7

 Not the Magnificent Seven, though the original is great.

It's about greed and injustice.  

Over the years, imagine being cheated out of several inheritances.

Naivety and youth had something to do with it at first.  Then reticence and helplessness set in.  

He kidded himself that he had taken the high road, that his morals were better than the thieves.  That's all well and good, but it does nothing inre justice.  They don't care, like our enemies scorn us because they think they can get away with their theft.

The thieves/grifters are cowardly and weak.  They prey only when others don't fight back.

All 7 should have been contested.  Gone now.

However the diamonds can be returned still.  Not literally perhaps, but by a different avenue.

Prayer, planning and standing up for oneself can overcome.

Perseverance and determination without revealing plans can work.  

There is some Sun Tzu involved.

That's the limit of revelation.

Spirit and truth as long as they are action and not just words, will whittle/whack the perps down to size.

Guard well and watch 6 for 7.

Success on one's own terms is the best revenge.

Justice.

Groups

 All groups have Bertha Better'n'yous.  They share a delusion that they are exclusive.

Truth simply speaks for itself.  There is no forcing an issue.

What we must remember is we are all in this together.

Like the story says about all are equal but some are more equal than others.

No.  We are free and we choose.  

A group is made of individuals who aim in a common direction.

Lockstep is poison.  Common belief is health.

Insecurity hides behind something which becomes vague.

Belief and knowledge coalesce.

E Pluribus Unum.  

Characters...

 Father's Day looms.  

We are sorry/mourn that there are bad dads.

But here, we celebrate Fathers.  Great ones.  Positive role models.  I know 2.

My Dad and my Brother From Another Mother have great content of character.

They worked hard, raised responsible kids, helped others and inspired those who carry on.  

They could be earthy and eloquent.  They had the ability to communicate with practically anyone.

One was well off and the other working class.  

Leaders in the best sense who learned from others and cared for them.  They gathered advice and experience, then made decisive decisions.  

In all times including down, I remember them and I will not let them down.

I will carry on.

The People...

 There are levels in life.

People manage, supervise, have duties that demand attention.  

Yet, it still boils down to content of character.

My GreatGrandma always said 'it's who you are, not what you are'.  It's a truism shared by many.  But it's profound for each.

People respond in many ways to others.

In certain groups, I was a supervisor, pastor, therapist etal.  

I was not above them.  I was with them.

One of the best pastors I knew was like that.  He related and though he led them, he was one of them.

The worst kind is the authoritarian.  Above and not below.

It might be a desire to be a leader with answers or at least ability to counsel.

Or it's preening superiorism.  Up there not down here.

Among the people, I had great positive response.  People trusted me and wanted me to help.

They sought to lift me up.

I sought to be on their sides.

I helped by inspiring people to help themselves, to inspire potential.

No wonder the neopharissees wanted me gone.

The org should serve the people, not the people the org.

Regrets...

 I have zigged when I should have zagged.

I do not obsess about mistakes I've made.  I remember when I went a certain path.

The point is I have learned.

If I had followed through with certain actions, who knows about profession and whatever success might have been.

I live with the results, good, bad and in between, like we all do.  

I don't wallow in despair, nor failure.

I am here now.

I have a life to live with the gifts given me by our Creator.

I don't live in the past.  I learn from it.  

Lift up your hearts and give life its due.  

I know some feel at their wits end.  End of rope?  Tie a knot and hang on!

We are here to help, encourage, heal.  Ourselves and others.

Follow your dreams and don't be your worst enemy.

Plan A, B, C, etc.

Points Redux

 Doubt I'll make a habit of this.  I reiterate but prefer to go on.  Probably no 'best of'.

But, here is something spurred on by a previous thought re confessions.

Points

 Of contact.

I remember a certain fundamentalist group doing a group healing with oil.  They used a tissue as a point of contact for the recipient far away.  Don't know if it worked but the prayers didn't hurt.

We use focal points in order to concentrate energy, to give emphasis or momentum to address.

This is where words and deeds converge, where ideas turn into determination.  

How do we touch people, a subject, a project?

Declarations precede action and the action starts at a point then spreads.

Do prayers work?  We only know if we pray.

We have to start somewhere.

Fate

 The end?  Beginning?

Destiny.  Our future.

They -sic- say 'luck is preparation meeting opportunity'.  

I'm just throwing out thoughts here.  Kind of a pastiche or a palette for a portrait.  

We are never alone, but many of those corporeal folks on the journey have gone to spirit.  Their fate transforms, while those of us here have further work to do.  It unfolds as needed.

Sure, some have a clearer view.  But, nonetheless, we are here til we are not.

Then we can come and go.

Some say there is no fate but what we make.  I refer to the aforementioned luck statement. 

I think it's probably that and something smack dab in the path/face.  

There are no coincidences.  All our yesterdays coalesce.

Keep thinking and doing.