Saturday morning thoughts 5/24/14


003Sometimes I believe we get so wrapped up in the thought “what is there in it for me” we tend to forget what is in it for the greater good. It’s only natural to want to take care of your own needs and wants, but we must learn to put the needs of everyone at the same level of priority as our own. I mean we must look at ourselves in such a way that we realize that as an individual we are not the center of the universe.

All life is precious, from the single cell organisms to the most complex multi celled life form.  Here on earth almost everything has life in it or on its surface. Life looms everywhere and its such a miracle and wondrous thing to behold. We are all apart of this miraculous thing called life and we all share the same home which we call earth. No species should be looked upon as lesser for all life forms have their purpose here. We human beings have the biggest influence on the environment and the world we live in. We can change our environment to suit our wants and needs unlike any other creäture before us. With such power and abilities we should be more responsible for our actions and take on the role of caretakers or this precious resource called planet earth and all the life upon it

Earth was a gift to us, we are the ones whom can destroy it or restore it.  The choice is ours far as how we treat our home and all the other life forms  that we share it with. How we choose to treat our home will decide the fate of our children and their children’s children.

 

Ray Barbier

if there is no trust then love gets twisted


002Love and matters of the heart are complicated but yet simple. The complication comes from our doubts and fear of being hurt most of the time.  Sometimes this comes from past experiences and other times it comes from the lack of experience in being truly loved. Also self-worth and doubt can be a big problem as well, but trust plays one of the biggest parts in love and happiness. One can not love someone and be loved and not trust, if there is no trust then love gets twisted into jealousy and possessiveness.

One problem is when someone trusts and loves another with all their heart and are betrayed they tend to get a very deep scar emotionally and mentally. This scar or wound is not easily healed and will tend to affect future relationships as well as any kind of reconciliation in the current relationship. Trust is not easily rebuilt after a betrayal of the heart.

Forgiveness is a key to healing, but it is not always easy to forgive when you’ve been emotionally devastated by the actions of someone you’ve loved and trusted.  We must realize though they betrayed us, they are only human and thus being are prone to be imperfect in action and thoughts. No relationship is perfect either, when you have two people who have been raised differently and had different life experiences trying to become a single  unit there is bound to be times of turbulence during the adjustment period of a newer relationship. Usually in time most differences are either remedied or put aside for the sake of the relationship.

Remember to not judge your partner too harshly, for you have faults just like they do. Compassion, understanding and forgiveness should always play a part in a relationship. Trust is the most important I believe and so is respect, respect for yourself and for your partner. No relationship is beyond repair, but there are some relationships that because of the hurt feelings , verbal and physical abuse that may be better off just letting go of and ending it than trying to save it.

Love is a very precious thing and so is the trust required to have a relationship. Think wisely before entering a relationship and work diligently to maintain and improve it. It takes some work and sometimes a long time to have a great relationship and other times you luck out and find a partner that’s like a soul mate. even those soul mate type relationships require maintenance and work to keep them going.

Life is a long journey that seems to be quickly traveled, so remember to love wholeheartedly, forgive easily and look for the silver lining in every moment you experience.

Ray Barbier

Friday Morning Thoughts


016When we are young we are invincible, unstoppable and foolishly ignorant of our mortality. But we also were full of undying faith and knew the joy of being children of god. As we grew older we had to face our mortality and the fact we are not the unstoppable or unmovable force we once believed. We begin to lose faith in this world and in our selves, and many lose their faith in God as well.

We can reestablish our faith in God and we can also leave the fear of our mortality behind us with such faith. We must constantly remind ourselves where our strength, blessings and wisdom comes from, not from ourselves but from God. We must learn to let go and let God take control, the Ego or Self tends to be resistant to letting God be the one to be in control.

Fear is the enemy, it causes doubt and drains the power of faith, love and it keeps us from happiness.  Selfishness is an enemy as well, one can not serve ones self before serving God nor can they truly help others is they seek to satisfy themselves first. We can only serve one master at a time, and if that master is our own self we tend to neglect not only God but all the people who need us and love us as well.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

James 1:3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Today is the day, today is the spot in time I now live


DSC_0323bToday is the day, today is the moment I live in, not the future nor the past. Today is what I experience and all the experiences of yesterday are but a memory. To move on to the future I must let go of the past, to truly live I must embrace what this day brings. I must no longer allow the weights of my past mistakes anchor me to a fate that is not meant to be mine.  Too many times my past has played a stumbling block in the present and altered the course of my future.

I choose if I am happy or if I am not, I choose now to act instead of react to circumstances that I face during my day. The freedom to choose is a right, but it’s a right we can embrace or choose to deny ourselves. We can lay victim of circumstances and the and the actions of others or we can take the helm and plot our own course.

Today is the day, today is the spot in time I now live and it is  mine to live as I choose.

Raymond Barbier

What are the caretakers of this world


IMG_1413What are the caretakers of this world, we were given the responsibility to care for and maintain this wondrous gift that we call Earth.  We have walked down the path of destruction and not one of nurturing and preservation far too long, if we do not change our course we shall lose this planet we call home. Time to plant trees, clean up industry and preserve what wildlife we have remaining. We need the wildlife and the plant life we have here on earth to survive, we also need the air and water we have to be clean to survive as well. What is profit compared to the lives of the many future generations of our kind? It is illogical to seek profit that only destroys or harms  your households future generations.

The love of money only leads to the los of true treasures such as those you love and the future of your household. Imagine what kind of world your great-grandchild will have or even your great great grandchild. Do you want them to have clean water, air and food to eat? Do you want them to see the wonders of the forests and the wildlife they contain?  God gave us this world to live in and he also gave it to us to care for. It’s only fair to care for the earth since it has always provided us with what we needed to survive. If we neglect our home to long it will become so damaged it may not be able to support life anymore.

