LA'S BEST GOURMET FOOD TRUCKS IN ALTADENA

 What do you do on a Friday evening in Altadena? I received a Facebook invitation from Webster’s Liquor about an event featuring LA’s gourmet food trucks. I had heard of this trend on the local news about how popular these gatherings were becoming.

On the same Friday that the Egyptian people had just won their freedom from a 30-year reign of dictatorship we were participating in an event that was spearheaded by social media. When people connect through this channel big things are happening. It is as though we are gaining people-power and this power is becoming stronger.

If you build it, they will come. If you create something that people like and put it on Twitter or Facebook or any of a number of techno-event-blasting resources; people are finding it and following it. Apparently there is no single head to this trend, but instead something that is being driven by the desires of the people.

If this first Friday evening’s event is any indication of what’s to come this could become a smashing success. People were standing in line for over an hour just to order from the “Shrimp Pimp” food truck.

Even though this truck was late getting started, it was the most popular of the four present that evening. Apparently those who follow Twitter have already heard about this craze and are willing to travel to where these gourmet trucks set up shop.

What was so obvious was the hunger and thirst people have up here in Altadena for interesting things to do. The good news is that this event was not driven by fancy marketing ads or a long-term pre-planned attraction, it is being driven by the ability of people to spread the word down in the trenches from the ground level upward through this new social-media phenomenon.

This craze is what started a revolution in Egypt and peacefully overthrew a dictatorship in just 18 days. It was the ability of the public to start a ground swell from the desires of the people. We are so used to being told what to do, how to believe, and what is good for us by the establishment, but that day seems to be long gone, or at least quickly fading into the past.

There must have been several hundred people gathered at this event over the evening. There were families with small kids and people of all ages present. Being in that atmosphere you get a chance to meet your community. Everyone there seemed to have been equally as amazed to be there and meet each other.

I struck up a conversation with so many strangers that were just as eager to chat and show their friendliness and desire to mingle. This is the real Altadena that everyone wants, not the one that you read about in the blogs or news services. When people are face-to-face they show their real colors, which seems to be quite friendly.

Unfortunately we most often get this sense that there is too much animosity among people, but perhaps that is more media-hype rather than reality-driven. If you notice when you are out in public people are generally friendly, even strangers.

Could it be more our perception to assume the worst in people than is warranted? Even though there are some serious jerks and really weird people in society, they are only a small percentage of the general public, yet we generally put up our defensive walls blocking everyone out just to protect ourselves from the few.

You can meet people for the first time in a grocery line or at other public events such as this one and have a great conversation with them without even realizing your differences. When people that you would not ordinarily meet come into your pathway usually you are rewarded by their presence rather than threatened.

This is what is possible for Altadena or most communities, but rather than opening ourselves to receive its rewards we tend to be more skeptical.

If we refuse to lower our guards, at least long enough to realize that people are often genuinely warm and friendly, we stand to lose more than we gain. It is our loss when we don’t open our hearts to receive the gift that people could offer to us: that is the gift of love; loving one another, and just expressing human kindness.

We need more opportunities such as this to show who we are. We need more chances to practice letting down our guard so we can express our human kindness and display our best.

It appears that we are headed in the right direction, but we can get there much faster with more practice. We need more such events so we can show each other just how warm and friendly we can be as a community.

Whoever organized this event, please do so again: I think it will be a great success here in Altadena.

Shoe on the other foot

I find it interesting how I boldly state my own opinions and yet become so easily agitated when others state theirs. In a similar way I pull so hard for my team to win that I almost blindly refuse to see that the other team also has supporters. Are we becoming so competitive that we refuse to see the other point of view?

I find myself writing about this subject quite often. It is because I really need to hold myself back a bit from taking such strong stands about certain things, so much so that it has gotten to the point that I refuse to even look at another's point of view.

Many wars are started for this very reason. People become so blinded by their personal view of things that they refuse to even consider the views of others. Family feuds often begin just like this.  Siblings or even best friends will break up, at times for life, because of this blindness. If we aren’t careful we will find ourselves so rigid that no one can penetrate through our thick shells of selfishness.

As a sport’s fan living in the LA area I had to almost stop watching the Lakers because it seems that just when I watched a game they would lose to a team that they were supposed to blow away. I would become furious at them!

