Thought Provoking Thursday: St. Patty's Day

Some interesting facts you may or may not know.

1. St. Patrick was not Irish.  He was born in Britain, kidnapped by pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland.  But he is the Patron Saint of the Irish.

2.  His real name was Maewyn Succat.

3. He did not run snakes out of Ireland.  The snakes are representative of the Druidic religions that disappeared as he converted the people of Ireland to Christianity.

4.  He used the Shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.

5. Celtic Druids threw him in prison many times because of his teaching Christianity.

6.  The actual color of St. Patrick is blue. Green became associated with St. Patrick's Day during the 19th century.

7. Green, in Irish legends, was actually an unlucky color, as fairies and immortals were said to steal people, especially children, who wore too much of the color.

8. St. Patrick is believed to be the first person to speak out against slavery.

9. He died March 17, 461

10. By law, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick's Day, a national religious holiday, as recently as the 1970s.
11. The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in the U.S., not Ireland.


12.  There are more Irish in America, than in Ireland right now, the city of Boston claiming the most.

13.  The Irish do not celebrate the holiday with corned beef, that is strictly an American tradition.

Thought Provoking Thursday: Why Do We Stress?

I mean, I know life throws us curveballs, but really, is anything really that big that we can't get through it?  Talking with a friend last night, he tried to tell me about finding happiness by letting go.  Now, he's super smart, and I tried to follow along, and I admit, he lost me in some places, but I get it to a point.

We need to remember, that our physical lives are ephemoral.  Our bodies our mere vessels to get us through this phase of existence, so everything here, our stuff, the people in our lives, our experiences are only temporary for us.  If we remember the big picture, that we're not going to be in this life forever, it may be easier to let things roll off of us.

While it's kind of a confusing concept, and I'm not trying to get all metaphysical and religious on your ass, because frankly, those are not my things, but I think I'm going to try and put it in a smaller perspective.  Day to day.  The things I go through are temporary.  They won't last forever.  Now that may mean they go away in this lifetime or after death, but they will go away.

Our physical lives are fleeting.  We are merely a speck in the scheme of things.  So why do we make things so hard for ourselves while we're here?

I don't really know what happens after.  But I know that all I've left behind won't matter anymore.  So why do I worry about it so much?

Think on that for awhile.

~Megan

The Power of Prayer?

Is it hypocritical to pray when you're not even sure you believe in god? If you don't practice any kind of organized religion? Would I be remembered?

Does he(or she) hear those of us that haven't prayed in so long we can't remember? Or do our prayers just dissipate as soon as they leave our lips? Or does he just let them go unanswered?

What if we truly believe in what we're praying for? Would that matter? Would it matter if who we're praying for believes?

I've been so moved by people's plights as of late that I've turned to the big man (woman?) in the sky. I mean, it's worth a shot, right?

That's all, just random thoughts.

Kisses :*

Megan

Friday Free For All: What if Jesus was just a lunatic instead of the son of God.

Okay, this may be controversial to some of you, and I'm not saying that's what I believe, but seriously, if someone in this day and age started spouting off about being the next messiah, the son of God himself, he would be committed, right? You know he would. We'd think him insane just like the crazy lady on the bus who talks to herself and slaps her purse, or like the street corner prophet.

So, what if they thought him a lunatic back in the day (okay, I know many DID think this, but what if it were everyone?) It would change religion as we know it. So many people in the world are some form of Christian, be it Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, etc, etc, what would the world be like?

Maybe we would be praising Bob, or Jill, or Fred. Maybe the most popular religion in the world would be based on the earth, or the animals, rainbows, or butterflies. Or perhaps we would worship the giant blazing orb in the sky, praying some day it would find us worthy to absorb us and burn us into ash. There really isn't an answer, is there? Maybe we would have picked up on some of the other religions and pray to Muhammad, or Buddha, or Ra.

What if the majority of us had no religion at all? Would we be living in chaos? Anarchy? After all, laws are created based on what's good and right on the world. What if we didn't have religion to tell us that? Would we still know in our heart how we should live?

I don't know the answers. I'm really not even sure what I believe. I hope there's a higher power. I hope he/she is merciful and forgiving of our simple lack of judgment or innocent errors in life. Maybe even of our larger transgressions if they don't hurt too many.

It gives you something to think about though, doesn't it? Maybe it's time I start listening to the street corner prophets.

And I promised poetry, so here is one I wrote last week.

Heart in shreds
cold autumn nights
tears fall like leaves from a tree.
Sadness.
No fear, no pain
just there clinging
dust on the window.
No reason.
Run your finger through
make sun tracks
impressions of light.
Beaming.
Warm like summer
luminous and radiant
sating hunger.
Love consumed.
Wonder and light
wrought with passion
fire and flame.
Unrelenting.
Like a season
cools by degrees.
Ephemeral.
Pain like death
loss, decay
heart in shreds.
Again.

Kisses :*

Megan

Song of the Week: The High Road by Broken Bells

Movie of the Week: The Invention of Lies, more about the concept than the funny

Book of the Week: The Unwritten Rule, a cute teenage love story by Elizabeth Scott. I should have a review out on it by next week. Fingers crossed.

Quote of the week: "Do what you are afraid to do." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Top 4 Pet Peeves: # 4 Jesus SPAM

Thanks for reading last week's top four, and for weighing in. This week's is a little lighter, my top four pet peeves. The first is what I like to call Jesus SPAM

Let me get something clear right here, I have nothing against, Jesus. What I do have a problem with is people sending their religion to my inbox and then trying to guilt me into forwarding it to ten more people.

Jesus and I have a private relationship. I don't need anyone telling me I need to make it better. I don't like to read sappy fictional tales about miracles in order to teach me a lesson in morality. I don't appreciate you telling me I need to pray.

I really don't appreciate you telling me if I don't forward the e-mail I will spend an eternity in hell, or that my prayers will be answered. That's a bunch of crap. The e-mails that at the end say, if you believe in God (or Jesus) send this to ten friends. What if I don't send it on? That doesn't necessarily mean I don't believe, it only means that I don't forward stupid cheesy e-mails to my friends and family. I also don't think I need to quantify my relationship with God or Jesus to anyone. It's none of your business.

I apologize if this blog comes off as harsh, but to me, faith is a private thing. What I do or don't believe is no one's business. I also don't think it's right for people to push their religion on anyone else unless it's asked of them. My two cents.

Come back tomorrow for my # 3 pet peeve.

Thanks for reading.

Kisses

:*

Megan