Thought for today:
"In conditions of uncertainty, humans, like other animals herd together for protection. 'Whatever happens, I just want you to know that I'll protect you.' Such are words of reassurance that most creatures need to hear.
Ever since first taking shelter in our mother's womb, mankind finds the constant need for protection, whether it be from the basic human requirements of cold, hunger, shelter or companionship.
Indeed creatures of the woods, forests, hills and open plains are clothed and coloured in nature's protection and are provided with additional features and varying abilities to enable them to survive and adapt to the changing circumstances and climates they'll meet.
Humans, on the other hand, desire protection no less. We seek protection from the sale of faulty goods, the cost of ill-health, the loss of a job, our inability to pay the monthly mortgage, the onset of old age and the worry of having to pay to enter an old folk's home in the latter years of our lives.
While governments are there to protect us all, unless its laws seek to first protect the most vulnerable in society; the young, old and the disabled, the State simply becomes an ineffectual guardian of vested interests.
Then there are those men who have a need to protect a woman and those women who need a man's protection, while some prefer to rely on no one's protection at all except their own. I know of many who depend on lucky charms, a St.Christopher medal or a rabbit's foot as protection from everyday perils, while some believe in the protection of crystals, Guardian Angels and some like myself, come to rely on the grace of God.
I may not know all there is to know about protection, but I know what won't protect me. I know that no amount of ignorance, cowardice, emotions of jealousy and mistrust, or burying my head in the sand will protect me from the future consequences of my actions or the actions of others. I know that facing facts will protect me far more than avoiding their meeting. I also know that the search for cooperation instead of competition and conflict is much more productive in the increase of lasting friendship and social cohesion within society.
Finally, I know that when you tell the truth and honour your word, you protect your integrity and all you stand for. In life, that is surely the best protection of all; for when dead and one lies at the other side of the green sod, you'll find none will protect you as the earthworms eat their fill from your last supper.
My Irish, Catholic mother who gave birth to seven children (of which I was the firstborn), had her own idea about 'female protection.' This was a concept which sprang from those times when a man was the breadwinner and the wife depended solely on what he handed over to her on a wage night to use for household finance management.
When her children reached their teens, my mother served in a restaurant three nights weekly in Cleckheaton, just to earn her own money which she then spent on cigarettes and other pleasures. After keeping house most of the week for her husband and seven children, she would spend the weekend nights playing 'house' at the bingo hall in Heckmondwike with her friends. She used to say, 'Billy, forget all this 'contraception' stuff; a woman's best protection in a marriage is a little money of her own and the right to spend it as she sees fit." William Forde: January 27th, 2018.
"In conditions of uncertainty, humans, like other animals herd together for protection. 'Whatever happens, I just want you to know that I'll protect you.' Such are words of reassurance that most creatures need to hear.
Ever since first taking shelter in our mother's womb, mankind finds the constant need for protection, whether it be from the basic human requirements of cold, hunger, shelter or companionship.
Indeed creatures of the woods, forests, hills and open plains are clothed and coloured in nature's protection and are provided with additional features and varying abilities to enable them to survive and adapt to the changing circumstances and climates they'll meet.
Humans, on the other hand, desire protection no less. We seek protection from the sale of faulty goods, the cost of ill-health, the loss of a job, our inability to pay the monthly mortgage, the onset of old age and the worry of having to pay to enter an old folk's home in the latter years of our lives.
While governments are there to protect us all, unless its laws seek to first protect the most vulnerable in society; the young, old and the disabled, the State simply becomes an ineffectual guardian of vested interests.
Then there are those men who have a need to protect a woman and those women who need a man's protection, while some prefer to rely on no one's protection at all except their own. I know of many who depend on lucky charms, a St.Christopher medal or a rabbit's foot as protection from everyday perils, while some believe in the protection of crystals, Guardian Angels and some like myself, come to rely on the grace of God.
I may not know all there is to know about protection, but I know what won't protect me. I know that no amount of ignorance, cowardice, emotions of jealousy and mistrust, or burying my head in the sand will protect me from the future consequences of my actions or the actions of others. I know that facing facts will protect me far more than avoiding their meeting. I also know that the search for cooperation instead of competition and conflict is much more productive in the increase of lasting friendship and social cohesion within society.
Finally, I know that when you tell the truth and honour your word, you protect your integrity and all you stand for. In life, that is surely the best protection of all; for when dead and one lies at the other side of the green sod, you'll find none will protect you as the earthworms eat their fill from your last supper.
My Irish, Catholic mother who gave birth to seven children (of which I was the firstborn), had her own idea about 'female protection.' This was a concept which sprang from those times when a man was the breadwinner and the wife depended solely on what he handed over to her on a wage night to use for household finance management.
When her children reached their teens, my mother served in a restaurant three nights weekly in Cleckheaton, just to earn her own money which she then spent on cigarettes and other pleasures. After keeping house most of the week for her husband and seven children, she would spend the weekend nights playing 'house' at the bingo hall in Heckmondwike with her friends. She used to say, 'Billy, forget all this 'contraception' stuff; a woman's best protection in a marriage is a little money of her own and the right to spend it as she sees fit." William Forde: January 27th, 2018.
