Practical Tips for Peaceful Living(Volume VII … February 2018 – November 2020)… a collection of brief commentarieson the meaning of real Peace, and on the making of a Peace-filled Lifevia Scaughdtan (i)am publication1
NOTE: This work is Purpose-fully non-copyrighted, and may therefore be copied, reprinted, forwarded &/or gifted onward in whatever ways any of its readers deem fit. That having been said, the author would also like to remind anyone so doing that, just as these Truths have been given to all for free, so too should they be freely given onward to others – fully profitless to the giver; without any additional costs or conditions attached to the receiving thereof … Thank you.2
“Every moment of every day, it is you and you alone who decides what you believe and how you act on those beliefs. It is you and you alone who chooses who you become … And no matter what you have learned in your past, and no matter what is happening to you in your Here&Now, you always get a second chance -- in every second anew.” ~ unknown\"Do more than merely belong: Participate. Do more than merely care: Serve selflessly. Do more than merely believe: Practice. Do more than merely be fair: Be Kind. Do more than merely forgive: Have Compassion. Do more than dream: Do Lovingly for others.” ~ inspired by William Arthur Ward 3
“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridgethe gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles. How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism. We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time we assiduously prepare for war. We make our fervent pleas for the high road of justice, and then we tread unflinchingly the low road of injustice. This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man's earthly pilgrimage.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.4
An Introduction to what Follows…Being a Peace Pilgrim, it almost goes without saying that quite a few of my thoughts & writings from the past twelve+ years have to do with illuminating the profound “Inner Peace” that can be experienced by all those choosing to live the Way of selfless Kindness. Of course, it also almost goes without saying that this Way is more a practical manner of living than it is an abstract measure of philosophy or reason – so much more than a matter of mere awakened thought or warmhearted feeling … And thus it makes significant sense that many of my aforementioned writings ended up describing several of the practical methods we humans can use to make deep-seated Peace a very practical Reality in our everyday lives (as opposed to the same remaining a mere theory, a mere hope, or a mere fantasy).And so this is the seventh volume of my Blog’s written collection of those same ponderings. May they inspire you to bring a true & profound sense of Peace into the lives of others – and thereby allow you to rediscover that same Bliss in your own.Amen … Let it be so. Scaughdt (January 2018)5
“Out there, beyond all ideas of wrongdoing and Right-doing, there is a field of Love …Go on ahead … I'll meet you there.”~ inspired by Rumi“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides andgravity, we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And then,for a second time in the history of the world, we humans will have rediscovered Fire.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin“Better than a thousand hollow words is the one tone that brings Peace.” ~ G. Buddha6
To become God's perfect LOVE …(02/02/2018)7
To become again as Child …(02/03/2018)8
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The way to properly Party …(02/07/2018)10
To re-member Who we Are …(02/08/2018)11
In search of that one last Mint …(02/13/2018)12
To make the Moment Meaning-full …(02/14/2018)13
What the people Need …(02/15/2018)14
On redefining wants …(02/21/2018)15
How to have Enough …(02/22/2018)16
The Rightness of Realism …(02/23/2018)17
How to Be STRONG …(02/25/2018)18
Moving through the Through …(03/21/2018)19
Shaking out the Extras …(03/25/2018)20
What any Good God must want …(04/04/2018)21
The Time to Do what's RIGHT …(04/04/2018)22
When we examine the not insignificant swath of recorded history occupied by our still-young species, there are a few men & women who cannot help but shine forth their Greatness. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those Bright Lights … He shone forth Justice in a time of persecution … He shone forth Compassion in a time of callousness … He shone forth Acceptance in a time of bigotry … He shone forth Love in a time of hatred & abuse.Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life to shine that Great Light, and yet most of us still prefer to meekly hide in the darkness … We hide in the shadows of our arrogance; we hide in the shadows of our greed; we hide in the shadows of our apathy; and we hide in the shadows of our savagery.Well, my Friends, I am here to remind you all of the obvious truth that Martin Luther King Jr. was right -- and I am here to humbly ask for you to honor his courageous legacy by bravely stepping out of the shadows and standing forth as he did.I ask that you would stand forth for the enslaved;I ask that you would stand forth for the tortured;I ask that you would stand forth for the murdered;I ask that you would stand forth for the oppressed.Martin Luther King Jr. was right, my Friends: It IS always the right time to do what is Right, and it is never too late to start engaging and upholding thatRightness … Please join me in doing so today … Thank you. “I am cognizant of the inter-relatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. (from his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” in 1963)23
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All yonder crash & Burning …(04/05/2018)25
Hitching up to Hitchens …(04/13/2018)26
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To say Right Things rightly …(04/14/2018)28
Honoring the greater Little Ones …(04/15/2018)29
Remembering real JOY …(04/16/2018)30
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All that saves us Now …(04/22/2018)32
A new & better Normal …(05/02/2018)33
Time for a real Revolt …(05/01/2018)34
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Setting GOOD in Motion…(05/03/2018)36
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To open the Glowing Door …(06/11/2018)38
Unrobbing the greater Mystery …(05/19/2018)39
The IS of the Everything …(06/26/2018)40
reaching IN by reaching Out …(06/30/2018)41
Walking with the Wealth …(06/28/2018)42
Money from the Heart …(07/07/2018)43
