Isn't that the truth? What this meme seems to be talking about are those individuals who are quick to create situations or circumstances that give them immediate benefits and/or satisfaction in life, while never once considering that, in the long run, they could be affected adversely by the very situation or circumstance that they created in the first place. They create a "storm", and then when it "rains" on them, they get all bent out of shape and shell-shocked. I'd venture to say that every one of us knows the type.

But what makes this sort of situation even more frustrating is when we try to admonish the person to think about what they're actually doing or about to do, but they pay us no mind. In situations where risks are taken, the person might even point out how we're too calculated, too boring, or maybe some other pejorative label, which, in all likelihood, is just an attempt to put them above us and make what they're doing seem "okay". Most of us see right through this. I know I do.

The dynamics here can apply to a variety of things in life. For instance, when it comes to lifestyle, you may encounter a person who hasn't the slightest respect for money, so subsequently, maybe they are unable unwilling to budget money, spending every penny they take in on a lavish lifestyle that they've somehow come to believe they're owed. Throw in some recreational drugs, some booze, some open relationships, and some weekend getaways, and you've got a massive storm brewing on the radar. Point this out to them? Well, watch how fast you're called "negative" or "pessimistic".

But alas, whether you point it out, or whether you sit back silently and watch it all unfold, the "storm" eventually hits. For the weekend warrior, they have to fund all of this, right? Yes. And then there's this: What are they teaching the people closest to them..e.g..friends and family? Spouses? Children? If one doesn't respect money, health, sex, or other things that most people hold sacred, then what message is that sending? Here's something that's probably not ever occurred to these people: You teach the people around you what's important to you(or what's not).

When living a precarious lifestyle backfires, someone's bound to get hurt, and we shouldn't be too shocked when it's the person who created the conditions under which they got rained on. Yet, what we often see is that it's these very same people crying the blues after hitting rock bottom, and more perplexing, blaming everyone else around them. Look, if one sexual partner is a bore, then fine, sleep with multiple partners, share wives, make stag flicks...have a heyday. But don't complain if your partner strays and/or if you or they come down an STD.  

Seriously, if Jim Morrison is your role model and John Holmes is your idol, again, fine, but remember...........they're dead.

God is Love(or a refreshing snow cone on a hot summer's day)

It popped up again, just like it does from time to time. Every now and again you will hear or read the slogan, "God is love!".

Okay, so what does that even mean? It seems to me that we'd first have to define/explain what we mean by "God" for such a proclamation to have any meaning. For sake of discussion - and since Christianity is predominately the religion and "God" of choice here in the US - let's say that "God" is the central character described in the Holy Bible.

Okay, done.

Now let's take the word "described". We generally give a description of something (or someone) when trying to explain the appearance and/or characteristics of that something (or someone) in situations where that something (or someone) is not readily available to observe for one's self.

What I'm getting at is this: We cannot directly observe the characters mentioned in the Bible, so all we have to go on are descriptions jotted down by the Bible's redactors.

2000 years ago.

Translated multiple times.

Moving on....

So, essentially, we have to rely on the second-hand testimony of dead eyewitnesses for accurate descriptions of what "God" is. This wouldn't be so bad if we weren't faced with having to read descriptions of a deity who, one minute, shows love, but the next minute he shows revenge, jealousy, hate, and a few other not-so-admirable characteristics.

What we get are descriptions of a "God" who gives good advice at times, but then other times, we see this same "God" giving some really crappy advice.

So? How do we handle this? There's a couple of different ways. One's first inclination might be to simply embrace the times that the Bible's central character is described as a loving "God", and then ignore, write-off , or "spin" the times that he's hateful, vengeful, jealous, a hair-trigger, petty.....in other words, not loving at all.

Simple enough, I suppose, but let's get real here, can we? Seriously, can anyone keep a straight face and tell me that this is how they've come to determine that "God is love"???? Is that being honest? Or is it simply a case of determining, a priori, what "love" means, then filtering the Bible's descriptions of "God" through that determination in order to decide what holds up, and what doesn't????? I contend that it's the latter.

So, if we take that route, we see something very interesting happening, that is, we see that "God" is simply anything and everything that we find wonderful or fulfilling. That's really the long and short of it. Yup, we could say, "See that fluffy kitty? That's God!!"..or..."God is a refreshing snow cone on a hot summer's day!"

Bottom line: "God" is self projection. That's it, in a nutshell, and it also coincides with the fact that, curiously, "God" seems to agree with every believer's views of the way things should be, and yet, no two believer's views are quite the same. Red flag much?

And then there's another way to approach the Bible's descriptions of  "God": Simply consider that, at face-value, the "God" described in the Bible is just not a very good example of what we've come to believe "love" is. Is a "God" who drowns women, children, and innocent animals an example of "love"? Is burning witches "love"? Is dashing children's heads against rocks "love"? Is punishing people by way of burning them alive an example of "love"? If we are honest (and sane), we must answer "no", and the reason we know the answer is "no" is because of this:  "God" is not "love"; LOVE is love.