5 Enriching Virtues

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FLIGHT OF THE
FUSED MONKEYS

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The mice have made their choice.

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If you are not mindful you will inhabit someone else's dream.

A mindless boy can set his life aside and when he is a man forget where he had set it and spend an awful time searching every which way to find it, for if he doesn't search for it he will regret it, and if he doesn't find it he will hate himself for it.

Nothing on earth exists then to console him.

living water

I am made in the image of God, not your image of God.

Pastoral Quotes

Preparing for Peace

Shalom.

It is the sense of peace that lives within us. It is that sense of deep abiding peace that transforms the way we view the world, that will transform the way we see one another. It transforms the way in which the world must respond.

For as similar as many of our Jewish siblings would remind us that part of the work of all those who are called to be peacemakers or called to be part of the repairing of the earth is that we are called to have a deep peace that abides within us, and therefore, subsequently, reminds us to be in relationship as repairers of the earth, repariers of the disinfranchisement that continues to happen between peoples and nations, that sometimes happens between those of us who gather in the same room on Sunday Mornings.

That is a cool thing shared.

PROGRAM LISTINGS & PROGRAM SCHEDULES

Practical Wisdom

"Life isn't fair!" How often have you heard that, or said as much? Have you ever noticed who says it, and to whom, and the full context? I have overheard this a lot, "Who says life should be fair?" Hmm? Oooh, have I a story to tell. But!

Welcome to gen-u enriching values, Episode 5, curated by your host Neville DeAngelou, a dynamic exploration and implementation of FIVE practical virtues that fortify as well as enhance personal and communal health, wealth and happiness, each actuated toward wholeness of being.

Along our remarkable journey of life and learning we relish actionable discoveries, particularly those that uplift and inspire the "best" from all of us, promote harmony, expand opportunities, exemplify beauty, and reveal wonder, in other words, whatever advances our practice of genuine love through all of its fertile dimensions!

I too saw your smile, your snicker, your undercover laughter. That's scha·den·freu·de, not justice, but let's stick with it for a moment, see where it leads. Let's have some fun. Scha·den·freu·de: the pleasure one derives from witnessing someone else's misfortune. You know what I am talking about. Yes, you do. That person you gave your heart and soul to, out of the blues turned around - no warning - broke you! And look what just happened to them: they fell down the stairs and smashed their face right smack on the ouch! And you are laughing! That's not justice; that is scha·den·freu·de you're experiencing, my friend. Yes. Shouldn't you be feeling guilty? Scha·den·freu·de. It is German. Strange isn't it; there is no such word for this awkward emotion in the english language while many other widely used languages have a word for it. What's up with that? Oh, dear! Just look at you now. You're laughing so belly-aching hard at that heart-breaker's misfortune you spun around and knocked your pot of boiling water all over your belly! Ouch-ouch-ouch! What's that? Justice? No? Karma? Not that either? Nevertheless, let's check those out just in case. This has got to be some kind of fate-thing, doesn't it? Well, of course not - only if it happens to someone else - not if it happens to you. But what is karma, anyway? Hmm? I'll have to ask someone; I have Hindus and Budhists in my family. Oh yes, we are quite a diverse lot. No pitying please! That's not scha·den·freu·de. Karma, I am told, is the sum total of a person's actions in this as well as previous states of existence impacting their fate in future existences. Hmm? What a quandary. How am I going to sort this all out when what I am assigned to do is explore justice as a virtue? Here goes! What about you? What did you find? Or did you already know? Do share. I can't possibly tell you plausibly all I am discovering about justice AS A VIRTUE and stay calm in the same breath, so I'll just do a wee-wee slice and leave you be to chomp at the bit.

ah, the sweet pleasure of an exhausting day knowing
- you accomplished being & doing the best you could -

Super Power infusion

Justice (in quality and in practice) is the perfect balance in which each and all are rendered (in essence and in totality) what is rightfully (justly) theirs - no less AND no more! - therewith allowed free enjoyment of each and all of their rights (i.e., each and all that are justly theirs). Period.

Oh boy! Problem? Huge!

So when did justice become synonymous with punishment, and what is justice as a virtue?

I recall always being cozy to the baby Jesus story - at least the way it was told to me - in a kind of kinship way when I was a wee-little boy. Perhaps it was as much its familiarity as its simplicity that hooked me. I don't know. Looking back, perhaps I was lucky, or unlucky, depending on one's perspective, or perhaps there was no luck involved at all. The images I enjoyed of baby Jesus were those I created.

You see, there were these black and white line drawings of the story my mother was telling me, and mine was the privilege of coloring it all out. Animals were a breeze for me. The baby too. Babies were all around me. I can't remember not having babies in my company as a boy. I had two problems, though. The magis. Their turbans actually. That was the first problem. My mother explained it as the style of the times and I settled for yellow (that was my gold), maroon, and blue for their colors.

I found turbans quite funny.

Myrrh was the second problem. I didn't understand myrrh. I was told it was bitters. I was told it was to keep the baby and his mother Mary healthy. I didn't like bitters, you see. And I didn't understand why it was a gift from far-far away. Why couldn't Mary pick it from the bushes aback of the stable? That's what my mother did. I could never picture bitters as a gift. Maybe somebody got the story wrong, I used to think.

Bitters?

