Landscape for
by Malcolm Rae
Copyright © 2012 by Malcolm Rae
Any part, or whole, of this publication may be reproduced, providing credit is given to the authour.
Printed in Canada.
Pro Life: (I wrote this research essay awhile ago. Of course, if a woman's life is seriously at risk by a growing conceptus or she is raped, I believe she should have the "right to choose"... but a quite a number of abortions may happen needlessly).
http://web.viu.ca/clemotteo/Pandora/Ethics%20230/pro_life_Malcolm_Rae.htm
*Update (new link): https://prolifeandchoicetoo.blogspot.com/
Notes in closing:
Friendships
by Malcolm Rae
Copyright © 2012 by Malcolm Rae
Any part, or whole, of this publication may be reproduced, providing credit is given to the authour.
Printed in Canada.
Email: malspaint@gmail.com
Website: Google +: Malcolm Rae
Canadian Catalogue
in publication data:
Main
entry under: Landscape for Friendships
Rae,
Malcolm.
Includes bibliographical
references.
ISBN: 978-0-9735447-6-3
Imagine
being in an environment where "you" cannot be "you." That environment happened to me. I
did not choose it. I was born into it. I grew up in confinement, without a
television, a computer, mainstream music or being allowed to participate in
competitive sports. I grew up in a family of thirteen, where my dad would read
the Bible after every meal. Every Sunday, I would have to wear Sunday
clothes. Every Sunday, I would have to attend a church where there was a lot of
older people and nobody my age, and nobody with my interests. Every Sunday I
would have to listen to hymns written before my time. Every Sunday I would have
to hear preachers speak on what I already knew, this being the gospel message.
I had to sit still and listen attentively to what was already obvious to me. No
wonder I felt shy¹. No wonder I did not talk much. I had to live in this highly
formal environment of people who did not work much with their own hands,
because they were mostly retired or they had very well-paying jobs.
The kids at
the schools I attended were not like me. They knew about mainstream music. They
knew more about the Vancouver Canucks. They were accepted in their circles of
friends because they could share commonly about popular news and events. Their
families celebrated Christmas, whereas my parents stopped celebrating Christmas
because it was "pagan." Unable to talk about much in common with my
schoolmates, I felt somewhat outside their circles.
Most of the
people at my church seemed to dislike sports. Everything that has to do with a
man being a man, they seemed to be against. Sports, weight training, strength,
courage, fearlessness, industriousness, hard labour and natural affection² were
not seen as really pious. If you worked as a labourer, you were lowly.
Athleticism was not valued. So, being a labourer and an athletic guy, I was not
truly valued. Instead, I was superficially valued.
I wanted to
play competitive hockey. My parents did not want me to play competitive hockey.
My home environment and my church environment were not
positively supporting environments. Consequently, I struggled to be myself.
Happily,
interaction, dialogue and writing were skills I was able to work on in
University. These skills, combined with life skills through athletic experience
and working hard as a labourer, mostly as an independent painter and operating
my business, helped me to become my own person. I learned the value of
self-examination. I published three books that involved a lot of self-reflecting.
I learned the value of natural affection.
Rules
without natural affection mean nothing. The tools of destructive control
include aloofness, force, incompetence and excessive restriction. These tools
are used by religions, governments, families and other social environments,
such as exclusive gatherings or schools.
The
pseudo-church is a political environment where those who hope for natural
affection are not only disappointed, but threatened by soft-handed, pushy,
non-industrious and inexperienced leaders who seek to impose their unnatural
wills on whoever they can. No longer a place of ministry, it has become a
political place for non-examining, misled, people, who conform to convenient
ways. In short, rather than ministry, what is apparent is a kind of business
machinery at work, operated by corrupt and polluting operators, highly
supportive of non-calculating clients.
Once church
members did not selfishly consider their possessions, but now materialism has
become celebrated. Where leaders were humble and lowly, they have become
superficial, non-industrious, non-labouring and without identifying care for
their neighbours. The inadequacy, tension, emphatic oratory and charisma of the
pseudo-church leave morally conscious people with a dilemma. Neglect so-called
"fellowship" or make friends with altogether different people, who
are more understanding. The landscape for people of understanding, natural
affection and common values must become truly available.