When you stop to think about it they are the current two-time champions of the NBA and personally each one of them are financially doing well. Why should I become so stressed out about them losing some games when at the end of the day they will go home to their mansions (or wherever) and I end up seething in my stress and sorrow in my little house. Stress can kill, so I am told!

When my neighbors do things differently than what I am accustomed to seeing it irritates me no end.  It is not that they are bad people, just the fact that they are different. Why should that irritate me? In truth there is nothing about their behavior that is wrong except for the fact that they are acting differently from the way I am used to seeing things done. I really have no right to be upset, but this eruption seems to come from somewhere deep in my gut.

In spousal or long-term partnerships inevitably one party will do something that is different from the other and it irritates them no end. In truth there is nothing wrong with how others do things except for the fact that they are different from another's expectations. Why should that be so upsetting?

Since this tension seem to rise out of our guts so often and they concern so many different situations and circumstances then perhaps each of us needs to back ourselves up a bit and see if we are able to determine from where this gut feeling is emanating.

Competition can become a healthy motivation, but once we become so blinded by our own immutable point of view that we refuse to accept the views of others we need to check something in our personalities. We need to make sure the person that we see in the mirror each day is not primary one causing the problems.

Understanding this to be true of me I decided to take a deeper look at how I judge things. Lately I purposefully take the need to be right or to win out of the equation for a while so I could see just how blind I had become to my own selfish attitude.

When being right or winning was not the only goal the results did not stress me out as much. I actually learned that the point of view of others was even quite interesting at times, and I broadened my own horizons by trying to understand the other's viewpoint.

Obviously we can’t always practice this exercise but when possible give it a try and you will be amazed at how the shoe fits and or feels when it is on the other foot. The only requirement is that you will have to reduce the size of your ego, at least momentarily, in order for this practice to work in all sincerity.

Give it a try, it might show you something about yourself where you had become partially or totally blinded. – Pearls of Wisdom. 

Sometimes I Wonder

There are times when I wonder why God made me into the person I am. But when I carefully analyze the truth to the matter God did not make me into all the things that I have become. Sure He gave me the breath of life and the right to live it as I chose, but some of the choices that I made were not godly, therefore I cannot blame God for my wicked inclinations.

My habits are likewise not God’s fault. Even though I developed according to the many factors that were present in and around my environment, blaming God for how I reacted to them is not accurate, nor relevant. Rather than blaming anyone or anything perhaps the real learning-moment is to see the golden opportunities that came my way. These many things were chances to grow and mature in the ways of godliness.

There are times when I look at my predicament and think, “Why is this happening to me?” In my lower carnal mind it is natural to seek meaning to things I don’t fully understand. However, in my more matured spiritual mind I realize that God’s thoughts and ways are in no way similar to mine.

Where we are limited, God is not. Where we are finite, God is infinite. Where we are reduced to speculations, God knows the complete truth. Where we are mortal, God is immortal. In other words as high as the heavens are from the earth so are God’s thoughts and ways even much higher than ours. The fact that we constantly try to compare the two could even be rather humorous, at various points.

It is said that if you want to hear God laugh tell Him about your plans. Obviously what we would hope to achieve and what actually happens are most often two different things. Since God is omnipotent He already knew what would happen even before it actually did, therefore our plans and aspirations should always include and invoke His will. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” as stated in the Lord’s Prayer.

Where so many of us tend to fall short is in our total surrender to the fact that God’s will is and shall always be superior to anything we may wish, pray, hope, dream, or even imagine. Once we totally grasp that truth it still may not cause us to live in peace, but it should give you a way to let off the stress that comes with worrying about things that are completely out of one's own control, yet they are fully within God’s almighty and divine will.

Do you ever talk to yourself? Do you ever argue with yourself? Do you personally talk with God? Do you ever argue with God? May I suggest that when you are arguing or even discussing things with yourself what you are really doing is bringing things to God’s attention? Since the innermost part of our beings is that of the breath of life that God put in us it is to that deepest part of us that we attempt to reach in order to find meaning.

From our outer beings, which are the flesh and the mind, we attempt to reach the inner parts that are the soul and the spirit. For most people this is a very complicated task. Until you begin to know yourself it is that much harder to go even deeper in an effort to know God who exists at the very core of your being. Ironically, most people who seek God, do so from outside inwardly, when the exact opposite would get them there much faster and far deeper.

