Dove’s Thoughts – Page 2

November 7, 2022

Dovestar’s Ramblings on 11-7-22

History shows us there always was a small percentage that was in power and possessed the majority of the wealth. Regardless of the type of political system, there were always a few that had and the rest that struggled to have or had not. Even Communism and Socialism fell into that problem, in theory, those two types of governing sounded good, but those on top hoarded the money and lived in luxury as those they governed lived a meager and sometimes very impoverished existence. And to maintain that power and privilege those in power use force and fear to keep the common citizens in control.

This happens in all political systems to one degree or another, be it in the governing body or through the power of the rich merchants and business leaders. It has been a battle between those in power and the common citizens for centuries. Even democracy has fallen prey to the wealthy and powerful in multiple ways. The problem lies in the human condition, the desire for power and wealth, and the fear of losing those things. There is also the fact those who are wealthy lose touch with how it is on the bottom of the financial ladder, how it is to live from paycheck to paycheck or be faced with the choice of getting food or medicine etc.

It is sad to see profits being a higher priority and wealth as more important than those people who are starving, living in the streets and struggling to survive. Also a shame when you see so many who want to sunset social security and medicare when it was paid into by those on it all their lives. Those in retirement where the ones that worked to maintain the level of life the rich enjoy and voted all those politicians into office. Elderly people are not disposable, they should be respected and looked to for the wisdom they possess and many of us have either forgotten or never learned.

The wealth divide is growing ever wider and there is very little hope to be seen at this point in history. Both democrats and republicans need to put thier rhetoric aside and start representing all the people not just a portin of their base. Time to stop the partisan bull hockey and reach across the isle and come up with real solutions that both sides can benifit from. Right now those that are representing us citizens are acting somewhat immature and seem set on dividing the nation instead of doing thier actual jobs.

We The People is meant to be all of us not just one political party or the other or just some obscure percentage. If things dont change soon we will be the divided states of america and what we once known as a democratic republic may be gone. Both political parties are to blame in one fashion or another. The greatest threat to our democracy is not which party is in power but how they goveren and if they serve us the people or their own agendas. Something to think about when you go out to vote tuesday!

Blessings to all

Ray Barbier

November 2, 2022

Dove’s Thoughts on 11/2/2022

We all play a part in society, we all have an influence on the world around us and that influence is important regardless of how big or small it may be. How we act in public, how we treat others, and the words we say are observed by others and it influences how they think and acts as well. Humans are instinctually tribal and tend to reflect those in their tribes/groups. Birds of the same feather flock together come to mind, and how true that is. Starts as early as elementary school and is very noticeable by high school. We form into cliques and social classes in those years and until we venture out in life for some time we tend to stick to the basic mindset of the groups we formed during those years.

Even those like me that were more of the outsider, lone wolf, and unpopular kid in their school years had formed behaviors and beliefs through the experiences they had during those years. The good thing is as you age you have plenty of opportunities to adapt your way of seeing life and how you act in it, even though those core beliefs from school years tend to play some part in how we develop, they are not immovable objects or unstoppable force in our lives. So we all can change the course we are in life, and become greater than the sum of our parts and experiences. We also can become great influencers on those around us and can either lead others to a more compassionate and peaceful way of life or bring them along the path of ruin.

The ability to think for one’s self and outside the box/norm is a great asset for an individual. Do not fall into the sheep mentality and follow blindly all that is spoon-fed to you by media and peers. Question and verify all, make your own path in life, and try to remain compassionate towards all life. Take time out from all the news outlets and social media and give yourself time to think about it all for yourself. Dont accept a package you dislike just to gain one item within it, especially if the rest of the package is against your core beliefs and values. It is not worth selling out who you are deep within just to get one win.

Be true to yourself and keep your eyes wide open friends.

Ray Barbier

October 26, 2022

Love, hate, and fear

Living in a world that is full of fear, politics, and hate, Living and wishing that we all would choose a better fate, Wanting to see a change towards compassion before it is too late. They hate someone who is of another color and race, and they despise those who don’t belong to their political base. They create reasons to hate each other at an exponential pace. Love tries to break through all the hate and light the way, respect is what we need in all we do and say, Hope keeps us moving forward toward a better day.

Question why you hate and ask why you fear, Question all that you see and verify all that you hear, Question everything and think for yourself if you hold life and this world dear. Be true to yourself and be fair to all, don’t let fear or anger lead you to fall, and be ready to share compassion and answer love’s call. No one is above and no one is below, we are the same in the cosmic flow, and we all have a part to play in this cosmic show.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Our color or race matters not, our sex or preference matters not, we are all human and this is the only life we got. Right or Left matters none, we as a species are one, how we live and treat each other is what matters when it’s all said and done. Fear just divides and keeps one distracted and lost, hate destroys those who embrace it and has a heavy cost.

Acceptence, tolerance, and compassion are the keys to being forward-moving, Love is the fuel for our hearts to keep on grooving. Respect is the foundation we must build on, Life is what we must cherish before it is gone. We all are human and need to see that is true, working as one and doing for others is what we all need to do. If you choose to love or you choose to hate and fear it is all up to you.

