the writing is on the wall

I don’t always see things right sooo be careful with what I write in this “It’s Saturday.”  For example—A  friend and I were having lunch in a restaurant down here in the Painted Desert.  I said to my friend, see those two folks over there, that is what we will look like in 18 years.  My friend said to me—erv, that is a mirror!

Saturday question—Are you the one out of four or the three out of the four?  Okay, the three out of the four are all the same and get what everyone else gets throughout history; the one out of four are different (e.g.  David, anybody can be a David says--‘Deny’ self-exaltation – Exalting self is characteristic of a person who is a rebel! ‘Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted,’ Matthew 23:12 says ‘Deny’ boasting”). JoeBlow who doesn't know if his head is above or below the water line at times, says—C’mon erv, being humble isn’t American, you won’t get anywhere being humble! Maybe, just maybe sometimes we don’t read the writing on the wall and we miss the train!

Maybe the expression, the writing is on the wall, came from the story of King Belshazzar who saw the writing on the wall—the ultimatum from God himself. Before interpreting the writing, Daniel told the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance and the way God had humbled him. Nebuchadnezzar repented and was restored as king. Belshazzar had the opportunity to learn from his father and reform his ways but instead chose to offend God himself by bringing out vessels looted from the temple in Jerusalem to use for feasting and praising other gods. His arrogance was just as great as Nebuchadnezzar’s, but he ignored the treatment for his disease.

A.K. said—"Some diseases can be treated and cured, and when they’re cured, the immune system builds a defense mechanism against possible recurrence. Other diseases are not curable but are manageable through lifestyle changes or medication. Whether it is curable or manageable, disease demands our immediate attention. Delay or complacency can be fatal.” Understanding the writing on the wall is maybe up to us as what we want to do." As my deceased friend would say—erv, decisions have consequences and guess who gets to make the decisions!

CoachB says, "Getting married does not solve the 'happiness issue. If you aren’t happy with yourself going into marriage you surely probably won’t be happy in your marriage.  ‘cause now you got to deal with another person who has issues as well!"  Ouchy ouchy! BettyLou says—I don’t know about that CoachB,  SusieQ who can bring the house down, says-- I married a guy who has really made me happy, he changed my life. There has been marriages maybe where there was writing on the wall before folks got married that said, it wouldn't work and they did not work.  It was soooo obvious. BUT flip the pancake, there are some marriages that were just the opposite (i.e. the writing on the wall said it was a perfect marriage and it did not end up pretty. Go figure! But TheOldCO-StatisticsProfessor says--Odds are...!

ItchieBitchie says--The writing is on the wall but we sometimes ignore it.  We don’t want to deal with it.  We pretend it isn’t the truth; we say it doesn’t affect us.  BUT usually, please excuse the pun, eventually the…hits the wall! We have to deal with it. We have no choice.  It doesn’t go away. We have to face reality.  There is an old saying—"nip it in the bud early” sweetheart!

Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.”  Maybe it’s telling us to ponder before promising. Deliberate before deciding. Muse before we choose. Reflect before we select. In other words, pause and pray before we decide. That attitude just might help me make better decisions, you think? LuckyEddie, who can get the cart before the horse sometimes, says—If it stinks a little at the start, give it some time and it will really stink! Quite kidding yourself.

Recently I was sitting on a friend's deck drinking coffee and  talking (i.e. eating and talking and drinking are very big part of 55+ community living). They were telling me that when they were younger they were pretty much black-and-white but as they got older things become more gray. They said that one thing that influenced them was when they were 40ish, their pastor who was an older fella with a long gray beard said this while stroking his beard—When I was younger everything was black and white but as I got older things became more gray!

I had two opportunities happen to me recently that were "wows" as I see them now.  At the time they happened, I didn’t see them as "wows" but as problems and they acted that way at that time.  Crazy, right!  But I see them way differently now. Wow! The ability to see, with both eyes, an object clearly from twenty feet away is referred to as 20/20 vision.  While not everyone has 20/20 vision, it is often said that hindsight is always 20/20. That is, we may not be able to see everything clearly as it happens, but after the fact we can see things much more clearly. I think my experiences actually were really great happenings for me a.k.a. opportunities and might have been blessings for me and others involved (i.e. but maybe I will never know for sure). Crazy huh! At the time of these situations, the writing was not on the wall! I didn’t see the big picture!

It has been said over and over—"Dreams don’t come true for free! For dreams to come true usually we  have to sacrifice, work, spend some time, wait on it, preserver, hustle and put your big girl/boy pants on and muscle through it.” Soooo if we want to make our dreams come true, maybe we need to wake up and get after them (i.e. throw those chips away, get our butts off the couch and get after it--suck it up cupcake and let's get going).  I have two friends who are recovering alcoholics and have been sober for many years.  They both still go to AA meetings. They both tell me that it takes effort.  But they tell me that about 80% of folks who work with AA do not drink again. I read recently that at an AA meeting a person wanted to talk about acceptance. Like we need to accept stuff in in our lives.  Wow! I thought that was a great subject to talk about.  I think we miss out of a lot of good stuff of life by not accepting stuff in our life and not adjusting/adapting (i.e. my opinion). We don’t face the issues! I called my friend from back home and he told me that it was his 29^th sobriety birthday that day. He was very humble. He’s a real person with a good heart; my kind of person. My other friend has been sober for 20 years. I applaud these guys.

What is socially conditioning?  Is that like being like some Islamic folks in Turkey who call themselves cultural Islamic or some Jews in Israel who called themselves cultural Jews or maybe some believers in Butler County who call themselves cultural Christians or some folks who are cultural Cub fans (i.e. Cub fans only when they win).  I really like that term, socially conditioning, now to me that is a modern cultural term but maybe it has always been around! Is that like being a mug-rumper who sits on the fence with mug on one side of the fence and their rump on the other side and will take whatever position that the wind is blowing.  

CoachB says—"If we aren’t different than average, we are going to get whatever most everyone else gets!" He also says—"When we become self-centered a.k.a. narcissist we become cold; cold folks don’t live as long and really aren’t very nice folks." You believe that.  He thinks the writing is on the wall folks.  It appears to me, my opinion, that certain groups of folks enjoy real life much more that others (i.e. the writing is on the wall).  If you believe that, what groups do you think enjoy life more? Really!  Wow!  Are you and I part of that group? Are we fakers and phonies or the real deal!

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said-- If you’re burning the candle at both ends, you’re not as bright as you think you are.

P.S. Wisdom from friends' granddaughters--While brushing their teeth they say, You brush your teeth at night to save your teeth, you brush your teeth in the morning to save your friends!