Author Archives: bettsden

Rite of Passage 2017-49

Posted in Contemplation, Religious by

Rite of Passage  2017-49

The change from one aspect of life to another, but it can take a meaning in so many ways of life. When the social standing is affected by the “Rite of Passage”, then we can look at the “Self” in a different way than before it happened.

We all have experienced this ritual of life that changed us so very much in the process. This can occur for others to see and experience with us or it can be of a secluded event for only ourselves to be affected and known.

For me, it is one, which I have been blessed or made more whole, but most definitely it changed me in many ways.

Years now since it began, the Rite slowly evolved, adapted, tweaked, and became what it is today.  A journey of life everlasting. One that is mine to own, accept, attest to, take credit for, in its endeavors.

I have become more introspective, much more caring toward others, less aggressive, having a feeling of humbleness, with less prejudice, and more contentment, and above all having love towards others, all others.

Again, I claim this “Rite of Passage” as my own, mine to ponder, enjoy and live to its fullest. 

I jump up and over from one stone to another in getting closer to God and Jesus Christ. I visit one room of life and continue to the next, opening and closing doors to experience the ramifications of what each has to offer and how I can become closer to the One I love.

There have been setbacks, two steps forward and one behind, but overall, it has been one of getting closer and closer to God in the process. The realization that it is about ME was inspirational when I finally realized it as such. It was, and is, not necessarily about me with others, even though others are part of the equation.

The journey was long in coming, and since it began, it has been more than interesting and wonderful,  and truly enlightening. My journey began March 3, 2010 and the “Rite of Passage” began at that time. Time does fly by for all of us, and it is hard to contemplate that it has taken me so long to realize the things I know now. 

Sometimes the ritual of life does have a long and tenuous experience of time, and I do not regret the time it took, or is taking, but instead relish existence of the Rite in all its glory and consequences.

 Life is good, God is Great, and life goes on.

Peace,

Den Betts

Honesty 2017-48

Posted in Contemplation, Religious by

Honesty    2017-48

 

 Honesty!  An easy word, but sometimes hard to put into practice!

Sometimes it is just being honest with ourselves, and other times it is with others that we have to, or maybe should, be honest with them, in the scope of things.

OK, I have two things going here, Self and Others. 

Self:  We can try to be as honest with ourselves as much as we can be, but it just doesn’t happen sometimes. We want to believe we are, but are not.  Normal…

We deceive ourselves in thinking we are being upfront with ourselves, but when we look back we can see that we were not. 

Some examples:  Perhaps I am realizing that I MIGHT have Alzheimer Disease early stage. I MIGHT want to ignore this and not be honest with myself. It is a HORRIBLE disease and I might want to NOT be honest with myself in this case.

Another scenario: What if I started to regularly drink alcohol in excess every day. I MIGHT want to NOT think that I am an alcoholic and continue to do so, regardless of the facts, but in reality not be honest with myself.

OK, moving on to others……  Do I want to be honest with someone else that I know, OR do I want them to be totally honest with me? Perhaps not.  Would friendships be ended?  Would feelings be hurt? I would think it is a possibility that this may happen. BUT, by not being honest, many things can be prevented or instead, cured in the process of being honest. 

Some examples:  Letting a friend know that what they are doing is disrupting others, where they do not see the facts of their actions. Maybe the alcoholic in my other Self example would be benefited if it were a friend instead, and were told that they are drinking too much and suggesting they get help.

It could be we would lose a friend, in the process; depends on the friend and how close we are to them.

Honesty is, in a big way, the adherence to the facts, being fair and straightforward in our conduct, being truthful and sincere, and, of course, being frank in our expressions.

If we are believers in God, I would say that He knows the truth, always, and we cannot be dishonest with Him, for He knows all.  He is with us always, He is aware, he is alive and He is Present with us, being active with us, again, always……

Can we be honest with ourselves and with others?  Don’t know!!!!

 

Peace,
Den Betts                                            bettsden@gmail.com

One Chance 2017-47

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ONE CHANCE   2017-47

If we have one chance at life on Earth before we are gone elsewhere:

THEN:

What mark will we make, now, today, or tomorrow?

