Thought for The Day - As it is in Heaven

...so it is on earth.

We are concerned with the measurable, the obtainable, the glitter and the satisfying. And yet there is far more to our world and the world that cannot be seen. About a month ago, I bought a male, blue betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish. Alone in a gallon or more tank, his blue fins are tranquil and calming as he swims around. But my son has a male betta as well and it only takes putting them 'near' one another to see how violent they can be. There is a flaring of an area below their gills as the first acknowledgement of the other male. Then the tails get to waving around like giant flags and they beat against the glass as a threat to the other male in the other tank. We would never put them together because with these males, it is always a fight to the finish! But a typical day, they are beautiful creatures, swimming around in their own world. From the videos I've seen, they are excellent fathers as well, taking care of the eggs of their offspring and then caring for the hatchlings.

We come into this world and leave with the same desire: sustenance and connection. And somewhere along the way, we find ways to fill our lives with dull substitutes for the same. We are beings of such beauty and when soft words, movements and acts of passion and love are displayed, it is pure poetry in motion. And yet, behind that nature lies a part of us that "bristles up" when someone like us - perhaps we believe another like us is a rival - comes around. Oh, we have learned to calm ourselves, but let us spend too much time together, and we look for ways to outshine one another. This is true of both the "male" and "female" of our kind. And yet we are capable of an unlimited creative expressions and acts of love! If our news media ever gets a clue, there are as many stories of kindness occurring each day, perhaps we could balance out our fears, if we heard those stories as well! Have you ever watched a family with a new baby? Have you seen how the mother brings them into a room full of relatives? Even men soften at the presence of a baby and love to hold and coo with them!

There is so much going on in the world, seen and unseen. There are energies and forces happening in the visible, tangible world as well the world we don't see. While there is conflict and destruction, there is a birth, life and constant rebuilding. Search your heart and inventory your life: haven't you seen the evidence that you are capable of both beauty and destruction? Have you not seen that you are capable of tender care as well as rage? Final thought: with so much at stake and so much life-affirming possibility, what is the wisest expression you can make? Consider...