Goodness & Evil (Story)

Someone shared this story with me this morning. I've heard it before, but it's moral never dims with each retelling. Below is one of the versions of the story.

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A young angel was having a conversation with God one day and asked, "Will you please show me the difference between goodness and evil?"

God led the angel over to two doors and bid the angel to look behind both.

The angel opened the first door. Inside was a small room with a large round table in the middle. Atop the table sat a steaming large pot of stew, the contents of which made the angel's mouth water in anticipation.

Cramped and crowded around the table were many thin and sickly people whose hands were fastened to the far ends of long-handled spoons. They fought each other over the contents of the pot as they struggled to scoop up the stew with those spoons and eat it. But alas, the handles were too long and they could not eat a morsel of the stew. It fell to the floor wasted and was ground underfoot as the fights continued over what was left in the pot.

The angel was greatly saddened upon seeing this and acknowledged, "This must be evil." God nodded and gestured to the other door.

Upon opening this door, the angel saw once again a small room, a large round table and a pot of mouthwatering stew. Likewise there were many people within whose hands were fastened to the far ends of long-handled spoons.

But they were plump, happy, singing songs, telling stories and sharing in the laughter. Inside this small crowded room the air was filled with joy, companionship and love.

The angel stood puzzling for a few moments trying to understand what difference lead to such a change in the people and environment. It was still a small, crowded room. They still had long-handled spoons fastened to their hands and could not feed themselves.

The angel turned to God and asked, "What is the difference?" God smiled and pointed back into the room. Then the angel saw it. A little boy scooped some stew up with his spoon and fed it to an elderly woman sitting across the way from him. These people were feeding each other!

They each had a goal: not to feed themselves, but to help the others around them. In this way, they all received more than enough. Tears streamed down the angel's cheeks as the answer to the question was whispered, "This is Goodness."

- ESA

Little Flame (Poem)

I wanted to re-post a poem I wrote last spring. Enjoy!

I have a little flame

At the center of my heart

I know how it got there

God was the very start

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One little flame

In a vast dark place

One little smile

That won't be displaced

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Light a flame beside me

Hence there are two

It's now a little brighter

We know what to do

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It could be a smile

Or a helping hand

All the different ways

As countless as sand

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Pass on a kindness

Or uplifting word

Light another flame

Against this dark world

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Like little ripples

On the surface of a pond

Little flames alight

When the heart is fond

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Ever-widening circles

Spread the Light and Love

As our little flames

Reflect the One Above

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Further and further

Light this shining ball!

One little flame

Can encompass us all

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When the darkness comes

To blow our flames out

There is one thing that

It hasn't figured out

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Within each heart

A little flame is found

And with a some effort

We can send it back around!

- ESA

PS: Feel free to copy, repost or share freely, provided you do not receive funds in doing so.

When Former Friends Try to Become Your Enemy

I was going to post this last night, but I lent my laptop to my husband after work, so I needed to wait until this morning to do so.

Yesterday, someone sent me a transcript of a chat with another who was once a very close friend of mine. In fact, this former close friend is the very same person of which I speak when I first started posting under this blog name. There was a point reached where he gave into the hatred and anger and I would not walk down that path at his side, so we parted ways.

It appears he is still bitter about that.

In the aforementioned transcript he told my other friend some of the things I shared with him, but used lies, half truths and twisted what was true in such a way to purposely skew the information. I could easily see he was trying to drive a wedge in my friendship with another. I've seen it very often in my life and in the lives of others. Why do some people do that? Why can people not be happy for others but follow the belief that "If they don't want me as a friend, no one else should be as well?"

Sadly, I'd still like to be his friend, I just will not walk down the same path into darkness and destruction, anger and hatred and cries for vengence against one and all... It's not in my nature. My heart still carries Love for him and he is in my prayers every day.

Further, he also told my friend that he'll be posting a video of him burning a bible soon. He's aware that I look at his YouTube account and that my friend and I speak, so I wonder if this is his way of saying "make sure she watches it!" I don't know if I'm just assuming way too much of my influence on things, but of late, he's been "bashing" all the things that he knew are close to my heart. Christ and my faith are always close to my heart and he's been bashing both more frequently.

At first impression, I thought I would be outraged upon hearing it, as that is the response I've seen in others. But I'm not. I'm saddened. Very saddened that things have come to this.

I'm also a bit bemused. Growing up any religion, one often hears the stories of persons being persecuted for their faith. If my assumptions are correct, here is a case of a faith being persecuted because of a person. Now I feel REALLY bad (but still have to chuckle over the absurdity of the situation).

Will I rebuke him or lead an army of followers to his video so he will "get it in the neck" as he put it in the chat? No. I will keep my peace and not forward my knowledge of the link to anyone. If he wants to shout in an empty room to the surrounding silent shadows, let him. Most people can see the emptiness in his exclaimations from the replies I've seen where he's badmouthed Christ elsewhere. So I choose not to stir the embers of a dying fire.

Why return hate for hate.
It only begets hate.
Love instead.

- ESA

Legend and Lessons

I have a feeling someone left me a message where I would find it. Said message read,

You can not be selfish and save all from the darkness,
As saving one from the darkness into the Light of God....
One is taken by the darkness
Because of the balance of the universe and life

There can not be love without hate
Light without darkness
Heaven without hell...
As the universe depends on the eternal balance


For those who wonder where such words can flow, they are from the movie "Legend." While they sound wise, one must also acknowledge they are being said by a devil / demon while he is in a desperate moment... His nails were dug deep - sparks eminating from the stone - as he was thrust back, back into the darkness into which he had been banashed by the Light. Evidently, this character did not want to go there and would do anything - say anything - to get another chacter --- a human character, Jack -- to help him so he would not have to return to that cold darkness away from the Light.

It saddens me that one would listen to those words spoken by that character and thow it in my face as truth. It's not truth. Not at all. All things are possible with God. If anything, we're unballanced as we are not where we are meant to be. But the more we reach that point of growing in the right direction, the darkness will redouble it's efforts and try to drag us back into the darkness.

I have to wonder when I recall the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Humanity allegedly had eaten from the Tree of Knowlege; why then do we seem to be so blind to the truth? Why do we not see the lies AS lies?

In simple truth, when one moves towards God there is NO requirement for another to move toward darkness. But the darkness wants us to think there is. When more and more move toward God there is harmony and Love, not unballance. When we move toward God we move into Light and Love and our eyes are washed so we can see past these petulant little lies to the Truth.

The darkness will do its best to influence us in many different ways, but it's sphere of control is starting to shrink even as it creates the illusion that it's growing. Those the darkness attracts, seek to better themselves, in this does the darkness fall for without the unity and harmony and Love found in the Light, those in darkness will scatter and fall as chaff in the winds of change.

- ESA