Is there something we can do that we will be somewhat proud of and be remembered?

OR, are there many things we will do that result in nothing to be recalled, but instead be forgotten as being unworthy to be recollected?

Can our existence of the Self, with the now, the present, be changed in a way that others will comment on our accomplishments, our fulfilled goals, and esteemed actions, which will make a difference to others as well as to ourselves?

We have one chance (our lifetime) to do this something, to go beyond the norm, to create a memorable experience that will make a difference in life, for us, and for others.

Where do we stand on issues, on actions and where do we belong to the elite group of people that have done so many things that make a difference.

Den Betts

 

Who, What and Where is God 2017-46

Posted in Religious by

Who, What, and Where is God? 2017-46

For a believer, that might be a stupid question! Or NOT!

In reality, God called himself, “I am”, as told to Moses of the Hebrew Bible by saying “I am who I am”. The Hebrews called Him YAHWEH, and some have spelled it as JEHOVAH, incorrectly, as it is said by some.

Regardless, God spoke of Himself as “I am” and when others speak of Him it is interpreted as “He is”, which I interject as a point of interest.

When I pray to God, I thank Him for His Glory and say, “Dear Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, the one God of the Universe and continue thanking Him for the blessings He has bestowed on me, which are many, many, many.
Let me continue with an interesting (?) thing about this prayer. I have someone I know, who is an Atheist, who states, “There can be no God of the Universe, it is TOO BIG! There are stars with planets and He cannot be the God of ALL of them.” He continued,” If He made people in His image, like on Earth, what about elsewhere in the Universe; are they human in appearance?”

Well, since I am not a stellar traveler, I could not state a reply, with facts, in response. I did answer with, “Because He is God!” I wrote before on the subject “The Faces of Jesus Christ 2017-35” where I suggested that Jesus would have the face and ethnicity of who he was speaking with at the time. Perhaps that is true with God, regarding a planet having intelligent beings that look like something we cannot even imagine and call the one God of the Universe their God. He would be in their image and they would think of God in this way, looking like them.

God is the “I am”. God is the Creator, and God is everywhere; period. He loves us unconditionally and looks at all of us as His children. He is alive, He is active, He is aware, and always present to us.

Peace,
Den Betts                                              Comments, questions at bettsden@gmail.com

Oh Hell, Oh Well 2017-45

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Oh Hell, Oh Well 2017-45

 

“Oh Hell”, could be a standard expression for so many things.  What to say when things go wrong. How to cope with the unexpected. How to deal with life in general, I guess.

We, as humans, get involved with everything under the Sun, and then, must live with our actions, our mistakes, our foibles with others, and the untold realities of life.

The crappy, clutter of our brain synapses that signal the grey matter receptors, result in our thinking the way we do, and in some good and some bad ways, they make us what we are today.

When are we honest with ourselves? The Solitude of Self, implores us to try to do so, but, should I say IF, we are honest, we can see what we are when we do so. Too many of us are not, we hide, even to Self, what we feel, how we see in the mirror, what we want to see, not what is actually there, looking at us.

 At times, we cannot control this feeling of Self, but instead, make excuses for so many things we do. I think this is normal to a degree. If we are authentic to Self, we can do much for our way of living.

It is much too easy to deceive the Self and make up things to survive in life. BUT, consider the fact that we are not sharing with others, many times, what and how we feel. We are not exposing, to others, our deep inside emotions, and we CAN be honest with the one person that does not HAVE to judge us, our own Self, at least, most of the time.

Maybe this should be entitled Self instead of what it is at the top.  Anyway, we say “Oh Hell”, and go on with life the way we do.  I have a standard saying that does go beyond the “Oh Hell”, statement.  IT is , “Oh Well”.

What does Oh Well, do for me? Well, (play on word), for one thing, it gets me by the rigors of what is going on in any given moment. I can say these two words, and then, continue what I was doing at the time. “Oh Well”, says, to me, Hey, get over it, endure, bypass the moment, deal with it, and get past the hideous situation that created itself at the time.

Self-preservation rules!  Life continues in its own way, and I am surviving the terrible time I see myself in and I do NOT give in to the convolutions of the mind that is trying to overcome me.  Well it works most of the time, and when it doesn’t, I go to bed and take a nap or something. Ha!

