controversial

Warning: This “It’s Saturday” is controversial. When anyone talks about anything controversial it means that there are differences of opinions; folks just don’t agree. TheLadyDownTheStreet says—erv erv, you’re the pot calling the kettle black in this “It’s Saturday.” You know, I might be! haha Let TheLadyDownTheStreet muse on!  

We live in a culture in America (i.e. and probably in the world) of go go go go go go go go but to really learn and appreciate material we need to be still—be still and know. My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, most folks don’t think enough. That was his opinion. I like the word strategize as it seems full of action and thinking. But thinking seems to be controversial as it seems many actions are the result of not much thought, at least not for long term planning but for maybe more for short term satisfaction. I read while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it that the buzz word in mental health is toxic, meaning stay away from toxic folks.  Again, we have tooooo decide what is toxic and then who are the toxic folks.  JoeBlow, who isn’t going anywhere soon, says—I will have to think about that! OOOh! Ahhhh!

Hiking up 'er in 'em Superstition Mountains is a quiet time in beautiful surroundings for me toooo think! But certain crazy thinking can put pressure on me. Oh ya! SusieQ says--erv, don't go crazy, call Daisy!  Is Daisy the one who texts me but I don't open her texts as she sounds toxic to me? Here is some controversial wisdom of a 75-year old grandma I know which she gave to her 15-year old granddaughter--Her granddaughter called her all crying as her boy friend broke up with her.  She said--Mydearsweetgranddaughter, boy friends at your age are like busses, wait 10 minutes and another one will come along! Soooo I wonder if that same thinking applies to the75-year old single grandmas in our 55+ community here in the Valley!  haha

We have many laws that are controversial to many folks (i.e. no one seems to agree on anything). WorldClassLarry says—We can pass laws in government or even in our churches, but laws don’t change hearts.  OOOh!  Ahhhh! Soooo how can a bitter, nasty heart be changed? Now that is pretty deep. I would guess most folks don’t sit under an old apple tree and ponder that.  Or I wonder how many of us pray that God might change our bitter, nasty heart but maybe we pray that God might change my friend’s bitter nasty, heart.  ItchieBitchie, who knows himself the best, says--That self-evaluation is soooo hard, I did a honest self-evaluation once and didn’t like what I saw at all soooo I quit thinking about it! Saturday question—Do you think others see us the same as we see yourself? OOOh! Ahhhh! GeorgeTheCrook says—No matter what I write about myself in my obituary, folks who know me know my true self.  Like Abraham Lincoln said—You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time.

Sometimes we think children have a China doll mentality but usually they are tougher than we think; they can figure it out and it’s better that they make small decisions themselves and numerous times. And if they make little mistakes, it’s good for them to suffer the consequences sometimes. My opinion is that it makes us better decision makers.  I was visiting recently with a friend who I think is a good decision maker. He seems to see the big picture and not just the nutshell version. We discussed that it appears that folks who have been around many different types of people, who have traveled the world, who have had many experiences of many kinds, who have made many decisions seem to have a different decision process than some who have not had those opportunities.  It appears their decision process is just different. It could be, maybe a broader view, a different perspective. If folks have never been out of Butler County, their thinking might be skewed some. Maybe. YaBut, they have watched a lot of news and read Facebook a lot! What do you think? WildWilly says—I think they are just as sure of themselves as others and just as happy, that is what I think! Why wouldn’t they, that is all they know!

Ya ya ya, but it’s the Johnnies and the Susies who get it done most of the time and not the windy folks making the noise; let’s look at their current and past results a.k.a. analytics folks.  The proof is in the pudding. It is very controversial if I can’t do it or I don’t want to do it.  You ever wonder about yourself? Many times, I can do much more stuff than I want to do. My thoughts seem to be quite controversial.  Soooo I guess it’s a mind game a lot with me.  Unless I really want it done or I just have toooo have it done, now that can change things!  Such is life.

Bev Van Wink, who’s a blue-eyed blonde with Dutch descent and who makes a living selling pictures of her teeth, says—Many decisions are made by a simple majority and it might be a majority of 51% soooo the other 49% totally disagree.  Sooooo how can we not have controversy!  These decisions many times affect many many folks. Soooo the battle never really goes away (i.e. look at our political environment). At the local level, we can just leave the church if we disagree, but we can’t leave the decisions of our government.  I guess we can protest, and some folks do, and it seems they get their way sometimes. I see that there are a lot of folks protesting all over the world soooo there must be a lot of unhappy folks.  Maybe they are just the small minority but get all the publicity by the news media.  I don’t know. What do you think?

Infinite, I like that word. It just strikes me as a “Wow” word like it’s forever, now that is impossible for me to comprehend (i.e. beyond my mind’s capacity).  It appears that there are certain things either good or bad that has or will happen to us that will affect us in infinite ways.  Now that is hard to comprehend as well. Let’s look at a practical example, a controversial call is made in a NFL football game which affects the outcome which affects the team to not get in the play offs sooo they can’t win the world championship, which forces a player to lose his job, his family falls apart, and the list goes on and on. And that controversial call could have gone either way. Wonder if it would have gone the other way what the results might be. Soooo now let’s put something like that in our life of the past or the future that might affect us forever and forever (i.e. maybe even just a foolish mistake). Wow! OOOh! Ahhhh!

