Curious Kate: Truthseeker Extraordinare

“The better awareness, the better your choices. As you make better choices, you will see better results.” Anonymous

CK: Good morning, Papa  ❤

Papa: Good morning Sunshine, what’s happenin’? ❤

CK: You know, same old, same old…. I just don’t get it.

Papa: Hmmm… What don’t you “just get”?

CK: How right or wrong, black and white seems so gray these days.

Papa: Give me an example…

CK: OK… You teach us to care for one another, but it “seems” that for far too many, one chicken in their pot isn’t enough, so they steal their neighbor’s chicken as well, even though their neighbors may really need that chicken. They don’t need another chicken but they take it because they can.  I guess the more chickens one has, the more important one feels. It makes me want to scream!😲

Papa:  So it’s chickens today.  Katie Child, you always manage to put a smile on my face.  But you are right, greed is one of the evil one’s best tools of destruction. What else “makes you want to scream”?

CK: Gosh, where do I start?  Well, it seems everything is disposal these days, even people. Jobs are sent overseas where companies can hire 1 person for every 15-20 in the US.  And paying someone $1.00 an hour is hardly a living wage. It is a hair above slavery. In fact, it just keeps those folks in poverty and dependent on those awful wages. Is there a special place for greedy people in h-e-l-l?

And then there are countries with no child labor laws, so kids are working instead of going to school to better their lives.  Our kids have no idea how privileged they are just to be able to go to school.

On top of that many countries don’t have any environmental laws, so companies can dump toxic waste into the water that these poor people need to live in. Don’t even get me started on global warming. It’s been hotter than Hades for 2 weeks now. You have called us to be stewards of our land and environment: to treat it with respect, to use it wisely. This is so uncool!

Papa:  I totally agree.  What besides my people and my environment are “disposable”?

CK: Well, take technology for example.  Back in the day, people expected the products they bought to last a long time and they did. Mom still has Grandma Rose’s old refrigerator in her basement.  That thing has got to be over 60 years old and except for a little energy inefficiency, it still runs like a top.

Yet, my neighbor, Janet’s 3-year-old refrigerator needed a new part like a month after the warranty expired. She is a single mom and can barely cover her expenses the way it is.  It cost a fortune to fix that thing, but what choice did she have? Why can’t things be made to last?  People can’t afford to keep replacing stuff just so some rich guy and his stockholders can make more money. Never mind landfills. Blah, blah, blah…

Papa: That’s a little harsh but unfortunately true. Why do you think that is?

CK: I think the problem is that we just accept things the way they are because we just get used to the idea and there is nothing we can do about it anyway.  Example: I was having lunch with my friend Jill and I was venting about this very subject. She just threw up her hands and said, “It is what it is. What option is there?”

Papa:  Excellent question.  What do you think?

CK:  Well, if we could eliminate greed from the world that would change everything.

Papa:  True but unlikely at this point. What else could help?

CK: An awareness of what is and how it affects our attitudes. I think we just go along day to day, trying to find time to get all the things we need to get done, done and don’t take the time to really see what is going on around us. Actually, this reminds me of a story I heard at summer camp one year when I was in high school.

It was called A Frog in Hot Water. And it goes something like this…  One blistering hot day Freddy Frog was a bit lost and he wanted nothing more than to go swimming.  But he wasn’t anywhere near his favorite lake.  The only water to be found was in a kettle over a campfire.  He decided to jump in just as the water was coming to a boil. He jumped right back out again…albeit a little balder…

Which reminds me “Do frogs really have hair?” I remember when I would ask my Grandma Rose how she was doing.  She would always say she was “finer than frog’s hair”.

Papa: Fo-cus.

CK: OKKK… Anyway, the next day, the same kettle was filled with water, but the fire hadn’t been lit yet.  Freddy Frog yearned for a dip anywhere, any way he could find it. He saw the same kettle again and decided to take another chance. He found it a perfect swimming temp. Freddy was just lovin’ it.  He would do front strokes and then backstrokes… well, you get the idea.

But, unbeknownst to Freddy, the kettle belongs to Chef Daniel, on his annual camping vacation. Chef saw Freddy and decided to try a new amphibian delicacy he had read about. So he started a teeny tiny little fire underneath the kettle and as the fire grew, little by little the water because warmer and warmer until it was boiling.  Freddy didn’t notice because the temp went up so gradually and before you know it… frog sashimi.

