Dear Everybody,
Now let me see if I can get you thinking and smiling.
What did the agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac say when he couldn’t sleep?…..There is no dog! Women who think they are equal to men……lack ambition.
A psychotic believes 2+2=5, a neurotic knows…..2+2=4 but can’t stand it.
Today, I want to share two letters to the editor that I have written recently. My first letter to the editor related to an article in USA Today about God.
Dear Editor,
My God is intelligent, conscious, loving energy and not some identifiable being. The Creator is obviously intelligent because this universe could not be an accident. Just ask astronomers or astrophysicists what they think. Just move the earth a few hundred miles closer to the sun and we would be in big trouble.
Water is a prime example of the intelligence. Every liquid when frozen becomes denser and heavier except for water. It becomes lighter and ice floats. Who arranged that so our planet would survive as life is protected by the ice rather than displaced and frozen to death by it. Water also has the option of being gas, liquid or solid so our planet’s needs are met.
My God is conscious because it involves choices and the ability to respond and change related to the conditions we are exposed to. Instead of the Biblical line “there was the word,” think about “there was consciousness and consciousness was with God and consciousness was God.”
My God is loving because the changes we are capable of making allow all living things to survive threats to their existence. Bacteria resist antibiotics and viruses resist vaccines by altering their genes. Plants survive droughts and parasites. We heal our wounds and resist disease too. Our Creator must have desired that we survive so these abilities were built into us.
The energy had to be available to accomplish all these things and create life as we know it. Even if after seven days a rest was necessary.
The one question many ask is: If God loves us why didn’t God make a perfect world? God’s answer is that perfection is a magic trick and not creation. We are all participating in creation and really not prepared for perfection. We are here to live and learn and hopefully someday imitate God by showing compassion to each other and all living things so our lives will feel perfect due to what we have created thanks to God.
Here is a second letter to the editor. I sent it to the New Haven Register after it printed articles about police behavior and the incident with Yale students.
Dear Editor,
As a former New Haven Police Surgeon the problem with the behavior of police officers is no different than that of any profession. We must have an in depth awareness of why we choose a specific profession or the result can have destructive consequences. Look at Jack Kevorkian, and his issues with death, leading him to become a pathologist and killing people. If I became a surgeon as a reaction formation to my destructive tendencies, or an oncologist because I needed to fail, or a policeman because of my violent behavior or a psychiatrist because of my emotional problems, those I have a relationship with will suffer from my problem unless I am aware of it and understand myself and my emotional issues. We are all good at avoiding emotionally painful feelings.
What police, doctors and others need to do is really investigate the healthy and unhealthy reasons for choosing their profession. This should be done as part of their training. When a medical student writes on his application that he wants to be a doctor because he is fascinated by the human body he has a problem, as do veterinarians who choose it because they love animals. People come in the body and bring the pets in.
I help a lot of medical students by asking them to draw themselves working as a doctor. Many drawings show no people in them; just diplomas, desks and technical gadgets. It would be interesting to see what police officers would draw when asked to draw themselves working as police officers. It could be very therapeutic and enlightening for the individuals involved if all they see in their drawings are speeding police cars and weapons.
We need to know ourselves and be wary of the professionals we utilize. If you are not treated properly by any professional, let them know how you felt due to their behavior. And if they do not apologize and learn from their mistakes, change who you are dealing with. If their actions are criminal, then take the appropriate steps too.
I became a surgeon because I liked people and fixing things. I was not prepared during my training to understand that there would be many things I couldn’t fix. So I became very angry when that would occur. One day a patient I was about to discharge said, “I am giving all the doctors who cared for me a gift but not you.”
“Why not me?”
“Because you are always angry.”
“I didn’t like what happened to you or what I had to do to you.”
“But you took it out on me.”
I apologized and he said, “Okay, I’ll give you a gift.” That moment stays with me because he helped me to become a better doctor, know myself and have his criticism polish my mirror. The best in every profession are criticized regularly because they don’t make excuses. They apologize and learn from their mistakes.
To close, here is a question for you this week: How would you introduce yourself to God?
Peace,
Bernie
You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.
~ Mark Twain