Beware – Be Aware 2015-10

Posted in Statement by

This could be a sister poem of the one I wrote titled “Apathy”; to a degree. This would be a challenge to those that feel they are in control, whereas WE are really, or should be, involved in things that occur.

Beware – Be Aware    2015-10

“Beware! Beware! The end of time is near”

So says the man with placard pointed to the sky.

A pessimist to the nth degree is he,

to give up on the hope of man today.

 

But, it should be realized that things aren’t right

Or even close to the ways the world should be.

The leaders and power players of each composite group,

Show that “they know” what is good for us all.

 

In Belfast of past, the Middle East now, South America,

Perhaps here in the U.S. too; they all think alike.

Take away their power and they will be one of us,

So no peace they say, cause a stir and unrest.

 

In the name of religion, the wars are fought, and,

In the name of heritage or culture, people die.

But, it’s also in the name of power and greed,

And continued dissent for its own sake, indeed!

 

An answer to all the troubles would leave them,

With nothing to do, no longer in charge.

If the people were to be more involved,

With the underlings helping out too.

 

Then a man could be on a street corner,

With a sign telling a different tune.

One that challenged the leaders by saying,

“Be Aware! Be Aware!, change is coming soon!”

Den Betts

Apathy 2015-09

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I was at a meeting and a person said, “Why don’t they do something about – – – – “. I thought about it and realized, that person was the one that COULD do something. How many things do we look at and say the same thing or just shake our heads and wonder?

We see things and they register in our mind, but the act of doing is missing. Most of us are guilty of this “apathy” of thought over the course of our lives, perhaps NOT daily though, but at times. Some things are beyond our immediate way of doing, but some are capable of us getting involved. Such is life!!!!

            Apathy  2015-09

The lack of feelings or emotions

I am told is the meaning, but not all

Is meant by so few of words.

It is the seeing a beggar on a street

Or a dying neighbor you will never again meet

The scoundrel of a politician elected on and on

Or drug busts downtown, not here you state, relief

The high school terrors in the halls, care less now

Your kids are through and gone, thank God you say.

A drunkard lying in the gutter, in his filth,

disgusting, why don’t they do something about it.

An unwed mother, out of school, only 16, when

will they learn, should have known better, right?

Don’t give a damn you say, not for you to take

care of their problems, enough of your own, let

alone take care of the world  besides.

The things you see now could be your own someday

and the one who cares less then, could be like you now

Care at least, do something besides exist for yourself

without any emotion of others and their plights.

There, but for grace of God goes I – – could be a fact

of life in a blink of an eye

Den Betts

Human-Animal 2015-08

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I originally wrote this poem right after the horror in NYC at the World Trade Center and thought then, WHAT kind or type of human could do things like they do, to each other. We, as humans, are so inhuman to each other at times. Indeed, lower animals that are looked down on, could, if they were able to, call US the true animalistic specie on Earth. They basically kill for food, in most cases, and not for the reasons we do as humans. I post this today, due to the terror killing in France of journalists.

Human-Animal      2015-08

The human with the high developed brain,

Supposed to be the most intelligent animal.

Doing things to self and others in many ways

That go beyond belief and understanding

Newscasts describe the horrors that happen,

Graphic in ways that boggle the mind.

Lower species struggle for survival,

Not killing for power, greed or envy.

They if with thought, would think with dismay,

Why they are classified for their sub-human actions.

We as humans should be ashamed in a way

For thinking of ourselves as the most supreme.

There is no excuse for this treating of each other.

NONE WHATSOEVER

Den Betts

Blast of Cold 2015-07

Posted in Nature by

BRRRRrrrrrr!  To read this poem makes me shiver and wish I lived in Florida! Not a long poem, but one that lets you know what weather is like in winter. “Icy breath” and “blue blasts” makes one feel the coldness of winter and wants the season of Spring to hurry up and get here. There is MUCH to look forward to winter, but the storms, the heavy snowfalls and raging winds are the downside to the pretty and all so charming aspects of the season…….. I posted this on the coldest day of 2015, so far.

Blast of Cold      2015-07

A winter wind whispering in my ear,

Forewarning of days with icy breath.

Hark, hark, the autumn’s done

This one, never to return.

Promise of Spring so far away,

Distant as swirls fly about,

Bundle up against the cold,

The blue blasts of blowing wind,

Another season has arrived,

To take its turn with life.

Den Betts

Faith 2015-06

Posted in Religious by

 

Faith     2015-06

A simple word about a complex subject!!  I have used this word in the context of explaining things like Spirituality and the Holy Spirit.  BUT, what is it and how easy is it to explain?