Christ said that if a person really wants to find God they should go into a dark closet, close the door behind them and speak with God in secret. It is from that secret place where God actually communicates back to the soul that belongs exclusively to Him. It is from this sacred chamber that God communicates. Yet, too few can hear Him because they are seeking answers from the wrong places.

Some times I wonder why God gave me the kind of mind that realizes such things yet not the ability to really grasp what I know to be true. Oh, what a wretched man I am…so fragile…so finite…and so confused!  To the Most High God I surrender my soul and spirit…Selah!  

Taking on the Tough Tasks (TOTTT)

 Not many people are eager to take on the tough tasks these days. They may not mind helping a little but when it comes to the tough things they would rather not get involved.

It takes a special kind of person who is willing to step into shoes such as this. You see them volunteering in hospitals or homeless shelters, helping feed the hungry, mentoring our youth, or just reaching out and doing whatever they can to help those who are less fortunate, or in dire straits. 

Until you get into the trenches you really don’t know the reality of what’s down there. Most of us refuse to consider getting involved out of fear of how tough the task may be. Fear is the operative word here. We are afraid of the unknown so we refuse to start, mainly because of our fears.

It’s easy to drive by a homeless person and hand them some change or a few dollars, but much tougher to speak with that person and hear their story. First of all most of us would not be caught in close company with such a person because we don’t know what sort of problem they may have. Many fall into this predicament because of mental illness or addiction to some sort of substance. Not knowing what to expect we normally keep space between them and us.

At the senior centers there are many lonely seniors, many of whom seem to be sitting there waiting on the final bell to toll. In many cases they have few or no visitors. Some have lost hope and given up on life.

Some of the workers at senior facilities are very caring and compassionate while there are others that merely work the job with little sensitivity to the troubles of the people they serve. If you don’t have the right sort of attitude for working in such a place you probably do more harm than good to the residents. Again, not everyone has the right heart for the tough tasks.

Take many of our public servants such as law enforcement or government employees. If they don’t have the right attitudes they easily abuse the people they were hired to serve.

Post Office workers, DMV clerks, Unemployment Office workers, Social Security employees, IRS workers, all should serve the public, but have you noticed the attitudes of a number of them?  Once in a while you will find one that is pleasant, but that seems to be rare. If you don’t have the right attitude for certain jobs you do a disservice to that profession.

Like many I concentrated so much on getting ahead in life and achieving my personal goals. I knew there were people in all walks of life that were suffering greatly but personally I did not allow their suffering to enter into my "caring space." My interest was on my own gain. I made no room in my heart to care about people I didn’t even know.

There are people that make helping others a lifestyle. Missionary workers, healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, dentist, childcare givers, senior helpers, adoption agencies, child-protection agencies and the like, they take on the tough tasks as their job. Although not all of them have the kind of compassionate heart to be well respected in their chosen profession, most of them know walking in the door that the task ahead of them will be tough. Thank God for people such as these that are willing to do the tough tasks that most people would rather avoid.

Perhaps as you get older you realize that life is not all about your personal gain, but more about how you may assist humanity in overcoming at least some of their suffering. In our own small ways we need to learn how to care more for others and do more things that help our fellow man.

Although it is frightening thinking about how tough it may be down in the trenches, once you get down there and see the gratitude in the eyes of the people that you help when they are helpless, you suddenly realize that there is so much more to life than just striving to reach your own selfish goals. 

You learn that doing unto others as you hope they would do unto you in a similar circumstance is priceless. You  learn why it is better to give than to receive. You feel the essence of most of the scriptures written in our Holy Books. At that point you will actually get pleasure out of taking on the tough tasks that others shy away from.

If it be within your heart, even if only occasionally, and if you really can endure the tough task, reach out and do something really tough knowing that the recipient on the other end of your offering would benefit more than gratitude could even express. If you ever decide to do such a thing then you would know the heart of Christ, of Buddha, of Krishna, and of all the Saints that ever walked the earth.

Taking on the tough tasks is usually reserved to those who are the saints amongst us. God made them and sprinkled them on the earth in such small numbers. If this message inspired you, go out and help someone whom you see is in need today. May God richly bless you!

A rash of senseless shooting events

 Over the period of just a few weeks we have been experiencing a rash of shooting events causing panic, harm and even the death of innocent victims. What is driving this senseless trend?

