Like a Hot Wind

It is the characteristic of evil powers

To take advantage of real weaknesses and

Stretch and enlarge them to the utmost.

We should not underestimate how deep a wound

That a vindictive tongue can make with a few words.

The devil likes to whisper his lies in intimacy.

What people call "insinuations" are like gunpowder

When passed around through malicious gossip.

The tongue is a useful tool in the realm of evil.

Truth must come from the heart and not the lips.

Those who drink in false gossip quite eagerly,

And repeat it as a form of gleeful entertainment,

Will slide unknowingly and insensibly into the habit

Of speaking evil to impress and titillate others,

And thus the evil gathers force from the wind

Like a tornado in tornado alley on a hot day.

In the case of lies and false conspiracy theories

The path of the wind leads straight to the abyss.

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With "Prudence and Forethought"

If "In God We Trust," then what is organized religion for?

It is for the purpose of improving the nature of mankind,

In order for the proper governance of our actions, and

To secure peace and progress for individuals and for society,

To render us capable of a more perfect union with each other and

Our Creator, to which our present state of being is probationary.

This is a truth that people of good will who search for truth

Will recognize on its own evidence as morally right.

Okay, so what is morality? Morality is adherence to a set of values,

And prudence is the instrument of morality. Prudence is the ability

To govern and discipline ourselves by the divine light of reason. 

Prudence must precede our actions by choosing right over wrong,

Which we should always do with judicious "prudence and forethought,"

What is prudent and morally good according to our conscience.

(Bob Mrotek 2021)

So where do we go from here?

Those who live in a shadow world, ward off shadow spears with a shadow shield.
They ward off accusations of lying with the abracadabra of a forked tongue.
He or she who would fly without wings must do so in abject delusion,
And find out when they wake that to fly in a dream is but to dream of flying.
The reflective soul sees the hidden reality, and the ever-wanting soul
Sees only what it desires, and lives in a world of metaphor and hyperbole.
The past is colored by the memories of those in power who record it.
History may be laced with innuendo or fantasy or myths or conspiracies
Or even multiple realities by decree of committees and political parties.
The "clash of civilizations" is colliding with a "co-existence" future,
Where atomic weapons have made conventional world wars totally unthinkable.
Battles are fought with economics, propaganda, religious strife, politics,
Racism, misogyny, sexism, xenophobia, genocide, bio-weapons, and euthanasia.
There is trendy liberalism on the left and reactionary conservatism on the right
Moderates are in the middle, viewed as traitors by the left and the right.
I am like a wandering sojourner trapped in a virtual battle of Armageddon,
A man without a grudge, a man without a tribe, a man without an agenda.
I am not mad at anybody. I am just trying to understand everybody else.
What do we do now, who do we believe, and where do we go from here?

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Pass it on...not!

It is the work of the Devil to take advantage of falsehoods and add fuel to the fires of anxiety.
We should not underestimate how deep a wound that a vindictive tongue will make.
The Devil likes to whisper lies in confidentiality and then add "Pass it on."
That which people call "white lies" are in reality powerful "white gunpowder." 
Falsehood, suggestion, and intimation are useful tools in the realm of evildoers.
Truth is written on the honest heart, but lies come from the mouths of liars.
Those who drink in false information and conspiracies, or repeat falsehoods without veracity,
Will slide unknowingly and insensibly Into the habit of speaking evil to impress others.
Thus the evil gathers force like a tornado draws force from the heat on a hot summer day.
In the case of lies, especially big ones, the force emanates directly from the gates of Hell.

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The difference between cheap and free.

There is a major difference between cheap and free.
When things are cheap you are the customer,
And you more or less get what you pay for.
When things are free you are the product.
The worm on a hook looks free to the fish,
The fisherman pays for the the fish with a worm,
And the fish is the product that he purchased.
The poor worm was merely the payment.
There is a saying, "Por la boca muere el pez."
"By the mouth dies the fish", reaching for a freebee.
Mind what you eat, what you say, and what you do.
Freedom is not free either, its price is sacrifice.
Christ died on the Cross so that we could be free.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 

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The truth beckons...