Ray Barbier

October 21, 2022October 21, 2022

Random thoughts-Toxic people, self-worth, and forgiveness

person sitting outdoors — Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

Basing your self-worth on other people’s opinions of you and building your self-image on such only leads to a rollercoaster of emotions usually ending you up in depression or in a state of low self esteem. It is human nature to follow such patterns since we enter this world seeking the approval and acceptance of our parents and siblings. Which is fine in the earliest years of our life, but we are supposed to let go of such patterns as we age into young adults.

Unfortunately, many of us either let go of such behavior much later or continue on with it throughout our lives. Sure we can not avoid the opinions of others nor can we let go of that desire to belong and be accepted, but we can learn to navigate with the knowledge that what we think about ourselves is more important. Knowing that our psyche tends to seek approval from others and responds to the opinions of others, we should avoid toxic friends and try to navigate around toxic relatives as much as possible.

There will always be those in your life that do not like you and those that try the hardest to bring you down. Those are people we should try and avoid and ignore their negative comments and actions as much as we can. We should seek out those people that support us, enrich our lives, allong with those who may criticise us in a constructive way. We need some people in our lives that care enough to point out when were going astray just as much as we need those that emphasize with us and/or act as cheerleaders for us.

Toxic friends tend to break you down emotionally and mentally, some of them may not even know they are doing such because they never had positive reinforcement in their lives or a caring family possibly. Do not hate toxic people, just feel sorry for them. They are missing out on the love and happiness they could have in life and embrace the negativity in their lives for the short-lived rush they may feel or the temporary relief from the emptiness they feel.

Being a person that has both been toxic on occasion and the victim of toxic friends I can relate to both sides. On many occasions, I have tried to help some fo those toxic people in my life and rarely did I succeed in helping them because they didn’t want to change their way of thinking or being. This probably was due to my lack of abilities more than anything, so if you want to attempt to help someone who is toxic, I would suggest getting help for them if not seek out help for you to achieve such.

Life is hard enough at times, subjecting yourself to the negativity of toxic people makes it an even harder life to live. I guess there may be some strong enough to deal with toxic friends without suffering the ill effects of being around them all the time.Those people are probably rare and possibly the saving grace for the toxic people in their lives.

Just remember no matter what others may say or think, or even what you may beleive about yourself at times, you are unique and just as important as any other living creature on this planet. There is only one you in this universe and you were born for a reason. Just becuase you can not figure out what that reason is does not mean you do not have purpose in life nor does it mean you are less than anyone else.

If you stop worrying what others might think about you and focus more on how you could impact those around you in a positive and contructive way, you may find that you are quite a good person if you give yourself the chance. Forgive yourself of your past mistakes, and go forward with compassion and understanding. Forgive others as well, since holding onto grudges only does more harm to you than the one you hold the grudge againts. If too much energy is spent on regret and vengence the less energy is left to love others and for you to enjoy the gifts in life that you have.

Ray Barbier

June 5, 2022

Dovestar’s Thought’s 6/5/2022

We go through life, wanting to be accepted, loved, and needed by those around us. We are taught what others think about us, how they see us etc. is important and we, unfortunately, come to believe it is more important than our own image of ourselves and that what others say about us is true even when it is not.

Seems we all get caught up in the vicious cycle of being judged and judging others as well, we feel that we must fit into the current vision of what is normal and deny our true selves from growing. It matters more what we think of ourselves, how we view ourselves, and all the thoughts and emotions that go along with that.

Most of us go through life seeking out love, some of us go from partner to partner thinking we haven’t found the right person to love and to be loved by. Most of the time it is that what we are seeking is the excitement of chemical attraction and the fairytale version of what we think romantic love is supposed to be.

People tend to mistake the biological response to the opposite sex as love, that biological response is there to bring you together with a possible partner but it will fade eventually and then you must build a relationship with your partner if you haven’t already. Just remember your partner is there to share with you as you are there to share with them. it is a two-way street and neither side is property or a possession.

In order to be loved, or should I say to accept the love of another one must learn to love themselves. We usually tend to judge ourselves far more harshly than we do others, and we tend to have less compassion for ourselves than we do for others and that makes it hard for us to love ourselves. To love ourselves is not always easy, we have to discard all the opinions of others we subconsciously accepted as truth and learn to forgive ourselves for the things we did that we see as wrong. We have to accept our shortcomings as well as find and celebrate the good things in us.

Forgiveness of ourselves and others is a key to happiness and a path to loving others as well as being loved. Forgiving someone does not condone the wrongdoing, it just releases them and yourself from all the negative emotions and thoughts surrounding the situation. It frees up all that energy to be used for more positive and constructive things in your life. Holding on to a grudge is just living in a traumatic situation constantly, you get stuck in the past and get to where you can not move forward. Forgiveness breaks the chains and helps you to be able to heal and move forward into a brighter future.

Worry less about what your neighbor thinks about you and worry more about how your neighbor is doing. Love them even if they don’t seem to like or love you. Find compassion for them and find compassion for yourself. Do not be a mirror of those around you, be the image of what you want to see others reflect back at you.

May your path in life lead to happiness, wellness, and love, and may you find what you seek in life, my friends.

Ray Barbier