Know Me By My Work

    In my 60 years I have lived a very full life and had many adventures. As an Air Force brat (my father was a Command Pilot in the USAF), I travelled widely. I spoke Japanese before I spoke English. After leaving home, I upheld the family tradition and continued traveling -- Europe, Russia, Estonia, Turkey. This kind of traveling, which I fervently wish every American could do, has opened my eyes to the universality of the human condition.     

    Socrates said, “I am a citizen not of Athens nor of Greece, but of the world.” I agree with and understand this sentiment, considering myself a citizen of the world who happened to be born in Texas. All humans are my brothers and sisters and not a single one of them is my enemy. Every war on this planet is a civil war. If we all could accept this, and cease to demonize those who disagree, then we may see the beginning of the end of war.

    Overcoming obstacles and traumas, which all must do, has built character in me and a peaceful soul. I have learned that love and forgiveness, losing the compulsion to judge and condemn, are the foremost qualities to cultivate if you want to feel joy and peace. Ceasing to judge, ceasing to assert your rightness, is the most difficult thing that you could ever undertake and absolutely necessary if you wish to grow spiritually. I have been working on it for eleven years. Although I have not perfected it, and will have to work on it for the rest of my life, the practice has brought me increasing peace and contentment.

    Buddhism teaches that there is no permanent, enduring self. No one of us is the same person we were as babies, as teens, as young adults. If you knew me in the past, you do not know me now, because I am changing very rapidly as I prepare for death.

    If you wish to know more about me, then know me by my work, by this blog and by a niche glossary that I created. It was all done from love. I make no profit on this work, nor do I want anything back. Any truth you find here is actually contained within you.

    My purpose in creating this blog can be found in the essay, “The Task I Cannot Possibly Do.”

    I am a published writer and editor; I work crossword puzzles in ink and usually finish in under 20 minutes. My vocabulary is large. Use a dictionary. I frequently use one to make sure I am using a word precisely. If you use one, you will increase your vocabulary. Language is how we interface with this culture.

    On the subject of the meaning of words, I will close with aloha, which I learned does not mean hello and goodbye in Hawaiian. This is typical of our culture, to assign a shallow meaning. Aloha is an acknowledgement that you are in the presence of a giver of light and life. So, I say to you, aloha, you who are a giver of light and life, you who are a beautiful being of rainbow light.

Patt O’Neill

CONTACT INFO:

    You can email me at homegalaxy located on the server of earthlink period net. (This is my low-tech bot and spam thwarting strategy. You can figure it out.)