Da Word... 215! A good name

Quick! If you had to choose between money or friends... which would you pick? Hmmm? Now, do you want groupies or a bonafide crew? It's easy to answer these in the hypothetical, but if you are faced with a very real possibility of either, how would you come to a decision? And for what reasons? Is the path you now walk in line with that choice? Or are you in danger?

checkit:

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

- Da Verbs 22:1 (Proverbs)

Well, we know where da word stands! A good name and being esteemed is where the party is at! No doubt! I mean yo, riches are nice. Things become a lil' more convenient when you are straight rolling in dough. OH, and you might be mad popular! After all, you can throw lavish get togethers and have the creme de la creme on your invite list. But wait.... is that all there is to life?

A good name involves maintaining integrity. It takes standing against the flood, and sometimes fighting the fight alone, whatever it may be, for a time. But the rewards of a solid character far surpass that of great riches. In fact, the rewards of great character can very well include great riches! Ah, but the best thing about a good name and to be esteemed is that these things are intangible. In other words, it can't be taken away. Don't get me wrong, some may try to lambaste your name and embark on a whole campaign with the sole purpose of smearing you into oblivion. But yo, if your character is solid, nothing they bring can hold weight.

The best thing about seeking after a good name though is the shear weight and strength of love and relationship you'll have with maaaad kats. Just ask yourself this question, would you rather have a crew of kats that love you genuinely or a bunch of money grubbin', posing, coattail riding, superficial, turn their backs on you on the drop of a dime "friends" as your inner and outer circle of comrades? The latter is a suffocating recipe for disaster while the former is like the breath of life itself.

I like the refreshing breath of life option myself. It promises days of genuine joy and unmatched living, both of which lasting. The latter option... yo it's not even worth describing. Chase a good name! The rewards of that endeavor are priceless. And riches are but a small part of the flow of possibilities.

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 214! Forget Not!

Ever do something great and feel such exhilaration that you can't help but exclaim, "Yeah! I am da shiznit! Look at that, LOOK AT THAT!! OH YEAH! WOOO!" I'm sure we all have. Sometimes we do some amazing stuff! And that's kool. BUT, have you ever then grown so accustomed to success that you get comfortable and start to forget all those that helped you along the way? All those whom without you might not have developed the skills, character, network, and opportunity to shine?

checkit:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God... You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

- Deuteronomy 8:10,11,17,18

The danger of getting comfortable is ever present. We get used to a thing and we start to think we are entitled to it, especially in relationships. You know how many relationships of all kinds get severely and sometimes irrevocably strained due to one taking advantage of the other? It gets baaaaaaad yo! We cannot forget about the contributions of others that have aided us to get to where we are today. But before we go there, let's focus on Pops.

Pops is da shiznit. I mean come on, there is no competition. Pops is the quintessential awesome being. What's more, that kat loves us so much, he bestows all manner of blessings and opportunity upon us! ...stuff we don't even deserve kid! That, my friends, is sweet. All he asks is that we roll with him and in the same direction he is going for doing so only benefits us even more! It protects us from ourselves.

Ahh, but therein lies the double-edged blade. As the good times roll and our stations in life elevate, we start to get comfortable. We say, "Yeah, this is how it supposed to be." We begin resting on our laurels. We may even start to think we got to where we are by our very own hands! We soon forget all of the coincidences popping up that proved to be excellent opportunities. We forget all the exactly right people we crossed paths with and developed continuing relationship that proved to be essential to our current position. Was all that chance? No kid! Pops himself was at work. We gotta remember him and not fall into self-worship. Because if self-worship kicks in, it will be the beginning of our own ends, by our very own hands. Keeping the right perspective ensures the longevity of la vida free and awesome. Give thanks to where thanks is due.

So it all flows from Pops! What else does that mean? It means also that there are a bunch of peeps around you that Pops likely had a hand in introducing. These people from all walks of life have aided in shaping us to become the people we are. There is nothing anyone has attained all on their own. We cannot forget that. Once we do, look out below. The bottom will drop out so fast you'll never even notice how fast you've already begun to fall. Remember Pops and all those who have been there along the way. Let's keep a healthy perspective. Let us also give thanks and proper recognition. It will keep us humble. It will keep the good times rolling. And it will enhance our quality of life. Word.

