Faith & Life Inspirational Message

I am not sure about you, but I am aware that I get ideas and have no sense of why that idea popped into my head.   That does not mean everything I think is profound.   Some stuff that pops into my head is crazy.   Some of it is random, irrelevant or even stupid.   But sometimes some good stuff pops into my mind.   An idea like that is analogous to someone walking up and handing you a $20 bill.   I can imagine that person saying, “Here ya go, $20 just for thinking!” Most of the time, these ideas come and go.   I don’t pay enough attention, so I know I have missed some very good ideas.   Of course, the bad ones should be forgotten.   And I should just laugh at the stupid ones and forget them, too.   When I talk about the good ones coming into my mind, I am not talking about the ideas that come when we are in that half-sleep, half-awake state.   I have in mind more the kind of ideas that come when we are in the shower or doing so...

It is fun to read something that makes me laugh and providential when that same reading gives me an idea for these inspirational reflections.   This opportunity came through my daily reading of the newspaper.   I admit I was caught first by the photo.   I turned the page and immediately was drawn to a picture of what looked like a Buddhist monk talking to an African American who was dressed in shirt, tie and carrying his suit jacket.   Knowing that I am a sucker for monks, I quickly went to the article.   I was taken aback a bit when I read the headline: “New York solicitors dressed as monks upsetting Buddhists.”   What, I thought?   The Buddhist monk in the picture is a fake!   It is a scam!   I have been to New York City and Times Square many times.   I have seen the Naked Cowboy, as he is called.   Actually, he stands in the Square in his underwear and cowboy hat, playing his guitar and accepting the money that people---mo...