Educational Excellence

I am so accustomed to it … I’ve got to do it … again!!!  T.G.I.F., y’all!

What a week it has been!!  We lost Mr. Ali … at least the physical being.  Yet, his legacy lives on … and on … and on!  It seems that we are down to … and I do mean “down” … to the last two persons running for POTUS!  It is kind of scary, though …. wondering whom the American people will choose this time!  “Pickin’s are slim … to none!”  It reminds me of the days of Jesus … when the people had to decide who would be crucified!!  The only difference is that whomever we pick … will be the next president … so … brace yourselves!!!

I have had the fortune of learning some spiritual skills that have become very valuable for me … like meditation, even yoga … for those of us who use it as a spiritual exercise.  As we approach a time in the world’s history, we can see fear gripping us through the actions of groups like ISIS and the heinous attacks on innocent people in Europe.  Many nations, including the USA, have become more conscious of the possibility of attacks by them on our soil!  Now, many of us are not as aware of the environmental dangers that our Earth is experiencing … from “El Nino” and its effects on our climate to tsunamis and floods and horrific storms resulting in tornadoes and deaths as well as destruction of homes to earthquakes and the leveling of entire communities by their force.  I am sure we may all agree that there is a lot more going on that we are NOT being told or informed about.  Can we take any of this stuff away!???  Obviously, the answer is “no”!  Fear permeates the very fabric of our society and everyone uses it from employers to religious leaders, from governments and law enforcement right down to local gangs that permeate our nation’s cites.  Where can we go to escape the onslaught of fear and negativity?  I meditate … and pray!  If nothing else goes well in a day for me, I am sure to take some time for myself to think loving thoughts of myself and those whom I know love me …  peace be still!

How are you handling the things that we can NOT take away?  Do they preoccupy your consciousness?  Does that preoccupation cause you to do things that you normally would not do … or things that may be detrimental to your mental health?  As I watch the Trump followers, some have gone as far as to say, “If following and believing in Trump’s ideas means I am a racist, then I am a racist!!”  How sick can we get?!?  Poverty is gripping so many humans world-wide.  Yet, here in the USA, often when poverty gets too unbearable, people rob and kill each other!!  Wouldn’t you think that “the architects of our society” … should there be such a thing anymore … would try to find a solution to this prevalent and growing “inequality” both financially and socially and which is causing a great rift between “the haves and the have nots”?!?  Many of us may speculate that the gun manufacturers are “profiting” from this systematic conflict which usually results in many of the “haves” owning guns to protect themselves from the “have nots” …. None of this makes sense to me if we are really trying to be what we “say” we are … world leaders concerned with righting “human injustice and inequality”, not to mention global conflicts?!!  But “they” want us to believe that they are … our political leaders, law enforcement officers and the court system … really concerned with problems in our world that are actually caused by this “human injustice and inequality”.  Instead, we see more prisons being built and more money going into the penal system than elsewhere.

So, in closing, just saying, today is a challenge for me …  Pray for me!

Peace,

John I. Cook, Director