I don’t know if it may be a factor, but when such events happen we are bombarded by countless hours of news coverage from every imaginable angle on so many networks and by numerous news agencies. Neighbors, friends, childhood friends of the assailants, classmates, law-enforcement agencies, teachers, emergency services, and GQ public are all caught up in the news programs.  This happens for hours at a time.

Might all this coverage start a flow of people getting caught up in the frenzy so they may become famous as well? It is almost like putting blood in the water where sharks roam. Likewise some people seek attention and this is certainly a way to achieve it. It so happens that they may also have a few loose screws in their decision-making abilities.

Understandably so news agencies make their living from covering such activities, but at a point could their coverage be too much (over the top). On their shows you have the additional news commentators and experts that expand upon the news events until it is no longer the news, but network programming. This is almost like art imitating life that is imitating art. Can we find a way to get off this merry-go-round and curve trends such as this?

Without point fingers of blame can this trend be addressed in a way that addresses public welfare and safety? We really need to consider what sort of monsters we are creating with all this media attention. FYI!

Toxic Public Discourse

For quite some time now there has been an ever-increasing toxicity spewing from various facets of society. Never is it more obvious than when we hold our national elections in this country. You have factions from both sides that shout out vile rhetoric about their opponents. The tone is so sharp, so negative, and so vile that it is a wonder that more people haven’t been fatally wounded because of it.

Why the rise in the toxic level? Could we be witnessing a very blatant wake up call to tone down or otherwise disarm this loaded weapon? When you spew out energy it finds a place to land and produces more of its kind. This is a very basic law within the universe that is very precise. The problem we have is that we can’t always see energy, as it is transferred. At times you can sense it or even feel it, but rarely do you see it.

Without assessing blame on a single source it’s time for all to take note of the lines we are drawing. We must also be mindful of crossing into an area of darkness that is extremely dangerous to everyone. People from all sides, and nearly all walks of life are being affected by this trend.

You have the Democrats against the Republicans. You have the religious right against the left, or Christians against Muslims against the Jews. You have the whites against the blacks. You have the Lakers against the Celtics or the Yankees against the Dodgers. People are not taking these differences casually, but with very sharp stances. The Cleveland fans constantly boo LeBron James for leaving the team. With a tiny spark and a huge conflagration of violence could occur.

What caused the 911 tragedies? What caused the Oklahoma City Bombing? What caused the countless school shootings of innocent children? What causes political assassinations? What is it that causes countries to wage wars against each other?

One would think that spoken words are relatively innocent but that has proven to be a false assumption when it comes to the public discourse. Very negative rhetoric has been known to start riots and even wars. This has always been the case, but still you have public figures using tones that border on irresponsibility. They say things very damning without remorse or compassion for where that flaming dart will land.

Our politicians claim that they speak for the American people when in truth they only speak for a particular segment of the public. To use language that castigates the other side is down right irresponsible. To vilify an opponent with negative ads and information with no regard for the truth is irresponsible. It is taking a loaded gun and putting it in the hands of a person that is willing and eager to use it.

There are always extremist on both sides of the equation. You have the far left and the far right but you also have the sick and criminally insane that tether out on a limb and attach themselves to a particular ideology. Do we not remember Adolph Hitler? He was a perfect example of this phenomenon. How quickly have we forgotten the many lessons of our recent past!

When people take very sharp stands on a particular ideology or philosophy to the point that it vilifies the opponent you are placing a loaded gun in the hands of those that will use it. To incite people against each other just to prove your point or the other to be wrong is the same as starting a war when you have no idea where it will end.

Does this mean that people shouldn’t strongly disagree? No! It means that people need to be aware of the fact that all energies find a place to land. When you throw out statements intended to dig or vilify another that energy eventually finds a place to cause harm. It is as though they create the bullet that is looking for a gun that eventually finds a person that is seeking both and one that is capable of using it to carry out the original wish.

Quite frankly the very politicians that claim to represent the people are culpable for far too many of the toxins that lead to violence. As they fight for their own specific causes with blatant disregard for the opponent they create the bullet that finds a gun that will be used by a psychopath who is only too willing and eager to use it.