Papa: Excellent, so the lesson to be learned?

CK: Some frogs never learn?

Papa:  Try again…

CK: OK…. The moral of the story is, like our little frog friend, we need to be more aware of what we think we have to have and what it will cost us. 😯

Papa: Excellent! Anything else?

CK: Before we know it, what we believe can be in direct opposition to your Rules for Successful Living. Plus when we take the attitude of “it is what it is”, we give up the power to change what could be changed.

Papa: Very insightful!

CK: Thank you.😊 I wish I could get this across to my religion class. Here I am trying to teach the kids about responsibility for their choices, after all this is the world they will inherit, and then I have parents who just ”fix” whatever mess their kids get themselves into. Not all parents of course, but far too many.

I remember a couple of years ago, “Sara and Jeff”, two kids that had been connected at the hip in my class ended up becoming pregnant. Before they even know what happened, Sara’s parents “took care” of the problem. The kids were devastated. They felt so guilty. They told me they would have been willing to give their child up for adoption, but her parents didn’t want anyone at the country club and church to know about their private family “business”. So they take the life of Sara and Jeff’s baby and put her on the pill. What the h-e-l-l! I mean really! Talk about people being disposable! What does that teach kids? I just tried to assure them that you understand and still love them, but they really needed to think about their attitudes toward sex. Heaven knows how this will affect the rest of their lives. They have to live with it. The parents don’t. In fact, I don’t even think they are together anymore. It was too painful.

Sorry, but situations like this make me want to rant and rave.🤪 I understand that sometimes life just gets so busy for families; that expediency in problem-solving takes over but, one needs to count the cost before making decisions. A parent’s responsibility is to teach their kids right from wrong, your right from wrong, Papa.

Papa: So attitude plays a big part in this.

CK: Huge! Honestly, you should hear some of the excuses kids and parents come up with.  And some days just standing around in the teacher’s lounge can give one a migraine.  The way people judge each other and at the same time make up all kinds of excuses for their own behavior… UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE!

Papa:  I understand.  You should see what is happening from my vantage point. With that being said, how can you change your attitude so you don’t add to the problem?  After all, all you have control over, is how you see and react to these kinds of situations.

CK: Are you implying that I have an attitude issue? 🤔

Papa: Define attitude

CK: O-K… Let me get to my dictionary app here. Let’s see, synonyms include mental outlook, approach, disposition, inclination, holy cow, perspective or philosophy, point of view. I guess everyone has an attitude to attend to.  OK, I suppose I come across as having an “attitude” at times, but always in the best interest of the universe… 😁

Another problem though is the “attitude” among some kids and adults alike, that as long as you don’t hurt someone else, it is not a sin and it is nobody’s business but their own.  You can’t believe how many times I have heard that one.

Papa: Yes I can. So what can you do about that?

CK:  Be more understanding? Explain that we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves and loving ourselves means taking care of ourselves by not indulging in actions and attitudes that can hurt us.

Papa: That is a great place to start.

CK: I just don’t know why this is so complicated.

Papa: Satan works hard to declassify sin; to twist the truth.

CK: That’s for sure. Like Freddy Frog, we can get into deep trouble before we even know it. Exactly like the environment. We really need to take an honest look at what it is we tell ourselves. If not, boiled frog or torched planet.😓

Papa: All you can do is continue to create an awareness in those young people of what my “laws” mean and how important they are. How about having a debate about the things we are talking about. Maybe invite the parents, so they too understand the importance of awareness and attitude.

CK: That is a great idea… if I could get everyone’s cooperation. I will see what I can do.  Thank you for sharing your ideas with me.  Hopefully, I can make a difference somehow.

Papa: You already do Katie child, you already do. ❤

CK: Thanks Papa, I love you too. ❤

Point to Ponder: Am I aware of what is going on around me? Or if I am happy in my own little world, do I care about the suffering and pain of the world.  What do I gain or lose from having that attitude?

Challenge: For one day, be hyperaware of the messages that are being sent your way by all forms of media including social media. How does it affect your attitude toward yourself and toward others?

 Do not be conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.  ~ Romans 12:2