Oh Hell, Oh Well; two phrases that are different, but are part of MY life. Perhaps, I will welcome you to use them or one of them and I gladly share the “Oh Well” with you at this time.

Peace,

Den Betts

My World — Your World 2017-43

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                                                                My World – Your World   2017-43

 

How many of us live only in our own little world? My World is the one that I exist in and Your World is where you inhabit on a regular basis.

Normal?  YES!!! Could we drift over to each other’s world?  HMMMMmmmm!!

Do we put up barriers to keep others out of our domain and in doing so are we isolating ourselves from each other?  Do we ignore the joys we could share, and do we evade the tribulations we could have helped with others?

All good questions in life, but made to think about….

When we take a chance to “go over” to the other’s space, we gamble that it will be taken with graciousness and not be resented.  Of course, if it is a joyful thing, I would imagine that it will be appreciated.  But, if it is a trial or tribulation, it might be resented.

How can we KNOW when, what we do, will be taken as a help and not a hindrance or something of a begrudging nature of interference? 

Well, if we try, perhaps it is better than not trying at all, to help those we love or care about. To do nothing may be a terrible thing and something we will regret later.  “Oh, if only I would have said something, or done something”, may be the statement we make of the non-reaching out that we COULD have done.

It could be that the words or actions we might have done would have been the “something” that made a difference.  Just the words, “Hey, I care about you and am thinking about you” is all it would take to make someone feel uplifted.

Don’t be afraid to try. Don’t be hesitant to be there when you think you are needed.  Rejection on their part does not mean you are rejected overall. Maybe, they are stalling, but WANT your input.

Peace

Den Betts           

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Apathy 2017-42

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Apathy   2017-42

 

The indifference toward or an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, the physical life and the world in general. WOW, what a lack of feeling for something, or someone.

Historically, Christians have condemned apathy as a deficiency of love and devotion to God and his works. How does this occur? What happened to make someone feel this way? Many reasons to attribute apathy feelings or non-feelings toward a religion or actually, anything, but if you add comprehension to the equation, then apathy becomes a measured way of knowing something is not right in the psychic of the mind.

We humans must cope with stress almost all the time in some way, and if we have to get “over” a situation or tragedy, then an apathetic reaction can be expected to occur. The term “without feeling” comes from the Greek word apatheia from, apathes, without feeling, so the origins of the word make sense to its original beginnings.

I would think a phycologist has better definitions and examples of how apathy affects us, but suffice to say, it does and in many ways.

I wondered if this word could be attributed to some today, in their religious belief systems. The word apatheism is the philosophical view that one should be apathetic towards the existence or non-existence of god(s). It is more of an attitude rather than a belief, claim or belief system.

An apatheist is someone who is not interested in accepting or rejecting any claims that gods exist or do not exist. An apatheist may thus decide to live as if there are no gods. The existence of god(s) is not rejected, but may be designated as irrelevant.

The indifference or lack of interest on this topic makes them just not interested in the topic and the argument that morals do not come from God. If a god exists there would be no changes with regards to morality, therefore a god’s existence or non-existence is again irrelevant. They just don’t care!!!

I will argue that one suffering from apathy DOES have feelings of some sorts, but there are no qualms of disbelief, but instead, just indifference.  Apathetic agnosticism dwells on the claim that no amount of debate can prove or disprove the existence of one or more deities existing, and they do not appear to be concerned about the fate of humans. Their existence has little impact on personal human affairs and should be of little interest. Therefore, again, “I don’t know and because of this, I don’t care.”

Could this feeling of apathy be the reason many today have no religious affiliations? Do they have no feelings about the thought of a life beyond what they have on Earth today? Does the agnostic non-religious feelings outweigh those having belief in God? An atheist believes they should live their lives with disregard towards a god or gods and practical atheism doesn’t see the god question as irrelevant in contrast to apatheism.

I don’t know!  I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. This God, is active, alive, aware, and present always.  I feel somewhat sorry for those that have opposite feelings or no feelings at all about God, but realize they have the right to think what they do. 