Anyway, it took me a long time and lots of travels to figure out that everyone didn't have their own privileged internal photography of baby Jesus and the entire picturesque scenery, as I did. Oh rats, I even thought being born in a stable was pretty cool. And the first time I saw a replica of Jesus, I was in the shiny play. First time as Joseph. Even I knew that my child (the rag doll in the made-up stable on stage) was play-play. The next year I evolved into one of the wisemen - a king, they told me - and I had speaking lines which drew applause, and Joseph was my friend. Cool. And the drama of Jesus brith was now even more epic in my mind, and already a picture of justice was beginning to emerge in my heart (or mind), even though I did not quite realize that image as one of justice at the time. If only I knew then what I seem to know now! It was a good thing the heftiness of current understanding was delayed way into my early youth when restoration was a load I was better able to carry, and balancing scales were everywhere around me. It really would've spoiled it all for me back when I was a king if I knew about that then.

So, you don't see what any of that story has to do with justice as virtue either, is that true? Bare with me; it's an intricate web we weave. Oh, this life! Or quite simple, maybe, it will turn out when all is said and done. A mere matter of perspective. You'll see what 1+1 adds up to. Or not! After all, I heard Flight Of The Fused Monkeys and I know what became of the cracked mirror. Do you? It's not fair if you haven't.

The thing about hope, according to Bobby Kennedy, is that it travels through space *and* time, first splashing against the rocks, but eventually breaking down the walls of cruelty and injustice. And if we do our best with the time we’re given, others will take hope in our example.

From whom did I learn this?

Ah! Patience is pricey. And injustice is a peculiar bear - riding an ocean, like the titanic: its life-rafts are few and the iceberg is huge; only so much that bear can see, and the waters are cold.

I was more than a young man when I learned about Kintsugi - a fine Japanese tradition, also known as Kintsukuroi, which intrigued me when I discovered how some folk are able to turn scars into precious treasures, and how to unbreak the broken. It's an ancient tradition. And when I was a kid I used to hear old men around me saying to one another 'wabi-sabi' and saying it with a smile or a giggle or all out laughter, as if it were some secret being passed between them from ancestry, so I never asked.

It is often referred to as "golden repair" - when a beloved pottery has fallen and broken, and is not tossed in the trash nor is just stuck together back, rather, it is mended with a lacquer mixed and dusted with gold or platinum or silver. Those scars turn bright and precious and the pottery is increased tremendously in value. It becomes a treasure. You see.

Ah! The beautiful tricks of real life in the nitty-gritty.

So, one might turn to me and ask, what has any of those two things - baby Jesus and Kintsugi - got to do with justice as a virtue when what the suffered are looking for is full and unblemished restitution - payback - justice - for the scales to be correcly balanced - for their "all" to be justly and rightfully restored - hmm?

Okay!

What if I were to simply turn my eyes askance and feebly say, "Wish I were that wise," would you be immensely disappointed in such a revelation?

What if I were to answer that question with a question, like this? And say to you, suppose someone eminently capable (say The Divine, or say The Universe, or say Almighty God) could this very second step before all of us - every single living being on earth - and shout something wise every ear could hear and understand - say shazam, or say abracadabra, or whatever you prefer - and with awesome power return to every single being alive and dead their full and just rights, such that everything - each and all of everything - is this very second turned fully back into balance - no less and no more, in accordance with every single inalienable right - which would you predict: that it is more likely most everyone you know would become all the more happy as a result or would become that much more pissed? Hmm?

Oh, the webs we weave!

Now, perhaps, you see why I smile, and why when I am so often asked what keeps me so optimistic and happy, I say happy is not the word that comes to mind, but I quite like it. It's no secret. Trust me! And it is no show! What for? One needs balance! Yes, rhythm, focus and balance. You've got to take a stand, make a stand, stand up for what's inside of you.

I'll tell you what I am beginning to learn. 1. Justice as a virtue - practiced - is a super power infuser. 2. Justice - restorative justice, social justice, 'place your preferred term' - is a whole other ball game. And the mice have made their choice(s).

illustrative - experiencing breakthroughs

Life: it is a dance. It gets better with practice; its music is in your heart and in your soul and in your blood and in your bones. Life; it is a dance. It get’s better with practice. You have a partner – your spirit. You can have a party if you like, but choose smartly who you invite, for life – your life – is a dance. It get’s better with practice, unless you stop the music, or so crowd your dance floor there is no space to move or be moved within in it. Yes, life; it is a dance. It gets better with practice.

Love: what is it in the crisis of deep wronging. "The prince, at all her rejections, grew in his want and fell ever more deeply in love with the beauty, so he secluded himself. He scoured the ancients for the right answer. He penned poem after poem and searched his soul again and again. The more he searched, the more he wanted her. The more he wanted her, the more he penned. The depth of his desire was unparalleled, such that the sight of every other woman was as sand tossed into his eyes." (Flight Of The Fused Monkeys)

Smile. Live. Love. Laugh. Look. Listen. Learn. Be awesome. You are powerful beyond measure. You are not alone. You can do all things. I am you. You are me. We are one. Keep Sharing.

What Do You Want To Do?

Who is holding you back?

Reality: There is a thing called phantom pain. For example, a person may feel pain in a leg even though that person doesn't have that leg anymore. To that person this pain is real. Persons may be carrying around phantom burdens that have been long gone - removed - but they are still fetching the load. It is advisable to get a new reality. Unburden the load. Take off the bridle and blinders and look around for a moment or two. Look again. Take new stock. See.

Practice: Believe. Get good advice. Surround yourself with authentic people for whom you are an authentic benefit and who would benefit you. Decide. Take action. God is not holding you back from being the best you could be, but if you believe God is holding you back then God is holding you back. Just hang in there.

Breathe.
We are accompanied.
Balance - Focus - Rhythm

Dare to lead your life. Check this out - Be the best you can be!

Every new era is marked by a challenge that reveals the true nature of its character, its soul, its heart, our very being; a challenge so pervasive, so corrosive, so corrupting, it indulges our need for respite; a challenge that demands a new breed - A Breed Beyond The Hero.

Something To Consider

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You are

What POWER!