Just a Afternoon Rant.

Change is something that no matter how hard you try you can only slow down but not totally avoid. This is being discovered on many levels by citizens and governments across the globe. Some change is good and some change is negative or retroactive, though no change is avoidable the end destination of change can be redirected. Even change that has been orchestrated runs its own course and usually will never come out exactly as planed.

So now the middle east and north African countries are going through a political change that has yet to reach its end. It will be many years after the dust settles before the end results will be known. The only thing predictable about the circumstances the world is facing in this unrest is that more than likely that no one will head the warnings of being dependent on oil and not having a fair economical and civilian minded government. It will shock me immensely if any Oil consuming nation and their government even thinks twice about getting off the oil addiction. It will shock me even more if any nation ever puts the citizens before the government officials or the big businesses.

I have a lot of faith in mankind just not very much in the select few who rule by government or from their corporate towers. They have all the money and power and they surely don’t want to share it or even allow others to reach their status level because less competition equals more control and wealth. To be fair there has to be some in government and in big business that do care and try to do good with what they have, Just seems there is more of them that are greedy and power hungry than compassionate and humane. So being out numbered by their peers they have a lot to overcome to make any difference in the world.

I just think it is time for businesses to get their act together and realize crude oil is eventually either going to run out or become too costly to sustain any industry that requires it to operate. I also think it is time for governments to see that the citizens are the ones paying their paychecks and taking care of all the bills / loan payments the government has. So if you don’t keep the working man and the consumers employed, healthy and somewhat happy that the economy is going to either become stagnant or head into a downward spiral.

Invest in small business and help the innovative people of your nation so new technologies and new sources of income can be created. Keep them healthy so they can be productive and keep the economy strong and for gods sake listen to the public, they are getting tired of their words falling on deaf ears. And here in the U.S. the political parties need to grow up and get over their differences and be grown up enough to face and tackle the problems facing the country from the federal government down to the back streets of America.

And for as the national debt is concerned, Stop borrowing money as much, cut foreign aid a bit and maybe take a pay cut up their in congress. Most Americans are forced to survive on 20k if not less and rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. Far as Social security, leave it alone for most of us middle class and below the social security benefits is all we have to retire on and due to the cost of healthcare most of us wont be able to live to see much past 60 years of age.

O.K. Enough Ranting for now,

Peace

Ray Barbier

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Early Morning Gibberish

  Every day I get closer and closer to the end of my life's path, Many ups and downs along with quite a few round and rounds. Many days and nights in search of the right way to go and trying to find meaning and purpose in my life. Too many miles walked trying to satisfy others and in trying to belong or to be accepted. Lessons learned and lessons forgot along the edge of my life's path and yet I still learn something new with each step I take. To belong or to be accepted would be nice but is not necessary for I chose to walk my own path and dance to my own beat.

  The last miles of my path will be walked as my true self and without fear of judgment and or social acceptance. Love me, Like me or even despise me if you wish for I am who I am and that I can not change.

Know thyself, Be thyself and always be true to Thyself.

Peace

Raymond Barbier

No country is immune to the divide

Across the globe citizens of all walks of life are protesting and rioting against governments that are now learning the lessons of not listening to their citizens. Imbalance of power, wealth and education is creating a wave of anti government sentiment and actions. In the U.S. the Unions and workers of many states are in a battle for their rights to have a good wage and decent retirement / Insurance coverage. The citizens of the middle eastern countries and north Africa are fighting for basic human rights. All of this is due to the greed and the inability of governments to listen to the wants and needs of their citizens.

I find it quite sad it takes such protests and riots to enact change in countries and governments of the modern world. Maybe some good will come out of all of this unrest and un needed killing in countries such as Libya. Maybe, just maybe other countries and their governments will learn to listen to the public and be more concerned about their needs and wants. Possibly they may even see the great gap in the wealth and health issues within their own borders and try and find a way to make it a bit more fair and balanced.