Den Betts                            bettsden@gmail.com

Peace 2017-41

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                                                                                        Peace    2017-41

Peace is word meaning tranquility, calm, restfulness and not meaning discord and the like. It is used for greeting and sometimes in asking for quiet or order.

I use it in closing my emails and suggest that those receiving them, have periods of time that are indeed, calm and collected and tranquil in nature. It is my way of saying, take care and be restful in your life.

It would be terrific if our existence would be a long enduring form of peace without conflict, fear, or violence of any sorts, but that is usually not the case.

If we have a peace treaty, hostility sometimes stops, and this is due to some kind of compromise involving communication back and forth between the warring factions, which is usually the beginning of the end of conflict. This is the ultimate goal of those involved with the process.

Christians who believe that Jesus of Nazareth to be the Jewish Messiah called Christ (meaning Anointed One) also believed He was the messianic prophecy of Jesus, in which He is called, the “Prince of Peace”, one of many such titles that Jesus was given over the years my Christians.

Peace can be measured.  At least, it can be shown to exist by some groups using indicators of internal and external levels of peace today.  Iceland is said to be the most peaceful country in the world with Syria the least, according to the Global Peace Index produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace which evaluates peacefulness in countries, using 23 indicators of the presence/absence of violence. Wonder what it is like, living in Iceland? Other groups rank other countries either better or worse than these mentioned.

Peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of happiness, freedom and peace within and among all people and nations on earth.  To achieve this stature is argued back and forth as to how to achieve this and is debatable. The basic Christian ideal specifies that peace, can only come by the Word and love of God, which is perfectly demonstrated in the life of Christ. Even this is contradicted in the Scriptures, but this is one context that I have read.

Anyhow, peace be with you. May you live in peace, be peaceful and may peace be part of your life forevermore.

Peace,

Den Betts

“I AM” 2017-40

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                                                               “I AM”    2017-40

Where do we state what we are today?  Do we make a declarative statement of who we are, and how we are? Are we brave enough to say what we believe in, and more importantly, live the life of what and how we believe?

What is “I AM” and how does this relate?  Way long time ago, a man-God, named Jesus, stated this. Jesus said, “I AM” and in fact, He WAS and STILL Is, what He said! As God revealed Himself as “I AM who I AM”, His Son let it be known that He was also, “I AM”, as a divine name equating Himself with the “I AM” title God gave Himself, to Moses, centuries before.

Moses was a reluctant man, not ready to do the will of God, and questioned just who God was at the time. God had to identify Himself as being the divine being to Moses and stated, “I AM” to Moses and still Moses kept questioning Him. This can be read in Exodus regarding Moses, and in the Book of John about Jesus and His “I AM” statements, especially in John 14:6 where Jesus said, I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life.

So, how or what does this mean to me?  I can state I am a husband, a father, a son, or many other things, but more than that and more important to me, is where I say this:

I declare a fact that “I am” a child of God! I do NOT hinge or deviate from this fact, but instead proudly state this, as I said, a fact, not a supposition of life.

I therefore say, “Do NOT try to force me to say otherwise, for I willingly say, “I am”. I do not even hint of my being anything other than a child of God, and nothing more. I feel others can make the same claim, and go further by reiterating their beliefs in a divine being that created all of us.

As such, do not try to tempt me, for “I am” and will not be tempted by you or anyone else, from my beliefs in God or what He means to me.

Do know, that “I am” and anything like greed, wealth, riches, and any material things cannot sway me in my beliefs, because I cannot be bought and cannot be changed on how I feel toward God, my Creator.

Also, do realize that, because “I am”, nothing you can say, do or show me, will change my mind; for what you think is what you think, and may not be what I think.

I say this, “to you Mr. Devil, the evil one — be aware that “I am” baptized and am immune to your wishes, your desires that are not what I want — ever, and I will reject you, I will fight you, I will not accept your evil presence around me —- ever!!!!!

For listen again, “I am, I am, – forever more, I am, and always will be a child of God, loving Him, being a student disciple of Jesus Christ and enjoying the presence of His love. God, the Almighty, is alive, He is aware, He is active and foremost, His presence is with me always.

Den Betts                            bettsden@gmail.com