Category Archives: spirituality

Are There Guns In Heaven?

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Steve Connors was a good man.  A regular guy meaning he played football in high school, made B’s and C’s at the state University, graduated, rabble-roused a little bit in his youth, got a job, married a good woman he had known a long time, had two kids, only cussed with his buddies or when alone, was a good son, was a good son-in-law, and paid his taxes.

He knew something was really wrong when he woke up. Everything was white. White sheets, white walls, white…

“What is that?” He wondered.

“White mist?  Am I on a friggin’ cloud?”

Steve bolted up.  He was wearing white cotton pajamas. I never wear white cotton pajamas. He looked around. There was no furniture, no windows, no doors.

“Am I in an insane asylum?”

He was feeling sweaty, agitated, confused, and a bit scared though he was good at keeping that last emotion in check.

He looked at the floor. White mist. 

“I’m in a cloud.” He decided not to step down.

“I’m dead.”

He pinched his skin.

“Nope.”

He yelled, “Hello?!”

Silence.  Absolute silence. Then…

“Hello, Steve.”

“Holy shit!” Steve jerked. “Where’d you come from?”

“Just right there,” She said pointing nowhere.  She looked older than Steve but younger than his mother.

“Where the fuck am I… sorry about my bad language.”

“You’re in between.”

“In between what?”

“Life and death.”

Steve felt numb.  He didn’t move at all for several minutes.

“It’s confusing I know. But you and I have to talk about some important things right now, Steve.”

“Is this one of those near-death experiences I hear about? People going to the light and then come back into the body?”

She smiled.

“Something like that.”

Steve shifted around in the bed.

“This is fucked up shit. Am I drunk?”

“No.”

“Then where am I?  What is this place?  Are we on a cloud?”

She smiled again.

“It’s like a cloud.  You are between living on Earth and leaving, dying, from Earth.  You and I need to talk about some very important things. She paused. “ And then you have to decide what you’re going to do.”

“Decide what?”

“Decide what you’re willing to do if you return to Earth.”

“If!”

“Yes, Steve.  You made a deal with me before you were born on Earth and you’ve not lived up to your part. Yet.”

“Lady, I’ve never seen you before.”

“You have. You just don’t remember.”

“Am I in a hospital dying from cancer or a car accident?”

“No. You were one of nineteen people shot at your daughter’s school picnic. A gunman with an AR-15 assault weapon walked onto the grounds and fired multiple rounds into the children, also hitting some parents.

“Fifteen children are dead.  Four of you are being rushed to the hospital. Two will die on the way. Two of you are having conversations with your Guides right now.”

Steve had his hands on either side of his head trying to hold in his racing thoughts.

“Fifteen children are dead?”

“Yes.”

“Two more people will die?”

“They just have actually.”

“Who?”

“I’m sorry to tell you that your daughter, Annabella, was one of them.”

Steve screamed and started to get out bed, but looked down at the mist then fell back on the bed.

“She was one of the ones who just died?”

“Yes, Steve.  She didn’t suffer though.”

Steve was sobbing.  Shoulders slumped. Defeated.

“My precious baby girl.”

Steve rolled onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillows, crying.

He woke with a start.

“Shit. Am I in the same place?”

He flipped around.  She was still there.

“How long was I asleep?”

“A while.”

“What is happening to me on Earth?”

“You’re just now entering the emergency room.”

“What? It’s been forever.”

“Time and space are different here, Steve.”

Steve closed his eyes. Rubbed them. Shook his head.

“OK. What is it I’m supposed to learn?  What deal did we make? And why did Annie have to die!” He was screaming again.

“Annie died because she fulfilled her purpose on Earth.”

“She was only eight.  What purpose could have been done by then?”

“The deal she made before being born was that she was willing to die the way she did.”

“She knew she would be killed?”

“She knew while she was here, but she didn’t know it on Earth. Steve, because she fulfilled her agreement she did not suffer at all when she died.”

“Why would she agree to die like that?”

“So you would have the chance to course correct your life.”

Steve could only look at her.

She stood silently. Her face was gentle.

“Okay okay. So what have I done wrong?”

“It isn’t a case of doing something wrong per se.  It’s a case of do you want to fulfill your real purpose on Earth instead of just living a good, decent life.”

“A good life isn’t good enough I guess. I don’t know what you mean by me living my real purpose. I’m a decent man.”

