Christmas 2010

Christmas anticipation! Excellent south Texas Christmas with cold windy weather in the low 40's. Result, first thing was a roaring fire, breakfast, and then presents. Tammy also prepared an excellent late lunch of ham, yummy potatoes, salad and rolls. All in all, a great Christmas of gifts, warmth, and food. Pictures!   VIDEO

 A NELSON GATHERING

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Memories

Memories are a great thing, for the most part. Anyone who really knows my wife knows she can remember events of a particular day and days around that date with uncanny accuracy. She can tell you the day of the week of a particular date you provide, and if there were any events of her life that happened on or about that date. It is a wonderful ability.

I know in my own life I can remember details of things that happened to me at any point of my life IF they were important to me. I can even remember dreams, if they were important to me. But I cannot just recall a date in time and events of that time. That takes something special.

CBS’s show, 60 Minutes, recently did a show on people who can recall almost every day of their lives, including the mundane events of the day. The show also noted that their was one unexplained common among those who possessed that ability. They all had some form of obsessive compulsive disorder. It didn’t have to be anything major, just obsessive about storing shoes in a closet, or organizing compulsively. To me, that is the key in that memories become retrievable because we rethink them enough to make them engrained into our subconscious and allow our conscious to find them. These people may have to think about associated memories before they find that memory they want, but they do find it.

Having memories, as I indicated before, is a good thing unless it is a bad memory. I have had too many occasions when a bad event, memory, has run over and over through my mind as I lay trying to get to sleep. The memory tended to just reinforce itself by my not being able to block it. These type memories for the average person can cause intense and lasting pain for a long time until the mind eventually and blessfully allows the event to fade until peace has once again calmed the memory. But for the obsessive compulsive mind that memory never fades without treatment.

I am not obsessive compulsive by definition, but I do have some tendencies as do we all. The mind is complex. I like to see light switches on two sides of the room that control the same light fixture both be down if the light is off. I don’t know why. We all have some peculiarity like that. But some events, like a car accident that injured my mom and killed other people when I was a young teen, will always stay there to haunt me. I know they ran the stop sign into our path, but the memory remains forever. Everyone probably has some such memory. That is why I know important memories are seared into our minds and remain forever. If we think about it enough the memory never fades.

Forgetting is a blessing. It helps us stay sane and organizes the brain to keep what is important in the forefront. Otherwise we would all be totally insane, confused, or otherwise unable to function in today’s complex world.

We sometimes need help to keep us sane, too. There are people who can help everyone, compulsive or not. Not seeking help is seriously bad for ones health and will cause more dire medical problems. So no matter what the source of the bad memory there is a remedy that can provide relief.

A good friend just posted this on Facebook that helps keep it all in perspective for how family memories can be good or bad, but forgiveness and forgetting the bad memories is a blessing:

“If one of your spiritual goals in life is to learn patience, compassion, forgiveness, or serenity, your difficult family members can give you some wonderful “feel the burn” workouts! It’s no sweat to be patient, compassionate, forgiving, or serene with people who aren't in your family, but if you can learn to do it with your most irritating relatives you’ve done some crucial inner work on your spiritual journey.”

We may not all be in it for the spiritual comfort and goals, but one's health is definitely affected when emotions and bad memories have not healed. Jesus said that forgiveness, loving ones enemies, not judging others, but reflecting on oneself and oneself only will provide enlightenment and contentment. It is a work in progress for us all, but it is what allows us to coexist.

Ledbetter Christmas 2010

We had a week early gathering on the 18th this year for Christmas at the Ledbetter's. The weather was cool and perfect as we dined on turkey, ham and the fixin's and then exchanged gifts. Even the puppies got to join us this year! See the picture.   VIDEO

A Book

This year I wrote and self published a book, The Aliens of Peatos. It was all for fun and to put down many ideas and thoughts I had conjured over the years as I lay down to sleep, but I had so much fun writing the plot and developing the characters that I realized it was just the beginning of what I hope will be a series of books centered on the theme, First Explorations in Space.

The book imagines that we are a society of people living in the late 23rd century who, like our ancestors, continue to explore worlds that are earth-like and within reach of new technology. My thoughts in writing the book consider that if we, in fact, had been visited in the past by more advanced forms of life, how have we responded and how would they have proceeded with their exploration of earth in light of human reaction to their existence and presence? Our future explorers might then inspire the civilizations on the worlds they visit with new beliefs and conclusions that they accept to explain events which they witness. Meanwhile the explorers come to a new understanding of the secrets of this universe that they are now ready to accept themselves as they interact with these discoveries. And the new revelations cross the boundaries of time and dimension to create a fun adventure that is thought provoking and intriguing.

This first book started with only a vague idea of plot development and no defined characters. Six primary characters have stepped forward, however. It evolved with a goal toward the purpose of angels, the spiritual side of life, and an understanding of what could be God's motive for why His creation is the way it is. It is science fiction, however, and only meant to be thought provoking and fun to read. So whether you read it, or it remains as only something I will continue to have fun developing in future books, is not of issue. The next book will be titled, The Spark of Life, and I have been thinking about the plot for awhile now already. It will tie up some lose ends from the first book, too, as it delves further into the mystery of life and creation. I am already anxious to see how it ends, so I hope to get started writing again soon.

It is listed for sale on Amazon for the Kindle.

Take it for granted

Some people live their lives wondering (wandering?) every step of the way, and some know that God has a purpose and a plan for every life. Taking steps in faith is a very hard thing to do and it has to have a basis in belief in a higher power that can manipulate the course of events to guide us in the right path. And even when we stray there is always that gentle nudge to get us back where He wants us.

The hard part of living this way is understanding that it may not be an easy way of life, but one that provides what we need. While all the provisions of life may be provided it still may not be lavish, in fact it can be a struggle, at least at times. But even times of difficulty can be moments of great love and enlightenment.

Living this way also means being an instrument of God, obeying His direction and allowing oneself to possibly impart a message to others. While we may not know what the result of our actions may be, we have to trust that it is part of God's purpose. Just as our own lives are affected by others' cause and purpose, we affect the lives of others by our own words and actions. The immediate repercussion may not be desirable but the long term affect will be God's way and purpose. And when we get old enough to look back at our lifes we will see the hand of God in many, if not most of the major events. It is not science, but it is truth.