"What would LOVE do"?

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Aloha Everyone!

Seems to me it is getting about that time? Time to really start thinking about what you are really going to do? As many here have done, I also have went thru the whole Y2K thing. Even had a site dedicated to helping people learn about Y2K and where to find what they may need in the coming year!

I have not posted on these forums except maybe a couple of times over the last year or so. I have read more than I ever wanted to read about this stuff. The most common thing I have read is people just want the truth! Sounds simple enough,but we all know truth can be hard to come by.

So thru all of this time I have felt your pain, I have seen your frustrations, I have known your concern! We have tried to "warn" people, most ignoring us:) But now it is getting down to the real thing! We all have read Yourdon,Hamasaki,Gary North,Infomagic,and on and on. Right?

Well they have helped form our opinions and even our actions. We may not agree with these people, but at least they cared enough to tell us how they felt and thought! We owe them that. They could have just stayed quite like the majority of "programmers and (y2k experts)" they didn't! I thank all of you! Why because they made me aware of y2k and even my own dependency upon a "SYSTEM" make no mistake this world of ours is a System! It is a system that is so old and complex that we *CANNOT* truly grasp it!

So within this system is the Human Race, not animals but something MORE than animals. Animals don't know about the y2k problem that we humans have created! One thing about systems,if they don't *WORK TOGETHER* they don't work at all!

In these days to come I think we are going to be tested as a human system of Sisters and Brothers of humanity? What do you think? Will we act as a system or will we fall as a system? I don't have any answers about what the failing technology will do! But I know for a fact what a failing humanity will do. It will reduce us to the level of animals!

As I read some of your posts, I know you are afraid! I say Fear Not! Why? Because fear won't help one thing,will it? Most people here reading this have prepared more than our sisters and brothers. So here is the main question, more important than what computers will do on 1/1/00! What will you do?

As I right this I know some will rebuke me and my "simple" view! However of everything you have ever read on the internet I promise you that this is the most important advice you will ever read!

My advice is simple, so simple that most won't listen to it, but I need to say it anyway because I love you all !

I would ask all of you to do this one thing when you are confronted with serious the desisions that will be coming to test us soon!

****DO WHAT LOVE WOULD DO, ALWAYS****** please:)

aloha nui aikane, Lokelo

-- Lokelo (lokelo@hotmail.com), November 27, 1999

Answers

I really appreciate your thoughts, here, Lokelo. Thank you. When people drag out their crystal balls to predict future human behavior I am often surprised that the images they present are suddenly full of human beings with knuckles still dragging the ground. And while I think we've not as much enlightenment as we might have we have learned a tad. My contribution, from Aldous Huxley's Island, Note's on What's What:

Patriotism is not enough. But neither is anything else. Science is not enough, religion is not enough, art is not enough, politics and economics are not enough, nor is love, nor is duty, nor is action however disinterested, nor, however sublime, is contemplation. Nothing short of everything will really do. (bold emphasis my editorial comment.)

Love is a good start.

--She in the sheet upon the hilltop,...

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), November 27, 1999.


Okay, you can share your food with the people presently pushing and shoving each other, nastily and greedily, for 5 dollar Barbies at Walmart.

Do it with "love" dear. Who are any of us to stop you.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), November 27, 1999.


Love is a good foundation Lokelo, but on this 21 sq.mi. island of Bermuda with our +/-60,000 population, I'll go with Donna's post on this one.

Ahh, de Island life!

on de rock

-- Walter (on de rock@northrock.bm), November 27, 1999.


ah, but sometimes love can be rather tough. love isn't politically correct. nor is it the mushy/sentimental spirit that most think it is. love is a wise, caring, mature choice. love is more concerned with others than with self. but also recognizes the value of self and avoids "casting pearls before swine." -love can decide to tell someone the truth although it may be painful or uncomfortable for the speaker and/or the hearer. -love can allow someone who doesn't like to listen to make a foolish or rebellious choice so that they then can experience the consequences of their behavior (hopefully you wise up after making the same mistake several times). -love makes mature choices based on long term outcomes rather than the whims and pleasures of the short term gains. -sometimes love says "no". -love is not always simple, especially depending upon what you use as your standard for measuring and defining love.

i prefer to ask, "what would christ do?" gives me a clearer standard and a higher bar to jump.

