Happines & Unhappiness

The old saying, "there's a time for everything under the sun", can be applied to our lives. To me it means that it's wise to be open and accept what happens, even if we don't like it. We've learned to be happy if something happens as we wished and unhappy if the result is against our wish. Happiness is sought and unhappiness avoided. Life, in that way, can be compared to a race where only those who become happy can win.

The key to living a peaceful life is to accept good and bad moments as they come without harboring negative feelings. The time we spend enjoying life is great, but we should also learn that suffering, unhappiness and death are also part of life and we should accept them without complaining.

In this world happiness is not permanent. We can only enjoy moments of it. We can't trap it and put it in a bottle for us. What we can do instead is to be fully engaged in the moment. We know that time is an illusion and only the moment exists, nothing more. We experience peace in our souls only when we accept each moment and live it fully.

Our Modern Food Distribution System

In this modern world we use a complex food distribution chain system. We can have whatever we want at any time and season and from anywhere in the world. Just imagine! As someone said, "The world comes to us every time we go shopping the grocery store."

The food distribution system works this way:

1. Growers: grow the food

2. Processors: convert the raw product

3. Transportation: transport food from production to distribution centers

4. Packagers: package and grade the product into retail units

5. Warehouse operators/Distribution centers: store the food for future use

6. Retail Grocers: market, display, and sell the product to costumers

This system has its pros and cons. Pros: It's highly efficient for mass distribution. Also, we eat like kings! Food has never been cheaper, especially in the USA. It's so cheap that we see buffets offering a wide variety of food and all you can eat. Every time we enter a buffet it's like being in a banquet. And in other times banquets were reserved for the very rich, kings, special occasions, weddings, etc. Now we take it for granted. 

Cons: Cheap food uses fertilizers and pesticides from petroleum and other chemical products. In fact, we're eating petroleum in our food (read the book, "The Ommivorous Dilemma"). Cheap food is also many times genetically modifed, but studies are scarce and uncertain. However, the biggest con I find in the modern food distribution system is that it can lead to hunger in different parts of the world. Large fields in many countries are reserved for a particular crop. Big growers can do well in business, but not small growers, who usually have to sell their land and migrate to cities to find work. If there are only big growers and their crops fail, what happens? Lack of food, but in big quantities that feed many people in different countries. Hunger. Also, whenever people get sick because of eating a particular food and the FDA notices it's tainted food, it orders the company to recall thousands or even millions of pounds of it. 

Now, imagine the opposite. Small growers do well in business and even home owners are encouraged to grow some food in their yard. They sell directly to their community and sorrounding areas, and the surplus is sold to cities and even other countries. Homeowners buy only what they need and don't grow. If the small growers' crops fail, starvation will only happen in that area. Not in a large area or even in a country.  Also, with local food growers, tainted food will only be a local issue.

So the best option is to encourage local food production. Even organic food is not a good option if it's grown far away. We may still want (for comfort) large food productions such as rice, wheat, etc., but local food production is by far the best choice. So everytime we see a local market, let's stop and support it. And maybe we too can learn to grow food, which can bring joy to our lives. 

 

I was just reading a little about people who have helped to further peace and this, by Swami Satchidananda, caught my attention:  

"A harmonious life "is achieved by maintaining:

1. Our natural condition of a body of optimum health and strength.

2. Senses under total control.

3. A mind well-disciplined, clear and calm.

4. An intellect as sharp as a razor.

5. A will as strong and pliable as steel.

6. A heart full of unconditional love and compassion.

7. An ego as pure as a crystal.

8. And a life filled with Supreme Peace and Joy.

These traits may be for a super human. However, I think, Jesus, who was the son of God, had these traits and he said that we too are God's children. So that means we can have a harmonious life and be a blessing to others.

How to Get Success

Shakespeare stated that to get success we need to:

1) Know more than others

2) Work more than others

3) Expect less than others

It has been proven over and over again that knowledge plus relentless work lead us straight to achieving our goals. In a LiveScience.com article by Robert Britt, "Is Einstein the last great genius?", he states, "A 35-year study in 2006, which looked at mathematically gifted children to see what they ended up doing with their lives, revealed the ingredients of a great and productive mind: cognitive abilities, educational opportunities, interest, and plain old hard work. Not everyone who starts out smart ends up brilliant." Let's see some people who have achieved great results:

1. St. Paul (yes, the evangelist). He stated in I Corinthians 15:10: "I worked harder than all of them." In fact, Christianity wouldn't have spread throughout the world without St. Paul's hard work. 

2. Will Smith (a Hollywood actor). He stated: I have less talent, but I work harder than anyone in Hollywood. And it pays off. His movies are the most rentable.

Let's learn from others and get to work harder than anyone.

Who are those who really make life worth living? These, according to Jesus:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Let us memorize these verses and live accordingly. Then life will be a blessing, not only to us, but to others.

This afternoon I went to see a piano that is being sold at a thrifty store in Lynchburg, VA. Not Salvation Army or Goodwill, but a small one run by a pastor and his wife. When I finished playing the piano, they asked me to play the guitar and I gladly accepted. I played "Let us take bread together on my knees". Having finished playing, the lady told me that she and her husband sang and played together. Then they set up their instruments and sang a song that he'd composed. It was so beautiful to see this couple singing and playing together! So much eagerness and love! Then they invited me to have some doughnuts. I was struck by the service and work they showed to their customers. Just imagine all businesses run by people like them!

Real Estate at Risk

Nowhere in the world can you buy a house so easily. Just in the USA. I suppose. Sometimes even with no downpayment and even if you don't make enough money to pay the monthly bills. In other countries you must have at least 20% or 30% of the total price of the house as a downpayment and prove that you have sufficient income every month to pay the loan.

Nowhere in the world can you see so many foreclosures. The reason behind this, according to Steven Pearlstein in a Washington Post article from today, is the greed from investment bankers and mortgate brokers. According to him, these are the various kinds of loans we can take:

1. The balloon mortgage: the borrower pays only interest for 10 years before a big lump-sum payment is due.
2. The liar loan: the borrower is asked merely to state his annual income, without presenting any documentation.
3. The option ARM loan: the borrower can pay less than the agreed-upon interest and principal payment, simply by adding to the outstanding balance of the loan.
4. The piggyback loan: a combination of a first and second mortgage eliminates the need for any down payment.
5. The teaser loan: qualifies a borrower for a loan based on an artificially low initial interest rate, even though he or she doesn't have sufficient income to make the monthly payments when the interest rate is reset in two years.
6. The stretch loan: the borrower has to commit more than 50 percent of gross income to make the monthly payments.
7. Even the NINJA loan: No Income, No Job and No Assets.

Why are they doing these? Because they make money by selling the mortgages. It doesn't matter to them if people aren't able to pay the loans.

The Bible admonishes us not to have debts for more than 7 years. Dave Ramsey, founder of Financial Peace University and Christian financial counselor, urges us to avoid the debt trap. He advises buying a house only when we have a good downpayment, enough cash in our emergency and savings funds (3-6 months of salary), and don't have any other big debts. If you'd like to know his Christian and conservative approach, go this website: http://www.daveramsey.com.

Be aware of the buy now, pay later mentality. One never knows what will happen later. The Bible states that the 'borrower is servant to the lender'. So be cautious and only buy if you have enough cash and can pay back on a regular basis. Let us not become slaves.