On inner peace
"I don't know what the future holds but I do know who holds the future"
Inner peace is easier to recognize in others. Inner peace comes from God
Essence of the Serenity prayer : Help me to know what to change and accept what I cannot change.
Questions for me;
What do I think is important?
How do I see problems?
Who do I think I am?
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On Life
I learned what living really is when I learned to love.
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Friday, July 21, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Truth is not relative
Truth.. .is. . .not...relative. The truth that guides us here is that life is sacred. This truth is not a matter of opinion. This truth is not negotiable. It simply is.” So spoke Erin Brady Worsham, a woman totally paralyzed as a result of Lou Gehrig’s disease, at a general session of National Right to Life convention in June. (She used a liberator communication device with wires taped to her forehead speaking through an amplified computer.)
She continued, “This is not to say that the circumstances surrounding our lives are always beautiful. They’re not. When I was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1994, I came face-to-face with my own mortality. I realized how much I had taken my life for granted. I was ashamed to see how many hours I had wasted doing nothing, and how little I had used the gifts God had given me.……. I discovered that I had gotten pregnant the day after my diagnosis. I do not believe in coincidence. In the face of death, God was telling us to think about life. “
Erin mentioned that her son, Daniel curry Worsham, just celebrated his eleventh birthday and what a tragedy it would have been, had I followed my doctor’s advice(to abort), The world would have missed out on a very interesting young man!
On “assisted suicide” Erin advised “Before becoming a member of the disability community, I couldn’t imagine anyone choosing to die by assisted suicide. Now, although I still think it’s wrong, I have a better understanding of why a terminally ill person might consider it. It says as much about our health-care system as it does about the person’s state of mind.
The reality of life, for many persons with serious illnesses or disabilities, is grim—even bleak. Often, their only alternative is institutional care. It is a lonely and sometimes a dangerous existence.” Erin pointed out that in a nursing home, if you couldn’t communicate, you were dead. “The nursing-home lobby is very powerful. They pull in most of the state funds, and very little is allocated for home-based care, which often is more cost-effective. Who would not rather be in their own home, when dealing with a long-term or catastrophic illness?
I acquired my communication device at the end of 1996. I could speak in complete sentences again. No more “yes” and “no,” unless I chose. Without communication, a person’s spirit dies long before their body does.
I have been asked if I support embryonic stem cell research, to help find a cure for ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease). I do not—though I do support adult stem cell research. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth that life is sacred, in order to find a cure at any cost. I can appreciate the national goal of destroying these devastating diseases by all possible means. But I also believe that the choices we make on these life issues define us as a God-based people, living not just for today but also for tomorrow.
Truth is not relative. It’s not negotiable. It’s not a matter of opinion. I have no illusions that I will ever change someone’s pro-choice views. I prefer to concentrate my efforts on the people making these life-and-death decisions. We must take off our rose-colored glasses and find realistic, bearable alternatives for individuals considering abortion or assisted suicide.
Truth may not be relative. But maybe we can make it accessible to) all people.”
She continued, “This is not to say that the circumstances surrounding our lives are always beautiful. They’re not. When I was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1994, I came face-to-face with my own mortality. I realized how much I had taken my life for granted. I was ashamed to see how many hours I had wasted doing nothing, and how little I had used the gifts God had given me.……. I discovered that I had gotten pregnant the day after my diagnosis. I do not believe in coincidence. In the face of death, God was telling us to think about life. “
Erin mentioned that her son, Daniel curry Worsham, just celebrated his eleventh birthday and what a tragedy it would have been, had I followed my doctor’s advice(to abort), The world would have missed out on a very interesting young man!
On “assisted suicide” Erin advised “Before becoming a member of the disability community, I couldn’t imagine anyone choosing to die by assisted suicide. Now, although I still think it’s wrong, I have a better understanding of why a terminally ill person might consider it. It says as much about our health-care system as it does about the person’s state of mind.
The reality of life, for many persons with serious illnesses or disabilities, is grim—even bleak. Often, their only alternative is institutional care. It is a lonely and sometimes a dangerous existence.” Erin pointed out that in a nursing home, if you couldn’t communicate, you were dead. “The nursing-home lobby is very powerful. They pull in most of the state funds, and very little is allocated for home-based care, which often is more cost-effective. Who would not rather be in their own home, when dealing with a long-term or catastrophic illness?
I acquired my communication device at the end of 1996. I could speak in complete sentences again. No more “yes” and “no,” unless I chose. Without communication, a person’s spirit dies long before their body does.
I have been asked if I support embryonic stem cell research, to help find a cure for ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease). I do not—though I do support adult stem cell research. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth that life is sacred, in order to find a cure at any cost. I can appreciate the national goal of destroying these devastating diseases by all possible means. But I also believe that the choices we make on these life issues define us as a God-based people, living not just for today but also for tomorrow.
Truth is not relative. It’s not negotiable. It’s not a matter of opinion. I have no illusions that I will ever change someone’s pro-choice views. I prefer to concentrate my efforts on the people making these life-and-death decisions. We must take off our rose-colored glasses and find realistic, bearable alternatives for individuals considering abortion or assisted suicide.
Truth may not be relative. But maybe we can make it accessible to) all people.”
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