-- tt (cuddluppy@nowhere.com), November 27, 1999.


Hey tt, if you figure out how to do the loaves and fishes thing, let us know, ok?

-- biker (y2kbiker@hotmail.com), November 27, 1999.


What would LOVE do?

A lot.

If you're lucky enough to have it, don't waste it, don't abuse it.

-- hunter (way@up.north), November 27, 1999.


Those $5 Barbies that parents are fighting over are going to little girls. Little girls.

If things are so bad that you get a chance to slam the door in the face of those kids, you'd better not live long enough to see them grow up twisted with hatred. Because they are not going to forget, and they are going to give back what they got. As has ever been the case.

-- Firemouse (firemouse@fcmail.com), November 27, 1999.


Your recognition of those who tried to inform and warn is touching, but the system has already failed.

"I think we are going to be tested as a human system of Sisters and Brothers ... will we act as a system or will we fail as a system?"

The past six months of denial and spin has proven the system which would adequately educate and warn the human race of the possibility of disaster has utterly failed.

When we as "sisters and brothers" sit down to Thanksgiving meal and must AVOID discussion of the most difficult problem facing humanity because of our deep rifts of communication and belief, we have already failed as families, as sisters and brothers.

When such large numbers of people believe it is prudent to do absolutely nothing in the face of these technological and time- certain threats, part of the system is already bankrupt at its core. It betrays us. And we should not forget.

Even if we do survive the coming months with nothing more than a bump in the road, the threat was real, the need for insurance was real, and the need to re-examine the encouragement of denial by our media is all too real.

No matter what shining moments some of us may provide in the future, remember this: Well-meaning people have been humiliated and discouraged. Families have been torn apart. A search for legitimate answers has been derided.

Before the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning, there already was something about the center that was rotten. It is this center that must be healed.

-- (normally@ease.notnow), November 27, 1999.


"What would LOVE do"?

Love will keep us sane.

Have you ever lived simply for wages/security? It is a vacuous existence. Furthermore, those lacking in moral integrity may live longer than me next year, they might kill me and take my preps. So what? I didn't come into this world with anything, and I'm not taking anything out...except my dignity and sanity.

-- Laura (Ladylogic46@aol.com), November 27, 1999.


Paula,

I have never seen anyone as fixated on food as you are. I'd hate to be your neighbor for fear of being eaten if you ran out of beans and rice.

-- (Polly@troll.com), November 27, 1999.



This is mostly going to be a repost of a story that I've previously related on this forum. It is a true story and absolutely relevant to this thread.

In addition to addressing the title question, it also demonstrates the absolute accuracy of Donna's quote, answers the question, "What would Christ do?", defines 'the height of the bar', displays a sure fire technique for propagating Love into the future, and provides the ultimate example of Love's power and how not to waste it.

And, as to the little girls who might be the recipients of the $5 Barbies, if they're old enough to play with dolls and their parents are physically fighting with other parents at Wal-Mart, it is, unfortunately already too late for them. They are most assuredly already twisted (although perhaps not with hate) and all that remains for them is to 'grow up', if they can.

Let me tell you about a Marine I knew in boot camp (several million years ago) who I'll call G.K. (not his real initials).

G.K. was obviously very slow, probably borderline retarded, but he was motivated, he wanted to be a Marine, and some recruiter had a quota to make so. . . Anyway, he ended up at Parris Island in my boot camp platoon.

No one was cruel to G.K. At first, the DIs won't let you be cruel to anyone, and later, you come to realize that it isn't a smart move. G.K. was not well liked, because the rest of us had to "carry" him a lot, but he was a part of us, and we tolerated him. He was thought of a lot better, though, than some of the clowns who eventually went home to mama with a, "Sorry Ma'am, your son is not Jarhead material," discharge.

Each night, there was an hour on the training schedule that was labeled "Recruit Time", which was a euphemism for, "this is when you press your utilities, polish your boots and brass, clean your weapons, shave, shower, study the days lessons and if you have any time left over, write a letter home". There was a large table placed in the center of the squad bay for the letters, which the Duty DI would collect, examine and mail.

One night, during this hour, the Senior DI, who was the Duty DI for that day, called for G.K. G.K. had done (or not done maybe, I really don't remember which) something that day that had really got the SDI's knickers in a twist and it was time for the "show". The SDI placed a folding metal chair on the "letter table", removed his fair leather belt and sat in the chair. He then had G.K. drop his trousers and skivvies, kneel over his lap and proceeded to administer a "whipping" with said belt.