It appears that we do a lot of stuff that is on the edge or maybe a little over the edge (i.e. whatever we think we can get by with).  We are always pushing the limit as to what we can get by with.  Many of those events are very controversial (e.g. a defensive back in football does everything possible to the extreme edge of the rules to gain an advantage; tries to maximize their advantage. Push the issue to the limit or even a little beyond the legal amount). They take whatever they can get by with. It appears that most folks push their limit as to what they can spend and some even go way over what they can afford to spend.  FlipThePancake. I have a friend who told me that her financial advisor told her that she is unusual as she is content with her situation and doesn’t always want more (i.e. they tell her she is uncommon). I believe she has moxie and other great inward qualities. Huh, interesting. Maybe she just has a great stiff arm!  haha ItchieBitchie says--Have we ever said no to the things we should have said yes to and yes to the things we should have said no to? Da!

I know a person who is in our 55+ community who is always controversial. If I say it’s white, he will say it’s black and vice versa.  I think this person just likes to disagree.  No matter what is said, he will say something to stir the pot, that being negative. This person is rather annoying to be around. I don’t think they have any idea they are this way. You think they have always been this way? Where do you think he got that attitude from? He surely doesn’t have much of a cooperative spirit, my opinion. JosieSmart who might need cinnamon-scented pinecones more than she realizes, says--If that person can’t just agree and quit being disagreeable all the time, at least he could just be quiet. He might be the husband of the lady I met leaving the pickleball court the other morning who was at the dog park treating her dog like it was her baby.  I said to her, you really seem to love your dog—oh, I just love my dog, Bruno; actually, I might love Bruno more than my husband who is soooo obnoxious and disagreeable! Ouchy ouchy!

Here is sorta kinda a controversial discussion of my mind.  A friend once told me that I let things bother me to much; I'm toooo tender. Also I'm a fixer just like many of you. Sooooo I don't like to see evil win as many of you don't either. I stir all that stuff in a pot and it causes conflict in my mind.  It seems like it would be easier for me if I didn't let stuff get on my nerves and I just forgot about issues that trouble me (i.e. but that sounds like I don't care and I don't want to be that way either). Soooo how do you handle these situations?  

I was reminded once again recently about something that made me laugh about years and years ago, like 50 years ago. We had a musician who attended the church we did that would only come when he could perform, not to worship with his ability but to preform (i.e. put on a show and get recognition which he loved). He never bowed but he would have liked tooooo I think. Now a performance is done in Las Vegas, or playing in the NFL, maybe in business, or social media or politics or anywhere where you might think it’s an advantage to move up the ladder but not in the spiritual world (i.e. that is my opinion).  But that is very controversial. Some folks love to be glorified. Now that thought might raise some cane in your mind. OOOh! Ahhhh! Like the old story--There is a black dog and a white dog fighting in my mind and the one that wins is the one that I feed the most! BobTheChamp says--I got to to the top of the ladder to only find out I had my ladder against the wrong wall! Ouchy ouchy!

Kelly says—"When you become distracted in your faith, it’s time to refocus. Whether you’re facing a crushing disappointment, a scary diagnosis, or fear of the future, spend time in prayer and reflection. Your quiet conversation with God will redirect your thoughts and your feelings to Him—in whom there is complete security and trust. The result? Your heart and your mind will do an about-face.” I like to sit early in the morning and muse about a lot of things.  I enjoy it. I was musing the other morning about if I extend enough mercy and grace to folks or am I tooooo judgmental.  I decided I don’t extend enough mercy and grace and yes, I am tooooo judgmental.  My Mom, Anna, would say—erv, if you are going to error, error on being overly kind and gracious.  She was just that kind of lady. KnowItAllBill, who is “what a guy”, says—You got to have rules and be legalistic or there is no order.  Moderation my friend moderation. CrazyMarvin says--This is very controversial in our culture. Sooooo weren’t the Pharisees very legalistic? And what did Jesus call them?

RickyRick says—"Psychologists have identified hundreds of fears that people can have. Fear is a universal problem—and it takes away our joy. What’s your greatest fear? Is it embarrassment? Failure? Rejection? Disappointing others? Not fitting in?” Before I left for AZ I was part of a small group with our church.  I enjoyed it; it was about prayer.  ANYWAY, it stimulated my thinking of a small group I was in many years ago in which we were talking about fears.  A young, successful businessman expressed that his greatest fear was the fear of failure and because of this he worked very hard in his studies and now in his business, he just didn’t want to fail. It’s maybe controversial if that is a good motive or a terrible weight to carry around.  He has been seemingly successful and is now in his 60s and I wonder if he got over that. He still works very hard. What do you think? Folks have told me that the fear of failure prevents them from trying new things; they just can’t handle failure (i.e. it just hurts tooooo much). LuckieEddie says--It's easier to continue to hit our heads against the wall than to change; at least we know how it feels!

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

erv

MyFriendJean said--Invest in the power of love, not the love of power.