OBOF SS & MORE PART CL3 - 1

SOCIAL SECURITY PART 5	Jan. 31, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 6	Feb. 07, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 7	Feb. 14, 2011
SPECIAL ISSUE	Feb. 18, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 8	Feb. 21, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 9	Mar. 01, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 10	Mar. 07, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1	Mar. 14, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1A	Mar. 21, 2011
SS & MORE PART 2	Mar. 25, 2011
SS & MORE PART 3	Mar. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 4	Apr. 04, 2011
SS & MORE PART 5	Apr. 11, 2011
SS & MORE PART 6	Apr. 18, 2011
SS & MORE PART 7	Apr. 25, 2011
SS & MORE PART 7A	Apr. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 8	May 02, 2011
SS & MORE PART 9	May 09, 2011
SS & MORE PART 10	May 16, 2011
SS & MORE PART 11	May 24, 2011
SS & MORE PART 12	Jun. 06, 2011
SS & MORE PART 13	Jun. 20, 2011
SS & MORE PART 14	July  05, 2011
SS & MORE PART 14A	July  18, 2011
SS & MORE PART 15	July  19, 2011
SS & MORE PART 16	Aug. 03, 2011
SS & MORE PART 17	Aug. 15, 2011
SS & MORE PART 18	Aug. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 19	Sept. 12, 2011
SS & MORE PART 20	Sept. 26, 2011
SS & MORE PART 21	Oct.   10, 2011
SS & MORE PART 22	Oct.   24, 2011
SS & MORE PART 22 EXTRA	Nov.  04, 2011
SS & MORE PART 23	Nov.  07, 2011
SS & MORE PART 24	Nov.  21, 2011
SS & MORE PART 25	Dec.  05, 2011
SS & MORE PART 26	Dec.  19, 2011
SS & MORE PART 27	JAN.  03, 2012
SS & MORE PART 27A	JAN.  05, 2012
SS & MORE PART 28	JAN.  17, 2012
SS & MORE PART 29	JAN.  31, 2012
SS & MORE PART 30	Feb.  14, 2012
SS & MORE PART CL1	Feb.  21, 2012
SS & MORE PART 30 EXTRA	Feb.  23, 2012
SS & MORE PART 31	Feb.  28, 2012
SS & MORE PART CL2 - 59	Mar.  06, 2012
SS & MORE PART 31 EXTRA	Mar.  07, 2012
SS & MORE PART 32	Mar.  13, 2012
SS & MORE PART CL3.1	Mar,  20, 2012

IN  THIS  ISSUE

"Contemplating Life"

IMPORTANT NOTE:  THERE MIGHT BE AN EXTRA OF OBOF POSTED ON THURSDAY THE 22ND OF MARCH FOLLOWED WITH THE REGULAR OBOF POSTING SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY BY NOON MARCH 27TH. 

I say "might" because, I am sure that all of you have had unexpected things occur in you life, that upsets you schedule and that is what has happened to me today.  Hopefully, things will straighten out enough by Thursday that I can get an EXTRA out.  There is information that I sure want to get to you.

Also, that is the reason I am so late getting this posting out to you.

~~~

This is the third of a series of essays that I told you about sometime ago.  By way of clarification, I will open with the first paragraphs of the last CL posting, which will lead us right into this essay.  

~~~

I want to tell you about an incredible man.  He was born in the poorest of the poor.  Despite unbelievable odds in his early years, he managed to get through early school years and went on to obtain a Ph. D. in economics.  It just isn't possible to imagine the obstacles he faced and conquered to get to that point. 

He was a Professor of Economics Emeritus, Eastern Illinois University.  After retiring, he spent 11 years trying to educate the public about the great Social Security fraud by Congresses stealing $2.6 trillion from the SS Trust Fund.  He has written 7 books on both Social Security and Economics.

Also, for the past 17 years he has been writing weekly essays "Contemplating Life," that are published in five newspapers in Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, and Virginia.  He has compiled 77 of these essays into a book and it is from these 77 that I am going to post some of the essays.   

The reason for telling you this is that the Tuesday between the Tuesdays that I post the "Opinions Based On Facts," I am going to post one of the essays from the book, "Contemplating Life." 

The man that I have been talking about is Allen W. Smith Ph. D. and I have the greatest respect and admiration for him.  I have found these essays to be very enlightening and comforting.  I hope you will also.

~~~

AN  ESSAY  FROM  THE  BOOK

"CONTEMPLATING  LIFE"

BY

 Allen W. Smith Ph.D.

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”

Kahlil Gibran

 

          Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a beautiful garden on a warm and bright summer day, with singing birds and colorful butterflies propelling themselves from flower to flower in search of the sweetest pollen.  How does such a scene make you feel?  Does it stimulate feelings of happiness, tranquility, and peace of mind?  It does for me.

         

       

Now open your eyes and reflect on those feelings for a moment.  Then, close your eyes again and imagine the very same garden on a cold and dark winter day.  The flowers are all dead, there are no butterflies, and the only bird you hear is a scolding blue jay.  How do you feel in this setting?  Do you still feel happy and tranquil?  I’m guessing that you do not.

  

          What you have just experienced is probably the closest we can come to making an analogy to the difference between a life filled with love and a life where love is absent.  Love is the sunshine of life.  Where love abounds, there will be happiness, tranquility, and peace of mind, except during those times when these feelings are overwhelmed by personal tragedy.  Where love is absent, there will likely be feelings of emptiness, anxiety, and darkness.

          The difference between a life filled with love and a life where love is lacking is very much like the difference between a warm, sunny summer day and a bleak winter day.  In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Keep love in your heart.  A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.  The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”  

          Noted psychologist, Dr. Joyce Brothers, said, “Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you.  When you dare to re­veal yourself fully.  When you dare to be vulnerable.”  When you love a person, that person’s hap­piness is absolutely essential to your own happiness.  You care as much, or more, about the other person’s happiness as you do about your own.  You don’t try to make a clone of yourself out of them.  You love them for who they are and don’t try to change them to be more like yourself. You give to a person whom you love without necessarily expecting them to give you something in re­turn.