Santa-John’s View from the Bridge – May 2023
by SJ McDaniel
The View from the Bridge is an opinion piece which explores how political, societal, and other changes may impact the future.

Thank you – Mothers of the World!

“The Good; The Bad; and The Ugly” Truth, is that most, if not all of the 8 million humans on this planet would not be here if it wasn’t for the interaction of some male sperm, with a mother’s egg. So, thank your mom for growing an avatar that you can explore and learn with, in this lifetime. Good mom or bad mom, she gave you life on Earth.

I heard a story once that a young reporter was interviewing a new mother. He wanted to get an idea of how painful birthing a child was.

She described her experience as follows: “First – place your index fingers in your mouth, one at each side. Next, pull as hard as you can with your fingers, stretching your mouth open until it hurts. Then, flip your stretched skin back over your head!” Interesting to visualize.

After the pain comes mother’s Love, for the child that is wanted and was conceived in Love.

I, SJ, lost my mother in 1960, when I was 17. That loss radically changed my future life plans. I am so grateful for her love and caring during those formative years. She gave me the strength to carry on.

After she transitioned, I began my search for God. At one point in my journey, I said to the Universe – “God, if you are real and you created me, then, you will know how to reveal your truth to me.” In response to that prayer, my life has been guided to the answers. I intend to write about it more in the future.

The View Ahead – Observe and Learn without Emotional Engagement.

I have come to know that:

1. I am an energy being that can never be destroyed. (P.S. You are as well.)
2. I explore this Earthly realm via an avatar grown and maintained using materials gathered from the Earth, i.e., food, water, etc. I was blessed with a loving mom and 2 dads.
3. Shakespeare is correct in that “All the World is a stage…”
4. I arrived on stage with a script to follow, think treasure map. I wrote the script, but in the birthing-process, forgot that I wrote it.
5. The treasures I seek and will retain are my experiences. I will add my current life’s experiences to those of all my prior lives. That becomes my spiritual DNA and helps me grow in wisdom and become a more loving being.
6. All the while Mother Earth is being a distraction with her beauty; calling me out to explore and play. “Want to come out and play, big boy?”

This realization allows me to observe World events as if I were in the audience cheering on and voting for the teams I support.

For example: I join with the majority who now realize expressing differences using physical violence is obsolete. In other words, WAR is obsolete, domestic violence is obsolete, slavery of any kind is obsolete, etc., etc. Respect for one another, negotiation, and compromise is always preferable to violence.

As a result, I support U in the current Pu-RU conflict. In the end U will prevail and Pu will leave the stage by this fall. As an interesting side note, when the war in Ukraine winds down, the United States will become the arms dealer for the Free World.

The demand for US weapons and the transition to electric transportation infrastructure will keep the US economy booming in coming years.

Bottom line – for political events: local, national, and international, I will observe, vote, and release the outcome to the Universe. I know that all things work together for the good. So, I adopt the attitude expressed by Alfred E. Neuman in Mad Magazine – “What, Me Worry?” I choose not to worry.

For events on a personal level, it’s a little more difficult to resist engagement. The natural reaction to criticism is to defend one’s actions with an immediate response.

Never allow fear or anger to influence your decisions. I know of at least one incident where the refusal of one partner to negotiate with the other, because of fear, resulted in a potential divorce. Fortunately, their love for one another overcame the issue.

I am working on a new reaction strategy, 1) Show no reaction. 2) Disengage, walk away if necessary. 3) Take a deep breath and hold it, count to ten, breath in more air, count to ten again, then exhale slowly. 4) Repeat step 3 until calm. 5) Once calm, consider the other’s point of view.

My way or the Highway is not a helpful position to take. You may find yourself alone and regretting your hasty reaction.

What is your interest in the Graphic-Products Industry?

As we have mentioned before, in today’s world, artwork for most graphic products begins life as computer art. Some artists create and sell computer art for use on the web. Some create and sell physical products using their artwork, think t-shirts, mugs, awards, etc. Others create graphic products as a hobby or to help organizations to which they may belong.

If you wish to express your artistry in this industry then consider whether you would prefer working alone, perhaps as an entrepreneur, or in a group. My earthly father was an outstanding artist. For a time in his early years, he worked for Walt Disney Studios. He found the working environment there distasteful. He preferred working alone.

Oh, and by the way, we are all artists living on a beautiful, living, breathing, continually-transforming-by seasons, piece of galactic art we know as Earth. What a great privilege!

As Earth Artists we decorate our bodies with makeup, jewelry, clothing, tattoos, hairdos, etc. We create and decorate our transportation avatars, think cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, skateboards, etc. We also create avatars for traveling through the air and over the ocean, think airplanes and ships.

Do you realize that many of us live in a parking lot down some road? “You go down the road and make a left where the old Hadley barn used to be”, are not useful directions to all but a few. That said, most of us live at a street address, where we park our transportation avatars.

Unfortunately, we waste a staggering amount of energy creating avatars designed to kill people and break stuff, think tanks and other military hardware. When we finally grow up and reject physical violence as a dispute resolution method, we will have more than enough resources to take care of everyone!

In Short

Thank you for your attention. Keep in mind that we don’t know what we don’t know. So, don’t take our word for it. Meditate and find what is right for you.

For 2023 and beyond, we pray for peace.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, we will know peace.

Thank you, see you next time.