Webster defines it in many ways, but the easy one is— where there is a belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. This could be in reference to any religion of course, so I will go where he expounds on it further—- the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved. The second one is under the title of Christian Theology, which makes sense to state it that way.

I could stop right there and say it is that easy. I will stick with the doctrines or teachings pertaining to Christian religions for now. As a point of interest, not all religions use the concept of faith in their practices, but let me stay with Christianity for now.

Because the word itself includes Christ faith is based on His workings in His lifetime and His teachings. I would think that Christians are not distinguished by the word faith itself, but instead by what Christians look as the examples of His life as written in the scriptures. If someone does not have faith, I would think that person does not have the basic confidence as of what is written in the Bible.

That is not hard to understand. If that person of non-faith does not have the trust in believing in what is written, or thinks that the Bible is not reliable, then the faith may not be there. I wrote a history of the Bible a few years ago for Sunday school. To read the history and to know how it morphed into what is seen today is so very interesting.

I will not go into that now, but needless to say, it, the Bible, had its slow progression to what it is now. The King James Version is what most other versions take from and what was used before then was difficult to read and understand.

So, the Bible is where I said the trust begins.  I think that you would have to trust that what is written was inspired by God, even though it was not written by Him. I know some religions look at it as the absolute word of God, and they can do so, but I will use “inspired by God” instead for now.

It takes believers, scripture, traditions, personal experiences, a community foundation of belief to be assured about God and Jesus Christ. There is more written about the man names Jesus, than any other historical figure from the past. There are more manuscripts telling about His life than any other person from history, so that is part of it.

All well and good, but what is faith again? It still comes down to a feeling!!!  I wasn’t at the crucifixion, I did not see the miracles occur or hear Jesus pray and teach. So, I have to trust in the work or stimulation of the Holy Spirit where He endorses the Scripture writings, which comes about by the divine inspiration of Him. The finality of these dealings is what faith is all about.

I remember when someone I know had problems believing in God, and was basically a doubter and not really an unbeliever. I told him so, and he did not agree, saying he did not have doubts, just not enough hard facts to support his believing.  I understand that thought process. There are some things that are difficult to believe in, and without concrete, absolute, engineered, scientific evidences, it is not easy to come to terms with in life.

The Sun comes up from the East and sets in the West. The planet Earth is round, not square or flat. The word –faith comes up when the desire to substitute emotion for evidence is pronounced. If there are emotions by many people, faith cannot be rationally made into fact and friction can occur in the process.  So, faith is— believing without evidence. So, by my saying I have faith, I am saying to you, I think I know something or believe something that some may say I really do not know for sure. That is my faith, believing in the Father, the man God Jesus ,and the Holy Spirit of God, that has no physical proof laying around. Except, I know there is a God, and perhaps I will tell you why some day.

Peace,

Den Betts

Heinous Disease 2015-05

Posted in Contemplation by

This poem is about Alzheimer’s disease or (AD), and was composed in remembrance of my business partner’s wife, Mary, and in memory of my father who came down with this disease. I have found that this disease has more than one victim, the one with the disease and the caregivers that deal with it also. It is indeed a heinous disease, like many others.

Heinous Disease   2015-05 

A heinous disease that slowly arrives,

One you can’t see, but know is there

That brings tears to your eyes.

How cruel, how cruel, when the mind

Starts to go, when others can see

You are not quite in the know.

When you stare into space with a

Far off look, a remembering of the past.

The shock of horror on your face,

Not knowing who, what or the current place.

The unnatural acts done with no malice,

Not knowing why, just done; how cruel.

Those taking care of you, trying to understand,

Loving, but thinking – why, why, OH why?!

The mind, such a fragile thing – subject to hurt, to

This disease, to the whims of nature so.

DDB

 

Senses 2015-04

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I like this one!  It ties in the  senses we have, with life, in a simple way. It uses the senses to help realize there is so much around us to experience and understand. It’s not too heavy to read and it gets across what I was feeling at the time about living and what I believe in. Not much more to say about it.

Senses     – 2015-04

Take a sip from the spoon of life,

and taste the nectar of living.

Drink from the cup of wisdom,

experience the feeling of knowledge.

Breath the air of freedom

smell the freshness of independence.

Touch another with tenderness,

and  feel the spirit of love.

Look at the world around you

and  see the complexity of creation.

Eat from the table of the Lord,

and know the opportunity of eternity.