No country is immune to the divide between the economic classes, some countries have a larger gap than others and this will eventually create either unrest or a economical downward spiral for those countries. The working class is the one that both helps create/provides goods and is the major consumer of such goods/services. Neglect that class and allow them to become impoverished both financially and in education then you will see a economical disaster in the making.

Another lesson that the world may learn is that we really need to move away from the dependence on oil as our main source of fuel. The unrest in the middle east has already increased the cost of oil per barrel to over 100 U.S. dollars and has effected the stock markets across the globe. An oil based economy like what most of the world is connected to is not a very stable one due to the increase of demand and the dwindling oil supplies and reserves across the globe.

To those in Libya, Egypt and the rest of the countries in the Middle East / North Africa I send my best wishes and my condolences for the lives lost in the revolutions/protests.

Peace is the path seldom walked.
Raymond Barbier

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Just another Rant on 2/20/2011

The riots across the middle east has been a very hot topic in the news and on the internet. The want for the freedom and living a happy life and having some sort of a economically stable future seems to be a common desire amongst all humans. The imbalance of wealth and power also is a common thread in almost if not all nations of the modern world we live in. This lack of balance will create social anxieties along with political unrest if it isn't somewhat balanced out in the future. The fact is most people just want to have enough money to live comfortable and never be in need. The governments and big business needs to see that their greed and lust for power is going to be their downfall in the future. The common man is not as docile or as ignorant to the facts as they may believe. This we have witnessed in Egypt and other nations in the middle east. Even here in the United States the state of Wisconsin is now have political problems due to a state budget that takes away rights and benefits from the working man.

When will governments and big businesses learn that it’s the middle class and lower class that is the workforce and the main consumer of their goods and services. More or less it’s the common man that pays all their bills and helps them amass their great fortunes. Don’t keep the common man happy and the foundation of the economy will crumble as seen here in the united states in the last decade or so. I wish the protesters across the globe good luck and may you survive it all in the end.

One last note, you ever notice how quick the U.S. government is in taking away from the public but slow to cut their own salaries or benefits to help reduce the deficit? Maybe if they worked for minimum wage and had to pay for their own health care without any government subsidies then we could reduce some of the national debt.

 

Peace
Ray Barbier

Sometimes, I know and Live in

Sometimes I look too long at the prize I seem to become blind to the blessings already here.
Sometimes I fear what I can not control so much I lose perspective and lose my way.
Sometimes I live too much in the past and wind up neglecting things in the present that I hold dear.
Sometimes I let my mind wander in dreams so much I dream away most of the day.

I know that the blessings I have are worth cherishing and I try to be thankful for them all.
I know most things that I fear are nothing but a negative view created by my own mind.
I know we can learn from the past but we should live in the present and answer its call.
I know dreams are good and help one work out ideas but there is reality one must find.

Live in the moment and for the day but always keep your eyes on what the future may bring.
Live in caution but with no fear of what could be and make the best of what life brings your way.
Live in the here and now while remembering  memories that makes your heart want to sing.
Live in reality while holding on to the dreams that help you get through each and every day.

 

Enough Rambling for now
Peace
Ray Barbier

Lessons Learned and Wisdom Gained: Reflections on 2/19/2011

Sometimes with age comes wisdom and other times age only brings fear and desperation. The fact of our mortality becomes more prominent in our thoughts as we get older and can be either a thing to fear or something to accept.  When we are young we feel almost invincible and immortal  then we face the fact that we are not when we loose our youth. Death of course is something most of us do fear in one respect or another but it should not be the focus of our life as we grow older. To become fixed of the end day and nothing else will only inhibit your ability to enjoy and live the day you are in presently.

  Live each day with no fear of tomorrow and embrace the blessings that you have received . Try to avoid taking things and people around you for granted for they may not be there later in life. Do not overlook the beauty of the world around you for it is there to remind you of the wonders that life can bring. Even the small flower on the roadside is there to be admired as well as the mountains that tower above the landscape. Forgive those whom have done you wrong and try to do right by all you meet. Enjoy every day god has blessed you with to the fullest without bringing harm to others. Show your love to those you care about and have compassion and understanding towards those in need.

