogance and insecurity!

Who cares if your faith is wise, older, smart, easy, simple... every one has to live his or her own life and is answerable in his or her own solitude. It is you within you that have to live with you. I am thinking of good ole Charlene's song, "Never been to me", she says, she's been to georgia, been to the aisle of greece, but never been to me. Ha!, that's where we need to go to be with ourselves and to live our own life and set our own standards for ourselves.

Diversity is crucial to survival and existence. On an abandoned Island after the shipwreck we cannot have men and women possessing the same skills, we need diversity of skills to get out of there. Tall girls and guys can pluck apples from a tree (if the tree is tall) short men and women can crawl into the cave and grab that hidden food the animals store for their use.

I wish I was tall particularly when a crowd is watching a street muscian to stand behind and watch with ease, I wish I was short to receive the full shade of a building in the summer... we wish to be everything we are not.. heck, it is time to be happy with who we are, there is no one like you.

Bottom line?

Each one of us is our own standard;we have to bear our doings and undoings;our anguish and anxiety is exclusively ours;we have to live with our bad dreams;we are responsible for our standards;Let’s learn to respect and accept the uniqueness each one is endowed with, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Be yourselves!

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India, Peace and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India, Peace and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day and is a frequent guest on the media. Mike's work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

GRATITUDE

I am grateful to each one of the 4700 Facebook friends, it is very encouraging indeed. Your participation in the dialogues adds and enhances the collective understanding on a given subject. This morning I had 35 friends request to be friends. Let’s all join together and do our share, yes, our share of good in creating peace and not chaos, in developing understanding not ill-will. Thank you.

Saturday at 10:19am · Comment ·LikeUnlike - 30 comments on facebook

PATRIOTISM

It is unpatriotic if one does not have the courage to acknowledge and criticize one's own nation, and it is a gross disloyalty to let the nation morally degenerate itself. My heroes are those who criticize my nation and prevent it from moral decay, my heroes are those who keep the government rascals on the...ir toes, and my heros are those who are committed to working for security of every one.The truth is that no individual or a nation can be secure when others who surround them aren't. It behooves us to make friends but not frigthen and harass others, if we threaten even the weakling will develop the energy to cause insecurity to us.

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June 10 at 6:07pm - 51 Comments on Facebook

Helen Thomas

A good solid apology from Helen is due; if she were not a celebrity we could have ignored her. I demand her to step down from her position as an ace journalist.A good solid apology from Helen is due; if she were not a celebrity we could have ignored her. I demand her to step down from her position as an ace journalist.There is a big question for the Jewish community and all of us; how to go to the roots of bigotry and evaporate it with a meaningful dialogue. In the short run we can squelch bigotry with laws, but that would breed resentment and flare up every now and then. The problem is deeper and as a society, we all need to sit down and talk, place all the cards on the table, then only we can find lasting solutions.Helen may resign and go, but the spark of bigotry is in the air,

Continued: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/helen-thomas-under-fire-for-comment-on.html

Pleasures of life

For nearly 25 years I woke up with a miserable back and neck pain, and I knew, I was not alone, several of my friends were experiencing the same. About three years ago, a conscious decision was made to invest in comfort and got the Tempurpedic bed; thank God for it. Last week in Atlanta, my brother in law Rasheed mentioned about his back pain… and it dawned on me that I have completely forgotten about my own back/neck pain; it is gone for good.

Sometimes, solutions are out there if we seek it. Nothing beats good night’s sleep and it is worth investing in a good bed.

Way back in late sixties, Gandhi had possessed me, and I slept on the hard granite slab not the smoothed one, but the rough one that is laid out in verandas of houses in Bangalore. At that time, it meant simplicity to me. At one time, I slept on a bare wood bench that was about a foot wide and five feet long, I had gotten used to it.

There was a time I could not live without coffee in the morning and a good cup of tea in the afternoon. Well, when I worked in the home building industry, I opened new subdivisions and all we had there was a trailer – and nothing else around. I could not make my tea or coffee and it drove me nuts. Then I decided, I was not going to be a slave to the tea or coffee and simply freed me from that slavery.

A few years back I resumed the coffee and tea again, but not as a dependent but as a joy and drank it randomly and at times I have gone for weeks without it. I enjoy it when I see some good tea. Yes, the color of the tea is crucial in its joy giving ability, visibility plays a great role in the quality of tea. Yasmeen's father apparently said that if the food is not good looking, it would not entice his palette, he was so right, I have to tell that to John Shore, my friend who ate some funny looking food and he is a good discoverer. Yasmeen's friends Noreen, Alina and Amber had made some outstanding, good looking tea that I enjoyed very much, and indeed I am longing for it.

What is life? You set the goals and work your butt off to achieve them, then the benchmark is raised, and you go to work at it again. The whole life is about setting ourselves up and working for it.

My good buddy shares the story of his wife; some twenty years ago, when they came to the United States they slept on the floor for a few months. She set a goal of her life to have a bed and $500 in the bank, that is all she wanted. She accomplished that in a few months, and then she raised the benchmark to have a leather sofa.

Is contentment important or are we going to get caught in the game of wanting and working for it? Think about it, we dangle the carrot ourselves and chase it.

We have the choice how we receive the comforts of our life, contentment must be a critical factor in figuring the comforts with a room for ambition.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Jesus Cartoons

Ultimately goodness triumphs. Let freedom prevail, there is no end to controlling others, it is time we dispossess and disown Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Krishna and others, they are not exlcusive property of any one, they belong to all of us. Christians don’t own Jesus, Krishna is not the property of Hindus nor Muhammad is owned Muslims. Let’s not bottle them, it is not prudent to reduce their message to a few. Each one of them wanted us to be good beings, let's be one.

The problem is not cartoons; it is the intolerance of the few. A majority of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and others understand that, diversity is part of their life. When you have the power, you solve problems with humility and not arrogance. Arrogance flares up the conflict and causes people to take a stand and dig in their heels, humility brings understanding and understanding leads to solutions of co-existence.

Continued:
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Gaza, Israel, Flotilla and consequences

When societies live in denial of their abuses against others or justify them, their morality declines and the society goes downhill towards a characterless nation. The following pieces on Israel's bullying of the humanitarian aid are action items for you, if you have the time to do your share of justice in the world, it is time to act now. Please remember this action by Israel is unilateral in nature by a few in the government, they are neither the voice of Jews, nor would Judaism approve such actions.

Where are the moderate Jews?

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Memorial day reflections

It is a day of remembrance and reflection, it is time to pray for those have passed away, whether they are related to us or not. Please take a few moments to remember all those who have influenced, affected and cared for us, and those who cared for others whether we know them or not. It is not a noble thing or a religious thing, it is a thing that enriches our souls and brings humility and connects us back with ourselves.

On the Memorial Day, I drove from Louisville to Dallas, a 840 miles journey and stopped at every cemetery that was visible on the road side. I said a short prayer asking the creator to restore the balance on the earth though forgiveness to those who have sinned and bring completeness to those who left incomplete transactions in life.  I particularly remember stopping at 4 national cemeteries, and there was one near Nashville on I-40 for the veterans, which was off the road, and I drove through a creek to get there and paid my homage to the men and women who died for this country's freedom. It just feels good to be a part of the whole.

There is a beautiful Islamic supplication that asks God to forgive the ones who are alive and the ones who are gone, parents, family, friends and believers.


Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net