In order to
flourish like a food-bearing plant, your environment must be fit. There is
thinking that suggests that if you are not happy, healthy and rich, the fault
is your own. This thinking is wrong. Sometimes conditions are such that you do
not have much control. A storm, a broken down car, deprivation, abuse, injury,
an act of God, a lack of structure, unfavourable circumstances, poor health, an
accident, bullies, thieves, detached-people influences, wayward-people
influences, faithless-people influences, are conditions that happen. To be
successful, the conditions for that success must somehow be found. The unformed
potential must be seen. For example, energetic kids can be seen as gifted and
full of athletic potential, rather than as rambunctious or a nuisance. Being is
not neutral. Neglect to properly address things results in unhappiness and
inhibition. Happiness partly comes from structure. Courage can lead to freedom,
and freedom to happiness (Thucydides). The preventative factors of structure and produce
must be recognized and, if possible, corrected.
Different
places and conditions of landscape impact productivity and growth. The ground
that you are in might be wayward to devouring animals. The ground that you are
in might be full of weeds that choke out your life. Some people have stony hearts.
According to Matthew 13:18-20, the conditions of environment impact the word of
the kingdom. You could be withered by the sun, if you have no depth of earth
and room for root - but it is also tough for a plant to grow if it lacks light.
The open light of God nurtures growth. The closed hearts of men shut light out.
The good ground belongs to honest hearts. God looks on the heart, not outward
appearance.
The present-day conditions for positive dialogue and interaction are lacking. Ideally, perhaps people would
not write at all, preferring to communicate and interact entirely in person.
That is more personal and inclusive. That is an original method of interaction
and peaceful talk on Canadian landscape used by aboriginals. Your word,
possibly over a meal and a participation of sorts - walking, a journey, a
custom, a wampum belt presentation or something, was a naturally structured
method of agreement.
Happiness
partly comes from structure and natural affection. Of all the earthly things
that mess people up, lacking natural structure is perhaps the
greatest. An unstructured life inevitably leads to pressure, unwanted
manipulation, anxiety and excessive stress. In the absence of charitable action, a life can be influenced by controlling persons, substance abuse,
penalties and unrewarding work.
Great
strength can come from within. According to Christ, “…the kingdom of God
Great
leaders have spent notable periods alone, and they were able to identify with
common people. Moses spent many years in the wilderness. Christ was in the
wilderness without food for forty days. Paul was alone in prison. Moses was
known for his meekness. The common people heard Christ gladly (Mark 12:37 ). If Paul was asked what he did for a living, he could say
he was a tentmaker. A leader must be a servant, with consideration for his
land.
The two
greatest commandments involve a labour of self-examination that seems to have
been forgotten. Loving God with our whole being involves self-examination (let
us ask: what is our whole being)? The second greatest commandment (loving your
neighbour) involves self-examination "...as yourself." The lowly will
be blessed. Truth is bigger than any one individual or elite group. It is
arrogant, rude and unfriendly to suggest otherwise.
There needs
to be a practical and natural landscape for friendships where ministry can come
from friends, rather than from just paid councilors, politicians or pastors. I
would like to see a non-formal environment where people are not forced into
something they are not, a landscape where people are treated as friends and not
as clients or thoughtless citizens. What is needed is an all-in-one,
part recreational, part coffee-type house, part-artistic, place that is consistently
open, where regular people are allowed to exercise, participate, play, interact,
compete, eat, converse and be themselves.
¹ I believe a lot of the shyness I experienced was largely due
to being pressed into something I was not. Contrarily, my parents, being
athletic, did not encourage me to play in league sports.
² "Natural affection" means affection that comes
naturally, in a free, humane and charitable manner, rather than forced or
imposed interaction and unnatural control that cares little, if at all, for the
uniqueness and dignity of every person (in other words, all humanity or humankind).
Pro Life: (I wrote this research essay awhile ago. Of course, if a woman's life is seriously at risk by a growing conceptus or she is raped, I believe she should have the "right to choose"... but a quite a number of abortions may happen needlessly).
http://web.viu.ca/clemotteo/Pandora/Ethics%20230/pro_life_Malcolm_Rae.htm
*Update (new link): https://prolifeandchoicetoo.blogspot.com/
Notes in closing:
Education/religion dangers: The capacity to freely make decisions without being TOLD what to do is being reduced by excessive education, indoctrination and a lack of "hands-on," life, experience. With much education and little experiential understanding and no competitive sports (in a number of religious groups - where manipulation can happen), young people's DECISION-MAKING ABILITIES are being demoted and disabled.
Those who are young need the best environment for growth and allowed to "come into their own," or they're not going to be able to be who they can be and live to their potential (parable of the seed in Mark 4:26-29). 🌱