Remembering Nooka #01 – A truly Beauty-full Friend …(08/15/2018) It was 2 years ago today that I lost one of my bestFriends -- my dog-companion Nooka ... My brotherand I found Nooka across the street from a truck stopwhen she was roughly 2 years old back in the summerof 2006 -- well, it is far more accurate to say thatNooka actually found us. We were hunting forlandscaping stones in an abandoned industrial lot therewhen Nooka charged right up to us, wagging her tailand licking us and rolling over to entice us to scratchher belly. She was such a sweetheart and so effusivelyhilarious that we both busted out laughing at her antics. After approaching the lone resident nearby to ask if she was his, he sneered at us and deadpanned a surprisingly cold-hearted \"I don't know whose she is, but she's been driving me crazy. You should go ahead and take her.\" Well, that was enough for me, so we loaded her into mom's pickup truck and Todd sat with her there while I drove her home to the farm ... At first mom wasn't too thrilled with her arrival, and yet Nooka was so cute and so sweet and so loving that she warmed to her right away and agreed to let her stay ... And so stay she did, for the better part of the next tenyears -- bringing peace and joy to whomevershe met along the way. Indeed, it is morethan fair to say that absolutely everyone --with the exception of the local coyotes andmom's cats (only whenever they got tooclose to her food bowl) -- absolutely adoredNooka. And it is just as fair to say thatNooka absolutely adored everyone inreturn ... She was the sweetest dog I haveever met, and I still miss her to this day.RIP, dear Nooka ... and THANK YOU for finding us!44
Remembering Nooka #02 – That uber-adorable Mug …(08/15/2018) One of the things I liked almost as much as Nooka's sweeter than sweet personality was her gorgeous face. Part Siberian Husky, part wolf (we are pretty sure), and part German Shepherd, she had the most amazing eyes and facial features, and I really loved watching her so clearly \"communicate\" with the same … 45
Remembering Nooka #03 – Once more, like the Wind …(08/15/2018) She came like the wind, we know not from where. And she soothed like the wind aswell, with her humor when we needed \"cooling down\" and her tenderness when our hearts needed \"warming up\" ... When we walked in the woods she would like the wind disappear for a time, and yet somehow she was always also within earshot -- and wouldburst out of the woods and roar past us along the trail -- again, like the wind. And then one day, as well just like the wind, she was gone ... I know not where she now resides -- or if she even still resides at all, and yet she does indeed live on in my Heart; summoned again & again & again (in seemingly random days from seemingly accidental inspirations) into my fondest of rememberings ... Again & again & again she comes into my thoughts and again & again & again shemakes me smile -- just like the wind.46
Remembering Nooka #04 – How we are meant to LOVE …(08/15/2018) Nooka knew best how to Love people -- how to really truly LOVE them. Shegreeted everyone she met as though she had rediscovered a long lost Soulmate, she attended to all in her immediate presence as though they were the only ones there, and then when the time for the parting of ways inevitably arrived, she would smile deeply, say her heartfelt goodbyes, shrug her canine shoulders, and head off to really truly LOVE someone else ...47
Remembering Nooka #05 – Ever into the Woods …(08/15/2018) Nooka LOVED exploring the woods. The funny thing was, she would never ever ever do so alone. But man-oh-man, as soon as you picked up your walking stick and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk, she literally jumped up in the air and tore off down the main path behind the house ... And she would always \"lead the way\" whenever we would go -- as long as she knew that there was someone else along for the adventure. She would charge ahead, full of bravado, and then she would disappear ashort ways into the trees. We could always here her explorings -- which meant that she could always hear our as well -- and we would simply keep walking and let her exploreon her own. And then a few moments later she would appear from behind us -- blasting down the trail right past us and on up ahead, again showing us that she was running the show; that she was leading the way. Know that I think about it, it was kind of a metaphor for how she showed us all to LOVE purely as well -- like LOVE, always needing another to journey forth; like LOVE, making a leap of Faith that the other will indeed walk with; like LOVE, not needing the other to reciprocate in kind -- just be nearby walking in roughly the same direction; and like LOVE, always returning to Oneness with reckless abandon and full speed ahead. My goodness, how I loved those days with her in the woods ... And my goodness how I LOVED her so!48
Remembering Nooka #06 – on Befriending Cats …(08/15/2018) Even the most ardent of cat-lovers will have to admit that most cats (at least by far most of the cats I have encountered and cared for and befriended) can take a bit of getting used to -- and this is especially true for most dogs ... Where dogs are most often open, cats are mostly aloof. Where dogs have evolved to emotionally bond with their human companions, cats have mostly not, Where dogs are often playful and adventuresome and downright goofy, cats often seem austere and conservative and downright dour. That having been said, none of these challenges stopped Nooka from loving mightily on the farm's cats -- especially a cat named Tigger. A cat who took some time to warm to Nooka's robust kindness, and yet a cat who eventually did so nonetheless ...49
Remembering Nook #07 – Peace-full on any Porch …(08/15/2018) One of my favorite things to do when I was living at the farm (off and on from 2006 through 2011) was work in the woods ... Nooka almost always went with me whenever I did so, and would go exploring nearby while I pruned tree branches and cleared felled logs and trimmed back overgrown paths ... I frequently lost track of time while working -- often near to the point of dehydrated exhaustion -- and yet Nooka was always watching out for me, and always made it very clear when it was time to head back to rest awhile on the back porch ... She wasn't much of a snuggler, that Nooka (understatement) and yet I still remember warmly those times when I would sit in my rocking chair on that porch -- sipping tea or lemonade --and watching the woods and everything in it swell & grow & flow & breath ......... with Nooka smoothly sleeping at my side.50