The truth beckons to me like a chimera on the black pavement
In the blazing summer sun where the highway meets the horizon,
Always fading away into the distance as I advance toward it,
Like a rubber ball escaping the grasp of a running child.
The truth can be such a frightening reality to grasp, however,
That many people avoid or even deny it in order to allay their fears.
But if at least some don't deny the truth maybe it's not really true.
Without the ability to choose truth over falsehood there is no free will.
Pontius Pilate once said to the Messiah, "What is truth?"
The scriptures tell us that it is "Every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Though Faith we shall know the truth and it will free us from doubt.
Without Faith there can be no true wisdom and understanding.
Come Holy Spirit, Creator blessed, in our hearts take up Thy rest.
Give us your Grace and heavenly aid to know Thy truth, that we be saved.

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Put on a happy face...

Joy is every step I take in peace and harmony.

My heart is a shining morning sun in a blue sky.

Every flower smiles with me and the trees all wave.

How green is everything at peace, how fresh the breeze,

And and how sweet smelling is the gentle afternoon rain,

That clears the dust from the endless path and renders it

A joy from one beginning to the next without end.

The present moment is the only moment there is to be alive,

And so happiness is possible only in the present moment.

We can't be happy again yesterday because yesterday is gone.

We can't be happy tomorrow until tomorrow comes.

This is the day the Lord has made for us to be happy.

Happy is as happy does so wake up and be happy.

The best way to help yourself is to help others,

And the first step to helping others is a happy face.

Teach yourself to smile and then teach the rest.

A happy face is not the face of a grinning pumpkin,

It is not like an Internet "smiley" either.

A happy face is an unworried brow, a twinkle in the eyes,

And a hint of a smile like the Mona Lisa.

How does one put a twinkle in the eyes?

By thinking twinkle thoughts, of course,

Like peace on earth and goodwill to everyone. 

When we wear a happy face we show a happy heart.

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In the blink of an eye...

Through the mystery of poetry one can encompass

The vast universe within the scope of an epigram.

In the frenzied pace of this unfamiliar "new normal,"

We need to aim for the highest concentration of thought,

In the topology of nodes and edges, links and vertices,

The quantum connectedness beyond time and space.

In the "blink of an eye," as it were, a single phrase

Must carry the whole weight of an entire paragraph.

In quantum thought a nanosecond is the new paradigm.

We didn't even see it coming, but we sure do feel it.

Thought must now travel even faster than light.

A mere symbol must serve in place of a chapter.

Four symbols together will tell a complete story.

We must familiarize with the future, not the past

And defamiliarize with the past and then let go. 

It is no longer necessary for history to repeat.

There are too many bright futures to choose from.

Do not tax your life with forethought of grief.

Live your life expecting happiness and peace.

Go beyond the suffocating bondage of normal.

The path to gold is not at the rainbow's end.

The bits of gold are scattered along the way.

We won't need gold where we want to end up.

Life itself is part of our eventual destination.

Just follow the light of Divine Providence. 

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It's not too late...

What are you up to Mister Moon,

Way up there in the star domed sky,
When you rise in the night and pass me by?
What do you see and what do you ponder,
Before you set in the morning yonder?
I see you above the trees and roofs
A smiling face for the human race
Under whose gaze we dream of a life
We hope to find in a new tomorrow,
A life that is better than we found,
In the struggle of many yesterdays.  
Today is the day that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be happy in it.
Each day we survive this worldly mess,
We should realize that we are blessed.
And to live in the past or future is foolish.
We can only be truly happy right now,
If we are happy in the Lord our God.
Come my friends, It's not too late
To seek a newer and better world,
Where we all join together in peace,
To be united and happy in the Lord.

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Un otro día más...One more day!

The past is a different country where we used to live.
We can't visit there either because it is very far away.
The present and the past are separated by a great expanse.
The past seems farther away each day, and dimmer as well.
It is a bittersweet nostalgia that nothing can comfort,
Like the crying child whose balloon has escaped his grasp
And goes flying high among the treetops, lost forever.
Memories of the past we carry with us are both good and bad,
But they are distorted by time and space and happenstance.
Our journey from past to present was brisk, looking back,
And our journey into the future seems even brisker still.
We face each morning with the thought, "Aha, one day more,"
Each day ends with, "Oh, no, one day less," and with regret.
The time to rejoice is in the now, not in the rest!

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