Google image (neighborhood)

Most mornings I take time to stroll around the bloggerhood to see what my cyber neighbors and ether compatriots have to say. I stopped by Scarlett and Viaggiatore's and although she's devoting more of her attention to facebook these days she did have a recent post on her blog which introduced me to a neighbor in her 'hood; Suburbia, from across the pond, at Moments from Suburbia. On her side bar is this quote: There are 2 thieves of our time. Regret for the past and fear of the future. Don’t let them steal from you. In fact I've seen similar reflections along this line, this time it struck me with the simple truth that, if followed could, make our lives so much more upbeat.

My blog friend Elisabeth did a post re: Catholicism in general and a priest in particular. It struck me tangentially that I drifted away from the catholic church because of their reliance on guilt and confession to keep their congregants in line or on the straight-and-narrow, if you will. Regret for transgressions against God in particular but also against fellow humans and fear of going to hell. Personally I find that a poor technique to bring about faith and allegiance to any cause. That, do it my way or go to hell, philosophy seems so pervasive in the world culture today and for the life of me I don't see that it has brought us any satisfaction with the world's state of affairs.

Don't misunderstand me; I think God and Jesus are good concepts. I think Mohamed and Buddha, and Krishna, and Robert Fulghum professed great ideas for getting along and making this existence mutually satisfying. But humanoids of the ilk of Stalin, Amin, Ma Barker, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Ivan, Herod, Nero ,oh the list goes on and on, have shown us how selfish egotism can give rise to mega human suffering .

The past is not to be regretted but a tool of instruction to make today better. The future is not to be feared but to be embraced, if and when it comes, as another opportunity to embrace the best life can offer.

Speaking of the best that today can offer, last night visitors arrived at our back door: Kristy, the Apple, and Jacob arrived around eight PM. I know you're puzzling over who the apple is. Go ahead, admit it. The Apple is the new grandchild in the making. Kristy and Jacob are in the 2nd trimester, week 15, of their pregnancy. You remember; kumquat, lime, shrimp, well now it's apple size. We talked about such topics of import such as: ultrasounds....like in "do you want to know if it's a boy or girl before delivery?" If it's a boy; to circumcise or not. Can a crying baby be ignored? We talked about Kristy's sisters ideas on marriage, living quarters and child rearing. We watched Jacob and Bobby making a mother's day video, well it could have been Jacob and Bobby. We looked back with pleasure and humor, not regret. we looked to the future with excited anticipation, not fear. If I don't live 'til tomorrow, I'll die knowing the joy of this moment!

Apple fetus by ~yamiyoujitsu