Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

In this day and age, most everyone is willing to work together especially when things are going their way. When they don't, there's a growing number of people who become angry and uncooperative; many times even belligerent. I've watched some of the videos from the Williamson County School Board meetings. People getting a bit too cra-cra! Wonder what those people think when they go back and see themselves on YouTube? In the words of Sheldon Cooper, "For shame!" 

Nothing wrong with disagreeing; just need to disagree agreeably. That's how we compromise and find solutions to our disagreements. My way or the highway isn't a good managerial or relational strategy.

This morning's gospel reading was from Matthew 22 where the Pharisees tested Jesus on the greatest commandment. His response is what we should always be doing as children of God. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Unfortunately, we don't love God the way we should. And, we definitely don't come close to loving our neighbor as ourself. For many, hating our neighbor is probably more common than loving our neighbor especially if they don't think the way we do. Jesus never said for us to love our neighbor unless our neighbor does not look, act, or think the way we do. Sometimes, I'm as guilty as the next person, but I actually do try to follow the greatest commandment.

Loving God and our neighbor does not mean we are supposed to make everyone happy. Actually, trying to make everyone happy is a recipe for disaster and should not be our goal because it will never work. If our actions and decisions are made out of love, yet some people aren't happy with our actions and decisions, then so be it. We aren't all going to be happy, but we should all get along. Here's a great quote to follow: "Stop trying to make everyone happy. You are not tequila!"

Winston Churchill once said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." We are approaching 630,000 COVID deaths in this country and 4.4 million world-wide. Don't know about you, but I would categorize this as a crisis. During this crisis, it might be a good time to learn to love God, our neighbor, and ourself.

We should all work together for the common good. Br. Joel McGraw (one of my favorite people on this earth), once told me, "In a disagreement, put on your velvet gloves and kill them with kindness." That was his way of loving his neighbor as himself. Let's be a lot like Jesus and Br. Joel by using this crisis to look for ways to love our neighbor.

I will end with some great advice from St. Teresa of Calcutta: “People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

God bless you, Didier Aur

A Sense of Déjà Vu

Pit and the Pendulum

Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu? Have we seen all this before? Do you have a foreboding and ominous sense that we are stuck in some type of time warp where we keep getting sent back in time as if Doc Brown's flux capacitor or Bill & Ted's phone booth are stuck in repeat mode?

For eighteen months, nothing has been easy. And, I get this feeling that a pendulum is swinging right above me as if I am stuck in a horror novel. I'm waiting for the rats to rescue me by chewing through the straps binding me to the table. Maybe those rats are the vaccine. How 'bout that for some symbolism. 

During these months, a chasm has developed where we have alienated ourselves by cynicism to the left or right. Sense and sensibility have been kicked to the curb replaced by agitation and irrationality, causing a lack of cooperation with and compassion for our brothers and sisters.

We are at the point where we can no longer rely on politicians and news media for truth. Every fact, statistic, and scrap of evidence placed before us is refuted by the other side as lies. Are truth and integrity no longer virtues?

I see ethics as a combination of truth and integrity. Unfortunately, ethics has been replaced by power and greed. Since ethics disappeared, truth and integrity, like Jolting Joe DiMaggio, have left and gone away. No wonder we have become jaded and cynical. For many, that cynicism has turned into hate. When hate rears it's ugly head, the middle ground quickly erodes, and we become a left or a right.

The latest issues causing this chasm are a face covering and COVID vaccination. How do we overcome these issues? If you ask me and you didn't, the answers are pretty simple.

Step 1: Stop talking and start listening, but listen to the right people.

Step 2: If you received or did not receive the vaccination because of your political affiliation, I just rolled my eyes in disbelief. That determination should be made or have been made by you and your physician, unless your physician is Dr. Vinnie Boombatz. If your doctor says you should take the vaccination, then do it. If not, don't. Doctors are actually scientists who constantly do research in their field. And, they want you to live because they don't make anymore money off of you and your health insurance company if you die. Just sayin'.

Step 3: If you are asked to wear a face covering, please do so. It is an inconvenience but an easy thing to do. Here's the way I look at this issue. I wear a seat belt when driving, bike helmet when riding, and shin pads when playing soccer. I would rather do none of the above, but I do so because they are required, meant for safety, and easy to do.

Step 4: Set a good example for the everyone. When in public (especially indoors), wear a face covering. When you are outdoors, don't. We are in great need of people setting good examples like using a turn signal, holding the door for the next person, and just being a nice person. Everyone going out in public will be wearing some type of face covering for the next few weeks. If the delta variant in this area continues to track like in the UK, we will be out of the mask mandate before we know it. 

Step 5: Wash your hands, disinfect everything you touch, social distance, stay home if you don't feel good, and keep your germs to yourself. It worked last time. It will work again this time.

Working together is way past due but never too late to start. While working together, maybe we can actually learn to get along again. Wouldn't that be a novel idea and a nice thing to do!

God bless you,

Didier Aur