Oh this place... This mad world of ours.Nature in all of it's glorious beauty and diverse bounty, and mankind, the one part of nature who has rebelled from it and ambitiously sought to control it. We've created systems of control the world over, not only for nature, and the "mastery" of resources, but for one another. Those who possess more resources become the decision-makers over how the rest of the world gains access to their necessary share of resources. In many cases, this means that many receive no resources at all, including the most vital ones, like food, clean water, shelter, or clothing. This is known as poverty.

     I have lived this humble life for almost all of my adult life. I have never had much, and have made several "bad choices" in my life that have prevented me from having amassed wealth. What I have gained is a vibrant wealth of experiences and opportunities to learn and develop as an individual. But I am on the Link card (food stamps) program, I work a part-time job at minimum wage to gain some tiny amount of contributory cash, I live in an apartment with two other bachelors who have been kind enough to allow me to stay in exchange for doing housekeeping tasks around the place. I sleep on a couch or the floor, whichever I choose. I have very little to my name, and in fact, even the computer on which this is being composed was a gift from generous friends when they upgraded their own system. I still yet, however, feel as if I have been blessed in abundance!

     This year on September 2nd, my beautiful daughter was born to a wonderful mother. Her mother was told over and over again by medical professionals that she would never conceive, so truly, our daughter is even more the miracle. She has brought me renewed joy and purpose in this life, and I am made wealthy in the love in my life by both of my daughters now. My fourteen-year-old has been quite happy and excited to be a part of the newborn's life, and we try to bring them together as often as possible, My family has shown an outpouring of love and devotion, and for them, I am so very grateful!

      Also in the past year have I been more involved in the local pagan community, and have come to know an amazing and beautiful congregation of souls as a result. Of the many new and wonderful people I have gotten to know, I have even found mentors to help me grow in my passionate pursuit of ministry. Through them have I garnered more wisdom of the ways in which Love is taught to us, and the ways in which Spirit touches us all. I have been better enlightened to the path of Love and light, and it has added to this glorious feeling of bountiful life!

     I am not a person so utterly brimming with joy, however, that I am blind to the world around me. No, in fact, I am the type of person who cares for mankind as a species, and I would love to see us all grow and evolve in all of the ways that are possible for us. We have been made to see ourselves as individuals who are alone in this world, who must provide for our family and our family alone. We are being driven more and more away from a sense of community, and more into a sense of rugged individualism.In my experiences, it is this feeling that also leads to a feeling of being "lost" or "alone in this world," and perpetrates fear, anxiety, intolerance, and negativity.

     This seems to be what "the powers that be" would want, if you approach it empirically. Communities of closely-knit peoples who strive for the betterment of the whole community are not so easily swayed away from the goals of the community. A collective of individuals who value self-sustenance, on the other hand, are much easier to sway, especially if you pander to their fears and insecurities. Make these peoples believe that you can alleviate their fears, and they will naturally accept what you offer as a logical conclusion. So many people fail to realize that if they were more of a member of their respective community, that they would grow to feel empowered by said community. That truly is the benefit of "Loving thy neighbor," that your neighbor will also Love you, and will support you in times of need, especially if they have witnessed you giving your time and effort to improve their community. Why then, would you be afraid, when you know your entire community will be there for you?

     So much of our world seems to be suffering, and it seems to me to be a result of the decisions made by a chosen few who have hit the genetic "lottery jackpot" of having been born into rich and powerful families. There is obviously a monolithic system of control being implemented over us, and it is now becoming truly global in its scope. We, in these past two generations, have had no choice but to be the subjects of the mechanism of control. We have become cogs in the machine. We are born into debt, and are taught to go to school to learn their system, to go to work in their system, pay taxes in their system (which only inflates the system), and be subjected to their commands for us. Meanwhile, we are being fed food and drink which are being redesigned by the system to further make us docile and soft, so that all we can readily do is perform in the system, or fail, die out, and keep population numbers in control.

     The system is obvious, but the deceptions that cloak it and it's masters are not always so obvious. There are onion-layers of lies to get through to even come close to the truth, and when we think we have found the truth, we discover more leads into more layers that lead to more deceptions. What are we, the people, to do? Should we sit down, shut up, and take it? Should we accept our house, our streets full of armed soldiers, with our televisions and internet screens to keep us docile and entertained? Should we simply accept our prison, and the illusion of free will that exists within it? Should we even bother to care or worry about our fellow human beings when it is being made obvious to us that so much of humanity is violent and dangerous? Why shouldn't we be complicit, when the system will provide "all we need?"

     I present that the system itself is simply a paradigm that we have allowed ourselves to fall into. We can easily and readily exist in communities again, and grow and thrive better in those symbiotic communities than we ever have historically, because of the advent of high technologies in agriculture, energy, housing, and communication. We can throw aside the "New World Order" paradigm, and grow whatever sort of paradigm our local community thrives best upon! We can easily become communities who support each other, also, with one community engaging in trade of goods and services with another, for the betterment of both. Thus, we grow our community's value. So how do we shuck the "system?" By becoming an active member of our community!

     The beauty and benefit of communications technologies like the internet, is that it even lets us organize into the communities we choose, in regards to things that we mutually love and cherish. There are now communities within communities. Communities of musicians, for example, exist within communities of laborers, each aware of the other, and sometimes, some members of these communities choose to be involved in both communities, and that only serves to improve both communities! Our greatest tool to rise up and become free is to empower our community ultimately, because then, when a threat comes to your community, you and each member of that community know for certain that you do not stand alone against it. We are much stronger together, and achieve much more working together, than we do as individuals. What then, have you to fear?

      This community, in particular, I cherish for bringing inspiration, Love, and light to it's members. This community is empowering to it's peoples, and truly, all who are members of it gain great benefit, even if it is only a place to come and be inspired to smile! I am glad to be involved here, glad to know that we work together for enlightenment and evolution, and happy to put forward contribution to it, if even just in these words.It is communities such as this one that make me feel truly blessed, indeed!