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 213! Transformation

Ever heard the expression, "That which you feed will grow" ...? It's simple really, whatever it is that you feed will continue to grow. Whatever it is that you neglect will die. There's no gray there, heh heh, MIghTy simple ;-D How does this relate to Pops above? He laid it out just as simply.

checkit:

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

- Deuteronomy 6:6,7

Word! Whoop there it is! Right there, BAM! In the previous chapter, the famous Ten Commandments have just been laid out. Ten simple commandments. Yet these same ten are like fully decked out soldiers taking on the monumental horde known as the human nature and all of its shadiness. That's right. These ten stand as friggin' Navy Seals in the face of some of the most dangerous threats to life out there. Let me refresh your memory about these homies:

1. Have no other gods before me, Pops above.
2. Don't make any idols, complete waste of time homie. Think about it, worshipping something made from your own hands.... come on kid!
   
3. Don't misuse my name, it's bad not only for you, but for everyone all around.
4. Pay attention to the Sabbath, keep it holy, and take a break!
5. Honor your moms and your pops
6. Yo, don't murder each other!
7. Stay AWAY from adultery, don't give it even a first thought.
8. Theft... kick that to the curb to. I'm talkin' kick with a GIGANTIC boot... Battletoads style.
   
9. Stop lying! Don't even start; it's just a black hole of endless cover up.
10. Don't covet your neighbor's stuff, animate or inanimate.

Yes, these are the ten, in patspeak of course. These ten combat greed, lust, conceit, excessive desire, laziness, selfishness, and overt pride. Kick back a second and try to recall whenever you started to go down a path where these things lead the way. Did it ever end well? Were peeps around you lifted or hurt? Were you, deep down, better off? Was any immediate reward lasting? Can you look back upon that time, and smile with a deep joy? I will bet the answer is a resounding no. Pops above, in all his straight AWESOMENESS, is trying to deliver us from experiencing such depths of humanity, such chains and cages. Hence the guidelines homies! They aren't there to "chain" us as some believe (HAH!!!). No no NO! They are there to free us, truly and lastingly. But for that to happen, we gotta be transformed.

BAM! Hence the passage above. If we feed the side that combats the base human nature, it will grow to be unbelievably solid and the freedom of life is yours for the taking. How do we do it? Simple, by thinking about it and talking about it when we chill, when we travel, when wake up, when we go to bed. In other words, constantly meditate on these things... and DO them! And most importantly, we CANNOT fall into the lie in which most people believe, that following these guidelines is limiting our freedom. No, these guidelines free us to engage life to the fullest. We learn respect, we learn fearlessness, we learn drive, we learn perspective, we learn love, we learn how to take a friggin' break and relax, we learn community, we learn unity. Tell me, how is that even remotely a cage?

Let's be transformed into beings that are free!

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 212! It's about us!

Ever stop to wonder, " Yo, why is God all up in my face? Why does He care about the things I do or don't do?" We can get caught up in some deep thought once we go down that road. Does homie seek to control our lives? Is that it? Or is it something totally different? Hmmm.... checkit:

"Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"

- Pops (Deuteronomy 5:29)

Moses is continuing the story about how Israel got to where they are currently. He's at the part when Pops straight spoke to them all, and all these kats heard his voice. This was the time when Pops hooked them up with the Ten Commandments. Israel was like, "Whoaaaa! Pops showed his glory! YO, we even heard his VOICE kid!" I'm telling you, Israel was both amazed and terrified. They were shocked that they heard the voice of Pops and didn't die. They were also terrified of hearing him continue to speak for they thought it a fluke they didn't die the first time his glory shown! So they told Moses, "Yo dawg, let us holla at you for a minute. Why don't you go and uhh talk to Pops. We'll chill back here. Tell us what he says and we'll listen and obey."

Pops heard what the Israelites said and homie seemed touched! For after hearing, he spoke the words written in verse 29 above to Moses! Note that "fear" in the above passage means to revere, to respect, or to hold in high esteem or awe. The words in the verse sound like the longing of someone who cares for the well being of a son, daughter, friend, student, or mentee. It ain't about God himself, it's all about us! Pops is doing all of this for us... so that we can experience how awesome life can really be!

By revering Pops, we learn to respect him. Not only that, we become open to truly seeing what the character of God is really like. Aw yeah! Once that happens we are blown away both by how awesome that character is and how genuine. In addition, our hearts become open to trying to acquire those traits. That in turn opens us up to living life on a whole new level! Furthermore, all those commands Pops gave, they are all there to protect us from destroying ourselves and our fellow man. By following them, we instead lift one another up, develop endearing and genuine relationships, and keep the venom that tries to seep through and destroy at bay. Shoooooot, we'll be living la vida SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

So, let's remember and keep in mind that Pops is out there representin' for us! Homie is doing all he can to enable us to experience some straight ILL living -- an existence that is way beyond anything we could imagine. So let's stop frontin'. Let's realize that Pops, afterall, is God. Before we even were, he was still God and straight chillin'. We aren't here for him, homie is here for us. Let's not push him away, but embrace what he's got to offer.

G-bless,

- patrick