You could have heard a pin drop in that squad bay--until the belt whistled through the air and the adrenaline shot free in the body of each one of us and we all sucked wind. The noise the belt made on contact coincided with a pain that was felt by each of us.

G.K. didn't make a sound.

After three strokes, G.K. leaped to the position of attention and screamed at the top of his lungs, "STOP IT. . .SIR!"

I have never seen a DI speechless, before or since, but that one was. G.K. pulled up his trousers, and returned to his bunk. Shortly thereafter, we had our nightly ritual and lights out.

Sometime during the night, G.K. was taken away. No one knew what had happened to him, and the one guy who had the guts to ask was lucky to get off with a sharp reply and no information. But, guys disappeared during the night quite frequently during boot camp, and we eventually found out that they had been shipped home to mama, with the aforementioned discharge.

About a week later, we were at Sick Bay, getting another round of shots. As I was standing in formation, waiting for the rest of the platoon to finish inside, I spotted G.K., marching along at the rear of the POU (Pyschiatric Observation Unit) platoon. He was the only guy in that formation that looked like a Marine and it was the last time I ever saw him.

Years later, I had occasion to read the Citation that the Marine Corps gave G.K.'s family, along with a Silver Star Medal and his remains. G.K. had been in a "hooch" with about a half dozen other Marines when an attack had come. He had fallen on a grenade and there were at least six Marines who went on to other things because G.K. knew the secret of loving your fellow man.

Vonnegut holds that intelligence is not necessarily a positive survival trait, and I agree with him. We've got a Rhodes' Scholar in the White House, and I've never met a Marine who would piss in his mouth if his teeth were on fire unless he was on duty.

G.K. though, had something that represents the best in Humankind. I know that G.K. would not have "got it" about Y2K were he here, but I'd unhesitatingly give my left you-know-what to have him with me during the troubles to come.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), November 27, 1999.


The worn-out, tried over and over solutions (expecting different results each time), will fail again. Unless groups of people are willing to think outside the box given to us that says "this is all that will work", nothing will change ongoingly,...to the crash and burn and die place. I have hoped with others, that Y2K would be a catalyst for discussing what the problems really are (failure of understanding of systems, deep ecology, human psychology, etc). We see pockets of understanding. Universe willing, those pockets will have enough momentum to make the larger changes possible.

Hardliner, Lovely...good to read you, again, we miss you all the time....and thanks Walter for noticing about Island and Huxley.

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), November 27, 1999.


I dunno. Got no plan. Gonna try to Surrender.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 28, 1999.

normally@easenot.now,

Excellent post.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), November 28, 1999.


Aloha Everyone!

Thank you Donna:)

Hi Paula, If they were hungry I would:)

Aloha Walter, yes Oahu is not that much bigger, Islands tend to make people more accepting of each other:)

tt, I would have used Christ, but I didn't want to offend those who don't share our beliefs, Also GOD is LOVE, easy:)

normallyEZ, I hear you!We are the healing, because we did what was right out of Love, and if we prove to be right, we won't have to remind them they will know. And then we can forgive them for their abuse of us who cared. The healing is the examples we sent forth:)

Laura, very true and beautiful, mahalo:)

Hardliner,you can't be that much of a hardliner.....you made me cry Brother:)Thank YOU!!!

Aloha Mara. Surrender to Love! Love ALWAYS wins:)

You all made my day! Thank all of you for caring enough to respond to my question. It is true that the system of humans is failing and has been for a long time. I also couldn't talk about Y2k too much at the Day of Thanks table, but I did still warn those with children one more time.

When we do what LOVE would do, we are really doing what our Heavenly Father would do, it must be so if GOD IS LOVE? I know we all know what to do , but we fear doing it because we are conditioned to do so.

G.K. knew that man and women have no greater gift than to lay down their life so that their brother may live on. Those who do this understand true LOVE!

Again I ask, when times get hard and it becomes easy to be selfish and fearful. Think "What would Love do" and just do it:) it will never be in vain! Promise:)

Aloha Nui, Lokelo in Hawaii

-- Lokelo (lokelo@hotmail.com), November 28, 1999.



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