Until God calls us home to heaven we should care for the home he has blessed us with.

Raymond Barbier

Thursday’s Random Thoughts


011The fight between the selfish and selfless within is a battle that seems to be an everlasting one. One side looking out for its own self and its desires, wants and foolish idea of self-centered happiness and the other side seeing and embracing the connections between every living thing and beyond. The fact I am not the center of any universe, I am but a single strand of thread in the infinite tapestry of the universe and of life. I am no more important than any other strand nor am I any less important. I am a part of it all and the all is a part of me, thus there is no room for illusions that support selfishness or self centeredness.. Though the soul understands such things but the mind continues to separate itself from the whole by believing in such illusions such as the different classes of life and social differences which we invented to support both our superiority and inferiority complexes.

Even though we all are the same, this world is full of things that can lead one to believe otherwise. Such things as social status, wealth and power to name a few. Those things are just illusions created by our desire to be better or our fears of being less than other people. Failure and success is real but the illusion is that one is more or less capable or deserving of one or the other. To look down on a person is wrong and it is a sign of your own failure. to look up to someone is almost as bad because it belittles yourself, but it can also be positive in the sense you see that you need to improve yourself and grow spiritually.

Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

Our differences can be what makes us strong


025 Another day has dawned, another page has yet to be written. Another chance for change and growth as long as we don’t become ego stricken. We remember the lessons of our past actions and words so that we can avoid repeating our past mistakes.  For each thought, action and word can change our course as well as raise the stakes. Each day is a gamble not a preplanned destiny or fate for us to be chained to. We are the captain of our body and mind and we choose the course we will travel through.

There are bumps in the road and potholes as well and even sometimes other people who can distract us or mislead us if we allow them to. We must keep in control and adjust course when external forces try to interfere or obstruct our way. Obstacles are but objects put there to help us gain experience and strength so worry not over them. Just deal with them and move on down the path you have chosen.

Don’t allow the woes and worries of life to influence your thoughts, emotions or behavior. To do so is to lose a part of who you are to their influence. Be true to yourself and be who you truly are without fear of rejection or ridicule. Better to be yourself and deal with the problems and perks of such than to be someone you’re not. I rather to be loved or liked by just one for being me than by thousands for being who I am not.

Try not to be judgmental of others, but if you must be then do it so with great compassion and understanding. For the way you judge others is how you shall be judged as well. Remember that not one human is perfect and that everyone else has the stresses of life and worries that are similar to your own. We all are a part of the world and  the family of humanity. We all are faulty and we all have needs, wants and desires. but when it boils down to it we all want happiness, peace and a better world for the children of today and the children of tomorrow.

We may all have different religious beliefs, political views and personal opinions but they are not obstacles they are what makes us a diverse but resilient species. Our differences can be what makes us strong instead of what makes us weak and separate. Once we accept that each person has the right to choose in what they believe or not then we can move past our intolerance of each others differences. When that time comes humanity will finally be able to work together to make this world a wonderful place to live in.

Ray Barbier

Time to step away from the character I have played


rayrayd_edited-1To much self, not enough of everybody else. Too much of ego for most of us to let go. Me, myself and I are in the way and it makes me blind. Blind of the truth around me and the connection we all have to everything. Too much worry, anger and paranoia within the self-centered man I seem to be and its time to put him aside for the  person who I truly am.

Time to return to who I was as a child, to the person I am hidden beneath the conditioning of society and the scars of life. Remember the lessons learned and let go of the pain and confusion we accumulated through the years. Too much mental and emotional garbage we have collected through life experiences.  Time to empty my inner recycle bin and go about my way free of such useless and painful thoughts and/or emotions. Free of such things.

Each morning I awake is but a new blank page for me to fill with my life’s journey, yet another day to grow and change. The pages written on the days prior are but the history of which choices I made and directions I have taken. Though I can not change where I have been or what I have done I still can change direction and my destination.

Time to return to who I was meant to be and let go of the egotistical side of me. Time to become who I was meant to be and not what this world has tried to make me into. Time to change my direction and my desired destination. Time to set Goals that are true to who I am and not those that society dictates is normal and desirable. Time to let go of what I am expected to be by others and be who I truly am.

Time to be who God created me to be and time to step away from the character I have played in this worlds masquerade. Time to be set free, time to accept what has been given to me.

 We spend so much time trying to be what others expect us to be we lose the person we truly are. Sometimes we seek out the treasures of this world forgetting where or true treasures lay.

Ray Barbier

Just Some Random thoughts on a Saturday Night 3/15/14


HPIM0318It is not how others treat you that is important, it is how you treat others and your own self. We tend to get so caught up in the drama of how we are not being treated fairly or kindly we overlook how we are treating others and sometimes ourselves. We allow our ego to become the center of attention and thus we tend to put such things as our own behavior and mental attitudes on the back burner. We can not change the way others think of us directly nor how they treat us except by setting example and possible changing our own behavior and mentality.

So the question is, if we change our focus to how we treat others and away from the worry of how they treat us will that create change in general on how we treat each other? Well more than likely yes and it has to start somewhere and why not with ourselves.

Just Some Random thoughts on a Saturday Night

Raymond Barbier

sunday morning thoughts


When a person reaches out to me in friendship I do not worry about the things that may be different between us such as religion, political views or our nationality. I just grab their hand in friendship and see them as my equal. There is enough bigotry, racism and religious hatred in the world and I choose not to be a part of it. It is far better to be a part of the solution than to be a part of the problem itself. We all are human and we all seek out the same basic things such as love, security and the means to support our selves and our family. We all want a better life for our children and a safer and more peaceful world for them to live in.