corboy, I missed this earlier post of yours (I don't know why some posts insert within the thread while others post at the end):
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Taiten, I hope your sister get some help or surcease.
RE: my sister - I think she's too *attached* to the "perks" that go along with being the wife of the most wealthy man in town (though nouveau riche in an old town of old money), and if she doesn't do as he says, he'll be ruthless in cutting her off. I have seen hints of his capacity to be ruthless, and, frankly, he kind of scares me. Though he's always nice as pie - know that type? So she won't be seeking any help O_O
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It is strange that her physician husband has not hired a top notch adminstrative assistant to keep the books and order drugs. If he ever faces a court action, it would look strange for him to have to confess that he requires his wife to do a job that most MDs hire a professional to do.
I know, right?? And she has no special training or credential that would qualify for her to do that sort of work - keeping in mind that she's in charge of ordering his chemotherapy drugs! She's got a degree in Latin and Antiquities, for goshsakes, and a *teaching* certificate!! She's a high school teacher! And yet she's expected to meet with the pharmaceutical reps - it's deuced odd!
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And one should be up until two in the morning. Its bad for health and much too easy to make a mistake with that kind of work, too.
Keeping in mind that she's in charge of ordering and keeping track of CHEMOTHERAPY DRUGS!! Some cost $10,000 per MONTH!
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And that your nieces and nephews may have some encounters and make some friends that can help them find a peaceful and happier way to live.
It's 4 girls. The eldest is 17, and homely as a muddy boot. She's got an extremely long torso and short legs (got the worst genetics for conformation). The second daughter is (so far) the prettiest - she has light brown curly hair and blue eyes (compared to the others' more Puerto Rican coloring), but she's got the same strange body shape, only her torso is boxy, tending to overweight, whereas the eldest is more slender. The two youngest - the third daughter looks 100% Puerto Rican - straight dark hair and brown eyes - and the youngest, I think, will grow up to be lovely - wavy dark hair, large brown eyes. While they were/are young, they were/are nice, but as they get to their teens, they become bitches. I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that they're so much in the care of non-parents...and the fact that they know their father is the richest man in town. No matter how homely they end up being, they'll never long for dates, as there will *always* be young men courting them because they know their father is rich. While it's better to be rich than poor, to always have in the back of your mind that people only want to be friends with you because of what YOU can do for THEM must be kind of icky...
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I spent some years in the activist part of the nonviolent peace movement. One thing that made me very sad was to discover that some of our most admired members, persons who did vast good in public, had private lives that were troubled and their spouses often felt ashamed to complain or protest.
Oh, I've heard of that. The busy person's activity is so "noble", so "virtuous", so focused on helping humanity that to even mention that you, the spouse or the children, are being neglected or at least put in second place is just so *SELFISH* and so *INSENSITIVE*! Can't you see how *hard* the noble, virtuous person is working to help others??? What sort of monster *ARE* you???
Another example (can't remember if I mentioned) - they invested in vacation properties at this resort in Alabama. It's a 5.5 hour drive. They drive down Friday night and return Sunday afternoon O_O Me? Not a chance! I wouldn't commit to that much driving for such a paltry down-time in between! But my sister does it - without question. Three weeks after she gave birth to their 4th child, her husband decided they were all going to drive down to Orlando and go to Disney World. Fortunately, my parents were available to convoy down with their RV and help out - can you *imagine*??? It's like a 12 hour drive!
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Years ago, in some satirical poem, I read a line "Would you presume to heal others, full of sores yourself?"
Went for a google search and found this.
Euripedes has, "A physician for others, but himself teeming with sores," (Frag.
1086).
This was written over two thousand years ago, but whether one is describing workaholic doctors or preachers, its the same thing. They didnt yet know about addiction, but knew the human picture.
AKA "Physician, heal thyself" (Luke 4:23)? There's *nothing* original within Christianity - it's *ALL* copied from elsewhere.
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Am sorry for the many spelling mistakes in my post from yesterday. Too often thats what happens when I dont have enough caffeine in my system when typing in the morning.
I didn't notice :}
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Part of what was on my mind yesterday was the reported suicide of 27 year old Matthew Warren, son of the empire builder pastor who wrote The Purpose Driven Life.
I thought a lot about that myself. Supposedly, if yer doin it rite, everything in your life will be perfect. You will be wealthy, your children will be obedient, etc. Especially in Christianity, where the children's obedience is supposed to be the proof of a man's fitness for church leadership:
1 Timothy 3:2-13 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.You have to wonder, given how backstabby church people tend to be, whether anyone had the nerve to say anything to Pastor Warren's face, or if his money and power silenced all observation. It's no different in the SGI - "leaders" feel free to comment upon details of the members' lives, but members are not to say boo about their leaders! And if anything bad happens to a member, leaders feel free to make any assumptions they wish about what horrible failure it was on the member's part that caused the tragedy, but if it's a LEADER who experiences the tragedy, oh, isn't it shocking? Isn't it sad? How could such a thing have happened? How tragic! As I'm sure you read on this thread, I observed exactly that with SGI leaders.
And the ones who make millions in the name of Buddha forget that, so the story goes, he was heir to clan leadership, had princely life and amusements--and chose to walk away from all of that when he saw the realities that face us all--sickness, old age, and death. It appears he was the only religious leader to do so O_O
Lest anyone forget, Jesus supposedly wanted everyone to treat him like a king *eye roll*
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People running, running, running, on dopamine dont want to face their own humanity.
So how can they teach anything deeper to the rest of us.
It's interesting, isn't it? What you see when you know what to look for? We can't see things if we don't understand them - have you noticed that phenomenon? They don't even register in our consciousness! But once you know what to look for, you can *SEE*...