“Yes you are.  She waited. “And you agreed that you would be more.”

“Can you just tell me what I need to do?  I’m getting really tired of this conversation.”

She smiled again.  “Why do you think it was a gunman with a powerful, military-type assault rifle that killed your daughter, and now, sixteen other people, and has you and another person pending?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve always been responsible with guns. Granddaddy taught me to respect guns. I’ve always had to clean my rifle before we went hunting. We always eat what we kill. I have never been sport hunting. I don’t believe there is such a thing as ‘sport’ in hunting.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly. Exactly what?”

“You have always been very respectful of guns. You have always been very careful. Why then do you let others talk and behave irresponsibly about guns?”

“I can’t stop people from buying what they are legally allowed to buy. Shit. Is this about gun control?”

She smiled.

“You’re fucking kidding me!”

“Steve, I think it’s a little bit more since you’re here. You made a deal with me before you were born on earth that you were going to be the voice of reason about guns. You agreed You would be willing to stand up to your friends and the NRA so that things did not get out of hand about guns the way they have.

“You’ve done nothing about it for years.

Steve, people like you. People respect you. People follow you. You have never been out of control with guns. You have never been unreasonable with the type of guns and ammunition you purchase.

“The deal was that you would use your credibility as “one of the guys”, a hunter, to be a leader in your country to bring sanity to the type of weapons and ammunition that are available, and more importantly, how people gain access to guns.

“Annabel agreed to be your daughter knowing she would be gunned down if you didn’t step up to your higher purpose.

“You have a choice now.  Her death can mean nothing, or you can step up and live your higher purpose on Earth.

“You mean I live?”

She smiled.

Steve closed his eyes and cried again.

When Steve Connors opened his eyes, he saw his wife sitting beside him. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She sobbed when she saw that Steve was now waking up after his surgery.

“It’s a miracle, thank you God, it’s a miracle,” was all she could say when she collapsed into Steve’s arms.

“Honey, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“Annie…” his wife started to say.

“Honey, Annie is okay. I know she’s gone from us here, but I’ve been to heaven. I know Annie didn’t die with pain.

“And she won’t die in vain either honey.

“Babe, there’s no guns in heaven and we’re going to bring just a little bit of that heaven down here on earth.”

Author’s Note: This story was written years ago, long before the current mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

Fallen From Her Grace

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photo from NASA

I, too, would shout and scream

kick and bite

and do every dirty trick

I could

If you were trying to hurt me

and had been doing so for a long time.

Floods, tornadoes, extreme heat, pandemic…

have had to become your defense weapons.

And so, my Mother Earth,

I have no complaint with you.

You have no choice.

You have forgiven us too many times before

and we are no longer

worthy of your grace.

Morning Walk

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The moon

looks like a gentle watercolor

fading in the sky this morning.

Only the birds and squirrels

seem to be awake

and me.

There’s a falcon

sitting on a neighbor’s mailbox.

A falcon.

In the city.

I stopped and looked.

The falcon stopped and looked too.

Then he flew away.

And I walked on.

There’s a very thin layer on ice

on the creek,

I stop

and just look as the sunlight

glistens it.

As I round the curve in the road

back toward my house

I remember Thich Nhat Hanh

who died earlier today.

I thank him for teaching the world

how to walk

mindfully.

22 enero 2022

#SolarEclipse2017 Ten months before

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I didn’t know about the 2017 solar eclipse until my friend, Rob, told me about it in the fall of 2016.  It was almost a throw away comment he made during lunch with our spouses, but I pounced on it.

That night I found the path the eclipse will journey across America on August 21 and started my search for cheap hotels . I found none.  In desolate areas, the hotel equivalent of a “Motel Six” were already $3,000 per night.  Repeat that: “$3,000 per night.”  The eclipse was still ten months away and rates were already reflecting the # 1 American value: money. Ugh.

Camping was not an option for me because I have none of the equipment and really don’t know what I’m doing. So, throughout the fall, I’d hunt and peck on the internet now and then, trying to find some place to stay on the path.

Not unlike Rob’s casual mentioning of this event to me, I casually mentioned it to my adventurous friend, Vicki, who immediately said, “We have to do this somehow.”  It was December 2016, eight months to eclipse day, and rates were exceeding $6,000 per day.

So we decided we were going to drive from where she lived— about five hours to the center of one of the “best viewing sites” according to the NASA map. We will just drive there, see the eclipse, and drive back.