If you trace back the origination of the energy of a tragic public event it probably started in a secret back-door political establishment that had an agenda of merely winning, but doing so at whatever the cost. This is one of the main reasons why the public no longer trusts the political establishment. They are in the game to win and not necessarily in it for the people. As long as their side wins they care nothing about the fate of the other side or even for those who may be innocently trapped in the middle.

In a sense we are all to blame in part for this escalating problem. Our desire to be right or to carry the will of the day is what drives animosity. People can and do differ sharply, but it’s the manner in which they show their disagreement that causes the rift.

We should be able to strongly disagree about nearly anything but do so in a way that is respectful of the opinion or beliefs of others. However, when we use energies, spoken words, acts or deeds, we must be mindful that they eventually find a place to land. It is like shooting a gun up in the air at a New Year’s celebration. Those bullets eventually find their way back to the earth where innocent people are living.

We need to start intentionally taking the sting out of our rhetoric a bit. We need to stop vilifying each other. It is okay to disagree, even sharply, but the manner in which you express those differences could mean anything from intentional separation to intentional and violent confrontation. Unless you truly desire violence you need to tone down the toxins when expressing your displeasure. Do we really want another sick individual to make good on the threats we purposefully make? Flaming arrows always find a place to land and burn. Rarely do they disappear into thin air…

When life takes an unexpected turn

What do you do when something happens to you totally out of the blue and so obviously catches you off your guard? A statement that I use occasionally is, “Along the way life happens and you must deal with it.” I’m sure this statement is not an original one, but it always IS what it IS. On the other hand life is usually filled with surprises.

The normal reaction to bad news or situations is to go into a form of shock. Your rational senses go almost numb because you are unable to process such a strange happening. Fear usually rushes in and depending upon your faith you may feel temporarily hopeless until you gather your senses.

Those who have little to no faith are left “out there” to the forces that may be present in their minds. Having nothing to rely upon despair usually sets in and it may feel as though you are walking through a very dense fog. It is like being a zombie. You are alive and breathing, but not mentally present. How long this state might last is up to the individuals.

Such an event could be a life-changing moment. Many have been known to reach out to the faith community and actually find something there that is comforting. They are invited into a network of people that choose to believe in the divine and in an unseen world within the one they live.

If one is fortunate enough to discover this unseen world their lives are usually forever changed from that day forth. They find out that no matter what, they are not alone in the world, as it may have appeared before the event. Albeit the faith community of believers or the unknown and unseen God, they find a safety net that was well worth finding.

Obviously not everyone discovers this safety cushion from just one catastrophic event. Some hit a wall several time and still do not surrender to the Great Teacher of life. For whatever reason they continue to believe that they are somehow above the unseen forces that control life.

Those that are belligerent and bullishly stubborn are simply turned over to their own ignorant devices. They are left to the reprobate mind that becomes their God.

When a child refuses the wise and gentle council of a parent all the parent can do is let the superior forces of life take its own course. One thing is certain: no mortal being is beyond the unseen forces that life presents. They may run, but there is no place to hide.

Enough of the dark side, for I bring you a message of hope and good cheer. When life takes those unexpected turns it is usually to teach you lessons that you would not otherwise learn. It is one thing to teach someone something that they have never known, but another when they are somehow compelled to experience it in life.

Perhaps a parent told their child not to touch something that was hot and the child never touched what the parent cautioned them against. Was the lesson learned simply by the cautioning of the parent? One could say the child learned how to be obedient, but it is questionable as to whether the child actually learned the consequence of touching something hot. On the other hand if the child insists upon touching something hot and was burned, that child would know within its own mind the consequence of touching something that is hot. I dare say the lesson was truly learned.

In life we do not always have the love and guidance of loving parents to teach us all the nuances that come with living. Many tough lessons come to us long after we are past our youth. The Great Teacher shows up, but many times the pupil is not ready to be taught. For those the lessons become stiffer and the consequences may become even greater. One thing is certain; life is patient, only because its Creator loves us.  However, if you are unwilling to submit to divine authority your fate is of your own choosing.

A simple word to the wise… when life takes an unexpected turn take note and inquire of the Teacher, “What lesson am I to learn from this episode?” The Teacher always shows up when the pupil is ready to accept and to learn in earnest, for what is in you will rise to the occasion when the times call for it. If you have nothing in you don’t expect anything to come from you.

While the sun is shining it would be a good time to store up the essentials you might need on the rainy days. –WORD-