How enlightened are you?

[Geoff-Allen]

Greeting fellow earthlings!

I trust your experience on the forum today has ben enjoyable up till now ...

How enlightened are you?

If you can live without caffeine,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him or her,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,

Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog!

 

[exchemist]

Greeting fellow earthlings!

I trust your experience on the forum today has ben enjoyable up till now ...

How enlightened are you?

If you can live without caffeine,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him or her,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,

Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog!

Yes, this is the same ancient idea of innocence and its loss that we see described so poetically in the story of the Fall in Genesis.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I tripped up at caffeine I’m afraid. Can’t start the day without tea.

 

[ChristineM]

If you can live without caffeine,
Absolutely not, caffeine enltightens me in the morning.

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
Usually i have to, both physical and mental.


If you can resist complaining,
Emmm, female here, such resistance is expected.

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
Yes but i don't have a dog, i have cats and they have no problems disturbing my labours for a bit of attention or a treat (yes i read the OP before answering ;-)

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If it's fair, then yes, if not warranted then the critical one should duck.

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him or her,
Not correcting errors a friend makes strikes me as a poor show of friendship. Its how how they are corrected that sorts friendship from just another idiot

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
No resistance needed

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
I don't lie, and expect the same honesty in return. I find liars rather obnoxious, i would prefer an honest thief than someone who lies.

If you can conquer tension without medical help,
For me, it depends on the level of tension. For the cat she most definitely needs medical help to overcome stress.

If you can relax without liquor,
I rarely drink alcohol and when i do it's only a sip for the toast. But i do use a lot in cooking, of course the intoxicant has long gone before consuming leaving only beneficial flavours.

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
Usually, on rare occasions i need to use a herbal sleep aid, but no drugs

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,
Got to say, politics is a sticking point, and to some extent, so is religion,

Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog
As i said i don't have a dog.

 

[sun rise]

 

[Twilight Hue]

I tripped up at caffeine I’m afraid. Can’t start the day without tea.

Juan Valdez is the God of Coffee. I cannot turn my back on my beloved Coffee God.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Juan Valdez is the God of Coffee. I cannot turn my back on my beloved Coffee God.

Whatever gets you through the night. I'm currently enjoying an invigorating blend of Orange Pekoe, Assam, and Chinese Jasmine scented green tea, from Fortnum and Masons of Piccadilly. Better than communion wine imo.