Growing Through Challenge

                  I DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS!

You don't have to agree with everything you are about to read on this website... I would only ask you for a few minutes to just suspend judgment. Yes, just suspend the "reflexive judgment" that we all have, based on our ingrained and accumulated system of beliefs which causes us to quickly either embrace or dismiss...
     1) a new idea
     2) a fresh perspective
     3) a different approach
     4) a somewhat radical thought

                                 RADICAL THOUGHT

Think about it... we only have to put ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors just a thousand years ago to realize that almost every piece of information we now take for granted would have been a "radical idea" to them.

Name any area of thought: Astronomy, Psychology, Chemistry, Government, Medicine, Human Rights, Transportation, Geology, Genetics... everything from the microcosm of the sub-atomic level to the macrocosm of the (somewhat) known universe... everything that you or I believe about any of it would have been a "RADICAL THOUGHT" to our ancestors.

     AND HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK WILL CHANGE AGAIN
                     IN ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS?

Who among us is arrogant enough to say that everything we now believe is absolutely right and that's the end of it?

Who is willing to close themselves off to the possibility of any new information or discovery which might create an adjustment in their belief system? Sounds pretty childish doesn't it?

                                        YES, BUT...

Yes, but most of us live our daily lives in that "reflexive judgment" mode I mentioned earlier that looks a great deal like we have many "closed off" areas where our minds really are already made up... end of discussion!

It is really easy to spot that outlook when people are discussing any of the three topics below... if you like to argue, then these three topics will provide you with a lifetime of material...
     1) Politics
     2) Religion
     3) Personal attitudes about other people

                                  MY CONFESSION

For instance, I grew up very religious and felt strongly that my views and interpretations on the subject were absolutely RIGHT! I have lived long enough to discover how often I was so wrong that I am now very ashamed of the egotism I displayed then.

I'm still very religious... but I no longer think or claim I'm right about everything. Back when I used to think I "understood" the Supreme Being & Creator of all things, I was suffering from two maladies:
     1) An over-inflated sense of my own understanding.
     2) A dismal lack of appreciation of the unimaginable magnitude of the INFINITE BEING about Whom I was making commentary.

What a sad picture... there I was, a very finite being of extremely limited understanding regarding matters of eternal import... talking about the INFINITE as though I really did understand it all. I was very sincere then, but it sounds pitiful and absurd now.

                                   STILL SINCERE

So dear reader, still from a sincere (and less arrogant) heart, I present my writings on some subjects I care about very deeply. I pledge to you that...
     1) I will try to ask good questions to engage your mind, emotions, and will toward finding helpful answers in various areas of your life.
     2) I will endeavor to give advice that will be useful in your daily life.

But, as with any human author, I would urge you to "Read with Caution!" No matter how authoritative we may sound, none of us even comes close to having all the answers!