Find your own path in life and dance to your own drum beat, for it is your life and you should enjoy every second of each and every day.

Peace

Raymond Barbier

An Old Mans Reflections on 2/17/2011

  As a child I saw the world through rose colored glasses and believed that all was fair and just in the world around me. I grew through my childhood and teen years trying to live as a fair and just boy / young man only to receive the wrath and cruelty of my peers. I watched friends being bullied and found myself at times standing between the bully and those he wanted to terrorize. Never the cool guy and always the average guy in the middle is the part I played through my teens. The older I got the more my eyes were open to the unfairness and injustice in the world around me. Even though the world seems to run on greed and selfishness I still tried to hang on to the idea that there was goodness in this world.

  Every time I was close to just giving up and giving in to the fact the world was cruel and had little chance of redemption someone would come along and show me there is still kindness and love in this world. Even now in my forties I have hope for the whole of humanity even though governments and businesses have gotten so powerful and rich that most average people have to struggle to even survive. The fact we must face is governments and the business sector will always be greedy and will always put their own wants and needs above the wellbeing of others. This is due to the fact the majority of politicians and business people had chosen their professions for the purpose of to gain wealth and power. Their may be a few who chose to be a politician to help and serve the people, but they are a rare commodity in modern times.

  In my life I had seen several wars occur and energy shortages several times but never saw so much come to a head at the same time. Riots in the middle eastern countries , China growing into the new super economic power and the decline of the American financial system. I do not believe the United States it yet doomed to total financial ruin as of yet, though if we do not focus on education, innovation and government financial reform we may be heading for another great depression. Though I see some progress in Washington D.C. there is a long way to go far as fixing our nations debt. The debate over entitlements is one of the hot topics on capital hill and across the U.S. at the moment. Should they raise the retirement age or increase the percentage individuals have to contribute. Seems to me if you want to save money in a company or government you either decrease the staff or their salaries. This of course is not an option the congress wants to consider due to the fact it would be their pay checks on the line.

  Even in this mess we live in I still see hope, but this hope is not found in government but among the citizens. Human beings are very adaptable and when they learn to work together there is very little as a species that we can not accomplish or overcome. When we learn to put our selfish natures behind us long enough to see the advantages of a community based mindset we will start to head down the road of recovery and prosperity. As a great author John Donne (1572-1631) once wrote "All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

The world may be full of cruelty and unfairness but it is also full of compassion and love. The chore is to learn how to sort through it all and separate the wheat from the chaff without being overwhelmed by it all. To get lost in all the negativity and sorrow around us and or get trapped in the escapes from reality we have made is not an easy task either. It surely is hard to be a single candle standing against the winds of the world and the wickedness it contains. Between the wickedness of the world and the weaknesses we have to face within our own character makes the tasks at hand seem unachievable to our weary souls. This is why we must learn to rely upon the strengths of our fellow humans in life, to combine the light of each candle until we become greater than the darkness we face. Though a voice of an individual can cause change it is limited to the range in which it can be heard. The Voices of many can carry further as well as cover a larger area, therefore create change exponentially.

A dreamer I may be, But I would rather live my life dreaming of a better world to live in than giving in to the falsehood that there is no hope. For dreams foster hope and hope brings about change.

Well Enough of this Old Mans Rambling

Peace
Raymond Barbier

Valentines Day is near

Valentines Day is just around the corner and once again its time to show your special someone how much you care.  It is nice to have one day a year to remind us how fortunate we are to have someone in our lives, but to think of them or show them how much we care only on one day a year is not the right way to be. We should treat each day with the those we love as a gift and a honor to have. Just my two cents worth on all of this, hope every one has an enjoyable valentines day.

Peace, R. Barbier

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