Den Betts

Wind Chime 2015-03

Posted in Nature by

Too many words, at times, does NOT make for a good poem, whereas, simplicity is sometimes the key to a better one. I wrote this poem after sitting outside at the farm where we lived at the time, listening to the wind chimes and hearing the “ting, ting, ting” that they made. When the wind blew the sound carried across from the pine trees, where they were hung, further across the meadow, then the pasture, and finally up to our bedroom window at night.

Wind Chime  2015-03

The wind chime sings its music,

Sending its notes in a circle of sound.

Soft whispers of tingling cascades,

With echoes like falling glass.

Den Betts

Recycled Life Blood 2015-02

Posted in Nature by

It was relaxing, sitting on the porch, at the farm house, watching nature happen in the form of a soft summer rain. How enjoyable it was to see the clouds wander by, going someplace and knowing that the rain was nourishing the ground below.

Recycled Life Blood   2015-02

The sun burns off the fog

as the Earth bakes dry

in the morning

Lakes rise into the sky

becoming an entity with

a silver lining

Heaven weeps to those below

as the recycling of life’s

blood continues and goes

Den Betts

Presence 2015-01

Posted in Religious by

The Presence     2015-01

I use the words, “The Presence” in my essays and poems at times, and when I do so, I am relating to the Presence of God. The Triune God of the Christian faith that is. The one God of the Universe who reigns over all people, that are on Earth.

He can be the Father Almighty, the Son, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit, but still each (or as one) is the one that comprises The Presence.  Many have a problem with this concept of One.  I would think that it would be easier to just plain accept it as fact that is unproven, but is.  That is hard to do, I realize, but in the process of trying to understand the concept, it is like the word Faith, it cannot be proven by anyone on earth; just is, or so I say now.  If you do not believe in the Presence, the Triune God or even in Faith, then it really doesn’t matter much then and I would suggest you just move on with  your life; no problem.

But, if you DO have Faith, then consider these words.  God can be all of one and being one, then is all. It is like the equation 1 x 1 x1 = 1.  Even I can understand that mathematical calculation. Let me move on with this thought.

Thinking of the presence again and the three in one concept, how are they related?  I would like to tie in the two with basically this statement.  When we talk about God, I relate to the One God and the essence of God being one.  In discussing the Presence, it is better to just think of it as God and not worry about the form or who exactly we are mentioning.  When I pray to God, I sometimes put names to Him, by saying “God in Heaven, maker of the Universe, or Lord Jesus, I ask you for ——, or Dear Holy Spirit, help me in what I am trying to do.” That is OK, in my mind, and I think with God, that it is also ok. He is God, and it doesn’t matter the exact title or term you use for Him.

I said the Presence, God, is with us always.  Not sometimes, or special times, but always; not when He feels like it. That can be daunting to think about. God is watching us when we eat, sleep, pee, do great things and not so great things. He knows all that we do and when we do it. That is not easy to comprehend for some.

Do we really want God to know when we do things that are not exactly those actions we want Him to know about and have Him realize just how we are at the time?  When we cuss out someone with words that are vile and especially use words that are using His name in vain, do we want Him to hear? Probably not, but sometimes we do. The great thing is, He does forgive us for swearing and doing those terrible or not so Christian/religious actions that we do. I would think asking or praying for forgiveness would be the thing to think about then.

His Presence, in the form of one of the Triune essences is with us when we have to contend with the horrors of life also. He is with us even though the act done is unimaginable to us. That is hard to fathom for some also. I remember someone telling me, “If He was there, why didn’t He do something to prevent what happened?” He was asking me? I can’t answer that question, but do believe He does NOT prevent all the things that happen in the world. Why doesn’t he stop a hurricane, a tornado, a flash flood or other natural calamity from happening? Maybe, I will ask Him when I die, if I have a chance. Why didn’t He prevent my mother, father or brother from dying? Hey, death is part of life, I heard one time, so it is also a natural occurrence that just happens.

I like to think His Presence is with me always. Not just when I need it, but all the time. I can pray to God at any time and know He hears me. That is the neat thing about having God with us always. We have Him to hear us all the time, both at good times and bad. He can laugh with us when we have a light moment in our lives and console us when the bad times arrive. The one cost of having His Presence with us might be our love for Him and it would be great to let Him know just how much we do love Him, because I believe He loves to hear us say it to Him.

Some could bring up weird things that can be thought of that would preclude having God present when we are doing something, but let me state that He is capable in the seeing, hearing and knowing what ALL we do, and nothing can surprise Him in our actions.

I like to think of God as the being that created us, died for us in the form of the man Jesus Christ, and is with me in my soul as the Holy Spirit and is near me, so close to me, always………..

Think about what I have said and like or comment if you wish.

Peace be with you,

Den Betts