{"id":1118,"date":"2015-11-25T03:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/theprinciplesofspiritualliving\/?p=1118"},"modified":"2015-11-22T20:41:14","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T03:41:14","slug":"distractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theprinciplesofspiritualliving\/2015\/11\/distractions\/","title":{"rendered":"Distractions"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>Are you easily distracted? I am if I\u2019m not holding an almost constant vigilance with my purpose. I suppose it might have something to do with that ADHD thing.<\/p>\n<p>So, yeah, some guys in white coats feel I have this inability to effectively give my attention to what\u2019s in front of me. My family might agree. No, my family DOES agree.<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/257\/2015\/11\/download.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1119\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/257\/2015\/11\/download-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"download\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t. We can\u2019t allow a diagnosis or opinion to be a reason to think less of ourselves or make it a defining point in our lives. For example, I\u2019m tall, six foot two inches \u2013 that\u2019s 1.88m for my non-American readers. I could say, \u201cOH NO! I\u2019m too tall to go up in the attic! I can\u2019t get into a small car. Oh poor me!\u201d Instead it means I have to duck \u2026 a lot. Yeah, I hit my head \u2013 repeatedly, since apparently I\u2019m not always the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree \u2013 but not as often if I remember where I am and what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n<p>Even this blog is an example of my ability to be distracted if I don\u2019t stay in control of my direction. However, I\u2019m not going to scrap the whole first point just because I got sidetracked. Why? Because if I\u2019m thinking about this stuff then others may be, too, and it just might be helpful.<\/p>\n<p>So what WAS my blog supposed to be about? Here it is:<\/p>\n<p>Allowing ISIS to distract us from life.<\/p>\n<p>(I know \u2013 quantum jump \u2013 get used to it. My family just learns to deal with it, that is when they aren\u2019t too tired, in which case someone just slaps me.)<\/p>\n<p>The threat of terrorism and the reality of hundreds of thousands of refugees is nothing to ignore. But it is not a reason to become distracted from other challenges, both domestically and internationally, that deserve our attention. In other words, we can\u2019t let our lives fall apart worrying about the problems in the world or down the block.<\/p>\n<p>The recent terror attacks reported in the news in France and Mali have shifted the focus in the news, as well as in the current political races here in the States. How sad that politicians and would-be-presidents are doing little if nothing for the plight of those affected, but using the events and issues as marketing tools to downgrade their opponents with the hope of winning an election or fuel Islamophobia for their own designs.<\/p>\n<p>We have a choice, but it\u2019s not easy. Like most Truth principles, the course is simple \u2013 put one foot in the front of the other and carry on \u2013 but it\u2019s far from easy to do that for most of us. We are charged with the duty to see through the media frenzy and political posturing. We turn away not from those whom we can assist, but we do \u201cturn the other cheek,\u201d as Jesus the great teacher said, and look in the direction of solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Each day is another opportunity to remain vigilant with our spirit, mind and body to help create a life worth living in a world dedicated to cooperation and compassion. What we do matters. We may not see it, but any act of kindness we can perform on a personal and local level is one more building block put into place for a new foundation of planetary peace.<\/p>\n<p>Will we run in fear as the media and politicians would have us do? Will we point our fingers at people and issues we don\u2019t like nor understand? Or, will we take action and make a difference?<\/p>\n<p>The choice is ours. Choose wisely.<\/p>\n<p>In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,<\/p>\n<p>Terry<\/p>\n<p>#drterrymakingsense<br>\n#TheGlobalVision<br>\n#AWorldThatWorksForEveryone<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you easily distracted? I am if I\u2019m not holding an almost constant vigilance with my purpose. I suppose it might have something to do with that ADHD thing. So, yeah, some guys in white coats feel I have this inability to effectively give my attention to what\u2019s in front of me. My family might [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1674,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[436,446,437,499,57,92,497,498,501,500,495,61,334],"class_list":["post-1118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-aworldthatworksforeveryone","tag-drterrymakingsense","tag-theglobalvision","tag-determination","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-is","tag-isis","tag-islamophobia","tag-mali","tag-paris","tag-peace","tag-terrorism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Distractions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you easily distracted? I am if I\u2019m not holding an almost constant vigilance with my purpose. 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