This was the plan back in December.

Wondering if this is going to be like Thelma and Louise, minus the bad stuff?

More to come…

 

Moo Monday

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cow-kissing-cow

Here’s something you can easily do today to make the world a better place… skip meat today.

There is a trend called “Meatless Mondays,” but that implies you have to do “without something.”  I’d like to turn that around and make it proactive…just skip eating meat today, and every Monday.  No big deal to you. In fact there are many benefits.

Here are just a few of those benefits from the folks at “Meatless Monday:”

Why Meatless?

Because going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. And going meatless once a week can also help reduce our carbon footprint and save precious resources like fossil fuels and fresh water.

For Your Health:
Reduce Heart Disease and Stroke—Vegetables, fruit, and whole grains have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease. One study found that each daily serving of fruits or vegetables was associated with a 4% decline in coronary heart disease, and a 5% lower risk of stroke.[1] Another study found that a diet of 2.5 or more servings of whole grain per day was associated with a 21% lower risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke, fatal cardiovascular disease).[2]
Limit Cancer Risk—There is convincing evidence that red meat and processed meat consumption increases the risk of colorectal cancer. There is also limited but suggestive evidence that red meat increases the risk of esophagus, lung, pancreas, and endometrium cancer and that processed meat consumption increases the risk of esophagus, lung, stomach, and prostate cancer. In contrast, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables decreases the risk of several types of cancers, including mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and stomach, evidence suggests.[3]
Fight Diabetes—Research suggests that plant-based diets, particularly those low in processed meat, can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.[4] Eating a plant-based diet can decrease total calorie consumption which helps you obtain and maintain a healthy weight, a key component to preventing and treating diabetes.[5]
Curb Obesity—Several large studies in Europe and the United States have demonstrated that people on plant-based, vegetarian diets tend to have a significantly lower body weight and body mass index (BMI). This may be in part because plant-based diets are rich in fiber (which is not found in animal products). Fiber contributes to fullness, resulting in lower calorie intake and less overeating.[6],[7],[8],[9]

Live Longer—Evidence suggests that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and a limited amount of red meat can increase longevity, whereas red and processed meat consumption is associated with increases in deaths due to cancer and cardiovascular disease.[10]

Improve The Nutritional Quality of Your Diet—Going meatless encourages consumption of plant-based sources of protein, like beans and peas. Consuming beans and peas results in a higher intake of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron, and magnesium. Also, diets high in beans and peas are associated with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.[11]

For Your Wallet:

Curb Healthcare Spending—Each year in the United States, chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes cause 7 in 10 deaths, and account for 75% of the $2 trillion spent on medical care.[12] In 2008, the estimated health care costs related to obesity were $147 billion.[13] By reducing our risk for these conditions, we can curtail healthcare spending nationwide.

Cut Weekly Budget—Many people save money by adding meatless meals to their weekly menus. Meatless meals are built around vegetables, beans and grains—instead of meat, which tends to be more expensive.[14] This is partly because producing meat requires extra expenses like feed and transportation. Though it can be challenging to serve healthy meals on a budget, going meatless once a week can help conserve money for more fruits and vegetables.
For the Environment:
Minimize Water Usage—The water needs of livestock are much greater than those of vegetables and grains.

– Approximately 1,850 gallons of water are needed to produce a single pound of beef.
– Approximately 39 gallons of water are needed to produce a pound of vegetables.[15]

Americans consume nearly four times the amount of animal protein than the global average.[16] When compared with current food intake in the US, a vegetarian diet could reduce water consumption by up to 58% per person.[17]
Reduce Greenhouse Gases —Studies show that meat production produces significantly more greenhouse gases than vegetables, including carbon dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide – the three main contributing sources of greenhouse gas. Beef was found to produce a total of 30 kg of greenhouse gas (GHG) per kg of food, while carrots, potatoes and rice produce .42, .45 and 1.3 kg GHG per kg of food, respectively.[18]
Reduce Fuel Dependence—About 25 kilocalories of fossil fuel energy is used to produce 1 kilocalorie of all meat based protein, as compared with 2.2 kilocalories of fossil fuel input per 1 kilocalorie of grain based protein produced.[19] The meat industry uses so much energy to produce grain for livestock that if instead we used the grain to feed people following a vegetarian diet, it would be enough to feed about 840 million people.[20]