Cold, the absence of Heat....Evil the absence of God?

Does evil exist? 

The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!" 

"God created everything? The professor asked. 

"Yes sir", the student replied. 

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil". The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth. 

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?" 

"Of course", replied the professor. 

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?" 

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question. 

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat." 

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?" 

The professor responded, "Of course it does." 

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." 

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" 

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil." 

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." 
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp#bAIgC7p88saMlWQo.99

The Space Between the Notes

 JANUARY 28, 2014 by Linda krantz

I’ve been listening to one of my all-time favorite pieces – Nimrod (or “August 9 Adagio) from the Enigma variations by Elgar, conducted by Daniel Barenboim (see video here).   Barenboim takes the tempo slow, producing the most brilliant rendition I’ve ever heard.  It is lush, sweeping, and the moment it begins, the hair on my arms raise and I have goose bumps, and then I begin to weep.  Why does music do that?

I have learned over the years that what you do with the space between the notes is as important as what you do with the notes themselves.  That “push and pull” creates tension, movement and anticipation, which makes the music itself compelling.  I have found it an extraordinary difficult lesson to learn, using that “space.”  I tend to rush the tempo, so I have to work extra hard to allow myself to fall into that space and use it wisely to make my music compelling.  It is in that space that my audience will have an opportunity to respond to that emotion.

I’ve been thinking about this concept for a few weeks now and how it relates to my current journey.  It’s sort of where I’m at in my recovery – that “space between” where one just lets oneself HEAL.  My surgery is over, the cast is off, I’m in a splint and I can actually take a shower on my own.  But it is still a difficult spot to be.  I am impatient, and sometimes angry, and most of the time pretending that I am quite well, thank you very much.  But I am reminded again and again how important it is to just LET MYSELF HEAL.  It’s being in that “space between the notes,” the space that provides tension and anticipation.  That it is a good thing to just “be.”

Because I have some previous experience with this, I know that there is a reason to be here, now.  It is my time to rest, to catch up with myself, to let people help me.  I know that it will renew my compassion and provide some freedom in my otherwise rush rush world.

So I’m living in this space.  Full of anticipation and hope that once physical therapy begins, I will actually be a full participant in my recovery, not just an observer.   And that this too, shall pass.

Honesty

(song by Billy Joel)

If you search for tenderness 
it isn't hard to find. 
You can have the love you need to live. 
But if you look for truthfulness 
You might just as well be blind. 
It always seems to be so hard to give. 

Honesty is such a lonely word. 
Everyone is so untrue. 
Honesty is hardly ever heard. 
And mostly what I need from you. 

I can always find someone 
to say they sympathize. 
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve. 
But I don't want some pretty face 
to tell me pretty lies. 
All I want is someone to believe. 

Honesty is such a lonely word. 
Everyone is so untrue. 
Honesty is hardly ever heard. 
And mostly what I need from you. 

I can find a lover. 
I can find a friend. 
I can have security until the bitter end. 
Anyone can comfort me 
with promises again. 
I know, I know. 

When I'm deep inside of me 
don't be too concerned. 
I won't as for nothin' while I'm gone. 
But when I want sincerity 
tell me where else can I turn. 
Because you're the one I depend upon. 

Honesty is such a lonely word. 
Everyone is so untrue. 
Honesty is hardly ever heard. 
And mostly what I need from you

Disordered Characters

it can seem like they're unaware but disordered characters are already keenly aware of the ways their thinking and behavior cause problems. There isn't one thing anyone can say or bring to their attention that they haven't heard a thousand times before from a variety of sources, or experienced in a variety of circumstances. 
  "They already see; they simply disagree." 
             They're just not disturbed enough by their way of doing things; or they may have been successful enough getting their way by doing those things, so they're resolved not to change that modus operandi. Because they do the things they do so automatically and habitually, it can seem like they're unaware.