I am Arnell Hill
Article writing and story writing from life experiences.
The hopes of a new month
It's October 1st. A new month. A new start. We are into the season of Fall. Changing landscapes and temperatures. In some areas of the country, the temperatures are starting to become cooler each day. A restful respite from the summer heat. Our thoughts, for some, will soon turn to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays ahead. For some of us, long gone are the memories of Covid and how it impacted our lives. For some, there will be memories of family and loved ones lost to Covid and them not being present for the holiday. This is the landscape of our lives. We deal with it and for most of us, we move on. For some, these fluctuations in life become unbearable and they decide to end their life. My hope is that no one ever reaches that point where the frustration and drama of life will bring you to the point of giving up. Our Creator built this world, us, and the system of drama we live in. We just have to accept it, look the drama right in the face, give an acknowledging smile, and continue staying alive.
No dialogue with fellow men.
The prior month's hope of having an open dialogue with other like men, fizzled into a non combustible puff of smoke. Due to a variety of circumstances the dialogue did not happen. I did continue a text message dialogue with two fellow alumnus of my college. But, the hoped for Zoom chat with other spiritual men was interrupted by life events or simple no shows. August instead turned into a period of putting male relationships and dialogue into time out. I hoped to dialogue with a Christian man but his dog getting sick stopped that conversation from happening. I decided to not try to reschedule the discussion. If it was important enough he would have contacted me to reschedule. I stopped interacting with a nephew based upon some disrespectful words he wrote to me. This is the same individual I have attempted to help for the past 15 years in a variety of ways. He seems to now think he is entitled to get whatever he wants from me. My response was to cut off communication with him. Another adult friend, traumatized by being fired from his job some 29 years ago continued to attempt to force his conspiracy and drama theories on me to even include my relaxing activity of watching the World Track Championships on TV. After I told him to just allow me to enjoy the track and field without his drama theories, he kept attempting to bully his drama theories regarding an event. So, I asked him nicely to stop the drama and allow me to enjoy the event. Then I hung up and haven't spoke to him since. A person I befriended the past 3 years has gone through some serious trials where I was there to talk to him during the events and attempt to support him. He supposedly found Jesus and put on a new approach to life. That approach did not include continuing to dialogue with me. I attempted to set up zoom meetings with him and he asked me to send him reminders a day ahead. My thought was, I am using my zoom account to set up the meeting and you want me to send you a reminder? You a grown man who knows how to write a note to remind himself? A man with all kinds of recording equipment? but you can't post a reminder in the truck you constantly remind people of as being your home now since you've been homeless by choice the past 3 months? So, I blocked him from contacting me. Time to move on. If individuals do not value me or my time, I have decided to move on from them.
Men talk. This month I will be participating in several dialogues among average men. Men of different races, ages, occupations, religious affiliations and background. but one thing we will have in common is that we will be speaking from a spiritual foundation, not from a worldly knowledge standpoint. Why? Because the "man in charge, worldly" culture of our country approach has failed us all. Our goal is to share our thoughts and experiences with a belief in God and how God desires us to behave. I don't expect us all to agree on the various topics we bring up. I just want us to hear each others thoughts instead of an academic world or a preacher/minister imposing doctrine on us that we are not supposed to question. I look forward to open discussion, where all men truly are equal. August 2023
Life is a series of dramatic events. Some with positive results and some with negative results. We define the positive results as those that meet our expectations of what is a "good" result. Positive is often measured by the values of a culture. If some dramatic event results in an economic gain, that may be viewed as a positive result. But, what if that economic gain brings on negative events that follow? Was then the event that brought on economic prosperity a positive event? Does a positive result always involve a person feeling pleasure from the result? If so does pleasure achieved through illegal or immoral means a positive result?
These are the questions we need to ask ourselves about our personal lives. What criteria do you start from to measure the drama in your life as being positive or negative? Many of us follow religious principles. Directives, decrees, and statements in bibles or other religious books. The Word of God is the guiding principle for many, no matter what label you assign to our Creator. Many of us follow the values of the culture we live under. In the United States, generally if you do not consolidate materialistic items, e.g. home, car, wealth, your life may be judged as being negative in terms of its outcome. But, why should the absence of wealth in your life be viewed as a negative life result?
Imagine a life where everything you achieve or do is accomplished without running into any barriers or problems. Imagine a life where you have a goal and you perform the series of tasks with no barriers in the way. All you do is perform a series of tasks where each task encounters "positive" results. In such a life, the expectation is that you will achieve whatever you set out to perform with minimal effort. Do any of you have such a lifestyle?
Expect drama in your life. Expect the unexpected. The odds are that events in your life will happen that you never thought would happen. This is the system that has been created for us to live under. Why does life operate that way? I have no idea. Is it for the entertainment of the Creator of us all? If so, no it doesn't seem fair from a human viewpoint that anything we do could result in a negative result. We do not want our lives to be for the entertainment of others. Even if you adhere to all the religious principles, directives, and guidance, you may still have health issues that threaten the quality of your human life.
So what is a person to do? Maybe the best thing a person can do is just decide how they will approach life and interactions with other people. Judge and evaluate how you are educated and what you are told in regards to how you want to behave and live your life. Some type of religious foundation is needed to filter out the human rules, values, and cultures we have created. It has to be a continuous process of evaluation. Look at the history of humanity and notice the various phases of behaviors we collectively have gone through. Many of our experiences involves violence, sometimes violence for no apparent reason other than hate and spiritual evil.
Laws do not make life better. Laws do not solve human problems. The decisions we make that leads to a positive or negative dramatic result is the life we create. Stop and think before you act. You are creating your own drama. July 2023.
Affordable Housing. Repeat it 3 times. No, you do not have to click your heels together as you say it. Affordable housing is the quiet monster ravaging communities across the United States. It is attacking families, individuals, and people of all classes. It is the topic that politicians at all levels are ignoring. Instead of addressing the affordable housing issue, they are distracting you with talk about immigration, gender rights, freedom, and fearful talk of a recession. Why are they avoiding the topic of affordable housing? Because they do not want to do the hard work that requires non partisan behavior to address the issue. Next time you meet someone either currently in office or seeking an elective office, ask them how they plan to address the issue of affordable housing. Then listen carefully to their answer. June 2023.
