Monthly Archives: September 2017

Embracing Hope: the good and the bad

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Hope is expressed in music lyrics, poetry, fiction, and the pastor’s sermon. It’s a much-used expression that has different meanings to those doing the hoping:

  • “I hope Barbara goes to the dance with me if not, I’ll ask Sue."
  • “Now that I’ve washed the car, I hope it doesn’t rain."
  • “I hope and pray that they caught the malignancy in time."
  • “They’re cutting staff and I’m hoping to keep my job until I find another."

Jim Carrey gave a super graduation address. It’s well worth viewing and you won’t regret the twenty some minutes. His take on Hope begins at 24 minutes.

My dad used to say, “To sit on your butt and hope is a waste of time. It’s the action that gets results."

I had said something about hoping to get a good grade on a history test. To put this in perspective, my parents had received a report of missing assignments and sporadic attendance, along with the midterm report of a D- grade. Although it would’ve been a hardship on Mom and Dad I had to turn over the keys to the ’52 Bel Aire.

I loved that car. It motivated me to get my act together for two nights in a row before I turned to hoping and threw in a prayer or two… and scored 53% on the test. I learned that hope without action didn’t work. And I learned to walk back and forth to school and activities.

Hoping is often tied to wishing. I hope this, I wish that… without taking action that brings change.

Hope is the spark that ignites action. Can you live without hope? It would be giving up, living a dismal life–no making the best in the present, no expectations of the future. Never looking forward to a new day.

The overuse of hope has lowered its importance and value. Hoping for safety and protection in times of disaster is more than hoping a Rock Star venue has some good seats left.

Hope combined with prayer to God, the Universe, or the energy that you believe keeps the planets in line is powerful. Should you put hope on a higher pedestal giving it more importance? Does having hope make our lives better, or not?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Please leave a comment below:

Spiritual beings having a human experience

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We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience ~ Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

 I developed an interest in the paranormal during my college years. Being open to it could’ve increased the awareness of my own experiences. After a divorce, I moved into an old house across from the school where I worked. The first week I was awakened with a slap on my behind at three AM each morning. Then came the footsteps up the basement stairs stopping at the door. Needless to say, my life was turned upside down. Not as severe as Garth Andrews’s life, but enough to plant a story in my head.
The first three books I wrote were a coming of age series that explored a music-talented protagonist’s obsessive compulsive behaviors that led to addictions. A ghost that came with a pawn shop guitar was a strong supporting character, but the supernatural runs the show in Human Experience.

The colorful cast includes a variety of spirits:

  • ghosts
  • poltergeist
  • guardian angels
  • spirit guides
  • and more
The notice of divorce not only takes protagonist Garth Andrews by surprise but drives him into a deep depression that clouds the hold unseeable inhabitants of the house have on him. He is torn between protecting his children and fulfilling a selfish lust.
The novel, Human Experience, endorses Pierre Teilhard De Chardin’s belief that we are here to learn from our experiences.

About the Author

Hope, Humor, and the Supernatural

Paul Keene writes literary fiction from his Idaho home near the Swan Falls bird refuge. He enjoys exploring the outdoors, working in the herb garden, and drinking bold coffee while reading on the back deck. The author loves life and enjoys friends, family, and dogs. Humor and gratitude lighten his heart.

Spirits, Angels, Ghosts, and sounds in the night

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Shadows come and go. You turn to look at whoever is staring at you. No one is there. A smell, a scent of perfume, tobacco, or food stirs a memory as it fills the room.

The veil is getting thinner, and thinner. 

Some think it becomes thinner at Halloween. Others say it has become thinner over the past decade. Then there are those who push spirits aside. “When you take your last breath that’s it–you’re gone, no heaven, no hell,” they say.

Others Say

“Someone sits at the foot of the bed. It’s my husband–I smell the Old Spice cologne and love that he watches over me.”

 

How do we know?

It’s great that we do our own thinking and have our own beliefs. That’s the way it should be. I confess that I believe in spirits. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve  not only felt them, I’ve seen a couple. Good thing I wasn’t living in the 1690s.

Seriously, even though we have our own take on the Other Side, Life after Death, or whether or not it exists–how do we know for sure? We can listen to others, attend church, accept what others say and draw our own conclusions, but how do we know if we’re right?

We won’t until it happens.

  • If we go to heaven, we’ll undoubtedly love it
  • If hell is as bad as it’s described we’ll probably hate it
  • If there is no after life, we won’t know and it won’t matter

What do you think? Your opinions are appreciated and are of value.